Chapter 2 Section 2: Babylonia and Assyria
What empire was a crossroad of trade?
Babylonian Empire
What did the Babylonian king Hammurabi do?
He created the Babylonian Empire by uniting the cities of Sumer - then he conquered lands all the way to Asia Minor
How did the king of Urartu get away and what did King Sargon II do about it?
He fled on an old horse and King Sargon II let him go because he knew that he would be a warning to the others not to try to hurt the Assyrians.
What does the proverb mean..."You go and carry off the enemy's land; the enemy comes and carries off your land."
It means there was a pattern that each new ruler became a target for another conquerer.
Where was the empire of Assyria?
It stretched across the Fertile Crescent, from the Nile River to the Persian Gulf
How was Babylonia able to rise again after defeat?
King Nebuchadnezzar II rebuilt the city of Babylon.
Who ruled the New Babylonian Empire?
Nebuchadnezzar II
What was the capital of Assyrian empire?
Nineveh
Name a rule of the Mesopotamia.
Sargon II
What news did King Sargon II of Assyria hear?
That Assyria had attacked Urartu and Zikirtu as planned.
What happened in the fight between King Sargon II and Urartu and Zikirtu?
The Assyrian armies quickly overcame Urartu and Zikirtu and killed all that resisted.
Who overthrew the Babylonians?
The Assyrians
What were the 2 most important empires of the Mesopotamia?
The Babylonian empire and the Assyrian empire.
Who overthrew the Assyrians?
The Chaldeans
What did the New Chaldeans create after they took over the Assyrian empire?
The New Babylonian Empire
What was the Babylonian empire called after the Chaldeans helped it rise again?
The New Babylonian Empire
How did the New Babylonian Empire fall?
The Persians (led by Cyrus the Great) conquered the New Babylonian Empire
Name the biggest and most important Mesopotamian civilizations (2).
The empires of Assyria and Bablonia
What did Babylonians do under King Hammurabi's rule?
They created a system of roads; which made travel and trade easier
What did the Assyrian's invent?
They invented the battering ram which pounded city walls down to rubble.
What did the 2 kingdoms of Urartu and Zikirtu do?
They joined forces against King Sargon II (of Assyria).
What did King Sargon II set out to do in the summer of 714 B.C.?
To confront his enemies (Urartu and Zikirtu)
What did people of the New Babylonian Empire learn under the ruling of the Chaldeans?
astronomy (so they could trace the path of stars and measure time like a year); raised honey bees
What cities and areas did the Babylonian Empire include?
city of Sumer and lands reaching into Asia Minor
What did armies gain when they could conquer Mesopotamia?
great wealth from trade and agriculture
What was Nineveh famous for?
its library
What do the achievements of the New Babylonian Empire tell us about what was important to the Chaldeans?
learning and science
What things did King Nebuchadnezzar II do to rebuild the city of Babylon?
put up big walls around the city for protection; built a huge palace (decorated with colored tiles)
What 2 groups joined together to finally defeat the Assyrians?
the Medes and the Chaldeans
Why did competing armies fight to control Mesopotamia?
they had desirable resources
Describe some characteristics of the Assyrian army.
they had sturdy shields; fought from horse-back and from chariots; they were well armed and highly trained
What is one of the things that made Babylon rich?
trade
What 2 things made Babylon rich?
trade and conquest
What were Assyrian armies skilled at?
used slings to hurl stones at enemies; had archers that were protected with helmets and armor; had armed charioteers that slashed there way through enemy troops
What are some characteristics of the Babylonian empire?
vicious warriors; built grand cities for culture and learning; created a system of roads which made travel easier and encouraged trade
What are some characteristics of the Assyrian empire?
vicious warriors; built grand cities for culture and learning; the kingdom of Assyria lay in open land so they were easy to invade; the people became attackers
What did Hammurabi get when he conquered the city of Mari?
war chariots, weapons and tools
What did the city of Nineveh have?
was a city of great learning; had a library that had thousands of clay tablets with writing from Sumer and Babylon