Babylonians & Assyrians

A Region to Fight Over Mesopotamia was a rich region. It brought wealth to the army that could conquer it. After one leader took over the area, he became a target for others for another conqueror.

Babylonians & the Assyrians The largest civilizations were the Assyrians and the Babylonians. Both civilizations conquered the region by force and both showed their wealth by building big cities where culture and learning were valued.

Babylonians The Babylonian empire’s capital was Babylonia. Babylon’s location was at the crossroads of a number of trade routes. Caravans, or groups of travelers, would bring goods from Sumer, India and Egypt. Bazaars, or markets, in Babylon were filled with goods from all over the Middle East and North Africa.

Assyrians Hammurabi’s kingdom of Babylonia didn’t last much longer than 200 years before it was weakened and destroyed by invaders. To the north of Babylon, lay the kingdom of Assyria. Assyria’s capital city was Nineveh.

Nineveh Nineveh was a great city of learning. It had a famous library that held thousands of clay tablet records from ancient Sumer. The Assyrians are best known for being geniuses at war.

Assyrian War Machine Invented the battering ram. Assyrians were also known for their slingers, expert archers (who were protected with armor) and armed charioteers. They conquered Mesopotamia and even parts of ancient Egypt. They destroyed Babylon.

Babylonia Part 2 Assyrian was eventually defeated in 612 BCE when two groups—the Medes and Chaladeans joined forces against them. Babylonia rose in power again and became a new, even more splendid empire.

Nebuchadnezzar New Babylonia was ruled by a king Nebuchadnezzar who showed his power by building: Massive walls around the city Gigantic palace, decorated with color tiles Possibly even a famous hanging garden Under his rule the New Babylonian empire became a city of learning and science.

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