1. Unit 2 Lesson 3
Babylonia and Assyria

2. The Rise of Hammurabi and Babylonia
The city-state of Babylon was under a lot of construction
More people began to settle in Mesopotamia after the fall of Ur

3. The Rise of Hammurabi and Babylonia
Hammurabi became king of Babylon in BC
He was very clever and wanted power
By 1754 BC (38 years later) he controlled all of Mesopotamia and other city-states!
His empire was called Babylonia

4. Babylonia

5. The Rise of Hammurabi and Babylonia
The king gave orders to improve the city of Babylon
Stronger city walls
Gateway leading into the city (Ishtar Gate)
Raise the top of the ziggurat to create the “hanging gardens”

6. The Rise of Hammurabi and Babylonia
Hammurabi sent officials throughout the empire to carry out his orders and collect taxes
Taxes paid on property went to support Hammurabi’s army and pay for construction projects

7. Quick Summary
Hammurabi became king of Babylon in BC and built an empire, sending officials to collect taxes and carry out orders
Why did Hammurabi need tax money and how did he collect it?
__________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________

8. Hammurabi Hammurabi became king of Babylon when he was a young adult.
Rulers formed partnerships with each other to increase their power (allies)
Hammurabi, with help from his allies, began to conquer neighboring city-states
He wanted control of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers because he wanted control of irrigation systems and the farming economy!

9. Hammurabi How did Hammurabi increase his power in Mesopotamia?
________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________

10. Hammurabi
Hammurabi conquered more than 20 cities and controlled all of Mesopotamia!
Created a code of laws, which he engraved on a stone monument (can’t be changed)
Hammurabi wished to be remembered as an able ruler and a just (fair) lawgiver

11. Hammurabi
“Hammurabi is a ruler, who is as a father to his subjects… who has achieved conquest for the chief god of Babylon over the north and south… and has established order in the land.”

12. Babylonian Civilization
Life didn’t change much under Hammurabi:
Babylonians relied on irrigation for farming and on trade
Had a class system
Similar religious beliefs
However, Babylonians spoke their own version of the Akkadian language

13. Babylonian Civilization
Capital city of Babylon grew
Became the center of culture and learning
Many advancements were made in math, literature, and law

14. Babylonian Civilization
Hammurabi is best known for the laws he established to govern his empire in a new way
282 laws known as the Code of Hammurabi
Many laws dealt with business practices
Others related to property ownership, medical practice, marriage, and childcare

15. Babylonian Civilization
The Code of Hammurabi is the most complete law code to survive
Hammurabi explained the purpose of the law code:
“…to give good to the people, to make justice shine in the land, to destroy the evil and wicked, that the strong do not oppress (mistreat) the weak.”

16. Babylonian Civilization
Hammurabi’s Code called for different punishments based on the social class of the lawbreaker and the victim of the crime
Punishments often fit the crime
“eye for an eye”
“tooth for a tooth”

17. Quick Summary
The Code of Hammurabi is a set of laws in which the punishment fits the crime as well as the social class of the offender and the victim
What was the purpose of the Code of Hammurabi?
________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________

18. The Assyrians
While the Babylonian Empire flourished under Hammurabi, the Assyrians began to gain power in northern Mesopotamia
Assyria expanded its territory from about BC to 600 BC
Assyrians placed higher value on war and conquest (defeat) of another group

19. The Assyrians
Under King Ashurbanipal, the Assyrian Empire was at its largest and most powerful
Assyrians controlled nearly all of the Fertile Crescent
Ashurbanipal could read and write ancient Sumerian and Akkadian
He built a great library at Ninevah, the capital

20. The Assyrians
King Ashurbanipal collected Sumerian, Akkadian, and Babylonian writings
Literature
History
Math

21. Quick Summary
The Assyrians were aggressive and conquered and controlled the Fertile Crescent. Their most powerful king was Ashurbanipal, who created a library to keep literature, history, and math tablets.
What made Ashurbanipal an unusual king? _________________________________ _________________________________ ______________________________

22. Babylonia Grows
After 627 BC, Babylon began to expand its influence and wealth
Nebuchadnezzar II was crowned king of Babylon
He took over much of the Assyrian Empire and ordered building projects to make Babylon great again
He built walls to protect the temples and finished building the great ziggurat

23. Babylonia Grows Historians believe:
the ziggurat at Babylon might be the inspiration for the Tower of Babel, which is mentioned in the Bible
Nebuchadnezzar built the hanging gardens (or was it Queen Sammuramat, who reigned [ruled] 200 years earlier? No one knows…)

24. Babylon Grows
Babylon was a wealthy trading city and an important center of learning
Made great advancements in math:
Determined place value refers to the position of numbers
Babylonian astronomers (scientists who study the sun, moon, stars, and planets) made important advancements
Predicted when the eclipses of the sun and moon would occur

25. Babylon Grows
When Nebuchadnezzar II died about 562 BC, the new Babylonian Empire declined
Persians invaded and conquered Babylon in 539 BC

26. Quick Summary
Under the leadership of Nebuchadnezzar II, Babylon grew in influence and power. When he died, Babylon was conquered by the Persians.
List some of the achievements of the Babylonian culture: _________________________________ _________________________________ ______________________________

27. STUDY FOR YOUR QUIZ!! Put these events in order:
_____Nebuchadnezzar II starts a series of building projects in Babylon
_____Hammurabi establishes his code of law
_____Ashurbanipal builds his library at Nineveh

28. STUDY FOR YOUR QUIZ!! Who was Hammurabi?
What was the Code of Hammurabi?
How was the Assyrian culture different from the Babylonian culture?