Ancient Military Empires

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Ancient Military Empires

• The Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Persians

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1. The Assyrians

• Assyria upper part of the Tigris River Valley

Taken from http//www.menumagazine.co.uk/book/boo
kimages/assyria.jpg
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1. The Assyrians (cont.)

• Spoke same language and used the writing system
  of the Babylonians
• Assyrians were not protected by their geography
  and had to learn to fight to survive

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1. The Assyrians (cont.)

• Took over cities, trade routes, and fortresses in
  Mesopotamia

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2. The Assyrian Army

• Well-organized
• Had foot soldiers, cavalry, archers, and
  charioteers
• Had iron weapons

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2. The Assyrian Army (cont.)

• Smelting heating iron ore to hammer out the
  impurities and then rapidly cooling it (developed
  by the Hittites)

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2. The Assyrian Army (cont.)

• Cruel warriors
• Skilled at attacking cities
• People who resisted Assyrian rule were punished

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3. Assyrian Government

• Kings spent a lot of time fighting battles
• Ashurbanipal great Assyrian king
• -started one of the worlds first libraries

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3. Assyrian gvt (cont.)

• Divided the empire into provinces
• Each province was governed by an official that
  collected taxes and enforced laws

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3. Assyrian gvt (cont.)

• Nineveh Assyrian capital

Image taken from http//www.livius.org/a/1/mesopo
tamia/nineveh_city_walls.jpg
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4. Decline of the Assyrians

• The empire became too large to govern
• Chaldeans conquered Nineveh in 612 BC

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5. Chaldeans

• Warriors who conquered many different peoples

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5. Chaldeans (cont.)

• Famous king Nebuchadnezzer
• Empire was in Mesopotamia, Syria, and Palestine
• Descendants of the Babylonians
• Rebuilt capital at Babylon

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5. Chaldeans (cont.)

• Babylon
• Richest city in the world at that time
• Had a police force
• Had a postal system

Image taken from http//www.homepages.dsu.edu/214
7FABN/images/HHS20Picts/5-17/gates20to20Babylon
20ruins.JPG
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5. Chaldeans (cont.)

• Kings palace had the Hanging Gardens one of 7
  Wonders of the Ancient World

Image taken from http//xenohistorian.faithweb.co
m/worldhis/figure16.jpg
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The Hanging Gardens
Image taken from http//www.faculty.fairfield.edu
/jmac/rs/7hanging.gif
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5. Chaldeans (cont.)

• Important god Marduk
• Studied astronomy in relation to their religion
• Made one of the first sundials
• First to have a 7-day week

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5. Chaldeans (cont.)

• Conquered by the Persians in 539 BC

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6. The Persians

• Lived in modern-day Iran
• Lived for many years peacefully in their own land

Image taken from http//www.farsinet.com/persians
inbible/images/persian_empire.jpg
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6. The Persians (cont.)

• Conquered by the Medes in 600 BC
• Persian King Cyrus overthrew the Medes
• Cyrus organized a powerful army and began to
  conquer new land

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6. The Persians (cont.)

• Immortals best fighters in the Persian army

Taken from http//www.reformation.org/cyrus.jpg
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6. The Persians (cont.)

• Ruled an empire that stretched from Egypt to
  India
• Darius strong Persian King
• Built monuments at Persepolis (strongest city)

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7. Persian Government

• Spoke Aramaic
• Empire was divided into provinces called
  satrapies
• Provinces had a governor (satrap), secretary, and
  a general

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8. Persian Religion

• Zoroaster religious leader
• 2 Gods
• Ahura Mazda (good)
• Ahriman (evil)

Taken from http//www.zoroaster.com/images/photog
3.gif
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8. Persian Religion (cont.)

• People had to decide which god to support
• People who supported Ahura Mazda would enjoy
  happiness after death

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9. Persian Trade

• Refused to become traders, but encouraged trade
  among the people that they conquered
• Improved and expanded Assyrian roads

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9. Persian Trade (cont.)

• Royal Road 1600 Miles long

Taken from http//www.livius.org/a/1/maps/royal_r
oad_map.gif
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9. Persian Trade (cont.)

• Opened a caravan route to China for the silk
  trade
• Spread the idea of using coins for money (first
  coins were made by the Lydians)