Babylonia and Assyria The Two Empires of Mesopotamia

Babylonia and Assyria

The Two Empires of Mesopotamia After the Sumerians were defeated, Mesopotamia had two main empires: Babylonia and Assyria. An empire is an area of many territories and people that are controlled by one government. The Babylonian empire lasted from around 1800 BC to 1600 BC. The Assyrian empire lasted from around 665 BC to 612 BC.

Babylon As we recall from earlier, the Sumerians were conquered by the Babylonians. The king of Babylon was Hammurabi united the cities of Sumer and then expanded his empire all the way to Asia Minor

Babylon’s Religion The Babylonians believed in a pantheon consisting of powerful immortal gods. Religious rituals were led by priests. The celebration of the new year at the spring equinox was the most important religious festival of the year.

Society, Economy, Politics The fertile soil of Mesopotamia made agriculture the base of Babylonian economy. Babylonian society consisted of three classes: the upper strata (called awilu), the low strata (called mushkenu), and the slaves (called wardu). Babylonian women had some legal rights, such as the right to hold property or to engage in business. men were given more legal rights than women. They could quite easily divorce their wives and sell their wives and children into slavery if they could not provide for them.

Babylonian Culture • Used sophisticated techniques in irrigation and agriculture • Skilled engineers • Used used the Sumerian counting system • Advanced system of writing • Schools were important cultural centers • Babylonian artisans were skilled in metallurgy and in making fabrics, cosmetics and perfumes • Babylonians also practiced medical surgery

A Crossroads of Trade Babylon’s location made it a good place for trade. Groups of travelers, called caravans, traveled back and forth from the Sumerian cities in the south to the city of Akkad in the north. Along the way, they always stopped in Babylon to trade. Babylon had special markets, called bazaars, that people could go to buy cotton cloth from India. They could also buy spices from Egypt there. Babylon became rich due to trade.

Hammurabi’s Code Hammurabi was the king who united most of Mesopotamia and conquered the Sumerians. He developed a “code” of laws. The laws were numbered from 1 to 282. Law number 196 states: If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out. Some people summarize Hammurabi’s code by saying “an eye for an eye. ” Law number 195 states: If a son strike his father, his hands shall be hewn off. There are many, many more laws like this in Hammurabi’s Code. A statue of Hammurabi

On the left is a stela, which has all 282 of Hammurabi’s laws engraved on it. This stela is located in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. The Hammurabi stela was discovered in 1909, in Susa, Elam, which is now Khuzestan is a province of southern Iran. Susa

Babylonia is Conquered Hammurabi conquered many of the neighboring cities, and he kept expanding his empire. Hammurabi would often go to war against his allies as well. When the city of Elam attacked Larsa, Hammurabi helped Larsa defend themselves. Once Elam was conquered, Hammurabi turned right around and conquered Larsa! Each time that Babylon would conquer another city, Hammurabi would take the city’s chariots, weapons, tools, and all their riches. Trading helped Babylon get rich, and so did conquest. Though Hammurabi formed a large and rich empire, the people that ruled after him could not keep it together. The empire kept getting smaller and smaller until eventually it was destroyed.

The Assyrians Rise to Power Assyria was a small kingdom of walled cities that was located north of Babylon. Their city was located in open land that was easily attacked, and they had to constantly defend themselves against invaders. Therefore, they became skilled warriors. 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.

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 the protected their archers (people who use a bow and arrows) with helmets and armor.

Ashurbanipal (668 – c. 627 BCE) was the last strong king of the Assyrian Empire. This bronze sculpture of the Assyrian king has stood in front of the Civic Center of San Francisco, California since 1988. Chain mail is a type of armor consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh.

Assyrian Learning The capital of the Assyrian Empire was a city called Nineveh became a great city of learning. It had a famous library that held thousands of clay tablets with writings from Sumer and Babylon. These records tell us a lot about life in Mesopotamia.

Assyrian Religion • Similar to Babylonian religion • Worshipped the main god of Marduk

Assyrian Economy

Assyria Overthrown The people that the Assyrians conquered were constantly rebelling against Assyrian rule. Most of the time, the Assyrians crushed the people who tried to fight them. However, in 612 B. C. , two groups joined together to smash the Assyrian empire. These groups were the Medes and the Chaldeans.

The New Babylonian Empire The Chaldeans created a new empire, centered at Babylon after they defeated the Assyrians in 612 BC. 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 Hanging Gardens https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Kfg 1 YE-Bq. Tc Nebuchadnezzar II built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. This was a large series of terraces that rose to around 75 feet high. They were covered with all sorts of trees, flowers, and plants. The gardens is considered one of the great wonders of the ancient world.

A New Center for Learning Under the Chaldeans, the New Babylonian empire became a center of learning and science. Chaldean astronomers charted stars and measured the correct length of the year. Chaldean farmers raised bees for their honey. Many people came to Babylon to share ideas and discoveries. This clay tablet shows the world that was known to the Babylonians

The Fall of the 2 nd Babylonian Empire The second Babylonian empire came under attack and was defeated by the Persians, who were led by Cyrus, in 539 BC. Though the Chaldeans were defeated, the city of Babylon was spared from destruction.