The Code of hammurabi & Assyrians

The Code of hammurabi & AssyriansObjectives, Key terms & PeopleObjectiveExplain how early empires arose in MesopotamiaKey Terms & People: Hammurabis CodeBehistun RockChaldeansSargon the GreatLydiansBabyloniansNebuchadnezzarFall of sumerian city-statesAround 2350 B.C.Sargon the Great captured the city-states (ruler of Akkad)The Sumerian civilization did not dieThe rulers of the new kingdoms adopted basic ideas of Sumerian civilization to meet their own needsbabylonWhere the first conquerors of Mesopotamia came fromLocated upstream from Sumer

babylonBabylonians were nomadsThey quickly adopted the civilized ways of the SumeriansLike what?Ziggurats, art, written laws, literature, cuneiform, irrigated fields and organized societyConquered all of MesopotamiaWhy is this important?Civilization spread over a large areapolytheismBelief in many godsEach city-state considered itself the property of one godEpic of gilgamesh

One of the earliest literary worksWhat did it describe?The underworldMajor achievementsCode of Laws known as Hammurabis CodeBased on Sumerian city-state lawsMore complete because it was for an entire empireWhy do societies develop laws?EmpireState that has conquered other lands and now rules them

Hammurabis codeWritten by King HammurabiNearly 300 lawsHe picked out ones he liked from city-states of the empireWritten on an 8 foot slab of black rockWhy is this important?First written law code-public knowledgeIdea of justice required balanceEye for an eye; small crimes get small punishments

http://www.mitchellteachers.org/WorldHistory/AncientEgyptNearEastUnit/PDFs/CourtCaseHarboringSlave.pdfMesopotamian advancementDrew up multiplication & division tablesMade geometry calculationsUse base of 60Cut circle into 360 degrees60 minutes in an hourFirst written records in astronomyKept records of changing positions of planets and phases of the moonDeveloped 12 month calendar

Behistun rockDiscovered in 1840s by Henry RawlinsonKey to Mesopotamian historyBehistan Rock includes eyewitness accounts of a battle and a list of provinces in the empireUsed to translate Mesopotamian writingHittites (1600-1200 B.C.)Invaded Northern Mesopotamia about 1600 B.C.Raided Babylon, Syria, Palestine and challenged Egypts powerBy about 1450 B.C. the Hittite Empire included Asia Minor and Northern SyriaJust and humane lawsNotable architectureMost important discoveryIron=huge advantage over other empiresSharper and stronger than bronze

Assyrians (750-612 B.C.)Came from Northern MesopotamiaTheir villages were attacked repeatedly by barbarians from the Northern mountainsAssyrians learned to be tough fighters over the centuries of attacks

Assyrian armySoldiers well equipped with iron swords and iron tipped spearsMost disciplined army so farTrained to march and fight in tightly organized columns and divisions led by commanders of different ranksAttacking a city March within an arrows shot of the wall and on a signal shower the city with arrows Meanwhile, other troops moved to the city gates and hammered them with iron-tipped battering ramsASSYRIAN ARMY

Attacking a city (Cont.) Show no mercyTortured, killed or enslaved the peopleAssyrians uprooted the conquered people from their homelands, sending great groups of people to distant parts of the empire. Why?To prevent later rebellion

NinevehAssyrian capital cityLargest city of its day(3 miles long by 1 mile wide)Housed the treasures of the empireHeld worlds largest library King Assurbanipal collected 25,000 clay tablets to create itChaldeans (612-550 B.C)Capital city: BabylonThis was 1000 years after HammurabiBabylon became the center of the empire during this time

King nebuchadnezzarRuled from 605-562 B.C.Rebuilt BabylonCovered the walls of his palace with shining tiles arranged in bright patternsMost impressive part of the palace was the famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Stargazers of babylonHighest building: a 7 tier ziggurat that was more than 300 feet high and visible for milesPriests observed stars nightlyKept records of positions of stars and planetsThe rise of each constellation (group of stars) marked a new month in their calendarBelief that stars determined human destinyChaldeans observed the Zodiac (12 constellations to foretell the future)Nebuchadnezzar consulted the temples star charts carefully in governing his kingdomlydians***Major achievement: began the use of coins in tradeHow did this help with trade?Got rid of the barter systemOfficial government coinage came into use in about 560 B.C.Coins brought about a money economyMoney economy: an economic system based on the use of money

Objectives & key terms/peopleExplain how early empires arose in Mesopotamia Sargon starts the first empireHammurabis CodeFirst written code of laws based on an eye for an eyeBehistun RockTranslated Mesopotamian writingChaldeansNebuchadnezzar was the ruler

Key peopleSargon the GreatConquered the Sumerian city-statesLydiansInvented coinsBabyloniansKing was Hammurabi; code of lawsNebuchadnezzarChaldeans leader that built the Hanging Gardens