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Section 4 The Babylonians, Assyrians, and Phoenicians. Section 4: Later Peoples of the Fertile Crescent. The Big Idea After the Sumerians, many cultures ruled parts of the Fertile Crescent. Main Ideas The Babylonians conquered Mesopotamia and created a code of law.
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Section 4: Later Peoples of the Fertile Crescent • The Big Idea • After the Sumerians, many cultures ruled parts of the Fertile Crescent. • Main Ideas • The Babylonians conquered Mesopotamia and created a code of law. • Invasions of Mesopotamia changed the region’s culture. • The Phoenicians built a trading society in the eastern Mediterranean region.
The Fall of Sumeria • The Third Dynasty of Ur was short-lived • Ur was facing threats from another invasion by the Amorites. • The Amorites settled in lands of Canaan and northern Mesopotamia in 2037 BC.
SALT • The Sumerians suffered from salt in the fertile fields that came from the rivers. This is called salinization. • Crops began to fail and drought plagued the region. • Even today, 60 percent of the previously fertile land of Iraq is uncultivable because of centuries of built up salt and chemicals
Fall of Sumeria • Because of crop failures, the city of Ur was racked by revolts, starvation, and invasion in 2004 BC • Finally the city was sacked, the palace burned, the temples leveled, and the fields were burned. • Corpses were piled at the lofty city gates, on the streets where festivals had been held, heads lay scattered, where dances had been held, bodies were stacked in heaps..In the river, dust had gathered, no flowing water is carried through the city, the plain that was covered had become cracked • Father Nanna your song has been turned into weeping, your city weeps before you,…it cries, “Where are you?” How long will you stand aside from your city • The reign of the Sumerians is over and the rise of the Semites (Babylonians, Assyrians, Chaldeans) has begun.
The Rise of the Amorites Assyrians Babylonians The Amorites would also occupy another city called Bab-ilum, also known as Babylon. It means the “gate of the gods” • The Amorites took over the city of Ashur in the north around 1850 BC, and it grew into a rich trading city under Shamshi-Adad I. • He would title himself “King of the Universe” • His dynasty would last a thousand years, and would lead to rise of the terrible Assyrian Empire.
Babylonian Appearance • They had dark long hair with curls, while the men wore beards. • Both men and women wore perfumes. • They clothed themselves in white or colored tunics reaching to their feet, while the men wore a mantle and robe. • They were turbans and sandals, the women wore necklaces, bracelets, amulets. • The priests wore conical caps.
Hammurabi • Hammurabi came to the throne in 1792 BC and would rule for 43 years. • He was the monarch, or ruler of kingdom or an empire, of Babylon. • He began to conquer local cities around him and allied himself with Shamshi-Adad. • He built canals and temples, and strengthen his army.
Hammurabi’s Empire • Hammurabi expanded his power through these military victories. All of Mesopotamia was conquered. • “May all men bow down in reverence to you. May they celebrate your great glory; may they give their obedience to your supreme authority.” • He established Babylon as the preeminent city in Mesopotamia
Hammurabi's Reign • He oversaw building and irrigation projects, to irrigate the land and reduce flooding, and improved the tax system • With taxes he beautified his city with temples and forts • Ships and caravans were given royal passports to pass his checkpoints, which allowed a full payment of taxes and control over the shipment of goods.
Hammurabi's Reign • He built temples and granaries for Babylonian god Marduk in hopes that the priests would sway the populace to obedience. • He built a bridge that connected Babylon onto both sides of the Euphrates. • He brought increased trade in his empire and made Babylon the richest city in the world.
Hammurabi’s Code of Laws • Hammurabi’s Code was a set of 282 laws he created that dealt with almost every part of daily life. • The laws were written unto stone and passed around the empire, so they could preserved and understood. • The laws covered every aspect of Babylonian life: personal property, real estate, trade, business, family, injuries, and labor.
Hammurabi’s Code of Laws • Specific crimes brought specific penalties. • Robbery, aiding an escape slave, kidnapping, designing house that collapses on someone's head, poor performance to the king=DEATH • Injuries must be returned in like manner (eye for an eye), unless you injured a slave then you paid a fine. • Their was a greater penalty for harming a noble than a peasant, and a greater penalty for harming a peasant than a slave. • Slaves were branded and wanton cruelty was prohibited.
The First Fall of Babylon • After Hammurabi's death, Babylonian power declined. • The barbarians came from the Zagros Mountains and invaded all parts of the empire. • The southern cities revolted and the empire fragmented • For several centuries after, Babylon lived in an ethnic and political chaos that put a stop to the development of science and art.
The Hittites • By 2300 BC, Indo-European tribes settle in a loose confederation in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). • They became the Hittites. • A chief, called Anittas, conquered the other tribes and built a nation. • “I have conquered every land where the sun rises.”
The Hittite Army • The Hittites were masters of iron-working and the first to utilize a new type of chariots. • which was stronger and easier to make than bronze. • This allowed soldiers to move quickly and fire their arrows from composite bows.
The Hittites • King Mursilis came to the throne and combined his rule compassionate administration and conquest. • He marched on Babylon in 1595 BC, and captured the city. He sold its people as slaves and took its king back in chains. • Mursilis did not want to occupy Babylon, but only to prove himself as a conqueror.
The Hittites • The Kassites came and occupied Babylon and ruled for 400 years • The old Sumerian city-states had disappeared and the land of the south became marshes and desert • The Hittite King returned to his capital, and was assassinated by his brother-in-law. This led to the fall of the Hittite Empire
Humanity Uprooted • The climate of Europe was colder and rainier during the period 1200-1000 BC. • Uncivilized tribes had to hunt for new homes or perish, while carrying iron weapons. • One such fierce tribe was called the Sea Peoples. They sacked all of Greece, Crete, Asia Minor, Egypt, Syria, and Judea.
The World from 1200-900 BC • This time period was one of nations being uprooted, tribes on the march, civilizations collapsing. • This was a return to ignorance, lawlessness, the simple economy, and smaller populations. • In the collapse of the great powers, the Phoenicians and nomadic Arameans developed wide commercial contacts.
The Phoenicians • At the western end of the Fertile Crescent, along the Mediterranean Sea, was a land known as Phoenicia. • The inhabitants were a Semitic people whose origins also remain a mystery. • But the dispersal of the Sea Peoples opened a doorway for Phoenician exploration of the Mediterranean.
The Geography of Phoenicia • The land is located in modern-day Lebanon. • Mountains and hostile neighbors blocked the land trade routes. • Phoenicians look to the sea for trade.
The Cities of Phoenicia • Byblos claimed to be the oldest city and the religious center of Phoenicia. Because papyrus was one its primary trades, the Greeks took the name of the city as their word for book-biblos. • Tyre began has a fortress island off the coast. It became a cosmopolitan city of the Mediterranean.
The Expansion of Trade • Motivated by trade, the Phoenicians became expert sailors. • Tyre, Byblos, and Sidon became the centers of trade and each had a large harbor. • Fleets sailed across the Mediterranean, to Egypt, Greece, Italy, Sicily, and Spain.
Cedar Trees • Phoenicia’s prize resource was cedar. • Cedar trees are valued for their timber.
World of Trade • They had galleys 70 feet long and only one sail. Slaves rowed the oars, while soldiers stood on guard, ready for trade or war. • They kept close to shore, but eventually used the North Star to guide them into the Atlantic Ocean. • Herodotus claims that they reached the most southern tip of Africa and returned to Egypt within 3 years.
Phoenician Colonies • To maintain trade Phoenicians established colonies. • Mostly in Sicily, Libya, Sardinia, Spain, and North Africa. • Phoenicia’s most famous colony was Carthage.
Phoenician Wealth • The cities of Phoenicia became wealthy. • They traded silverwork, ivory, and slaves. • They sold glass objects, after perfecting the art of glass blowing. • They even made purple dye from shellfish, and traded cloth with this color. • Soon Phoenician purple fabric became a symbol of wealth and royalty.
Tyrian Purple • Muricidae sea snails were left out in the sun for 3 days to bake, then salt was added to the mash of shellfish glands which was then boiled down in tins. • Finally, whole fleeces were dipped into the mixture when the correct hue had been reached. • 10,000 shellfish would produce 1 gram of dyestuff • The sea snail was all but driven to extinction along the coasts of Phoenicia. • 1 pound of purple dye cost 150,000 denarii (Roman) or around three pounds of gold
Phoenician Achievement • For recordkeeping, the Phoenicians developed an alphabet system. • The development of the alphabet made writing much easier had a major impact on the ancient world and are own English language. • It had 22 consonants, but no vowels.
Phoenician’s Fall • The cities maintained their independence until the Assyrian Empire. • They still maintained their supremacy in the seas by offering services to their new ruler and paying taxes. • They would finally be eclipsed by the Athenians in 400s BC and disappear as naval traders.
The Arameans • The Arameans were Semitic tribe that settled along the Syrian plains and Jordan river valleys. • The Aramean town of Damascus became the principle caravan center of the Near East. • Their historical importance was the adaption of the Phoenician alphabet to their own language. • Aramaic became the primary language spoken from 900 BC-100 AD. It replaced Akkadian.
Assyria: Origins • Assyria is located in Northern Mesopotamia • Nineveh was the capital of Assyria. • It had suffer collapse during the end of the Bronze Age, but continued to exist because the most important trade routes went through its lands.
Assyrian Appearance • A mixture of Semites from the south (Babylonians) and non-Semitic tribe from the west.(Hittites) • They were a race of warriors, standing straight, with long beards and hair, and very stern.
The Birth of an Empire • The new empire was forged under the leadership of Ashurnasipal II and Sahmaneser III (883-824 BC).
The Assyrian Hitler • Ashurnasipal II declared himself “King of the Universe” • He established the tradition of cruelty and made the Assyrian name hated throughout all the Near East. • “I put a pillar at the city gate and I skinned the chiefs who revolted against me, and covered the pillar with their skins..inside the city, I skinned many more and covered the walls with their skins. • He varied this by making heaps of cut-off noses and ears, gouging out eyes, and tying heads to vines like obscene and decaying fruit. • He enjoyed watching the torture
The Empire Strikes Back • Tiglath-Pileser III assumed the throne and built one the largest empire to date. • He established a centralized state based on provinces ruled by overseers • He ruled the entire Fertile Crescent. • He replaced the policy of torture with deportation, nations and tribes would be deported to different parts of the empires
Assyrian Army • The Assyrians used iron weapons and chariots. • Their army was well organized. Dividing their army into a corps of infantry, chariotry, and engineers.
Assyrian Army • Before battle, they destroyed nearby villages and burned crops. • Anyone who resisted was killed. • They developed siege warfare after Sargon the Great.
Assyrian Government • Assyrian kings ruled their empire through local leaders who each governed a small area. • The Empire was divided into provinces, each having a governor, judge, and a tax collector. • Each was independent of the other and reported directly to the king.
Assyrian Government • Local leaders demanded heavy taxes from different parts of the empire. • The governors of each province, enforced laws and raised troops for the army. • Areas that resisted taxes and laws were harshly punished. • They developed early roads to connect different parts of the empire.
The Last Dynasty • Sargon II claimed to be king of Assyria, and captured Israel. He deported the inhabitants; they became the lost “ten tribes of Israel.” • His son Sennacherib began to put down revolts in distant provinces, stopped an invasion by Egypt and unsuccessfully tried to capture Jerusalem.
