Mesopotamian EmpiresEssential Question: How does conflict develop?

PRewriteH

ow does conflict develop? (Sentence Frame: In my

opinion, conflict develops _______________________. This

is important because __________________________. )

3

minutes (2-3 complete sentences)

D

on’t stop writing until the timer STOPS.

Why this all Matters

I

t Matters Because:• Mesopotamia’s empires greatly influenced other

civilizations. Hammurabi’s Code even influenced the legal codes of Greece and Rome.

Vocabulary reviewE

mpire—a large territory or group of many territories governed

by one ruler

T

ribute—a payment made to a ruler or state as a sign of surrender• Surrender: Give in to an enemy or opponent• “Over 140 rebels surrendered to the authorities.”

P

rovince—a territory governed as a political district of a country

or empire

Vocabulary review

C

aravan—a group of merchants traveling together for safety,

usually with a large number of camels

A

stronomer—a person who studies planets and stars

The development of the first empires

2

,400 BCE, Sumer’s city-states were weakened by conflict.

S

umer’s power lessened, so other powerful kingdoms arose in Northern

Mesopotamia. Remember: Sumer was located in Southern Mesopotamia.

R

ulers of these kingdoms built empires.

T

hrough conquest and trade, these empires spread their cultures over a

wide region• Conquest: Taking control over somebody else’s land and region usually

through force.

The way power works

Who was Sargon?A

kkad (kingdom)—developed in northern Mesopotamia

S

argon ruled the people of Akkad. They were known as Akkadians.

A

bout 2340 BCE, Sargon moved his well-trained armies south.

H

e conquered the remaining Sumerian city-states one by one.

H

e formed the world’s first empire.

E

ventually the empire grew to include ALL the people of Mesopotamia

T

his empire lasted 200 years before invades conquered it.

Who was hammurabi?

A

morites were people who lived WEST of Mesopotamia. In 1800

BCE, they conquered Mesopotamia and built their own cities.

B

abylon was the grandest (best) of these cities.

H

ammurabi was the Babylonian king. He began conquering cities

controlled by Amorites to the north and South. Thus, he created

the Babylonian Empire.

Hammurabi’s codeH

ammurabi= “just ruler”

W

hat is a “just ruler?” What type of leadership qualities do they have?

H

ammurabi—best known for creating a set of laws for his empire

H

e posted this code for everyone to read

C

ode of Hammurabi—stricter than the old Sumerian laws

“

An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” This means, a punishment for a crime should

MATCH the seriousness of the crime. • Do you agree with this type of mentality?

Checking for Understanding

W

hy was Hammurabi’s Code important?

W

hy do you think Hammurabi created a code of laws?

The Assyrian Empire

A

rose about 1,000 years AFTER the empire of Hammurabi.

A

ssyrians built a large and POWERFUL military to defend their hills and fertile valleys.

T

he Assyrian army was well-trained and disciplined.

I

n battle, the troops numbered around 50,000 soldiers. This army was made up of

infantry (foot soldiers) and cavalry (horse soldiers).

T

hey fought with slingshots, bows and arrows, swords, and spears.

Assyrian Army

A

ssyrians robbed people, set crops on fire, destroyed towns & dams.

T

hey took tribute (forced payments) from conquered people.

P

eople were afraid of the Assyrians that sometimes they would

surrender without even trying to fight back.

O

ne key tool that made Assyrians successful was their iron weapons.

Kings and government

• The Assyrian empire covered a large area, so the kings had to be powerful leaders. They divided their empire into provinces (smaller political districts).

• The government built roads to connect these provinces.

• The kings chose people to govern, collect taxes, and enforce laws in each province.

Life in assyriaA

ssyrians built large temples and palaces filled with carvings and statues.

T

hey wrote and collected stories.

A

king named Ashurbanipal built one of the world’s first libraries in Nineveh. (It

had 25,000 tablets of stories/songs to the gods).

F

arming and trade were both important to Assyrians. They brought in wood and

metal from far away to build stuff, make tools, and weapons.

The chaldean empireA

ssyrians began fighting as to who would become the next ruler; as a result, a group

of people called Chaldeans took power.

I

n 627 BCE, Nabopolassar led a revolt against the Assyrians.

I

n 612 BCE, they captured the Assyrian capital of Nineveh and burned it to the

ground.

N

abopolassar and his son, Nebuchadnezzar, created a new empire (Chaldean).

The greatness of babylonK

ing Nebchadnezzar rebuilt Babylon, making it the largest and richest city in

the world.

G

rand palaces and temples were located in the center.

A

huge ziggurat stood higher than 300 feet tall. When the sun shone, it’s gold

roof could be seen for miles.

T

he ziggurat had a giant staircase of greenery known as the Hanging Gardens.

(*One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World).

The greatness of babylonT

he Babylonians built many new canals, making the land even more fertile.

T

o pay for his building projects and to maintain his army, Nebuchadnezzar

had to collect very high taxes and tributes.

O

ne Greek historian in the 400s BCE described the beauty of Babylon. “In

magnificence, there is not other city that approaches it.”

The greatness of babylonT

he people of Babylon made many scientific advancements.

C

haldeans, like other people, believed the gods showed their plans in the

changes in the sky.

C

haldean astronomers, mapped the starts, the planets, and the phases of

the moon as it changed.

C

haldeans invented one of the first sundials to measure time.

T

hey were also the first to follow a 7-day week.

The Fall of the empireN

ebuchadnezzar died, and a series of weak kings ruled the Chaldean empire

afterwards.

P

oor harvests and slow trade further weakened the empire. “NOOOOO!”

I

n 539 BCE, the Persians recognized that the Chaldeans had lost their

strength and leadership. The Persians took advantage and capture Babylon

and made Mesopotamia part of their empire.

SAY what?

Questions I Have for Ms. Brown/or 3 main ideas I

heard:

1)

2)

3)