UTANAPISHTIM SURVIVES THE GREAT FLOOD

Mesopotamian, Jewish, and Phoenician History What are the connections? It’s a hard- knock life for us!

Ancestor of the Jewish People Abraham’s origins in Mesopotamia. Born about 2,000 B.C.E in the Sumerian city-state of Ur. Came to believe that there was only one true God. According to the Torah, God told Abraham to leave Mesopotamia and travel to a new land, where he would become the father of a great nation of people. Around 1950 B.C.E, gathered his many relatives and went west into the land of Canaan.

Assyrian Invasions Characteristic of Assyrian conquest: Assyrians would force many of the conquered peoples to relocate to other parts of their empire. In 722 B.C.E, the Assyrians conquered Israel. When they conquered Israel, they forced the ten tribes to scatter throughout their empire. Assyrians did not settle the Israelites in one place, but scattered them in small populations all over the Middle East. These Israelites became known as the “Ten lost tribes of Israel”. Assyrians conquer the kingdom of Israel.

What really happened in the Siege of Jerusalem? As for Hezekiah, the Judean, I besieged forty-six of his fortified walled cities and surrounding smaller towns, which were without number. Using packed- down ramps and applying battering rams, infantry attacks by mines, breeches, and siege machines, I conquered (them). I took out 200,150 people, young and old, male and female, horses, mules, donkeys, camels, cattle, and sheep, without number, and counted them as spoil. He himself, I locked up within Jerusalem, his royal city, like a bird in a cage. I surrounded him with earthworks, and made it unthinkable for him to exit by the city gate.... Sennacherib Prism

What really happened in the Siege of Jerusalem? That night the angel of the LORD went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the surviving Assyrians woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere. Isaiah 37:36

The Babylonian Captivity Conquest by the Chaldeans (Neo-Babylonians) led to the scattering of the Jewish people. Chaldean army captured Jerusalem and destroyed Solomon’s temple in 586 B.C.E Marched 10,000 Jews to their capital, Babylon, to work as slaves: lasted about 50 years. 530’s B.C.E, Persians conquered the Chaldeans and let the Jews return to Jerusalem. Many Jews migrated to other areas of Persian empire. Diaspora: Scattering of the Jews outside of Israel

Phoenicians take sail Phoenicians carry civilization around the Mediterranean Sea. Had few resources and were surrounded by enemies. Phoenicians became expert sailors. Designed and built ships that could sail long distances. Sailed throughout the Mediterranean and into the Atlantic Ocean.

Phoenicians take sail B.C.E: Phoenicians grew wealthy from trade and set up colonies throughout Mediterranean Sea. Phoenician traders created an alphabet to record their activities: used by many civilizations. Phoenicians carried the goods, ideas, and technology of the Fertile Crescent to Europe, North Africa, and West Africa. Phoenician navigation skills and boat designs were adopted by other ancient peoples.

Phoenician Achievements Libya is washed on all sides by the sea except where it joins Asia, as was first demonstrated, so far as our knowledge goes, by the Egyptian king Necho, who, after calling off the construction of the canal between the Nile and the Arabian gulf, sent out a fleet manned by a Phoenician crew with orders to sail west about and return to Egypt and the Mediterranean by the way of the Straits of Gibraltar. The Phoenicians sailed from the Arabian gulf into the southern ocean, and every autumn put in at some convenient spot on the Libyan coast, sowed a patch of ground, and waited for next year's harvest. Then, having got in their grain, they put to sea again, and after two full years rounded the Pillars of Heracles in the course of the third, and returned to Egypt. Herodotus, The Histories 4.42

PHOENICIAN ALPHABET

Who can create the GREATEST civilization! Walk around the classroom and find your group. In groups of four your challenge is to create a civilization that is GREATER than those created by the other groups. To create the greatest civilization, you must think carefully about the characteristics of a great civilization and add them to your graphic organizer. Use a classroom voice and stay with your group. Add your names to the poster and give your civilization a name.

WHAT MAKES A CIVILIZATION? Environment that allows for farming and domestication Food Surpluses Large Population Specialization and skilled workers Created or borrowed advanced technology Good location for trade Strong rulers System of government and law Large, organized, well-trained army Organized society and social structure Cultural identity

Reflections: Rules and Laws What rules and laws influence your daily life and the life of your family. What would happen if these rules and laws disappeared? Why are rules and laws necessary for a community to be successful?