Chapter 2, section 4 and 5

about 2300 B.C. the ruler of neighboring AKkad, invaded and conquered the city-states of Summer

about 1790 B.C. king of babylon brought much of Mesopotamia under his control

in Nineveh this king founded one of the first libraries

This aggressive and ruthless king revived the power of Babylon. This new babylonian empire stretched from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean sea.

in 539 B.C. Babylon to the Persian armies of Cyrus the Great. Cyrus and his successors went on to conquer the largest empire yet seen.

The real unification of the Persian empire was accomplished under this Persian emperor who ruled from 522 B.C. to 486 B.C.

Religious beliefs put forward by this Persian thinker helped unite the empire. He lived about 600 B.C. Instead of teaching multiple gods were important he taught that a single wise god, Ahura Mazda ruled the world.

arrange and set down in writing, of all the laws that would govern a state. The first attempt at this was Hammurabi's Code.

This branch of laws deals with offenses against other such as robbery, assault, or murder. A section of Hammurabi's code codified criminal law.

Another part of Hammurabi's code involved Civil law. This branch of law deals with private rights and matters, such as business contracts, property inheritance, taxes, marriage, and divorce.

the Persian king pursued a policy of acceptance, of the peoples they conquered. They respected the customs and religious traditions of the diverse groups in an empire.

Darius the emperor divided the Persian Empire into provinces, each headed by a governor.

exchanging one set of goods or services for another

Coins brought merchants and traders into an early form of money economy. In this system, goods and services are paid for through the exchange of some token of an agreed value, such as a bill or coin.

is a territory settled and ruled by people from another land.

Phoenician traders came up with a form of the alphabet that contains letters that represent spoken sounds.

Hammurabi built and strengthened his empire by broadcasting the legal principles his government would follow by doing this he had artisans carve about 300 laws on a stone pillar for all to see. He also proclaimed that his goals were to "cause justice to prevail in the land/ To destroy the wicked and evil/ That the strong may not oppress the weak". Another way he helped built his empire was he came up with a form of criminal law that dealt with robbery, assault, or murder and civil law that dealt with business contracts, property inheritance, taxes, marriage, and divorce. The last important factor that helped him was he improved the irrigation , organized a well-trained army, and had temples repaired.

The Hittites introduced a new age of technology by learning how to extract iron from ore, this was just the beginning. After learning this they figured out that if you heat iron ore , pound out the impurities, then putting it into cold water. The tools that were made were harder and had sharper edges than those made out of bronze or copper. In addition to the iron being stronger it was also inexpensive making it easier to arm more people with this weapon.

One way Darius united the Persian Empire was by building hundreds of miles of roads built or repaired to connect all his provinces also making it easier to connect with them. Another way he united the Empire was by him traveling around one royal capital to another, and in each he celebrated important festivals and was seen by the people.

The Phoenicians were given this name because they spread Middle Eastern civilization around the Mediterranean. They did this by trading with people all around the Mediterranean sea.

The Israelites or Hebrews recorded events and laws in this, it was their most sacred text.

He lived near Ur in Mesopotamia and is considered the founder of the Israelite nation

He led the Israelites in their escape from Egypt

a strong and shrewd king, united the feuding Israelite tribes into a single nation.

turned Jerusalem into an impressive capital, with a temple dedicated to God. He also won fame for his wisdom and understanding.

a set of laws that Jews believed God gave them through Moses

In the west, this shared heritage of Jews and Christians.

The Israelites believed in one true God

The Israelites believed that God had made a binding agreement with Abraham.

Israelite society was, that is, fathers and husbands held great legal and moral authority

a holy day for rest and worship

Isaiah and Jeremiah warned that failure to obey God's law would lead their people to disaster.

The prophets preached moral standards of behavior.

The scattering of people sent Jews to different parts of the world.

Israel became divided because Solomon ambitions were too great. In order to fulfill his projects, it required higher taxes and much more forced labor that revolts erupted soon after his death about 922 B.C. After his death, the kingdom then split into Israel in the north and Judah in the south.

The beliefs of the Israelites were different from those of the Mesopotamian people because the Israelites were monotheistic meaning they worshipped one God. At the time, most other people worshipped many gods that they thought of as tied to certain places or people. The Israelites believed in an all-knowing, all-powerful God who was present everywhere. Unlike many ancient societies in which the ruler was seen as a god, Jews saw their leaders as fully human and bound to obey God's law.

Israelites believed that the father or oldest male relative was head of the household and arranged marriages for his daughters. They also believed that males held great legal and moral authority giving women very few legal rights. In addition to family life Israelites urged both personal morality and social justice, calling on the rich and powerful to protect the weak and poor. All people they said were looked at equal to God and saw their leaders as fully human.