Babylonia and AssyriaEmpires of Mesopotamia

In the Beginning

• Sargon the 1st was the ruler of Akkad.

• He set out and conquered the Sumerian city-states.

• By ruling more than one city-state he creates the first empire.

• The conquered city-states now spoke Akkadian, but the Akkadians worshipped Sumerian gods.

• Break! Why do you think Sargon would make his conquered cities speak his language, and make his citizens worship Sumerian gods?

• However, after 200 years the Akkadian Empire grew weak. Cities in Mesopotamia revolted for their freedom.

• Hammurabi, an Amorite, or Old Babylonian, reigned from 1792-1750 BCE.

Babylon and King Hammurabi

•Hammurabi was the king of Babylon. He united the cities of Sumer and then expanded his empire.

•The Babylonian people created a monarchy supported by a system of taxation to pay for running the government. Break1

What is a monarchy, find an example of a monarchy today.

•Tax collectors traveled throughout the empire collecting tax money from citizens.

Babylon Empire – 1787 B.C.

A Crossroads of Trade•Babylon became rich due to trade. Caravans, traveled back and forth from the Sumerian cities in the south to the city of Akkad in the north. Along the way, they always stopped in Babylon to trade.

•Roads were built throughout the empire which made travel easier and encouraged trade.

•Babylon had special markets, called bazaars, that people could go to and buy cotton cloth from India. They could also buy spices from Egypt there. (Brainstorm modern day equivalents of bazaars)

Hammurabi’s Code•Hammurabi was the king who united most of Mesopotamia and conquered the Sumerians. Hammurabi developed a written set of laws for his people to follow in 1790 BC.

•A total of 282 laws form the Hammurabi’s Code. Law number 196 states: If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out. Some people summarize Hammurabi’s code by saying “an eye for an eye.”

A statue of Hammurabi

•The code was carved into stone and placed in public places for all to see. The laws were meant to serve as a lasting way to keep order and prevent troubles in the future.

Hammurabi’s Code

Babylonia is Conquered•Hammurabi conquered many neighboring cities, and he kept expanding his empire.

•Hammurabi would often go to war against his allies (friends) as well.

•When the city of Elam attacked Larsa, Hammurabi helped Larsa defend themselves.

• Once Elam was conquered, Hammurabi turned right around and conquered Larsa! Break!

Hypothesize why Hammurabi would do that?

•Each time that Babylon would conquer another city, Hammurabi would take the city’s chariots, weapons, tools, and all their riches.

•Trading helped Babylon get rich, and so did conquest.

•Though Hammurabi formed a large and rich empire, the people that ruled after him could not keep it together.

•The empire kept getting smaller and smaller until eventually it was destroyed.

Babylonia is Conquered

Pair-ShareYou be the Historian…..

Interpretation #1•According to the Bible and the book of Genesis, The city state of Ashur was founded by a man named Ashur, son of Shem, son of Noah, after the great flood, who then went on to form the important Assyrian cities.

Interpretation #2The city was named Ashur after the diety of that name sometime in the 3rd millennium. The same god’s name is the origin for Assyria.

Do we have historical fact?

The Assyrians Rise to Power•About 1,000 years after Hammurabi ruled, a people called Assyrians rose to power in Mesopotamia.

•Assyria was a small kingdom of walled cities that was located north of Babylon. Their city was located in open land, in the upper part of the Tigris River Valley.

•The Assyrians spoke the same language and used the same writing system as the Babylonians.

The Assyrians have a problem……

•Cause- their rolling hills and lack of natural defenses meant that they were easily attacked, and they had to constantly defend themselves against invaders.

The Assyrians Rise to Power

• Effect- They became skilled warriors. At around 1365 B.C., the Assyrians decided that the best defense they had was to attack other countries first, before they could attack them.

• By 1100B.C. they had defeated neighboring enemies.

• By 800 B.C. they were strong enough to take over cities, trading routes, and fortresses throughout Mesopotamia.

• By 650 B.C., Assyria had conquered a large empire. King Sargon II was a successful and ruthless Assyrian ruler.

Assyrian Empire – 650 B.C.

The Assyrian War Machine

• The Assyrian army was divided into groups of foot soldiers armed with shields, helmets, spears, and daggers.

• It also had units of charioteers, cavalry, and archers.

• At first the Assyrians fought only during the summer……why?

The Assyrian War Machine

• Assyrian power was due partly to their weapons, which were made of iron.

• Iron weapons are harder and stronger than weapons made of copper or tin.

• This wasn’t always the case, how did the Assyrians improve iron so it could be made into weapons?

The Assyrian War Machine•The Assyrians were geniuses at waging war. They invented the battering ram, which they used to pound down city walls.

•They used catapults to throw rocks at enemies, and they protected their archers with helmets and armor.

•Chariots were used to slash their way through enemy troops.

Assyrian Learning•The capital of the Assyrian Empire was a city called Nineveh.

•Nineveh became a great city of learning. It had a famous library that held thousands of clay tablets with writings from Sumer and Babylon.

•These records tell us a lot about life in Mesopotamia.

Assyria Overthrown•The people that the Assyrians conquered were constantly rebelling against Assyrian rule.

•Most of the time, the Assyrians crushed the people who tried to fight them.

•However, in 612 B.C., the Medes and Chaldeans joined together to smash the Assyrian empire.

The New Babylonian Empire•The Chaldeans created a new empire, centered at Babylon after they defeated the Assyrians in 612 BC.

•The greatest king of Babylon was Nebuchadnezzar II.

•He rebuilt Babylon and put massive walls around the city to protect it. He also built a great palace with hanging gardens.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUobrO0EeRI

The Chaldeans

• Under King Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldeans extended their empire as far west as Syria and Palestine.

• The Chaldeans called themselves Babylonians. Most Chaldeans were descendants of the people who had made up Hammurabi’s empire.

A New Center for Learning

•Under the Chaldeans, the New Babylonian empire became a center of learning and science.

•Chaldean astronomers charted stars and measured the correct length of the year.

•Chaldean farmers raised bees for their honey. Many people came to Babylon to share ideas and discoveries.

This clay tablet shows the world that was known to the Babylonians

The Fall of the Second Babylonian Empire

•The second Babylonian empire came under attack and was defeated by the Persians, who were led by Cyrus the Great, in 539 BC.

•The Persians built the largest empire the Fertile Crescent has ever known.

Babylon Empire – 1787 B.C.

Assyrian Empire – 650 B.C.

Persian Empire – 490 B.C.

Military Empire Instagram

• Detailed, colored picture. (5pts)

• Informative, but fun comment. (5pts)

• Merge the past and with present day social media.

• We should be able to tell what empire you are instagraming.

• Feel free to look up additional information on any empire.

Homework-Cut and Paste Directions

1. Put your name on the paper.

2. Take the pages apart.

3. Using your notes, label each sentence with a B for Babylonians, an A for the Assyrians, or a C for the Chaldeans.

4. Do not cut apart your sentences until they are labeled , and even then, cut apart only one sentence at a time.

5. If you finish early, you may go back to your vocabulary or color the cut and paste.

6. If you are lacking supplies, simply label each fact with the correct empire.