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The Hittites The Assyrians The Nubians. Empires of Ancient Middle East. Main Idea: To identify the Hittites and the effects of their technology on other societies. The Hittites. Essential Question: Who were the Hittites?. The Hittites. The Hittites.
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The Hittites The Assyrians The Nubians Empires of Ancient Middle East
Main Idea: To identify the Hittites and the effects of their technology on other societies The Hittites
Essential Question: Who were the Hittites? The Hittites
The Hittites • By 2000 B.C.E., they occupied most Anatolia (or Asia Minor) • City-states formed into an empire by 1650 B.C.E. • Capital: Hattusas • Controlled much of Mesopotamia for 450 years • Fought with Egypt to control ancient Syria • Eventually signed peace treaty
Essential Question: What influenced their law system and how was it different? The Hittites
The Hittites • Borrowed ideas about literature, art, politics, and law from Mesopotamian peoples • Gave each own distinctive twist • Legal code similar to Hammurabi’s Code, but less harsh • Murderers not automatically punished by death • Convicted murderer could make up for death by giving the family a slave or own child
Essential Question: How was the Hittites war technology superior? The Hittites
The Hittites • Excelled in war technology • Superior chariots • Light and easy to maneuver • Iron weapons • Around 1500 B.C.E., first in Mesopotamia to smelt iron and harden it into weapons • Iron technology spread to areas conquered • Fell suddenly in 1190 B.C.E. due to waves of invasions, and the burning of the capital
Main Ideas: Assyria built a military machine that was greatly feared by others in the region. Assyria used several different methods to control its empire. The Assyrians
Essential Question: How was Assyria able to build an empire? The Assyrians
The Assyrians – A Powerful Army • Assyria was located in hilly northern Mesopotamia • Built powerful horse and chariot army to protect lands • Soldiers were only ones in area to use iron swords and spear tips • Used battering rams, ladders, tunnels to get past city walls • Inside cities, feared Assyrians slaughtered enemy inhabitants
Harsh Treatment of Captured People • Assyrians were cruel to defeated peoples • Enemies who surrendered were allowed to choose a leader • Enemies who resisted were taken captive and killed and enslaved • Enemy leaders were killed, and cities were burned • Captured peoples were sent into exile • Exile: forced to move from homelands to other lands, often far away
Essential Question: How did Assyria control its empire? Assyrian Builds a Huge Empire
A Huge Empire • From 850 to 650 B.C.E., Assyrians conquered most of the Fertile Crescent • Including Syria, Egypt, Babylonia, Palestine • Reached peak under Ashurbanipal (668-627 B.C.E.) • Known for creating libraries to collect documents • Assyrians chose native kings and governors to rule conquered lands • Conquered rulers paid tribute (payment for army’s protection) • Assyrians destroyed cities if no tribute was paid, and exiled people • Assyrians made many enemies by their cruelty • Exiled peoples tried to gather forces to fight the Assyrians • Assyrians put down many revolts
Assyria Crumbles • Assyrian empire fell in 609 B.C.E. • Defeated by combined forces of the Medes and Chaldeans • Victors burned Assyrian capital city of Ninevah
The Assyrian Empire showed that to control large areas of land with many people, an empire must have a highly organized government and a strong military. Why learn about the Assyrians?
Main Idea: The region of Nubia had connections with Egypt. Nubia and the Land of Kush
Essential Question: In what ways were Nubia and Egypt connected? The Region of Nubia
Upper and Lower Nubia • Nubia: African region south of Egypt, includes modern Sudan and South Sudan • Nubia was divided into two areas • Upper area was southern or upstream • Lower area was northern or downstream • People of Nubia lived along the Nile River • Southern Nubia’s moist climate didn’t limit farming to Nile River Valley
Cultural Relations Between Egypt and Nubia • Egypt controlled parts of Nubia between 2000 and 1000 B.C.E. • Egyptian art, architecture, and religion influenced Nubia • Egypt went through a period of decline, and Nubian kingdom Kush became powerful • Kushite nobles went to Egypt and brought back rituals and writing system • Adopted Egyptian customs, clothing styles, adapted pyramids
The Decline of Kush (Nubia) • Taharqa, a later Kushite ruler of Egypt, fought Assyrian invasion • Assyria conquered Egypt in 671 B.C.E. with iron weapons, bows and arrows • Kushite bronze weapons were too weak