Empires of Mesopotamia 1

The city states of
Ancient Sumner, since

they were small city
states were often
fighting over land and
water rights.
Their lack of unity left
them open to attacks by
stronger groups.
Exploring four empires of
Mesopotamia
The Akkadians,
Babylonians, and
Assyrians were an
empire because
they were a large
territory ruled by a
single leader or
government, unlike
the Sumerians.
The Akkadian Empire
The Akkadians were the
first empire after Sumer.
They were led by a great
powerful king, Sargon the
Great.
Sargon was a strong king
and a skilled general
Sargon used his military
skills to conquer the land
and take over Sumer.
King Sargon the Great
Life Under Akkadian rule
Sargon had created the
worlds first empire, this was
the Akkadians greatest
achievement.
During Sargons reign he
made the city of Agade in
Northern Mesopotamia. He
built up the city with tributes
he collected from the people
he conquered.
The Akkadians used steles to
record important events with
three dimensional sculptures,
such as a military victory.

Stele
Hammurabi and the Babylon
Empire
After the Akkadians fell,
Sumner once again
became city states.
The next ruler King
Hammurabi from
Babylon united all of
Mesopotamia once
again.

Hammurabi and the Babylon
Empire
King Hammurabi made the
capital Babylon and is best
remembered for his code of
laws the Hammurabi code.
He based his laws not only
on his own authority but on
the word of the gods.
This code was the first set of
laws to apply to everyone.
This is the first legal system
to treat all classes the same
, which was advanced at that
time.

Code of Hammurabi
Life in the Babylonian
Empire
With the Babylonian
location on the banks
of the Euphrates river,
it became an important
center of trade.
Trade in the
Babylonian empire
helped the economy
by trading grain and
woven cloth for wood,
gold, silver, precious
gems and livestock.
Euphrates River in present day Iraq
The Assyrian Empire
After the Babylonians fell
apart a number of groups
controlled what had been
Babylonia, until the
warlike people of the
Assyrian empire took
over the Mesopotamian
region.

The Assyrians
The Assyrian Empire
The Assyrians were
known for their military
might and their cruelty.
Their greatest
achievements were new
weapons and war
strategies.
They used war
techniques such as siege
techniques, Battering
Rams, and Moveable
towers.
Assyrian Weapons
Life under Assyrian Rule
The Assyrians
believed that their
kings were special
beings and to
honor them they
built The great
Palace in the
capital city of
Nineveh.

Life under Assyrian Rule
Like other societies in
Mesopotamia the
Assyrians had a
system of canals to
irrigate their land, but
they also built the first
Aqueducts.
Aqueducts were pipes
or channels used to
carry water throughout
the city of Nineveh and
up to 30 miles away.
Aqueducts in Assyria
The Neo Babylonian Empire
With the fall of Nineveh, the
Babylonians once again
took over the Mesopotamia
area.
Their new empire was
known a Neo-Babylonia.
The empires new famous
King was Nebuchadnezzar,
who was a ruthless king.

King Nebuchadnezzar
The Neo Babylonian Empire
Nebuchadnezzar
conquered the land of
the Israelites took
many of them captive
back to Babylon after
they tried to rebel.
Nebuchadnezzar built
two walls, some
towers, bridges, and a
moat around his
capital to protect his
city from attacks.

The Ishtar Gate
Life in the Neo Babylonian
Empire
Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt
the city of Babylon and
built the Hanging gardens
of Babylon along the
rooftops and terraces
high on the royal palace.
The Neo Babylonian
empire only lasted 75
years because controlling
such a large areas was
very challenging.
The Persians conquered
Mesopotamia and
controlled it for 200
years, until Alexander the
Great came along from
Greece.

Alexander the
Great
Hanging Garden of
Babylon
The Persian Empire
In 539 B.C. Babylon fell to the Persian armies of
Cyrus the Great. In general, Persian kings
pursued a policy of tolerance.
Darius unified the Persian Empire in 522. He
adapted laws from the people he conquered.
He had hundreds of miles of road built or
repaired
He set up a common set of weights and
measures and encouraged the use of coins
Persian Rulers
Cyrus the Great
Darius I
Xerxes I

Persian Religion
Zoroaster, a Persian thinker,
helped to unite the religious
beliefs by teaching that a
single, wise god ruled the
world.
On Judgment Day, all
individuals would be judged
for their actions. Those who
had done good would enter
paradise. Evil-doers would
be condemned to eternal
suffering.
Christianity and Islam
stressed similar ideas.

The Defeat of the Persian Empire
Indians, Medes,
Babylonians, Lydians,
Greeks, Jews,
Phoenicians, and
Egyptians were for the
first time all governed by
one empire.
Persia never conquered
Greece.
In 331 B.C., Alexander
the Great defeated Persia

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The city states of

Ancient Sumner, since

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