Trading PeoplesChris AndersonRandolph-Henry High School

Trading Civilizations0The Egyptians and Mesopotamian peoples had

great influence over other civilizations of the Middle Eastern region

0Trading civilizations developed and traded with the Egyptians and Mesopotamian civilizations0Aramaeans0Phoenicians0Lydians

01.) Aramaeans01200 BC—settled in central Syria0Created capital at Damascus0Spoke a language called Aramaic0Politically and militarily weak0Constant feuding between the ruling classes

0Very active in the land trade in the Middle East0Controlled the land trade between Egypt and

Mesopotamia0Became very rich because of trade

02.) Phoenicians03000 BC—the Phoenicians settled in Canaan

(Lebanon, Israel, Jordan)0Settled alongside the Philistines0Had to compete for resources

0Sea Traders—traded goods to get food that they could not grow0Had to trade—not enough farmland0Built ships out of cedar wood that grew in Canaan0Expert seamen and navigators

0Phoenicians traded all over the Mediterranean to get food

0They traded0Cedar lumber0Dyed cloth—dyed purple0Elegant jewelry

Jewelry

Dyeing Cloth

0Phoenicians built many port cities along the coast—trading ports0Tyre0Byblos0Sidon0Berytus

0The Phoenicians’ major contribution was an alphabet0Developed around 1100 BC0Developed to keep up with trade transactions0Contained 22 characters—all consonants, no

vowels0The alphabet was easy to learn, allowing more

people to be able to read and write—no need for scribes

0The Phoenician alphabet became the basis for the Greek alphabet and all western alphabets

0The Phoenicians also built colonies0Good trade routes & a safe place to rest mid-voyage0Resources0Trade & profit

0The most famous Phoenician colony was Carthage (located in Northern Africa)

The Phoenicians founded colonies around 1100 B.C.

LixisCadiz

UticaKitionCarthage

Tharros

Motya

Ruins of Carthage

03.) Lydians0Settle on the peninsula of Asia Minor—

modern day Turkey0They were rich because of the rich gold

deposits around their homes0Lydians introduced the money system to the

world—they were the 1st to produce coins

Lydians in Asia Minor

Hebrews (Jews/Israelites)

0The Hebrews introduced monotheism—the belief in one God—to the world0Yahweh=Hebrew word for God

0Hebrew teachings have become the basis for:0 Judaism0Christianity 0 Islam

0The Bible is the main source for information on the Hebrews

0Abraham—father of the Hebrews0A herder and trader from Ur01900 BC—Abraham led his family from Sumer into

Canaan, along side the Phoenicians and Philistines0Covenant with God for “Promised Land”

“Now the Lord had said to Abram:Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s

house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” - Genesis 12: 1-3

0The Hebrews had to deal with harsh conditions in Canaan—a desert region

0Most Hebrews herded animals—sheep and goats0Abraham’s grandson—Jacob—had 12 sons0Each of Jacob’s sons headed a different Hebrew tribe0These tribes became known as the 12 Tribes of Israel

0A drought in Canaan caused the different Hebrew tribes to look in different areas for suitable places to farm

0The Hebrews were invited into Egypt to share Egypt’s surplus of food0The Hebrews and Egyptians lived peacefully at first0Egyptians, eventually turned the Hebrews into

slaves

0Hebrew slaves had a difficult life0They prayed for a deliverer01200s BC—Moses was able to lead the

Hebrews out of Egypt—The Exodus0Moses led the Hebrews into the Sinai Desert0The 10 Commandments were created0 Joshua—Moses’ successor—led the Hebrews back

into Canaan

0Life back in Canaan was very difficult0The 12 Tribes had to fight with the Philistines and

Canaanites (Phoenicians) for land0The Hebrews fought for 200 years with little

success—the tribes could not unite against their enemies

0The Hebrews will unite under King Saul (1020-1012 BC)

0Saul was unable to defeat the Philistines

0He lost popularity with the people

0Committed suicide

0The Hebrews turned their hopes on a hero of the wars—David (1012-973 BC)0David had shown his

bravery by slaying Goliath

0David created his capital at Jerusalem0He built a large temple in

his capital

0David’s son—Solomon (973-922 BC)—ascended the Hebrew throne in 973

0He built lots of cities0He heavily taxed the people0He was hated by the people0After his death in 922 BC, the Hebrews split

into 2 separate kingdoms0 Israel—North0 Judah—South

Judah and Israel

0Each kingdom was politically independent—but independence was short lived0722 BC—a group called the Assyrians took Israel0586 BC—the Chaldeans captured Judah0The Hebrews were forced out of their homeland0The Hebrew temple at Jerusalem was destroyed0During this time of foreign occupation, the Hebrews

became known as the Jews

0539 BC—the Hebrews were allowed back into their homeland by the Persians0400’s BC—Ezra gathered Jewish holy

writings into a holy book called the Torah0The Torah was composed of 5 books0Genesis0Exodus0Leviticus0Numbers0Deuteronomy

0The Hebrews blazed the path for future monotheistic religions0Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all

are based on the Hebrew ideas of monotheism

Powerful Kingdoms—Empire Builders

04 very powerful kingdoms will emerge in Asia and conquer most of the Fertile Crescent Region0Hittites0Assyrians0Chaldeans0Persians

#1.) Hittites02000 BC: Hittites conquered Asia Minor0Created city-states on the Anatolia Plateau0Capital: Hattusas0Strong Armies0Used iron weapons02 person chariots

0Able to conquer Babylon (1595 BC)0Empire lasted until 1200 BC

#2.) Assyrians0Assyrians lived in the hills of Mesopotamia0At first, they were weak and constantly attacked by

their neighbors0By 900 BC—the Assyrians had defend themselves

and attack others0They developed a very powerful and organized

military system0Foot soldiers0Charioteers0 cavalry0Used iron weapons

0The Assyrians were very cruel to those they conquered0Burned entire cities to the ground0Tortured prisoners0Relocated entire cities and kingdoms0Heavily taxed the people

0650 BC—the Assyrians had a very large empire

0Stretched from the Persian Gulf to Egypt and parts of Turkey

0Built roads to increase communication

0612 BC—the people of the empire rebelled against their Assyrian captors0The civil war allowed an outside group

—Chaldeans—to conquer the Assyrians

#3.) Chaldeans0Chaldeans had very powerful kings0King Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 BC)0He expanded the empire into Canaan—forced

Israelites out of Juda0He made Babylon into the largest city of the ancient

world

0Babylon housed 2 of the world’s great wonders0Hanging Gardens of Babylon0Wall of Babylon

0Chaldeans have been credited with the creation of Astronomy0They meticulously watched the sky0Created star and planet charts

0No king after Nebuchadnezzar would have his power0The empire slowly fell apart because of

weak kings0539 BC—Persians conquered Babylon

and the Chaldean Empire

#4.) Persians

0Persians settled in modern day Iran0Persian had many powerful kings0Cyrus0 540s BC—Cyrus conquered much of the known world

0Mesopotamia0Syria0Canaan0Phoenicia0Lydia0Greek city-states in Turkey

0Cambyses0Cyrus’ son0He increased the Persian’s holdings by

capturing Egypt0The empire stretch for over 3000 miles—from

the Nile River to the Indus River050 million people in the empire

0Darius I (522-486)0Divided the large empire into provinces with

individual governors for each province0Very tolerant0Had the Royal Road constructed01500 miles long0A rest stop was placed on the road every 14 miles

0Xerxes0Darius’ son0480 BC—he attempted to take over the

Greeks0His failure caused the empire to lose

power and begin to crumble

0Persian Culture0Polytheists—worshipped many gods0Zoroaster tried to change Persian

religion0Said the world was controlled by 2 gods

(like a Heaven and Hell)01.) Ahura Mazda—the good02.) Ahriman—the evil