First EmpiresFirst Empires

26 CHAPTER 1 The First Civilizations

What’s the Connection?In Section 2, you learned about the

empires of Sargon and Hammurabi.Later empires—those of the Assyriansand the Chaldeans—used theirmilitary power in new ways.

Focusing on the • Assyria’s military power and well-

organized government helped it build a vast empire in Mesopotamiaby 650 B.C. (page 27)

• The Chaldean Empire built importantlandmarks in Babylon and developedthe first calendar with a seven-dayweek. (page 29)

Locating PlacesAssyria (uh•SIHR•ee•uh)Persian Gulf (PUHR•zhuhn)Nineveh (NIH•nuh•vuh)Hanging Gardens

Meeting PeopleNebuchadnezzar

(NEH•byuh•kuhd•NEH•zuhr)

Building Your Vocabularyprovince (PRAH•vuhns)caravan (KAR•uh•VAN)astronomer

(uh•STRAH•nuh•muhr)

Reading StrategyCompare and Contrast Complete a Venn diagram like the one belowlisting the similarities and differencesbetween the Assyrian Empire and theChaldean Empire.

Assyrians Chaldeans

TheThe

c. 900 B.C.Assyrians controlMesopotamia

612 B.C.Nineveh captured;Assyrian Empirecrumbles

539 B.C.Persians conquerChaldeans

900 B.C. 700 B.C. 500 B.C.900 B.C. 700 B.C. 500 B.C.

Nineveh

Babylon

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The Assyrians Assyria’s military power and well-

organized government helped it build a vast empirein Mesopotamia by 650 B.C.

Reading Focus Today, many countries have armed

forces to protect their interests. Read to find out how

the Assyrians built an army strong enough to conquer

all of Mesopotamia.

About 1,000 years after Hammurabi, anew empire arose in Mesopotamia. It wasfounded by a people called the Assyrians(uh •SIHR •ee •uhns), who lived in the northnear the Tigris River. Assyria (uh•SIHR•ee•uh) had fertile valleys that attracted outsideinvaders. To defend their land, the Assyriansbuilt a large army. Around 900 B.C., theybegan taking over the rest of Mesopotamia.

Why Were the Assyrians So Strong? TheAssyrian army was well organized. At itscore were groups of foot soldiers armedwith spears and daggers. Other soldierswere experts at using bows and arrows. Thearmy also had chariot riders and soldierswho fought on horseback.

This fearsome and mighty force was thefirst large army to use iron weapons. Forcenturies, iron had been used for tools, butit was too soft to serve as a material forweapons. Then a people called the Hittites(HIH•TYTZ), who lived northwest of Assyria,developed a way of making iron stronger.They heated iron ore, hammered it, andrapidly cooled it. The Assyrians learnedthis technique from the Hittites. They pro-duced iron weapons that were strongerthan those made of copper or tin.

The Assyrians at WarThe Assyrians at War

When attacking a walled city, the Assyrians used massive war machines.The wheeled battering ram was powered by soldiers. It was covered to protect the soldiers inside, but it had slits so they could shoot arrows out.What other methods did Assyrian soldiers use to attack cities?

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28 CHAPTER 1 The First Civilizations

east to Egypt’s Nile River in the west. Thecapital was at Nineveh (NIH •nuh •vuh) onthe Tigris River.

Assyrian kings divided the empire intoprovinces (PRAH • vuhn • suhs), or politicaldistricts. They chose officials to govern

each province. These officials collectedtaxes and enforced the king’s laws.

Assyrian kings built roads to join allparts of their empire. Government sol-diers were posted at stations along theway to protect traders from bandits.Messengers on government business usedthe stations to rest and change horses.

Life in Assyria The Assyrians lived muchlike other Mesopotamians. Their writ-

ing was based on Babylonianwriting, and they worshipedmany of the same gods. Theirlaws were similar, but lawbreak-ers often faced more brutal andcruel punishments in Assyria.

As builders, the Assyriansshowed great skill. They erectedlarge temples and palaces thatthey filled with wall carvingsand statues. The Assyrians alsoproduced and collected litera-

ture. One of the world’s firstlibraries was in Nineveh. It held 25,000

tablets of stories and songs to the gods.Modern historians have learned much aboutancient civilizations from this library.

Assyria’s cruel treatment of people ledto many rebellions. About 650 B.C., theAssyrians began fighting each other overwho would be their next king. A group ofpeople called the Chaldeans (kahl • DEE •uhns) seized the opportunity to rebel. Theycaptured Nineveh in 612 B.C., and theAssyrian Empire soon crumbled.

Explain Why were theAssyrian soldiers considered brutal and cruel?

The Assyrians were ferociouswarriors. To attack cities, they tun-neled under walls or climbedover them on ladders. Theyloaded tree trunks onto mov-able platforms and used themas battering rams to knockdown city gates. Once a city was captured,the Assyrians set fire to its buildings. Theyalso carried away its people and goods.

Anyone who resisted Assyrian rule waspunished. The Assyrians drove people fromtheir lands and moved them into foreignterritory. Then they brought in new settlersand forced them to pay heavy taxes.

A Well-Organized Government Assyriankings had to be strong to rule their largeempire. By about 650 B.C., the empire stretchedfrom the Persian Gulf (PUHR•zhuhn) in the

40°E40°N 300 km0

Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area projection

300 mi.0

N

S

W E

Nile

R.

Tig ri

s

R.

Eup

hrate s R.

MediterraneanSea

RedSea

A R A B I A ND E S E R T

MESO

POTAMIA

ASIAMINOR

EGYPT

TyreJerusalem

Thebes

Nineveh

Babylon

The Assyrians conquered landsfrom Mesopotamia to Egypt.1. What major rivers were part of

the Assyrian Empire? 2. What geographical features may

have kept the Assyrians fromexpanding their empire to thenorth and south?

Assyrian Empire

Assyrianwinged bull

Assyrian EmpireKEY

Boltin Picture Library

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The ChaldeansThe Chaldean Empire built important

landmarks in Babylon and developed the first calen-dar with a seven-day week.

Reading Focus What landmarks exist in your town

or the nearest city? Read to learn some of the special

landmarks that made the Chaldean capital of Babylon

famous.

The Chaldeans wanted to build anempire. Led by King Nebuchadnezzar (NEH •byuh•kuhd•NEH•zuhr), they controlled all ofMesopotamia from 605 B.C. to 562 B.C.

The City of Babylon Most of the Chaldeanswere descendants of the Babylonian peoplewho made up Hammurabi’s empire about1,200 years earlier. They rebuilt the city ofBabylon as the glorious center of theirempire.

Babylon quickly became the world’slargest and richest city. It was surroundedby a brick wall so wide that two chariots

Hanging GardensHanging Gardens

Web Activity Visit jat.glencoe.com and clickon Chapter 1—Student Web Activity to learn more about the first civilizations.

could pass on the road on top. Built into thewall at 100-yard (91.4-m) intervals weretowers where soldiers kept watch.

Large palaces and temples stood in thecity’s center. A huge ziggurat reached morethan 300 feet (91.4 m) into the sky. Anothermarvel, visible from any point in Babylon,was an immense staircase of greenery: theHanging Gardens at the king’s palace.

These terraced gardens showcased largetrees, masses of flowering vines, and otherbeautiful plants. A pump brought in waterfrom a nearby river. Nebuchadnezzar builtthe gardens to please his wife, who missedthe mountains and plants of her homelandin the northwest.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. A complex irrigation system brought water from the EuphratesRiver to the top of the gardens. From there,the water flowed down to each of the lower levels of the gardens. What othersights made Babylon a grand city?

Ruins of the Hanging Gardens

Gia

nni D

agli

Ort

i/CO

RB

IS

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Reading SummaryReview the

• Using cavalry and foot soldiersarmed with iron weapons, theAssyrians created a large empirethat included all of Mesopotamia and extended into Egypt.

• The Chaldeans built a largeempire that included Babylon,the largest and richest city in the world at that time.

1. Why was the Assyrian army a powerful fighting force?

2. What were some of theaccomplishments of Chaldeanastronomers?

Critical Thinking3. Summarize Information

Draw a chart like the onebelow. Use it to describe the city of Babylon under the Chaldeans.

4. Analyze How did theAssyrians set up a well-organized government?

5. Conclude Why do you thinkthe Assyrians took conqueredpeoples from their lands andmoved them to other places?

6. Science Link What differenttypes of knowledge and skillswould the Babylonians need to build the Hanging Gardens?

7. Descriptive Writing Write aparagraph that might be foundin a travel brochure describingthe beauty of ancient Babylon.

What Did You Learn?

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30 CHAPTER 1 The First Civilizations

Babylon under Chaldeans

the Persian Gulf and the MediterraneanSea, it became rich from trade.

Babylon was also a center of science.Like earlier people in Mesopotamia, theChaldeans believed that changes in the sky revealed the plans of the gods. Theirastronomers (uh • STRAH • nuh • muhrs)—peo-ple who study the heavenly bodies—mapped the stars, the planets, and thephases of the moon. The Chaldeans madeone of the first sundials and were the first tohave a seven-day week.

Why Did the Empire Fall? As time passed,the Chaldeans began to lose their power.They found it hard to control the peoplesthey had conquered. In 539 B.C. Persiansfrom the mountains to the northeast cap-tured Babylon. Mesopotamia became partof the new Persian Empire.

Identify What were theHanging Gardens of Babylon?

One Greek historian in the 400s B.C.described the beauty of Babylon. He wrote,“In magnificence, there is no other city thatapproaches it.” Outside the center ofBabylon stood houses and marketplaces.There, artisans made pottery, cloth, baskets,and jewelry. They sold their wares to pass-ing caravans (KAR • uh • VANZ), or groups oftraveling merchants. Because Babylon waslocated on the major trade route between

The Ishtar Gate was at the main entrance to ancient Babylon. Describe the wall that surrounded Babylon.

S. Fiore/SuperStock

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