The First Empires

Chapter 1 Section 3

1,000 years after Hammurabi, the Assyrian

Empire rose to power The Assyrians built a strong army The Assyrians began taking over the rest of

Mesopotamia

The Assyrian Empire

The Assyrians had the strongest army of the

time: They were well organized They had iron weapons (stronger than copper

and tin) They were ferocious warriors

The Assyrian Army

The capital of Assyria was Ninevah The government was well-organized The empire was divided into provinces

(political districts) Each province collected taxes

Assyrian Government

Assyrians also worshipped many Gods Wrote many books and made one of the

world’s first libraries Assyrians did not treat their people well

This lead to fighting The Chaldeans seized an opportunity to rebel.

Life in Assyria

An Assyrian tablet, which tells a story

The Chaldeans

The Chaldeans broke away from the Assyrian Empire

The Chaldeans controlled all of Mesopotamia from

605 B.C. – 562 B.C (only 43 years) The Chaldeans were led

by King Nebuchadnezzar

Most Chaldeans were descendants of Babylon

(1,200 years earlier), so they rebuilt the city of Babylon

Babylon became the richest city in Mesopotamia

Nebuchadnezzar built the Hanging Gardens for his wife.

The Chaldeans’ Babylon

The Chaldeans’ Babylon was a center of

science They had astronomers who mapped the

stars in the sky The Chaldeans were the first people to have a

seven-day week They made one of the first sundials!

Did you know?

As time passed, the Chaldeans began to lose

power It was hard for them to control the peoples

they had conquered In 539 B.C. Persians from the mountains

captured Babylon Mesopotamia became part of the new Persian

Empire

SAD FACE

The Fall of the Chaldean Empire