HIST 103 Chapter 8: History 103 - Persian Empire
Document Summary
The persian empire: by the seventh century the chaldeans, a semitic-speaking people, had achieved ascendancy in babylonia and came to form the leading opposition to assyrian rule over mesopotamia. After the fall of the assyrian empire, the chaldeans reclaimed a role as the leading power in the ancient near east under their king. Nebuchadnezzar restored babylon as the center of his kingdom, and gave it a reputation as one of the ancient world"s great cities. Babylon was surrounded by large walls, 8 miles long, encircled by a moat filled with the river euphrates. The town was decorated with temples and palaces; most prominent among them were the hanging gardens, regarded as one of the ancient world"s. These were supposedly built to please the wife of nebuchadnezzar, a princess from media country who missed her homeland"s mountains. A series of terraces led to a hill, an artificial mountain, on top of which the lush, water-piped gardens rose to the peak.
