Mesopotamia

AKA

The Fertile Crescent

The Akkadians

• The Akkadians existed from about 2400 to 2300 bc.

• They were located in Mesopotamia along the Euphrates River

The Akkadians

• 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

A Ziggurat

The Babylonians

• 1800 to 1600 bc

• They lived in the area of present day Iraq between the Tigris and 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 Achievements

• 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 to the gods for a successful life.

More Babylonian Achievements

• 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

• 1600 to 1200 bc

• They were a war-like people from Asia Minor, who invaded Mesopotamia and defeated the Babylonians

Hittite Achievements

• The Hittites were the 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

The Assyrians

• 900 to 612 bc

• The kingdom of Assyria was located on the Tigris River in what is now present day Iran

• The capital was Ninevah

Achievements

• Because the Assyrians were taken over so much, the became fierce warriors.

• They used chariots and a cavalry during battle. They also tortured their enemies

More Achievements

• 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

• 605 to 562 BC

• They rebuilt the city of Babylon and made it their capital

• Their empire covered most of the Fertile Crescent

Chaldean Achievements

• The Chaldeans were good at astronomy. They could predict eclipses and calculated the length of a year by the movement of the stars.

MORE CHALDEAN ACHIVENMENTS

• The Chaldeans were the first to use coined money. This is called a money economy

The Chaldean King

• Nebuchadnezzar was a powerful king who made his empire very wealthy. Under his reign, many canals and buildings were built. Legend has it that he had the “Hanging Gardens of Babylon” built for one of his wives.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

• 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 desert, they appeared to hang from the sky

The Persians

• 550 to 331 BC

• 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.

More Persian Achievements

• The Persians used secret agents to spy on conquered areas.

• The Persian kings allowed the local kings to rule over their areas. They were called satrapies. The satraps had to answer to the Persian rulers.

Persian Religion

• Zoroastrianism was based on a prophet named Zoraster. 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

• 1000 to 700 BC

• Phoenica was located along the Mediterranean Sea in what is now Israel, Lebanon and Syria

The Phoenicians

• 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

Phoenician Trade

• They traded lumber, metal objects and gold and silver. They invented glass and 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 an alphabet.

The Lydians

• 700 to 547 BC

• They lived on the western portion of Asia Minor

Lydian Contributions

• The Lydians invented the Money Economy: using money as a measure of value.

• Lydian coins were made of silver and gold

The Hebrews

• 1200 to 586 BC• The Hebrew Kingdom

was located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea in what is present day Israel.

The Hebrew’s Story

• The Hebrews are descendants of Abraham. Abraham once lived in Sumer and when he left, his 12 sons formed the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

More to the Story

• When the Hebrews wandered into Egypt, they were captured and used as slaves.

• Moses led them out of Egypt. This is called the Exodus. They wandered through the wilderness.

The Hebrew Religion

• The Hebrews were monotheistic. They believed in one god, Yahweh.

• The 10 Commandments became their laws.

• When they agreed to follow the commandments, it was called the Covenant

Judaism

• The first 5 books of the Old Testament are known as the Torah. It includes the Hebrew code of laws.

• It also told about the Hebrew prophets who were messengers for Yahweh.

Judaism

• Judaism taught that people have a choice between good and evil and that people are responsible for their choices. Yahweh was the only god and he emphasized ethical behavior.

• This code of conduct is called ethical monotheism. The Jewish code of ethics carried over into Christianity.