1. Chapter 4 Lesson 2
MESOPOTAMIAN EMPIRES

2. The first empire: Kingdom of Akkad developed in northern Mesopotamia, Sumer, and eventually the rest of Mesopotamia Sargon the Great = 1st ruler 1st to created permanent armies
The first empires
EQ: Why does conflict develop? By 2400BC Sumer’s city-state was becoming weaker than surrounding kingdoms with powerful rulers Empire = Area of land containing many different types of people under the complete authority of one person

3. Who was hammurabi? The Amorites conquered Mesopotamia
Babylon was the grandest city
Hammurabi was king
Conquered many cities and lands to make the Babylonian Empire
Set up the first Legal system = Hammurabi’s Code
282 laws written by Hammurabi inscribed on an upright stone pillar. The code was found by French archaeologists in while excavating the ancient city of Susa, which is in modern-day Iran.
Hammurabi’s Code = laws for his empire that dealt with crimes, farming, business, marriage, and the family (Dealt with everyday issues back then)
The code listed a punishment for each crime
HARSH “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” means that the punishment for a crime should match the seriousness of the crime

4. Examples of Codes -- Can you imagine?!?
If you built a structure and it fell and killed someone, then as the builder, someone in your family would be killed
If any one is committing a robbery and is caught, then he shall be put to death.
If a son strike his father, his hands shall be hewn off.
If a man knock out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out.
If a man strike a free-born woman so that she lose her unborn child, he shall pay ten shekels for her loss.
If a barber, without the knowledge of his master, cut the sign of a slave on a slave not to be sold, the hands of this barber shall be cut off.
If a slave says to his master: "You are not my master," if they convict him his master shall cut off his ear.
If a man has destroyed the eye of a man of the gentleman class, they shall destroy his eye .... If he has destroyed the eye of a commoner ... he shall pay one mina of silver. If he has destroyed the eye of a gentleman's slave ... he shall pay half the slave's price." The Babylonians clearly did not live under a social system that treated all people equally.
The prologue or introduction to the list of laws is very enlightening. Here, Hammurabi states that he wants "to make justice visible in the land, to destroy the wicked person and the evil-doer, that the strong might not injure the weak." The laws themselves support this compassionate claim, and protect widows, orphans and others from being harmed or exploited.
It was meant to limit punishment and do away with blood feuds
It protected the less powerful

5. Go Jump in the River!
A number of the laws refer to jumping in the Euphrates River as a method of demonstrating one's guilt or innocence. If the accused returned to shore safely, they were deemed innocent; if they drowned, they were guilty. This practice follows the Babylonians' belief that their fates were controlled by their gods.
From the code, it is evident that the Babylonians did not believe all people were equal. The code treated slaves, commoners, and nobles differently. Women had a number of rights, including the ability to buy and sell property and to obtain a divorce. The Babylonians understood the need for honesty by all parties in a trial and for court officers to be free of corruption so that the justice system could function effectively.

6. The Assyrian empire Ruled from the Persian Gulf to Egypt Government:
1000 years after Hammurabi
Powerful military made of infantry (foot soldiers) and cavalry (horse soldiers) and charioteers
Iron Weapons = slingshots, bows, arrows, swords, spears
Brutal fighters = set fire to crops, homes, and towns; Took tribute (forced payment) from conquered people
Government:
Capital of the empire = Nineveh
Powerful, harsh kings
Divided empire into provinces (political districts)
Built roads between provinces
Set up stations with soldiers to guard and protect traders from bandits; rest area for government messengers and their chariot horses
Law codes were harsher than Mesopotamian
Farming and trade were important
Wood and metal for building, tools and weapons
Assyrians
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EQ: Why did conflict develop in the Assyrian empire?

7. The Chaldean empire The Greatness of Babylon
King Nebuchadnezar (son of Nabopolassar) made Babylon the richest and largest city in the world
Surrounded by huge brick walls with soldiers as guards in towers built into the walls
Grand palaces and temples
Ziggurat 300 ft tall with gold roof
King’s palace had giant staircase with greenery known as the Hanging Gardens
One of the seven wonders of the world
Hanging gardens
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Because the Assyrians were so harsh, the Chaldeans rebelled
King Nabopolassar led revolt against Assyrians in 627 BC
Created new empire with the Medes
Capital = Babylon

8. The greatness of Babylon continued
Very Wealthy City
Each spring held a ceremony for the god Marduk hoping to bring peace and bigger crops to their empire
Build many new canals, making land even more fertile
high taxes and tributes
Major trade route between Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea passed through Babylon
Caravans (large traveling groups) bought pottery, cloth, baskets, and jewelry
Scientific Achievements
Astronomers studied the star, planets, phases of the moon
Invented one of the first sundials to measure time
First to follow a seven day week
Alphabet = Letters that represent sounds

9. Fall of the empire Weak kings ruled after Nebuchadnezzer died
Poor harvests
Slow trade
In 539 BC, Persians captured Babylon and made Mesopotamia part of their empire
EQ: Why did conflict develop in the Chaldean Empire?

10. 1)LESSON 2 REVIEW p.93 #3, 4, AND 5 ONLY 2)FINISH LESSON 1 AND 2 HANDOUTS
Turn it ALL into your period folder on Mrs. Young’s desk when finished