Download Conquerors of Mesopotamia

Conquerors of Mesopotamia
From 5000BC to the Persians
Early Conquerors of the Land
• Religious leaders held power
first, then wars broke out
• With more wars, military
leaders come to power
• Eventually leaders start
taking over nearby villages
– Leads to the beginning of
empires and empire building
• 1st Empire builder- Sargon of
Akkad
Sargon of Akkad
• Takes power over Sumer
– Came from the city of Akkad
– Adopted many of the Sumerian
practices and beliefs
• Becomes the 1st time all of
Sumer has been unified
• Sargon dynasty unifies Sumer
from 2340BC – 2125BC
• Expands empire from north
of Sumer to Persian Gulf
• Empire- many areas under
the rule of one leader
New Leaders Come to Power
• Empire of Sargon begins to
weaken
• Amorites take power of
Sumer around 2000BC
– Make Babylon their capital
– Moves it from Ur
• Amorites become known as
the Babylonian Empire
– Still keep practices of Sumer
• Babylonian Empire will reach
its height under the leader
known as Hammurabi
Map of the Early Empires
The Reign of Hammurabi
• Hammurabi comes to power
around 1790 BC
– Rules until 1750 BC
• Best known for creating a
code of law for all people
– Known as Hammurabi’s Code
– Was based off earlier codes
• Hammurabi’s Code was
based on revenge
– Eye for an eye, tooth for tooth
• Rules applied differently to
the rich and the poor
– Also changed religion under
Hammurabi- Marduk main god
Babylonians Fall From Power
• Babylonian empire falls apart
around the 1600 BCE
– Weak leadership follows death
of Hammurabi
• Also lost power due to a
powerful opponent attacking
• The Hittites attacked from the
west; area known as Anatolia
– Used chariots for attacks
– Group had iron tools/weapons
– Were far superior to Bronze
• Hittites also adopted
Sumerian beliefs
Map of Hittites Location
Advancements of the Hittites
• Hittites first group to smelt iron
– Start of the Iron Age
• Made the Hittites superior to all other groups
• Iron weapons easily defeated other soldiers’
weapons
• Chariots were also invented
– Made their warriors faster and could attack quickly
• Hittites would later fall to the Assyrians; very fierce
group
The Assyrian Empire
• The Assyrian Empire comes
to power around 850 BCE
– Very warlike people
• Built a large empire with
constant attacks on
neighboring groups
• Sennacherib – great military
leader of Assyrian empire
– Burned Babylon to the ground
– Made Nineveh their new
capital
• Assyrian empire expanded
through the entire Fertile
Crescent and into Egypt
Assyrian Military Advancements
• Archers- launched waves of
arrows at opponents
• Ladders- used to climb over
the walls of opponents
• Weapons- were iron tipped,
also had protective armor
• Tactics- if not killed in battle,
the remaining were impaled
or beheaded
– Women murdered or sold to
slavery
• Tunnels- tunnels were dug
under the walls or foundation
to make them fall
The Assyrian Empire Falls
• Assyrians were attacked by
groups who they defeated
– Groups wanted to get revenge
– Burned Nineveh to the ground
• Chaldeans responsible for the
defeat of Assyria
– Other groups also help
• Chaldeans were the rebirth of
the Babylonians
– Led by Nebuchadnezzar
– Made Babylon their capital again
• Kingdom became one of the 7
wonders of the world
The Persians End It All
• Persian Empire was led by
Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius I
• Started in the area between
Mesopotamia and Indus Valley
• Empire would eventually
spread and take Chaldeans