IMPORTANT TOPICS ABSENT WORK WHILE YOU WERE AWAY SLIPS 1. Located on the side ledge of the classroom 2. Person BEHIND the absent person is RESPONSIBLE to fill out the form Staple all handouts – classwork and homework. Place in paper tray. PIECE OF CANDY Worksheets  ALL questions answered!!!!!! Yes, even short answer questions. NO MORE LATE WORK ACCEPTED. MAKE UP TESTS  before 7:30am in Room 201 Looking ahead….Unit One Exam Keep checking the Portal and Edlio  cheat sheets sometimes posted!!

CHAPTER FOUR SECTION TWO THE ASSYRIANS BC

A MIGHTY MILITARY MACHINE 850 BC  Assyria acquired a large EMPIRE HOW? Sophisticated military State-of-the-art weaponry They were constantly invaded LACKING NATURAL BARRIERS Flat exposed farmland

BECAUSE OF LITTLE PROTECTION…. The Assyrians developed one of the strongest armies in the world!!! Defeated Babylon

MILITARY ORGANIZATION AND CONQUEST A society which glorified military strength Advanced technology with armor and weapons ADVANCED PLANNING helped with conquering The Assyrian War Machine: 1. Ladders 2. Weapons 3. Tactics 4. Tunnels

A LITTLE GRUESOME… Organization (foot soldiers, cavalry, archers) Showed no mercy Killed and enslaved their victims Soldiers received reward for severed heads… Many of those they defeated were beheaded.

THE ASSYRIANS ARE EXPANDING!! How do empires expand? What kind of conquest? MILITARY Assyrians defeated other empires AND Egypt. Different continents = Power.

ASSYRIAN RULE Organized conquered territories into an EMPIRE An Assyrian King picked the rulers for these territories FYI  SIMILAR TO FEUDALISM What are some other things conquering can bring to an empire? $$$$$$$ Taxes and tribute!! What if conquered territories refused to pay? Assyrians destroyed them and sent them into exile (And a few were probably beheaded!)

ASSYRIAN CULTURE Nineveh  Assyria’s capital city FYI….Cool artifacts found  Brutal military campaigns and lion hunts Important King: Ashurbanipal Ancient library Dictionary tablets Prided themselves in reading several languages Why did this empire not last??

THE EMPIRE CRUMBLES: Lots of enemies (obviously) Medes and Chaldeans destroy Niveveh 612 BC Burned it to the ground  tablets preserved!! PEOPLE REJOICED!!

THE CHALDEANS Assyrians now taken over. Chaldeans made Babylon their new capital  not Nineveh NEBUCHADNEZZAR (remember him?) The Hanging Gardens Seven Wonders of the Ancient Worlds

HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF…. Nebuchadnezzar’s empire is CONQUERED The Persians. Adopted the Assyrian military, political and artistic inventions.

PERSIA PERSIA UNITES MANY LANDS Who were the Persians? Close neighbors of the Medes Based their empire on: 1. tolerance 2. diplomacy So who does this NOT sound like? Persia did rely on a strong army to back up their policies.

AFTER THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE WENT DOWN…… Two major powers emerged: The Medes and The Persians The world paid little attention to the Persians 550BC  CYRUS THE GREAT began his conquest A NEW POWER IS RISING

CYRUS THE GREAT Military genius However: most enduring legacy was: His method of governing KINDNESS TOWARD CONQUERED PEOPLE Tolerant view Honored local customs and religion People experienced freedom

ALLOWED THE JEWS TO RETURN HOME TO JERUSALEM 538 BC Under Persian rule they rebuilt The Great Temple The Jews were forever grateful to Cyrus Wise and tolerant ruler but above all else: A WARRIOR He died in battle

PERSIAN RULE Cyrus the Great’s son  Cambyses now takes over Kept expanding the empire  conquered Egypt Unlike his tolerant father, he scored Egyptian religion. He dies. His successor: DARIUS With the help of the Ten Thousand Immortals  Darius seizes the Persian throne

DARIUS KEEPS EXPANDING THE EMPIRE He excelled in ADMINISTRATION Empire divided into 20 provinces Each province could practice their own religion, speak their language NATIONALITIES  living by their own laws within one empire Darius, while tolerant, still ruled with ABSOLUTE POWER.

SATRAP Persian GOVENOR Ruled over each territory King’s Eyes and Ears  constantly checking up One Army Leader & one Tax collector per territory TWO OTHER TOOLS to help Darius rule: 1. Royal Road 2. standard money system

PERSIAN RELIGION 2,5000 years after the Sumerians settled in Mesopotamia Fertile Crescent  endured war, conquest, and famine WHY SHOULD SO MUCH SUFFERING AND CHAOS EXIST IN THE WORLD?? Who could offer an answer? A Persian Prophet: ZOROASTER

ZOROASTER’S TEACHINGS: Two spiritual armies fight for possession of one’s soul The God of Truth and Life = one army The God of Evil and Darkness = one army At the end of time  a soul would be judged according to what side they chose. PARADISE or a FIRERY PIT.

THIS RELIGION SIMILAR TO: Judasim, Christianity, and Islam Heaven, Hell and Final Judgement Still around today  Parsi Sect Largest group of Zoroastrians in the world today (India)

THE PERSIAN LEGACY Through tolerance and good government  there was political order Preserved ideas from earlier civilizations Found new ways to rule and live Respected other cultures