Chapter Four Lesson 2 Mesopotamian Empires

PG 86 The First Empires Who was Sargon? Sumer’s city-states were weakened by conflict in 2400BC Powerful kingdoms in northern Mesopotamia created an empire and spread through conquest and trade. Sargon was a leader of Akkad in 2400BC he conquered the rest of Sumerian city-states- he ruled everything- this created the world’s forst empire. His Mesopotamian empire lasted over 200 years

PG 87 Who was Hammurabi? Hammurabi’s Code Around 1792BC Hammurabi (the king of Babylonia) began to conquer many other cities These created the Babylonian Empire- it stretched north from the Persia Gulf through the Tigris-Euphrates valley and west to the Mediterranean Sea. Hammurabi created a set of laws- his code- considered just- dealt with crimes and listed the punishments- an eye for an eye- protected the less powerful (pg 87 continued on the next slide) Who was Hammurabi? Hammurabi’s Code

PG 87 The Assyrian empire Taming the Rivers Rose about 1,000 years after Hammurabi’s empire Assyrians built a powerful military and began taking over Mesopotamia around 900BC Taming the Rivers

PG 88 The Assyrian Army Kings and government The army had 50,000 well trained soldiers- infantry, cavalry, and charioteers- used slingshots, bows and arrows, swords and spears. Robbed people, forced them to pay tribute, and used brutality Iron weapons were a key factor in their success Assyria covered from the Persian Gulf to the Nile with the capital of Nineveh on the Tigris Kings divided their empire into provinces for better rule- they built roads and selected officials to rule each province (Pg 88 continued on the next slide) The Assyrian Army Kings and government

PG 88 Life in Assyria Laws had harder punishment Worshipped many of the same gods of previous civilizations King Ashurbanipal built one of the first libraries in Nineveh- with over 25,000 tablets

PG 89 The Chaldean empire A New Empire In 650BC fighting broke out over who would rule next- the Chaldeans took control Chaldeans moved into the southwest Mesopotamia around 1000BC Hated the Assyrian’s control A New Empire

PG 90 The Greatness of Babylon The Chaldean King Nabopolassar reclaimed land and became the king of Babylonia in 628BC The Medes joined the Chaldeans and together they defeated the Assyrians and burned Nineveh in 612BC Nabopolassar and his son Nebuchadnezzar created a new empire Babylon served as their capital- their empire is sometimes called the New Babylonian Empire Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt Babylon- it was the largest and richest city in the world- built a great wall- grand palaces and temples- and a huge ziggurat with a gold roof The Greatness of Babylon

PG 91 The King’s palace had greenery known as the Hanging Gardens- considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World They were built on huge steps (terraces) with a complex irrigation system from the Euphrates He built a street near the gardens for people to visit then

PG 92 The Fall of the Empire To pay for the cities luxuries Nebuchadnezzar collected high taxes and tributes. Because of size he had to have an effective government system Outside the center of Babylon was a busy marketplace Chaldeans were astronomers who mapped the starts, planets, and the moon. Invented the sundial and 7 day week Weak rulers came after Nebuchadnezzar died Poor harvest also weakened the empire The Fall of the Empire

PG 93 The Persians captured Babylon But allowed them to keep their unique culture They did not want to destroy all that the Chaldeans had accomplished