Chapter 2: The Age of Empires: 1550-550 BCE

The Age of EmpiresI. The Dynamism of the International Bronze Age

II. Recovery and Rebuilding: Empires and Societies in the Aftermath of the International Bronze Age

III. The Civilization of the Hebrews

The Dynamism of the International Bronze Age

A. Zones of Power within the International Bronze Age1) Hittite Kingdom of Haiti, 1650 B.C.E.

2) Battle of Kadesh, 1274 B.C.E.

3) Kassite Babylon and Assyria

One measure of the influence of the Hittites is the durability of their art. This relief, from Carchemish in Phoenicia, dates from at least two centuries after the Hittite empire collapsed, but illustrates the Hittite focus on chariot warfare. Also, the winged sun was a symbol other regional empires adopted.

The Dynamism of the International Bronze Age (cont'd)

A. Zones of Power within the International Bronze Age4) Golden Age

a) Political stability

b) Economic prosperity

5) Assyria – Babylon’s chief rivala) Tukulti-Ninurta I (r. 1244-1208 B.C.E.)

The Dynamism of the International Bronze Age (cont'd)

A. Zones of Power within the International Bronze Age6) Mediterranean Civilizations: Minoan Crete

and Mycenaean Greecea) Minoan civilization, 2600 -1400 B.C.E.

- Sea trade- Export of luxury goods- “Linear A”- Matriarchy

Knossos. Frescoes on the palace walls of Knossos, Crete, from about 1500 B.C.E. Dolphins were favored as food for elite feasts. The palace—at once an elite dwelling, religious site and a storehouse and distribution center for food—was rebuilt many times between destructions by earthquakes and, perhaps, invasions.

The palace was was also important as the source of the myth of the Labyrinth.

The Dynamism of the International Bronze Age (cont'd)

A. Zones of Power within the International Bronze Age7) Mycenean, 1400 B.C.E.

a) “Linear B”

8) City-States and Coastal Communities: Syria and Canaana) Ugarit

- Agriculture- international trade

A mazelike structure designed and built by skilled craftsmen and inventor Daedalus for King Minos of Crete to hold the Minotaur, a half-man, half-bull. Daedalus’s design was so cunning that he almost became lost himself after he finished building it.

After defeating the Athenians in a war, King Minos decreed that every seven years,seven Athenian boys and seven Athenian girls would be sent to the labyrinth to be eaten by the Minotaur. On the third round of this cycle of sacrifice, the hero Theseus (future king of Athens) volunteered to go to Crete and kill the monster.

Theseus was aided by Ariadne, daughter of King Minos, who gave hima ball of thread (the “clew” or “clue”) to find his way out of the labyrinth. Ariadne also furnished him with a sword, and instructions (“always go forward, always go down, never left or right”). Theseus made his way to the center of the maze, stumbled on a rock, awakening the sleeping Minotaur, and began a bloody fight., in which he eventually prevailed by slitting the beast’s throat.

Myth of the Labyrinth

Knossos, Crete

Palace of Knossos, Crete, c. 1500 CE (Labyrinth)

The Dynamism of the International Bronze Age (cont'd)

A. Zones of Power within the International Bronze Age9) Troy: A City of Legend

a) 3000-1000 B.C.E.

b) Homer’s “Iliad”

The walls of Mycenae in southern Greece, built over 3,000 years ago. Warlike city-states arose in this region of sparse agricultural productivity, on the profits of the manufacture and export of luxuries for markets in Egypt and Anatolia. After 1500 B.C.E., the language of Mycenae replaced that of Crete in official Cretan records, suggesting political/military mastery b the Mycenaeans.

Mycenae defenses

Citadel of Mycenae

The Dynamism of the International Bronze Age

B. The Club of the Great Powers1) Great Power Relations and Exchanges

a) King Assur-Ubalit I

b) Hattusili III

2) International trade

3) Conquest and Client Statesa) Annual tribute

b) Auxiliary troops

Wall painting in the tomb of the vizir Rekhmire—one of hundreds of Egyptian nobles buried in sumptuous graves in Thebes circa 1500 B.C.E. Part of Rekhmire’s job was to receive “tribute” or, in effect, gifts from foreign lands. Items depicted here include copper ingots with handles from the eastern or northern shores of the Mediterranean and exotic products from the Nubian frontier—ivory, apes, a giraffe.

The Dynamism of the International Bronze Age

B. The Club of the Great Powers4) Commonalities Among the Great Power

Culturesa) Palace system

b) Social hierarchy

The Dynamism of the International Bronze Age

C. Crisis and Collapse: The End of the International Bronze Age1) Dark age

2) “The Epic of Erra”

3) The Sea Peoples

4) Systemic Instabilitya) Habiru: peasants in debt take to the hills (or

desert, marshes, etc) to become bandits, soldiers for hire, or outlaws.

Recovery and RebuildingEmpires and Societies in the Aftermath of the International Bronze Age

A.Before and Between the Empires1) “Dark Age”

2) New Peoples of the Land: the Arameans

3) New Peoples of the Sea: The Phoeniciansa) Proto-Canaanite alphabet

Sea Peoples. “Now the northern peoples in their isles were quivering in their bodies,” says the inscription that accompanies a ship-borne battle scene of the reign of Ramses III. “They penetrated the channels of the mouths of the Nile. . . . They are capsized and overwhelmed where they stand. . . . Their weapons are scattered on the sea.”

Playing Defense: Egypt vs. “ Sea Peoples”

The Civilization of the HebrewsA. The Early History of the Hebrews1) Hebrews – 1200 B.C.E.

a) Exodus

2) Israel: From Monarchy to Exilea) anti-royalism

The Civilization of the HebrewsA. The Early History of the Hebrews3) The United Monarchy

a) Saul, 1020 B.C.E.

b) David, 1005-970

c) Solomon, 970-931 B.C.E.- grand temple

The Civilization of the Hebrews (cont'd)

A. The Early History of the Hebrews4) The Divided Monarchy

a) “Successor Kingdoms”

b) Omri, 885-875 B.C.E.

c) Ahab, 873-852

The Civilization of the Hebrews (cont'd)

A. The Early History of the Hebrews5) Into Exile

a) Lost Ten Tribes of Israel

b) Hezekiah, 727-697 B.C.E.

c) Zedekiah, 597-586 B.C.E.- Jews- Judaism

The Civilization of the HebrewsB. The Hebrew Religious Legacy1) Early Syncretism

a) Yahweh

b) El

c) Asherah

d) Ba’al

2) The Prophetic Movementa) Elijah

b) Other prophets

The Civilization of the HebrewsB. The Hebrew Religious Legacy3) Yahweh Alone: The Emergence of

Monotheisma) “Book of the Law”

b) Covenant

4) Babylonian Exilea) Pentateuch/Torah

5) The Hebrew Legacya) “Chosen People”