Akkad and Akkadian Empire (2334-2218 BC) PDF

Mesopotamia Akkad and Akkadian Empire (2334-2218 BC) General Information The Akkad was the seat of the Akkadian Empire Founded by Sargon the Great (2334 - 2449 BC) Unified Mesopotamia Akkad was located on the western bank of the Euphrates River (between Sipar and Kish)...

Mesopotamia Akkad and Akkadian Empire (2334-2218 BC) General Information The Akkad was the seat of the Akkadian Empire Founded by Sargon the Great (2334 - 2449 BC) Unified Mesopotamia Akkad was located on the western bank of the Euphrates River (between Sipar and Kish) Sargon claimed that his empire stretched from the Persian Gulf (Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon), through the lower part of Asia Minor (Southwestern Asia) to the Mediterranian Sea and Cyprus First multinational empire in the world The language of the city was used in the wealthy city of Mari previously It is possible Sargon simply restored Akkad Previously the King of Uruk, Lugalzagesi had unified the area on a much smaller scale He was defeated by Sargon The empire allowed the Mesopotamian region to develop art, literature, science, agricultural advancements, and religion. There were 5 rulers Sargon, Rimush, Manishtusu, Naram-Sin, and Shar-Kali-Sharri Sargon the Great Sargon ruled from (r. 2334-2279 BC) He conquered “the four corners of the world” He maintained order thanks to military power The Akkadian Empire created the first postal system He placed his most important men in cities to control the land He placed his daughter (Enhedunna) as High Priestess of Inanna (Sumerian goddess of love, war, fertility, procreation, and sensuality) at Ur Enhedunna is recognized as the world’s first writer known by name Rimush & Namishtusu Rimush followed in his father's steps after his death (r. 2279 - 2271 BC) The cities rebelled after Sargon’s death so Rimush had to spend his first years restoring order He campaigned against Elam, he defeated him  He ruled for 9 years before his death Manishtusu (r. 2271-2261 BC) succeeded him (it is speculated that he killed his brother) Once again Manishtusu had to fight off revolts He increased trade and traded with Magan and Meluhha (modern-day Oman/UAE and Indus Valley Civilization) He decreed the construction of the Ishtar Temple at Nineveh He was killed by his courtiers Naram-Sin (Peak of Empire) After Manishtusu was his son Naram-Sin (r. 2261-2224 BC) He too had to crush rebellions but afterward the empire thrived During his 36-year reign, he expanded boundaries, kept order, increased trade, and campaigned with his army beyond the Persian Gulf and maybe even into Eygpt The Victory Stele of Naram-Sin depicts his victory over Satuni, king of Lullabi He claimed to be “king of the four quarters of the universe” During his reign, it was considered the peak of the Akkadian Empire Later generations remember him with The Curse of Agade (literary text) It is the story of Naram-Sin trying to wrest an answer by force from the gods According to the text, this resulted in the Sumerian god Enlil losing favor with Akkad and preventing other gods from blessing the city He doesn’t understand why and prays during a 7-year depression He finally decides to attack Enlil’s temple at the Ekur in Nippur The gods send the Gutians to attack the empire There is no record of Naram-Sin attacking the temple thus historians think it was created much later Fall of Akkadian Empire (Shar-Kalai-Sharri) Shar-Kali-Sharri his son reigned after (r. 2223-2198 BC) He struggled to control the revolts after his father’s death and lacked the ability to keep order The Gutian invasion (they were a west Asiatic peopled though to live in the Zagros Mountains) is mostly credited with the collapse of the Akkadian Empire and the Mesopotamian dark age following https://www.worldhistory.org/akkad/ Europe Roman Empire (753 B.C - 476) Origin - 753 B.C. - 509 B.C. - According to legend was founded in 753 B.C by Romulous and Remus - The area is where they were suckled by a she-wolf - This myth originated in fourth century B.C - The exact date of Rome’s founding was set by the Roman scholar Marcus Terentius Varro in the first century B.C - In the legend they were sons of Rhea Silivia who was the daughter of King Numitor of Alba Longa - Alba Longa was a mythical city located in the Alban Hills southeast of what would become Rome - King Numitor was stripped of his kingship by his brother Amulius who also caused Rhea to become a vestel virgin (can’t have children) so that he would have no opponents for the throne - Rhea was impregnated by Mars the god of war who gave birth to Romulous and Remus - Amulis ordered the death of the enfants in the Tiber River - They washed ashore at the Palatine Hill - They were then taken care by a she-wolf until they were found by the shepard Faustulus - Faustulus and his wife raised the children and the twins later became the leaders of a band of young shepard warriors - After learning of the truth they killed Amulius and restored Numitor to the throne - The twins then decided to form a civilization where they were saved - They then got into an altercation resulting in Romulus killing Remes (thus the name being Rome) - To populate the town he offered a place to stay for fugitives and exiles - To get women he abducted the women from Sabine - The Sabine women then prevented the Sabines from taking over Rome - The communities then merged with two rulers, Romulus and Titus Tatius - Titus’ early death left Romulus as the sole ruler - When he died the Romans speculated that he was changed into a god (Quirinus)  - After him there were 6 kings after - Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Martius, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus (Tarquin the Elder), Servius Tullius and Tarquinius Superbus, or Tarquin the Proud - They were referred to as Rex or King - Tarquinius Superbus was overthrown due to being cruel - Around 509 B.C the Roman Republic was established - Republic is derived from res publica or property of the people - Rome was built on 7 hills, Esquiline Hill, Palatine Hill, Aventine Hill, Capitoline Hill, Quirinal Hill, Viminal Hill and Caelian Hill The Early Republic - The power of monarch was given to 2 annually elected magistrates (consuls) - They also served as commanders in chief in the army - Though they were picked by the people a big decision came from the senate - The senate was dominated by the patricians or the descendants of original senators from the time of Romulus - The politics of the time was a struggle between the patricians and the plebeians (common people) - In 287 B.C. the plebians gained equal rights with the patricians - This was labelled as Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPCR - The senate and the roman people) - The common people eventually gained some political power - In 450 B.C. the first Roman law code was inscribed on 12 bronze tablets (a.k.a. The twelve tables) - These included legal procedure, civil rights, and property right Military Expansion - During the early republic the Romans grew in size and power - In 390 B.C. the Gauls sacked and burned Rome - They recovered thanks to the leadership of military hero Camillus - By 264 B.C. the Roman’s had control of the entire Italian peninsula - They then had the Punic Wars against the Carthaginians (northern Africa) - The first 2 Punic wars resulted in the Romans controlling Sicily, the western Mediteranian, and much of Spain - The third Punic war (149-146 B.C.) resulted in the Roman capture and destruction of Carthage - They then sold the people into slavery  - This also made northern Africa a Roman province - During this time the Romans also advanced east thanks to the defeat of King Phillip V of Macedonia in the Macedonian Wars - The Roman conquest led to cultural growth of society - The first Roman literature appeared around 240 B.C. - The Romans would eventually adopt much of Greek culture Late Republic - The gap between the rich and the poor widened - Wealthy landowners would drive away small farmers from public lands - Access to the government was more limited to the privileged class - Attempts to fix these problems resulted in failure - The proletarians were the people who had nothing to lose aside from their own off spring - This was most notable in the attempts of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus (Grachii brothers) (133 B.C. and 123-22 B.C.) - Gaius Marius was a commoner who rose thanks to military prowess - He got proleterians to join the army with promises of free land once joining the army - He become consul (6 terms) Fight for Rome & Rise of Julius Caesar - The trio of Pompeius, Crassus, and Caesar formed the first triumvirate which was a political alliance between the power houses of the time. - Gnaeus Pompeius (magnus) had military success in Asia minor and against pirates in the Mediteranean - Marcus Licinius Crassus was wealthy and suppressed the slave rebellion led by Spartacus in 71 B.C. - Gaius Julius Caesar conquered the land of Gaul - The alliance broke once Pompeius’s wife Julia (Caesar’s daughter) and Craccus died - Pompeius stepped in as the sole consul in 53 B.C. - Caesar gained more glory thanks to military success causing Pompeius to try and undermine Casear with aid of senate allies - It was custom for generals to allow their legions to go ahead and enter Rome solo to receive glory - In 49 B.C. Caesar and one of his legions crossed the Rubicon river into Italy - This initiated a civil war which resulted in Caesar reigning victorious as dictator of Rome for life in 45 B.C. Rise of Augustus - Julius Caesar was murdered on the Ides of March (March 15, 44 B.C.) - This group was led by Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius - The Consul Mark Anthony and Caesar’s heir (great-newphew) Octavion defeated Cassius and Brutus - Power was then divided between Octavion, Mark Anthony, and ex-consul Lepidus forming the Second Triumvirate - Octavion ruled the west, Mark Anthony the east, Lepidus Africa - Tensions rose between the triumvirate - In 31 B.C. Octavtion beat the forces of Anthony and Cleopatra - Anthony and Cleopatra then commited suicide - By 29 B.C. Octavtion was the sole ruler of Rome and the provinces - To secure absolute power he restored the political institutions but in reality he was gaining full power - In 27 B.C. Octavion assumed the title of Augustus while becoming the first emperor of Rome Early Emperors - The rise of power of Augustus restored morale in the empire - It also sparked the pax-Romana which were two centuries of peace - Augusts ruled for 56 years which allowed for great success - Augusts’ dynasty were, unpopular Tiberius (14-37), the bloodthirsty and unstable Caligula (37-41) and Claudius (41-54) - Claudius was known for his British conquest - It ended with Nero (54-68) who drained the treasury and led to his downfall and suicide - Four emporers took the throne in the year after Nero’s death - Vespian (69-79) was the fourth and his successors Titus and Domitian were known as Flavians - Titus (79-81) earned the devotion of the people with his recovery efforts after the eruption of Vesuvius - Following was Nerva (96-98) who was selected by the senate - This marked the beginning of another golden age, this involved the rules of Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius (stoic philosopher) - These emperors claimed the crown peacefully through adoption rather than hereditary - Trajan (98-117) allowed the kingdom to expand to its greatest extent  - These victories were against Dacia (north-western Romania) and Parthia - Hadrian (117-138) solidified the empire’s frontiers - Antoninus Pius (138-161) continued the peace - Marcus Aurelius (161-180) was characterized by conflict - This included conflicts against Parthia and Armenia, and the invasion of Germanic tribes - When Marcus died (on battlefield at Vindobona (Vienna)) he crowned 19-year old son Commodus Decline of Empire - Commodus’ (180-192) regin was one of decadence and incompetence - He died to the hands of his own ministers which sparked another civil war - Lucius Septimius Severus (193-211) was the winner - The third century Rome suffered from near-constant conflict - During this time 22 emperors rose to power but many died to the hands of soldiers who helped them rise to power - The threats around them continued, including the Germans, Parthians, and the Goths - Diocletian (284-305) was temporarily able to restore peace in Rome - Diocletian split the power into the so-called tetrarchy (rule of four) - He shared the tile of emperor with Maximian - Two generals were chosen as the assistants and successors of Diocletian and Maximian - They were Galerius and Constantius - Diocletian and Galerius ruled the eastern Roman Empire and Maximian and Constantius the western Roman Empire - Instability emerged upon the retiring of Diocletian and Maximian - Constantine (the son of Constantius) emerged as the sole emperor in 324 - He moved the Roman capital to the Greek city Byzantium which was later renamed Constantinople - At the council of Nicea in 325, Constantine made Christinanity Rome’s official religion - After his death the empire was once again split - The eastern empire would turn into the Byzantine empire - The western empire would fall due to internal problems and attack from Germanic-tribes (such as the Vandals and Visigoths) - Rome lost Britain in 410; Spain and northern Africa by 430 - Atilla and the Huns invaded Gaul and Italy around 450 - In September 476 a germanic prince named Odovacar gained control of the Roman army in Italy - He then killed the last emporer Romulous Augustus and named himself king (ending the roman empire)