Ch 1, Sec 3The First Empires

The Assyrians• Lived in the Northern part of Mesopotamia

around 900 B.C.• Built around the Tigris River• Had a large army to fight off enemies• Great Builders- created one of the 1st libraries 25,000 tablets

Assyrian Army

• Well organized• Foot soldiers had spears/daggers• Used bow/arrows, horses, and

chariots• 1st to use iron weapons– Borrowed heating/cooling

technique from the Hittites to make iron stronger

Assyrian Battle Strategies

• Tunneled under walls• Used ladders to climb tall walls• Used battering rams• Set cities on fire• Enslaved their enemies or moved them to new areas• Charged high taxes on new groups

Assyrian Government• Divided the empire into provinces (Political

districts)• Officials collected taxes and enforced the

king’s laws• Capital city: Nineveh (NIH*nuh*vuh)• Had roads connecting cities with soldiers to

protect the traders and pass gov’t info to other cities

Downfall of Assyria• Empire grew too big• Gov’t treated the

people badly-led to revolt in 650 B.C.

• Fight for the crown started

• The Chaldeans took power in 612 B.C.

The Chaldeans

• Led by King Nebuchadnezzar• Controlled Mesopotamia from 605-562 B.C.• Descendants of the Babylonians (Hammurabi)• Rebuilt the capital city of Babylon– Surrounded by a brick wall– Protected by soldiers/chariots

Chaldeans Were Great Builders

• 300 ft Ziggurat stood at the center of Babylon• Hanging Gardens– Built at Nebuchadnezzar’s Palace for his wife– Staircase of plants and trees

The Power of Trade in Babylon• Marketplaces surrounded the city• Artisans sold goods to caravans as they came

through town• Major trading stop in Mesopotamia

Chaldeans and Science

• Astronomers mapped the stars, planets, and phases of the moon

• Created one of the 1st sundials• 1st to use the 7 day week

Fall of the Chaldean Empire

• Empire became to big• Lost control of the

people• 539 B.C. Persians came

from the Northeast and took control of Babylon