Section 2 Babylonia and Assyria Two Empires of

Section 2 Babylonia and Assyria

Two Empires of Mesopotamia The person who conquered Mesopotamia gained great wealth from trade and agriculture n As a new ruler won the land, they became a target n Empire-Area of many territories and peoples that is controlled by one government n Biggest empires were Babylonia and Assyria n

Babylonia and Assyria n n n n Babylon-Beautiful city at the center of the empire Reached height around 1750 BC Assur- Assyrian capital Expanded lands in 1300 BC By 600 BC controlled a large empire Two things in common- Quest for riches, vicious warriors Built grand cities- Culture and learning were highly valued

Babylonia Hammurabi- Creator and King n United cities of Sumer n Conquered the lands all the way to present day Turkey n Created a system of roads through the empire n Travel was easier and encouraged trade n Crossroads of trade- Caravans or groups of travelers traveling from cities of Sumer in the south and Assyria to the north n

Babylonia Bazaars-markets- shoppers could buy cotton cloth from India and spices from Egypt n Trade made Babylon rich n So did Conquest n

Wealth through Conquest A conqueror, if successful, could be greatly rewarded n 1760 BC Hammurabi conquered Mari, which had the best war weapons, chariots, and tools n That didn’t prevent it from being conquered in 1600 BC n

Assyria Originally small kingdom of a few walled cities n Like, Babylon, grew to great empire n Lay in open land, so they were easy to invade n Since they were constantly being attacked they became skilled warriors n By 650 BC they had conquered a very large empire which stretched across the Fertile Crescent, From the Nile river to the Persian Gulf by attacking all the lands n

Assyria’s Contributions Invented the battering ram- very powerful wooden beam mounted on the wheels which pounded the city to rubble n Slings- hurled stones at enemies n Expert archers were well protected with armor n Armed Charioteers- very violent, very feared n

Assyrian Education Nineveh, the capital- place of great learning n Remarkable library held thousands of clay tablets with writing from Sumer and Babylon n It is the reason we know so much about the Mesopotamian Culture n

Defeat of Assyria Had many enemies n The Medes and Chaldeans joined forces to defeat the Assyrian Empire in 612 B. C. n What were the strengths of the Assyrian Empire? Skilled warriors with advanced techniques in war, capital was center of learning n

Babylonia Rises Again Babylon rose again under Chaldeans rule n Became Center of New Babylonian Empire n King Nebuchadnezzar II-rebuilt city n Put up massive walls for protection n Gigantic palace decorated with colored tiles n Palace on several terraces that rose over 350 feet total n

Advances in Learning Babylonia center of learning and science n Chaldean astronomers charted paths of the stars and measured the length of a year n The measurement was only a few minutes different than modern day time n Raised Honey Bees n Still open to attack-539 B. C. fell to Persians n

Questions n n n What were Babylonia and Assyria and where were they located? Important Mesopotamian Empires located in southeast Asia Minor Describe the empires of Babylonia and Assyria Babylonia united the cites of Sumer and stretched to Asia Minor or Turkey. Great military power and center of trade Assyria- skilled warriors, stretched across Fertile Crescent, from Nile to Persian Gulf. Capital Nineveh- City of great learning