SOCIAL STUDIES VOCABULARY: THE FERTILE CRESCENT

 

1. scribe: a professional writer

 

2. Fertile Crescent:  a region inSouthwest Asia; site of the first

                                         civilizations

 

3. city-state: a city that is also a separate, independent state

 

4. polytheism: the belief in many gods

 

5. myth: a traditional story; in some cultures, a legend that explains

                 people’s beliefs

 

6. empire: many territories and peoples controlled by one government

 

7. Babylon: the capital ofBabylonia; a city of great wealth and luxury

 

8. caravan: a group of traders traveling together

 

9. bazaar: a market selling different kinds of goods

 

10. battering ram: a powerful weapon with a wooden beam mounted

                                      on wheels

 

11. alphabet: a set of symbols that represent the sounds of a language

 

12. monotheism: the belief in one god

 

13. famine: a time when there is so little food that many people starve

 

14. exile: to force someone to live in another country

 

15. covenant: a promise made by God

 

16. Moses: an Israelite leader whom the Torah credits with leading the

                      Israelites fromEgypttoCanaan

 

 

17. prophet: a religious teacher who is regarded as someone who

                          speaks for God or for a god

 

18. diaspora: the scattering of people who have a common background

                            or beliefs

 

19. code: an organized list of laws and rules

 

20. Hammurabi: The king ofBabylon from about 1792 to 1750 B.C.;

                                 creator of the Babylonian Empire

 

21. cuneiform: groups of wedges and lines used to write several

                               languages of theFertile Crescent(From the Latin word

                               cuneus: wedge and the French word iforme: to form.)