Later Peoples of the Fertile Crescent

1. Later Peoples of the Fertile Crescent

2. The Babylonians Conquer Mesopotamia • Repeated attacks weakened the city of Ur. By 2000 BC, Ur was in ruins. • Invaders battled to control Mesopotamia.

3. The Babylonians Conquer Mesopotamia • Hammurabi (1792 B.C.) unites the old city states of Sumer • Used dams to cause floods and droughts • Monarch = a ruler of a kingdom or empire

4. Hammurabi’s Code • Cuneiform used to write “codes of law,” rules that apply to everyone • 282 laws covered many areas of life • Slavery existed in Babylonia • Not everyone was treated equally • His laws became the basis of many of ours • Hammurabi was able to successfully govern a large empire

5. The Hittites • Hammurabi dies in 1750 B.C. • Babylonia declines • Hittites- mastered ironworking • Used chariots, horse-drawn battle cart • Captured Babylon in 1595 B.C.

6. Chariot Soldiers

7. Kassites • Came from north of Babylon • Ruled for almost 400 years • In the 1200s B.C. they were overcome by the Assyrians

8. The Assyrians • Brief control in the 1200s • Took control of all Mesopotamia starting about 900 B.C. • Ruled from Nineveh • Built roads to aid in governing • Fierce in battle; terrifying tactics

10. The Chaldeans • 652 B.C. wars weaken Assyria • Chaldeans, from Syrian desert, conquer Nineveh in 612 B.C. • Nebuchadnezzar: most famous of Chaldean kings • Hanging Gardens of Babylon

13. The Phoenicians • From the western edge of the Mediterranean • Wealthy trading society • Limited resources; primarily cedar • Needed to trade; became expert sailors • Traded with Spain, Greece, Italy, Egypt, Sicily

14. Phoenician Trade Routes

15. Phoenician Expansion of Trade • Traded silverwork, ivory carvings, slaves and purple dye • Most important achievement: developed one of the world’s first alphabets • An Alphabet is a set of letters that can be combined to form words