Kingdoms and Empires in the Middle East Cultural

Kingdoms and Empires in the Middle East Cultural Diffusion in the Middle East

Trading Peoples �The B. C. Aramaens: settled in Syria @ 1200 ◦ Est. Damascus as the capital city ◦ Controlled overland trade (Egypt & Mesopotamia) ◦ Aramaic became the trade language of the Med. �The Phoenicians: Settled in Canaan ◦ Known as Palestine, “land of the Philistines” ◦ Controlled the overseas trade in the Med. Sea ◦ Used an alphabet to keep track of records ◦ Set up colonies and trading posts �The Lydians: Lived in Asia Minor (Turkey) ◦ Prosperous lifestyles ◦ Replaced barter system with a money system

The Early Israelites �Lived in Canaan (Abraham) �Monotheistic ◦ Worshiped one God (Yahweh) �A divine covenant w/ Abraham �Lived as nomadic shepherds �Jacob and 12 sons ◦ Joseph was sold into slavery ◦ Fled to Egypt ◦ Later enslaved

The Early Israelites �Moses and the Exodus from Egypt ◦ Commemorated Passover ◦ The Ten Commandments & “Promised Land” �Settling Canaan in Canaan: Joshua led them into ◦ Fought against the Canaanites and Philistines ◦ Judges led the Twelve Tribes of Israel �Saul (r. 1020 -1012 B. C. ): �David (r. 1012 -961 B. C. ) first Israelite king ◦ Defeated Goliath ◦ Set up the capital in Jerusalem – economic prosperity �Solomon (r. 961 -922 B. C. ) ◦ Built the Temple in Jerusalem ◦ Very prosperous economically

Early Israelites �Israel’s Struggle ◦ 10 northern tribes broke away from the southern 2 ◦ The 2 southern tribes became Judah (Jews) �Exile of Kingdoms ◦ Assyrians and Chaldeans invaded and enslaved Israel ◦ Exile in Babylon – prophets (Jeremiah) rose up �Rebuilding Jerusalem ◦ 539 B. C. the Persians (Cyrus) conquered the Chaldeans ◦ Darius allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild ◦ The Torah was organized (first 5 books of the O. T. ) ◦ The Diaspora (the scattering) began

Lasting Legacy of the Israelites �The Jews view on occurrences ◦ Everything happened according to God’s purpose �Believe that humans have an infinite worth �Humans are accountable for what goes on in the world b/c we work in a partnership with God

Empire Builders

The Assyrians � Lived in northern Mesopotamia � Most lethal and ruthless military East in the Middle ◦ Organized the military into different groups ◦ Fought with iron weapons � 650 BC: had created an Empire (capital – Nineveh) ◦ Divided the empire into provinces ◦ Built a sophisticated system of roads � 612 B. C. – the Chaldeans defeated the Assyrians

The Chaldeans(New Babylonians) �Descendents of Hammurabi’s Empire �Nebuchadnezzar – the most powerful king ◦ Expanded the empire to include Syria/Canaan �Studied astrology: laid foundation for astronomy �Decline after Nebuchadnezzar ◦ weak kings + poor harvest + slow trade � 539 B. C. – Persians seized Babylon

The Persians �Settled in Iran in 2000 s B. C. �Cyrus II (540 s B. C. ) ◦ Developed a strong military ◦ Conquered the Medes (expanded the empire) ◦ Took over land in Asia Minor (Lydia/Greek citystates) ◦ 525 B. C. – Cambyses conquered Egypt ◦ Persian Empire covered 3, 000 miles & 50 million people �Darius I (522 -486 B. C. ) ◦ Empire’s best organizer (satraps and provinces) ◦ “Eyes and Ears of the King” inspectors ◦ Brought artisans in to build Persepolis

The Persians �Persian Empire ◦ Treated conquered people fairly ◦ Improved the network of roads �Persian Religion and Culture ◦ Strict moral code ◦ Polytheistic until 500 s B. C. ◦ Zoroaster: (Ahura Mazda & Ahriman) �Good vs. Evil – Good will win in the end �Fall of Persia ◦ Darius waged war with the Greeks for control of Asia Minor ◦ 480 B. C. Xerxes lost to the Greeks