Download Ch 1, Sec 3

Ch 1, Sec 3
The First Empires
The Assyrians
• Lived in the Northern part of Mesopotamia
around 900 B.C.
• Built around the Tigris River
• Had a large army to fight off enemies
• Great Builderscreated one
of the 1st
libraries 25,000
tablets
Assyrian Army
• Well organized
• Foot soldiers had spears/daggers
• Used bow/arrows, horses, and
chariots
• 1st to use iron weapons
– Borrowed heating/cooling
technique from the Hittites to
make iron stronger
Assyrian Battle Strategies
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Tunneled under walls
Used ladders to climb tall walls
Used battering rams
Set cities on fire
Enslaved their enemies
or moved them to new
areas
• Charged high taxes on new groups
Assyrian Government
• Divided the empire into provinces (Political
districts)
• Officials collected taxes and enforced the
king’s laws
• Capital city: Nineveh (NIH*nuh*vuh)
• Had roads connecting cities with soldiers to
protect the traders
and pass gov’t info to
other cities
Downfall of Assyria
• Empire grew too big
• Gov’t treated the
people badly-led to
revolt in 650 B.C.
• Fight for the crown
started
• The Chaldeans took
power in 612 B.C.
The Chaldeans
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Led by King Nebuchadnezzar
Controlled Mesopotamia from 605-562 B.C.
Descendants of the Babylonians (Hammurabi)
Rebuilt the capital city of Babylon
– Surrounded by a brick wall
– Protected by soldiers/chariots
Chaldeans Were Great Builders
• 300 ft Ziggurat stood at the center of Babylon
• Hanging Gardens
– Built at Nebuchadnezzar’s Palace for his wife
– Staircase of plants and trees
The Power of Trade in Babylon
• Marketplaces surrounded the city
• Artisans sold goods to caravans as they came
through town
• Major trading stop in Mesopotamia
Chaldeans and Science
• Astronomers mapped the stars, planets, and
phases of the moon
• Created one of the 1st sundials
• 1st to use the 7 day week
Fall of the Chaldean Empire
• Empire became to big
• Lost control of the
people
• 539 B.C. Persians came
from the Northeast
and took control of
Babylon