Babylonia and Assyria
Empires of Mesopotamia
In the
Beginning
• Sargon the 1st was the ruler of Akkad.
• He set out and conquered the Sumerian citystates.
• 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
Hammurabi’s Code
•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.
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?
Babylonia is Conquered
•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.
Pair-Share
You 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 #2
The 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=mUobr
O0EeRI
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.