Hittites:
- Controlled Anatolia in 2000 B.C.E
- City-states join to form empire in 1650 B.C.E
- Borrowed ideas from Mesopotamian culture, wrote in cuneiform
Lived north of Mesopotamia, modern day turkey.

Hittite Technology
- Skillful in war- had superior iron weapons and chariot
Around 1190 B.C.E. the empire falls due to attacks from northern tribes/sea people.
Phoenicians
- Powerful traders in wealthy city-states along the Mediterranean
- Skilled shipbuilders, seafarers; sailed past the Straits of Gibraltar
SEA ROUTES:

Legacy was a system of writing to record trade deals. It was later developed into western alphabet.
Assyrians
Known for their combat skills. They were especially brutal and cruel.
- Used military might to acquire empire across southwest Asia
- Glorified armies wore metal armor, copper helmets, leather protection
- Used iron weapons, engineering skill, and brute force to conquer cities
- Killed, enslaved, or banished captive people to distant lands
The Assyrian Empire had no mercy for the lands that they conquered.
Defeated Syria, Palestine, & Babylonia: 850-650 BCE
Collected taxes and tributes (slaves) from conquered lands

Assyrian Culture:
- Rulers (including Ashurbanipal) built great cities
- Carved sculptures of military campaigns and lion hunts
- Library of 20,000 cuneiform tablets
- including Epic of Gilgamesh
Decline and Fall of the Assyrians:
- Army of Chaldeans (people of Babylon ) revolted and destroyed Nineveh
- Chaldean King Nebuchadnezzar makes Babylon the capital city of the Chaldean Empire
- Famous for the Hanging Gardens of Babylon