Babylon to Assyria

The Legendary City and a Great Empire

Mesopotamia After Akkad

- After the Akkadians the Gutians, from the Zagros Mountains, took over the area around Sumer

- They ruled for approximately a century, but then a Dark Age occurs where we know very little about what is going on

- According to the Sumerians, the Gutians didn’t seem to care about Sumer’s cities, letting “grass grow high on the highways of the land”

- Utu-Hegel, King of Uruk, overthrew the Gutians, regaining Sumerian control over Sumer

Ur-Nammu and the Sumerian Renaissance- 2047 - 2030 BCE

- Son-in-law and ally to Utu-Hegel- It’s unclear how he came to power, but it seems he took control of Sumer after

his father-in-law drowned.- Created the first law-code we have physical evidence of in the world, the Code

of Ur-Nammu around 2050 BCE.- Although an earlier law code is referred to, this is the first evidence we have of

a system of laws created to help govern a group of people.- He continued to drive the Gutians out of Sumerian cities- Also, built the Great Ziggurat at Ur- He died defending his cities from a new uprising of the Gutians in 2030 BCE,

but was avenged by his son Shulgi.

The End of Sumer- Beginning around 2004 BCE Sumer entered a steady decline, going from the

pinnacle of their civilization to Sumer’s end in only a few generations- Shulgi’s children, grand children, and great-grandchildren built and maintained

a wall to keep out Amorite invaders, but were unsuccessful- Weakened by Amorite invasions, the Elamites entered Sumer and sacked Ur in

1750 BCE- The Sumerian culture and language faded out

Sumer’s Legacy

- Although the Sumerians lived thousands of years ago, we have a lot to thank them for including:

- The invention of writing- The first number system- Our system of time (12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of nighttime making 24 hours in a day, 60

minutes in an hour, 60 seconds in a minute)- The division of the year into months (using a lunar calendar)- The fact there are 360 degrees in a circle- The first cities- The first governments- The first laws

Sumer’s Legacy - continued

- The wheel- The plow- The first board game- The first sailboat- Copper weapons- Copper tools- Metallurgy

Rise of the Amorites

- The Amorites were originally a nomadic people

- Comes from the Hebrew word meaning “Westerners”

- They lived off of the land but periodically raided Sumerian cities

- Eventually, their continually breaching of the wall Shulgi built left Sumer vulnerable from the Elamites in the southwest

Who were the Amorites?- According to the Sumerians, Amorites were:

- The Amorite, he is dressed in sheep’s skins;

- He lives in tents in wind and rain;

- He doesn’t offer sacrifices.

- Armed vagabond in the steppe,

- He digs up truffles and is restless.

- He eats raw meat,

- Lives his life without a home,

- And, when he dies, he is not buried according to proper rituals (83).

- According to Jewish tradition, they were the descendants of giants- "the former terrible giants, the Rephaim, gave way to the Amorites, an evil and sinful people whose

wickedness surpasses that of any other, and whose life will be cut short on earth"

- Both of these traditions are thousands of years apart. Are they even talking about the same people???

Why are we talking about the Amorites?- This period of history is murky, with the fall of a major civilization and the

political upheaval of the time- However, the Amorites frequently appear in the Bible and in Jewish history.

- Even if we don’t believe in Christianity or Judaism, these two religions, the values they instill, and the prejudices that emerge from them will significantly influence Western History and STILL HEAVILY influence modern politics

- In spite of the ancient Jewish people being enemies of the Amorites, it appears that the “Father” of the Jewish people, Abraham, may have originally been one

- This conflicting point of view on the Amorites may have to do with the earlier, Sumerian period Amorites being a different cultural group than the Amorites in the Bible. We actually don’t know what the Amorites called themselves. Remember, their name means “Westerners”

- We also believe that one of the most important figures in history was an Amorite from the city of Babylon... Hammurabi.

Babylon - City-State- The city that would later name the empire began as a city-state- Patron god was Marduk (Enlil)- Babylon may have come from Akkadian words meaning “gate of god”- Interesting, in Hebrew, babel means confusion (remember this…)- It was founded sometime before Sargon of Akkad, who built several temples in

the city- Further information about early Babylon is not known, due to the fact that the

earliest ruins have been flooded- The ruins of the city have also been extremely damaged by warfare in Iraq,

including damage from U.S. forces posted their to prevent looters from stealing artifacts

- Around 1750 BCE, Babylon was the largest city in the world- Babylon is a city that will continue to appear in history for the next 2000 years

Babylon - According to the Bible and other Ancient Sources

- According to archaeologists, the actual city of Babylon may have been confused with Ninevah in some ancient texts as they both served as capitals of various empires

- The location of the “Tower of Babel”- Some archaeologists believe that this tower may have actually been a ziggurat dedicated to

Marduk (Enlil)- According to the Bible, the tower was built by people who wished to be equal to God. As

punishment, God made languages so people could no longer easily understand one another

- The location of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

- These gardens were rumored to be built along a hill or tower, filled with human made waterfalls- The only surviving “wonder” of the ancient world is the Great Pyramid in Egypt

Hammurabi - 1792 BCE - 1750 BCE

- King of the city of Babylon and the region of Babylonia

- Probably an Amorite- Hammurabi’s father ruled Babylon, but when he

tried to gain control of the region, he lost a major battle and stepped down.

- When Hammurabi became king, he improved the lives of the people, improving the city, forgiving their debts, building more irrigation systems, building higher walls around Babylon

- He was also planning an invasion of the rest of Mesopotamia

Hammurabi continued -

- The city of Larsa, under the control of Rim Sin I, controlled much of Mesopotamia

- The Elamites invaded the area, so Hammurabi combined forces with Rim Sin I

- Once they were defeated, Hammurabi turned against Rim Sin I, taking the cities of Uruk, Nippur, Lagash

- By 1755 BCE, Hammurabi ruled all of Mesopotamia, including Mari, Assyria, and Eshnunna

Hammurabi’s Code (or the Code of Hammurabi)- 1772 BCE

- BIG DEAL!- Hammurabi did much to improve the lives of his people, including creating this

set of laws and consequences- This was EXTREMELY important, since Hammurabi ruled at a time where

MANY different cultures lived together- This helped prevent blood feuds between families and people with different

cultural backgrounds- This code is different from Ur-Nammu’s because it make punishments match

the crime - Under this code, you cannot accuse someone of a crime without evidence- What do you notice about Hammurabi’s Code?- Why else is this Code of Laws so important?

Son of Hammurabi and the End of Babylonia- As quickly as the Babylonian Empire was formed,

it fell apart- After conquering Eshnunna, Babylon lost a buffer

from other tribes- Hammurabi’s son, Samsu-Iluna (1749 BCE to 1712

BCE) could not defend Baylonia from the Hittites or the Assyrians (remember these peoples… they’re going to cause problems for Ancient Egypt also…)

- The Assyrian King Adasi eventually conquered Babylon.

- For the next 500 years, Assyrian and the Hittites would fight for control of Babylon

Assyria’s beginnings

- Although people were living in the area beforehand, the city of Ashur is founded by 1900 BCE

- Ashur was under the control of the Hurrians, Amorites and Hittites at various times

- Shamash Ada I (1813 - 1791 BCE) drove the Amorites out and took control of Assyria

- The Hittites overtook the Hurrians- With Hammurabi’s death, the Assyrians

fought to control Babylonia

A New Mesopotamian Power

- King Adasi (1726 - 1691 BCE) eventually defeated Babylon, and Assyria took control of the former empire.

- His successors maintained control but did not expand their power- Control over Mesopotamia would fluxuate primarily between Assyria and the

the Hittites for the next 500 years.- Eventually, Assyria will reign supreme and be a major influence in the region

until about 612 BCE, when it is conquered by a new Babylonian Empire

Assyria - Video Overview