PEOPLES, GODS AND EMPIRES (CONTINUED)Phoenicians, Hebrews, Assyrians, Persians

New States and the Early Iron Age With the collapse of the Hittite, Egyptian,

and Aegean Empires, new states began to emerge in Anatolia, the Near East and the Aegean. Rise of the Phoenicians

Gubla, Byblos Philistines (descendants of the Sea Peoples?) Hebrews Assyrian Revival The Persians

The Phoenicians

Canaanites who spoke a Semitic language Became a commercial super-power

Byblos was a source of papyrus Purple dye from murex snails, cedar,

Canaanite glass Colonial outpost in Carthage Overseas trading partners: Greeks Refined Ugarit writing system to 22

characters and shared with Greeks

Phoenicians

Hebrews, Philistines, Assyrians

Ancient Hebrews

Religion Law Kingdoms of David and Solomon Kingdom of Solomon split between his sons into

the Northern and Southern Kingdoms Northern Kingdom conquered and assimilated by

Assyrian Empire in 722 B.C.E. Southern Kingdom conquered by Chaldean Empire in

586 B.C.E. but retained its separate identity Southern Kingdom captives returned to Jerusalem

under King Cyrus of the Persian Empire and led by Ezra and Nehemiah

Hebrew Monotheism

The belief that a single god is the creator and ruler of all things Earlier Hebrew texts (written before Ezra) Yahweh is the greatest

god but there are others Upon the return from exile in Babylon, prophets insisted that there

were no other gods and that Yahweh alone should be worshipped Yahweh is transcendent: exists outside of time, nature, place

and Kingship Ethical monotheism: obligations owed by all human beings

toward their creator, independent of place or political identity Yahweh created man in His image Yahweh is exclusively a god of righteousness Evil comes from man not Yahweh Micah 6:8 Yahweh requires man to live justly, love mercy and

walk humbly

Dead Sea Scroll: Commentary on Habakkuk http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/habakkuk

Assyrian Military-Religious Ethos Two fundamental principles

Waging holy war Exaction of tribute through terror

Baal/Assur demanded constant expansion of his worship through military power Ritual humiliation of a defeated city’s gods Statues of gods were carried off to the Assyrian

capitol Henotheists

Acknowledged existence of other gods but one god was the supreme deity

Assurbanipal (669-627 B.C.E.) Library at Nineveh

Persian Empire of Cyrus the Great (R. 576-530 B.C.E.)

Cyrus: leader of a small Persian tribe in 559 B.C.E. Threw off the rule of the Medes in 549. Claimed dominion over the largest empire known to humanity at the time.

Empire of Darius (521-486 B.C.E.) Divided Persian empire into provinces

administered by Satraps (governors) Satraps owed absolute loyalty to Persian King but

had wide latitude to handle provincial affairs Enforced a standardized currency Enforced a standardized system of weights and

measures Infrastructure: roads, a postal system, irrigation

projects, canals Extended Persian Empire to Greece which

resulted in prolonged warfare as Greeks fought for independence

Zoroastrianism

Zoroaster (lived around 600 B.C.E.) Attempted to redefine religion as an ethical practice One “supreme god” of the universe, Ahura-Mazda

Essence of light, truth and righteousness One counter-deity: Ahriman who rules the forces of

darkness Teachers and priests of Zoroastrianism were called

“Magi” Forces of Ahura-Mazda and Ahriman are evenly matched

and engaged in a desperate and eternal struggle Light will not triumph over darkness until the “Last Day”

when the forces of light vanquish the forces of darkness once and for all

Modeled on the old city-states Egypt and Hittites most powerful states

but not only powerful states War Trade & Diplomacy Colonization My god is more powerful that your god Development of monotheism Influence of Zoroastrianism

Complex International System