1400 B.C. – 570 B.C.

 Assyria: kingdom from Persian Gulf to Tigris to Egypt  Loved war b/c of geography (hills & valleys) ◦ Shepherds & farmers had to learn to protect land

 Assyrian Army ◦ Well organized & strong warriors w. foot soldiers & charioteers ◦ Iron Weapons were powerful (from the Hittites) ◦ Cruel warriors  Spread fear, destruction, and death  Attacked cities using various methods  Set fire to buildings  If you resisted rule, you were punished

 Kings & Government ◦ Fought battles & punished enemies ◦ Ashubanipal (King): created one of world’s first libraries ◦ Divided empire into provinces & selected gov. to rule ◦ All provinces were connected by roads for trade  612 B.C.: capital captured by Chaldeans

 Called themselves Babylonians  Conquered as far west as Syria & Palestine under King Nebuchadnezzar  Capital = Babylon ◦ World’s richest city w. police force, postal system, walls, palaces, temples, and gold ◦ Ziggurat famous for “hanging gardens”

 Street near palace served as passage for Pilgrims to seek gold statue of Marduk to make their crops grow  Trade made Babylon rich  Center of Science ◦ Astronomers studied stars, moon, planets ◦ Created 1 st sun-dial ◦ 1 st to have 7 day week  539 B.C. captured by Persians

 Moved to area between Persian Gulf & Caspian Sea (2000 BC) & Egypt to India  Today known as Iran & Iranians  Country divided into large farms owned by nobles  Built irrigation systems b/c of lack of water

 Cyrus made army grow to hundreds of thousands  Immortals ◦ Best fighters whose # never dropped below 10,000 ◦ Led Persians into battle  Mild rulers: let ppl keep own religion, laws, language  Darius (King) ◦ Built palace-fortress in capital Persepolis

 Spoke Aramaic – used by Eastern traders  Divided land into 20 provinces  Government Gov., Secretary, General Inspectors Judges Collected Taxes Protected people Kept each other honest Checked rumors of rebellion Saw if ppl could pay taxes Make sure King’s laws were carried out

 Family Life ◦ Houses had pointed roofs & porches facing the sun ◦ Families were large & father’s word was law ◦ At age 5, slaves took care of children ◦ Rich women lived sheltered lives, while poor women had more freedom but worked harder

 Religion ◦ Zoroaster taught about 2 Gods  Ahura: all good things in world  Ahriman: all evil things in world ◦ Ppl had to decide which god they supported  T rade ◦ Were warriors, farmers, shepherds ◦ Thought trade taught ppl to lie, cheat, steal ◦ Improved & expanded the system of roads built by Assyrians  Royal Road  Route to China for silk ◦ Spread idea of using coins for $  Got from Lydia & used for trade