4. Caspian Sea
Black Sea
Turkey Pal. Ter.
Cyprus
Lebanon
Mediterranean
Israel
Sea
Syria
Baghdad
Iraq
Jerusalem
Cairo
Egypt
Jordan
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Riyadh
Red Sea
Tehran
Iran
Kuwait
Persian Gulf
United Arab
Emirates
Oman
Yemen
Arabian Sea
Indian Ocean
35. What is an empire?
Many territories and peoples
controlled by one
government.
36. The Story of Sargon II
King Sargon II of Assyria
heard the news: Assyria
had attacked the nearby
kingdoms of Urartu and
Zikurtu as planned. But
the two kingdoms had
joined forces against
him.
37. The Story of Sargon II
How dare they resist
the most powerful
monarch in the world?
In the summer of 714
BC, king Sargon II set
out to confront his
enemies.
38. The Story of Sargon II
The two kingdoms
were no match for the
powerful Assyrian
ruler. His armies
quickly overcame the
forces of Urartu and
killed all who resisted.
39. The Story of Sargon II
The Assyrians howled with laughter
when they saw the king of Urartu
fleeing on an old horse. Sargon II
let him go. He knew the defeated
king would serve as a warning to
others who might later be tempted
to challenge the mighty Assyrians.
Sargon II was one of many kings
who ruled the Fertile Crescent after
the fall of Sumer.
40. Empires
An empire is an area of many territories and
peoples that is controlled by one
government.
Rulers of empires gained great wealth
through:
Trade
Agriculture
What is agriculture?
Farming
42. Hammurabi
Created the Babylonian
Empire in 1787 BC by
conquering the city-states
of Sumer and land to the
north.
Made the city of Babylon
the capital of his empire.
43. The Babylonian Empire
The Babylonians
built roads
throughout the
empire.
Babylon’s location
made it a crossroads
of trade.
46. The End of the Babylonians
While Hammurabi was in
control of Babylon,
people to the north
were beginning to gain
some military strength.
Shortly after
Hammurabi’s death, the
Babylonian Empire was
overthrown.
61. Babylonia Rises Again
About 1,000
years after
Hammurabi’s
empire collapsed
the descendants
of the
Babylonians
created a new
empire.
They called
themselves
Chaldeans
63. Center of Learning and Science
Astronomers charted the
paths of the stars and
measured the length of
the year.
They were the first to use
a system dividing time
into increments of 60.
Farmers raised honey
bees.
64. The Final End of the Babylonians
The Chaldean
empire was
eventually defeated
by a new, even more
powerful
civilization…
The Persians
68. The Persian Legacy
The Persians built the
largest empire that the
world had seen up to that
point.
69. The Persian Legacy
The Persian
religion was
known as
Zoroastrianism.
The Persians
worshipped only
one god.
This is important
because most
other ancient
people worshipped
many different
gods and
goddesses.
71. The Persian Legacy
Their empire was
huge so they
developed
bureaucracy as a
way to rule such a
large area.
We have a
bureaucracy in the
US today.
Bureaucracy
72. The Persian Legacy
The Persians did
not force anyone
to change their
beliefs or follow a
new religion.
They allowed
people to keep
their own culture.
Tolerance
73. The Persian Legacy
Lasting Influence
Through trade and
conquest, Persian
culture was spread
around the world.
Many of their
achievements survive
today in our own
civilization.
77. Three Tab Book
1. Cut your booklet into three tabs.
2. At the top of each tab, label it: Babylonians,
Assyrians, Persians
3. On the cover of the tab, draw the outline of the
empire’s territory using the map on page 39 as a
guide.
4. Inside the appropriate tab, write down what you
think are the 5 most important details about each
empire.