The Chaldeans 625-539 BC

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The Chaldeans625-539 BC

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The Fall of the Assyrians

• After the fall of Assyrian power in Mesopotamia,
  the last great group of Semitic peoples dominated
  the area.
• Suffering mightily under the Assyrians, the city
  of Babylon finally rose up against its hated
  enemy, the city of Nineveh, the capital of the
  Assyrian empire, and burned it to the ground.
• The chief of the Babylonians was Nabopolassar
  the Semites living in the northern part of
  Mesopotamia would never gain their independence
  again.

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The Final Attack At Babylon

• Nabopolassar rebelled against the Assyrians in a
  series of attacks moving upstream along the
  Tigris and Euphrates River
• In 626 BC Nabopolassar won the last battle
  outside of Babylon
• This was the last attack the Assyrians would make
  against the Babylonians

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Nabopolassar

• Nabopolassar rose in revolt against the Assyrian
  Empire (which had ruled Babylon for the previous
  200 years), after the last effective Assyrian
  king, Ashurbanipal died some time between 631 BC
  and 627 BC. Following his successful revolt, he
  took on the title of King of Babylonia for twenty
  years.

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Location

• Chaldea was a nation in the southern portion of
  Babylonia, Lower Mesopotamia, lying chiefly on
  the right bank of the Euphrates, but commonly
  used to refer to the whole of the Mesopotamian
  plain.
• The country so named is a vast plain formed by
  the deposits of the Euphrates and the Tigris,
  extending to about 400 miles along the course of
  these rivers, and about 100 miles in average
  breadth.
• In former days the vast plains of Babylon were
  nourished by a complicated system of canals and
  water-courses, which spread over the surface of
  the country like a network.

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We Now Rule

• The Chaldeans now ruled all of Mesopotamia, and
  the former Assyrian possessions of Aram,
  Phoenicia, Israel, Edom and parts of Arabia,
  while the
• The Medes took control of the former Assyrian
  colonies in Iran, Asia Minor and the Caucasus.

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Babylon, the City of 1 Million People

• Babylon was the world's richest city at the time.
  It had its own police force and postal system.
  Huge brick walls encircled the city. The walls
  were so wide that two chariots could pass each
  other on the road on top. Archers guarded the
  city from towers built into the walls.
• In the city center, there were palaces and
  temples. An immense ziggurat stood 300 feet or 90
  meters in the air. At sunrise, its gold roof
  could be seen for miles.

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The Chaldeans

• The Chaldean Empire was one of several empires
  that had Babylon as its capital. In time the
  Chaldeans called themselves the Babylonians.
• They were one of the first people to come up with
  ideas that shaped our modern understanding of
  mathematics, and they beliefs formed the basis of
  what we now call astronomy

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The Chaldeans Warrior

• Like the Assyrians, the Chaldeans were warriors
  who conquered many different people
• Chaldeans fought with a motive, they wanted their
  land, their freedom, and revenge back
• Their way of life turned more into policing and
  protecting the riches of their city

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Nebuchadnezzar

• The Chaldeans' most famous ruler was
  Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled for 40 years to control
  the western territory of the Assyrian Empire and
  who had built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one
  of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World.
• He also conquered Jerusalem and forced the
  Hebrews to move to Babylon.
• Babylon literature, arts, economy and a Golden
  Age rose under his reign

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Babylon

• Nebuchadrezzar, extended the empire's boundaries
  as far west as Syria and Palestine. The Chaldeans
  called themselves Babylonians because most
  Chaldeans were of Babylonian descent. Their
  capital, Babylon, was a city of nearly one
  million people.

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To Please The People

• To please the people, Nebuchadrezzar built a
  beautiful street near the palace. It was paved
  with limestone and marble, and lined by walls of
  blue glazed tile.
• Every spring, thousands of people lined the
  streets to see a procession of a gold statue of
  the god Marduk.
• The Chaldeans believed this would make their
  crops grow. They also thought that it would keep
  the empire's peace.

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The Fall to Persia

• Babylon was a great civilization for many years.
  As the time passed, Chaldeans began to lose their
  power, though.
• They found it hard to control the people that
  they had conquered.
• Then, in 539 B.C., the Persians coquered the
  Chaldens. Mesopotamia had just become another
  part of the vast Persian Empire.

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Chaldeans No More

• When the Babylonian Empire was absorbed into the
  Persian Empire, the name "Chaldean" lost its
  meaning as the name of a race of men, and came to
  be applied only to a social class.
• The Persians found the Chaldeans masters of
  reading and writing, and especially versed in all
  forms of incantation, in sorcery, witchcraft, and
  the magical arts.
• They quite naturally spoke of astrologists and
  astronomers as Chaldeans. It therefore resulted
  that Chaldean came to mean astrologist.

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The Chaldeans

• Fall of Assyria and the Great Chaldean Empire
  (Babylonian Empire) - YouTube