Mesopotamia was the birthplace of many peoples of eastern antiquity, such as the Sumerians, responsible for the development of humanity's first form of writing, and the Assyrians, famous for having built the Great Library of Nineveh. The term “Mesopotamia” was coined by the Greeks and its meaning makes mention:
a) the geographical position of that region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers;
b) to an existing legend in the region about a mythical being;
c) the production of purple ink, which was an important part of the region's trade;
d) to the trajectory of an important legendary king known from the record of the Epic of Gilgamesh;
e) to the first people who inhabited that region before the Sumerians.
question 2Regarding the Mesopotamian peoples, select the TRUE alternative:
a) The Akkadians developed mankind's first form of writing, known as cuneiform writing.
b) The Sumerians developed mankind's first form of alphabetic writing.
c) The Code of Hammurabi had as its motto the Law of Talion, which defended the idea of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”.
d) The Chaldeans had Ashurbanipal as their main king, supposedly responsible for building the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
e) The Assyrians were known to be extremely peaceful, with no vocation for war.
question 3Concerning the Mesopotamian peoples, make the relationship between the two tables:
| a) Sumerians | ( ) They built the Great Library of Nineveh and were known to be fearsome warriors. |
| b) Akkadians | ( ) They formed the Second Babylonian Empire and were conquered in 539 BC. by the Persians. |
| c) Amoritas | ( ) They had Sargon I as their main king and formed one of the first centralized empires of mankind. |
| d) Assyrians | ( ) They organized themselves into city-states and built great temples known as ziggurats. |
| e) Chaldeans | ( ) Had Hammurabi as their great king and developed a code of laws known as the Code of Hammurabi. |
Read the following statements and find the FALSE alternative:
a) The Sumerians organized themselves into city-states and cities such as Ur, Uruk and Eridu stood out. b) The Akkadians formed a brief empire that developed under the leadership of Sargon I. They were weakened by internal rebellions and the arrival of foreign peoples.
c) The Amorites are known to have constituted the First Babylonian Empire. In addition to creating the Code of Hammurabi, King Hammurabi developed agriculture in Babylonia.
d) The Assyrians constituted an extremely militarized society, which, after the war, formed a vast centralized empire.
e) The Chaldeans had Nebuchadnezzar as their main king and were conquered by Alexander the Great after the Battle of Gaugamela.
answers Question 1Letter A
The term “Mesopotamia” was coined by the Greeks and its translation means “land between rivers”. This term refers to the geographical location of the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It was even the existence of rivers that guaranteed a rich agricultural cycle to sustain human presence in that region.
Question 2LETER C
The Code of Hammurabi was created during the reign of the Amorite King Hammurabi. To formulate this code, Hammurabi grouped together several laws that already existed traditionally in Mesopotamia. This code became known for having as its main motto the Law of Talion:“an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. The idea of the Code of Hammurabi was to punish those who committed a crime in proportion to the damage that had been done.
Question 3Order of answers:D-E-B-A-C.
Question 4Letter E
The Chaldeans were actually conquered by the Persians led by Cyrus the Great in 539 BC. The conquest carried out by the Persians put an end to the Chaldean empire, and that region became part of the Achaemenid Empire. The Persians, in turn, were conquered by Alexander's Macedonians just over 200 years later during the Battle of Gaugamela.