Download Mesopotamia - Net Start Class

Mesopotamia
AKA
The Fertile Crescent
The Sumerians
* They existed from about 4,500 to 3,500 B.C.
* They were located right around the Persian Gulf between
the Tigris & Euphrates Rivers.
* The Sumerians created irrigation ditches & city-states.
* The Sumerians invented the wheel, sails, plow, arches, columns,
ramps, & ziggurats.
* They were the first to use bronze, a system of writing, a number
system based on 60(seconds, minutes, 360 in a circle).
The Akkadians
 The Akkadians existed from about 2,400 to 2,300 B.C.
 They were located in Mesopotamia along the Euphrates
River.
 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.
The Babylonians
 They existed from 1800 to 1600 B.C.
 They lived in an area of present day Iraq between the Tigris
& 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 Achievement
 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 for the gods for a successful life.
 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
 They existed from 1600 to 1200 B.C.
 They were a war-like people from Asia Minor, who invaded
Mesopotamia and defeated the Babylonians.
 The Hittites were 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
 They existed from 900 to 612 B.C.
 The kingdom of Assyria was located on the Tigris River in
what is now present day Iran.
 Because the Assyrians were taken over so much, they
became fierce warriors.
 They used chariots and a cavalry during battle. They also
tortured their enemies.
 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
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They existed 605 to 562 B.C.
They rebuilt the city of Babylon and made it their capital .
Their empire covered most of the Fertile Crescent.
The Chaldeans were good at astronomy. They could predict
eclipses and calculated the length of a year by the movement
of the stars.
 The Chaldeans were the first to use coined money. This is
called a money economy.
Nebuchadnezzar
 Nebuchadnezzar was a powerful king who made his empire
very wealthy. Under his reign, many canals & buildings
were built. Legend has it that he had the “Hanging Gardens
of Babylon” built for one of his wives.
 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
surrounding desert, the gardens appeared to hang from the
sky.
The Persians
 They existed from 550 to 331 B.C.
 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.
 The Persians used secret agents to spy on conquered areas.
 The Persian kings allowed local kings to rule over their areas.
 They were called satrapies. The satraps had to answer to the
Persian rulers.
 Zoroastrianism was based on a prophet named Zoroaster. 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
 The Phoenicians existed from 1000 to 700 B.C.
 Phoenicia was located along the Mediterranean Sea in what is
now Israel, Lebanon, & Syria.
 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.
 They traded lumber, metal objects, gold, & silver. They
invented glass & 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 the alphabet.
The Lydians
 They existed from 700 to 547 B.C.
 They lived on the western port in of Asia Minor.
 The Lydians invented the Money Economy: using money as
a measure of value.
 Lydian coins were made of silver & gold.