1. To Rule By Terror: The Assyrians
Trade, Iron and Terror
The Traders On The Sea
The Age Of Iron
To Rule By Terror: The Assyrians

2. Traders On The Sea 1300 B.C.-500 B.C.
The Phoenicians (Traders on the Sea) were based in the coastal cities of Sidon, Byblos, and Ugarit about 3000 B.C
Cities had perfect harbors for ships
Located between Egypt and Mesopotamia

3. Traders On The Sea 1300 B.C.-500 B.C.
Phoenicians controlled the cedar tree forests near Lebanon Range
Had a monopoly on purple dye made from shellfish
Created purple cloth which people desired because it stood for nobility
Sold and introduced iron to Egyptians

4. Traders On The Sea 1300 B.C.-500 B.C.
Region was inhospitable to farming so adapted to environment
Great sailors, Phoenicians traveled as far as Spain and to Africa
Hugged coastline and camped at night on shores
Created ports every thirty miles that transported Phoenician culture into other countries

5. Traders On The Sea 1300 B.C.-500 B.C.
Introduced the phonetic alphabet that was simpler than cuneiform
Phoenician alphabet spread fast in the Mediterranean region
Eliminated the need for scribes and was easier to learn

6. The Age Of Iron
Constant warfare in Mesopotamia made acquiring copper and tin precarious
Hittite metalworkers experiment with iron
Constant reheating and cold-hammering doubled strength of iron
Bronze no match for Iron weapons

7. The Age Of Iron
By 1000 B.C. weapons, tools, cookware were now made of iron
Armies equipped with iron conquered bronze armies
Warfare increase and lead to birth of multiethnic empires

8. The Assyrian War Machine
Assyrians arrived from the northern valley region near the Euphrates and Tigris
Assyrian god Assur commanded them to “rule over all”
Assyrian strength lied within its army

10. The Assyrian War Machine
Assyrian war machine successful because-
Used propaganda about their brutality
Military engineers who built bridges, siege equipment and tunnels
Well trained and paid officers

12. Maintaining Assyrian Order
To maintain Assyrian empire
Built road system to connect empire
Appointed governors to maintain distant territories
Had a unifying language

13. Maintaining Assyrian Order
Trouble makers were publicly tortured
Villages that gave trouble were massacred to be an example
And if a region revolted the people were sent to other parts of the kingdom

14. Maintaining Assyrian Order
Assyrian King Ashurabnipal ( B.C.) collected largest library of cuneiform tablets
To preserve literature
612 B.C Assyrian empire crumbles to a coalition of enemies