1. Ancient near east
Babylonians

2. From Sargon- Hammurabi – Fall of Nineveh
Akkadian Empire, 2300
Third Dynasty of Ur, Ur III, collapses in 2002
First Amorite Period in Babylon: founding of the city 1894
Rise in power, claims lineage from Sumerians
Old Babylonian Empire of Hammurabi
Dominated by Assyrians and others
-608

3. Neo-Babylonian Empire, 608-539
'Chaldean Empire' Nabopolassar
Overthrows Assyria

4. Nebuchadnezzar II
Battle of Carchemesh 605, defeats Israelites & Egyptians, extends Babylonian Empire to Syria
Alliance with Medes
Military Campaigns
Building projects

5. Campaign Against Egypt
Revolts throughout Canaan
Judah backed Egypt against Babylon, so…
597, Captures Jerusalem
Destroys Solomon's Temple, mass deportations
Babylonian Captivity and Diaspora
Subjugates Tyre

6. Hanging Gardens of Babylon?

7. Babylon Reconstructed
Triple City Walls
Bridges Euphrates, tunnels under Euphrates
Ishtar Gate

10. Belshazzar The writing on the wall
n Aramaic names of measures of currency:MENE, a mina (from the root meaning "to count"), TEKEL, a spelling of shekel (from the root meaning "to weigh"), PERES, half a mina (from the root meaning "to divide", but additionally resembling the word for "Persia").[2] The last word (prs) he read as peres notparsin. His free choice of interpretation and decoding revealed the menacing subtext: "Thou art weighed in the balance and art found wanting." The divine menace against the dissolute Belshazzar, whose kingdom was to be divided between the Medes and Persians, was swiftly realized. That very night King Belshazzar is slain, and Darius

11. Persians take Babylon, 539
Cyrus the Great