Download Later Peoples of the Fertile Crescent

KEY Chapter 3: Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent Section 4: Later Peoples of the Fertile Crescent Big Idea: After the Sumerians, many cultures ruled parts of the Fertile Crescent. The Babylonians Conquer Mesopotamia Vocabulary
1) Monarch: the ruler of a kingdom or empire
2) Hammurabi’s Code: a set of 282 law governing daily life in Babylon; the earliest known
collection of written laws
By 2000 BC, Ur lay in ruins, and invaders battled to gain control of Mesopotamia. The Rise of Babylon Babylon was located on the Euphrates River, near what is today Baghdad, Iraq. In 1792 BC,
Hammurabi became Babylon’s king and later became the city’s greatest monarch.
Hammurabi’s Code Hammurabi brought all of Mesopotamia into the Babylonian Empire, named after his capital. Hammurabi had many skills and was an able ruler who: •governed a huge empire •oversaw many building and irrigation projects •improved Babylon’s tax collection system •brought much prosperity through increased trade •created his code of laws Hammurabi’s Code consisted of 282 laws on everything from trade, loans, theft, marriage, injury and murder. Specific crimes brought specific penalties, and social class did matter, resulting in a greater penalty when injuring a rich man vs. a poor man. Hammurabi’s code was written down for all to see. Babylon became the most important city in Mesopotamia during Hammurabi’s 42-­‐year rule. After his death, the kings that followed faced invasions, and before long, the Babylonian Empire came to an end. Invasions of Mesopotamia Vocabulary 1) Chariot: a wheeled horse-­‐drawn cart used in battle 2) Nebuchadnezzar: the most famous Chaldean king Control of the Fertile Crescent passed from one empire to another, as armies battled each other for land. The Hittites and Kassites The Hittites built a strong kingdom in Asia Minor (in what is today Turkey). They mastered ironworking, making the strongest weapons of the time. The Hittite soldiers used the chariot to move quickly around a battlefield and fire arrows at their enemy. They captured Babylon around 1595 BC, but after their king was assassinated, the Kassites captured the city and ruled for almost 400 years. The Assyrians The Assyrians (from northern Mesopotamia) gained control of Babylon in the 1200s BC, but they were soon defeated. It took 300 years for them to recover their strength, and then they conquered all of the Fertile Crescent and parts of Asia Minor and Egypt. The Assyrian army was well organized, and they also used iron weapons and chariots like the Hittites. The Assyrians were fierce in battle and conquered the Fertile Crescent. They ruled from Nineveh and demanded heavy taxes. Assyrian kings ruled through local leaders who: •collected taxes •enforced laws •raised troops for the army •built roads •delivered orders on horseback to faraway officials The Chaldeans In 652 BC, a series of wars broke out. The Chaldeans (from the Syrian Desert) destroyed Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire in 612 BC. Nebuchadnezzar, the most famous Chaldean king, rebuilt Babylon into a beautiful city, featuring the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The Chaldean’s also: •studied Sumerian language and built temples to Sumerian gods •charted the positions of stars •kept track of economic, political and weather events •created a calendar •solved complex problems of geometry The Phoenicians Vocabulary 1) Alphabet: a set of letters that can be combined to form words Phoenicia was a land at the western end of the Fertile Crescent, along the Mediterranean Sea. They created a wealthy trading system. The Geography of Phoenicia Today, the nation of Lebanon occupies most of what was Phoenicia. Mountains and the Mediterranean bordered Phoenicia. They had few resources, but they had cedar, which was a valuable trade item. They had to look to the sea for a way to trade, since overland trade routes were blocked by mountains and hostile neighbors. The Expansion of Trade The people of Phoenicia were expert sailors and built a harbor at the city of Tyre. The Phoenicians traded and sailed to ports all around the Mediterranean Sea. Traders traveled to Egypt, Greece, Italy, Sicily, Spain, and even passed through the Strait of Gibraltar to reach the Atlantic Ocean. They also founded several new colonies, including Carthage, located on the northern coast of Africa. Besides lumber, the Phoenicians traded the following items: •silverwork •ivory carvings •slaves •beautiful glass objects •cloth dyed with a purple dye The Phoenicians’ most important achievement was the alphabet, which made writing much easier. Our alphabet is based on the Phoenicians’, as modified by later civilizations.