1. Conquerors of Mesopotamia
From 5000BC to the Persians

2. Early Conquerors of the Land
Religious leaders held power first, then wars broke out
With more wars, military leaders come to power
Eventually leaders start taking over nearby villages
Leads to the beginning of empires and empire building
1st Empire builder- Sargon of Akkad

3. Sargon of Akkad Takes power over Sumer
Came from the city of Akkad
Adopted many of the Sumerian practices and beliefs
Becomes the 1st time all of Sumer has been unified
Sargon dynasty unifies Sumer from 2340BC – 2125BC
Expands empire from north of Sumer to Persian Gulf
Empire- many areas under the rule of one leader

4. New Leaders Come to Power
Empire of Sargon begins to weaken
Amorites take power of Sumer around 2000BC
Make Babylon their capital
Moves it from Ur
Amorites become known as the Babylonian Empire
Still keep practices of Sumer
Babylonian Empire will reach its height under the leader known as Hammurabi

5. Map of the Early Empires

6. The Reign of Hammurabi Hammurabi comes to power around 1790 BC
Rules until 1750 BC
Best known for creating a code of law for all people
Known as Hammurabi’s Code
Was based off earlier codes
Hammurabi’s Code was based on revenge
Eye for an eye, tooth for tooth
Rules applied differently to the rich and the poor
Also changed religion under Hammurabi- Marduk main god

7. Babylonians Fall From Power
Babylonian empire falls apart around the 1600 BCE
Weak leadership follows death of Hammurabi
Also lost power due to a powerful opponent attacking
The Hittites attacked from the west; area known as Anatolia
Used chariots for attacks
Group had iron tools/weapons
Were far superior to Bronze
Hittites also adopted Sumerian beliefs

8. Map of Hittites Location

9. Advancements of the Hittites
Hittites first group to smelt iron
Start of the Iron Age
Made the Hittites superior to all other groups
Iron weapons easily defeated other soldiers’ weapons
Chariots were also invented
Made their warriors faster and could attack quickly
Hittites would later fall to the Assyrians; very fierce group

10. The Assyrian Empire The Assyrian Empire comes to power around 850 BCE
Very warlike people
Built a large empire with constant attacks on neighboring groups
Sennacherib – great military leader of Assyrian empire
Burned Babylon to the ground
Made Nineveh their new capital
Assyrian empire expanded through the entire Fertile Crescent and into Egypt

12. Assyrian Military Advancements
Archers- launched waves of arrows at opponents
Ladders- used to climb over the walls of opponents
Weapons- were iron tipped, also had protective armor
Tactics- if not killed in battle, the remaining were impaled or beheaded
Women murdered or sold to slavery
Tunnels- tunnels were dug under the walls or foundation to make them fall

13. The Assyrian Empire Falls
Assyrians were attacked by groups who they defeated
Groups wanted to get revenge
Burned Nineveh to the ground
Chaldeans responsible for the defeat of Assyria
Other groups also help
Chaldeans were the rebirth of the Babylonians
Led by Nebuchadnezzar
Made Babylon their capital again
Kingdom became one of the 7 wonders of the world

14. The Persians End It All
Persian Empire was led by Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius I
Started in the area between Mesopotamia and Indus Valley
Empire would eventually spread and take Chaldeans