Vocabulary
smelting
provinces
caravans
astronomers
Notes
Assyrians came to power in Mesopotamia 1000 years after Hammurabi�s rule in the area.
The Assyrians settled in the upper part of the Tigris River valley.
The Assyrians worked as shepherds and farmers.
They were warriors due to many invasions by neighboring civilizations.
They built a powerful army who was armed with iron weapons.
They borrowed the process of smelting from the Hittites to make stronger iron for their weapons.
At first, the Assyrians only fought during the summer so they could farm during the rest of the year.
As the empire expanded the job of a soldier became a year long task requiring the Assyrians to hire soldiers from other civilizations..
Often the Assyrians would force people they had captured in battle to serve in their army.
When the Assyrians invaded cities, they set fire to it, stole goods, and carried away citizens.
Citizens who resisted were punished and those who obeyed were forced to pay high taxes.
Assyrians had strong leaders called kings.
They ruled large empires.
Each empire was divided into provinces ruled by government officials.
The government officials collected taxes and made sure the king�s rules were followed.
A system of roads connected the provinces.
The roads allowed the Assyrians to be successful in trade.
The Assyrians also started the world�s first libraries.
The Assyrian Empire eventually became to large for the kings to control.
In 612 BC, the Chaldeans captured the Assyrian capital of Nineveh. (niniva)
The Chaldeans were another warrior people.
They were descendants of people who lived in Hammurabi�s empire.
For this reason they called themselves Babylonians.
The Chaldeans had a large empire under the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar.
He built a large capital at Babylon.
Babylon was the richest city in the world during its time.
At the center of Babylon were palaces and temples.
The king�s palace was the most lavish.
It included a large garden called the �hanging garden.�
The �hanging garden� included flowers and trees planted to appear as though they were hanging.
The streets near the king�s palace were also beautiful.
They were paved in limestone and marble and surrounded by blue tile walls.
Outside the center of Babylon were houses and marketplaces.
Artisans made pottery, cloth, and baskets which were sold to caravans passing by the marketplaces.
Traders in caravans traveled from far off lands to obtain the artisans� goods.
This trade made Babylon a rich city.
Science was also important to the Chaldeans.
Astronomers studied the sky for changes.
The Chaldeans believed that these changed revealed plans of the gods.
Astronomers also made maps showing the phases of the moon and the location of the stars.
Chaldean astronomers created the first sundial and developed the seven day week.
In 539 BC, the Persians captured Babylon and ended the Chaldean reign.
The Persians were once known as the Aryans.
They separated from other Aryans and settled in modern day Iran.
They called their country Persia.
In 600 BC, the Persians were conquered by the Medes.
Under King Cyrus, the Persians overthrew the Medes and organized an army.
The best fighters in the army belonged to a group called the Immortals.
This group never consisted of less than 10,000 men.
When an Immortal became sick or died another soldier would take his place.
With this powerful group the army conquered new territory.
Soon the Persians ruled a large empire.
The people the Persians conquered were allowed to keep many of their freedoms.
They were required to pay taxes and produce goods for trade.
Darius was one of Persia�s strongest rulers.
He built a large extravagant palace at Persepolis.
This city became a powerful capital of the nation.
Many people helped the king govern Persia.
They spoke Aramaic to conduct business with merchants who also spoke this language.
A governor, secretary, and general were chosen for each of the 20 provinces in the Persian empire.
The officials had the job of collecting taxes from citizens and merchants.
The eyes and ears of the king were the inspectors.
Inspectors traveled the empire checking on government officials.
They also looked for any signs of a rebellion and reported this information to the king.
Judges also played an important role in Persian government.
His job was to make sure the king�s laws were followed throughout the land.
Poor Persians lived in one-room houses.
Noble families lived in larger homes.
These homes had specific rooms for men.
Persians lived in large family groups.
A father ruled the home.
Rich women spent most of their lives at home separated from men while poor women worked hard.
Poor children were required to work with their parents.
Noble children stayed at home with their mothers until they were five years old.
After that time they were raised by slaves.
Boys were taught to ride a horse and shoot with a bow.
Girls were taught to run a household.
Persians worshipped two main gods.
The god of good things was Ahura Mazda.
Ahriman was the god of all evil things.
Zoroaster, a Persian religious leader, taught the people that they chose which god to worship by their actions.
He believed that Ahura Mazda would eventually defeat Ahriman.
Those who chose good actions would be happy in the afterlife.
Those who chose evil actions would be punished in the afterlife.
Persians did not believe in becoming a trading society.
They felt this behavior would result in citizens who lied and were greedy.
Instead they chose to be farmers, warriors, or shepherds.
They did allow people whom they conquered to trade.
Persians had a great system of roads.
The most important road named the Royal Road was longer than 1,600 miles.
The Persians also built a caravan route to China.
The Persian used a system of coins for money.
They learned of this idea after conquering the Lydians who first used the system.
This helped those who traded conduct a good business.