Chapter 2 The Age of Empires 1550 -550

Chapter 2: The Age of Empires: 1550 -550 BCE

A. The Dynamism of the International The Age of Empires Bronze Age B. Recovery and Rebuilding: Empires and Societies in the Aftermath of the International Bronze Age C. The Civilization of the Hebrews

A. Zones of Power of the International The Dynamismwithin the International Bronze Age B. C. E. 1) Hittite Kingdom of Haiti, 1650 2) Battle of Kadesh, 1274 B. C. E. 3) Kassite Babylon and Assyria

One measure of the influence of the Hittites is the durability of their art. This relief, from Carchemish in Phoenicia, dates from at least two centuries after the Hittite empire collapsed, but illustrates the Hittite focus on chariot warfare. Also, the winged sun was a symbol other regional empires adopted.

A. Zones of Power of the International The Dynamismwithin the International Bronze Age (cont'd) 1) Golden Age a) Political stability b) Economic prosperity 2) Assyria – Babylon’s chief rival a) Tukulti-Ninurta I (r. 1244 -1208 B. C. E. )

A. Zones of Power of the International The Dynamismwithin the International Bronze Age Bronze Civilizations: Minoan Crete Age (cont'd) 1) Mediterranean and Mycenaean Greece a) Minoan civilization, 2600 -1400 B. C. E. - Sea trade Export of luxury goods “Linear A” Matriarchy

Knossos. Frescoes on the palace walls of Knossos, Crete, from about 1500 B. C. E. Dolphins were favored as food for elite feasts. The palace—at once an elite dwelling, religious site and a storehouse and distribution center food—was rebuilt many times between destructions by earthquakes and, perhaps, invasions. The palace was also important as the source of the myth of the Labyrinth.

A. Zones of Power of the International The Dynamismwithin the International Bronze Age (cont'd) 1) Mycenean, 1400 B. C. E. a) “Linear B” 2) City-States and Coastal Communities: Syria and Canaan a) Ugarit - Agriculture international trade

Myth of the Labyrinth § A mazelike structure designed and built by skilled craftsmen and inventor Daedalus for King Minos of Crete to hold the Minotaur, a half-man, half-bull. Daedalus’s design was so cunning that he almost became lost himself after he finished building it. § After defeating the Athenians in a war, King Minos decreed that every seven years, seven Athenian boys and seven Athenian girls would be sent to the labyrinth to be eaten by the Minotaur. On the third round of this cycle of sacrifice, the hero Theseus (future king of Athens) volunteered to go to Crete and kill the monster. § Theseus was aided by Ariadne, daughter of King Minos, who gave him a ball of thread (the “clew” or “clue”) to find his way out of the labyrinth. Ariadne also furnished him with a sword, and instructions (“always go forward, always go down, never left or right”). §Theseus made his way to the center of the maze, stumbled on a rock, awakening the sleeping Minotaur, and began a bloody fight. , in which he eventually prevailed by slitting the beast’s throat.

Knossos, Crete

Palace of Knossos, Crete, c. 1500 CE (Labyrinth)

A. Zones of Power of the International The Dynamismwithin the International Bronze Age Bronze Legend (cont'd) Age 1) Troy: A City of a) 3000 -1000 B. C. E. b) Homer’s “Iliad”

Mycenae defenses The walls of Mycenae in southern Greece, built over 3, 000 years ago. Warlike city-states arose in this region of sparse agricultural productivity, on the profits of the manufacture and export of luxuries for markets in Egypt and Anatolia. After 1500 B. C. E. , the language of Mycenae replaced that of Crete in official Cretan records, suggesting political/military mastery b the Mycenaeans.

Citadel of Mycenae

A. The Club of the International The Dynamism. Great Powers 1) Great Power Relations and Exchanges Bronze Age a) King Assur-Ubalit I b) Hattusili III 2) International trade 3) Conquest and Client States a) Annual tribute b) Auxiliary troops

Wall painting in the tomb of the vizir Rekhmire—one of hundreds of Egyptian nobles buried in sumptuous graves in Thebes circa 1500 B. C. E. Part of Rekhmire’s job was to receive “tribute” or, in effect, gifts from foreign lands. Items depicted here include copper ingots with handles from the eastern or northern shores of the Mediterranean and exotic products from the Nubian frontier—ivory, apes, a giraffe.

A. The Club of the International The Dynamism. Great Powers 1) Commonalities Among the Great Power Cultures Bronze Age a) Palace system b) Social hierarchy

A. Crisis and Collapse: the International The Dynamism of The End of the International Bronze Age 1) Dark age 2) “The Epic of Erra” 3) The Sea Peoples 4) Systemic Instability a) Habiru: peasants in debt take to the hills (or desert, marshes, etc) to become bandits, soldiers for hire, or outlaws.

Empires and Societies in the Aftermath of Recovery and Rebuilding the International Bronze Age A. Before and Between the Empires 1) “Dark Age” 2) New Peoples of the Land: the Arameans 3) New Peoples of the Sea: The Phoenicians a) Proto-Canaanite alphabet

Playing Defense: Egypt vs. “ Sea Peoples” Sea Peoples. “Now the northern peoples in their isles were quivering in their bodies, ” says the inscription that accompanies a ship-borne battle scene of the reign of Ramses III. “They penetrated the channels of the mouths of the Nile. . They are capsized and overwhelmed where they stand. . Their weapons are scattered on the sea. ”

A. The Civilization of the Hebrews The Early History of the Hebrews 1) Hebrews – 1200 B. C. E. a) Exodus 2) Israel: From Monarchy to Exile a) anti-royalism

A. The Civilization of the Hebrews The Early History of the Hebrews 1) The United Monarchy a) Saul, 1020 B. C. E. b) David, 1005 -970 c) Solomon, 970 -931 B. C. E. - grand temple

A. The Civilization of the Hebrews The Early History of the Hebrews 1) The Divided Monarchy (cont'd) a) “Successor Kingdoms” b) Omri, 885 -875 B. C. E. c) Ahab, 873 -852

A. The Civilization of the Hebrews The Early History of the Hebrews 1) Into Exile (cont'd) a) Lost Ten Tribes of Israel b) Hezekiah, 727 -697 B. C. E. c) Zedekiah, 597 -586 B. C. E. - Jews Judaism

A. The Civilization of Legacy The Hebrew Religious the Hebrews 1) Early Syncretism a) b) c) d) Yahweh El Asherah Ba’al 2) The Prophetic Movement a) Elijah b) Other prophets

A. The Civilization of Legacy The Hebrew Religious the Hebrews 1) Yahweh Alone: The Emergence of Monotheism a) “Book of the Law” b) Covenant 2) Babylonian Exile a) Pentateuch/Torah 3) The Hebrew Legacy a) “Chosen People”