Unit 1 Chapter 2 Lesson 2
Sargon
• In 2334 B.C. Sargon became an Akkadian ruler.
• With his army he conquered city-state after citystate.
• Eventually he conquered all of Mesopotamia and
farther, creating an Empire.
• It is said his empire stretched from sunrise to
sunset.
• He passed his empire on to his son but it was
under constant threats. His dynasty ended 150
years later in 2100 B.C.
• Ur rose again but fell to invaders from the
northeast in 2000B.C.
Hammurabi and Babylonia
• In 1792 B.C., Hammurabi became king of
Babylon.
• By 1754, he controlled all of southern
Mesopotamia, and the empire was called
Babylonia.
• He sent officials throughout the empire to
collect taxes.
• Under Hammurabi life did not change much.
• Hammurabi is best known for “the Code of
Hammurabi” a set of rules and punishments.
The Assyrians
• From 1900 B.C. to 600 B.C., the Assyrians gained
great strength in northern Mesopotamia.
• They placed great value on conquest and war.
• From 688 B.C. to 637 B.C. the empire was the
strongest under Ashurbanipal.
• During his reign Assyrians controlled almost all
of the Fertile Crescent.
• He also established a library in Nineveh that had
a catalog system.
Babylonia Grows
• 605 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar II becomes king.
• He takes over the Assyrian Empire and the
desert west of Babylon.
• He built walls and finished building the great
ziggurat.(hanging gardens)
• They made discoveries in science and
mathematics. (They could calculate solar and
lunar eclipses.)
• Nebuchadnezzar died in 539B.C. and Babylon
declined. Eventually, the Persians conquered
Babylon.