The Middle East: 8000

BCE-600 CEUnit 1 Section 2

Key Terms• City-State

– A small independent state consisting of an urban center and the surrounding agricultural territory. A characteristic political form in early Mesopotamia, Archaic and Classical Greece, Phoenicia, and early Italy

• Cuneiform– A system of writing in which wedge-shaped symbols represented words or syllables. It

originated in Mesopotamia and was used initially for Sumerian and Akkadian but later was adapted to represent other languages of western Asia. Because so many symbols had to be learned, literacy was confined to a relatively small group of administrators and scribes

• Hellenism/Hellenistic Age– Historians’ term for the era, usually dated 323-30 BCE, in which Greek culture spread

across western Asia and northeastern Africa after the conquests of Alexander the Great. The period ended with the fall of the last major Hellenistic kingdom to Rome, but Greek cultural influence persisted until the spread of Islam in the 7th Century CE

• Monotheism– Belief in the existence of a single divine entity. Some scholars cite the devotion of the

Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten to Aten (sun-disk) and his suppression of traditional gods as the earliest instance. The Israelite worship of Yahweh developed into an exclusive belief in one god, and this concept passed into Christianity and Islam.

• Neo-Assyrian Empire– An empire extending from western Iran to Syria-Palestine, conquered by the Assyrians

of northern Mesopotamia between the 10th and 7th Centuries BCE. They used force and terror and exploited the wealth and labor of their subjects. They also preserved and continued the cultural and scientific developments of Mesopotamian civilization

Early Civilization in Middle East

• 1st domestication of plants and animals occurred in the Middle East around 8000 BCE in the Fertile Crescent

• Fertile Crescent: Persian Gulf through Iraq to the area around the border between Syria & Turkey

• Jericho, which is present-day Palestine, was settle around 8000 BCE

• Jericho & Çatal Hüyük provide archeologists with evidence of early settled communities– Mud-brick structures– Pottery– Metalworking– Long-distance trade– Religion– Agriculture-based economy

Links for understanding Çatal Hüyük

• http://www.smm.org/catal/mysteries/what_were_they_eating/seeds/ - what was grown in Çatal Hüyük

• http://www.smm.org/catal/mysteries/first_city/timeline/ - timeline of world history

• http://www.smm.org/catal/mysteries/first_city/tour_city/catal_house/ - explore a Çatal Hüyük house

Mesopotamia• Geography of the land between Tigris &

Euphrates allowed for the Agricultural Revolution but presented challenges– Rivers were important sources of irrigation

and offered a means of transportation– Unpredictable flood patterns made farming

difficult & often caused isolation of fields and towns

• To maximize the use of land– 4000 BCE first use of oxen drawn plows– Later construction of irrigation canals to

supply water to fields– Crop rotation (leaving fields to lay fallow

every other year so soil retained nutrients)

First Empire: Mesopotamia

• 3100 BCE Mesopotamia became the first complex civilization and empire

• Agricultural success lead to the emergence of the city-state– An urban center and the agricultural territory

controlled by this city• Specialization which included: farmers, craftspeople,

religious leaders, political leaders, etc. • Centers were the temple and the palace of the king• Religion was organized by the state & was a large

public affair– Large temples for the gods of elements which were prominent

geographic challenges of the region– Temples were centrally located & tended by priests– Priests were prominent in both political and economic roles

(priests were landowners)

Mesopotamia Kings

• Mesopotamian Kings– Viewed as gods’ representative on earth– Controlled the army– Provided protection– Built infrastructure– Maintained justice

• Example: Hammurabi 18th Century BCE– Through military campaigns expanded

Babylonian rule – Implemented famous Law Code – inscribed

on steeles throughout empire• Clear, often severe punishments for criminals

http://youtu.be/jAMRTGv82Zo - Mesopotamia video (music) • Who are these kings

& why are they significant?

Mesopotamian Economy• Rise of city-states supported long-distance trade• Barter system for most of Mesopotamian history• Social divisions were rigid and enforced through the

rights & privileges spelled out by Hammurabi’s code• By the 2nd millennium BCE guilds – professional

organizations – emerged

Free, landowning class: royals, high-ranking officials, warriors, priests & some merchants

Farmers, who often were attached to an estate owned privately by the king or temple

Slaves, working domestically; often prisoners of war, or people who could not pay debts (not a lot of slaves)

Mesopotamian Gender Roles

• As with the Neolithic Revolution in other regions – the role of women as humans shifted from hunter-gathers to agriculturalists women were expected to bear & raise children in growing families

• In Mesopotamia, women could own property, control their dowry, and engage in trade

• Some women did work outside the home but in specific industries at the lower rungs of society – often in textiles

• As the city-state emerged, women’s status deteriorated further with the rise of the middle class

• Marriage and divorce laws favored the husband & marriage was often used as way to create ties between families & bolster economic standing – women became nothing more than economic objects

Mesopotamian Technologies• Development of writing most likely evolved from a

system for documenting property– The recording of strokes and wedges on damp clay

tablet – cuneiform• First utilized by the Sumerians & in the Sumerian language

but eventually to other languages in the region• Though it spread through the region – the number of literate

people remained small

• Domestication of Cattle and Donkeys provided important sources of power and transportation before the domestication of the camel in 1200 BCE – Horses domesticated by 2000 BCE were helpful in

transportation but also provided an asset militarily with horsemen and charioteers revolutionized military strategy

• Bronze tools and weapons were made from imported ores

• Clay was utilized in making bricks & pottery which changed house construction

• A base 60 system in mathematics was also developed

• Mesopotamians began to formally study astronomy

The Decline/Transition of Mesopotamia

• In the 2nd millennium BCE interaction with other regions increased, resulting in a cosmopolitan period

• Diplomatic & economic interaction benefited the elite of the societies involved– Peasants who were the majority of the people may have seen some

improvements to their daily life

• By 1500 BCE was divided into 2 political and cultural zones– In the South, Babylonia held political dominance which was gained

under Hammurabi 200 years earlier– In the North, Assyria imported ore and textiles appeared ready to

expand its economic interests and conquer land

• Both regions increased their interaction with Egypt and the Hittites of Anatolia – for copper, silver and iron

• Around 1200 BCE many of the economic & political centers in the region declined as a result of conflict in Anatolia as well as the economic collapse of their intertwined economies

• For the next 300 years Mesopotamia experienced a period of isolation and poverty

The Neo-Assyrian Empire

• Assyrians rose again to establish what many historians consider the 1st real empire - the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911-612 BCE)– The ‘empire’ came from conquering & governing

diverse peoples inhabiting far-off lands– The Assyrian homeland in northern

Mesopotamia was temperate which allowed for large harvests to feed the growing population

– The farmers of the north were used to defending their land from invaders so they were particularly prepared to become foot soldiers for the empire

Assyrian Expansion & Collapse

• Military success was assured because of professional soldiers armed with iron weapons and aided by cavalry and the machinery & techniques for besieging towns

• Expansion followed trade routes and thus immediate economic rewards

• In the neighboring kingdoms which were conquered had a tribute system put in place

• Assyrians treated conquered peoples harshly• Policies were designed to benefit the imperial center

– Use of terror & forced deportations effectively kept the conquered people in line and discouraged rebellion

– Regional officials who swore allegiance & obedience to the king oversaw payment of tribute, enforced laws, build infrastructure & supplied the army in their region

• The system was effective in maintaining order and funneling wealth to the king but it also brought prosperity to much of the region & by 612 BCE the empire eroded from the hatred of the conquered people and the dwindling loyal base population

Israel

• About 2000 BCE the Israelites were gathering into settle communities and transforming the nature of religion

• Though the Israelites were small in population and inhabited a small region poor in natural resources – the location was strategically at the crossroads of important trade routes

Origins of Israelites• Story of Israelites is documented in the Hebrew Bible• Abraham, considered the father of the 3 monotheistic

religions (Judaism, Christianity & Islam)– Believed that there is only one god – Yahweh– Covenant with the Israelites & Yahweh agreed to make them

his chosen people who promised them the land of Israel.• In exchange, the Israelites would worship only Yahweh, as specified

by the 10 Commandments

– These beliefs in many ways isolated Jews from others, but they also instilled a strong sense of community & identity

Political/Economic/Social• The Israelites reached their political and economic peak

in the 10th Century BCE under King Solomon– Constructed the 1st temple to solidify the position of the

Israelites and their religion relative to other ins the Middle East

– Legitimized Judaism– Heightened the importance of priests

• The city of Jerusalem expanded and society became more stratified with the economic growth– Gaps between the rich & poor emerged– Marriage took on an economic significance– Women who were respected for their vital role in the early

history of Israel were now unable to own property and marriage rights favored men• Women could not inherit property• Women could not initiate divorce• Most women worked in the home and in agriculture

Conquest & Diaspora• The Neo-Assyrian Empire conquered the

region around 721 BCE– Much of the kingdom was destroyed and its people

deported to the east

• This destruction & deportation were repeated in 587 BCE when the Neo-Babylonian Empire attacked Jerusalem

• Despite these upheavals, Judaism survived the dispersal of Jews from their homeland, known as the Diaspora– The strength of Jewish rituals, rules and beliefs

sustained the community and identity

The Persian Empire• Followed the Neo-Assyrian Empire• Homeland in what is modern-day

Iran• One group, the Medes, took the lead

in challenging the Assyrian Empire just prior to its collapse

• Around 550 BCE the Persians, led by Cyrus, put together an empire of staggering size – stretching from Greece to India and from the Caucasus Mountains to North Africa

The Persian Empire (continued)

• To administer such a huge territory Darius I created an organizational structure:– Divided the empire into 20 provinces – Each province was controlled by a satrap or

governor– The satraps were usually related to the royal family– They oversaw the region, collected taxes & sent

tributes to the king

• Though roads were well maintained and patrolled, information travelled slowly so those that were farther from the capital enjoyed some autonomy

• Darius , also known as the lawgiver, allowed people within the empire to live by their own traditions and rules

Zoroastrianism

• Persian empire under Darius were followers and practitioners of Zoroastrianism – A monotheistic religion which may have

influenced Judaism• Belief in one supreme god • Notions of Heaven & Hell (realm of Angra

Mainyu)• Reward & Punishment• Concept of Messiah – Ahura Mazda

Hellenistic Age & Roman Empire

• Ongoing conflict with the Greeks in the 5th & 4th Centuries BCE – Persian Empire eventually succumbed to the armies of Alexander the Great in 330 BCE

• The Greek Empire then controlled virtually the same territory as the Persians had and, after the death of Alexander, the next 300 years the region experienced the influence of Greek culture known as the Hellenistic Age

• The Hellenistic Age ended with the rise of the Roman Empire

• Roman rule extended through Anatolia and centered on the Mediterranean and by 6 CE had reached present-day Israel and Palestine

• The Roman Empire sat at the end of the Silk Road, which brought goods from as far away as China

Judaism and Christianity under Rome

• Polytheistic and pagan nature of Roman religion did not blend well with the tenets of Judaism – In this environment emerged Jesus &

Christianity– Judaism & Christianity came from the same

source & are ultimately linked• Difference is that Christians believe that Jesus is the

Messiah & the incorporation of the New Testament

– After Jesus’ crucifixion, Paul and other followers spread Christianity in spite of Roman opposition

– Many early converts were women, slaves, or urban poor