Post on 20-Jan-2016
Conquerors of Mesopotamia
From 5000BC to the Persians
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
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
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
Map of the Early Empires
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
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
Map of Hittites Location
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
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
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
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
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