Post 2. 15 Important Facts.

1.The Sumerians may have invented the arch a curved structure over an opening.
2.Like other early civilizations, the Sumerians developed a calendar based on the moon.
3.Ur, Erech, and Kish were major Sumerian city-states and each had thousands of residents.
4.Upper-class Sumerian boys who showed intelligence and skill in school were trained to be scibes.
5.Sumerian farmers grew enough food to allow many people to work as artisans and traders.
6.Assyrians The first to use cavalry—soldiers on horseback.
7.Hittites One of the first people to smelt iron.
8.Zoroaster Persian prophet and teacher who developed an influential religious philosophy.
9.Epic of Gilgamesh Reflects Sumerians beliefs about life and death.
10.Cyrus the Great Persian king who captured Babylon and took over the rest of the Fertile Crescent.
11.Phoenician consisted of a loose confederation of city-states, each governed by a different king.
12.Phoenicians made the alphabet and moved it around the country.
13.Phoenician colonies were established throughout the Mediterranean region; for example, the North African city of carthage became a major regional power.
14.The exchange of one good or service for another good or service is called barter.
15.Lydian traders developed a money economy, which used money as a measure of value and as a unit of account.