Lesson #10

The Riseof

Babylon

When we last met…The Sumerians made a lot of important contributions to the world including…

The first writing system, cuneiform.Inventing the wheel.Inventing the plow.

Advancements in math and science.Larger buildings and more advanced art

forms.

THE FALL OF SUMERAND THE

RISE OF BABYLON

By 2,000 BC, Ur had been destroyed by it’s enemies. The city was completely destroyed and it’s power

gone.

The fall of Ur led to many people battling to be the new power of Mesopotamia.

By 1800 BC, a small Sumerian town had turned into a major new power and the name of this town was

BABYLON!

In 1792 BC, Babylon had a new ruler who would become the strongest leader the city-state had ever

had. His name was Hammurabi!

Hammurabi was a great military leader and he led many conquests to take over territory that he would

rule over. He eventually created the Babylonian Empire. Today the capital of Iraq, Baghdad, is on

the spot of ancient Babylon.

Hammurabi was a great leader who improved his empire through great projects that brought wealth and prosperity to his

people. He collected taxes to pay for these projects.

The size of Babylon grew as the people of the city-state reaped

the benefits of Hammurabi’s

leadership. This is a picture of what

Babylon looked like under his rule.

But his most famous accomplishment was

yet to come…

Hammurabi’s CodeIf you were the leader of a great amount of land and people, what would you need to

keep order and peace among your people?

Laws

Hammurabi’s Code were laws that set order and rule for just about every

aspect of life including trade, marriage, theft and murder.

Most importantly however is that law, for the first time was written down for

all to see.

Why do you think this is so important?