Transcript PowerPoint Presentation - A Brief History of the Ancient Near East

A Brief History of the
Ancient Near East
Goals for today:
 understand
general political history of
Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon
 understand the importance of these political
situations to Israel
 understand how Israel is able to thrive only
when there is a lull on the world scene
 understand how empires took tribute from
Israel and other vassal countries
A Brief History of the Nations
in the Ancient Near East
 A.
Languages
 B. Nations
– Egypt
– Sumer
– Akkadians
 Assyria
 Babylon
– Syria
– Philistia
– Hatti (Hittites)
A. Languages
 Main
languages are the Semitic languages
– Hebrew: Israel
– Akkadian: Assyria and Babylon
– etc.
 Other
languages
– Sumerian: Sumer
– Egyptian: Egypt
– Hittite: Hatti
Egypt: 3 major period
 1.
Old Kingdom: 2800 - 2200 B.C.E.
– roughly Early Bronze Age
 2.
Middle Kingdom: 2000 - 1750 B.C.E.
– Middle Bronze is 2200 to 1550
 3.
New Kingdom: 1550-1150 B.C.E.
– Late Bronze is 1550-1200
 periods
between:
– 2200 - 2000 rival powers in Egypt
– 1750 - 1550: Hyksos invaders dominate Egypt
Egypt’s Dynasties
 Since
the Greek historian, Manetho (3rd
century B.C.E.)
 There are some problems with these
divisions, but it has been done for centuries
Dynasties and Kingdoms
 Old
Kingdom: 3-6 Dynasties
– time of pyramids
– 2800 to 2200 BCE
 Middle
Kingdom: 10-12 Dynasties
– ruled from Thebes
– 2000 to 1750
 Hyksos
period: 13-17 Dynasties
– 1750 to 1550 BCE
 New
Kingdom: 18-19 Dynasties
– 1550 to 1200 BCE
– 20th Dynasty and beyond goes to Greek conquest
Hyksos
(15th)
Dynasty
18th Dynasty
 First
Dynasty of New Kingdom
 Strongest point in Egyptian History
 in 1550, Ahmose I reunited Egypt
– Egypt controls Canaan
 Thutmoses
III (1490-1436) leads Egypt to
its strongest point
 Amenhotep IV: el-Amarna letters written at
capital of el-Amarna
Thutmose III
19th Dynasty
 came
to power ~1300 w/ Sethi I and
Rameses II
 reasserted control over Asia Minor
 moved capital to border of Sinai in delta
 most scholars identify this with period of
Exodus
 ? Sethi I is Pharaoh who enslaves Israelite
 ? Rameses II is Pharaoh of Exodus
Rameses II
20th Dynasty and beyond
 from
1200 down to Greek conquest
 Egypt declined at end of Late Bronze Age
and start of Iron I Age
 never become as dominant
 several Iron Age II pharaohs who are strong,
but never controls known world
Sumer
 first
great civilization in the world
 arose around 3500 (start of Early Bronze)
 Sumer located in marshes of lower
Mesopotamia between Tigris and Euphrates
 invented writing (Gilgamesh)
 advanced mathematics based on number 6
 much of their art / culture was adopted by
the Semitic peoples
Akkadians
 later
the two main countries would be
Assyria (in North) and Babylon (in South)
 ~2400, Sargon I is first Semitic ruler to
defeat the Sumerians
 the Akkadians adopted Sumerian culture
and religion, but kept Semitic language
 controlled Mesopotamia until Cyrus the
Great (Persian ruler ~520)
Assyria: 9th century
 Ashurnasipal
II (888-859)
 Shalmeneser III (858-824)
– pictured Jehu (842-815) giving tribute
– Qarqar in 853 B.C.E.
 from
800 to 750 lost control of world due to
internal struggles
Battle of Qarqar in 853 B.C.E.
Assyria: 8th century
 Tiglath-Peleser
III (747-727)
– restores power
– expands westward
– from now until fall of Ninevah (612), Assyria is
a constant threat to Israel and Judah
 Sargon
II (721-705)
– Israel falls
 Sennacherib
(704-681): Judah almost falls
 Assurbanipal (668-628): last great king
TiglathPileser III
743-740
738
Hamath
Arvad
Tiglath-Pileser 734
III
(745–727)
Damascus
Tyre
Hazor
Megiddo
Aphek
Gezer
Jerusalem
Gaza
Besor, N.
732
Ramoth-gilead
733
Sennacherib’s 701 campaign
Rise of
Assyria
Babylon
 After
625, they were able to win over from
Assyria
 exacted tribute from Canaan just like
Assyria had done
 defeated Judah in 596 and 586
 Babylon falls to Cyrus the Great (Persian
ruler) in 520
The Rise of the Babylonian Empire
The Rise and Fall of
the Babylonian Empire
Syria
 used
Semitic language
 language known from Ugarit and Ebla
 kingdom of Aram
 culture similar to Canaan but not exactly the
same (although many scholars make too
many parallels)
Philistines
 they
occupy the coastal area in Canaan
 come onto the scene about the time the
Israelites arrive on the scene
 they are one of the Sea Peoples, but not all
Sea Peoples are Philistines
 wiped out in early 6th century by Babylon
Hittites
 they
occupied the area of modern Turkey
 as a world power, they fell at the end of the
Late Bronze Age and start of Iron Age
 this is about the time period when Israel
comes onto the scene
 not a huge presence for Israel, but a
presence in terms of culture (esp. cov’t)
Conclusions:
 remember:
Israel’s economic resources
 Israel thrived when there was a lull in the
world political situation
 Israel needed contacts with other nations
 these relationships help us understand the
political scene in Israel and Judah, and also
the religious texts that evolve out of these
settings.