Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark,

professionals built the Titanic.

Mesopotamia After Hammurabi

The ancient Sumerians were very smart people:

• Cuneiform• Law codes• Literature• Schools• Numbering system• Kiln-dried bricks & pottery• Lunar calendar• Potter’s wheel• The wheel

• The wheelbarrow• Sailboats• Bronze tools and weapons• The plow• Frying pans• Razors• Cosmetic sets• Shepherd’s pipes• harps

How did Sargon earn a place in our history books?

• About 2350 BC, Sargon led the people of Akkad in conquering Sumeria and establishing the world’s first empire.

The Hittites,1600 bc- 1200 bc

examples of Hittite iron swords…

A Phoenician sailing vessel

• The Phoenician Alphabet, circa 1400 bc

The Hebrews

• Monotheism

• 10 Commandments

• Removed the gods from nature

• Assertion of human dignity

• Shalamaneser I – boasted of blinding 14,000 captives

• One of the ancient monuments discovered in the ruins of ancient Assyria has this inscription by King Asshurizirpal (reign began in 883 BC.) of a conquered city: 

"Their men, young and old, I took as prisoners. Of some I cut off the feet and hands; of others I cut off the noses, ears, and lips; of the young men's ears I made a heap; of the old men's heads I built a minaret." 

• Imperial Palace of Nineveh, capital of Assyria

• Assyrian Imperial Palace at Nippur

Nubuchadnezzar, 605-562 BC

• The Ishtar Gate

Cyrus the Great and his sons after him effectively administered their

large empire by:

• Divided into 20 provinces (satrapies)• Special agents who answered only to the king• Use of an official language (Aramaic)• Network of roads and postal system• Common system of weights and measures• Empire wide coinage• Fusion of Near Eastern cultural traditions• Promoted one religion: Zoroastrianism

(Ahura Mazda & Ahriman)

Historical Summary:

• Sumerians• Akkadians- Sargon

• Amorites (Babylonians - Hammurabi)• Hittites• Phoenicians, Hebrews, • Assyrians• Chaldeans/Medes = Neo-Babylonia• Persians/ Cyrus The Great

• Alexander/Macedonians/Greeks

Any questions?