conquests and empires conflict in the fertile crescent
TRANSCRIPT
Causes and Effects of Conflict
• Wars fought to protect farmland and water rights
• Boundaries– Natural – mountains, rivers,
etc.– Political – city-states put up
pillars to mark their land
More disagreements led to…
• More wars• Greater need for
weapons• New technology,
including the war chariot
• More deaths in battle
Sargon the Conqueror• Conquered many lands and
became emperor of his empire (2300 BCE)
• Built the capital city, Akkad, and people were known as Akkadians
• Was a strong leader who ruled by force and good organization
• Started the first standing army (always ready for battle)
Hammurabi the Lawgiver
• King of Babylon who conquered and reunited Mesopotamia
• Created a system of taxation to pay for government
• 282 laws covering every aspect of life
• Idea of equal justice for region – an “eye for an eye”
The Assyrians in Mesopotamia
• After the fall of Hammurabi’s empire, Mesopotamia was ruled by many different peoples
• Kassites – ruled for 400 years• Assyrians – desire to control
trade routes and farming lands, conquered and built roads throughout the empire
• Medes – defeated Assyrians
Belief in one God
• Most Mesopotamians believed in many gods (polytheism)
• Abram practiced monotheism (belief in only 1 God)
• He moved his family and made a covenant (agreement) with God that Abram would promise his faith and, in return, his descendants would get Canaan
• He became Abraham• Monotheism was a significant change in
religion
The Ten Commandments
• Israel, Abraham’s son, moved from Canaan to Egypt during a famine (period of starvation)
• Moses, a leader of the Israelites, led his people back to Canaan when they became enslaved
• God gave Moses the Ten Commandments (a set of laws for responsible behavior)
10 Commandments becomes an important part of Judaism,
Christianity and Islam
• The Israelites leave and set up Israel
• The stories of the Israelites make up the first 5 books of the Bible, known as the Torah
The Alphabet
• Phoenicians occupied the northern part of Mesopotamia which had few natural resources
• Sailed to trade • Developed the alphabet
based on the writing of others
• Made it easier to keep records, make contracts and spread knowledge
Cultural Diffusion
• Because of the colonies Phoenicia had throughout the Mediterranean region, the alphabet spread quickly.
• This process is called cultural diffusion.