Peoples in the Eastern Mediterranean Chapter 2, Section 2

Nomadic People  Outside of Mesopotamia and Egypt, people were still hunting and gathering  Pastoral nomads- a person who domesticates animals for food and clothing and moves along regular migratory routes to provide a steady source of nourishment for those animals  Based on new technology- bronze and iron  Indo-Europeans were one of the most significant nomadic peoples

Indo-Europeans  Indo-European languages include Greek, Latin, Persian, Sanskrit, and Germanic languages  Around 2000 BCE, Indo-Europeans moved into Europe, India, and western Asia  Group of people Hittites- created an empire that threatened the power of the Egyptians  At the end of the Hittite kingdom- temporarily left no dominate powers in western Asia

Phoenicians  Lived along eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea  Trade- basis of their prosperity  Produced purple dye, glass, and lumber  Built ships and were international sea traders  Reached Britain and sailed along the west coast of Africa  Set up colonies in the western Mediterranean

Phoenicians  Best known for their alphabet- 22 characters  Greeks based their alphabet on Phoenicians

Israelites  Religion- Judaism  Written down in the Hebrew Bible- Old Testament  Israelites were descendants of Abraham- came from Mesopotamia and Canaan  Due to drought- moved to Egypt and were enslaved

Israelites and King David  Israelites established control over the land that today is Israel and made Jerusalem its capital  King Solomon- David’s son- expanded government, army, encouraged trade  Temple of Jerusalem

Assyrians  BCE- Assyrians overran the Kingdom of Israel and sent Israelites to Assyrian Empire  People lost their Israelite identity

Judaism  Monotheistic- belief in one God- Creator of the world  People are God’s servants  God is just and good  Covenant, law, and prophets- three aspects of Jewish religions  Most famous laws in the Torah- Ten Commandments  Given to Moses on Mount Sinai

Judaism  God’s wishes were communicated through prophets had to be written down  No leader of Israel could claim that he alone knew God’s will.

Minoans  2800 BCE- Civilization on the island of Crete  Were not Greek but influenced the Greeks  Remains should rich culture  Ships were used to go to Egypt and Southern Greece  Crafted jewelry  Collapsed in 1450 BCE