Conquerors of Mesopotamia

From 5000BC to the Persians

Early Conquerors of the Land• Religious leaders held

power first, then wars broke out

• With more wars, military leaders come to power

• Eventually leaders start taking over nearby villages– Leads to the beginning of

empires and empire building

• 1st Empire builder- Sargon of Akkad

Sargon of Akkad• Takes power over Sumer

– Came from the city of Akkad– Adopted many of the

Sumerian practices and beliefs

• Becomes the 1st time all of Sumer has been unified

• Sargon dynasty unifies Sumer from 2340BC – 2125BC

• Expands empire from north of Sumer to Persian Gulf

• Empire- many areas under the rule of one leader

New Leaders Come to Power• Empire of Sargon begins

to weaken• Amorites take power of

Sumer around 2000BC – Make Babylon their capital– Moves it from Ur

• Amorites become known as the Babylonian Empire– Still keep practices of Sumer

• Babylonian Empire will reach its height under the leader known as Hammurabi

Map of the Early Empires

The Reign of Hammurabi• Hammurabi comes to

power around 1790 BC– Rules until 1750 BC

• Best known for creating a code of law for all people– Known as Hammurabi’s Code– Was based off earlier codes

• Hammurabi’s Code was based on revenge– Eye for an eye, tooth for

tooth

• Rules applied differently to the rich and the poor– Also changed religion under

Hammurabi- Marduk main god

Babylonians Fall From Power• Babylonian empire falls

apart around the 1600 BCE– Weak leadership follows death

of Hammurabi

• Also lost power due to a powerful opponent attacking

• The Hittites attacked from the west; area known as Anatolia– Used chariots for attacks– Group had iron tools/weapons– Were far superior to Bronze

• Hittites also adopted Sumerian beliefs

Map of Hittites Location

Advancements of the Hittites• Hittites first group to smelt iron

– Start of the Iron Age

• Made the Hittites superior to all other groups• Iron weapons easily defeated other soldiers’

weapons • Chariots were also invented

– Made their warriors faster and could attack quickly

• Hittites would later fall to the Assyrians; very fierce group

The Assyrian Empire• The Assyrian Empire comes

to power around 850 BCE– Very warlike people

• Built a large empire with constant attacks on neighboring groups

• Sennacherib – great military leader of Assyrian empire– Burned Babylon to the

ground– Made Nineveh their new

capital

• Assyrian empire expanded through the entire Fertile Crescent and into Egypt

Assyrian Military Advancements• Archers- launched waves of

arrows at opponents• Ladders- used to climb over

the walls of opponents• Weapons- were iron tipped,

also had protective armor• Tactics- if not killed in

battle, the remaining were impaled or beheaded– Women murdered or sold to

slavery

• Tunnels- tunnels were dug under the walls or foundation to make them fall

The Assyrian Empire Falls• Assyrians were attacked by

groups who they defeated– Groups wanted to get revenge– Burned Nineveh to the ground

• Chaldeans responsible for the defeat of Assyria– Other groups also help

• Chaldeans were the rebirth of the Babylonians– Led by Nebuchadnezzar– Made Babylon their capital

again

• Kingdom became one of the 7 wonders of the world

The Persians End It All• Persian Empire was led by

Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius I

• Started in the area between Mesopotamia and Indus Valley

• Empire would eventually spread and take Chaldeans