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The First Empires!
Mesopotamia
and Egypt
The Meaning of Empire
Empire is the extension of rule by one
people over other, different peoples
People see empires as glorifying wealth and
power but…
Empires are actually about:
–
–
–
–
Effective communication and administration
Unified monetary systems
Cultural diffusion
Figuring out how the conquered people fit in
Types of Empire:
– Hegemony = dominated by someone
else because the benefits of
belonging to the empire make it
acceptable to subject peoples
– Dominance = you become part of
the empire by sheer force of military
power – whether you like it or not…
– …resistance is normal
The Meaning of Empire
Reasons for Decline and Fall of Empires
– Failure of leadership
– Overextension of administration
– Collapse of the economy
– Doubt over ideology
– Military defeat
The Earliest Empires
Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent
– Cities/states fought
constantly over
land, irrigation
rights, and prestige
– Victory in one
generation often
followed by
revenge in the next
Hi!
Remember
Me?
The First Empire!
Sargon of Akkad [r. 2334-2279 B.C.E.]
– Sargon defeated
Mesopotamian cities and
created empire of Akkad
– Conquered widely, razed city
walls, wrote in Akkadian
language, standardized weights
and measures, created ideology
based on Sargon’s image;
lasted about one hundred years
The Ebb and Flow of Empires
Waves of Invaders: Babylonians
Hammurabi created noted legal code
but was also a skilled military leader
– The Babylonian Empire lasted about
250 years (1792 – c1500) bce
Babylon
Hanging Gardens
of Babylon?
The Earliest Empires
Invaders: Hittites
Hittites from north spoke
Indo-European language
– Advanced technology of ironworking
(beginning of the Iron Age)
– Hittite empire dominant from 1400 to
1200 B.C.E.
The Earliest Empires
Invaders: The Assyrians
Rise to dominance began 900 B.C.E.
– Ruled by terror and
forced migration
– Esarhaddon [r. 680669 B.C.E.] conquest
of Egypt made
Assyria greatest
power of the time
The Battle of Kadesh
Ramses II at Kadesh
Treaty of Kadesh
Egypt!
Egypt and International Conquest
– Egyptian power based on unified state
– Egyptian power in Middle East (1550
– 1070 bce) during New Kingdom
extended to Euphrates River
– Pharaohs gain power and wealth in
this era
– This leads to increased resistance!
Egypt!
The End of Empire…
– Military defeat (the Assyrians) caused Egypt
to abandon empire outside Nile Valley
– Maintained control of Nubia till 1050 B.C.E.
– Nubian empire actually included Egypt [712657 B.C.E.]
– Assyrians, Persians, and Alexander the Great
controlled Egypt in turn [671-332 B.C.E.]
The Persian Empire
Persians broke Assyrian power
Persian expansion leads to empire
under Cyrus [r. 558-529 B.C.E.]
and successors that control Middle
East
Persepolis – Ancient Capitol of Persia (Present Day
Iran)
The Persian Empire
– Cyrus II [r. 558-529 B.C.E.] –
much different than other conquerors:
• Merciful toward defeated foes
• Tried to balance needs of empire
You can
with desire for local autonomy
call me –
Cyrus
• Used bureaucracies of conquered
the
administrations
Great!
• Supported Babylonian gods
• Allowed exiles of Babylonian government to
return home [included Jewish return to Judea]
The Persian Empire
– Cambyses II [r. 529-522 B.C.E.]
• Did not practice restraint in conquest or
administration
• Attacked Egypt and captured the Pharaoh
• Expanded the
empire
• Frequent
rebellions
• Unstable
• Suicide?
The Persian Empire
Darius I extended power
all the way to India [r. 522486 B.C.E.]
• Continued moderate practices of
Cyrus II
More balanced and capable
administrator than
Cambyses
Commissioned design of 1st
written Persian script
Darius
Built elaborate capital and called it
Parsa (Persia), the Greeks called it
Persepolis!
Nile/Red Sea Canal (that’s right, an ancient
Suez canal!)
Thousands of miles of roads
The Persian Empire
– Little artwork outside of architecture
survives
– Reliefs on walls reflect imperial power
– Rulers were probably followers of
Zoroastrianism
• Followers had to choose between the
forces of good and evil
– Moderate policies brought local support
except at western Greek borders of the
empire