Kingdoms and Empires of the
Fertile Crescent:
Sargon and Hammurabi
A Semitic ruler known
as Sargon the Great
conquered the entire
area
Prior to Sargon, the
land between the
rivers was controlled
locally by kings and
royal families.
Sargon was the first
ruler to organize and
unite the city-states of
Sumer and
Mesopotamia under
the Akkadian Empire.
Sargon of Akkad:
The World’s First Empire
[Akkadians]
Sargon
Cylinder seal – Sargon’s brother
The Akkadians, a Semitic people, lived in the
southern region of Mesopotamia.
Sargon became their ruler around 2334 BCE.
Stories vary as to how he came to power; some
believe he organized the military to overthrow his
king, while others believe power was passed down
to him.
Sargon’s empire marked
the beginning of a new
form of government.
Cities were organized
into the world’s first
empire.
Sargon created a
bureaucracy with a
standard set of rules
and procedures.
Sargon used ideas
from cities he
conquered.
Sargon I and Sargon II
Sargon’s Military Technology
Prisoners of war
An Akkadian using composite
bow
Sargon introduced two new forms of military technology
to the battlefield. They were key to his success.
The first was the composite bow made from strips of
wood and horn. It was capable of firing arrows further
and faster than conventional wooden bows.
Sargon also
introduced the
phalanx structure
of military
combat. The
phalanx was made
by arranging the
soldiers into
equally-spaced
rows of men with
overlapping
shields and
leveled spears.
The phalanx easily defeated unorganized armies.
Soldiers protected each other by forming a human
wall of spears and shields. Most other armies at the
time had no discipline or formation.
Naram-Sin,
grandson of
Sargon, using
the composite
bow.
Chariots were
also
important in
Sargon’s
campaigns.
The Empire of Sargon
Sargon put Mesopotamia under a
single government.
Akkadian became the official language
of Mesopotamia.
By using one language the Akkadians
had better communication and
organization.
Akkadian soldiers
However, after 200 years the Akkadian Empire grew weak.
Cities in Mesopotamia revolted for their freedom.
The Babylonian Empires
Babylonian Math
Babylonian Math and Time
Babylonians used math
primarily for measuring and
counting things such as the
length and width of a canal
and the weight and volume of
grain.
Babylonians used a system
of counting based on the
number 60. This included
their calculation of time and
degrees within a circle.
Babylonians used a 24-hour day, a 60-minute hour, 60second minute, and 60 degrees in a circle.
We continue to use this system today.
Babylonian Numbers
Hammurabi, an
Amorite or Old
Babylonian, reigned
from 1792-1750
BCE.
The Amorites, a
Semitic people,
lived west of the
Euphrates River.
Hammurabi based
his empire in
Babylon; during his
reign he conquered
Sumer and Akkad
and unified
Mesopotamia by
1760 BCE.
Hammurabi
[r. 1792-1750 B. C. E.]
Background: Hammurabi
• Reigned from 1792-1750 BCE
• Hammurabi was the son of a king and
succeeded his father to the throne in a great
Mesopotamian city called Babylon.
– Hammurabi was a powerful king and conquered
cities to the north and south setting up an empire.
– Empire: a group of many different lands under
one ruler
– Hammurabi is best known for his code of laws.
Although his laws were CRUEL they marked an
important step toward a fair system of justice.
Hammurabi’s
Code
Hammurabi, the Judge
Prologue to the Code of Hammurabi
When Anu the Sublime, King of the Anunaki, and Bel, the lord of
heaven and earth, who decreed the fate of the land, assigned to
Marduk, the over-ruling son of Ea, God of righteousness, dominion
over earthly man, and made him great among the Igigi, they called
Babylon by his illustrious name, made it great on earth, and founded
an everlasting kingdom in it, whose foundations are laid so solidly as
those of heaven and earth; then Anu and Bel called by name me,
Hammurabi, the exalted prince, who feared God, to bring about
the rule of righteousness in the land, to destroy the
wicked and the evil-doers; so that the strong should not
harm the weak; … and enlighten the land, to further the
well-being of mankind.
The Constitution of the United States of America
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect
union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the
common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the
blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and
establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Hammurabi's code was based
on several principles.
• Equality before the law did not exist:
there were milder penalties for members
of the aristocracy than for commoners
and slaves.
• When criminal and victim were social
equals, the punishment was equal to the
crime.
• Individuals represented themselves, fair
trials were guaranteed, and judges could
not change a verdict.
Hammurabi’s Code
• The law provided protection for
the consumer.
• The code contains many laws
about farming, irrigation, crops,
and animals.
Hammurabi’s Code
• Marriage was a business arrangement
between the groom-to-be and his
future father-in-law.
• Husbands had absolute power; he
could sell his wife and children into
slavery, but wills and legal documents
tell us that family life was happy and
women engaged in business.
What should be done to the
carpenter who builds a house that
falls and kills the owner?
If a builder builds a house
for a man and does not
make its construction
sound, and the house
which he has built
collapses and causes the
death of the owner of the
house, the builder shall
be put to death.
What happens if a man is unable to
pay his debts?
If a man be in debt and is
unable to pay his
creditors, he shall sell his
wife, son, or daughter, or
bind them over to service.
For three years they shall
work in the houses of
their purchaser or master;
in the fourth year they
shall be given their
freedom.
What should be done about a wife
who ignores her duties and belittles
her husband?
If the woman has not
been careful but has
gadded about,
neglecting her house
and belittling her
husband, they shall
throw that woman into
the water.
What should be done if a son is
adopted and then the birth-parents
want him back?
If a man takes in his
own home a young
boy as a son and
rears him, one may
not bring claim for
that adopted son.
What should happen to a boy who
slaps his father?
If a son strikes his
father, they shall cut
off his hand.
How is the truth determined when
one man brings an accusation
against another?
if any one bring an accusation
against a man, and the
accused go to the river and
leap into the river, if he sink in
the river his accuser shall take
possession of his house. But if
the river prove that the accused
is not guilty, and he escape
unhurt, then he who had
brought the accusation shall be
put to death, while he who
leaped into the river shall take
possession of the house that
had belonged to his accuser.