Invaders, Traders, and Empire Builders

Chapter 2 Section 4

The First Empire Builder

• Sargon of Akkad conquered the city-states of Sumer.– This was the first known empire in history

• Soon dissolved after his death when invaders swept in and took his lands

Hammurabi

• King of Babylon who brought most of Mesopotamia under his control– Largest contribution

was the Code of Hammurabi

• First set of laws written down

Hittites

• Learn to extract and forge iron– Iron was much stronger than the weapons

used by other civilizations

• Kept secret for many years until the Hittite empire was over thrown and the iron smiths migrated across Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Assyrian

• Learned iron working from Hittites– Possibly the most feared warriors in history

• First laws to regulate life within the household– Women of the palace were confined to specific

quarters• The also had to be veiled when in public

• King Assurbanipal founded one of the first libraries– Ordered scribes to collect cuneiform tablets from all

over the fertile crescent• Served as a guide to studying the ancient middle east

New Babylon

• After Assurbanipal died the people of Babylon over throw the Assyrians and establish the New Babylon– Ruled by a king named Nebuchadnezzar

• Built the Hanging Gardens one of the seven ancient wonders of the world

– Responsible for the growing interest in astronomy

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Persian Empire

• Persian kings practiced tolerance of those they conquered– Allowed the people to continue to practice

their religion and customs

• The Persian empire was the largest yet seen in ancient times– The empire was split into provinces overseen

by a satrap• Each province paid taxes based on its resources

and wealth

Persians continued

• Improved trade– Created a vast road system– Encouraged the use of coins instead of

bartering

Persian Religion

• The Persian thinker Zoroaster rejected the old Persian gods– Believed there to be only one god Ahura Mazda

• Constantly fighting Ahriman the prince of lies and evil

– On the judgment day those who had done good would enter into paradise

– Evil doers would be condemned to eternal suffering

• This comes before Christianity and Islam

Phoenicians

• Known as the “carriers of civilization”• A small state along the coast of the

Mediterranean Sea– Best known for trade and sailing– Made glass– Create purple dye called “Tyrian purple”– Set up colonies from North Africa to Sicily and

Spain• Some sailed all the way to England

Phoenicians

• Created our alphabet– Contains letters that represent spoken sounds– Unlike cuneiform or hieroglyphics, where a

symbol represents a word or concept– Started as 22 symbols for consonant sounds

• Later adapted by the Greeks who added the symbols for vowel sounds