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Iron Age Empires Neo-Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian, and Persian Empires
- Neo- Assyrians
- Neo- Babylonians
- Persian Empires
Iron Age Empires
•Semitic-speaking people
•Used iron weapons to establish an empire
•Ruled by kings with absolute power
•Well-organized
•Officials developed an efficient communication system
•Created one of the world’s finest libraries at capital Nineveh: Ashurbanipal
Assyrians (700-612 BC)
Successfully conquered a massive territory spanning from Egypt to the Persian Gulf
Effective military
- Assyrians had the first large armies equipped with iron weapons
- Used guerilla warfare, various siege tactics, and terror
- Conqured territories paid a tribute to the Assyrian king
Neo- Assyrians
Harsh Military Tactics
If people refused and were defeated they were treated harshly.King Ashurnasirpal once stated
“3,000 of their combat troops I felled with weapons . . . Many I took alive; from some of these I cut off their hands to the writs, from
others I cut off their noses, ears and fingers; I put out the eyes of many of the soldiers. . . . I burned their young men and women to
death.”
Assyria’s collapse was relatively sudden
had overextended itself in the conquest of Egypt, unable to bear the heavy toll in resources and manpower
In 612 BC, Nineveh fell to a joint coalition of Chaledeans and Medes under Nebuchadnezzar, who established the Neo-Babylonian Empire (612-539 BC).
Fall of the Neo-Assyrians
Neo-Babylonian art and architecture reached its zenith under King Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled from 604 - 562 BC
He was a great patron of art and urban development and rebuilt the city of Babylon to reflect its ancient glory.
He built the Hanging Gardens - a spectacular tiered garden that became one of the 7 wonders of the world
Neo-Babylonians 626 -539 BCE
Women enjoyed equal rights
schools and temples were plentiful and literacy, mathematics and craftsmanship flourished
tolerance of religion and other faiths
Nebuchadnezzar’s rule
Neo-Babylonian leadership weakened over time mainly due to changing alliances with Assyrians and Jews wanting to return to their homeland in Israel
Cyrus II (reign: 559-530 BCE), also known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Persian empire
October 539 BCE he took Babylon,
founded and extends the Persian Empire
freed 40,000 Jews from captivity
wrote mankind's first human rights charter
ruled over those he had conquered with respect and benevolence
Rise of the Persian Empire
The Cyrus cylinder was discovered in 1878 at the site of Babylon inscribed in Akkadian cuneiform
"I am Cyrus, king of the world, the great king, the powerful king, king of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four quarters of the world"
established peace and abolished forced labour
supported Jews returning to their homeland
describes the Great King not as a conqueror, but as a liberator
Cylinder of Cyrus the Great
Quote 3
How did Cyrus’ human rights charter engender a sense of loyalty among those he conquered?
How does this compare to the policies of the Assyrians and Babylonians?
Question:
Herodotus makes an account of the fall of Cyrus at the hands of Queen Tomyris of the Massagetai
the Massagetai were a warlike society lead by Queen Tomyris who was ruler after the death of her husband
Cyrus sent ambassadors to her court pretending to wish to marry the widow queen
the Massagetai were a warlike peoples located in modern day Turkmenistan, Afghanistan
conflict with the Persians ensued and Queen Tomyris’ son was killed during a battle with the Persians and to avenge her son’s death, she challenged Cyrus to a second battle
the Persians were defeated with high casualties and Cyrus was killed and Tomyris had his corpse beheaded and then crucified,[9] and shoved his head into a wineskin filled with human blood.
she was reportedly quoted as saying, "I warned you that I would quench your thirst for blood, and so I shall"
Fall of Cyrus
