The Rise of Babylon  Sumerians and Akkadians established patterns for next 1500 years  Cities and empires rose and fell over time  Culture remained stable through various empires  Babylonian Empire 2000 BC to 1600 BC

Hammurabi’s Code  Hammurabi died in 1750 BC and gets credit for 1 st law codes  Laws were vital to have large cities  Elders typically handled small community disputes  Large urban centers have a large number of strangers and conflicts would inevitably arise  Conflict needed to be mediated or people will kill each other

Hammurabi’s Code  Death was a prescribed punishment  Different groups were treated differently under 1 st laws  Law was retaliatory in nature “an eye for an eye”  People were burned and their limbs were removed  Our Constitution and Arab law comparisons today

Hammurabi’s Code  Man who divorced wife had to repay dowry and support children  Laws allowed large numbers of people to live together  Laws put on a large column with over 300 total laws

Hammurabi’s Code

The Epic of Gilgamesh  Epic of Gilgamesh is the 1 st piece of literature.  Debate as to whether or not he actually existed.  Story that he was buried under the river which was diverted.  Germans claim to have discovered his tomb?

The Epic of Gilgamesh  Fights Enkidu, then they become friends and go on manly adventures.  Hunt, drink and camp  Gilgamesh offends the gods and they kill Enkidu slowly  Gilgamesh is upset and goes on a quest for immortality.  In the end his quest is a failure as humans are mortal and doomed to die.

The Epic of Gilgamesh  He realizes how wonderful civilization is.  We all die but are immortal through culture and civilization.

The Hittites and the Minor Kingdoms  Invaders from outside come in and take over Mesopotamia.  Hittite Empire from the north (Turkey) conquer Mesopotamia  They use horses and chariots for warfare.  1500 BC to 1200 BC

The Hittites and the Minor Kingdoms

 Hittites copy, adopt, and then spread Mesopotamian culture.  They do not develop much that is new.  Goods were traded across the Mediterranean.  Hittite Empire fragments and minor kingdoms arise and make contributions.

The Hittites and the Minor Kingdoms  Phoenicians create a coastal empire.  They were great merchants and sailors.  Established colonies in Spain and N. Africa including Carthage.  Ideas spread to Europe and then throughout the world.  Greeks expand on Phoenician alphabet which our alphabet is based on.

The Hittites and the Minor Kingdoms

 Hebrews establish Israel and Judah which do not last long.  Judaism is established with belief in one god.  This led to Christianity and Buddhism.

The Assyrian Empire  Established around 900 BC  Assyrians were all about wars and fighting  Conquered the entire empire  Army had varying troops  Archers  Chariots  Infantry  Cavalry

The Assyrian Empire

 Practiced terror and fear with their enemies  Flayed skins  Entombed alive  Put on stakes  Kings hunted lions to show their power and lions became extinct in that area  Over time there were internal rebellions  12 groups joined and overthrew the Assyrian Empire in 600 BC (300 years)

Babylon Reborn  Babylonian Empire rose again  Also called Chaldean  Babylon was large and architecturally stunning  Hanging Gardens  Walls that were 2 chariots wide  Tower of Babel  Glazed and colored fired bricks  Ishtar Gate survives today with bright blue bricks and animals. It was taken from Iraq to Germany.

Babylon Reborn

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Babylon Reborn  Mathematics and astronomy were developed to try to predict the future.  Examined internal organs and sacrificed animals to predict the future.  Studied the stars and planets and developed astrology which is based in astronomy & math  Horoscopes done by the 5 th century BC  Intellectual effort developed to predict the future.  Human desire was to find order in chaos.