Phoenicians, Hebrews, Assyrians, and Kush (Nubians)

Objectives WHI.3 Objective:

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

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

Trade Purple dye Traded goods from other

lands: wine, weapons, precious metal, glass, and ivory

The Alphabet

Merchants needed a way to record transactions 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

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

– 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– 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– 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– 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 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)

Guardians of Egyptian values

Decline of Meroe Challenged by new

empires to the South between 250 B.C.E. and 150 C.E.

The Golden Age of Meroe 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

Objectives WHI.3 Objective:

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?