1. Assyria Rules the Fertile Crescent
Chapter 4, Lesson 2
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2. Objectives
Describe the rise and fall of the Assyrian Empire in the Fertile Crescent
Describe Assyrian innovations in building and ruling an empire
Trace the rise and fall of the Assyrian Empire’s successor - the Chaldean Empire

3. Vocabulary
Exile
Tribute
Hanging Gardens of Babylon

4. A Mighty Military Machine When the Babylonian Empire fell, the Assyrian Empire took it’s place…
Located in northern Mesopotamia
Land of rolling hills
Rulers built powerful army to protect their lands
They set out to control neighboring lands

5. A Powerful Army Assyrians fought on foot, horseback and with chariots
Used latest inventions for war
Iron swords and iron-tipped spears
Attacked city walls with battering rams
Used ladders to scale walls of cities
Dug tunnels under city walls to get soldiers inside
Greatly feared by other peoples
Few of their enemies had iron weapons
One Assyrian king boasted that he had destroyed 89 cities, 820 villages and had burned the city of Babylon.

6. Harsh Treatment of Captured People
Enemies who surrendered were allowed to choose a leader
Enemies who refused were taken captive
Assyrians killed or made slaves of captives
Sent captured peoples into exile
Exile: forced removal from one’s homeland
Speared enemy leaders and burned their cities

7. Assyria Builds a Huge Empire
850 – 650 B.C. many lands conquered, such as: Syria, Babylonia, Egypt and Palestine
Peak of power under rule of Ashurbanipal, from 668 – 627 B.C.
Empire so large it needed to be very well organized
Chose governor or native king to rule under their direction
Assyrians provided army to protect all lands
Ruler in a conquered land had to send tribute to Assyrian emperor
Tribute: money paid to a conquering ruler for protection
Controlled almost all of the Fertile Crescent
Governed conquered lands by choosing a governor or native king from that land to rule under their direction
Tribute brought money and goods into the empire’s treasury.
If any ruler failed to pay tribute, the army destroyed cities in that land.
People of the land were forced into exile.

8. Assyria Crumbles Assyrian Empire fell in 609 B.C.
The Medes and the Chaldeans joined forces to defeat the Assyrians
They burnt Nineveh to the ground

9. A New Babylonian Empire
The Chaldeans became the new rulers
Babylon became the capital
The Chaldeans are known as the New Babylonians
Peaked 605 – 562 B.C.
Led by Nebuchadnezzar II
Hebrews rebelled in 598 B.C. and held ’s of Hebrews captive for 50 years
Rebuilt Babylon and constructed the Ishtar Gate (processions into the city went through this gate).
Built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar II drove the Egyptians out of Syria and captured trading cities on the Mediterranean coast.
The Chaldeans faced revolts by captured people. The Hebrews, a group of people living in lands near the Med. Sea coast, rebeled in 598 B.C. He seized Jerusalem, which was the capital city of the Hebrews and their sacred temple was destroyed.
The Chaldeans held thousands of Hewbrews captive in Babylon for about 50 years
Built the hanging gardens to please his wife (it is a fake mountain covered with trees and plants.
The gardens became one of the seven wonders of the world. Built in such a way that they appeared to float above the ground.

11. The Empire Fades… Weak rulers followed Nebuchadnezzar II
Internal conflicts about religion
Cyrus of Persia conquered the land
The Assyrian Empire showed that to control large areas of land with many people, an empire must have a highly organized government and a strong military.