Military EmpiresChapter 7

The Chaldeans7-2

A. Conquerers B. Called themselves BabyloniansC. Babylon

1. capital city2. population 1 million3. world’s richest city4. police force, postal system

I. BabylonA. Protected by huge brick walls that were

guarded by archersB. Center of city stood palaces & templesC. Had a huge ziggurat in the center that

stood 300 ft. high with a gold roof

II. King’s PalaceA. Hanging gardens

1. layered beds of earth planted with large trees & masses of flowering vines & shrubs

2. looked like they were hanging in mid-airB. King Nebudchadnezzar built the gardens for

his wife who missed her home landC. He also built a beautiful street near the palace

for the people1. paved with limestone & marble with walls of blue

glazed tile2. had a parade every year where they wheeled a

statue of the god Marduk through the street

III. Outside city centerA. Houses & marketplacesB. Artisans made pottery, cloth, & basketsC. Goods were sold to caravans – groups of

traveling merchantsD. Traders came from India & Egypt (made

Babylon very rich)

IV. AstronomersA. Babylon was a center for scienceB. Astronomers – people who collect, study,

and explain facts about the heavenly bodiesC. Believed that the sky revealed the gods’

plansD. Made one of the first sundials.E. First to have a 7-day week

*In 539 B.C., the Persians captured Babylon