1. Chapter Four Lesson 2
Mesopotamian Empires

2. PG 86 The First Empires Who was Sargon?
Sumer’s city-states were weakened by conflict in 2400BC
Powerful kingdoms in northern Mesopotamia created an empire and spread through conquest and trade.
Sargon was a leader of Akkad in 2400BC he conquered the rest of Sumerian city-states- he ruled everything- this created the world’s forst empire.
His Mesopotamian empire lasted over 200 years

3. PG 87 Who was Hammurabi? Hammurabi’s Code
Around 1792BC Hammurabi (the king of Babylonia) began to conquer many other cities
These created the Babylonian Empire- it stretched north from the Persia Gulf through the Tigris-Euphrates valley and west to the Mediterranean Sea.
Hammurabi created a set of laws- his code- considered just- dealt with crimes and listed the punishments- an eye for an eye- protected the less powerful
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Who was Hammurabi?
Hammurabi’s Code

4. PG 87 The Assyrian empire Taming the Rivers
Rose about 1,000 years after Hammurabi’s empire
Assyrians built a powerful military and began taking over Mesopotamia around 900BC
Taming the Rivers

5. PG 88 The Assyrian Army Kings and government
The army had 50,000 well trained soldiers- infantry, cavalry, and charioteers- used slingshots, bows and arrows, swords and spears.
Robbed people, forced them to pay tribute, and used brutality
Iron weapons were a key factor in their success
Assyria covered from the Persian Gulf to the Nile with the capital of Nineveh on the Tigris
Kings divided their empire into provinces for better rule- they built roads and selected officials to rule each province
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The Assyrian Army
Kings and government

6. PG 88 Life in Assyria Laws had harder punishment
Worshipped many of the same gods of previous civilizations
King Ashurbanipal built one of the first libraries in Nineveh- with over 25,000 tablets

7. PG 89 The Chaldean empire A New Empire
In 650BC fighting broke out over who would rule next- the Chaldeans took control
Chaldeans moved into the southwest Mesopotamia around 1000BC
Hated the Assyrian’s control
A New Empire

8. PG 90 The Greatness of Babylon
The Chaldean King Nabopolassar reclaimed land and became the king of Babylonia in 628BC
The Medes joined the Chaldeans and together they defeated the Assyrians and burned Nineveh in 612BC
Nabopolassar and his son Nebuchadnezzar created a new empire
Babylon served as their capital- their empire is sometimes called the New Babylonian Empire
Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt Babylon- it was the largest and richest city in the world- built a great wall- grand palaces and temples- and a huge ziggurat with a gold roof
The Greatness of Babylon

9. PG 91
The King’s palace had greenery known as the Hanging Gardens- considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
They were built on huge steps (terraces) with a complex irrigation system from the Euphrates
He built a street near the gardens for people to visit then

10. PG 92 The Fall of the Empire
To pay for the cities luxuries Nebuchadnezzar collected high taxes and tributes.
Because of size he had to have an effective government system
Outside the center of Babylon was a busy marketplace
Chaldeans were astronomers who mapped the starts, planets, and the moon.
Invented the sundial and 7 day week
Weak rulers came after Nebuchadnezzar died
Poor harvest also weakened the empire
The Fall of the Empire

11. PG 93 The Persians captured Babylon
But allowed them to keep their unique culture
They did not want to destroy all that the Chaldeans had accomplished