Empires of Mesopotamia

Time period covered: 2300 BCE – 539 BCE

I. City-States to EmpiresA. City-states were prone to attack by nomads 1. needed stronger military leaders; lugal-gal replaced priests

B. Lugal-gal became kings, kings ruled over the city–states

C. More powerful city-states take over other city-states thus leading to the creation of empires

II. Akkadian Empire (2300- 2100 BCE):A. The first king to unite city-states of Sumer into an empire was Sargon of Akkad c. 2300 BCEB. Sargon’s unstable empire

1. Conquered city-states continued to fight for independence 2. Akkad was frequently invaded by rival warriors

III. After the fall of Akkad (Sargon’s Empire) the power in Mesopotamia shifted between two regions:

A. First, to Assyria in the north; under the rule of Shamshi- Adad

B. Second, to Babylon in the south; under the rule of Hammurabi

C. Third, to the New Assyrian empire in the north again; under the rule of Tiglath-Pilesar III

D. Fourth, power shifted south to the Neo-Babylonians; under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar

IV. New Assyrian Empire- A Path of Conquest

A. Assyrian army: 1. Looted and plundered

surrounding areas 2. Murdered, tortured and

enslaved their enemies

B. Assyria grew rich in gold, jewels and land C. New Assyrian empire covered lands from

Persian Gulf to Egypt and to present-day Turkey D. Eventually rebellion became difficult to control

1. Power shifted to Babylonia in the south (again)

V. Neo-Babylonian Empire – A.K.A. Chaldean Empire

A. Under Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled from 605 – 562 BCE, Babylonians were known to be great traders and conquerors 1 . Due to Nebuchadnezzar’s conquests he was able to gain control of the trade gateway to the Mediterranean Sea

a. Drove Egyptians out of Syria b. Captured major cities such as Jerusalem

2. Nebuchadnezzar relocated the Jews a. People in Judah refused to pay taxesb. Forced 3000 Jews to march to Mesopotamia c. Burned the city of Jerusalem, destroyed King

Solomon’s Temple and sent the Jews to be slaves in Babylon = Babylonian Captivity

V. New Babylonian Empire – A.K.A. Chaldean Empire Continued…

B. Babylonian Achievements – wealth from conquests 1. Most famous building project = Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

2. Astronomy- the science of observing and recording the movement of the stars and planets

VI. Fall of the Neo-Babylonian EmpireA. Many enemies of the empire B. In 539 BCE, a Persian ruler, Cyrus the Great conquered the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The people welcomed him

1. Ended Babylonian Captivity winning the gratitude of the Judeans (Jews) 2. Cyrus built a vast Persian Empire that continued for the next 200 years