1. Empires of Mesopotamia
Time period covered: BCE – 539 BCE

2. I. City-States to Empires
City-states were prone to attack by nomads.
Needed stronger military leaders; lugal-gal replaced priests
Lugal-gal became kings, kings ruled over the city-states
More powerful city-states take over other city-states thus leading to the creation of empires.

3. II. Akkadian Empire (2300- 2100 BCE):
A. The first king to unite city-states of
Sumer into an empire was Sargon of
Akkad c BCE
B. Sargon’s unstable empire
1. Conquered city-states continued to fight for independence
2. Akkad was frequently invaded by rival warriors

4. III. “Life Cycle” of a Civilization
Create Stable Government
Beautification of home (make city pretty)
Conquer others – expand empire
Internal Rebellions
People outside attack because of internal weakness
Empire shrinks and then falls
… repeat

5. IV. First Assyrian Empire – Unifying Civilizations c. 1813 – 1781 BCE
Rose out of the town of Assur
At first was a small power, but under
Shamshi-Adad it grew to its height
Strong military protection
Efficient government
Strong treaties with neighbors
Shamshi-Adad’s sons took over after him, but couldn’t hold the empire together
Power shifts to the south in Babylon

6. V. First Babylonian Empire – Writing the Laws c. 1792– 1595 BCE
Center of power was in the city of Babylon
Most famous leader was Hammurabi
Hammurabi created a strong government and order in society by writing down the laws
Hammurabi’s Code
He eventually conquered all of Mesopotamia
Eventually the empire became too large and it could not protect itself from outside invaders.
Power shifted north back to Assur

7. VI. New Assyrian Empire- A Path of Conquest
Assyrian army:
Regular military campaigns to loot and
plunder surrounding areas
Murdered, tortured and enslaved their
enemies
Tiglath-Pilesar III extended empire borders to include the entire Fertile Crescent
Eventually rebellion became difficult to control
Power shifted to Babylonia in the south (again)

9. VII. Neo-Babylonian Empire
Under Nebuchadnezzar (605 – 562 BCE), Babylonians were known to be great traders and conquerors
Nebuchadnezzar gained control of trade access to Mediterranean
Drove Egyptians out of Syria
Nebuchadnezzar captures Jerusalem
Enslaved the Jewish population – “Babylonian Captivity”
Burned down the city of Jerusalem and King Solomon’s Temple

11. VIII. The Rise of the Persian Empire
In 539 BCE, Cyrus the Great (Persian ruler) conquered the Neo-Babylonians.
The people of Babylon welcomed him
Cyrus ended Babylonian Captivity
He built a vast Persian Empire that continued for the next 200 years