Chapter 4 Lesson 2

Assyrian Empire

1,000 years after the empire of Hammurabi. Assyria (uh • SIHR • ee • uh) was a large empire, extending into four present-day countries: Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Iraq. The Assyrians robbed people, set crops on fire, and destroyed towns and dams. They took tribute. One of the key factors in the Assyrian successes was iron weapons.

Babylon (BA • buh • luhn)

A people called the Amorites lived in the region west of Mesopotamia. In the 1800 b.c., they conquered Mesopotamia and built their own cities. This was the grandest of these cities. It was located on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River in what is now Iraq.

Ashurbanipal (ah • shur • BAH • nuh • puhl)

An ancient Assyrian king, built one of the world's first libraries in Nineveh. It held 25,000 tablets of stories and songs to the gods.

Chaldeans (kal • DEE • uhns)

Chaldeans hated their harsh new rulers and were never completely under Assyrian control. Years later, when the Assyrians were fighting each other, the Chaldean king Nabopolassar (NAH • buh • puh • LAH • suhr) decided to reclaim his kingdom.

caravan

Merchants came to the city in traveling groups. They bought Babylonian goods —pottery, cloth, baskets, and jewelry. Babylon grew wealthy from this trade; under the Assyrians, the area had been fairly poor.

Nebuchadnezzar (NEH • byuh • kuhd • NEH • zuhr)

Nabopolassar's son, King Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt Babylon, making it the largest and richest city in the world. Huge brick walls surrounded the city. After Nebuchadnezzar died, a series of weak kings ruled the Chaldean empire. Poor harvests and slow trade further weakened the empire. In 539 b.c., the Persians recognized that the Chaldeans had lost their strength and leadership. The Persians took advantage and captured Babylon and made Mesopotamia part of their empire.

Nabopolassar

Within a year, he had forced the Assyrians out of Uruk and was crowned king of Babylonia.

empire

a group of many different lands under one ruler. Through conquest and trade, these empires spread their cultures over a wide region.

Sargon

an ambitious leader who ruled the people of Akkad, known as Akkadians (uh • KAY • dee • uhnz). king of Sumer and Akkad. In doing so, he formed the world's first empire. Eventually, Sargon extended this empire to include all of the peoples of Mesopotamia. His Mesopotamian empire lasted for more than 200 years before invaders conquered it.

Babylon's Hanging Gardens

considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. A complex irrigation system brought water from the Euphrates River to water the gardens.

kingdom of Akkad

developed in northern Mesopotamia.

tribute

forced payments, from conquered people. The Assyrian army also drove people from their homes

astronomer

people who study the heavenly bodies—mapped the stars, the planets, and the phases of the moon as it changed.

province

political districts.

Hammurabi (HA • muh • RAH • bee)

the Babylonian king. began conquering cities controlled by the Amorites to the north and south. By adding these lands he created the Babylonian Empire. This new empire stretched north from the Persian Gulf through the Tigris-Euphrates valley and west to the Mediterranean Sea. He is best known for creating a set of laws for his empire. He posted this law code for all to read