Download The Fertile Crescent

Babylonia and Assyria
Two Empires of Mesopotamia
Key Terms
Empire – many territories and peoples controlled
by one government
Babylon – the capital of Babylonia; a city of great
wealth and luxury
Caravan – a group of travelers journeying together
Bazaar – a market selling different kinds of goods
• Fertile
Crescent:: A
region of the
Middle East
arching across
the northern
part of the
Syrian Desert
and extending
from the Nile
Valley to the
Tigris and
Euphrates
rivers.
Sumerian Civilization
• This was the first known civilization in the Fertile
Crescent was uncovered in the 1800s in
Mesopotamia which means “between the rivers”
of Euphrates and Tigris.
• Control of these rivers was key to developments in
Mesopotamia. To survive and protect their
farmland, villages along the riverbanks had to
work together.
The Two Empires of
Mesopotamia
•After the Sumerians were defeated, Mesopotamia had two
main empires: Babylonia and Assyria.
•The Babylonian empire lasted from c1800 BC to c1600 BC.
•The Assyrian empire lasted from c665 BC to c612 BC.
Babylon and King
Hammurabi
•The Babylonian people created a monarchy
supported by a system of taxation to pay for running
the government.
•Tax collectors traveled throughout the empire
collecting tax money from citizens.
•Monarchy: type of government with one ruling
family that has absolute power.
Babylon Empire – 1787 B.C.
Hammurabi’s Code
•Hammurabi was the king who
united most of Mesopotamia and
conquered the Sumerians.
•King Hammurabi developed a
written set of laws for his
people to follow in 1790 BC.
This is the first known set of
laws in human history!
•A total of 282 laws form the
Hammurabi’s Code. Law number
196 states: If a man put out the
eye of another man, his eye shall
be put out.
A statue of
Hammurabi
The Evolution of Writing
• Sumerians invented
the earliest known
form of writing called
cuneiform using a reed
pen to make wedgeshaped marks on clay
tablets.
• Cuneiform is from the
Latin word for wedge.
• Sumerian scribes went
through years of
difficult schooling to
acquire their skills.
The Assyrians Rise to Power
•Assyria was a small kingdom of walled cities that was
located north of Babylon. They were skilled warriors and
eventually took over Babylon. At around 1365 B.C., the
Assyrians decided that the best defense they had was to attack
other countries first, before they could attack them.
•By 650 B.C., Assyria had conquered a large empire. King
Sargon II was a successful and ruthless Assyrian ruler.
Assyrian Empire – 650 B.C.
The Assyrian War Machine
•The Assyrians were
geniuses at waging war.
They invented the
battering ram, which they
used to pound down city
walls.
•They used catapults to
throw rocks at enemies,
and they protected their
archers with helmets and
armor.
•Chariots were used to
slash their way through
enemy troops.
Assyria Overthrown!!
The New Babylonian Empire
•The greatest king of
Babylon was
Nebuchadnezzar II.
•He rebuilt Babylon and
put massive walls
around the city to
protect it. He also built a
great palace with
hanging gardens.
The Fall of the Second Babylonian Empire
•The second
Babylonian empire
came under attack
and was defeated by
the Persians, who
were led by Cyrus the
Great, in 539 BC.
•The Persians built the
largest empire the
Fertile Crescent has
ever known.
Babylon Empire – 1787 B.C.
Assyrian Empire – 650 B.C.
Persian Empire – 490 B.C.