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Chapter 3: The Tigris and Euphrates Valley
Lesson 3: Later Empires
Big Idea: The Assyrians used both force and innovations to build a large empire.
First Paragraph
For hundreds of years, the Assyrian people had lived alongside the Babylonian
empire. Then they conquered the Babylonians.
The Assyrian Empire
Vocabulary
1) warfare – skill in war
The Assyrians learned warfare from the Hittites. They learned to make iron weapons
and to use chariots.
They also invented their own technology and strategies in warfare.
Assyrian soldiers had specialized jobs, such as chariot drivers, archers, cavalry, and
foot soldiers.
One of the Assyrian kings that followed Sargon II was Sennacherib. He attacked and
destroyed the city of Babylon.
The Assyrian Empire
The Assyrian Empire was at its largest
around 650 BCE, spanning more than
1,600 miles.
Assyrian Achievements
Vocabulary
1) decree – an official order or decision made by a ruler
2) territory – a large division of a country
Assyrian kings worked to unite the peoples of their huge empire by improving
transportation and communication.
They built roads and developed a postal system.
Assyrians also built large monuments to show people the strength and success of their
empire.
Assyrian innovations:
• Locks that opened with keys
• Magnifying glass
• Plumbing
o Flushing toilets
o Running water
Assyrian Achievements
Assyrian organization of the government:
• Assyrians divided their vast lands into territories.
• Local leaders governed these territories.
• This model still exists today, even in the United States.
Glorious Nineveh
Vocabulary
1) reliefs – wall carvings that stand out from the surface
of a building
2) scribe – a person who wrote things down for others
Nineveh was located on the east bank of the Tigris River near the modern-day city of
Mosul in Iraq.
Nineveh was the home of King Ashurbanipal’s enormous library.
The Medes attacked the city of Nineveh and killed the king of Assyria.
(They were helped by the Chaldeans.)
The New Babylonian Empire
Nebuchadnezzar was the Neo-Bablylonian empire’s most famous kings.
He built two famous structures:
• The Tower of Babel
• The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
The New Babylonians were eventually defeated by the Persians.
(They were led by Cyrus).