Chapter 1, Section 3 The First Empires

The Assyrians 1,000 years after Hammurabi a new empire arose in Mesopotamia. It was the Assyrians who lived north near the Tigris River. Assyria had fertile land & built an army to defend it.

The Assyrians The Assyrians were strong because: They were well organized At its core were groups of foot soldiers armed with spears & daggers Other soldiers were experts at using bows & arrows The army also had chariot riders & soldiers who fought on horseback

The Assyrians The Assyrians were the first large army to use iron weapons. A group of people just north of Assyria, the Hittites, developed a way of making iron stronger. They heated iron ore, hammered it, & rapidly cooled it. The Assyrians learned this technique from the Hittites.

The Assyrians The Assyrians were ferocious warriors. To attack cities, they tunneled under walls or climbed ladders over them. They used tree trunks as battering rams to knock down city gates. Once a city was captured they burned its buildings, carried away its people and goods.

The Assyrians Assyrian kings had to be strong to rule their large empire. The capital was at Nineveh on the Tigris River. Assyrian kings divided the empire into provinces. They chose officials to govern each province. These officials collected taxes & enforced the laws.

The Assyrians Assyrian kings built roads to connect all parts of the empire. Government soldiers were posted at stations to protect traders from bandits.

Life in Assyria They lived like other Mesopotamians. Their writing was based on Babylonian writing and they worshipped many of the same gods. Lawbreakers did face more harsh punishment in Assyria.

Life in Assyria One of the world’s first libraries was in Nineveh. It held 25,000 tablets of stories & songs to the gods. Our historians have learned much about ancient civilizations from this library.

Life in Assyria Assyria’s cruel treatment of people led to many rebellions. About 650 B.C. the Assyrians began fighting each other over who would be their next king. A group of people called the Chaldeans seized the opportunity to rebel & captured Nineveh in 612 B.C. ending the Assyrian Empire.

The Chaldeans The Chaldeans were led by Nebuchadnezzar & wanted an empire. They controlled Mesopotamia from 605 B.C. to 562 B.C.

The City of Babylon Most of the Chaldeans were descendants of the Babylonians who made up Hammurabi’s empire about 1,200 years before. They rebuilt Babylon to be the center of their empire.

The City of Babylon Babylon: quickly became the world’s largest & richest city Surrounded by a wall wide enough to hold two chariots Towers were built into the wall Large palaces & temples A huge ziggarat reached more then 300 feet

The City of Babylon Another marvel was a staircase of greenery called the Hanging Gardens at the king’s palace. Nebuchadnezzar built the gardens to please his wife who missed the mountains & plants of her homeland in the northwest.

The City of Babylon Artisans sold their wares to passing caravans. Babylon was located on a major trade route between the Persian Gulf & the Mediterranean Sea. The Chaldeans made one of the first sundials & were the first to have a seven-day week.

The Fall of Babylon As time passed, the Chaldean began to lose their power. It was hard to control the peoples they had conquered. In 539 B.C. Persians from the mountains captured Babylon & it became part of the new Persian Empire.