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Chapter 2 Western Civilization

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Assyrians, Neo-Babylonians, & Persians 1200 330 B.C. 9 th Century B.C. brings large empires Brought diverse people together Brought all living in the empire the benefits of higher civilization Single government Single religion New art and literature New technology New trade connections

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Assyrian Empire

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Persian Empire

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Assyrians First to unify almost entire Near East From Arabian Desert Settled near Tigris River, an area without natural boundaries Influenced by Mesopotamians, Hammurabi, and Sargon I Suffered tribal raids 1750 1000 B.C. As a result, they created a very strong military: new iron weapons and horse-drawn chariots Fought preventive wars with Hebrews, Phoenicians, Arameans, and Mesopotamians to keep enemies away After defeating them, they terrorized them, so many gave up without a fight

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Assyrian Empire In 745 B.C., set up by Tiglath-pileser III

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He was succeeded by Sargon II in 721 B.C.

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Both enlarged empire to Syria, Palestine, & Judah Other rulers: Sennacherib in705 B.C.

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Esarhaddon in 681 B.C.

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Ashurbanipal in 669 B.C.

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By 650 B.C. almost the entire civilized Near East was under Assyrian control But the empire weakened because of internal discontent Hated captors Hated their brutal treatment of those conquered Constant warfare had killed off many of the Assyrians Egypt revolted Chaldeans revolted in southern Mesopotamia The Medes joined with Chaldeans to destroy the Assyrian capital of Nineveh in 612 B.C.

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Nineveh Palace

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Nineveh Library Tablets

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Assyrian Contributions Attempted to have a centralized monarchy, a single state Forced an unsettling peace on the area for 300 years Economically: - encouraged trade - broke down barriers to trade - encouraged a common spoken language to help with trading transactions

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Culturally: imitated the achievements of others helped spread ideas avid builders used Mesopotamian style of architecture created relief work : battles, stories, hunts Collected works of Akkadians & Sumerians and placed them in library in Nineveh

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Religion Resembled the early Mesopotamian religion with Assur as the state god

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Others tried to take over where the Assyrians left off: the Egyptians, the Lydians, the Medians, and the Chaldeans Chaldeans: Their great ruler Nebuchadnezzar conquered Syria-Palestine Destroyed the temple in Jerusalem Deported Hebrews to Babylon as captives Rebuilt the Hanging Gardens of Babylon Tried to revive Mesopotamian culture and religion Made strides in astronomy Lacked economic and military strength Fell into hands of Persians in 525 B.C.

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Nebuchadnezzar

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Phoenicia

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Phoenicians Were Canaanites and heirs to the civilization of Ugarit After attacks from Sea Peoples in 1200B.C., their territory was reduced to a small strip where Lebanon is today Known for purple-dyed cloth Master shipbuilders Involved in trade Had colonies in Mediterranean; ex. Carthage

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Carthage

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Phoenicians were influenced by foreigners like Egypt In art Wigs Alphabet Phoenician state fell to Assyrians in 750 B.C. Their culture survived

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Persian Empire

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Medes and Persians arrived in western Iran about 1500 B.C. Medes were at first the rulers of the Persians That changed in 550 B.C. when Cyrus the Great captured the Medes

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Cyrus ( r. 559 530 B.C.) conquered most of western and central Asia His son, Cambyses ( r. 530 525 B.C.) added Libya and Egypt to the empire

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Darius succeeded Cambyses ( r. 521 486 B.C.) and added Thrace and N.W. India to the empire

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Xerxes ( r. 486 465 B.C.) came next and tried to add Greece to the realm but failed

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Persia was then known as the Achaemenid Persian Empire and lasted 200 years In the end it fell to Alexander the Great

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Successes Had military strength: 300,000 men in army who excelled as cavalrymen with bows Had a great navy as well Were generous and tolerant to those conquered Had effective government Provinces were called Satrapies Governors were called Satraps Kings inspectors traveled the empire to make sure the kings edicts were carried out Had unifying language: Aramaic Had open trade

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Weaknesses Not all ventures succeeded: Greece and the Ukraine expensive losses Even though Persians felt they were tolerant, their captured people resented them There was intrigue at court as people tried to compete for power

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Persian Religion Zoroastrianism founded by Zarathustra (Zoroaster in Greek)

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Zoroastrianism may have influenced Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, & Roman Paganism Holy Book was the Avesta Emphasized the power of one god over all people: Ahura Mazda

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Zoroastrians believed in good and evil, free will, and a last judgment Priests were known as Magi

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Era of Small Nations, 1200 800 B.C. Hebrews Founded Western tradition of religion Bible helps us know their history (corroborated by archeology) Began as Semitic nomads moving from the Arabian Desert to Mesopotamia to Syria-Palestine led by Abraham Lived in semi-arid areas in small tribes with patriarchal leaders Some moved to Egypt where during the 18 th Dynasty they were mistreated and the Hebrews left Exodus shortly before 1200 B.C.

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Exodus laid the foundation for the Hebrew nation Fugitives wandering the desert with Moses Felt they had a special relationship with Yahweh (god) Yahweh promised to care for his people if they, in return, would worship only Yahweh Received the Ten Commandments

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The nation became known as the Israelites and introduced Judaism They searched for the promised land Found Palestine Were united under King Saul

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Then King David

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And Solomon

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1020 930 B.C. was the height of their power Patronized the arts and letters Developed a system of law to unite people and to shape daily life During the reign of Solomon, discontents threatened their unity After Solomons death their unity fell apart Judah was the southern part that followed the descendents of King David and survived until586 B.C. As the political life faded, their religion got deeper and sustained that feeling of nationhood among Hebrews

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Judaism Monotheism practiced -- Yahweh Yahweh was the creator existing outside of time and space No graven images of Yahweh Yahweh was God of justice, omnipotent, righteous, and caring Humans were created to become god-like, achieved only through moral perfection Individual conduct should be righteous and just Code of law written in the Torah Hebrews saw themselves as Gods chosen people Yahweh would send a Messiah to lead Hebrews to victory over other peoples Influenced Christianity and Islam

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Early Greece

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Greece Mountainous Only 10% of land is flat Rocky Much of land is infertile Includes many islands in Aegean and Ionian Seas where they farmed for survival Weather is usually too arid or too cool Did not have large settlements or a central bureaucracy Overcrowding and lack of food were constant problems

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3 Characteristics Developed First, they turned toward the sea To colonize, so population could spread out To get needed food To become involved in trade, so they developed industries in pottery and olive oil to trade for food

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Second, they became masters of resourcefulness Nothing was wasted, neither energy nor material This helped them bring balance, order, and refinement to their lives They did not like excess

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Third, they had a strong desire for independence They needed to be self-sustaining because mountains divided cities So we have the sea, trade, resourcefulness, and independence as major elements of the Greek spirit.

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Islands Between 2500 1200 B.C., the Late Bronze Age, there were 3 distinct Greek cultures: 1. The Cycladic (3000 1550 B.C.)

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2. The Minoan (2500 1375 B.C.)

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3. The Mycenaean (1600 1200 B.C.)

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The Cycladic Rugged islands near the bottom of the Aegean Sea Small settlements of craftsmen who worked with lead and silver Small figurines of men and women found in graves indicating religion Society arranged in towns Werent warlike -- settlements unfortified Had fertility goddesses Influenced Crete to the south

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Minoan Found on the island of Crete Sophisticated society Surge of creativity 2000 1400 B.C. Had palace at Knossos With storerooms, workrooms, living quarters, public rooms, and a throne room, all around a central square Decorated with frescoes of everyday life

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Interior of Knossos

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Fresco at Knossos

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Stratified society System of writing Linear A

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Planned agriculture Well-organized streets Drainage system, indoor toilets, and piped water Had luxury items from trade Had religion with animal sacrifice, gift-giving, dancing, and bull-leaping

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Cretans were fairly primitive until 2000 B.C. Had primitive farming, pottery, and used metals They learned refinement from other cultures encountered through trade Culture reached its peak around 1700 1450 B.C. Between 1500 and 1450 most Minoan cities, but not Knossos, were destroyed Some say from volcanic eruption and tidal wave from There (Santorini) Others say from attack Knossos was destroyed around 1200 B.C.

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Volcano at Thera

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Volcano at Santorini

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Mycenae 1600 1150 B.C.

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Mycenae Warrior civilization on Peloponnesian Peninsula of Greece A principality centered around a fortress-palace Had well-ordered bureaucracy dealing with taxes, tribute, and controlled metal production Had strong economic and political control Had written language Linear B for record keeping

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Lions Gate at Mycenae

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Mycenae reached its peak about 1300B.C. They were influenced by other civilizations of the Near East These influences can be seen in their art, technology, and religion. Example: architectural style from Hittites and Minoans About 1150, their culture collapsed, causes unknown Economic collapse? Overpopulation? Drought? Attack? Rivalries with other cities?

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Mycenaean Weapons

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Dark Age 1150 800 B.C. Marked by poverty and some backwardness Palaces, wealth, trade, writing, art declined or disappeared Had : Simple farm life Some organized activities Large movements of people Politically fragmented No trade Learned to work with iron since tin and bronze were unavailable

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After 1100 B.C.: Developed a common basic language Some beginnings of writing Common pattern of religion ( practiced cremation ) Advanced skills in pottery ( geometric decoration : meandering) Had some trading activity Homers stories of the Iliad and the Odyssey ( 725 B.C.)

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Greek Religion Permeated the daily lives of Greeks Polytheistic Saw deities as having human form Gods were immortal Gods were more powerful than humans family of deities living on Mt. Olympus: Zeus the father Hera - his wife Athena goddess of women Apollo bringer of light & patron of the arts Ares god of war Poseidon god of the seas Hermes protector of merchants & thieves

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Greek Gods

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Greeks believed deities controlled all human affairs They had to live their lives in accordance with the gods will Gods could inspire fear They could also be benevolent, approachable, and concerned with the well-being of humans Gods had human foibles; example, Bacchus was a drunk People worked to please the gods They built temples

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Greeks also held festivals to honor gods : Olympic Games from 776 B.C. onward They had no elaborate priesthood They relied on Oracles, gods would speak through these gifted people The most famous place for the oracles was at Delphi, a place with special priestesses

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Delphi

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The Oracles

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Mystery Religions These were begun to respond to emotional needs not fulfilled by other gods These were cults centered on a specific god or goddess

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Religion provided the framework and spark for intellectual and artistic growth People tried to understand and please their gods through art, literature, and philosophy Literature Greek literature dealt with religious themes and heroic deeds Iliad tells of feats of heroism during Trojan War Odyssey is an adventure story about Odysseus 10 year ordeal to get home from war Hesiod, a poet, wrote Works and Days in 700 B.C. about injustice in the world