DÜNYA MEDENİYETLERİNE GİRİŞ - Deneme Sınavı - 10

Sumerian religion evolved out of a polytheistic pantheon whose principal deities were the god of air (Enlil), water (Enki), earth (Ki), and heaven (An).

The correct answer is B.

Sumerian society was based on a complex arrangement of freedom and dependence. It was divided in four categories:

• Nobles,

• Free clients of the nobility,

• Commoners, and

• Slaves.

The correct answer is C.

Commoners were free citizens. They were independent of the nobility, but they could not rival the nobility in social status and political power. Commoners typically belonged to large patriarchal families who owned plots of land in their own right. They could sell their land, if their family accepted, but even the king could not take their land without their consent. Commoners had a voice in the political affairs of the city and were granted the full protection of the law.

The correct answer is A.

The people of Sumer, who lived in southern Mesopotamia, “worked in gold and lapis as well as clay and wood. They made jewelry and small statues from gold and lapis. They also built intricate chairs from wood and reeds. They made musical instruments. They made unbelievable pottery, samples of which are depicted below. And they made mosaics. Archaeologists have found partial remains of some of these mosaics, which appear to be portraits of animals and people as well as geometric patterns. The craft that they did best, however, was pottery. Their pottery was so good that they used it as a money system, trading pottery for food and other items” (mrdonn.org).

The correct answer is B.

“Mesopotamian society was ruled by a ‘council of elders’ in which men and women were equally represented, but over time, as the status of women fell, that of men increased” (gutenberg.org). “As for schooling, only royal offspring and sons of the rich and professionals, such as scribes, physicians, temple administrators, went to school. Most boys were taught their father’s trade or were apprenticed out to learn a trade. Girls had to stay home with their mothers to learn housekeeping and cooking, and to look after the younger children. Some children would help with crushing grain or cleaning birds. Unusual for that time in history, women in Mesopotamia had rights. They could own property and, if they had good reason, get a divorce” (gutenberg.org; Harris, 2000).

The correct answer is D.

Urbanization, the wheel, writing, astronomy, mathematics, wind power, irrigation, agricultural developments, animal farming, and the narratives which would eventually be re-written as the Hebrew Scriptures and form the Christian Old Testament – all these came from the land of Mesopotamia” (ancient.eu) (Also see Mark, 2009).

The correct answer is E.

The Persians (539-323 BCE) laid an end to the rule of the Assyrians and the Babylonians. They conquered much of the Middle East including Mesopotamia. The correct answer is C.

Among their stupendous achievements is the fact that the ancient Sumerians developed the first form of writing; that clearly constitutes the greatest contribution of Mesopotamian Civilization. The correct answer is C.

Mesopotamian society was ruled by a ‘council of elders’ in which men and women were equally represented, but over time, as the status of women fell, that of men increased” (gutenberg.org). “As for schooling, only royal offspring and sons of the rich and professionals, such as scribes, physicians, temple administrators, went to school. Most boys were taught their father’s trade or were apprenticed out to learn a trade. Girls had to stay home with their mothers to learn housekeeping and cooking, and to look after the younger children. Some children would help with crushing grain or cleaning birds. Unusual for that time in history, women in Mesopotamia had rights. They could own property and, if they had good reason, get a divorce” (gutenberg.org; Harris, 2000). The correct answer is B.

A ziggurat is a temple of ancient Mesopotamia (they were built since 2000 BCE) that takes the form of a stepped pyramid or tower.

The ziggurat design goes from a simple base with a temple on top, to with several terraces topped with a temple.The base could berectangular, oval, or square. The core of the ziggurat - the part not exposed to the weather - was built of sun-dried brick (adobe), while the outside was lined with cooked bricks, which could also be provided in different colors.

Access to the top was via stairs located on the sides of the ziggurat or spiraling up to the top. An example of a simple ziggurat is the white Uruk Temple, in ancient Sumer. The ziggurat itself is only the base upon which the white temple rises. The purpose is to bring the temple to the sky, which is accessed from ground level by stairs. The correct answer is B.

Commoners were free citizens. They were independent of the nobility, but they could not rival the nobility in social status and political power. Commoners typically belonged to large patriarchal families who owned plots of land in their own right. They could sell their land, if their family accepted, but even the king could not take their land without their consent. Commoners had a voice in the political affairs of the city and were granted the full protection of the law.  The correct answer is A.

There were many myths and legends about these gods and goddesses. Sumerian religion evolved out of a polytheistic pantheon whose principal deities were the god of air (Enlil), water (Enki), earth (Ki), and heaven (An). The correct answer is A.

A ziggurat is a temple of ancient Mesopotamia (they were built since 2000 BCE) that takes the form of a stepped pyramid or tower. The ziggurat design goes from a simple base with a temple on top, to with several terraces topped with a temple.The base could berectangular, oval, or square. The core of the ziggurat - the part not exposed to the weather - was built of sun-dried brick (adobe), while the outside was lined with cooked bricks, which could also be provided in different colors.

Access to the top was via stairs located on the sides of the ziggurat or spiraling up to the top. An example of a simple ziggurat is the white Uruk Temple, in ancient Sumer. The ziggurat itself is only the base upon which the white temple rises. The purpose is to bring the temple to the sky, which is accessed from ground level by stairs.

These ziggurats were a type of common temple for the people of Sumer, and then for the Babylonians and the Assyrians. The ziggurats were not a place where public acts or ceremonies were performed, but were considered the dwelling place of the gods.

Thanks to the ziggurat, people could be close to the gods. Each city had its own god or goddess, and the priests of that city had access to the interior of the ziggurat. There, attended to the needs of the gods, which made the priests a powerful element of society. The correct answer is B.

In about 5000 BCE, a group of people called the Sumerians engaged in the search for a good climate and productive soil; they began to settle in the Tigris-Euphrates valley, where Iraq is located today.

Because of all these developments, Mesopotamia, the Land Between the Rivers, may be called the Cradle of Civilization.

The Sumerians (5000-2300 BCE) were the first humans known to form a civilization. They invented city, government, and writing -- the frame of civilization.

The Akkadians (2334 – 2193 BCE) came next. They shaped the first united empire and thus the city-states of Sumer were united under one ruler. The Akkadian language replaced the Sumerian language during this time and later became the language of Mesopotamia.

The Babylonians (2004-1595 BCE and 625-539 BCE) established the city of Babylon, which became the most influential city in Mesopotamia. At times the Babylonians would form vast empires that ruled much of the Middle East. The Babylonians were the first to record their system of law

The Assyrians (870-612 BCE) came from the northern part of Mesopotamia. They were a warrior society. They also reigned much of the Middle East at different periods over the history of Mesopotamia.

The Persians (539-323 BCE) laid an end to the rule of the Assyrians and the Babylonians. They conquered much of the Middle East including Mesopotamia