Other Early Civilizations Phoenicians, Hebrews, Assyrians, and Kush (Nubians) Other Early Civilizations

Objectives WHI.3 Objective: Essential Questions: The student will be able to demonstrate knowledge of ancient river valley civilizations, including the Phoenician, Hebrew, Kush, and Persian Civilization, by: Locating the civilization in time and place Describing the development of social, political, and economic patterns, including slavery Explaining the development of religious traditions Explaining the development of language and writing Essential Questions: Why did Ancient Civilizations develop in river valleys? Where were the earliest civilizations located? When did these civilizations exist? What were the social, political, and economic characteristics of early civilizations What religious traditions developed in ancient civilizations? What forms of language and writing existed in early civilizations?

The Phoenicians (1100 – 842 B.C.E) Lived along the .

Rise of the Phoenicians Trade Purple dye Traded goods from other lands: wine, weapons, precious metal, glass, and ivory Became powerful traders after Minoan’s decline Important trading centers Byblos, Tyre, Sidon City-states situated around Mediterranean Ruled by Kings and powerful merchant families Remarkable shipbuilders and seafarers First to sail beyond Gibraltar Believed to sail to Britain, possibly Americas and around Africa

The Alphabet Merchants needed a way to record transactions Phonetic Developed a writing system that used symbols to represent sounds Adopted by many cultures such as the Greeks Phonetic One sign used for one sound Alpha/beth = alphabet Enormous contribution

End of the Phoenicians Captured by Assyrians 842 B.C.E. City-states like Carthage in North Africa survived Later dominated by Babylonians, and then Persians Conquerors recognized shipbuilding and seafaring skills

Ancient Trade Routes Mediterranean connected to Asia through land routes Crossed Central Asia through Afghanistan to get to India Sea routes Arabian Sea connected to Persian Gulf Used Monsoon winds to cross Arabian Sea Networks important, ensured exchange of products and information Carried goods, ideas, religious beliefs, art, and ways of living Phoenicians diffused alphabet and other important contributions

Origins of Judaism

Search for the Promised Land Phoenicians not the only civilization to live in area later called Palestine The Hebrews settle in Canaan Ancient Palestine/ Phoenicia trading crossroads Between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Believed land was promised to them by God

From Ur to Egypt Torah Abraham First five books of Hebrew Bible Most sacred writings Christian “Old Testament” Contains events that happened and stories Abraham God chose him to be father of the Hebrew people God commanded him to move his people to Canaan Around 2000 B.C.E. moved to Canaan Around 1650 B.C.E. moved to Egypt

A New Religion Monotheistic God: Yahweh First monotheistic civilization Three aspects of Judaism: Covenant, law, and prophets God: Yahweh Had power over not only Hebrews but all people everywhere Omnipotent Just and good Hebrews asked for protection against enemies God did because of the covenant between him and Abraham Hebrews migrated to Egypt because of famine and drought Hebrews coexist with Egyptians peacefully at first Later forced into slavery Hebrews fled Egypt between 1500- 1200 B.C.E. Called the Exodus Led by Moses

A New Covenant Mount Sinai Return to Canaan Moses climbed and prayed God spoke to him, gave him Ten Commandments Became basis of religious laws in Judaism Based on idea God is just, required high moral conduct Return to Canaan Hebrews wandered for forty years Return to Canaan after Moses’ death Changed from nomadic to settled farmers and city dwellers Learned technology from Palestine

Kingdom of Israel After Canaan arrival Geography Saul and David Organized into twelve tribes Self-governing, independent Geography Harsh features Arid desert, Jordan River, Grassy Hills, dry hot Valleys Plentiful water sources Saul and David Philistines threatened Hebrews One large tribe called Judah (Judaism) 1020- 922 B.C.E. Hebrews united under three kings: Saul, David, and Solomon New kingdom called Israel 100 years of independence and power Jerusalem was capital

King Solomon 962 B.C.E. Solomon succeeds his father David as King Most powerful of Hebrew Kings Height of Israelite power Known for his wisdom Built trading empire Beautified capital of Jerusalem Builds Temple of Solomon Home for the Ark of the Covenant Built to glorify God Not large but beautiful, inside covered in gold

Kingdom Divides Solomon’s building projects a problem Needs money = more taxes Men forced to work on temple 1 of every 3 months Discontent and Split After Solomon’s death, Jews in the north split from those in south North= Israel, South= Judah 200 years of confusion, battles, and prosperity Babylonian Captivity 725 B.C.E. Assyrians attacked Israel Judah resisted for 150 years City fell to Nebuchadnezzar 586 B.C.E Destroys Solomon’s temple, enslaves Hebrews and deports them to Babylon 539 B.C.E. Cyrus the Great releases Hebrews Return to Jerusalem and rebuild city and Temple

Assyrians Beginning 850 B.C.E. Assyrian amassed an empire Came from the northern part of Mesopotamia Had to become aggressive due to terrain disadvantage Spread down through Palestine into Egypt

Assyrians Led by King Sennacrib Society glorified military strength advanced military planning and technical skill Used iron technology Great efficiency at organizing conquered territories into an empire Built beautiful capital at Nineveh Had a library of 25,000 clay tablets thanks to King Ashurbanipal

Fall of the Assyrians Causes Empire spread itself too thin Cruelty of Kings Ninevah destroyed in 612 B.C.E. by the Chaldeans

Empire of Kush (Nubia)

Kush (Nubians) Location Connection between Egypt and Nubia Between the 1st cataract and the separation of the White and Blue Nile South of Egypt Connection between Egypt and Nubia Egypt ruled Nubia Diffused Egyptian culture Religion, customs, writing

Kush (Nubians) The Golden Age of Meroe Guardians of Egyptian values Kushites moved south for protection to Meroe Thrived on natural resources and became wealthy Became center of iron weapons and tools Became a major trader with India and Arabia linked trade routes between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea Guardians of Egyptian values Decline of Meroe Challenged by new empires to the South between 250 B.C.E. and 150 C.E.

Objectives WHI.3 Objective: Essential Questions: The student will be able to demonstrate knowledge of ancient river valley civilizations, including the Phoenician, Hebrew, and Kush Civilization, by: Locating the civilization in time and place Describing the development of social, political, and economic patterns, including slavery Explaining the development of religious traditions Explaining the development of language and writing Essential Questions: Why did Ancient Civilizations develop in river valleys? Where were the earliest civilizations located? When did these civilizations exist? What were the social, political, and economic characteristics of early civilizations What religious traditions developed in ancient civilizations? What forms of language and writing existed in early civilizations?