Exploring the Four Empires of Mesopotamia

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Exploring the Four Empires of Mesopotamia
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The Akkadian Empire

• For 1,500 years, Sumer was a land of independent
  city-states.
• Around 2,300 B.C.E., the Akkadians conquered all
  of the Sumerian city-states and maintained an
  empire for 200 years.
• The Sumerian king, Sargon, was a great military
  leader who ruled for 56 years.
• Sargon destroyed the walls of his enemies
  cities, demanded loyalty from those who served
  under him, and was the first king who demanded
  that his sons rule after his death.

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Akkadian Rule

• The capital of the Akkadian Empire was Agade.
• Sargon demanded that the city-states he conquered
  pay him tributes in the form of money or goods.
• The Akkadian language replaced Sumerian, but the
  Akkadians kept Sumerian writing, religion, and
  irrigation techniques.
• Akkadian art was based on beautiful
  three-dimensional sculptures known as steles (the
  most famous example is known as the Victory
  Stele).
• The Akkadians also produced great works
• of literature such as the Epic of
• Gilgamesh.

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The Babylonian Empire

• The next ruler to conquer and unite all of
  Mesopotamia was Hammurabi.
• The capital of Hammurabis empire was Babylon.
• Under Hammurabis rule people were encouraged to
  trade (wood, livestock, gold, and silver)
• write great pieces of literature,
• And treat to each other fairly (slaves and women
  had many rights compared to other early empires).

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Hammurabis Code

• The first written laws in the history of mankind,
  and the first code of laws to apply to everyone
  in a civilization.
• Hammurabi used his code of laws to preserve order
  and unify his empire.
• Hammurabis code was based on the idea of, An
  eye for an eye.
• The punishment had to fit the severity of the
  crime.
• Example- Crime Stealing
• Punishment Hand Cut Off
• There were 282 laws
• According to Hammurabi, the laws were based on
  the gods will and could never be changed.
• The laws treated different social classes
  differently.
• Hammurabis code was written on a stele and
• placed in the center of a temple.

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The Assyrian Empire

• The Assyrians rose to power around 900 B.C.E.
• The Assyrians were great warriors who used iron
  weapons, horses in battle, moveable towers and
  battering rams.
• The Assyrians perfected siege warfare, a tactic
  in which the Assyrian army blockaded a city and
  continued to attack until their enemies
  surrendered.
• The Assyrians were known for their cruelty one
  famous story showing this is after defeating a
  particularly tough enemy the Assyrians cut off
  all of the leaders heads and made the defeated
  soldiers wear them as they marched away from
  their conquered city.

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Assyrian Rule

• Assyrians were the first builders of aqueducts,
  pipes and channels that transported water from
  distant places to areas that needed water.
• The capital of the Assyrian Empire was the city
  of Nineveh.
• The Assyrians were renowned for their sculptures
  known as bas-reliefs, in which an image projects
  out from a flat surface.
• The Assyrian Empire lasted 300 years until they
  were conquered by a combined force of many
  different people (Babylonians, Scythians, and the
  Medes) in the year 612 B.C.E.

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The Neo-Babylonian Empire

• The Neo-Babylonians ruled only 75 years, from 605
  to 562 B.C.E.
• Nebuchadrezzar II was the most famous leader of
  the Neo-Babylonians, building many beautiful
  structures including the Hanging Gardens of
  Babylon, the Ishtar Gate, and one of the most
  famous ziggurats of the ancient world.
• The Neo-Babylonians were skilled in mathematics
  and astronomy and created the first sun-dial, a
  device used for telling time.