1. Mediterranean Civilizations
Chapter 2, Section 4

2. City of Tyre
While the great empire of Hammurabi was rising and falling, the people of a poor city on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea were getting rich by gathering snails.
Snails that washed up the shore produced rich purple dye.
Highly valued by wealthy people throughout the Mediterranean region
Ships from Tyre sold the dye at extremely high prices became a wealthy and active city

3. City of Tyre

4. The Phoenicians: Sailors of the Mediterranean
Tyre  major city in region called Phoenicia
Outlook was toward the west, the Mediterranean Sea and surrounding growing cities
Had settled in a land with dense forests of cedar trees
Sold the wood along with snails to neighbors

5. The Phoenicians: Sailors of the Mediterranean
As trade grew, the Phoenicians looked to the sea to increase their profits
Became world’s largest trading empire
1100 B.C. – 800 B.C. = great sea power
Ships sailed all over the Mediterranean Sea
Sailed out into the story Atlantic
Sailors came back and shared stories of sea monsters  to keep competitors away from Atlantic

6. Trade

7. The Phoenicians: Sailors of the Mediterranean
Trade brought rich goods from lands around the Mediterranean Sea to the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon.
Bazaars swelled with foods brought from faraway places
Figs, olives, honey, spices
Merchants sold strange animals  giraffes and warthogs from Africa; bears from Europe

8. Bazaar

9. The Phoenician Alphabet: One Sound, One Letter
Needed simple writing because they had so much trade
Cuneiform = too complicated
Found a way to write using 22 symbols
Phoenician alphabet set of symbols that represented the sounds of the language
Forms the basic alphabet that people in the USA and other countries use today
Each of the 22 letters stood for one consonant sound.

10. The Phoenician Alphabet: One Sound, One Letter
Easier to learn than cuneiform
Many more people could learn to write besides scribes

11. Phoenician Alphabet

12. The Rise of the Israelites
Hebrews (later known as Israelites)  small band of people settled along the shores of the Mediterranean
Made a deep impact on our civilization even though they never built a large empire
Traced beginnings to Mesopotamia
For hundreds of years, lived as shepherds and merchants who grazed their flocks outside Sumerian cities

13. The Rise of the Israelites
According to the Bible, Abraham led his people to a belief in one God  monotheism
God promised Abraham that his people would have their own land if they would follow his word
1900 B.C.  Abraham led the Israelites from Mesopotamia to a new home in Canaan
1800 B.C.  famine spread across Canaan
Time when there is so little food that many people starve
Caused the Israelites to flee south to Egypt

14. The Rise of the Israelites
Lived well in Egypt for about 600 years
Enslaved when an Egyptian king grew jealous of their wealth and suspicious of their power

15. Return to Canaan
Moses, an Israelite hero, led the enslaved people out of Egypt
Wandered the desert of Sinai for the next 40 years
God have the Israelites the Ten Commandments
Returned to Canaan and eventually began to build their own cities

16. Map of Canaan and Egypt

17. Conquest of Canaan
Israelites faced opposition as they moved further north into Canaan
Conquered Canaan after several fierce wars
Two kings led them to victory
Saul  first king of the Israelites
David  next king who united the 12 tribes into a single nation; established his capital at the city of Jerusalem

18. Conquest of Canaan Solomon, David’s son, inherited the kingdom
Grew prosperous through trade
Developed a sea trade with neighboring lands
First voyage = brought back more than 13 tons of gold

19. Conquest of Canaan
Solomon transformed Jerusalem into a magnificent capital.
Most prized monument = temple in the center of the city  became the central place of worship for the Israelites

20. Jerusalem Temple

21. Jerusalem Temple

22. Jerusalem Temple

23. Conquest of Canaan Solomon’s building projects were very expensive.
Country faced hard times and after his death, divided into 2 kingdoms
Northern = Israel
Southern = Judah
Assyria, the dangerous neighbor, was gaining power in the divided kingdom.

24. Conquest of Canaan 722 B.C.  Assyrians seized the kingdom of Israel
Punished the Israelites by exiling thousands to distant parts of the empire
Exile  force a people to live in another country
About 135 years later, Judah fell to the Chaldeans and they were exiled as well.