The Mediterranean & The Middle East, 2000-500 B.C.E.

Part IIJohn Ermer

World History APMiami Beach Senior High

The Assyrians (911-612 B.C.E.)Neo-Assyrian Empire

The first “empire” to rule far-flung, diverse peoplesAssyria

Northern Mesopotamia, Hilly, Temperate ClimateExposed to attack from the east, west, and north

Constant attack made local farmers apt fighters—soldiers

Assyrian rulers begin military campaigns to conquer Armies move west, across the deserts and steppe to Med.

Sea North to Armenia (Urartu), South to Babylonia, East to

Media/Persia Assyrians conquer Egypt

Largest empire to date, built to enrich the center at the expense of the periphery

Assyrian Empire BuildingAssyrian army is root of conquest, professional

soldiersPioneers of military organizationIron weapons, armed divisions, four man chariots Couriers, signal fires, spiesSiege tactics—mobile towers, tunnels, battering

ramsMass deportations and brutality to keep controlExploitation of peripheral territories to benefit of

centerThough provincial infrastructure improvedMerchant classes thrive in conquered cities

The AssyriansKing= the gods’ earthly representative

All the peoples under his control=serventsCapital of Ashur=ancient holy city

Religious and state functions blurred

First government sponsored mail system, king “holds court”Spread of propaganda for support of king’s actions

Palaces loomed large in Ashur, Nineveh, and KalhuLibrary of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh Palace art served state functions

Social Structure: Free landowners, farmers/artisans, slaves

Foreigners in Assyria given same legal rights as Assyrians

Map of the Assyrian Empire

Israel (2000-500 B.C.E.)Rise of the Israelites the result of two trends:

Loose group of nomadic herders/caravan merchants bound by extended lines of kinship settle down into sedentary farmers

Transformation of austere cult of a desert god into a new monotheistic religion built around one all-knowing, all-powerful God—the God of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

Never very powerful, Israelites influence world with faith

Central location b/w Mesopotamia, Egypt, Anatolia, Arabia

Land around them is forbiddingInfluence out of proportion with size/power of

people

Origins of the IsraelitesSemitic-speaking people—Hebrew (related to

Phoenician & Aramaic; and less closely related to Arabic and Akkaadian)

MonotheisticAramaic eventually replaces Hebrew as common

languageInformation through archaeology, contemporary

sources, and Hebrew BibleCompiled from different groups with distinct

vocabulariesOrally transmitted until c. 900 B.C.E. with cannon

around Stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Israel)

Slavery in Egypt (Moses, Joshua, Land of Canaan, Walls of Jericho)

Tribes of Israel, establishment of Judges, Ark of the Covenant

The Philistines (pre-Greek Aegeanites)—Sea People’s?

The Israelite Kings & PriestsConflict: Israelites vs. Philistines c. 1500 B.C.E.Religious leader,Samuel, anoints king—Saul (c.1020

B.C.E.)c. 1000-960 B.C.E.: King David

Names Jerusalem political & religious capital of Israelc. 960-920: King Solomon (height of Israel’s power)

Expanded trade to Phoenicia, Arabia, & Africa Growing gap between rich and poor

Large scale building projects—the First TempleDevelopment of a priestly class

Corruption, disregard for welfare of poor--ProphetsExtended families dominated by elder males

Female dowry and assigning of slave girlHigh amounts of women’s rights, no property ownership

Map of Palestine c.1200 B.C.

Solomon’s Temple

Jewish DiasporaSplitting of Israel into two kingdoms (North & South)

Northern Kingdom=Israel, capital in Samaria (10 Tribes)Southern Kingdom=Judah, capital in Jerusalem (2 Tribes)

721 BCE: Israel destroyed by Assyrians, repopulatedIsrael no longer considered mainstream Jewish

587 BCE: Judah conquered by BabyloniansNabuchadnezzar destroys temple, deports rich and

skilled Many stay after Persian emperor Cyrus allows return to Israel Diaspora—Greek for “dispersion” or “scattering Synagogue—Greek for “bringing together”

Diaspora and returned Jews compile strict lawsTemple rebuilt, though more modestlyBan from marrying non-Jews, distinct community

The Phoenicians (1200-500 B.C.E.)In modern day Lebanon (ancient Syria-Palestine)

Descendants of Semitic pastoral nomads—the Aramaeans

Self identify as Can’ani, or Canaanites, Greeks: Phoinikes

Mountainous terrain spurs development of city-statesBiblos, Berytus, Sidon, TyreMaritime navigation and commerce=wealth

Purple dye, glass, cedar, pine, metals, foodstuffs, papyrus

Development of the first alphabetGreeks would later adopt the same, modify

Phoenician Colonization of the Mediterranean—Carthage

900 B.C.E.: Tyre colonizes Cyprus for copper, trade routePhoenician Triangle: N. Africa, S. Spain, W. Italy,

Sicily, Malta Conflict with Greeks, Sicily is main battleground

Carthage becomes powerful Phoenician colony (N. Africa)Comes to dominate many other Phoenician coloniesPopulation of 400,000 (one of world’s largest cities)Naval power dominates western Mediterranean

Sailed the Atlantic, sourced tin as far away as England Trade with Sub-Saharan Africa

Used Numidians, Iberians, and Gauls as merceniaries

Direct control of Iberia & Sardinia, system of protectorates

The Carthaginian Empire

Phoenician Carthage

Moving & Shaking (750-550 B.C.E.)650: Assyrian power unrivaled, but position

weakenedOverextended military vulnerableBrutality discredits Assyrian rule, emboldens

opponentsNeo-Babylonians (Chaldaean Empire) & Medes

(Iranians) destroy Assyrian homeland, depopulate land

Babylonians assume rule of most Assyrian landNebuchadnezzar & glory of Babylon