Empires, Migrations, & Trade Mesopotamian Empires, 1800-600 BCE.

Empires, Migrations, & Trade

Mesopotamian Empires, 1800-600 BCE

Akkadian EmpireThe first “empire”

Sargon of Akkad:The World’s First Empire [Akkadians]

Akkadian Empire

Akkadian Innovations

• Given credit for the world’s first empire• Sargon of Akkad Multiethnic centrally ruled

empire• Euphrates River to Mediterranean with parts of

modern-day Iran,Syria, Anatolia, and Arabian Peninsulas • Continuation of Sumerian civilization and

innovations

The Babylonian Empires

Babylonian Empire

• Flourished from approximately 2050-1600 BCE.• Hammurabi’s law code and the Epic of

Gilgamesh are two of the most notable achievements of this empire• Hitittes from Anatolia sacked Babylon

sometime around 1600 BCE which destroyed the last remnants of the empire.

Hammurabi’s [r. 1792-1750 B. C. E.] Code

Hammurabi, the Judge

Indo-European Migrations• Various tribes who all spoke related languages deriving from

some original common tongue and who eventually settled Europe, Iran, and Northern India.

• Formed the common roots of many languages of Europe, southwest Asia, and India

• Probable original homeland: Caucausus, Southern Russian plains to the North or in Eastern Anatolia

• Between 3000 and 2000 BCE the Indo-Europeans were driven from West Asia by some disaster. The tribes dispersed in all directions and when they encountered agricultural peoples, they turned to conquest to occupy the land.

• The Indo-European migrations set the stage for profound changes across Eurasia.

Indo-European Migrations

• Indo-Europeans domesticated horses by 4000 BCE. By 3000 BCE Sumerian knowledge of bronze metallurgy and wheels had diffused north

• They developed transportation technologies that were faster and more efficient than other alternatives. It gave them a military advantage because of the strength and speed of their horses.

• Many Indo-Europeans considered themselves superior to other peoples.

• Influence on trade• Horses, chariots with spoked wheels• Iron • Migrations to western China, Greece, Italy also significant

Hittites migrate to central Anatolia, c. 1900 BCE, later sack Babylonia

The Hittites• Most influential of the Indo-Europeans were the Hittites• 1900 BCE-went to central Anatolia and imposed their rule on the

people there.• 1600 BCE toppled the Babylonian Empire• 2 major technological innovations:• 1. light, horse-drawn war chariots• 2. refinement of iron metallurgy

• Sumerian chariots were heavy and slow, but Hittites used spoked wheels that were lighter and more maneuverable• Chariot technology diffused widely so that charioteers because elite

strike forces of armies• After 1300 Hittites refined techniques of iron metallurgy which

made it more effective weapons cheaply and in large quantities. (Heated iron and made it more durable)• Hittites weren’t the original inventors of these two technologies but

they improved and introduced innovations that others adopted.

Other Indo-European Migrations

• Indo-European migrations to the East went into central Asia and went as far as China• Indo-European migrations to the West• 1 group went into Greece and then later into central

Italy• Another group went from Southern Russia into Central

Europe and Western Europe and then to the British Isles, the Baltic region, and the Iberian peninsula

• Indo-European migrations to the south went into Iran and India

Indo-European Migrations 3000-1000 BCE

Attacks of the Sea Peoples• Around 1185 BCE maritime attacks from the western

Mediterranean destroyed the Hittites’ power• This ushered in a period of Small Kingdoms (1200 BCE – 750

BCE) when small kingdoms sprang up at the eastern end of the Mediterranean• Two of the most significant were:

• 1. Hebrews• 2. Phoenicians

The Early Hebrews• Abraham led the Hebrews from Babylon, c.

1850 BCE• Early settlement of Canaan (Israel), c. 1300 BCE• Biblical text: slavery in Egypt, divine

redemption• On-going conflict with indigenous populations

under King David (1000-970 BCE) and Solomon (970-930 BCE)

Abraham’s GeneaologyAbraham’s Geneaology

ABRAHAMABRAHAM SARAHSARAHHAGARHAGAR

IsaacIsaac

EsauEsauJacobJacob

12 Tribes of Israel

12 Tribes of Israel

Ishmael

Ishmael

12 Arabian Tribes

12 Arabian Tribes

Abraham’s Journey from UrAbraham’s Journey from Ur

Canaan The “Promised Land”Canaan The “Promised Land”

Abraham’s JourneysAbraham’s Journeys

Yahweh’s “Covenant” With His People

Yahweh’s “Covenant” With His People

The TorahThe Torah

The first 5 books of the Hebrew Bible.

The most sacred text in the Jewish religious tradition.

The first 5 books of the Hebrew Bible.

The most sacred text in the Jewish religious tradition.

Ancient PalestineAncient Palestine

Moses and Monotheism• Hebrews shared polytheistic beliefs of other Mesopotamian

civilizations• Moses introduces monotheism, belief in single god• Denies existence of competing parallel deities• Personal god: reward and punishment for conformity with

revealed law• The Torah (“doctrine or teaching”)

MosesMoses

“Prince of Egypt”

“Prince of Egypt”

“Shepherd of His People”

“Shepherd of His People”

The ExodusThe Exodus

Route of the ExodusRoute of the Exodus

Moses and the 10 Commandmets

Moses and the 10 Commandmets

A new “covenant” with Yahweh

A new “covenant” with Yahweh

Mount SinaiMount Sinai

King David’s EmpireKing David’s Empire

Solomon’s

Kingdom

Solomon’s

Kingdom

Kingdoms of

Judah

&

Israel

Kingdoms of

Judah

&

Israel

Israelites in CaptivityIsraelites in Captivity

Foreign conquests of Israel• Assyrian conquest, 722 BCE• Conquered the northern kingdom• Deported many inhabitants to other regions• Many exiles assimilated and lost their identity

• Babylonian conquest, 586 BCE• Destroyed Jerusalem• Forced many into exile• Israelites maintained their religious identity and many returned

to Judea

The Phoenicians• City-states along Mediterranean coast after 3000 BCE• Extensive maritime trade• Dominated Mediterranean trade, 1200-800 BCE• Established colonies-Carthage

• Development of alphabet symbols• Simpler alternative to cuneiform• Spread of literacy

Israel and Phoenicia , 1500-600 BCE

Assyrian Empire“A land bathed in blood”

Assyrian Innovations

• Were dominant 750-612 BCE• Mostly known for military prowess:

excavation of city walls, battering rams, corps of engineers, pontoons, “life” jackets• Combines Sumer and Akkad lands• Conquered Fertile Crescent, Egypt, Syria,

Phoenicia, Israel, and Anatolia with the capital at Nineveh• Were Cruel and brutal• Fell when subject peoples revolted

The Assyrian Empire©

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Assyrian Military Power

Assyrian soldiers carrying away the enemy’s

gods.

Neo-Babylonian EmpiresNebuchadnezzer

Neo-Babylonian Innovations• Ruled from 626-539 BCE• Some notable achievements occurred under Nebuchadnezzar

• Ishtar Gate• Hanging Gardens of Babylon• Responsible for exiling the Hebrews to Babylon-

Babylonian Captivity• Hebrews were freed when the Persians (an Indo-

European people east of Mesopotamia conquered Babylon

Ishtar Gate

Hanging Gardensof Babylon and tower of Babel

Israelites in Captivity

Nebuchadnezzar II’s Babylon

Babylon under the Neo-Babylonians

Expansion of Trade

Growth of Regional and Transregional Trade

• Although empires came and went, trade continued to expand through this period• Trade between Mesopotamia and Indus Valley flourished.• Trade also expanded between Egypt and Nubia

The Extent of Mesopotamian Trade

Egypt and Nubia (Kush)

Ancient Nubia

• Kush, the Egyptian name for ancient Nubia, was the site of a highly advanced, ancient black African civilization that rivaled ancient Egypt in wealth, power and cultural development.

Kerma• The first capital of Kush

lay at Kerma just south of the Third Cataract of the Nile. • Here dwelt powerful

and wealthy black kings who controlled the trade routes connecting central Africa with ancient Egypt.

Egypt Conquers Kush• The Egyptians, who had

few natural resources of their own, sought the precious, exotic products of central Africa to satisfy the demands of their luxury-loving populace. • By about 1500 B.C., the

Egyptians, feeling threatened by the Nubian kings, invaded Kush and conquered it.

Gold from Nubia• Model coffin of Tutankhamun,

probably made from Nubian gold. Found in his tomb at Thebes. Egypt, Dynasty 18, ca. 1348-1338 BCE.

• For the next four centuries, the Egyptians exploited Kush as a colony. • Egypt's wealth in gold

came from the desert mines of Kush. The Egyptian word for gold is nub, which is thought by some to be the origin of the name Nubia.

Kush Conquers Egypt, 730 BC• Around 730 B.C.,

Kush's warrior hordes turned the tables on a weakened Egypt and conquered it. • This event

established the black Pharaohs from Kush.

Nubia

• Muhammad Ahmad"El Mahdi“ of Sudan

• Nubia was converted to Christianity in the 6th cent. A.D. • Joined with the

Christian kingdom of Ethiopia, it long resisted Muslim encroachment, but in the 14th cent. it finally collapsed.