The First Empires

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The First Empires
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Sargon of Akkad

• Conquered cities in Mesopotamia
• Created the worlds first empire
• Stretched from Iran in the east and as far west
  as the Mediterranean
• As the years passed the empire grew weak
• Rebellion from within
• Invasion was easy on flat, open plain

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Babylon

• Hammurabi takes over all of Mesopotamia
• Kingdom included 24 great cities
• Used governors to control lands
• Tax collectors, judges and military commanders
  were all also responsible for maintaining order
  in the empire

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Hammurabis Code

• I have brought justice to all my subjects
• List of 282 laws of Babylon
• Laws dealt with religion, irrigation, military
  service, trade, property, slavery, marriage,
  family, crime
• Important advance as in addition to establishing
  order in the kingdom, it established guidelines
  for the kind of life people should live
• One framed by law and order

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Assyrian Empire

• North of Babylon
• in 745 B.C. the Assyrians conquer Babylon
• Assyrians were brutal rulers and often faced
  rebellion
• To counter this, their ruler would remove people
  from their homelands to far off parts of the
  empire
• The Assyrians were never able to gain loyalty of
  conquered peoples and were overthrown by
  Babylonian rulers

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The New Babylonian Empire

• Babylonians were great conquerors and traders
• Archeologists have found thousands of cuneiform
  tablets telling of their complex trade networks
• Traded w/ Lebanon, Egypt, Greece
• Conquered groups such as Phoenicians and Jews
  were no better off than under the Assyrians
• Babylonian king forced Jews from Southern part of
  Israel to march to Mesopotamia
• Destroyed the temple of Jerusalem to put down
  rebellion

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Babylonian Achievements

• Wealth used to fund grand building projects
• The Hanging Gardens
• Scientific studies flourished
• Excelled in astronomy and mathematics
• 60 minute hour, place value

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Fall of Babylon

• Little was done to improve life for conquered
  peoples
• Enemies were numerous
• Drained lands of wealth through taxes and plunder
• Eventually, the people welcomed the invading
  Persian Cyrus the Great