Everything about Ancient Middle East totally explained
The
Ancient Near East refers to early
civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern
Middle East:
Mesopotamia (modern
Iraq and
Syria),
Persia (modern
Iran),
Anatolia (modern
Turkey), the
Levant (modern
Syria,
Lebanon,
Israel,
Palestine, and
Jordan), and
Ancient Egypt, from the rise of
Sumer in the 4th millennium BCE until the region's conquest by
Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE, or covering both the
Bronze Age and the
Iron Age in the region. As such, it's a term widely employed in the fields of
Near Eastern archaeology,
ancient history and
Egyptology.
Some would exclude
Egypt from the ancient Near East as a geographically and culturally distinct area. However, because of Egypt's intimate involvement with the region, especially from the
2nd millennium BCE, this exclusion is rare.
The ancient Near East is considered the
cradle of civilization. It was the first to practice intensive year-round
agriculture; it gave the rest of the world the first
writing system, invented the
potter's wheel and then the vehicular- and mill
wheel, created the first
centralized governments,
law codes and
empires, as well as introducing
social stratification,
slavery and organized
warfare, and it laid the foundation for the fields of
astronomy and
mathematics.
Periodization
Ancient Near East
periodization is the attempt to categorize or divide time into discrete named blocks era of the Near east. The result is a descriptive abstraction that provides a useful handle on Near East periods of time with relatively stable characteristics.
| (Stone Age) |
Chalcolithic
(4500 BCE - 3300 BCE) |
Early Chalcolithic |
4500 BCE - 4000 BCE |
Ubaid period |
| Late Chalcolithic |
4000 BCE - 3300 BCE |
Ghassulian, Uruk period, Gerzeh, Predynastic Egypt |
Bronze Age
(3300 BCE - 1200 BCE) |
Early Bronze Age
(3300 BCE - 2000 BCE) |
Early Bronze Age I |
3300 BCE - 3000 BCE |
Protodynastic to Early Dynastic Period of Egypt |
| Early Bronze Age II |
3000 BCE - 2700 BCE |
Early Dynastic Period of Sumer |
| Early Bronze Age III |
2700 BCE - 2200 BCE |
Old Kingdom of Egypt, Akkadian Empire |
| Early Bronze Age IV |
2200 BCE - 2000 BCE |
First Intermediate Period of Egypt |
Middle Bronze Age
(2000 BCE - 1550 BCE) |
Middle Bronze Age I |
2000 BCE - 1750 BCE |
Middle Kingdom of Egypt |
| Middle Bronze Age II |
1750 BCE - 1650 BCE |
Second Intermediate Period of Egypt |
| Middle Bronze Age III |
1650 BCE - 1550 BCE |
Hittite Old Kingdom, Minoan eruption |
Late Bronze Age
(1550 BCE - 1200 BCE) |
Late Bronze Age I |
1550 BCE - 1400 BCE |
New Kingdom of Egypt, Hittite Middle Kingdom |
| Late Bronze Age II A |
1400 BCE - 1300 BCE |
Hittite New Kingdom, Mitanni, Ugarit |
| Late Bronze Age II B |
1300 BCE - 1200 BCE |
(Dark Age, Sea Peoples) |
Iron Age
(1200 BCE - 586 BCE) |
Iron Age I
(1200 BCE - 1000 BCE) |
Iron Age I A |
1200 BCE - 1150 BCE |
Troy VII, Hekla 3 eruption |
| Iron Age I B |
1150 BCE - 1000 BCE |
Neo-Hittite states |
Iron Age II
(1000 BCE - 586 BCE) |
Iron Age II A |
1000 BCE - 900 BCE |
Third Intermediate Period of Egypt, Neo-Assyrian Empire |
| Iron Age II B |
900 BCE - 700 BCE |
Kingdom of Israel, Urartu, Phrygia |
| Iron Age II C |
700 BCE - 586 BCE |
Neo-Babylonian Empire |
History
Chalcolithic
Early Mesopotamia
The
Uruk period (ca. 4000 to 3100 BCE) existed from the
protohistoric Chalcolithic to
Early Bronze Age period in the history of
Mesopotamia, following the
Ubaid period. Named after the Sumerian city of
Uruk, this period saw the emergence of urban life in Mesopotamia. It was followed by the
Sumerian civilization. The late Uruk period (34th to 32nd centuries) saw the gradual emergence of the
cuneiform script and corresponds to the
Early Bronze Age.
Predynastic Egypt
The
Predynastic Period of Egypt (prior to 3100 BCE) is traditionally the period between the Early Neolithic and the beginning of the Pharaonic monarchy beginning with King Narmer. However, the dates of the predynastic period were first defined before widespread archaeological excavation of Egypt had taken place, and recent finds which show the course of predynastic development to have been very gradual have caused scholars to argue about when exactly the predynastic period ended. Thus, the term "protodynastic period," sometimes called "Dynasty 0," has been used by scholars to name the part of the period which might be characterized as predynastic by some and dynastic by others.
Bronze Age
Early Bronze Age
Sumer
Sumer, located in southern
Mesopotamia, is the earliest known
civilization in the world. It lasted from the first settlement of
Eridu in the
Ubaid period (late 6th millennium BCE) through the
Uruk period (4th millennium BCE) and the Dynastic periods (3rd millennium BCE) until the rise of
Babylon in the early 2nd millennium BCE.
Elam
Ancient
Elam lay to the east of
Sumer and
Akkad, in the far west and southwest of modern-day
Iran, stretching from the lowlands of
Khuzestan and
Ilam Province. In the Old Elamite period ca. 3200 BCE, it consisted of kingdoms on the
Iranian plateau, centered in
Anshan, and from the mid-
2nd millennium BCE, it was centered in
Susa in the
Khuzestan lowlands. The civilization endured up until 539 BCE. The
Proto-Elamite civilization existed during the time of ca.
3200 BCE to
2700 BCE when
Susa, the later capital of the
Elamites began to receive influence from the cultures of the
Iranian plateau. In archaeological terms this corresponds to the late
Banesh period. This civilization is recognized as the oldest in Iran and was largely contemporary with its neighbour,
Sumerian civilization. The Proto-Elamite script is an
Early Bronze Age writing system briefly in use for the ancient
Elamite language before the introduction of
Elamite Cuneiform.
Egypt
The
old Kingdom of Egypt was a period in the 3rd millennium BCE when
Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization in complexity and achievement – this was the first of three so-called "Kingdom" periods, which mark the high points of civilization in the lower
Nile Valley (the others being
Middle Kingdom and the
New Kingdom). The Old Kingdom is most commonly regarded as spanning the period of time when Egypt was ruled by the
Third Dynasty through to the
Sixth Dynasty (2686 – 2134 BCE). Many
Egyptologists also include the Memphite
Seventh and
Eighth Dynasties in the Old Kingdom as a continuation of the administration centralized at
Memphis. The Old Kingdom was followed by a period of disunity and relative cultural decline referred to by Egyptologists as the
First Intermediate Period. The royal capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom was located at
Memphis, where
Djoser established his court. The Old Kingdom is perhaps best known, however, for the large number of
pyramids, which were constructed at this time as pharaonic burial places. For this reason, the Old Kingdom is frequently referred to as "the Age of the Pyramids."
The Amorites
The
Amorites were a nomadic
Semitic people who occupied the country west of the
Euphrates from the second half of the
third millennium BCE. In the earliest Sumerian sources, beginning about 2400 BCE, the land of the Amorites ("the
Mar.tu land") is associated with the West, including
Syria and
Canaan, although their ultimate origin may have been
Arabia.. They ultimately settled in Mesopotamia, ruling
Isin,
Larsa, and later
Babylon
Middle Bronze Age
Late Bronze Age
The
Hurrians lived in northern
Mesopotamia and areas to the immediate east and west, beginning approximately
2500 BCE. They probably originated in the
Caucasus and entered from the north, but this isn't certain. Their known homeland was centred in
Subartu, the
Khabur River valley, and later they established themselves as rulers of small kingdoms throughout northern Mesopotamia and
Syria. The largest and most influential Hurrian nation was the kingdom of
Mitanni. The Hurrians played a substantial part in the
History of the Hittites.
Ishuwawas an ancient kingdom in
Anatolia,
Turkey. The name is first attested in the second millennium BCE, and is also spelled Išuwa. In the classical period the land was a part of
Armenia. Ishuwa was one of the places were agriculture developed very early in the
Neolithic. Urban centres emerged in the upper
Euphrates river valley around 3000 BCE. The first states may have followed in the third millennium BCE. The name Ishuwa isn't known until the literate period of the second millennium BCE. Few literate sources from within Ishuwa have been discovered and the primary source material comes from Hittite texts. To the west of Ishuwa laid the kingdom of the
Hittites and this nation was un untrustworthy neighbour. The Hittite king
Hattusili I (c.1600 BCE) is reported to have marched his army across the
Euphrates river and destroyed the cities there. This corresponds well with burnt destruction layers discovered by archaeologists at town sites in Ishuwa of roughly the same date. After the end of the Hittite empire in the early twelfth century BCE a new state emerged in Ishuwa. The city of
Malatya became the center of one of the so called
Neo-Hittite kingdom. The movement of nomadic people may have weakened the kingdom of Malatya before the final Assyrian invasion. The decline of the settlements and culture in Ishuwa from the seventh century BCE until the Roman period was probably caused by this movement of people. The
Armenians later settled in the area since they were natives of the Armenian Plateau and related to the earlier inhabitants of Ishuwa.
Kizzuwatna is the name of an ancient kingdom of the
second millennium BCE. It was situated in the highlands of southeastern
Anatolia, near the
Gulf of İskenderun in modern-day
Turkey. It encircled the
Taurus Mountains and the
Ceyhan river. The center of the kingdom was the city of Kummanni, situated in the highlands. In a later era, the same region was known as
Cilicia.
Luwian is an extinct language of the
Anatolian branch of the
Indo-European language family. Luwian speakers gradually spread through Anatolia and became a contributing factor to the downfall, after circa 1180 BCE, of the
Hittite Empire, where it was already widely spoken. Luwian was also the language spoken in the
Neo-Hittite states of
Syria, such as
Milid and
Carchemish, as well as in the central Anatolian kingdom of
Tabal that flourished around 900 BCE. Luwian has been preserved in two forms, named after the writing systems used to represent them: Cuneiform Luwian, and Hieroglyphic Luwian.
Mari was an ancient
Sumerian and
Amorite city, located 11 kilometers north-west of the modern town of
Abu Kamal on the western bank of
Euphrates river, some 120 km southeast of
Deir ez-Zor,
Syria. It is thought to have been inhabited since the
5th millennium BCE, although it flourished from
2900 BCE until
1759 BCE, when it was sacked by
Hammurabi.
Mitanni was a
Hurrian kingdom in northern
Mesopotamia from ca.
1500 BCE, at the height of its power, during the
14th century BCE, encompassing what is today southeastern
Turkey, northern
Syria and northern
Iraq (roughly corresponding to
Kurdistan), centered around the capital
Washukanni whose precise location hasn't yet been determined by archaeologists. The Mitanni kingdom is thought to have been a feudal state led by a warrior nobility of
Indo-Aryan descent, who invaded the Levant region at some point during the 17th century BCE, their influence apparent in a
linguistic superstrate in Mitanni records. The spread to Syria of a distinct pottery type associated with the
Kura-Araxes culture has been connected with this movement, although its date is somewhat too early.
Yamhad was an ancient
Amorite kingdom. A substantial
Hurrian population also settled in the kingdom, and the Hurrian culture influenced the area. The kingdom was powerful during the Middle
Bronze Age, c.1800-1600 BCE. Its biggest rival was
Qatna further south. Yamhad was finally destroyed by the
Hittites in the sixteenth century BCE.
The
Aramaeans were a
Semitic (West Semitic language group), semi-nomadic and pastoralist people who had lived in upper
Mesopotamia and
Syria. Aramaeans have never had a unified empire; they were divided into independent kingdoms all across the
Near East. Yet to these Aramaeans befell the privilege of imposing their language and culture upon the entire
Near East and beyond, fostered in part by the mass relocations enacted by successive empires, including the
Assyrians and
Babylonians. Scholars even have used the term 'Aramaization' for the Assyro-Babylonian peoples' languages and cultures, that have become Aramaic-speaking.
The
Sea peoples is the term used for a confederacy of seafaring raiders of the second millennium BCE who sailed into the eastern shores of the
Mediterranean, caused political unrest, and attempted to enter or control
Egyptian territory during the late
19th dynasty, and especially during Year 8 of
Ramesses III of the
20th Dynasty. The Egyptian Pharaoh
Merneptah explicitly refers to them by the term "the foreign-countries (or 'peoples') of the sea" ) in his
Great Karnak Inscription. Although some scholars believe that they "invaded"
Cyprus,
Hatti and the
Levant, this hypothesis is disputed.
Bronze Age collapse
The
Bronze Age collapse is the name given by those historians who see the transition from the
Late Bronze Age to the
Early Iron Age, as violent, sudden and culturally disruptive, expressed by the collapse of
palace economies of the
Aegean and
Anatolia, which were replaced after a hiatus by the isolated village cultures of the
Dark Age period of history of the
Ancient Middle East. The Bronze Age collapse may be seen in the context of a technological history that saw the slow, comparatively continuous spread of iron-working technology in the region, beginning with precocious iron-working in what is now
Romania in the 13th and 12th centuries. The cultural collapse of the
Mycenaean kingdoms, the
Hittite Empire in
Anatolia and
Syria, and the
Egyptian Empire in
Syria and
Palestine, bringing the scission of
long-distance trade contacts and sudden eclipse of literacy, occurred between 1206 and 1150 BCE. In the first phase of this period, almost every city between
Troy and
Gaza was violently destroyed, and often left unoccupied thereafter (for example,
Hattusas,
Mycenae,
Ugarit). The gradual end of the
Dark Age that ensued saw the rise of settled
Neo-Hittite Aramaean kingdoms of the mid-10th century BCE, and the rise of the
Neo-Assyrian Empire.
Iron Age
During the
Early Iron Age,
Assyria assumed a position as a great regional power, vying with
Babylonia and other lesser powers for dominance of the region, though not until the reforms of
Tiglath-Pileser III in the 8th century BCE, did it become a powerful and vast empire. In the Middle Assyrian period of the
Late Bronze Age, Assyria had been a minor kingdom of northern Mesopotamia (modern-day northern
Iraq), competing for dominance with its southern Mesopotamian rival Babylonia. Beginning with the campaign of
Adad-nirari II, it became a great regional power, growing to be a serious threat to
25th dynasty Egypt. The Neo-Assyrian Empire succeeded the
Middle Assyrian period (14th to 10th century BCE). Some scholars, such as
Richard Nelson Frye, regard the Neo-Assyrian Empire to be the first real empire in human history. During this period,
Aramaic was also made an official language of the empire, alongside the
Akkadian language..
Urartu was an ancient
kingdom of
Armenia and North
Mesopotamia which existed from ca.
860 BCE, emerging from the Late Bronze Age until
585 BCE. The Kingdom of Urartu was located in the mountainous plateau between
Asia Minor,
Mesopotamia, and
Caucasus mountains, later known as the
Armenian Highland, and it centered around
Lake Van (present-day eastern
Turkey). The name corresponds to the
Biblical Ararat.
The term
Neo-Babylonian Empire refers to
Babylonia under the rule of the 11th ("Chaldean") dynasty, from the revolt of
Nabopolassar in
626 BCE until the invasion of
Cyrus the Great in
539 BCE, notably including the reign of
Nebuchadrezzar II. Through the centuries of
Assyrian domination, Babylonia enjoyed a prominent status, and revolted at the slightest indication that it did not. However, the Assyrians always managed to restore Babylonian loyalty, whether through granting of increased privileges, or militarily. That finally changed in
627 BCE with the death of the last strong Assyrian ruler,
Ashurbanipal, and Babylonia rebelled under
Nabopolassar the Chaldean the following year. With help from the
Medes,
Nineveh was sacked in 612, and the seat of empire was again transferred to Babylonia.
The
Achaemenid Empire was the first of the
Persian Empires to rule over significant portions of
Greater Iran, and the second great
Iranian empire (after the Medean Empire). At the height of its power, encompassing approximately 7.5 million square kilometers, the Achaemenid Empire was territorially the largest empire of
classical antiquity. It spanned three continents, including territories of modern
Afghanistan, parts of
Pakistan,
Central Asia,
Asia Minor,
Thrace, many of the
Black Sea coastal regions,
Iraq, northern
Saudi Arabia,
Jordan,
Israel,
Lebanon,
Syria, and all significant population centers of ancient
Egypt as far west as
Libya. It is noted in western history as the foe of the
Greek city states in the
Greco-Persian Wars, for freeing the
Israelites from their
Babylonian captivity, and for instituting
Aramaic as the empire's official language.
Religions
Ancient civilizations in the Near East were deeply influenced by their
spiritual beliefs, which generally didn't distinguish between
heaven and
Earth. They believed that
divine action influenced all mundane matters, and also believed in
divination (ability to predict the future).
s were often inscribed in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, as were records of major events.
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