Ancient Middle East and Egypt Section 2: Invaders, Traders, and Empire Builders Witness History Audio: Establishing the Law First Empires Arise in Mesopotamia The Fertile Crescent saw the first empires, beginning with that of Sargon. When Hammurabi, king of Babylon, ruled Mesopotamia, he established a set of laws known as Hammurabi’s Code, which helped to unify the empire. Notes: Listen to the Witness History audio. Then read aloud the main idea for each subheading in this section and show the related visuals. After listening to the Witness History audio, ask, “What phrase emphasizes his greatness?” (“exalted Prince”) “What effect would it have on the people to hear their ruler described this way?” (impress them, increase their respect for him) When showing Color Transparency 8, discuss how much impact a monument presenting the written law code would have had on a population that was mostly illiterate. Color Transparency 8: Setting the Law in Stone Note Taking Transparency 53 1 of 6

Ancient Middle East and Egypt Section 2: Invaders, Traders, and Empire Builders Conquests Bring New Empires and Ideas With the Hittite invaders came the secret of Ironworking. After the Hittites, the Assyrians pushed into the region. They were feared warriors, but Assyrian King Assurbanipal built one of the first libraries. The Babylonians reemerged under ruler Nebuchadnezzar in 625 B.C. The Persians Establish a Huge Empire Notes: Listen to the Witness History audio. Then read aloud the main idea for each subheading in this section and show the related visuals. After listening to the Witness History audio, ask, “What phrase emphasizes his greatness?” (“exalted Prince”) “What effect would it have on the people to hear their ruler described this way?” (impress them, increase their respect for him) When showing Color Transparency 8, discuss how much impact a monument presenting the written law code would have had on a population that was mostly illiterate. Babylon fell to the Persians in 539 B.C. They built the largest empire yet known. Persian ruler Darius divided the empire into provinces, which were each headed by a governor. Persian thinker Zoroaster united the empire with a religion that taught that there was only one god. Geography Interactive: Assyria, Persia, and the Phoenician Colonies 2 of 6

Ancient Middle East and Egypt Section 2: Invaders, Traders, and Empire Builders Contributions of Phoenician Sea Traders The Phoenicians spread Middle Eastern civilization as they traded and set up colonies around the Mediterranean. They developed an alphabet that became our alphabet today. Notes: Listen to the Witness History audio. Then read aloud the main idea for each subheading in this section and show the related visuals. After listening to the Witness History audio, ask, “What phrase emphasizes his greatness?” (“exalted Prince”) “What effect would it have on the people to hear their ruler described this way?” (impress them, increase their respect for him) When showing Color Transparency 8, discuss how much impact a monument presenting the written law code would have had on a population that was mostly illiterate. QuickTake Section Quiz Progress Monitoring Transparency 3 of 6

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