Part Nine IX › Division I I › Section 911 911

Early Peoples and Civilizations of Southwest Asia and Egypt, the Aegean, and North Africa

Subject Outline

AThe character and achievements of ancient Near Eastern, Aegean, and North African civilizations; the geography of these regions; archaeological and documentary historical sources; historiographic problems
BMesopotamia and Iran to c. 1600 BC
- 1Development of river valley civilization in Mesopotamia
  - aThe Late Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and protohistoric (pre-urban) periods
  - bThe Sumerians from their origins to the end of the Early Dynastic Period (c. 2350 BC)
    - iTheir conjectured origins: literary and other historical sources (king lists and invention of cuneiform writing), early kings and legendary figures (Gilgamesh)
    - iiFoundation of city-states (e.g., Kish, Ur, Uruk, Lagash, Mari, Umma): rivalry among the cities, the temple city and theocracy, social and economic organization, contacts with Egyptian and Indus Valley civilizations, Sumerian culture
  - cSumer and Akkad from c. 2350 to 2000 BC
    - iThe ascendancy of the Semitic Akkadians under Sargon I of Akkad and his successors, invasions and the fall of the dynasty
    - iiThe unification of Sumer, Akkad, and Elam under the 3rd dynasty of Ur (c. 2112-2004 BC): administration and composition of the empire, Ur in decline
  - dThe Old Babylonian Period and the early history of Assyria
    - iIsin and Larsa: rivalry and political fragmentation, literary texts, decentralization
    - iiEarly Assyria: Ashur, Nineveh, and Urbilum; Akkadian inscriptions and language; the economy; the reign of Shamshi-Adad I (c. 1813-1781 BC)
    - iiiEstablishment of the Old Babylonian Empire under the dynasty of Hammurabi (c. 1792-1750 BC): law, society, and literature
  - eHurrian expansion to c. 1600 BC and the decline of the Old Babylonian Empire after c. 1750 BC
- 2Early Elam (Iran): cultural ties and political and military interaction with Mesopotamia
CEmergence of river valley civilization in Egypt (to c. 1600 BC)
- 1The Predynastic Period (to c. 2925 BC) and the Early Dynastic Period (1st through 3rd dynasties, c. 2925-c. 2575 BC): unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under King Menes (Narmer), capital at Memphis
- 2The Old Kingdom (c. 2575-2130 BC) and the First Intermediate Period (c. 2130-1939 BC)
  - aThe Old Kingdom (4th-8th dynasties, c. 2575-c. 2130 BC): divine kingship; the building of the great pyramids near Memphis; centralized government; class structure; foreign trade; increased provincialization; instability of the throne
  - bThe First Intermediate Period (9th-11th dynasties, c. 2130-1939 BC): governmental decentralization; collapse of the Old Kingdom and ensuing disunity and foreign raids; reunification by Mentuhotep I under the 11th dynasty, ruling from Thebes
- 3The Middle Kingdom (1938-c. 1600 BC) and the Second Intermediate Period (c. 1630-1540 BC)
  - aThe Middle Kingdom (12th-14th dynasties, 1938-c. 1600 BC): the cult of Amon; developments in the monarchical institutions; the conquest of Lower Nubia; trade; immigration
  - bThe Second Intermediate Period (15th-17th dynasties, c. 1630-1540 BC): internal decentralization and the Asiatic Hyksos occupation
DEarly civilizations in Syria and Palestine, Anatolia, and the Aegean to c. 1600 BC
- 1Emergence of civilization in Syria and Palestine
  - aThe Stone Age cultures and their transition from the Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age until c. 2300 BC, agricultural and technological developments, Proto-Urban settlements, Jericho
    - iPaleolithic and Mesolithic periods: development of horticulture and the domestication of animals
    - iiPre-Pottery Neolithic areas, grouped houses and town walls, arrival of new peoples and their rectangular architecture, Pottery Neolithic areas, molded plaster vessels, dark-faced burnished ware and the spread of its associated culture
    - iiiThe Chalcolithic Period and the Early Bronze Age: migrations and spread of Halafian culture, development of trade, beginnings of urbanization, Early Bronze Age cities
  - bThe Intermediate Period (c. 2300-c. 1900 BC) and the Middle Bronze Age (c. 1900-c. 1525 BC): revival of trade and connecting link between the greater states; e.g., Aleppo, Byblos, Alalakh in Syria
    - iThe Amorite invasion: breakup of settled areas by nomadic peoples, bronze weapons and votive objects
    - iiReappearance of urban civilization in the Middle Bronze Age: hieroglyphics, clay tablets, development of new pottery in Canaan
- 2Emergence of civilizations in Anatolia, Cyprus, and the Aegean
  - aAnatolia: the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Bronze ages; settlement by the Hittites
    - iNeolithic farming communities: house styles, tools and weapons, pottery, foodstuffs
    - iiAppearance of painted pottery in the Chalcolithic Period, uses of metal
    - iiiBronze Age culture; e.g., Troy, Alaca Huyuk; jewelry, pottery, burial customs, metalworking, weaponry, migrations
    - ivThe Hittite occupation of Anatolia and establishment of the Old Hittite Kingdom (c. 1700-c. 1500 BC): expansion into northern Mesopotamia and Syria under Hattusilis and Mursilis, the Hurrian invasions, the Middle Kingdom
  - bThe Late Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Bronze ages in Cyprus
  - cThe early Aegean civilizations (to c. 1450 BC)
    - iThe Paleolithic, Neolithic, and Chalcolithic ages in Greece, Crete, and the Aegean islands; the pre-Greek (Early Bronze or Helladic) population of Greece from c. 3000 BC; the Early Bronze or Cycladic Age in the Aegean islands; the shaft grave period on the mainland
    - iiThe Minoan civilization on Crete: the period of the Early Palaces (c. 2200-1700 BC), cultural efflorescence, Kamares ware, commerce, Knossos, Middle Cycladic culture, period of the Later Palaces (c. 1700-c. 1450 BC) on Crete, the arts, Linear A tablets
EThe era of the Egyptian and Hittite empires (c. 1600-1050 BC): the expansion of the Indo-Europeans
- 1The New Kingdom of Egypt (18th-20th dynasties, 1539-1075 BC)
  - aThe 18th dynasty (1539-1292 BC): the emergence of strong centralized administration, territorial expansion, religious and cultural developments
    - iExpulsion of the Hyksos from Egypt under Ahmose (1539-1514 BC): cult of Amon-Re, expansion into Syria and Palestine, contacts with the Aegean and its arts
    - iiEgyptian culture and prosperity in the reigns of Amenhotep III (1390-1353 BC) and Akhenaton (Amenhotep IV; 1353-1336 BC): domination over Nubia, erection of new temples at Thebes, cult of the god Aton, subsequent eclipse of the dynasty
  - bThe 19th and 20th dynasties (1292-1075 BC): political shift to the north, new construction, foreign policies
    - iReassertion of Egyptian power: campaigns against the Hittites and Libyans, succession disputes
    - iiThe reign of Ramses III (1187-1156 BC) and subsequent decline of the 20th dynasty, campaigns against the Sea Peoples, growth of influence of the priests of Amon-Re
  - cSociety and culture in the New Kingdom: the king as the embodiment of the state; the civil service; the military; the priesthood; the artisans, common people, and slaves; trade and commerce
- 2The Hittite Empire and its conflict with Egypt: Syria and Palestine under Egyptian and Hittite domination; the period of the migrations of new peoples
  - aThe Hittite Empire (c. 1525-1190 BC)
    - iExpansion of the Hittite Empire under Suppiluliumas I into Syria (c. 1365 BC): reduction of the Mitannian state, ensuing conflicts and treaties with Egypt, relations with neighbouring states
    - iiThe capital of the Hittite Empire at Hattusa (Bogazkoy): geographical position, architecture, invasions from the West, fall of the empire and destruction of the capital (c. 1190 BC), emergence of the Indo-European Phrygians as the chief Anatolian power
  - bSyria and Palestine under Egyptian, Mitannian, and Hittite domination, and the period of the migrations of new peoples (c. 1550-1200 BC)
    - iThe development of Levantine seafaring trade: the Levantine city-states (e.g., Ugarit), political organization, economy, culture, development of the linear alphabet by the Canaanites and the spread of its use
    - iiThe origins of the Hebrews in the patriarchal age and their sojourn in and Exodus from Egypt in the 13th century BC, their conquest of Palestine, the Sea Peoples and the Philistine conquest of the Palestinian littoral
    - iiiThe Syro-Hittite states and the migration of the Semitic Aramaeans into Syria and Palestine c. 1100 BC and their foundation of states in Syria: spread of the Aramaic language, trends in religion and the arts
- 3Mesopotamia from c. 1600 to c. 900 BC
  - aThe Kassites in Babylonia (c. 1595-c. 1155 BC): their conjectured origins, their adoption of Mesopotamian culture, Elamite and Assyrian invasions after c. 1250, the fall of the Kassites
  - bThe kingdom of the Hurrians and the Mitanni (c. 1500-1360 BC) in northern Mesopotamia, its displacement by Assyria
  - cThe rise of Assyria (c. 1360-1076 BC): expansion under Ashur-uballit I (c. 1365-c. 1330 BC), conquest of Babylon, continued expansion to Tiglath-pileser I (c. 1115-c. 1077 BC), temporary eclipse of Assyria (to c. 900 BC)
- 4The Elamite kingdom and its struggle with Babylonia in the 13th and 12th centuries BC
- 5Mycenaean (Achaean, Late Helladic) civilization in Greece (c. 1450-1100 BC): the eruption of Thera (c. 1500 BC), the conquest of Minoan Crete (c. 1450 BC), and the arrival of the Greeks
  - aThe overthrow of the existing social order, introduction of new artistic styles, conquest of the Cyclades, the evidence of the Linear B tablets, destruction of the palace at Knossos and period of the Mycenaean Empire
  - bThe end of the Bronze Age in the Aegean: destruction of Mycenaean centres, invasion from the north and the coming of the Greeks
  - cThe people of the Bronze Age Aegean: physical types, dress, society, economy, warfare, religion, and arts
FThe era of the new states of Southwest Asia: the beginning of the Iron Age (c. 1050-700 BC)
- 1Egypt and Babylonia in decline, further Assyrian expansion
  - aEgypt under the 21st-25th dynasties (c. 1075-656 BC): loss of influence in Syria, disunity and the diminution of royal power, Libyan domination, civil war and Kushite (Ethiopian) rule, the Assyrian conquest (671-664 BC)
  - bBabylonia (c. 1050-750 BC): the brief resurgence of Babylonian power under Nebuchadrezzar I (1124-1103 BC); the cult of Marduk; Aramaean, Assyrian, and Chaldean invasions from the 11th to the 9th century BC
  - cEmergence of Assyria as the dominant Mesopotamian state after c. 900 BC: internal dissension and the challenge of Urartu in the 8th century BC
- 2Palestine, Syria, Anatolia, and Iran
  - aDevelopment of Canaanite-Phoenician commercial city-states from c. 1100 to c. 700 BC (e.g., Tyre, Sidon): trade and colonization, Phoenician civilization
  - bThe Hebrew kingdom (c. 1020-c. 700 BC): subjection of the Philistines, territorial expansion in Syria and Palestine
    - iThe reigns of David and Solomon in the 10th century, growth of separate kingdoms of Judah (south) and Israel (north, conquered by Assyria in 722 BC)
    - iiThe cult of Yahweh and biblical literature, social and political structure, arts
  - cThe neo-Hittite states of southeastern Anatolia: Carchemish, Milid (Malatya), Tabal, and Que (c. 1180-700 BC); conquest by the Aramaeans and Assyrians
  - dFoundation of Urartu in about the 13th century BC, rise of the Urartian kingdom (c. 840-c. 744 BC), Assyrian influences, the Cimmerian invasion (c. 714 BC) and destruction of the kingdom (c. 609 BC), influence of the Urartian state, the Armenian Empire under the Artaxiads
  - ePhrygia in central and western Anatolia (c. 1180-c. 700 BC): capital at Gordium, relations with Assyrians and Luwians, the Cimmerian invasions in the beginning of the 7th century, the cult of Cybele
  - fThe Aramaean kingdoms (e.g., Damascus) and their cultural and commercial role: conquest by Assyria
  - gThe Neo-Elamite period: the occupation of Iran by the Indo-European Medes and Persians by the 9th century BC
GThe era of the Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian empires and the Achaemenid Persian Empire (746-250 BC)
- 1The first imperial unification of the ancient Near East under the Assyrian Empire (746-609 BC)
  - aAssyrian culture in the context of the Mesopotamian tradition: the great cities; e.g., Nineveh
  - bExpansion of the empire under Tiglath-pileser III (744-727 BC), Sargon II (721-705 BC), and Sennacherib (704-681 BC); decline from the reign of Ashurbanipal (668-627 BC); conquest by the Medes (625-609 BC)
- 2The interval between Assyrian and Achaemenid hegemony (610-539 BC)
  - aThe Neo-Babylonian Empire (636-539 BC): conquests, treatment of Jews, decline of the empire
    - iThe reign of Nebuchadrezzar II (604-562 BC): subjection of Syria and Palestine, the Babylonian Exile of the Jews and the post-Exile period, building activities
    - iiThe last kings of Babylonia: internal dissension and early relations with Persia, surrender to Cyrus II the Great (539 BC)
  - bThe Anatolian kingdom of Lydia (c. 700-c. 547 BC): early relations with Assyria, the Cimmerian invasions, suzerainty over the Greeks in Anatolia, Greco-Lydian culture, growth of independent Cilicia in the late 7th century, conquest by Persia
  - cSaite Egypt (26th dynasty, 664-525 BC) and its reassertion of independence after Assyrian rule; revival of traditional Egyptian culture, subjection to Persia
  - dThe Kingdom of the Medes in Iran (c. 700-550 BC) and the establishment of the Achaemenid Persian Empire
    - iConjectured origins of the Median state, expulsion of the Scythians, extension of control over the other Iranian peoples and into Armenia and eastern Anatolia after the downfall of Assyria
    - iiCyrus II the Great's (550-529 BC) establishment of his rule from Anatolia to east of Iran, relative generosity toward subject peoples
- 3The Achaemenid Persian Empire (529-330 BC) under the successors of Cyrus II the Great, Greek rule to c. 250 BC
  - aThe empire under Cambyses II, Darius I, and Xerxes I (529-465 BC): the subjugation of Egypt, establishment of peace in the empire, penetration of the Balkan Peninsula and the unsuccessful attempts to conquer mainland Greece
  - bXerxes' weak successors: continued involvement in Greek affairs; internal disunity in the 4th century, resulting in conquest by Alexander III the Great (330 BC)
  - cAchaemenid society and culture: Zoroastrianism, Persepolis and other capitals, social structure and economy
  - dSeleucid rule to c. 250 BC, movement of Iranian peoples, revolt of the high satrapies
HThe Parthian and Sasanian empires (c. 250 BC-AD 651), Armenia
- 1The revival of Iranian power with the establishment of the Parthian Empire by Arsaces, formation of the Arsacid Parthian state
  - aThe "Philhellenistic Period" (c. 171 BC-c. AD 10): eastern and western expansion until the mid-1st century BC, wars with Rome until the settlement of 20 BC
  - bThe "Anti-Hellenistic Period" (AD 2-162): Parthian government under Artabanus III (AD 12-38), dissolution of the Parthian state
  - cRoman invasions and the end of the Parthian Empire (AD 162-226)
- 2Extension of Iranian power under the Sasanian Empire
  - aFoundation of the empire: the rise of Ardashir I in the early 3rd century AD, the wars of Shapur I (AD 241-272), organization of the empire
  - bReligious developments: Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Manichaeism; art and literature
  - cForeign policy: conflicts with the Romans, Byzantines, and Turks under Khosrow I (AD 531-579) and Khosrow II (AD 590/591-628); subsequent decline and extinction of the empire with the Arab conquest (AD 636/637-651)
- 3Armenia: client status under the Iranian empires of Rome in the period dominated by the Arsacids
IThe Nilotic Sudan, South Arabia, and Ethiopia until c. AD 600; North Africa until the Roman conquest (from 146 BC)
- 1Emergence of civilization in the Nilotic Sudan (Nubia): the origins of Nubian culture
- 2Egyptianization and the Kingdom of Kush (c. 1786-751 BC), conquest of Egypt (c. 730 BC) and later expulsion by the Assyrians (by 654 BC), conquest by Aksum (AD 350)
- 3Pre-Islamic South Arabia: the kingdoms of Main, Saba', Qataban, Hadramawt, and the tribes of central and northern Arabia; economic activities; religion; foreign relations
- 4Ethiopia to c. AD 650
  - aRemotest antiquity: the land of Punt, the Sabaean period
  - bThe Aksumite Empire (2nd century AD): the Abyssinian peoples, maritime trade, Ezana's rule (4th century AD), reign of Ella-Asbeha (6th century AD) and relations with Persia
- 5North Africa until the Roman conquest
  - aEmergence of civilization in North Africa: the Early Neolithic culture in the Maghrib and Libya, the Berbers, the influence of Egypt, the advent of the mercantile Phoenicians and their foundation of Carthage c. 814 BC (Utica, 1101 BC?), the Greeks in Cyrenaica from c. 630 BC
  - bEmergence of Carthage as the leading western Mediterranean power: conflicts with the Greeks in the western Mediterranean, extension of Carthaginian power into Spain and the clash with Rome in the Punic Wars resulting in the destruction of Carthage (146 BC)
  - cRoman penetration into North Africa: the native kingdoms of Numidia and Mauretania and their eventual incorporation into the Roman Empire