Exploring the four empires of Mesopotamia

Background As we learned in the activity exploring Mesopotamian geography, water was able to both bring the Sumerian city-states together and tear them apart. Warfare became a constant trend in the area of Mesopotamia. Even with the construction of walls and moats, Sumerian city-states continued to fight over water. The lack of unity and constant bloodshed, left the Sumerian city-states open to attack by a stronger, unified group. In this webquest, you will read about how the individual city-states were conquered and forced into the development of empires. As you read through the webquest, answer the questions on the corresponding worksheet.

The Akkadian Empire The first group to overpower the Sumerian city-states were the Akkadians. Led by Sargon, the Akkadians conquered Mesopotamia in 2300 BCE. Sargon was a powerful king and a rocking military general. Sargon recruited the toughest and bravest men for his army. He taught them to fight in tight formations keeping them well protected from opponents. The bravest or possibly dumbest soldiers stood in the front with nothing but shields to protect them. Behind the front line, the second group were lucky enough to have spears. The Sumerian take over was a fairly easy task for the general. The lack of unity between the city-states, prevented them from being able to fight together against Sargon. The Akkadians simply took each city-state one-by- one. The Akkadians had the numbers. Sargon’s large army easily outnumbered every city-state.

Life Under Akkadian Rule Sargon as a ruler Akkadian Empire The first decision made by Sargon after he successfully beat all the city- states was to make sure they could not turn on him. He destroyed all the walls surrounding the city- states so that the Sumerians could not meet in secret and plan a rebellion. Without the mud brick walls, Sargon could keep an eye on all his subjects. Sargon also made the decision to pass his crown to his sons. He was the first king in history to declare his sons would replace him instead of letting the gods chose his successor.

Akkadian Empire Continued Sargon ruled for 56 years until he died. During his reign, he worked to build up cities. In order to get money for his renovation projects, he made his subjects pay tributes. A tribute is money sent from one country to another as a sign that they won’t rebel. Sargon used the tributes to build palaces and temples. Sargon’s greatest contribution was the development of his empire. He was the first person in the history of the world to unify different territories under the rule of one person. His empire stayed strong under the rule of his sons for 200 years after his death. Eventually the Akkadian empire was overpowered by another group.

The Babylonian Empire After the fall of the Akkadians, Mesopotamia broke into individual city-states again. The next ruler to come along and create a second empire was Hammurabi. Hammurabi is best known for his rules. He created a code of laws containing 282 laws. Every law written followed the same basic principle. His laws were based on the premise an eye for eye a tooth for tooth. So basically what ever you did to someone as a crime your punishment would be the same thing. An example would be if you punched someone in the face, your punishment would be to be punched in the face too. Of course not all crimes can receive the exact same punishment, but they were all centered on the same idea. The laws covered trade, payment for work, marriage, divorce and other crimes. The laws were carved in steles and posted in every city to ensure everyone knew and followed the laws.

Life in the Babylonian Empire Under the Babylonian Empire, Agriculture and trade flourished. The capital city of Babylon became a center for trade. The economy grew with the increase in trade. More importantly though, under Babylonian rule all people had rights. Even though Hammurabi’s code of laws were harsh, everyone was held accountable to a certain degree. The laws treated the various social classes differently but even slaves had some rights. Slaves were able to own property, keep their wages and even buy their freedom.

The Assyrian Empire The Babylonian Empire eventually fell to a new group known as the Assyrians. Unlike the Akkadians and Babylonians the Assyrians did not have a strong and powerful king that stands out in the history books. They did however have one of the most powerful armies in the ancient world. The Assyrians created military techniques and weapons never seen before. They trained horses to use in battle giving them both height and speed advantages in fights. They also were the first military in history to use iron weapons in war. Iron weapons were much stronger and more indestructible. The Assyrian army as also the first in the world to use battering rams and moveable towers to attack walled cities. With a system of siege attacks the Assyrians were able to easily conquer the Babylonian Empire and take control of the area of Mesopotamia. Siege warfare is a battle tactic what involves posting up outside a city and repeatedly attacking until the city falls.

Assyrian Cruelty The Assyrians were often ruthless. They were known to force entire populations to leave areas that they conquered. The Assyrians spread tales of their cruelty far and wide. These stories created fear in their enemies and neighbors. Click on the link below to read more about the superpower that was the Assyrian Army and what eventually led to their demise http://www.mrdowling.com/603-assyrians.html

The neo-Babylonian empire After the fall of the great and powerful Assyrians, Babylon took control again. However to change things up, they called the new empire Neo-Babylon. Neo means new….they must have been geniuses! Neo Babylon was ruled by a leader known as Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar was a ruthless leader to attempted to expand his empire as far as possible. He drove the Egyptians out of Syria. He conquered part of Canaan, the home of the Israelites. When the Israelites rebelled, he took most of them captive to Babylonia. Many were never able to return to their home land again….HARSH! As a military leader, Nebuchadnezzar knew it was important to keep his capital city safe. He had two walls built around Babylon for protection, The walls were so thick two chariots could ride side by side on the top of the walls. He also constructed towers for archers to stand on and dug moats around the city for added protection. Needless to say it was difficult to get into his capital.

Architecture in Neo Babylon Not all money and time went into city protection. Nebuchadnezzar also commissioned the construction of a massive palace for his wife. Click on the link below to read about Nebuchadnezzar's hanging gardens http://7wonders.mrdonn.org/gardens.html