Hittites, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Persians Empire Builders Hittites, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Persians

Hittites 2000 BC conquered Asia Minor Established a well organized kingdom Strong, fearsome army that was the first to use iron weapons 2 person chariots Conquered Babylon—Syria and parts of Mesopotamia Borrowed aspects of Mesopotamian and Egyptian cultures Contributed a legal system that was less harsh than Hammurabi’s Code Empire lasted until about 1200 BC

Assyrians Lived in Northern Mesopotamia Powerful army, conquered neighbors Army organized: foot soldiers, charioteers, and cavalry Used iron weapons and battering rams Treated conquered people cruelly Deported populations from their homelands High Taxes

Assyrians By 650 BC empire stretched from the Persian Gulf to Egypt to Asia Minor Divided into provinces each headed by a governor who reported to the king Officials from central government collected taxes Tax money supported the army and building projects Built a network of roads to connect provinces Empire declined due to rebellions by conquered peoples In 612 BC, the Chaldeans helped to bring down the empire

Chaldeans Dominated the entire Fertile Crescent Height of empire was reached under their greatest leader— King Nebuchadnezzer Extended empire as far west as Syria and Canaan Rebuilt Babylon into one of the most beautiful cities in the ancient world The Hanging Gardens of Babylon—one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

Chaldeans Interested in astrology Observed the stars and planets and made maps showing their positions—contributed to the science of astronomy Conquered by the Persians in 539 BC

Essential Questions: Monumental Structures Have you ever visited a place that had an impressive structure or building? What kind of structure was it? Why was it built? What made it impressive? HW: Read in Packet—The Seven Wonders of the World Answer the question above and the question following the reading selection. What are today’s 7 Wonders of the Modern World?

Essential Questions: Empire/Warfare How are empires forged? Why? What is needed to conquer an empire? What do the empire builders want? Why do nations go to war?

Persians Cyrus II, 540’s BC Strong army—conquered the Fertile Crescent and beyond His son conquered Egypt in 525 BC—entire Middle East under Persian rule-50 million people Darius I, 522-486 BC Divided empire into provinces and assigned satraps (provincial governors) to rule Inspectors–“eyes and ears of the king” made unannounced tours of the provinces and reported on the activities of the officials

Persians Treated conquered peoples well—they could keep their religions, languages, and laws. As a result most of the conquered people remained loyal to the Persians. Built a magnificent city known as Persepolis. Improved roads built by the Assyrians to encourage trade—Royal Road—Persia to Asia Minor At first the Persians worshipped many deities—polytheism In 570 BC, a prophet named Zoroaster called for religious reform Read selection in packet--Zoroaster

Zoroastrianism Z preached that the world was divided by a struggle between good and evil The god Ahura Mazda led the forces of good and Ahirman-a lesser deity, led the forces of evil. Z believed that in the end, the good would win. He believed that the people who chose good would be rewarded with eternal life.

Theocracy Persian kings believed that they ruled by the power of Ahura Mazda The Persian style kingship influenced the divine monarchies of the Western world Z’s beliefs may have influenced Judaism, Christianity, and Islam-- particularly the concept of heaven and hell