Chapter Two Section Four

Empires of the Fertile Crescent – The Akkadians In about 2330 B.C., the Akkadians attacked and conquered the Sumerians. They spoke a Semitic language related to modern Arabic and Hebrew. King Sargon was the most powerful Akkadian ruler. He established an empire that reached as far west as the Mediterranean Sea. When the Akkadian rule ended (after about 150 years), Sumerian city-states once again prospered. Invaders continued to conquer civilizations in the Fertile Crescent, and another powerful city-state rose. It was called Babylon.

The Babylonians In about 1792 B.C., a strong ruler named Hammurabi came to power in Babylon. Hammurabi was a great lawmaker and political leader. He is best known for the Code of Hammurabi. The Code of Hammurabi has influenced many laws we have today.

Under the Code of Hammurabi, punishment was harsh, and followed the concept of “and eye for an eye.” However, the code was not equal between the classes. If wealthy men were guilty of a crime, they simply paid a fine. Like the Sumerians, the Babylonians were primarily farmers. Babylonian merchants traded within the Fertile Crescent, but also with Egypt and India.

Women had many legal rights in Babylon. They could own property and could become educated. Men could divorce their wives, but women could not divorce their husbands. However, if a man was cruel to his wife, she could leave him and take her property with her. The Babylonians adopted many Sumerian religious beliefs.

They were polytheistic, making sacrifices to their many gods in exchange for good favor. The Babylonians did not believe in an afterlife, so their religious beliefs were directed at a successful life on earth. The Babylonians believed their priests could tell the future. Therefore, they were very rich and powerful.

Other Conquerors Many times throughout history, conquerors adopted the customs of the people they conquered. This was very true of the Babylonians after they conquered the Sumerians. However, some kept their cultural values. This was the case with the Hittites.

The Hittites were a warlike people who invaded the Tigris-Euphrates Valley around 1600 B.C.. They were among the first people to smelt iron. However, their most important achievements may have been law and government. Under Hittite law, only the most severe crimes received the death penalty. All offenders of minor crimes simply paid a fine. Hittite kings were regarded as chief-priests, although they did allow significant religious freedom.

At first, the Hittites conquered Babylon, but as time went on, they began to retreat to further to the west, near the Mediterranean Sea. They remained a powerful force there until around 1200 B.C., when the entire region was hit by invasion from the Assyrians.

The Assyrians settled on the upper Tigris River as early as 2000 B.C.. At first, the Assyrians were dominated by other cultures, but by 900 B.C., they had established their own empire and began to dominate southwest Asia. They expanded their empire across the Fertile Crescent and into Egypt.

At the height of its power, the empire included Syria, Palestine, the Nile Valley and Mesopotamia. The Assyrians were fierce warriors, and were the first to use cavalry, or soldiers on horseback. The Assyrians gained many slaves by enslaving the people they conquered. In about 700 B.C., the Assyrians captured Babylon and destroyed it completely.

The Assyrian king had absolute power. He was responsible only to the god Ashur. Priests and government officials took orders from the king, and governors, who ruled conquered lands and made regular reports to him. The Assyrians built a great wall around Nineveh, their capital city.

Nineveh contained a great library in which scholars kept clay tablets of literature from all over the empire. The Epic of Gilgamesh, perhaps the most valuable piece of Assyrian literature, has helped scholars learn about Assyrian culture for thousands of years. In about 635 B.C., civil war broke out, and the Assyrian Empire fell.

The Chaldeans and the Medes captured and destroyed Nineveh. The Chaldeans took control of much of the territory that the Assyrians had ruled. Under the leadership of Nebachadnezzar, the Chaldeans conquered most of the Fertile Crescent. The Chaldeans rebuilt the city of Babylon and made it their capital city.

One of the Seven Wonders of the World is the hanging Garden. Legend says that this was built at the request of Amytis, one of Nebuchadnezzar’s wives, to make her feel closer to her country home. The Chaldeans were skilled astronomers. They also made advances in mathematics. Because of these two things, they calculated the length of a year with a very high degree of accuracy. After Nebuchadnezzar’s death in 562 B.C, the Chaldean Empire fell.

The Persians In 539 B.C., the Persians conquered Babylon. The Persians and the Meads ruled Mesopotamia until the Persian ruler Cyrus rebelled against the Meads, captured Babylon and took over the rest of Asia Minor. Although Persian kings were all-powerful, they showed great concern for justice. The Persians allowed conquered people to keep their own religions and laws.

The Persians had a sort of “checks and balances” system, wherein secret agents known as “the King’s Eyes and Ears” kept the king informed as to what was happening in outlying areas of the empire. The Persians built roads to connect the cities within their empire. Some historians think that later civilizations, such as the Romans borrowed the idea of using roads for military and postal transportation. The roads also allowed for different cultures in the empire to exchange goods and ideas, a concept known as CULTURAL DIFFUSION!!!

At first, the Persians worshiped many gods. Then in about 600 B.C., a great prophet named Zoroaster changed their religious outlook. Zoroastrianism teaches about the universal struggle between good and evil. It teaches that the good will be rewarded and the bad will be punished. Zoroastrianism had a great influence in the development of both Judaism and Christianity. In 331 B.C., the Persian Army suffered its final defeat at the hands of the Greeks.