Lesson 2 Babylon & Assyria (pg. 38 - 42)Objective- Explain the characteristics of the Babylonian & Assyrian

empires

1. The biggest and most important Mesopotamian civilizations were the empires of Babylonia & Assyria.

2. Define empire- an area of many territories and people controlled by 1 gov't

3. The city of Babylon was the center of the Babylonian empire.

4. What were the 2 things that Babylonians and Assyrians had in common? In their quest for riches, they were vicious warriors & built grand cities

5. Who had the largest empire from the map on page 39? Assyria

The Babylonian Empire

6. Hammurabi was a great king of the Babylonia.

7. What did he do for the empire? created a system of roads and a written code of laws

8. Babylon became a crossroads of trade.

9. Define caravans- groups of travelers

10. Define bazaars- markets

11. Trade & conquest made Babylonia rich.

The Empire of the Assyrians

12. Why did the Assyrians become skilled warriors? they were constantly defending themselves

13. What became their best method of defense? to attack

14. What did the Assyrians invent? battering ram

15. What are 5 items used by the Assyrians in battle? slings, archers, helmets, armor and charioteers

16. The Assyrian capital of Nineveh became a city of learning. It had a remarkable library.

Babylonia Rises Again

17. Babylon became the center of the New Babylonian Empire.

18. King Nebuchadnezzar II rebuilt Babylon.

19. What did the city of Babylon look like? massive walls, palace with colored tiles and gates of blue tiles

The Ishtar Gate was the triumphant entry-way into the city of Babylon. It was dedicated to Ishtar, the goddess of love.

Close up of the lions that adorn the Ishtar Gate.

20. What did he build for his wife? Hanging Gardens

No one knows what they actually look like. No actual remains found.

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One of the Seven Wonders of the World - Hanging Gardens of Babylon

When Was the Garden of Babylon Built? about 600 BC.

Where is the Garden of Babylon Located? the east bank of Euphrates River south of Baghdad, Iraq.

What is the History of Garden of Babylon?Ancient stories say King Nebuchadnezzar built the garden for his homesick wife, Amyitis, who had come from green, rugged land with mountains. Babylon was flat, dry and far from green. There are no records of the Hanging Garden from the time Nebuchadnezzer ruled, although there were tablets describing the palace, the city of Babylon and the walls. In fact, none of the historians who wrote about this magnificent garden even saw it. The garden might not have existed.

What Did the Garden of Babylon Look Like?Whether the garden existed or not, this is how it has been described by ancient Greek sources: "The hanging garden has plants cultivated above ground level, and the roots of the trees are embedded in an upper terrace rather than in the earth. The whole mass is supported on stone columns. Exotic flowers and plants covered the terraces. Shade came from cypress trees and palms and there was a rich smell of aromatic plants and flowers in the air. Nebuchadnezzar had every kind of tree and plant you can think of.

How Did They Water the Garden of BabylonThey couldn't just turn the sprinkler on back then so how did the plants survive? One of the most amazing parts of the garden is the watering system. Water from the nearby Euphrates River was lifted far into the air so it could flow down the terraces, watering the several levels of trees and flowers. This was probably done with a chain pump. Two large wheels, connected by a chain, turned and the buckets dipped into a pool and picked up water. The chain then lifted the buckets to the upper wheel where the water was tipped into an upper pool. The empty buckets kept turning and ended up back in the bottom pool. There is no evidence to support this theory, and there's no evidence that says the garden even existed. Regardless, the garden sounds impressive.

21. The New Babylonian Empire became a center of learning because astronomers charted the paths of the stars and measure the length of a year.

They also raised flies that collect honey that were called “ honey bees.”

22. In 539 B.C., the New Babylonia Empire fell to the Persians led by Cyrus the Great but the city of Babylon was spared.