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Let’s Remember…. What had always protected the Egyptians from invasions? Desert How did the Egyptian army keep track of the number of people killed? Cut off their hands Hatshepsut focused on Egypt's trade and prosperity as pharaoh. How did she die? Son killed her
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Let’s Remember… • What had always protected the Egyptians from invasions? • Desert • How did the Egyptian army keep track of the number of people killed? • Cut off their hands • Hatshepsut focused on Egypt's trade and prosperity as pharaoh. How did she die? • Son killed her • Why did Egyptians build their tombs underground? • For protection • Who invaded Egypt sending the Kushites south to Meroe? • The Assyrians
Assyria Dominates the Fertile Crescent Chapter 4 Section 2 p. 88-91
A Mighty War Machine • 858 BC Assyria acquires a large empire • They had sophisticated weapons and military organization • Greatest power in Southwest Asia
The Rise of a Warrior People • Originally from northern Mesopotamia • They lacked natural boundaries and had to learn to fight effectively • Assyrian King, Sennacherib, bragged that he sacked 89 cities and 820 villages, burned Babylon and had most of the people killed • He ordered most of the inhabitants killed
Military Organization and Conquest • Glorified military strength • Wore leather and metal armor • Used iron tools and weapons • Highly organized battle techniques made them superior fighters • Captives were often forced to leave their homelands
Brutal Attacks • Before attacking, Assyrians dug beneath the city’s walls to weaken them • A commander would signal, and foot soldiers and cavalry would send waves of arrows into the city • Meanwhile another group of troops hammered the city’s gates with massive battering rams • When they finally entered the gates, the Assyrians showed no mercy, slaughtering or enslaving their victims
Soldiers received a bounty for severed heads, so many of the defeated were beheaded
An Expanding Empire • Assyrians conquered Syria, Palestine, and Babylonia between 850 and 650 BC • Their rule extended from Anatolia (Turkey) to Egypt
Assyrian Rule • Peak at 650 BC • The organized conquered territory into one empire ruled by Assyrian officials • Conquered territories had to pay taxes and tribute. If they refused to pay they were destroyed
Assyrian Culture • They were great builders • Sennacherib built Nineveh along the Tigris • Largest city of its time- (was 3 miles long, 1 mile wide) • They made sculptures of battle scenes and lion hunts • King Ashurbanipal built a large library at Nineveh • Collected 25,000 clay tablets from Mesopotamia
The Empire Crumbles • Nineveh falls soon after the death of Ashurbanipal • Their cruelty had made them many enemies • Their power was spread too thin
Decline and Fall • Medes, invading from the east, and Chaldeans, invading from the west, combined to demolish Nineveh in 612 BC • The city was burned and only mounds remained
Rebirth of Babylon Under the Chaldeans • Chaldeans made Babylon their capital around 600 BC • A Chaldean King, Nebuchadnezzar ruled there 1000 years after Hammurabi • Built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon • City walls so thick, that a four horse chariot could wheel around on top of them • 300 foot tall ziggurat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYxZH4_d0nw • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEzy0TBCh4Q&feature=related