Empires of Mesopotamia Time period covered: 2300 BCE – 539 BCE

I. City-States to Empires City-states were prone to attack by nomads. Needed stronger military leaders; lugal-gal replaced priests Lugal-gal became kings, kings ruled over the city-states More powerful city-states take over other city-states thus leading to the creation of empires.

II. Akkadian Empire (2300- 2100 BCE): A. The first king to unite city-states of Sumer into an empire was Sargon of Akkad c. 2300 BCE B. Sargon’s unstable empire 1. Conquered city-states continued to fight for independence 2. Akkad was frequently invaded by rival warriors

III. “Life Cycle” of a Civilization Create Stable Government Beautification of home (make city pretty) Conquer others – expand empire Internal Rebellions People outside attack because of internal weakness Empire shrinks and then falls … repeat

IV. First Assyrian Empire – Unifying Civilizations c. 1813 – 1781 BCE Rose out of the town of Assur At first was a small power, but under Shamshi-Adad it grew to its height Strong military protection Efficient government Strong treaties with neighbors Shamshi-Adad’s sons took over after him, but couldn’t hold the empire together Power shifts to the south in Babylon

V. First Babylonian Empire – Writing the Laws c. 1792– 1595 BCE Center of power was in the city of Babylon Most famous leader was Hammurabi Hammurabi created a strong government and order in society by writing down the laws Hammurabi’s Code He eventually conquered all of Mesopotamia Eventually the empire became too large and it could not protect itself from outside invaders. Power shifted north back to Assur

VI. New Assyrian Empire- A Path of Conquest Assyrian army: Regular military campaigns to loot and plunder surrounding areas Murdered, tortured and enslaved their enemies Tiglath-Pilesar III extended empire borders to include the entire Fertile Crescent Eventually rebellion became difficult to control Power shifted to Babylonia in the south (again)

VII. Neo-Babylonian Empire Under Nebuchadnezzar (605 – 562 BCE), Babylonians were known to be great traders and conquerors Nebuchadnezzar gained control of trade access to Mediterranean Drove Egyptians out of Syria Nebuchadnezzar captures Jerusalem Enslaved the Jewish population – “Babylonian Captivity” Burned down the city of Jerusalem and King Solomon’s Temple

VIII. The Rise of the Persian Empire In 539 BCE, Cyrus the Great (Persian ruler) conquered the Neo-Babylonians. The people of Babylon welcomed him Cyrus ended Babylonian Captivity He built a vast Persian Empire that continued for the next 200 years