1. Early Empires Chapter 4, Lesson 1
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2. Objectives Trace the development of the first empires in Mesopotamia
Describe the significance of Hammurabi’s Code of Law

3. Vocabulary (Words you NEED to know)
Empire
Emperor
Fertile Crescent
Hammurabi
Code of law
Justice

4. Mesopotamian Empires: The First Empire Builders
3000 – 2000B.C. kings of city-states of Sumer fought over land, WHY?
Flat land, easy to invade
More land = more wealth and more power

5. Who Built the First Empire?
A collection of many peoples and lands under the control of one ruler
Sargon of Akkad
Around 2350 B.C.
Took control of northern and southern Mesopotamia
Emperor
The ruler of an empire
Known as The creator of the first empire in world history

6. Who Was Sargon of Akkad? He was a real person
Much of what we know is legend
Abandoned as an infant
Set adrift in a basket on the Euphrates River
Rescued and, with help of the goddess Ishtar, rose to build his great empire
He built the city after which his empire is named
Fun knowledge, not required to know

7. The Akkadian Empire
Fertile Crescent: a region that stretches from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf
Sargon’s empire = Akkadian Empire
Ruled lands within the Fertile Crescent
Conquests helped spread Akkadian ideas and ways of life
Most important idea shared was the Akkadian system of writing.

8. Importance of Empires They change the way people live
May bring peace to the peoples
Encourage trade, making more goods available
Often include people from several cultures
Ideas, technology, and customs of different peoples may be shared by all
Creation of an empire is a pattern that repeats in history

9. The Fall of the Akkadian Empire
Lasted about 200 years.
Fell apart because of attacks by outside peoples.
Fighting took place among city-states within empire

10. The Babylonian Empire
Around 2000 B.C. the Amorites began to invade and take control of the city- states of Sumer
Babylon was chosen to be their capital
1792 – 1750 B.C., Hammurabi, a powerful Amorite King, ruled the Babylonian Empire
Hammurabi: the ruler of the Babylonian Empire from 1792 to B.C.
Babylon located on the Euphrates River
Hammurabi’s empire eventually stretched across Mesopotamia and other parts of the Fertile Crescent

11. Hammurabi Used governors to help control the lands.
Sent people out to collect tax
Appointed judges to help keep order
Watched over agriculture, irrigation, trade and the construction of buildings
How did Hammurabi control his huge empire?

12. Hammurabi’s Law Code
Needed a set of rules that all his people could obey
His people collected existing rules and studied them. From that, Hammurabi put together a single code of law.
Written in cuneiform
Displayed on huge pillars near a temple
Goal of the code was to bring justice.
Code of law: a set of written rules
Justice: fair treatment of people
Vast empire of many peoples with different ideas and ways of living

13. Hammurabi’s Law Code Continued…
Identified acts of wrongdoing
Gave rights to people living in the land, including women and children
Punishments were different for each social class
“Eye for an eye” code
Translation of Hammurabi’s Law Code
(A few examples)
195. If a son strike his father, his hands shall be hewn (cut off)
196. If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out.
202. If any one strike the body of a man higher in rank than he, he shall receive sixty blows with an ox-whip in public.
205. If the slave of a freed man strike the body of a freed man, his ear shall be cut off.

14. Hammurabi’s Legacy
Gave the idea that government should provide protection and justice for the people.
Hammurabi wanted to replace the belief in personal revenge as a way of solving problems.
Set out the belief that society should be run by the rule of law.
What was the purpose of Hammurabi’s Code?
To make the government responsible for protection and justice and to create a rule of law in society.

15. Lesson Summary
Sargon of Akkad built an empire of many different peoples under one ruler and one government
Hammurabi expanded the Babylonian Empire and brought its peoples together by wise government
Hammurabi created a single code of law that set up well- defined rules of treatment for all.