Lecture 6 - The Age of Empires in the Near East: From the Assyrians to the Achaemenid Persians !Chronology 1350 - 612 BCE" " Neo-Assyrian Empire!612 - 539 BCE" " " Neo-Babylonian Empire!586 - 539 BCE" " " Babylonian Captivity of the Jews!539 - 330 BCE" " " Achaemenid Persian Empire!!Exam 1!lecture 1-5!•reading 1-4!•!Lecture Questions What methods did these empires employ to establish and maintain power over nonnative •subjects?!What role did religion play in imperial ideology and royal legitimization?!•How did the Near Eastern empires impact the early history of the Hebrew/Israelite people?!•!First International System vs. Near Eastern Age of Empires (Assyrians, Neo-Babylonians, Achaemenid Persians) first international system!•"next level" complexity in terms of political and economic interaction!◦based upon existence of multiple states of relatively equal power!◦ended by late bronze age crisis, creating power vacuum in Easter Mediterranean!◦near eastern age of empires!•"next level" complexity in terms of maintaining control over subject peoples, ◦communication networks, governing structures, professional armies...!origins in power vacuum created by late bronze age crisis!◦heavy borrowing from earlier Mesopotamian traditions, such as imperial trade!◦!The Shah of Iran at Persepolis 1971 - 25000 year celebration!•invited presidents prime ministers and kings and queens all over the world to celebrate this!•had banquet lasted for 5 and half hours!•focused in ancient document -> Cryrus cylinder!•recognized of ancient declaration of human rights!◦respect all traditions and customs and never let down of nation!‣abolish slavery and prohibit exchange of humans !‣penalize the oppressors!‣freedom of religion -> choose any job that doesn't violate any rights!‣!The Late Bronze Age Crisis and The Rise of Assyria not new comers from new age crisis!•early history!•inhibited in the northern tigris region!◦bronze age regional conflict!•successful defense of borders!•fit into the first international system!◦successful in fighting against invaders -> fought of Phrygians!◦!Who Are the Assyrians? semitic speaking group!•had their own cuneiform!◦war god ashur!•relationship with the kings like other traditions!◦warrior society!•culture of warfare!◦have law codes from the Assyrians!◦interest in not allowing women to have legal rights!◦women forced to wear veils!‣harsh penalty to homosexuality and abortion!◦try to maintain a large military!‣from regional kingdom to imperial power!•around 1100 BCE!◦see more into the 9th century!◦!The Assyrian War Machine professional standing army!•very famous since they are depicted on walls!◦iron!•used it for weaponery!◦everyone has iron weapons!◦not native to Mesopotamian!◦Assyrians begin pushing out to other nations to acquire iron!◦first army to use cavalry and mounted archers!•there is no sattle and go on bareback < LMAO !◦siege warfare!•group of individuals supposed to dig up city walls so the walls can collapse to break down ◦borders!siege towers to get up to the city walls!◦terror and submission!•basically used terror tactics when a city is rebels!◦looted and destroyed temples!◦nasty reputation for torturing people!◦city make decision to just give up and surrender to submit to Assyrian nation!◦if they don't fight, nothing happens and safety!◦!The Assyrians and The Israelites - Part I The Israelites and the Late Bronze Age Crisis!•came into the Philistines!◦engaged in fighting with the Philistines!◦The Early Israelite Kings!•Saul!◦probably 10th c. BCE in Hebrew Bible!‣first king!‣Soloman!◦building great temple of Israel!‣David !◦fought Philistine warrior, Goliath!‣evidence for a powerful Israelite Kingdom!•Tel Dan Stele!◦declaring victory over the king and ally in the House of David (Judo) of Israel !‣dated back to 840!‣Mesha Stele, 9th c. BCE (Moab)!◦king celebrating victory of Israel!‣!The Assyrians and The Israelites - Part II attempt to unify in defense against Assyrians!•Tiglath-Pileser III's professional army!•conquered the northern kingdom of Israel in 750 BCE!◦lost tribes of israel from the Hebrew Bible!◦deportation of people living there!◦Prism (multiple copies) of Sennacherib, 7th c BCE at Ninevah!•bragging that he took 46 siddials and deporting over 200,000 people in the kingdom of ◦Judah!!The Assyrian Empire at Its Zenith, 7th C BCE took control of Egypt!•world's largest empire !•!Assyrian Kingship - "King of Kings, King of the Four Corners of the World" Assyrian king and the tree of life!•kings being granted control over the natural world!◦provide the balance of the natural world!◦Ashur with the king of life!◦Assyrian king killing lion in hunt !•depictions of kings killing animals!◦idea of king being responsible of taming the savage world!◦Jehu of Israel pays tribute to Shalmaneser III, circa 840 BC!•idea of imperialism!‣how the king is responsible to stretch its borders!•!Method of Control regional governors!•for imperial regions!◦had dynastic squabbles!◦made regional governors and appointed someone in their lifetime!◦no generations!‣more responsibility to the king!◦so they don't establish power!◦deportation !•if you move people away from their native environment, make them less likely rebel!◦assimilation!•join Assyrian culture so they can stay with their native land!◦vassal states!•a state that maintain native political ruler and structure and many freedom but they answer ◦the political direction of the Assyrians!tributes to the Assyrians!◦allows Assyrians to basically have someone else deal with their enemies on the frontiers!◦Messenger and Road Service!•letters that demonstrate high level communication between king and governors!◦Table from Nimrud Letters!‣see constructional forces, rebellions in the Nimrud Letters!◦!The Great Irony reputation of military and imperialism culture!•Aramaic - new international language of Near East!•diplomacy !◦Ashurbanipal's Library at Ninevah!•last and most successful of Assyrian kings!◦put out imperial decree demanding that he get significant texts in the middle of Ninevah !◦first library -> over 22,000 clay tablets!◦almost every literary works from Mesopotamia!◦Epic of Gilgamesh in Assyrian Cuneiform!•!The Failure of the Assyrians over-extension!•did not last