After Sumer: Akkad, Assyria and the Babylonian empires

Grade 6 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Two Babylonian empires

   Topic	First empire	Neo-Babylonian empire
   Capital	Babylon	Babylon
   Began	1894 BCE, under Sumuabum	626 BCE, under Nabopolassar
   Best-known king	Hammurabi, about 1792 to 1750 BCE	Nebuchadnezzar II, 605 to 561 BCE
   What followed	a Hittite raid in 1595 BCE, then Kassite rule	Cyrus II of Persia took Babylon in 539 BCE

   Below the chart: more than a thousand years separate the reigns of Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar II.

2. 1.

   Esme reads both Babylon charts. Which was true of both Babylonian empires?

   • Persia ended each one, in the year 539 BCE
   • Each one began in 626 BCE
   • Babylon was the capital of each one
   • Hammurabi ruled each one, one after the other
3. 2.

   About how many years passed from Hammurabi's death, about 1750 BCE, to 626 BCE, Jun asks?

   • About 1,124 years
   • About 2,376 years
   • About 1,124 years, with 626 BCE first
   • About 1,268 years
4. 3.

   Which came first, the Hittite raid or Nabopolassar's kingdom, Kira asks?

   • Both happened in the same year
   • Nabopolassar's kingdom, in 626 BCE
   • Cyrus II's capture of Babylon, in 539 BCE
   • The Hittite raid, in 1595 BCE

5. Babylon's first empire

   Topic	What we know
   Beginning	in 1894 BCE the Amorite king Sumuabum made Babylon the center of a small kingdom
   Hammurabi	the sixth king (ruled about 1792 to 1750 BCE) made Babylon the capital of all southern Mesopotamia and part of Assyria
   How Hammurabi ruled	his letters show him handling daily details himself; he did not set up an effective system of officials
   Water	much of his work was about controlling the Euphrates waters, which farming depended on
   After Hammurabi	the kingdom weakened quickly; after a Hittite raid in 1595 BCE, the Kassites took control

   Below the chart: one historian suggests the lack of officials may be one reason the kingdom weakened after Hammurabi.

6. 4.

   Why might Hammurabi's kingdom have weakened after him, by the chart and note, Luz asks?

   • It lacked effective officials, and a Hittite raid followed
   • His letters were lost, so no one could govern
   • Cyrus II of Persia took Babylon from his son
   • It lacked effective officials, and no other cause played a part
7. 5.

   Why did Hammurabi work to control the Euphrates, by the chart, Milo asks?

   • His library stood on its bank
   • It was the border with Media
   • It was the main road from Babylon to Persia
   • Farming depended on its waters

8. The Neo-Babylonian empire

   Topic	What we know
   Beginning	in 626 BCE the Chaldean leader Nabopolassar made Babylon the capital of a kingdom
   Nebuchadnezzar II	ruled 605 to 561 BCE and made the kingdom a major imperial power
   Rebuilding	he built walls and a moat, paved the Processional Way with limestone, rebuilt temples and cut canals
   Hanging gardens	a story says he made gardens for his wife from Media; no such structure has been positively identified
   The end	in 539 BCE Cyrus II of Persia took Babylon almost without resistance

   Below the chart: under Persian rule, Babylon kept most of its institutions.

9. 6.

   Which explanation of 539 BCE stays with the chart, Noah asks?

   • Cyrus II of Persia took the city almost without resistance
   • Cyrus II of Persia took the city because its gardens had collapsed
   • Cyrus II turned the river aside, as the chart states
   • The Kassites took the city after a Hittite raid
10. 7.

    Under Persia, Babylon kept most of its institutions. Which claim fits, Tala asks?

    • Babylon kept its own kings on the throne
    • Persian rule left much of Babylon's way of running things in place
    • Persia wiped out Babylon's ways in 539 BCE
    • Babylon went on to rule the whole Persian empire after 539 BCE
11. 8.

    Nebuchadnezzar II's reign ended in 561 BCE after 44 years. When did it begin, Zee asks?

    • 517 BCE
    • 626 BCE
    • 605 BCE
    • 539 BCE
12. 9.

    Below the chart: one historian suggests the lack of officials may be one reason the kingdom weakened after Hammurabi. Hammurabi ruled about 42 years, and his reign ended about 1750 BCE. When did it begin, Ari asks?

    • About 1792 BCE
    • About 1595 BCE
    • About 1894 BCE
    • About 1708 BCE
13. 10.

    Below the chart: under Persian rule, Babylon kept most of its institutions. Cyrus II took Babylon 87 years after Nabopolassar made it a capital in 626 BCE. Which year checks out, Bo asks?

    • 1595 BCE
    • 561 BCE
    • 539 BCE
    • 713 BCE