Transcript lesson - mediterranean

Early Empires of the
Mediterranean
Pastoral Nomads
• Outside of Mesopotamia
& Egypt lived nomadic
peoples who still
depended on hunting and
gathering.
• Most important were the
pastoral nomads. They
domesticated and herded
their own animals, but
moved them throughout
the year to places where
there was more food.
Pastoral Nomads
• Pastoral nomads carried
goods and products
between different
civilizations, thereby
helping the spread of ideas
and technology.
- Example: bronze and iron
weapons, that were then
used to strengthen other
civilizations.
Bronze swords
Iron swords
Hittite Empire
• Created their empire between 1600BC-1200BC.
• Located in present-day Turkey.
• They threatened the power and trading abilities of the
Egyptians.
• Known for being the 1st civilization to use iron for weapons.
– Unfortunately ~1200BC the Hittites were attacked by the
“Sea Peoples” and were destroyed.
The Phoenicians
• Located to the east of the
Mediterranean Sea.
– Very thin area of land that is
present-day Jordan.
• After the downfall of the
Hittites and Egyptians, the
Phoenicians were
independent of
restrictions and able to
expand their trading
empire.
The Phoenicians
• Most important cities
were on the coast –
Byblos, Tyre, and Sidon.
• They built great ships and
were famous
international traders.
– They dominated trade
routes in the whole
Mediterranean.
• Their most famous
trading colony was at
Carthage, which is on the
North African coast.
The Phoenicians
• Goods they produced for
trade:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Purple dye
Glass
Lumber
Metals
Wine
Slaves
• Greeks & Romans called
them the “traders in
purple” since they had most
of the powder and dye
required to make the color.
The Phoenicians
• Best known for their
ALPHABET!
• Used 22 signs to represent
the SOUNDS of their
speech.
– Put them together to spell
the words of the language.
• Their alphabet eventually
passed on to the Greeks,
and the Greek alphabet
went on to the Romans.
– We still use the Roman
alphabet today!
The Israelites
• Lived south of the Phoenicians in
what is present-day Palestine & Israel.
• Known for their religion – Judaism – which will
later influence Christianity & Islam.
• Their history and religious beliefs are recorded in the Hebrew Bible
(the Torah), which is called the “Old Testament” by Christians.
- Believed to be the descendants of a man named Abraham.
• Because of drought they moved to Egypt, but were enslaved due to
their rejection of Egyptian religion. They remained enslaved until
they were led out of Egypt by Moses.
- Then they wandered the desert for 40 years until returning home.
The Israelites
• After returning to their
homeland the Jews made the
Kingdom of Israel and placed
the city of Jerusalem as the
capital.
• After the death of King Solomon
the kingdom split in two, and
Jerusalem was eventually
destroyed in 586 BC.
– The Jews were once again forced
to move about the Middle East at
the mercy of powerful empires.
• A Persian king (Cyrus the Great)
allowed the Jews to return to
their homeland and rebuild
Jerusalem.
The Israelites - Judaism
• The world’s first
monotheistic religion
(believing in one God).
• The name in Hebrew is
“Yahweh.”
• Sacred Texts
– Torah (Old Testament)
– Ten Commandments are
found in the books of
Exodus & Deuteronomy.
The Israelites - Judaism
• Beliefs:
– There is only one God.
– God is always right and always
good.
– It is your responsibility to have a
relationship with God and live a
proper and appropriate life.
– The Ten Commandments are a
covenant (contract) between
humans and God.
• Impact:
– The Ten Commandments are the
basis for most modern laws
– Influenced Christianity and Islam