Invaders, Traders, & Empire Builders

1. Invaders, Traders, & Empire Builders

2. Invasion & Conquest • Invasion & conquest were part of daily life in the history of the ancient middle east, as ambitious warriors and nomads would descend upon the rich cities of the Fertile Crescent. • The first empire was built around 2300 BC by Sargon, the ruler of Akkad, when he conquered and ruled the city-states of Sumer. • About 1790 BC, Hammurabi, King of Babylon, brought much of Mesopotamia under his control uniting the Babylonian Empire.

3. Hammurabi’s Code • Hammurabi wanted everyone in his empire to know the legal principles his government would follow. • He had nearly 300 laws carved on a stone pillar for all to see. • This is the first example of a ruler codify, or setting in writing, all of the laws that would govern a state.

4. Hammurabi Criminal Law • This branch of law deals with offenses against others such as robbery, assault, or murder • Earlier traditions often permitted victims of crimes or their families to take the law into their own hands. • By setting out specific punishments for specific offenses, Hammurabi’s Code limited personal vengeance& encouraged social order.

5. Hammurabi Civil Law • This branch of law deals with private rights and matters, such as business contracts, property inheritance, taxes, marriage, and divorce. • Much of Hammurabi’s Civil Code was designed to protect the powerless, such as slaves or women. • Generally, men had legal authority over his wife and the legal duty to support her. The code also gave a father nearly unlimited authority over his children.

6. Judging the Code • By today’s standards, some of the punishments were harsh • Ex. If a house collapsed because of poor construction and the homeowner was killed, the builder of the house could be put to death. • The Code would punish people of different classes with differing severity, showing great favoritism to higher classes. • Ex. If a noble man puts out the eye of another noble man, his eye shall be put out. • If he puts out the eye of a commoner, he shall pay one silver mina.

7. The Hittites: Iron • The Hittites pushed out of Asia Minor into Mesopotamia around 1400 BC. • The Hittites had learned to extract iron from ore and make stronger, sharper iron weapons & tools • Iron weapons were less expensive and far superior to other civilization’s bronze & copper weapons. • After the collapse of the Hittite Empire around 1200 BC, this iron technology spread throughout Mesopotamia.

8. The Assyrians: Warrior People • After learning to make iron weapons, the Assyrians would become some of the most feared warriors in history. • By 1100 BC they began expanding across Mesopotamia • Fierce Warfare was central to the Assyrian culture • Ex. Upon capturing Babylon, the Assyrian ruler proclaimed “The city and its houses, from top to bottom, I destroyed and burned with fire • Despite their fierce reputation, Assyrian rulers encouraged a well-ordered society.

9. Assyria Falls; Babylon Revived • In 612 BC neighboring people joined forces to crush the once-dreaded Assyrian armies. • An aggressive and ruthless king, Nebuchadnezzar revived the power of Babylon. • His new Babylonian empire stretched from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea. • Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt the canals, temples, walls, and palaces of Babylon. • Under his rule, Babylonians pushed learning into new areas, making observations of the stars that contributed to the growing knowledge of astronomy.

10. Persian Empire • In 539 BC Babylon fell to the Persian Armies of Cyrus the Great. • The Persians went on to conquer the largest empire yet seen, which included modern day Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Afghanistan, and Pakistan • Generally, Persian kings were tolerant of the customs and religious traditions of the people they conquered. This created a very diverse empire

11. Persian Empire: Darius • From 522 BC to 486 BC King Darius used his organizational skills to bring greater unity to his empire. • Like Hammurabi, Darius developed a single law code. • To encourage unity, Darius had hundreds of miles of road built. • Darius encouraged the use of coins. • Most people continued to be part of the barter economy, exchanging one set of goods and services for another • Coins, however, brought merchants traders into an early money economy. In this system, goods and services are paid for through the exchange of a coin or bill of agreed value.

12. Zoroastrianism • Persians also united around a religion that rejected the old Persian gods and taught that a single wise god, Ahura Mazda ruled the world. (Monotheism) • Ahura Mazda was said to be in a constant battle against Ahriman the prince of lies and evil. • It was believed that Ahura Mazda would someday rise up, defeat Ahriman and condemn all evil doers to eternal suffering. Those who had done good would enter eternal paradise. • Two later religions, Christianity & Islam, emerged out of the middle east with similar views on a final judgment & afterlife

14. Phoenicians: Sea Traders • Phoenicians were best known for: • manufacturing glass & purple die, • Making papyrus to make rolls of paper for books • & TRADING. They were expert sailors and traveled throughout the Mediterranean region trading and setting up colonies. • Creating our alphabet

15. Phonetic Alphabet • Past writing like cuneiform or hieroglyphics had each symbol represent a word or concept • The Phoenician alphabet developed because they needed a quick, flexible form of writing to record all the business deals made while trading. • This alphabet contains letters that represent spoken sounds • The Greeks later adapted this to give us most of the letters we use today.