Mesopotamian Empires

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Mesopotamian Empires
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Akkadian Babylonian Assyrian Neo-Babylonian
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The Four Empires of Mesopotamia
After the Sumerians were defeated, Mesopotamia
had four main empires Assyrian, Babylonian,
Akkadian, and Neo-Babylonian. An empire is an
area of many territories and people that are
controlled by one government.
The Akkadian empire lasted from around 2300 to
2100 BCE. The Babylonian empire lasted from
around 1800 to 1600 BCE. The Assyrian empire
lasted from around 665 to 612 BCE. The
Neo-Babylonian empire lasted from around 605 to
539 BCE.
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The Akkadians A new Capital
The Akkadians were led by a famous ruler named
Sargon. Sargon used his military skills and
smarts to create and hold onto his empire. He
also used politics to rule his territories by
putting governors who were loyal to him in charge
of the city-states. Sargon also destroyed city
walls which lessoned the cities chance to protect
itself. He was the first ruler to demand his sons
take over when the king dies. The Akkadians
greatest achievement was having the worlds first
empire.
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Babylon - Gate of God
As we recall from earlier, the Sumerians were
conquered by the Akkadians. Then the Akkadian
Empire fell back into city-states and Sumer was
again conquered. This time by the Babylonians.
The king of Babylon was Hammurabi. Hammurabi
united the cities of Sumer and then expanded his
empire all the way to Asia Minor.
ADD TO NOTES Babylons ruler was Hammurabi.
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Babylon A Crossroads of Trade
ADD TO NOTES Babylons location made it a good
place for trade.
Babylons location made it a good place for
trade. Groups of travelers, called caravans,
traveled back and forth from the Sumerian cities
in the south to the city of Akkad in the north.
Along the way, they always stopped in Babylon to
trade.
Babylon had special markets, called bazaars, that
people could go to to buy cotton cloth from
India. They could also buy spices from Egypt
there. Babylon became rich due to trade.
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Add to your notes

• Hammurabi was the first to have laws written down.

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Hammurabis Code
Hammurabi was the king who united most of
Mesopotamia and conquered the Sumerians. He
developed a code of laws. The laws were
numbered from 1 to 282. Law number 196 states If
a man put out the eye of another man, his eye
shall be put out. Some people summarize
Hammurabis code by saying an eye for an eye.
Law number 195 states If a son strike his
father, his hands shall be hewn off. There are
many, many more laws like this in Hammurabis
Code.
If a son strike his father, his hands shall be
hewn (CUT)off. What would you change about this
law? What might happen if there were no laws?
If there were no laws it would be
I would change this law by
A statue of Hammurabi
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On the left is a stele, which has all 282 of
Hammurabis laws engraved on it. This stele is
located in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France.
A stele is a big standing stone that has images
or writing engraved on it.
The Hammurabi stele was discovered in 1909, in
Susa, Elam, which is now Khuzestan. Khuzestan is
a province of southern Iran.
Susa
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Babylonia is Conquered
Hammurabi conquered many of the neighboring
cities, and he kept expanding his empire.
Hammurabi would often go to war against his
allies as well. When the city of Elam attacked
Larsa, Hammurabi helped Larsa defend themselves.
Once Elam was conquered, Hammurabi turned right
around and conquered Larsa! Each time that
Babylon would conquer another city, Hammurabi
would take the citys chariots, weapons, tools,
and all their riches. Trading helped Babylon get
rich, and so did conquest.
Though Hammurabi formed a large and rich empire,
the people that ruled after him could not keep it
together. The empire kept getting smaller and
smaller until eventually it was destroyed.
An ally is a group who fights with you and
supports you.
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The Assyrians Rise to Power
Assyria was a small kingdom of walled cities that
was located north of Babylon. Their city was
located in open land that was easily attacked,
and they had to constantly defend themselves
against invaders. Therefore, they became skilled
warriors.
At around 1365 B.C., the Assyrians decided that
the best defense they had was to attack other
countries first, before they could attack them.
By 650 B.C., Assyria had conquered a large
empire. King Sargon II was a successful and
ruthless Assyrian ruler.
Assyrians were skilled warriors
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The Assyrian War Machine
Battering ram a machine to break open walls or
doors Catapult is a thing used to throw an
object a long way Archer is a person who is an
expert in the use of a bow and arrow
The Assyrians were geniuses at waging war. They
invented the battering ram, which they used to
pound down city walls. They used catapults to
throw rocks at enemies, and they protected their
archers (people who use a bow and arrows) with
helmets and armor.
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Assyrian Learning
The capital of the Assyrian Empire was a city
called Nineveh. Nineveh became a great city of
learning. It had a famous library that held
thousands of clay tablets with writings from
Sumer and Babylon. These records tell us a lot
about life in Mesopotamia.
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Assyria Overthrown
The people that the Assyrians conquered were
constantly rebelling against Assyrian rule. Most
of the time, the Assyrians crushed the people who
tried to fight them. However, in 612 B.C.,
groups joined together to smash the Assyrian
empire. These groups were the Babylonians (called
Chaldeans), Medes and the Scythians.
Rebelling - an individual or group who is
fighting against authority or control
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The Neo-Babylonian Empire
The Chaldeans created a new empire, centered at
Babylon after they defeated the Assyrians in 612
BC. The greatest king of Babylon was
Nebuchadnezzar II. He rebuilt Babylon and put
massive walls around the city to protect it.
Nebuchadrezzer was the ruler of Neo-Babylon
He had a great palace with hanging gardens.
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A New Center for Learning
The Neo-Babylonian empire became a center of
learning and science. Astronomers charted stars
and measured the correct length of the year.
Their farmers raised bees for honey. Many people
came to Babylon to share ideas and discoveries.
This clay tablet shows the world that was known
to the Babylonians
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The Fall of the Neo-Babylonian Empire
The Neo-Babylonian empire came under attack and
was defeated by the Persians, who were led by
Cyrus, in 539 BC. Though the people were
defeated, the city of Babylon was spared from
being destroyed.