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The Mediterranean and
Middle East
2000 – 500 B.C.E.
Chapter 3
Cosmopolitan Middle East
1700 – 1100 B.C.E.

Late Bronze Age in Middle East –
‘cosmopolitan era’
• Widely shared cultures and lifestyles
• Extensive diplomatic relations
• Commercial contacts
• Generally good standard of living
Hittites
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Emerged as major power 1700 –
2300 B.C.E.
Capital at Hattusha (near present
day Ankara, Turkey)
First to use horse drawn chariots
May have been first to come up with
iron tools and weapons
New Kingdom
Egypt
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Middle Kingdom ended – 17th
Century B.C.E.
Led to break down in central
authority
Political fragmentation
Economic decline
Akhenaton and Aton
Akhenaton and Aton
The Pharaoh Amenhotep sought to
replace traditional polytheism with the
worship of Aton, a single god who was
represented with the sun disk.
Amenhotep took the name Akhenaton
("It is well with Aton"). This relief
shows the king and his wife Nefertiti
worshipping Aton. (Egyptian Museum,
Cairo)
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Reunification of Egypt
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2 princes from Thebes expelled the
Hyksos
Started the New Kingdom - @1532
to 1070 B.C.E.
Very aggressive and expansionist
policies
Controlled territory from north into
Syria/Palestine and south into Nubia
Hatshepsut
(r. 1473-1458 BCE)
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Regent for young stepson
Claimed royal title for herself
1460 B.C.E. – sent naval expedition
down the Red Sea to “Punt”
• Brought home myrrh – important for
religious ceremonies and as an
ingredient in medicines and cosmetics
• Cut out middlemen in the trade –
success validated her as pharaoh
Statue of Hatshepsut
Statue of Hatshepsut
This statue of the pharaoh Hatshepsut
is one of the few to depict her as a
woman. She is usually shown as a man,
complete with beard, which symbolizes
royal power. Centuries later the
proportions and carving techniques of
Egyptian stone sculpture would
influence the Greeks. (Brian
Brake/Photo Researchers, Inc.)
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Ramessides
14th Century B.C.E.
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Hamerhab – 1323 B.C.E. – seized
throne
Policy of conquest and expansion
Ramesses II – probably greatest
monarch of this dynasty
• Ruled 1290 – 1224 B.C.E.
• Built many monuments throughout
Egypt
• Lived into his 90’s
Rameses II (cont)
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Valley of Kings – tomb
Since 1990 – archaeologist have
excavated more than 100 corridors
and chambers
1285 B.C.E. – fought with Hittites at
Kadesh – northern Syria – probably a
draw – forced both sides to negotiate
a treaty
Temple of Ramesses II at Abu
Simbel
Temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel
Strategically placed at a bend in the Nile River to face the southern frontier, this monument was
an advertisement of Egyptian power. A temple was carved into the cliff behind the gigantic
statues of the pharaoh. Within the temple, a corridor decorated with reliefs of military victories
leads to an inner shrine containing images of the divine ruler seated alongside three of the
major gods. In a modern marvel of engineering, the monument was moved to higher ground in
the 1960s to protect it from rising waters when a dam was constructed upriver. (Susan
Lapides/Woodfin Camp & Associates)
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Golden coffin of
Tutankhamen
Golden coffin of Tutankhamen
Tutankhamen, who died at the age of
18, was a minor king who ruled Egypt
from about 1347-1338 B.C.E.
Although most Egyptian tombs have
been plundered over the years,
Tutankhamen's tomb--with all its
treasures--was intact when it was
discovered. Among the treasures was
this solid gold sarcophagus (coffin) of
"King Tut," which weighs 250 pounds.
The cover of the coffin depicts a
handsome youth with delicacy, charm,
and comeliness. (Robert Harding
Picture Library)
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Aegean World
2000 – 1100 B.C.E.

Geography
• Southern Greece and Aegean islands –
rocky and arid
• Small plains between steep hills
• Grew grains, grapes and olive trees
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Trade
• Coastlines and harbors good for sea
trade
• Fastest and cheapest mode of travel
Minoan Civilization
2000 B.C.E.
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1st European civilization
• Centralized government, monumental building,
bronze metallurgy, writing and record keeping
• Capital on the island of Crete
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Strong Egyptian influences
• Seen in pottery and art
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Origins unknown
• Writing has not yet been deciphered (called
Linear A)
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End came @ 1450 B.C.E. – probably
the Mycenaean's
• All palaces except Cnossus (Knossus)
were destroyed
Mycenaean Greece
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Arose about same time as Minoan
Indo-Europeans that migrated into
the Greek peninsula
Intermarried, blended languages,
and mixed cultural practices –
Created 1st Greek culture
Early life of
Mycenaean Greece
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1st 4 centuries – primarily farming
and shepherding
1600 – 1150 B.C.E. – developed a
very complex and wealthy civilization
Homer’s Iliad – ‘history’ of early
Mycenae – probably based on some
facts – evidence found in southern
Greece
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Built like the Minoans – probably
traded with them extensively
Writing – Linear B – uses pictorial
signs – recognizable as early form of
Greek
• Kept track of details of trade
• Little mention of political leaders
Political Organization
Argument for political unity:
- cultural uniformity
- buildings very similar in all cities
- clothing, tools, utensils alike
Argument for disunity
- Iliad – story of armies fighting to gain
control
End of Late Bronze Age
Civilizations
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@1200 B.C.E. – large numbers of
people on the move
Invaders moved south, taking over
territories as they traveled
Egyptians write of Ekwesh – possibly
the Egyptian word for Aegean's –
took over Egypt
Assyrian Empire
911 – 612 B.C.E.
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Homeland geography
• Northern Mesopotamia
• Hillier,
• More temperate climate
• Greater rainfall
• Exposed to raiders from mts.
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Peasants – self-reliant, became
backbone of army
Political
All
land
King
Chosen by
The
Gods
All people
As servants
(includes highest
ranking officials)
Kings Responsibilities
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Manage empire with help of scribes
and spies
Ambassador – met with foreign
leaders
Military leader – included going on
campaigns
Supervision of state religion – very
important
Technology
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Iron weapons
Cavalry
Engineering –
• Tunnels
• Mobile towers for archers
• Battering rams
Government
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Provincial officials
• Oversaw payments of taxes and tribute
• Maintained law and order
• Subject to inspection by royal overseers
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Elite class and skilled professionals
• Feared punishment
• Expected to be rewarded for loyalty
Society
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In core area:
• 3 classes of people – free, landowning citizens;
farmers and artisans; slaves
• Normally not a divide between native
Assyrians and immigrants and deportees – all
referred to as ‘human beings’
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culture
• Trade encouraged
• Science and literature grew
• Medicine – experimented with surgical
procedures
Downfall
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Too harsh to subjugated people
Used up all resources
Wealth all sent to center, edges
suffered
Money invested in trade with outlying
areas did help keep some of the
people in edges happy
Israel
2000 – 500 B.C.E.
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Western edge of Assyrian empire
• Nomadic kinship groups – herders and caravan
traders
• Settled down – became a sedentary society
with complex social and political organizations
• Became integrated into commercial and
diplomatic networks of Middle East
• Created concept of single, all-knowing
deity – became foundation of Judaism and
Christianity
Hebrew Bible
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Old Testament (Christian name)
Oral tradition until about 10th century
B.C.E. (Phoenician script)
Accuracy is questionable
Hebrew language – reflects speech of
Israelites until about 500 B.C.E.
• Semitic language – closely related to
Phoenician and Aramaic
Family of Abraham
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Originated in city of Ur – southern
Mesopotamia
Rejected idol worship of homeland
Traveled to land of Israel
Covenant between Abraham and
Yahweh (Israelite god)
Probably the story of many
generations of this family
Children of Israel
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Coalition of people – invented
common ancestry
12 tribes created
Each tribe led by chiefs
• Mediated disputes
• Saw to safety and well being of group
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“Judges” – famed for war or
arbitration skills
Monarchy
1200 B.C.E.
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Saul – named first king by Samuel –
needed to fight off Philistines – 1020
B.C.E.
David – r. ca. 1000 – 960 B.C.E. –
created a unified monarchy
• Established Jerusalem as capital (lay
outside tribal boundaries)
• Brought Ark of the Covenant there –
made it political and religious center
Solomon
(r. ca. 960 – 920 B.C.E.)
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High point of Israelite monarchy
• Alliances and trade with distant lands
• Traveled to Saba (present day Yemen)
• Horn of Africa (Somalia)
• Very wealthy
• Built First Temple
Decline
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Solomon died @ 920 B.C.E.
Split kingdom in 2
• Solidified monotheistic beliefs
• Sometimes fought, sometimes got along
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Unified against Assyrians
• Eventually all defeated
• Moved royal family to area ‘by the
waters of Babylon’
Diaspora
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Cyrus offered homeland back to Jews
Many refused to return - very
prosperous in Babylon
Origin of the Diaspora or scattering
of the Jews
• Beginning of synagogues
Judah
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Some tribes returned to Judah
• Not very welcome there
• Rebuilt temple (smaller)
• Wrote Deuteronomic Code –
establishment of laws and conduct rules
for Jews
• Compilation of Hebrew Bible – roughly
its present day form
Phoenicia & the Mediterranean
1200 – 500 B.C.E.
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Syria- Palestine people – called
themselves Canaanites
• Historians call them Phoenicians
• Lived along the strip of land between
the mts. And sea in present day
Lebanon
• Traders
• Developed alphabetic system of writing
Carthage
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One of the largest cities in the world by
500 B.C.E. (@400,000 people)
Focused on trade
• Controlled all sea lanes of west Mediterranean
• Traded as far south as sub-Saharan Africa
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Used mercenaries to fight wars
• Numidieans – North Africa
• Iberians – Spain
• Gauls - France
End of Power
750 – 550 B.C.E.
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Assyrian control of Middle east ends
by 650 B.C.E.
• Too big to maintain borders
• Harsh treatment of conquered people
• Assimilation of so many groups
• Loss of money and focus in too many
wars
Two New Powers
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Medes – took over Iranian plateau
Neo-Babylonians – took over
territory in the south
• Wiped out most traces of Assyrians in
outer areas
• Nebuchadnezzar (r. 604-562 B.C.E.)
rebuilt Babylon