Identify the following: theocracy, polytheism,
empire, The Code of Hammurabi, and the
Babylonian Captivity.
Explore and identify the chief contributions
and characteristics of the Babylonians,
Phoenicians, Assyrians, and Persians.
Identify the following people: Sargon,
Hammurabi, Nebuchadnezzar II, Ahura Mazda,
Cyrus the Great, and Darius.
Sumer
3000 BC
Akkad
2340 – 2100 BC
Babylon
1792-1750 BC
Assyria
900 BC – 600 BC
Chaldean Babylon
600 – 539 BC
Persia
559 – 330 BC
How many civilizations controlled the
Mesopotamian region?
•All speak a Semitic
language.
•Arable land near the
Tigris/Euphrates rivers
was managed with
irrigation systems.
•No natural barriers –
prone to invaders.
Map of the Region
•Theocratic – kings rule
as divine leaders.
•Sargon – Powerful
monarch (king) who led the
Akkadians.
•1st to establish an empire.
That lasted 240 years.
Copper Statue mask of
Sargon.
•Empire – a large territory or
group of cities under a
single leader or
government.
•Babylon was the center of
culture and trade. People
relied on a barter economy in
order to exchange goods.
•The civilizations in this
region were polytheistic.
•Cultural Diffusion - when a
cultural trait, material object,
idea, or behavior pattern is
spread from one society to
another.
1. What type of language was spoken in
Babylon?
2. What impact did the lack of natural barriers
have on this region?
3. Who was the 1st leader to establish an
empire?
4. Which city was the most cosmopolitan?
5. Were the people in this region monotheistic,
or polytheistic?
•Ruled a strong
Babylonian Empire.
•He established the 1st
code of laws called the
“Code of Hammurabi.”
•He built temples,
encouraged trade, and
revived Babylon’s
economy.
•Hammurabi defeated many armies, and was
known as the “Sun of Babylon.”
•He led the “Man of War” army. These soldiers
carried axes, spears, and daggers made of copper
or bronze.
•His most important
contribution – the 1st code
of laws.
•Hammurabi’s laws were
carved on stones, and
placed in the center of all
Babylonian cities.
King Hammurabi receiving
the code.
•The laws were the same
for all cities he ruled.
•Strict justice
system and
consumer
protection
laws.
Hammurabis’ Court
•Severe
penalties for
breaking the
law.
•Retaliation was
key.
•An “Eye for an
eye and a tooth
for a tooth.”
This woman was one of the Chief
judges under Nebuchadnezzar II.
•If a Judge ruled
poorly, he paid a
fine and lost his
position.
•The Assyrian “kings” took the title of
“Stewards of the Gods.”
King Ashurbanipal left, and the Lion
hunting relief to the right. Wikipedia
Commons
•War-like kings of Assyria took over the
region around 700 BC.
•By 650 BC, the
Assyrians had
defeated Syria,
Palestine, Babylon,
Egypt and Anatolia.
Map showing the extent of the
Assyrian Empire. Courtesy of
Wikipedia Commons.
•They established
an empire that
lasted about 300
years.
•The army and its kings
were infamous.
•King Sennacherib was
recorded to have sacked
89 cities, and 820
villages.
King Sennacherib laying
siege to the city of Lacdhish
in Palestine.
•He burned Babylon and
killed most of the city’s
people.
•“3,000 of their troops, I
felled with weapons…I
cut off their hands to
the wrist, I cut off their
noses, ears and
fingers; I put out their
eyes, and burned their
young men and women
to death.”
King Ashurbanipal lays siege to a
city.
- King Ashurbanipal
•Army was well-organized
and efficient.
The Assyrian army laid siege to
this city by crossing a river
using inflated animal skins.
•Infantry, cavalry and
horse drawn chariots
gave the Assyrians
complete power in the
region.
•1st equipped with iron
swords, spears and
shields.
•Great Military
Engineers - 1st to use
catapults and siege
weapons.
•Infamous for their
cruelty. Smashed dams,
looted towns, posted
the heads of their
enemies on stakes on
the tops of city walls.
•The Assyrian kings
built extravagant
palaces.
•Established the first
library at Nineveh.
•Started the 1st postal
network with horse men
to relay messages.
Assyrian King Ashurbanipal above, built
the great library at Nineveh. Photo courtesy
of Wikipedia Commons.
1.What were Hammurabi’s laws called?
2.How would you describe these laws?
3.What was Hammurabi’s army
nicknamed?
4.How would you describe the Assyrian
kings?
5.Which civilization is best known for
the cruelty of its army?
•King Nebuchadnezzar II,
re-built Babylon and
made it the center of his
empire.
•Nebuchadnezzar is best
remembered for his
building of the Hanging
Gardens and the
Babylonian Captivity.
•1 of 8 Gates built by
King
Nebuchadnezzar II.
The Ishtar Gate
•Dedicated to the
goddess Ishtar, this
inner gate was the
processional
entrance into
Babylon.
•In 597 BC, Israel fell to
Nebuchadnezzar.
Solomon’s temple was
sacked and the Jews were
enslaved and taken to
Babylon.
•They remained enslaved
until 539.
Jews taken captive back to
Babylon.
•This was called the
Babylonian Captivity.
•The Persians arose from
a mountain tribe in S. Iran.
•Within a single
generation, they were
established as the #1
power in the world.
•They were known for their
spectacular military
success, their wealth and
invincibility.
•The Khorasan Highway – or the King’s Highway allowed
the Persians to create the 1st multi-cultural empire in the
world. The Persians were tolerant rulers, but each citizen
was a subject of the king.
•Cyrus the Great was an
Indo European and
Persian. (Iran)
•He liberated the Jews and
allowed them to return
home.
•He created a powerful
Persian empire in 559 BC,
that lasted until
Alexander’s conquest in
330 BC.
Cyrus the Great
•Persian Kings had
absolute power.
•Divided empire into 20
satraps or provinces ruled
by a governor.
Painting of Baghdad.
•Collected taxes, provided
justice and security.
Recruited soldiers for the
king’s army.
Darius’ Army –
•10,000 men in the Cavalry.
•Elite Infantry of 10,000
men called the
“Immortals.” (Their
numbers were never
allowed to drop below
10,000).
•The religion that
developed in Persia
was Zoroastrianism.
•Zoroastrianism –
monotheistic religion.
•Believed in Ahura
Mazda, the “Wise
lord," and divine
judgment.
•In 330 BC, Alexander
the Great will defeat the
Persian King, Darius.
•Key Battles – Issus
Granicus, and
Gaugamela.
Alexander the Great
•Alexander will go on to
conquer the known
world.
1.What kind of power did Persian
kings have?
2.What nickname was given to
Darius’ infantry?
3.What religion developed in
Persia?
4.Who will finally defeat the
Persians?