Glossary
Review the lesson glossary terms below. Glossary terms may be included in quiz questions.
Enuma Elish
The creation struggle between cosmic order and chaos was to the ancient Mesopotamians a fateful drama that was renewed at the turn of each new year. The epic that deals with these events was therefore the most significant expression of the religious literature of Mesopotamia. The work, consisting of seven tablets, was known in Akkadianas “Enuma elish,” or “When on high,” after its opening words.
Gilgamesh
The Epic of. This story was composed c. 2000 B.C. and was recorded on eleven tablets to which a twelfth, describing the afterlife, was later added. It is but one of a cycle of earlier epics surrounding this king of Uruk. Basically the story is of the king’s rebellion against the idea of death and his quest for eternal life, following the loss of his friend Enkidu.
Hammurabi
Sixth king of the First Babylonian Dynasty, Hammurabi is considered an outstanding statesman, military planner, and lawgiver.
Hurrian Empire
The Hurrians were a non-Semitic people who entered Mesopotamia from the Armenian Mountains to the northeast, the area in which the Urartians were located, a related people.
Law Codes
The earliest formulations of law were made by the Sumerians. The Sumerian emphasis upon law and order commended itself to various sedentary societies of the ancient Near East, who produced their own legislation.