Later Peoples of the Fertile Crescent

The Babylonians Conquer Mesopotamia

•Repeated attacks weakened the city of Ur. By 2000 BC, Ur was in ruins.

•Invaders battled to control Mesopotamia.

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

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

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.

Chariot

Soldiers

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

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

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

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

Phoenician Trade Routes

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