Chapter 3 The Mediterranean and Middle East, 2000-500 BCE

The Cosmopolitan Middle East, 1700-1100 BCE

1. In the Middle East, the Later Bronze Age was a ‘cosmopolitan’ era.a. Relations between states fostered trade of goods and ideas.b. Elite groups shared similar values and had a high standard of

living.c. The peasants saw some improvement in their standard of living

but did not benefit as much from the growing number of contacts.

2. Mesopotamia was divided into two distinct zones: Babylonia in the South and Assyria in the north, by 1500 BCE.

a. By 1460 BCE Kassites from the Zagros Mountains migrated to southern Mesopotamia and a Kassite dynasty ruled Babylon.

b. Kassites assimilated with Babylonian culture. c. Did not persue territorial conquest.

3. The “Old Assyrian” kingdom was more ambitious.a. The city of Ashur had a trade route that stretched across the

Anatolian Plateaub. “Middle Kingdom” began to campaigns of conquest and

expansion for economic interests.4. Hittites most formidable state became the foremost power.

a. From capital at Hattusha, they developed horse-drawn chariots.b. Developed techniques for making tools and weapons of iron

i. Heat the ore until soft enough to mold, pound out the impurities, then plunge into cold water to harden.

ii. Kept this knowledge secret because of military and economic advantages

iii. Blacksmiths migrated and shared the technology during 1200 BCE

5. Second millennium BCE, Mesopotamian culture spreads to western Asia.

a. Many cultural changes adoptedi. Akkadian- language of diplomacy and correspondence

between governmentsii. Hittites and Elamites adapt to cuneiform system to write

their own languageiii. Early alphabetic principle adopted in Ugarit- a coastal

Syrian city-state

b. City-states only concerned with their immediate neighbors to the south

New Kingdom Egypt

1. In the seventeenth century BCE, the Egyptian Middle Kingdom declined after a 400 year period.

a. Egypt enters a period of political fragmentation and economic decline

i. Countryside officials become independentii. New groups migrate to Nile Delta

iii. Central authority breaks downb. Egypt comes under foreign rule at the hands of the Hyksos, or

“Princes of Foreign Lands.2. Historians unsure who the Hyksos were.

a. May have been Semitic peoples from the Syria-Palestine regionb. Various groups may have cooperated to control first the Delta

region, then the middle of the country Hyksos possessed military advantages.

i. Harse-drawn chariotii. Composite bow made of wood and horn with greater

range/velocity than simple wooden bow.c. Hyksos assimilated to the Egyptian culture

i. Intermarried with Egyptiansii. Used the Egyptian language

iii. Maintained Egyptian institutions and cultures d. Egyptians with their strong ethnic identity continues to regard

the Hyksos as foreigners3. Kamose and Ahmose expelled Hyksos from Egypt and inaugurated the

New Kingdom.a. Foreign domination injured Egyptian pride and the idea of

isolation b. New Kingdom Egypt aggressive and wanted to expand

i. Extended control into Syria-Palestine to the north and into Nubia in the south

ii. Won access to timber, gold and copper as well as taxes and tribute from the conquered peoples

c. Egypt imposed direct rule over Nubia and pressed the natives to adopt Egyptian culture and lifestyle

d. Egypt less controlling over Syria-Palestine, stationing garrisons and placing forts while supporting cooperative leaders

e. Fully participated in networks linking the states of western Asiai. Sent elite abroad

ii. Brought back new fruits. Vegetables, musical instruments and technologies.

4. The only woman to hold New Kingdom Egypt’s throne, Queen Hatshepsut claimed the throne for herself after her husband died.

a. Often used the male pronoun for herselfb. Drawings and sculptures showed her wearing the beard of the

Egyptian rulerc. Sent a naval fleet to the Red Sea to explore the fabled land of

Punti. Seeking myrrh

ii. Expedition returned with myrrh, ebony, ivory, cosmetics, live monkeys and panther skins

d. May have used expeditions success the bolster her claim to the throne

e. After death, image defaced and name blotted out wherever it appeared, most likely by an official opposed to a female ruler.

5. Amenhotep the fourth ascended to thronea. Began referring to himself as Akhenaten- beneficial to the Aten

(the disk of the sun)i. Change of name spread belief in Aten as supreme diety

ii. Closed temples to other gods , challenging the supremacy of the chief god Amon, and the power and influence of priests

b. Credited with invention of monotheismc. Probably trying to reassert the supremacy of king over priest

and renew belief in the king’s divinity d. Worship of Aten confined to royal familye. Built a new capital halfway between Memphis and Thebes, at

modern day Amarnai. Sent thousands to build the site and serve the ruling elite

f. Created new style of artg. After death, temples reopened, Amon back to chief deity, capital

returned to Thebes, kingship weakened to advantage of priestsh. Boy-king Tutankhamun insignificant rule the ultimate failure of

Akhenaten’s revolution6. New dynasty, Ramessides, returned to policy of conquest and

expansion. Greatest monarch, Ramesses the second, ruled for sixty-six years and dominated his age.

a. Undertook building projects all over Egypt. b. Had many wives ad fathered more than a hundred children

The Aegean World, 200-1100 BCE

1. Mesopotamia, Syria-Palestine, and Egypt influenced peoples as far away as the Aegean Sea.

a. Minoan civilization appeared on island of Crete, and Mycenaean in Greece

b. Aegean people didn’t have much for natural resourcesi. Had to import metals, timber, and additional food

c. Rise and fall of Minoan and Mycenaean societies linked to ties with other peoples

Minoan Crete

1. 2000 BCE, Crete first European society to have complex political and social structures, as well as technologies.

a. Crete civilization named after King Minos, became the Minoans.i. Minos ruled a naval empire

ii. Kept a Minotaur in a labyrinth built by Daedalusb. Ethnicity uncertainc. Writing has not been decipheredd. Widespread trading connections

i. Shown by Cretan pottery and other artifacts around the Mediterranean and the Middle East

e. Minoans influenced by Egyptians, Syrians, and Mediterranean societies.

f. No identifiable depictions of Kingsi. Suggests different conception of authority

g. Unfortified palaces, and high-quality indoor plumbing noteworthy

2. Took delight in beauty and order in the natural worlda. Stylized depictions of nature on vasesb. Possible fertility goddess

i. Statuettes of women with elaborate headdresses and serpents coiling around their limbs

ii. Frescoes- paintings done on the moist plaster surfaces of walls- portray groups of women in frilly skirts conversing or watching performances

c. Cretan palaces- excluding Cnossus- along with elite and peasant homes destroyed around 1450 BCE

d. Most historians believe the Mycenaean Greeks as the culprits, due to their takeover of Cnossus

Mycenaean Greece

1. Around 2000 BCE after a group of Indo-European people migrated to the Greek peninsula intermarried, blended languages and melded cultural practices, the first Greek culture was created. The society remained simple and static until a sudden change around 1600 BCE.

a. These peoples influenced by the Minoansb. Sudden accumulation of power and wealth may have been from

profits, piracy, pay, and booty (most likely brought back by mercenaries)

c. Walls made of stones so large that the Cyclops of legend had lifted them into place

d. Fortified citadel provided refuge for whole community in times of danger, housed the palace and administrative buildings.

e. Additional information comes from over four thousand tablets containing the script used by the people, called Linear B

i. Linear B tablets kept track of people, animals, and objects with much detail.

ii. Contained little on political and legal systems, social structure, gender relations, and religious beliefs.

iii. Contain nothing on historical figures, not even a single Mycenaean king is named, or historical events, relations with other centers or foreign peoples.

2. Long distance trade was made possible by commercial vessels that relied on wind and sails.

i. Sailors liked to only sail during daylight hours and keep the land in sight

ii. Had light wood vessels so the crew could sail to land to and eat and stay the night

f. Mycenaean traders used the trade routes and posts first established by the Cretan people

i. Possible exports include wine, olive oil, textiles, weapons, other crafted goods, slaves, and mercenary soldiers

ii. Possible imports include amber, ivory, grain, and metalsg. Mycenaean Greeks were tough, warlike and acquisitive

i. Traded with those who were strong and took from the weak.

ii. Led to conflict with the Hittite kings in the fourteenth and thirteenth centuries BCE.

iii. Documents show that relations between the Mycenaeans and the Hittites sometimes friendly, sometimes strained and that the Mycenaeans took advantage of the Hittites

The Fall of Late Bronze Age Civilizations

1. Difficulties between the Hittites and the Mycenaeans and the Greek attack on Try foreshadowed the fall of many of the old centers of the Middle East and Mediterranean around 1200 BCE.

a. Unidentified invaders destroyed the Hittite capital, following which the kingdom fell

b. Syria’s coastal city, Ugarit, was swept awayc. Egypt fought off two attacks

i. Surrendered all territory in the Middle Eastii. Lost contact with western Asia

d. Mycenaeans saw trouble coming, built extensive fortifications and took precautions to ensure the water supply.

i. Almost all palaces destroyed in the first half of the twelfth century BCE.

ii. Not entirely how these events happened.iii. No record of foreign invaders.iv. Popular theory- destruction of trading partners and

disruption of trade routes weakened them. Competition for resources cause unrest and collapse of political system

e. End of Mycenaean empire shows the interdependence of major centers

i. Highlights the consequences of political and economic collapse

f. Cosmopolitan world of the Late Bronze Age perishes. Prosperous societies collapse because of external violence and internal weakness. The people enter a “Dark Age” of poverty, isolation, and loss of knowledge.

The Assyrian Empire, 911-612 BCE

1. Neo-Assyrian Empire was the most powerful and successful center in western Asia and the eastern Mediterranean.

a. Homeland is hilly and more temperate with greater rainfallb. Rulers led an expansion west to the Mediterranean, north into

Urartu, east onto the Iranian Plateau, and south to Babyloniai. Driven by pride, greed and religious conviction.

c. Secured access to vital resources and gained control of international commerce.

d. Empire stretched from Anatolia, Syria-Palestine, and Egypt in the west across Armenia and Mesopotamia as far west as Iran

e. Empire larger than any seen before and more dedicated to enrichment of the imperial center

God and King

1. King literally and figuratively the center of Assyrian universe.a. All the land belongs to the king, and everyone were his servantsb. Assyrians believe gods chose kings as earthy representativesc. Kings son succeeds father if confirmed by the oracles

2. Took much time supervising religiona. Attended public and private ritualsb. Always consulted gods with decisionsc. All actions carried out in the name of Ashur, chief god.

i. Military victories prove Ashur’s superiority 3. Government propaganda secured support for military campaigns

a. Mostly benefitted king and nobilityb. Inscriptions show recent victories, determination of the king,

and ruthless punishments

Conquest and Control

1. Assyria had superior military organization and technologya. King Tiglathpileser created core army of professional soldiersb. Could mobilize half a million troopsc. Iron weapons gave advantage

2. Used terror tactics to discourage rebelliona. Civilians thrown into fires, prisoners skinned alive and severed

head of defeated rulers hung on city walls.b. Mass deportation used to break spirit of rebellious people

i. Used earlier in the Middle Eastii. Assyrians went to an unprecedented scale- up to 4 million

people

iii. Deportees worked on royal and noble lands, and built palaces and cities

3. No effective method to govern such a large empire with such varied peoples

a. Control tight in center, but less so in outlying lands.b. Provincial officials collected tributes and taxes, maintain law

and order, raised troops, undertook public works, and provisioned armies.

i. Provincial officials subject to frequent inspections by royal overseers

4. Ruthlessly exploited wealth of their subjects.a. Everything funded by plunder and tributeb. King and nobility grew rich from subjects wealthc. Dur Sharrukin (Fortress of Sargon) built in only 10 years by

labor force composed of prisoners of ward. Some evidence of royal investment into provincial

infrastructure.

Assyrian Society and Culture

1. Most accounts shed light on the deeds of kings and elites.a. Little is known about the lives and activities of subjectsb. Did not distinguish between native Assyrians and immigrants

and deporteesi. All referred to as human beings deserving the same rights

and protections and liable to the same labor and military service.

ii. Inflow of outsiders changed the ethnic makeup of the core area

2. Vast majority of subjects worked on the land a. Agricultural surpluses allowed many people to engage in

specialized activitiesb. Artisans manufactured pottery, tools, and clothing. c. Most trade takes place at local leveld. Imported luxury goods and substantial revenues found their way

to the king and elite classese. Silver basic medium of exchange.

3. Assyrian scholars preserved and added to the long intellectual and scientific legacy of Mesopotamian civilization

Israel, 2000-500 BCE

1. Israel may not have seemed important to Assyria, but this small land played a major role in world history.

a. A loose collection of nomadic peoples became a sedentary agricultural people, developed complex political and social institutions and integrated into the networks in the Middle East

b. Transformed the austere cult of a desert god into the concept of monotheism

c. Ethical and intellectual traditions underlie the beliefs of modern Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

2. Israel is a crossroads linking Anatolia, Egypt, Arabia, and Mesopotamia

a. Few natural resources

Origins, Exodus, and Settlement

1. Information about Israel comes from archaeological evidence and documents such as the royal annals of Egypt, and Assyria.

a. Hebrew Bible also provides some insight, but is problematic due to the different interpretations of past events.

b. Didn’t write traditions down until the tenth century BCE

i. Later additions that reflect the point of view of the priests who control the Temple in Jerusalem

c. Historians argue about how accurately this document represents Israelite history, but it provides a foundation to be used and tested against archaeological discoveries

2. Israel’s history follows a familiar pattern in the ancient Middle Easta. Nomadic pastoralists live in the marginal land between harsh

desert, and fertile land, engage in trade, sometimes raid farms and villages of settled peoples, then eventually develop a unified state

b. Nomadic Israelites suspicious of one anotherc. Friction between herders and farmers accounted in story of

Sodom and Gomorrah, two cities Yahweh destroyed because of their wickedness

3. Biblical accounts point toward historical eventsa. The Israelite migration to Egypt and enslavement may have

been connected to the Hyksosb. Although surviving Egyptian accounts do not outright call the

Israelites slaves, they refer to them in a derogatory sensec. The period of alleged slavery coincided with building projects

launched by New Kingdom Pharaohs

d. However, there is little archaeological evidence of an Israelite presence in Egypt.

e. The biblical story of Moses points toward an actual emigration from Egypt, followed by years of wandering in the Sinai wilderness, embellished by years of oral tradition

4. The “Children of Israel,” a coalition of peoples, were divided into 12 tribes supposedly descended from the sons of Jacob and Joseph.

a. Each tribe resided in a different part of the country and led by one or more chiefs

i. Chiefs had limited power and usually only mediated disputes, and seeing to the welfare and protection of the group

b. “Judges,” charismatic figures who were famed for their daring in war or genius in arbitration, transcended tribal boundaries

c. Tribes also shared access to a shrine at Shiloh, which housed the Arc of the Covenant.

Rise of the Monarchy

1. Troubles in the eastern Mediterranean brought the Philistines to coastal Israel, where they were in constant conflict with the Israelites

a. Religious leader Samuel anointed Saul as the first king of Israel.b. When Saul died, David too the throne

i. Historians regard the period of the monarchy as more reliable than the previous parts

ii. Some still maintain that the archaeological record doesn’t match well with the stories and the wealth and power of the early kings was greatly exaggerated

2. David oversaw Israel’s transition from tribal confederacy to unified monarchy

a. Strengthened authority by making captured hill city of Jerusalem the capital

i. David brought the ach to Jerusalem and made the city both the political and religious centers of the kingdom

b. Census was taken to facilitate the collection of taxesc. A standing army, with soldiers paid by and loyal to the king was

establishedd. Helped David win military victories and expand the borders

3. The reign of David’s son, Solomon, marked the high point for Israelite monarchy

a. Established trade and alliances with lands near and far from Israel

b. Wealth gained from military and commercial ventures supported a lavish life, a bureaucracy and an intimidating chariot army made Israel a regional power

c. Undertook ambitious building and employed slaves and compulsory labor of citizens

d. Built the First Temple in Jerusalem to strengthen the link between religious and secular authority.

i. Priests became powerful and wealthy, receiving a share of the annual harvest in return for making animal sacrifices to Yahweh

e. Expansion of Jerusalem, new commercial opportunities, and the increasing prestige of Temple hierarchy changed the social composition of Israelite society.

i. Gap between urban and rural, rich and poor, polarized a previously homogeneous people

ii. Fiery prophets accused the monarchs and aristocracy of corruption, impiety, and neglect of the poor

4. The Israelites lived in extended families, several generations residing together under the authority of the eldest male.

a. Male heirs paramount importanceb. First-born sons received a double share of inheritancec. If a couple had no son they could adopt one or the husband

could have a child by the wife’s slave attendantd. A male dies childless, his brother is supposed to marry his

widow and have an heir5. Women were respected and had some influence with their husbands

because they provided vital goods and services that sustained the family

a. Women could not inherit land or initiate divorceb. Women who had affairs were put to deathc. Peasant women labored on agriculture or herding with other

family members while caring for the house and children.d. Society becomes urbanized women could work outside the

housei. Cooks, perfumers, wet nurses, prostitutes, and lament

singers at funeralsii. Few women achieved positions of power

iii. “Wise Women” composed sacred texts in poetry and prose

e. Been obscured partly because of the male bias and partly because the status of women declined as Israelite society became more urban

Fragmentation and Dispersal

1. After the death of Solomon, Israel split into two kingdoms, Israel in the north and Judah in the south

a. Sometimes at war, sometimes allied2. This period saw final formation of monotheism with Yahweh as the

single all powerful god.a. Many Israelites attracted to the rituals of the Canaanite storm-

god Baal and the fertility goddess Asherahb. Prophets condemn adoption of foreign rituals and threatened

that Yahweh would punish Israel severely 3. Two kingdoms and other small states laid aside rivalries to mouth a

resistance to the Neo-Assyrian Empire, but to no good availa. 721 BCE, Assyrians destroyed northern Israel and deported

much of it eastb. New settlers brought in from Syria, Babylon, and Iran, changing

the areas ethnic, cultural, and religious character.c. The Kingdom of Judah lasted more than a century longer

i. Sometimes rebelled, sometimes paid tribute to Assyrians or Neo-Babylonians that succeeded them

ii. Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem, he destroyed the Temple and deported the royal family, the aristocracy and many skilled workers to Babylon

4. Deportees prospered well, and descendants refused to return to their homeland when offered half a century later

a. Origin of the Diaspora, a Greek word meaning dispersion or scattering.

b. This dispersion of many Jews outside their homeland continues to this day

c. To maintain their religion and culture, institutions like synagogues were developed and serves as a meeting place for various functions

5. Some Babylonian Jews made the trek back to Judah and rebuilt the Temple and edited the Hebrew Bible into basically its present form

a. Loss of political autonomy and the experience of exile had sharpened Jewish identity

b. Lived by a strict set of rules

i. Dietary restrictions didn’t allow pork or shellfish to be consumed and meat and dairy products could not be eaten together

ii. Ritual baths used to achieve spiritual purityiii. Venerated the Sabbath by not working or fighting, and

followed Yahweh’s example by resting on the seventh dayc. These strictures and others including a ban on marrying non-

Jews isolated the Jews from others but also fostered a powerful sense of community and the belief that they were protected by a watchful deity

Phoenicia and the Mediterranean, 1200-500 BCE

1. The people to the north of Israel developed their own civilizationa. Greeks called these people Phoenicians, though they referred to

themselves as “Can’ani”- Canaanitesb. Only few written records, and archaeological remains disturbed

by frequent migrations and invasions, some historical record can be reconstructed

The Phoenician City-States

1. Around 1200 BCE, many Canaanite settlements in the Syria-Palestine region were destroyed due to violent upheavals and mass migrations

a. Aramaeans- nomadic pastoralists- migrated to the interior parts of Syria

b. Philistines occupied the southern coast and introduced iron based metallurgy to this part of the world

2. Canaanite territory had shrunk to a narrow strip of land between the mountains and sea in present-day Lebanon during 1100 BCE

a. Rivers and rocky spurs cut the coastal plain into a series of small city-states

b. Chief among the city-states were Byblos, Berytus, Sidon and Tyre.

i. Inhabitants adopted new political forms and turned to seaborne commerce and new kinds of manufacture for survival

c. Thriving trade in raw materials, foodstuffs, and luxury goods brought considerable wealth to the city-states and gave an important role in international politics

3. Developed earlier Canaanite models into and ‘alphabetic’ system of writing with symbols- approx. 24- that each represented a sound

a. Phoenicians only represented the consonant sounds, leaving readers to infer the vowels.

b. Greeks later added symbols for the vowels, creating the first truly alphabetic system of writing

c. Little Phoenician writing survives, probably because the scribes used perishable papyrus

4. Byblos was the most important city-state prior to 1000 BCE because it was a distribution center for cedar timber and for papyrus from Egypt, but in 969 BCE, King Hiram was responsible for Tyre’s rise to prominence.

a. Formed a close alliance with king Solomon of Israel and provided skilled craftsmen and cedar for the building of the First Temple.

i. In return, Tyre got access to silver, food and trade routes to the east and south

b. Tyre took control of Sidon and dominated Mediterranean costal trade during the 800s BCE

5. Tyre was practically impenetrable, located on an offshore islanda. Had two harbors, connected by a canal, a large marketplace, a

magnificent palace complex with treasury and archives and temples to gods Melqart and Astarte

b. Some residents lived in suburbs on the mainland c. Only weakness, its dependence on the mainland for food and

fresh water6. Little is known about the internal affairs of Tyre and other Phoenician

a. A series of names of kings are preserved, and scant evidence suggests that the political arena was dominated by leading merchant families.

b. Between the ninth and seventh centuries BCE the Phoenician city-states competed with Assyrian aggression

c. Preserved their autonomy by playing the great powers off against one another when possible and accepting a subordinate relationship to a distant master when necessary

Expansion into the Mediterranean

1. Tyre turned its attention to the west, establishing colonies on Cyprus after 900 BCE

a. By 700 BCE, a string of settlements in the western Mediterranean formed a “Phoenician Triangle” composed of the North African coast from west Lybia to Morocco; the south and southeast coast of Spain, including Gades

b. Phoenician trading network spanned the Mediterranean 2. The Tyrian expansion was probably fueled by frequent invasions by

the Assyrians and the lack of arable land to feed the growing population

a. Settlements overseas were used as an outlet for excess population, new sources of trade goods and new trading partners.

b. Tyre paid tribute to the Assyrian kings to maintain their autonomy until 701 BCE

c. That year, Tyre fell to an Assyrian army which allowed Sidon to become the leading Phoenician city

Carthage’s Commercial Empire

1. Historians know more about Carthage and other Phoenician colonies than about the homeland.

a. Most comes from the Greek and Roman reports about war with the Phoenician colonies

2. Carthage stretched between the original hilltop citadel and a double harbor, located just outside the present day city of Tunis, Tunisia

a. Harbor could accommodate 220 warshipsb. Watchtower allowed surveillance of surrounding areasc. High walls made seeing into Carthage impossible from the

outsided. Outside harbor filled with docs for merchants

i. Could be closed with a huge iron chain in case of an attack3. Magistrates heard legal cases in large central squares outdoors

a. Inner city a maze of narrow winding streets, apartments, and sacred enclosures

b. On the outskirts was where the rich built villas amid fields and vegetable gardens

c. Entire district was enclosed by a wall 22 miles in lengthd. Most critical point wall was the 2 and a half mile wide isthmus

(a narrow strip of land that connects 2 larger lands) i. At this point the wall was over 40 feet high and 30 feet

thick with high watchtowers

4. Carthage one of the largest cities in the world by 500 BCE with a population of about 400,000.

a. Population ethnically diverse- indigenous Phoenicians, and immigrants from other Mediterranean lands as well as from sub-Saharan Africa

b. Phoenicians intermarried with other peoples5. Two judges were elected each year from upper-class families to be

heads of state and carry out administrative and judicial functions.a. Senate the real set of power where members of the leading

merchant families sat for life and directed the affairs of the state.

b. Inner circle of thirty or so senators made the crucial decisions.c. Leadership occasionally convened an Assembly of citizens to

elect public officials or vote on important issues, particularly when they were divided or wanted to stir up enthusiasm for some venture

6. Carthage has little evidence suggesting it possessed the unrest that plagued the Greeks and Romans

a. Merchant aristocracy was not a closed groupb. Economic and social mobility allowed newly successful families

to push their way into the circlec. Everyone benefitted from the riches

i. Usually ready to defer to those who made prosperity possible

7. Power rested on the navy, which dominated the Mediterranean for centuries

a. Towns provided network of portsb. Carthaginian fleet consisted of fast, maneuverable galleys.

i. Had sturdy pointed ram in front to pierce the hull on enemy vessel below the water line

c. Foreign policy focused on protecting the sea lines, gaining access to raw materials and fostering trade

d. Foreign merchants free to sail to Carthage to market their goods, but would run the risk of having their ships sunken by the navy if they tried to operate on their own

e. Treaties recognized this maritime commercial monopoly8. Archaeological record provides few clues about things traded by

Carthaginiansa. May have included perishable goods and raw metals whose

origin would not be evident

b. Ships carried goods manufactured elsewhere and products brought to Carthage by foreign traders were re-exported

c. Evidence of trade with sub-Saharan Africai. Hanno, Carthaginian captain, claimed to have sailed

through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Atlantic ocean and have explored west Africa

ii. Others claimed to have explored the Atlantic coast of Spain, France and southwestern England.

War and Religion

1. Carthaginian state did not directly rule a large territorya. Some fertile land owned by Carthaginians was worked by native

peasants and imported slavesb. Other than this, ruled most of their ‘empire’ indirectly and let

other Phoenician communities to remain independentc. Communities looked to Carthage for military protection and

followed its lead in foreign policyd. Only Sardinia and Southern Spain were put under the direct

control, presumably to safeguard their agricultural, metal and manpower resources

2. The unusual fact that the citizens were not requires to serve in the army may be explained by Carthage’s focus on trade

a. They were more valuable for trading and the navyb. North African population was not politically or militarily well

organized, Carthage did not have much to fear close to homec. Relied on the most warlike peoples in its dominions or form

neighboring areas when it was in a series of wars with the Greeks and Romans.

i. Under the control of Carthaginian officersd. Separated military command from civilian government- generals

chosen by government and kept in office as long as needed3. Similar to Mesopotamian deities, Carthaginian gods were powerful

and capricious entities who had to be appeased by anxious worshippers

a. Chief among gods Baal Hammon a male storm god and Tanit a female fertility goddess

b. Romans report that members of the elite would sacrifice their male children in times of crisis

c. Excavations have turned up tophets- walled enclosures where thousands of small sealed urns containing the burned bones of children lay buried

d. Child sacrifice became more common after 400 BCE

4. Carthaginians perceived of as different and that cultural barriers leading to misunderstanding and prejudice played significant role in in conflicts of the people of the ancient Mediterranean

Failure and Transformation, 750-550 BCE

1. The extension of Assyrian power over the entire Middle East had consequences for all the peoples of the region.

a. The Assyrians destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel and deported a large portion of the population

b. The southern kingdom of Judah faced relentless pressure for over a century

c. Assyrian threats for tribute spurred the Phoenicians to explore the western Mediterranean

i. Tyre’s fall to the Assyrians accelerated the decline of the Phoenician homeland

ii. Western colonies, especially Carthage, flourishedd. Egypt fell to the Assyrians in the mid-seventh century BCE

e. Southern Mesopotamia was reduced to a protectoratei. Babylon razed and rebuilt by Assyrian kings of

differing dispositions f. Urartu and Elam were destroyed

2. Assyria stood unchallenged in western Asia by 650 BCE

a. Assyrian resources sapped by the arms race with Urartu, the expensive campaigns, and the protection of lengthy boarders

b. Brutality and exploitation aroused the hatred of conquered peoples

c. Changes in the ethnic composition of the army and the population had reduced popular support for the Assyrian state

3. Resistance to Assyria spearheaded by two new political entitiesa. Babylonia had been revived by the Neo-Babylonian, or

Chaldaean dynastyb. The Medes, an Iranian people, extended their kingdom onto the

Iranian Plateauc. The two powers launched a series of attacks on the Assyrian

homelandi. Destroyed chief cities by 612 BCE

4. Medes took over the Assyrian homeland and the northern plain as far as eastern Anatolia

a. Most of the territory of the old empire fell to the Neo-Babylonian kingdom

i. Due to campaigns of kings Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar.

b. Babylonia went through a cultural renaissance c. Babylon was enlarge and adorned, became greatest metropolis

of the worldd. Old cults revived, temples rebuilt, festivals resurrected.e. Pursuits of mathematics, astronomy, and astrology reached new

heights