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Mesopotamia
AKA
The Fertile Crescent
The Akkadians
• The Akkadians existed from about 2400 to
2300 bc.
• They were located in Mesopotamia along
the Euphrates River
The Akkadians
• The Akkadians most important leader was
Sargon the Great. When he defeated the
Sumerian city-states, he established an
Akkadian empire that stretched to the
Mediterranean Sea. His empire is thought
to be the 1st Empire.
• The capital was Akkad
A Ziggurat
The Babylonians
• 1800 to 1600 bc
• They lived in the area of present day Iraq
between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
where the two rivers join the Persian Gulf.
• The capital was Babylon
Hammurabi
• Hammurabi was the
Babylonians most
famous ruler.
• He created a harsh
code of laws based
around the idea of “an
eye for an eye”
Babylonian Achievements
• The Babylonians
were skilled at
irrigation in order to
farm in the desert.
• They also traded with
other city-states,
Egypt and India
• They believed in
sacrificing to the gods
for a successful life.
More Babylonian Achievements
• The Babylonians
were skilled builders.
They used different
colors of clay to make
bricks. They took
great pride in building
beautiful temples and
public buildings
The Hittites
• 1600 to 1200 bc
• They were a war-like
people from Asia
Minor, who invaded
Mesopotamia and
defeated the
Babylonians
Hittite Achievements
• The Hittites were the
1st known people to
smelt iron. They used
the iron to make
weapons.
• Their kings were
considered to be gods
and their laws were
not as harsh. Most
involved paying fines.
The Assyrians
The Assyrians
• 900 to 612 bc
• The kingdom of
Assyria was located
on the Tigris River in
what is now present
day Iran
• The capital was
Ninevah
Achievements
• Because the
Assyrians were taken
over so much, the
became fierce
warriors.
• They used chariots
and a cavalry during
battle. They also
tortured their enemies
More Achievements
• Assyrian kings had
absolute power and
were the first to
effectively govern a
large empire.
• Ninevah had a large
library that held clay
tablets full of literature
The Chaldeans
• 605 to 562 BC
• They rebuilt the city of
Babylon and made it
their capital
• Their empire covered
most of the Fertile
Crescent
Chaldean Achievements
• The Chaldeans were
good at astronomy.
They could predict
eclipses and
calculated the length
of a year by the
movement of the
stars.
MORE CHALDEAN
ACHIVENMENTS
• The Chaldeans were the first to use
coined money. This is called a money
economy
The Chaldean King
• Nebuchadnezzar was
a powerful king who
made his empire very
wealthy. Under his
reign, many canals
and buildings were
built. Legend has it
that he had the
“Hanging Gardens of
Babylon” built for one
of his wives.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
• According to legend,
Nebuchadnezzar’s
wife missed her
homeland and its
greenery. To make
her happy, he planted
thousands of trees
and plants in the city.
Because of the
desert, they appeared
to hang from the sky
The Persians
• 550 to 331 BC
• The Persians had the
largest Empire in all
of Mesopotamia. It
stretched from Asia
Minor to the Indus
River in India and
down to Egypt.
Persian Rulers
• Cyrus the Great
conquered Babylon
• Darius organized the
empire and built great
roads
• Xerxes attempted to
conquer Greece
Persian Achievements
• The Persians were
tolerant of the people
that they conquered.
They allowed them to
keep their own laws
and religions. The
conquered areas had
to pay taxes.
More Persian Achievements
• The Persians used
secret agents to spy
on conquered areas.
• The Persian kings
allowed the local
kings to rule over their
areas. They were
called satrapies. The
satraps had to answer
to the Persian rulers.
Persian Religion
• Zoroastrianism was
based on a prophet
named Zoraster. He
taught that life was a
struggle between good
and evil. After death, the
good would be rewarded
and the evil would be
punished. When good
triumphs, the Earth would
disappear
The Phoenicians
• 1000 to 700 BC
• Phoenica was located
along the
Mediterranean Sea in
what is now Israel,
Lebanon and Syria
The Phoenicians
• Phoenicia was
located on very fertile
land. Because of
their location by the
sea, they became
great sea traders.
They were known to
sail as far away as
Britain
Phoenician Trade
• They traded lumber,
metal objects and
gold and silver. They
invented glass and
traded glass objects.
They also created
purple dye that they
sold at a high price to
royalty.
Phoenician Culture
• Because they
traveled so much, the
Phoenicians. Adopted
the cultures of other
civilizations. They
carried other people’s
cultures to where they
traveled. This is why
they are called the
“carriers of
civilization”
• The biggest
contribution that the
Phoenicians made
was the use of an
alphabet.
The Lydians
• 700 to 547 BC
• They lived on the
western portion of
Asia Minor
Lydian Contributions
• The Lydians invented
the Money Economy:
using money as a
measure of value.
• Lydian coins were
made of silver and
gold
The Hebrews
• 1200 to 586 BC
• The Hebrew Kingdom
was located on the
eastern coast of the
Mediterranean Sea in
what is present day
Israel.
The Hebrew’s Story
• The Hebrews are
descendants of
Abraham. Abraham
once lived in Sumer
and when he left, his
12 sons formed the
Twelve Tribes of
Israel.
More to the Story
• When the Hebrews
wandered into Egypt,
they were captured
and used as slaves.
• Moses led them out of
Egypt. This is called
the Exodus. They
wandered through the
wilderness.
The Hebrew Religion
• The Hebrews were
monotheistic. They
believed in one god,
Yahweh.
• The 10 Commandments
became their laws.
• When they agreed to
follow the
commandments, it was
called the Covenant
Judaism
• The first 5 books of
the Old Testament are
known as the Torah.
It includes the
Hebrew code of laws.
• It also told about the
Hebrew prophets who
were messengers for
Yahweh.
Judaism
• Judaism taught that
people have a choice
between good and
evil and that people
are responsible for
their choices.
Yahweh was the only
god and he
emphasized ethical
behavior.
• This code of conduct
is called ethical
monotheism. The
Jewish code of ethics
carried over into
Christianity.