15 important Facts about The Phoenicians and the Lydians, Fertile Crescent, & Sumerian Civilization (POST 2)

1.) Cuneiform writing developed from pictographic writing

2.) The arch is one of the strongest forms in building.

3.) Before 3000 B.C., Sumerians had begun trading with other people in Southwest Asia.

4.) Each ziggurat could be up to 150 feet high and its top served as a shrine to a Sumerian god.

5.) Unlike boys, girls could not become scribes and did not attend school.

6.) To keep their calendar accurate, the Sumerians added a month every few years.

7.)This is the story of a Sumerian king and is one of the oldest works of literature known.

8.) The Persian kings used secret agents, known as "the King's Eyes and Ears," to keep them informed.

9.) Under Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon once again became a large and wealthy city.

10.) People throughout the ancient world prized cloth dyed with this purple and it was a favorite of the rich and of royalty.

11.) The Phoenician sea ports of Tyre and Sidon were world famous.

12.) The spread of the alphabet is a good example of how commerce can speed cultural diffusion.

13.) Other important colonies could be found on the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, and Malta.

14.) Before coins were issued around 600 B.C., traders had to rely on the barter system to trade goods.

15.) The Lydians passed on the concept of a money economy to the Greeks and Persians.