First Empires & the Phoenicians

World History

Libertyville HS

First Empire: The Akkadians• Akkad: area north of

Sumeria• Defeated Sumerian city

states, took control of N & S Mesopotamia

• Sargon I became first Emperor

• Definition of empire: bring together several peoples, nations under one rule

• Empire fell apart after 200 years due to civil war

Stele ofNaram-Sin

Babylonian Empire (c. 2000 BC)• Amorites invaded from

Syria and Lebanon• Founded own cities in N.

Mesopotamia, including Babylon– Cities had much higher

proportion of non-citizen residents than Sumerians

– Cities laid out on grid

• Reached height of power under King Hammurabi, 1792-1750 BC

Babylonian city(above); Hammurabi,seated

Babylonian Empire: Hammurabi• Great conqueror, reformer

– Expanded irrigation system– Road network– Postal service

• Centralized gov’t to himself and Babylon

• Created single uniform Code of Laws– Covered all societal issues– Welded Empire together– Code posted in all towns

Indo-European Migrations: Hittites

• Hittites moved in about 1500 BC

• Their home was in Central Anatolia

• At its height, the Hittite empire included Central Anatolia, Syria, and Northern Mesopotamia

Indo-European Migrations: Hittites

• Hittites were a warrior people– One of first to use iron

weapons– First to use chariots

• Softened Code of Hammurabi– Fines, not vengeance

Indo-European Migrations: Hittites• Expanded into Syria until

1400 BC, bumped into Egyptians in Palestine

• Battle of Kadesh, 1274 BC– Largest Chariot battle in

history – 5k chariots, 9k infantry

• By 1200 BC, Hittites couldn’t hold empire together– Succession of civil wars

– External threat from Sea People (raiders from Italy)

Battle of Kadesh; A “Sea Person”, fromEgyptian hieroglyphs

The Phoenicians

• Around 1100 BC, these people emerged in Lebanon

• Group of independent city states

• Most powerful traders around Mediterranean– Remarkable ship builders,

sailors– Set up colonies around Med

The Phoenicians• Colonies formed the

basis of their power– Included Carthage, on N.

African coast– Spain, Sicily & Italy also

settled

• Trade– Crafts (wood, ivory metal)– Goods from other lands,

especially slaves– Famous for their purple

dyed material

The Phoenicians • Phoenician technologies– Developed alphabet– Needed way to record

transactions clearly– 1 symbol represented 1

sound (phonetic)– Formed root of all modern

alphabets

• Mastered use of rudder, sails

• Archaeologist believe they explored N coast of Europe, W coast of Africa