Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt and the Near East

ANCIENT EGYPT AND THE NEAR EAST

RELIGION AND SACRIFICE

The Phoenicians worshipped a large number of Carthage was Tanit. Although Tanit was the wife
gods and goddesses, and each of the city-states of the god Baal Hammon, she seems to have
had its own patron deity. For example, the been seen as the more important deity. Like
citizens of Tyre worshipped a god called Astarte,Tanit was a fertility goddess.
Melqart, who was a sun god. As might be
expected from a god worshipped by seafarers, Some historians believe that the Phoenicians
Melqart was also seen as a protector of practiced some form of child sacrifice.
navigators.When traders from Tyre set up a According to Greek writers such as Diodorus
new colony, they made sacrifices to Melqart and Siculus (first century BCE), children would be
would wait for a positive sign from the god burned in sacred fires in front of their parents.
before they settled. One of the first buildings to Diodorus wrote that hundreds of children were
be constructed would be a temple to the god. sacrificed in Carthage when the city was
besieged by Greek Sicilian forces in 310 BCE.
Melqart’s consort was the fertility goddess Other historians dispute the view.They argue
Astarte, who was known by various names that the burnt remains of children’s bones found
throughout the Mediterranean, including in sacred hearths came from children who had
Astoret, Asherah, and Ashratu. She was closely died naturally and point out that most of the
linked to the Babylonian goddess Ishtar and the stories of child sacrifice come from cultures
Egyptian goddess Isis. Astarte’s equivalent in that were enemies of the Phoenicians.

THE PHOENICIANS

This gold necklace
was made by
Phoenician
craftsmen around
the fifth century
BCE.

The ruins of the in Byblos. The stone coffin of King became absorbed into the Assyrian
Hall of the Ahiram, who ruled in the early 10th cen- Empire during the campaigns of con-
Ambassador at tury BCE, contained an elaborate text in quest of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser
Ugarit. Ugarit the linear Phoenician alphabet. III. From this point onward, the
was one of the Phoenicians came under the control of a
wealthiest The Greeks adopted the Phoenician succession of foreign powers.
Phoenician cities. alphabet in the eighth century BCE,
making only minor changes to the shape Phoenicia remained part of the
of the letters. The Greeks expanded the Assyrian Empire until the late seventh
22 Phoenician consonants to 24 and century BCE and then came under the
made some symbols serve as vowels.After control of the Babylonians. The region
around 500 BCE, the Greeks started fell to the Persian forces of Cyrus the
writing from left to right. Great in 539 BCE. Under Persian rule,
the cities enjoyed some freedoms and
The Greek alphabet was adopted and were able to prosper again commercially,
adapted throughout the Mediterranean but Phoenicia was not to survive. In 330
world. When it passed to the Romans, BCE, the region was conquered by the
they spread it via Latin throughout the Macedonian general Alexander the
Roman Empire.The Greek alphabet was Great. Finally, in 64 BCE, Phoenicia
therefore destined to become the basis of became part of the Roman Empire and
all Western alphabets. lost all separate identity.

Foreign domination again See also:

In 842 BCE, most of the Phoenician The Assyrians (page 102) • The Israelites
cities on the eastern Mediterranean coast (page 116)
lost their independence when they

101

THE
ASSYRIANS

TIME LINE K nown for their ruthlessness in subjugating their enemies, the
Assyrians dominated large sections of western Asia for much
c. 2000 BCE of the second and first millenniums BCE. A visual record of their
Distinct Assyrian conquests can be found at their ancient capital of Nimrud.
culture emerges
in northern Assyria was one of the earliest empires to Historians usually divide the history
Mesopotamia. be established in western Asia. The core of the Assyrian Empire into three peri-
of the Assyrian heartland lay to the north ods: the Old Empire (c. 2000–1760
c. 1760 BCE of Babylonia, between the Tigris River BCE), the Middle Empire (c. 1363–1000
Old Empire comes to the west and the Zagros Mountains BCE), and the New Empire (c. 1000–
to end after Ashur to the east. The discovery of two 612 BCE). During the period of the Old
conquered by Neanderthal skulls in the area showed Empire, the Assyrians established a num-
Babylonians. that the area has been inhabited since ber of city-states, including Ashur,
Paleolithic times. There is also evidence Nineveh, and Arbela. Each city consisted
c. 1250 BCE that early farmers settled in this fertile of a palace, temples, and a maze of hous-
Shalmaneser I area around the ninth millennium BCE. es, all enclosed within a city wall. Ashur,
conquers Mitanni They grew wheat and barley, kept named after the god of the same name,
Empire to greatly domesticated animals, and built houses of was the center of a remarkable trading
expand area clay. They are also known to have baked network. A merchant colony was set up
controlled by bread in clay ovens, spun thread using in the city of Kanesh in Anatolia, and
Assyrians. hand spindles, woven cloth, and made pottery vessels full of cuneiform texts
tools, ornaments, and seals out of stone. discovered there give a picture of a flour-
c. 883 BCE ishing trade in copper and textiles, car-
Ashurnasirpal II During the third millennium BCE, ried by caravans of donkeys. This lucra-
begins campaigns of the region came under the influence of tive enterprise was controlled by just 10
imperial expansion, the Akkadian civilization, and the inhab- or 15 Assyrian families, and their burial
expanding Assyrian itants adopted the Akkadian language sites discovered in Ashur attest to their
territory; he also and cuneiform script. When the south- great wealth.
restores city of ern empires of Sumer and Akkad col-
Nimrud. lapsed around 2000 BCE, a distinct The rule of Shamshi-Adad I
Assyrian culture began to emerge.
c. 729 BCE However, nothing was known of this From around 1813 BCE, Assyria came
Tiglath-pileser III culture until the 19th century CE, when under the rule of Shamshi-Adad I (ruled
unites Assyria and two outstanding archaeologists—Paul c. 1813–1781 BCE), a prince of an
Babylonia under Emile Botta and Austen Henry Layard— Amorite dynasty. He had imperialist
one rule. excavated the cities of Nineveh, Nimrud,
and Dur Sharrukin (Khorsabad). The These remains of a ziggurat are located at
c. 612 BCE spectacular finds that Botta and Layard
Nineveh falls to made unravelled the story of one of the Nimrud.The city reached the height of its
Babylonians; great lost civilizations of western Asia.
Assyrian Empire wealth in the ninth century BCE, hundreds
comes to end
three years of years after it was founded.
later.

102



ANCIENT EGYPT AND THE NEAR EAST

ambitions and conquered an area that reached the Euphrates River around
extended from Assyria in the east to Mari 1300 BCE, under the leadership of
on the Euphrates River in the west and Adad-nirari I (ruled c. 1305–1274 BCE).
Babylonia in the south. Ruling from In 1250 BCE, Adad-nirari’s son King
Ashur, Shamshi-Adad established what Shalmaneser I succeeded in annexing the
was probably the first centrally organized Mitanni Empire, thereby greatly extend-
empire of the ancient Middle East.At the ing his own empire.
death of Shamshi-Adad, his son Ishme-
Dagan I succeeded to the throne. During Shalmaneser’s son Tukulti-Ninurta I
Ishme-Dagan’s reign, King Hammurabi (ruled c. 1233–1197 BCE) was a gifted
of Babylonia captured Ashur, bringing sovereign under whom Assyria achieved
the Assyrian Old Empire to an end. unprecedented power. He took on the
Assyria became part of the Babylonian might of Babylonia, defeated its army,
Empire around 1760 BCE. sacked the city of Babylon, and plun-
dered its temples. He was the first king to
Toward the end of the third millenni- carry out large-scale deportations to
um BCE, a new population group ensure peace in the empire, but his ruth-
arrived in Mesopotamia. The Hurrians less methods made him so unpopular
founded large colonies on the upper that eventually his sons instigated a rebel-
reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris lion in which he was killed.
rivers.These colonies were the forerun-
ners of the Mitanni Empire. By around The coming of the Sea Peoples
1500 BCE, the Hurrian Mitanni king-
dom had come to dominate northern Around 1200 BCE, a period of great
Mesopotamia. The kingdom subjugated unrest began in the Mesopotamian
Assyria, maintaining regional control for region.A group of invaders known to the
the next century, while the Hittites were Egyptians as the Sea Peoples defeated the
establishing their rival empire to the Hittites in Anatolia, while the Aramaeans
north. Around 1363 BCE, while the made incursions into Mesopotamia. The
Mitanni were preoccupied with the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser I (ruled c.
Hittites, the Assyrian king Ashur-uballit I 1114–1076 BCE) reacted strongly to this
successfully attacked the Mitanni and threat, raiding and razing Aramaean vil-
won back Assyrian freedom.This marked lages and seizing or massacring anyone
the beginning of the Middle Empire. who did not flee. Nevertheless, the
Aramaeans continued their onslaughts.
The Middle Empire By around 1000 BCE, they were firmly
entrenched in the west and seemed
As head of the newly independent poised to take over the entire Assyrian
Assyria, Ashur-uballit called himself the kingdom. Assyria, and indeed the whole
“Great King” and considered himself the region, was entering a dark age, perhaps
equal of the king of Egypt. Ashur-uballit caused, and certainly made worse, by
named Assyria the “Land of Ashur,”and drought and famine.
he and his successors set about restoring
the might of the empire. During the Middle Empire period,
the Assyrian state had developed into a
After Ashur-uballit’s death in 1328 strong military power. Constant battles to
BCE, a drawn-out war with Babylonia protect the Assyrian borders had honed
ensued. Successive Assyrian kings also led an efficient army (see box, page 108),
campaigns to the east and north to sup- which was greatly strengthened by the
press hostile tribes that threatened the introduction of the horse-drawn chariot.
borders. To the west, the Assyrian army The wealth of the state depended on

104

THE ASSYRIANS

THE GROWTH OF THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE

ANATOLIA
Kanesh

Tigris

TAURUS MOUNTAINS Carchemish Dur Sharrukin
Nineveh Nimrud

Ashur ZAGRO
U
Eu NTAINS
es S MOMESOPOTAMIA

SYRIA phrat

Mediterranean Sea Sidon Damascus
Tyre Arbela
Babylon

Memphis
EGYPT

Thebes

both agriculture and trade. The region Babylonian culture had an enormous KEY
was fertile, and because Assyria was less influence on Assyria, particularly during
dependent on man-made irrigation the period after Tukulti-Ninurta I Area gained during
channels than its neighbor, Babylonia, captured Babylon. A good deal of 934–912 BCE
Assyrian farmers could produce abun- Babylonian literature found its way into
dant crops easily. Breeding and training Assyria, while many Babylonian religious Area gained by
horses was an important part of the rituals were adopted, including the cult Ashurnasirpal II
economy, and Assyrian horses were of the god Marduk. The Assyrians took (883–859 BCE)
famous throughout the Middle East. over the Babylonian calendar and
Maximum extent
(c. 680–627 BCE)

105

ANCIENT EGYPT AND THE NEAR EAST

Assyrian soldiers are changed their system of weights and were suffering under attacks from the
depicted defending measures to that of the Babylonians.The Aramaean tribes, whose centers of power
a fortress in this Babylonian influence can also be seen in included southern Babylonia and the
relief from the Assyrian art and architecture. area surrounding Damascus. Assyria,
eighth century BCE. which was increasingly on the defensive,
Many of the tablets discovered by had been forced back from the border
archaeologists have provided a compre- formed by the Euphrates River in
hensive picture of the legal system that the west.
was in place in the Middle Empire.
Punishments for infractions of the law Around the beginning of the ninth
were extremely severe, ranging from century BCE, things began to change.
beatings to mutilation and death.Women Two kings—Adad-nirari II (ruled c.
had very few rights. A husband could 911–891 BCE) and Tukulti-Ninurta II
divorce his wife at will, and if she com- (ruled c. 890–884 BCE)—succeeded in
mitted adultery, he could maim her or winning back territory from the
even kill her. Women led very restricted Aramaeans and regaining the banks of
lives and had to wear veils whenever they the Euphrates River. Their successes
went out in public. marked a turning point in Assyrian for-
tunes. Ashurnasirpal II, the son of
The New Empire Tukulti-Ninurta II, ruled from 883 to
859 BCE and continued his father’s pol-
By around 900 BCE, the Hittite Empire icy of reconquest, isolating the Aramaean
had disappeared. Mesopotamia and Syria

106

THE ASSYRIANS

city-states one by one and destroying LAYARD’S DISCOVERIES
them. He was a brilliant and ruthless
general, and his own accounts of his Much of the existing knowledge about the Assyrians is
campaigns testify to their terrifying cru- the result of the work of British archaeologist Austen
elty. It was his custom to impale his Henry Layard (1817–1894). Layard began excavating the
defeated enemies on stakes, flay them ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud in 1845. At the time, he
alive, or behead them. He also deported was unaware that he had uncovered the palace and capi-
the local citizenry en masse, thereby rob- tal of Ashurnasirpal II. However, as Layard and his team
bing the conquered region of its indige- worked on, they discovered a number of magnificent
nous people and creating a subjugated artifacts that revealed much about the life of the
population throughout the empire. Assyrian king who ruled in the ninth century BCE.

Military tactics Among the treasures found at Nimrud was a statue of
Ashurnasirpal himself, which had once stood in the tem-
Ashurnasirpal’s campaigns were helped ple of the goddess Ishtar.There were a number of huge
by the fact that he made substantial use stone sphinxes, which had guarded the palace.There
of units of cavalry, in addition to his war were also relief sculptures depicting scenes from royal
chariots and infantry. He also used life. One object that contained a number of such reliefs
mobile battering rams to break down the was the Black Obelisk, a stele that stood nearly 7 feet
walls of cities under siege. Once he had (2.1 m) tall.The stele, which was crowned by three
taken a city, he made sure that Assyrian steps in the shape of a ziggurat, showed scenes of
officials quickly took over its administra- foreign kings paying tribute to Shalmaneser III,
tion, thereby ensuring that the new con- Ashurnasirpal’s son and successor. Assyrian kings often
quest was incorporated into the Assyrian collected animals as trophies, and the illustrations on
Empire smoothly and efficiently without the obelisk show a number of exotic beasts, including an
any loss of time. elephant and a rhinoceros, being brought to the king.

By attacking the regions on Assyria’s Cultural impact
immediate borders, Ashurnasirpal was
able to extend his rule as far as Despite the many atrocities that he com-
the Mediterranean Sea. He annexed mitted,Ashurnasirpal proved to be a pos-
Phoenician coastal cities and small states itive cultural force. He commissioned
on the Mediterranean coast and forced architects, sculptors, and artists to build
them to pay annual tribute to Assyria. It or enlarge several temples and palaces,
was not advisable to resist the Assyrian and the resulting works exhibited a qual-
army; no one was spared if a city had to ity never before achieved. He restored
be taken by force. the city of Nimrud (ancient Calah),
making it his capital in place of Ashur.
The following is Ashurnasirpal’s own This was a mammoth project. The city
account of the taking of the fortress of wall itself needed around 70 million
Hulai: “I surrounded the city with the bricks of sun-dried clay to enclose an
main force of my troops. After a wild area of around 864 acres (350 ha). Inside
battle in the field, I took it. I slew 600 this wall was built a magnificent palace,
of his warriors with my weapons; which covered an area of 269,000 square
3,000 prisoners I burned in a great fire; I feet (25,000 m2).
did not take a single hostage.... I stacked
the bodies like towers; the young men The palace, based on a modified ver-
and girls I burned alive. I skinned sion of an ancient pattern, had two com-
the king of Hulai alive and hung his skin
on the city walls. I demolished and
burned the city.”

107

ANCIENT EGYPT AND THE NEAR EAST

THE ASSYRIAN ARMY

During the New Empire, the Assyrian army The elite of the army were the charioteers. Each
developed from a part-time amateur force chariot carried a driver, an archer, and usually one
that was conscripted for plundering raids to a or two shield bearers to protect the driver and
highly professional standing army that was one of archer.The chariots were backed up by cavalry,
the most efficient and deadly fighting forces ever which rode bareback and operated in pairs. One
known. Up until the ninth century BCE, the army cavalryman wielded a short bow, while his part-
consisted mainly of peasants and farmers who ner carried a shield to protect him.
were forced to join the king on his annual cam-
paigns. In theory, all men had to do military duty, The marching army was followed by engineers
but many wealthy Assyrians managed to evade who would build bridges and other structures.
service by providing slaves instead.These con- Engineers were also in charge of battering rams,
scripts, led by a core of professional soldiers, con- siege towers, and other devices, such as scaling
sisted mostly of light infantrymen armed with ladders, that were used in siege warfare.The bat-
bows and arrows, slings, pikes, spears, battle-axes, tering rams were contained in wheeled huts that
and swords. Of these light infantrymen, the both protected the ram itself and carried archers
archers were the most important.Troops in the who could shoot at attackers.
heavy infantry were also equipped with armor.
The preferred tactic in conquering a new region
By the ninth century BCE, a standing army had was to choose one particular city and lay siege to
been formed.The commander in chief was the it. Once a breach in the city’s walls was made, the
king, who often led campaigns in person.The bulk army poured through and proceeded to massacre
of the army consisted of foreign contingents of both the defenders and the citizens.The mutilated
foot soldiers conscripted from various subjugated bodies would then be hung on the city’s walls as a
lands and led by Assyrian officers.The army was warning to others.
divided into units of varying size.The company,
which was the basic unit, consisted of 50 men A battering ram is shown breaking down the walls of a
under the command of a captain. city in this bronze relief from the ninth century BCE.

108

THE ASSYRIANS

plexes of halls built around two central
courtyards and connected by a narrow
throne room measuring 65 by 33 feet
(20 by 10 m). This double architectural
design may reflect Aramaean influence.

Art of intimidation he invited almost 70,000 guests.The fes- This relief shows
tivities lasted for ten days, during which an angel or spirit,
The state rooms and living quarters of time 14,000 sheep were consumed and one of many
the palace at Nimrud were decorated 10,000 vessels of wine were drunk. mythological
with murals carved out of limestone beings depicted in
blocks, each measuring around 6.5 feet A warlike king Assyrian art.
(2 m) high and 13 feet (4 m) wide.
Many of these murals showed mytho- Ashurnasirpal’s son, Shalmaneser III
logical scenes, but there were also (ruled c. 858–824 BCE), was as ruth-
scenes of war, which were intended to less as Ashurnasirpal and continued
intimidate those who saw them. In the his expansionist policies. Shalmaneser
throne room, there was a continuous crossed the Euphrates 25 times to do bat-
pageant of images, in which the king tle against the Aramaeans, conducting 32
was the main character. The king was campaigns in 35 years. However, not all
shown as the upholder and protector of his campaigns were successful. Although
fertility, a typical motif in Mesopotamia Shalmaneser managed to conquer north-
and, indeed, the entire ancient world. ern Syria, he was unable to subdue

These royal reliefs are unique in
terms of their style and content. For the
first time, each image portrays a historical
event. Many of these wall reliefs were
painted in bright colors, representing
the absolute height of Mesopotamian
art.Above the friezes were more high-
ly colored murals painted directly on
to the plaster of the walls. The calibre
of the work is all the more remarkable
because most of the craftsmen working
on the palace were prisoners of war or
forced labor conscripted from the far-
flung reaches of the empire.

The entrances to the halls and court-
yards were guarded by massive three-
dimensional sculptures of bull figures
with wings and human heads.These fig-
ures had the purpose both of protecting
the palace against evil spirits and of
warning those who came within the
palace precincts that the power of the
Assyrian king reached far and wide.

In 879 BCE, Ashurnasirpal celebrat-
ed the completion of his royal palace by
giving an enormous banquet, to which

109

ANCIENT EGYPT AND THE NEAR EAST

Damascus, even though his army This bronze bowl, Coup d’état
besieged the city in 841 BCE. Shal- made in the eighth
maneser also campaigned against a new century BCE, is In the middle of the eighth century
kingdom in the north, Urartu, which was believed to be of BCE, a military coup brought a new
threatening Assyria. Phoenician origin, king to the throne. Tiglath-pileser III
even though it was (ruled c. 746–727 BCE) embarked ener-
Shalmaneser completed the construc- found at Nimrud. getically on restoring and expanding the
tion of Nimrud begun by his father and Archaeologists empire. To this end, he created a regular
built many other temples and palaces believe that the standing army. Instead of conscripting
throughout the empire. He commis- bowl was brought farmers each year for a campaign, he
sioned sculptors and artists to pro- back to Assyria as
duce statues and stelae, including war booty. formed an army of professionals,
the famous Black Obelisk consisting largely of foreign
(see box, page 107), which contingents, with chariots
shows the kings of Is- and cavalry as its core. To
rael paying tribute to break the power of the
Assyria.The reliefs in provincial governors,
hammered bronze, he reduced the size
called the Bronze of the provinces.
Gates of Balawat, He also abolished
which once dec- tax exemptions for
orated the tem- temples and major
ple doors in the cities so taxation
town of Bala- would be spread
wat, northeast of more evenly.
Nimrud, depict- After he had
ed Shalmaneser’s restored civil order
victories over the at home, Tiglath-
Phoenicians as well pileser embarked on a
as other subjugated campaign to drive the
territories. The bronze Urartians out of Syria.
reliefs also showed the rulers Once he had defeated the
of both Tyre and Sidon bringing Urartian army in battle, he
tribute.
besieged the Syrian capital of Arpad,
Under Shalmaneser’s immediate suc- which had become an ally of Urartu.
cessors, Assyria entered a period of After three years, he took the city. In true
decline. There was increasing civil Assyrian style, he put all the inhabitants
unrest, and in the provinces, some of to the sword and razed the city itself to
the nobles who held vast territories the ground.Then, instead of appointing a
acted as if they were independent local king as his vassal, Tiglath-pileser
rulers. Over the generations, thousands appointed an Assyrian governor. He then
of Aramaeans who had been transported invaded Israel, annexing large territories
to Assyria to work on building projects there, and took Damascus in 732 BCE.
had been assimilated into Assyrian By his campaigns, he extended the
society, and many of them rose to empire to the Taurus Mountains in the
high positions in the civil service. As north and the Sinai Desert in the south.
a result, the Assyrian language was
gradually replaced by Aramaic in com- Tiglath-pileser quickly turned his
mon usage. attention to Babylonia. Following the
death of the king Nabu-nasir, the
Babylonian throne had been claimed by

110

an Aramaean. Tiglath-pileser drove out The Black Obelisk THE ASSYRIANS
the Aramaeans and had himself crowned of Shalmaneser III,
king of Babylon—under the name of made in the ninth previously enjoyed by the temples and
Pulu—in 729 BCE. This action united century BCE, is major cities.
Assyria and Babylonia under one rule. decorated with
scenes of the king Sargon continued the empire build-
In the subsequent years, Tiglath- receiving tribute. ing of his predecessor and added further
pileser devoted himself to rebuilding and territories. He subjugated Urartu once
improving Nimrud and its palace. He again and took Carchemish. In 712 BCE,
commissioned new reliefs, many he defeated a coalition of the Syrian and
of them showing gruesome Phoenician cities, annexing numerous
scenes of battles and execu- states in Syria and southern Anatolia.
tions, for the palace walls.
After his death, he was He campaigned against the Medes
succeeded by his son on the eastern border and defeated
Shalmaneser V (ruled c. the Aramaeans in the central Tigris
727–722 BCE), who spent Valley and the Chaldeans in the
three years vainly besieg- lower EuphratesValley. In the sub-
ing Samaria, the capital of jugated regions, Sargon built
Israel. He proved to be mighty fortresses.
more successful in con- At the time of Sargon’s acces-
quering the rest of the sion, the throne of Babylonia had
country, but a revolt in been seized by a Chaldean,
Ashur put an end to the Merodach-baladan II. Not until
reign of Shalmaneser. 710 BCE did Sargon find the
time to move on the usurper,
Sargon II who fled. Merodach-baladan had
been so unpopular with the
The next great ruler of Babylonians that they welcomed
Assyria was Sargon II, Sargon with relief, and he
who ruled between 722 became the first Assyrian to be
and 705 BCE. It is not crowned king of Babylon under
clear exactly who Sargon his own name.
was, but he may have By this time, Sargon’s vast
been a younger brother empire extended from the
of Shalmaneser V. In tak- border of Egypt in the south-
ing the name Sargon, west to the Zagros Mountains
which means “legitimate in the east and from the Taurus
king,” he may have been Mountains in the northwest
trying to bolster a weak to the Persian Gulf in the
claim to the throne. To southeast. Sargon divided this
curry favor with the empire into some 70 pro-
priests and merchants, vinces, each headed by a gov-
the first thing he did at ernor who was directly
the beginning of his responsible to the king. In his
reign was to restore capital of Nimrud, Sargon cre-
some of the privileges ated a central administrative
they had lost under organization and delegated
Tiglath-pileser, particu- some of his own power to his
larly the tax exemptions son Sennacherib.
Toward the end of his
reign, Sargon started on the

111

ANCIENT EGYPT AND THE NEAR EAST

The foundations of construction of a new capital, the famous ordered his priests to find out what his
the Assyrian city of city of Khorsabad, 8 miles (12.9 km) father had done to incur the wrath of the
Nimrud.The city was north of Nineveh.This city was original- gods. The priests’ answer was that the
the capital of the ly called Dur Sharrukin (meaning gods had been offended by the construc-
great Assyrian king “Sargon’s Fortress”), and it was intended tion of the new capital.
Shalmaneser III. to be more elegant and refined than ear-
lier Assyrian building complexes. Trouble in Babylon
However, following Sargon’s death in
705 BCE, work on the new capital Before Sargon’s death, Sennacherib had
ceased, and when archaeologists first dis- quarreled with his father, and on ascend-
covered the site in 1840 CE, the city was ing the throne, he seemed determined to
just as it had been when it was aban- turn his back on his late father’s memo-
doned 2,500 years earlier. ry. He abandoned the half-built city of
Dur Sharrukin and, after residing in
Under Sargon II, Assyria had reached Ashur for a few years, made Nineveh his
the peak of its power. However, in 705 capital. In all the many inscriptions of
BCE, during a minor campaign in west- Sennacherib’s reign, there is no mention
ern Iran, Sargon was ambushed and slain. of Sargon.
His body was left unburied to be eaten
by vultures.This inglorious death made a Soon after Sennacherib’s accession,
great impression on the world, and his there was trouble with Babylon. In 703
son Sennacherib (ruled 704–681 BCE) BCE, Merodach-baladan attempted to
seize the throne again, allying himself

with the city of Elam, Assyria’s age-old THE ASSYRIANS
enemy. After a nine-month campaign,
Sennacherib finally succeeded in defeat- This ancient relief, discovered during
ing this coalition, although Merodach- excavations of Nineveh, depicts two
baladan escaped. In order to reassert Assyrian warriors hunting a lion.
control, Sennacherib deported more
than 200,000 people from southern son to the Elamites, Sennacherib acted
Mesopotamia and put an Assyrian pup- decisively. In 689 BCE, he inflicted a
pet king on the Babylonian throne. crushing defeat on both states. He then
destroyed the city of Babylon.After plun-
Turning his attention to the west, dering and leveling the temples, he had
Sennacherib then marched into Syria the Euphrates River diverted to flood
and Palestine and laid siege to Jerusalem. the ruins. In a symbolic act, statues of the
He was hoping to clear the way for his gods of the holy city were taken to Ashur
armies to march on Egypt, but Jerusalem as prisoners.This sacrilege offended even
would not yield. Eventually, with his some Assyrians, who feared retribution
army decimated by sickness, Sennacherib from the Babylonian god Marduk for the
was forced to withdraw. deliberate violation of his temple.

Meanwhile, in Babylon, Merodach- Rebuilding Nineveh and Babylon
baladan was stirring up a renewed rebel-
lion. Assyria’s puppet king allied himself Sennacherib chose Nineveh to be his
with Merodach-baladan, but Sennacherib capital city. He carried out extensive ren-
lost no time in crushing the revolt and ovations there and built himself a mag-
putting his own son on the Babylonian
throne. The Elamites continued to 113
foment Babylonian rebellions, and when
the Babylonians handed over Sennacherib’s

A QUEEN’S CURSE

While most of the great archaeological discoveries
relating to the Assyrian Empire occurred in the 19th
century CE, one happened a lot more recently—in
1989.Workers removing dirt from one of the palaces at
Nimrud stumbled across an air vent to a hidden tomb.
Further investigation by the Iraqi archaeologist Muzahim
Mahmoud Hussein revealed the skeleton of Queen
Yabahya, the wife of Tiglath-pileser III.

The skeleton had been buried with around 80 gold
items, including personal jewelry, a golden bowl bearing
the queen’s name, and a number of rosettes that had
been sprinkled over her body. However, the tomb
also contained a less pleasant surprise—a curse. An
inscription on a marble slab warned that anyone who
disturbed the queen’s resting place would suffer an
eternity of sleeplessness.

ANCIENT EGYPT AND THE NEAR EAST

Located on the nificent palace with beautiful gardens.To structing Babylon, in particular the tem-
banks of the Tigris, bring water to these gardens, an immense ples of Marduk. In the west, Esarhaddon
the city of Nineveh aqueduct was constructed, using around attacked Egypt, capturing Memphis in
was perfectly two million limestone blocks.The palace 671 BCE. This victory was the major
situated as a itself was decorated with many reliefs, military achievement of his reign; he
trading center. some of which showed enormous statues died during a second expedition to
of bulls being transported over land and Egypt in 669 BCE.
water. Other scenes showed military life,
battles, and the mass deportations of con- The last great king
quered peoples. To make the palace of
Sennacherib as splendid as possible, Once again, Naqia arranged the succes-
Assyrian artists were given a free rein in sion, placing her youngest grandson,
its design. Ashurbanipal (ruled c. 668–627 BCE),
on the throne and appointing one of his
In 681 BCE, Sennacherib was sud- older brothers viceroy of Babylon.
denly assassinated—widely seen as just Ashurbanipal continued his father’s
retribution for his treatment of the god Egyptian campaign, putting down revolts
Marduk. Sennacherib was succeeded and conquering as far south as Thebes.
by his son Esarhaddon (ruled 680– However, later in Ashurbanipal’s reign,
669 BCE). the Egyptians succeeded in regaining
their independence and driving out the
Esarhaddon was not the eldest son, Assyrian garrisons.
and it is thought that he owed his throne
to the influence of his mother, Naqia. In southern Babylonia, the Elamites
She was a princess from western Syria continued their attacks. Ashurbanipal
and, for a long time, controlled state dispatched an army to defeat them, but
affairs from behind the scenes.To appease his brother, the Babylonian viceroy,
Marduk, Esarhaddon set about recon- rebelled and a protracted war ensued.

THE ASSYRIANS

This relief sculpture
depicts the Assyrian
king Ashurbanipal
riding in a chariot.
Ashurbanipal was
one of the last
kings of the
Assyrian Empire.

The Assyrians laid siege to Babylon included new copies of a large number
for three years.The city was taken in 648 of old texts. This remarkable archive has
BCE, and the palace was burned to the been a valuable source of Assyrian history
ground with the viceroy inside. for archaeologists.

Determined to subdue the Elamites End of an empire
once and for all, Ashurbanipal invaded
their territory and attacked the capital, In the last years of Ashurbanipal’s life,
Susa. The city fell in 646 BCE, after civil war broke out between his twin
which the Assyrians totally destroyed it sons.The weakened empire was not able
and annexed the whole state.This victo- to withstand an onslaught from the
ry was to be the Assyrians’ last great Medes, who captured the city of Ashur
military success; thereafter, the empire in 614 BCE. With the help of the
went into rapid decline. Babylonians, the Medes took Nineveh in
612 BCE and razed it to the ground.The
Ashurbanipal was a man of many tal- Assyrian army, under the last Assyrian
ents. Besides being an able military com- king, Ashur-uballit II (ruled 612–609
mander and an enthusiastic hunter of big BCE), fled to Harran in the west. When
game, he was a mathematician and scien- the Assyrian army was finally defeated at
tist and was able to read both Sumerian Harran in 609 BCE, the defeat marked
and Akkadian. At his palace at Nineveh, the end of the Assyrian Empire.
he founded a library in which several
copies of the more important works See also:
were kept. The library consisted of The Babylonians (page 62)
approximately 25,000 clay tablets, which

115

THE
ISRAELITES

TIME LINE The Israelites were a Semitic people who lived in the eastern
Mediterranean region. The stories contained in the Old
c. 3000 BCE Testament of the Bible are an important source of information
Semitic speakers about the Israelites’ history.
begin to settle on
eastern coast of The Israelites of the Bible were descend- makes up modern Lebanon. Around that
Mediterranean. ed from pastoral nomads, originally time, the eastern Mediterranean coast
from Arabia, who from around 3000 and Egypt came under repeated attacks
c. 1800 BCE BCE onwards settled in Mesopotamia, from armed raiders who were known to
Abraham, ancestor along the eastern coast of the the Egyptians as the Sea Peoples—
of Israelites, Mediterranean Sea, and in the delta of because they came by boat. Among the
believed to have the Nile River. These nomads were raiders were the Philistines, who may
lived in Ur Semites, speakers of Semitic languages, have come from Crete. The Philistines
around this such as Hebrew and Arabic. proved to be persistent enemies of the
time. He leaves Israelites. In biblical accounts, the
Ur to settle in In southern Mesopotamia, Semitic Philistines are presented as boorish and
Canaan. nomads settled alongside the Sumerians uncultured, although there is no historical
and later established the Akkadian evidence that they lacked artistic ability or
c. 1600 BCE dynasty—founded by Sargon of Akkad interest.The Philistines gave their name to
Some Hebrew around 2300 BCE. The Akkadians con- the much-contested land of Palestine.
tribes migrate quered a string of prominent city-states
to Egypt including Ur and Umma. In Syria, From the 12th century BCE to the
around this Semitic groups established powerful ninth century BCE, the Phoenicians,
time. kingdoms at Ebla and Mari. descendants of earlier Semitic occupants
of Canaan, rose to prominence in this
c. 1000 BCE The land of Canaan coastal area of Canaan.They established a
King David makes wide commercial empire, with trading
Jerusalem capital Another Semitic group settled along the posts as far afield as Spain and northern
of Kingdom of eastern shores of the Mediterranean.The Africa.They were brilliant navigators and
Israel. long strip of largely fertile land that expert boatbuilders. In 814 BCE, they
stretched from southern Anatolia south- founded the great ancient city of
c. 950 BCE ward to the border with Egypt is known Carthage in northern Africa.The city
Construction begins in the Bible as Canaan. Much of Old became one of the most important trad-
on Temple of Testament history records strife between ing powers of the Mediterranean region.
Jerusalem. the Canaanites (the earliest Semitic
inhabitants of Canaan) and later arrivals, This mosaic from the Basilica of San Marco
c. 722 BCE who included the Israelites’ ancestors,
Northern Kingdom the Hebrews. in Venice depicts the head of Solomon, king
of Israel conquered
by Assyrians. By the 12th century BCE, the of the Israelites. He is most famous for
Canaanites’ kingdom was reduced to the
c. 586 BCE narrow piece of coastal territory that building the temple in Jerusalem.The mosaic
Jerusalem
captured by was created in the 14th century CE.
Babylonians.

116



ANCIENT EGYPT AND THE NEAR EAST

THE KINGDOM OF DAVID AND SOLOMON

CYPRUS

Byblos

Sidon CANAAN SYRIA
Tyre Damascus

Mediterranean Sea

Samaria Shechem

KEY ISRAEL

Area under Ashdod Ekron Jerusalem
direct rule
(c. 1000–928 BCE) Ashkelon Gath

Vassal states Gaza Hebron
(c. 1000–928 BCE)
EGYPT
Canaanite enclaves
conquered by
David

Area ceded to
Tyre by Solomon

The origins of the Israelites The earliest historical reference to
the Hebrews (under the name Hapiru) is
Out of the many Semitic nomads, one found in the so-called Mari tablets. Made
group—the Hebrews—later came to be around 1800 BCE, these clay records
known as the Israelites. According to the were found in the remains of the
Bible, both Semites and Hebrews were palace of King Zimrilim at Mari, a
named after ancestors—the Semites Mesopotamian city on the Euphrates
because they could all trace their ances- River (now Tall al-Hariri in Syria). The
try back to Shem, eldest son of Noah, earliest historical reference to Israel and
who built the Ark and survived the Great the Israelites comes much later, around
Flood; the Hebrews because they were 1209 BCE, in the Merneptah stele—a
all descended from Heber, one of Shem’s carved stone column recording the
great-grandsons.

118

THE ISRAELITES

achievements of an ancient Egyptian
pharaoh, Merneptah, who ruled between
1213 and 1203 BCE. The stele gives an
account of Merneptah’s victory in battle
over Libyan troops and the armies of the
Sea Peoples, and it mentions his defeat in
western Canaan of forces from Ashkelon,
Gezer, Yanoam, and Israel. It declares:
“Canaan is taken prisoner and in despair.
Ashkelon is defeated, Gezer taken,
Yanoam reduced to nothing; Israel also is
brought to ruin, its people slain.”

Almost all knowledge of the
Israelites’ earliest history and first migra-
tions comes from the Book of Genesis—
the first book of the Hebrew Bible and
of the Old Testament in the Christian
Bible.This biblical account identifies one
man, Abraham (originally called Abram),
as the ancestor from whom all the
Israelites were descended and as the
founder of their religion, Judaism.

Abram’s journey to Canaan departed to Canaan. His party made its The victory stele of
first encampment in Canaan at Shechem. Merneptah (an
According to the Bible, Abram lived in Genesis adds: “And the Canaanites were Egyptian pharaoh)
the city of Ur on the lower reaches then in the land.” contains the earliest
of the Euphrates River in southern recorded mention
Mesopotamia, probably around 1800 God promised the land of Canaan to of the Israelites. It
BCE. Located on the same site as Abram’s descendants, but Abram was was made around
modern Tall al-Muqayyar, around childless; his wife Sarai was unable to 1209 BCE.
200 miles (300 km) southeast of Baghdad bear children. Initially, Abram adopted a
in Iraq, Ur was one of Sumer’s major manservant, Eliezer, as his heir. Then,
city-states, an important cultural and Sarai gave Abram her maidservant, a
commercial center. young Egyptian woman named Hagar.
Abram and Hagar had a son, Ishmael.
Abram, according to the account in Subsequently, God declared his intention
Genesis, initially left Ur in the company
of his wife Sarai (later called Sarah), his
nephew Lot, and his father Terah and
traveled as far as Harran, which was an
ancient pilgrimage site for devotees of
the Sumerian moon god Nanna and is
now located in southeast Turkey. After
staying at Haran for some time, and fol-
lowing the death of Terah, Abram was
visited by God (the single god,Yahweh,
later worshipped by the Israelites) and
instructed to journey to a new land and
found a great nation. Abram obeyed and

119

ANCIENT EGYPT AND THE NEAR EAST

The Sacrifice of to make Abram the “father of many Israel’s ties with Egypt
Isaac, painted in nations” and again agreed an “everlasting
1604 CE by covenant” with him to give Abram and The biblical account of the history of the
Caravaggio, depicts his descendants the land of Canaan. God Israelites continues with a description of
the moment when declared that Abram should be known as how Isaac’s son Jacob tricked his twin
an angel sent by Abraham and Sarai as Sarah and prom- brother Esau out of his birthright and
God prevents ised that Sarah would bear Abraham a fled to his uncle, Laban, back at Harran.
Abraham from son. It would be with this child that God Jacob married Laban’s daughters, Leah
sacrificing his would keep his covenant. and Rachel.They and their servants bore
son Isaac. Jacob the 12 sons who traditionally
Sarah’s son, Isaac, was the father of established the twelve tribes of Israel.
Jacob, who is celebrated in Judaism as the Jacob and his extended family subse-
forefather of the Jews. Hagar’s son, quently left Harran and returned to
Ishmael, on the other hand, is celebrated Canaan. On the way, after a nocturnal
in Islam as the forefather of the Arab encounter with an angel of God, Jacob
peoples. Both Abraham (Ibrahim) and received the new name of Israel. After
Ishmael are viewed as prophets. some time in Canaan, Israel, probably

120

THE ISRAELITES

THE TRIBES OF ISRAEL

According to biblical accounts, Jacob (later Subsequently, when Israel divided following
known as Israel) had 13 children (12 boys and a the death of Solomon, the northern Kingdom
girl) by his two wives, Leah and Rachel, and their of Israel, based on Shechem, was founded by
two maidservants, Bilhah (Rachel’s servant) and the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Issachar,
Zilpah (Leah’s servant). Leah bore six sons, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, and
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Ephraim and Manasseh, while the southern
Zebulun, and a daughter, Dinah. Rachel’s sons Kingdom of Judah was founded by the tribes
were Joseph and Benjamin. Bilhah’s sons were of Judah and Benjamin.When the northern
Dan and Naphtali, while Zilpah’s sons were kingdom was conquered by Assyria in 722 BCE,
Gad and Asher. those tribes were driven into exile in Khorasan
(a region of northern Persia) and thereafter
The descendants of the 12 sons of Jacob later lost to history. In religious and cultural tradition,
formed the 12 Tribes of Israel. Following the they are remembered as the “ten lost tribes
Exodus from Egypt and the entry into the of Israel.” A large number of ethnic and religious
Promised Land, Joshua divided the land of groups have claimed to be their descendants.
Canaan among the tribes. However, the tribe The tribes of Judah and Benjamin (and a few
of Levi did not receive any land because the of the landless priests, the Levi), who in 586
members were hereditary priests. In listings that BCE were driven from Jerusalem into captivity
record land apportioned to the tribes, the tribe in Babylon, later returned to reestablish their
of Levi does not appear and the tribe of Joseph kingdom and rebuild their temple in Jerusalem.
is replaced by two tribes, those of his sons They are believed to be the ancestors of all
Ephraim and Manasseh. modern Jews.

fleeing famine, left with his extended Exodus
family for the fertile soil of the Nile
Delta in Egypt, where his descendants, The children of Israel were led out of
“the children of Israel,” remained for captivity in Egypt by a great religious
many centuries. and political leader named Moses. The
Old Testament account of their escape
Many historians believe that the sto- details the Ten Plagues that afflicted
ries of Jacob’s travels are rooted in the Egypt, the Passover of the Angel of God
early history of the Israelites. These his- that spared first-born Hebrew children,
torians agree that some of the Hebrew 40 years of wandering the desert, and the
tribes migrated to Egypt, probably dur- handing down at Mount Sinai of God’s
ing the mid-17th to the mid-16th cen- Ten Commandments (see box, page
turies BCE. During this period, the 122). These events are presented as key
Semitic Hyksos kings (probably from elements in the formation of the
Canaan) conquered the northernmost Israelites’ national and religious identity.
part of Egypt. However, when the The date of the Exodus or escape from
Hyksos rulers were deposed in the 16th Egypt is not certain, but many scholars
century BCE, the Hebrews were perse- believe that it took place in the 13th
cuted and treated as slaves. century BCE, during the reign of

121

ANCIENT EGYPT AND THE NEAR EAST

MOSES AND THE HEBREWS’ EXODUS FROM EGYPT

A ccording to the Old Testament Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt, while the
books of Exodus and pursuing Egyptian army is drowned in the Red Sea.
Deuteronomy, Moses—the man The biblical story of the Israelites’ journey is
who led the Hebrews out of captiv- probably based on fact.
ity in Egypt—was born to Hebrew
parents in Goshen, Egypt. His moth- their nomadic and Semitic roots and their gradual
er put Moses in a basket made of abandonment of Egyptian practices.
papyrus and floated it on the river
to save him from the pharaoh’s When the Israelites reached Mount Sinai, Moses
order to put all male Hebrew communed with God on the mountaintop for a
infants to death.The pharaoh’s long period, during which God handed down the
daughter found and raised Moses, Ten Commandments. Above all else, the com-
and he rose to a position of promi- mandments firmly established the concept of
nence in the Egyptian government. monotheism, for they began with the command: “I
However, when he saw an Egyptian am the Lord thy God, who has brought you out
overseer beat a Hebrew, Moses of the land of Egypt....You shall have no other
killed the boorish overseer in a fit gods but me.”
of rage and fled into the Sinai
Desert to escape retribution. Moses
lived there for some time with
Semitic nomads and had his first
visions of Yahweh, the God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.Yahweh
appeared to Moses in a burning
bush and commanded him to return
to Egypt and lead his people to freedom.

The pharaoh refused to allow the captive
Israelites to leave, so God sent a series of plagues
to Egypt. As the last of these plagues, God killed
the first-born children in Egypt, saving only those
belonging to the Israelites who had marked their
doors with lambs’ blood.This event is the origin
of the Jewish festival of Passover.

Moses, pursued by the pharaoh’s army, led the
Israelites out from Egypt, God parted the Red Sea
to let the Israelites pass and then allowed the
waters to break over and drown the Egyptian
pursuers. Afterward, the Israelites wandered in
the desert for 40 years.This section of the narra-
tive may represent the Israelites’ rediscovery of

122

THE ISRAELITES

Ramses II (1279–1213 BCE) or the easily enough to communicate with
reign of his son and successor each other. Religion became a
Merneptah (1213–1204 BCE). point of conflict, however. It is
By this date, the children of clear from biblical accounts that
Israel had been in Egypt for the Israelite settlers did not
around 300 to 400 years. always keep to their tribal
faith—the worship ofYahweh,
Moses led his people out God of Abraham—and were
of Egypt and through the attracted to local pagan cults.
desert wilderness of northern The main deities worshipped
Egypt and into Jordan. He in Canaan at this time were
saw Canaan from the top of the rain and fertility god Baal
Mount Pisgah but died with- and Ishtar, a goddess of war
out reaching the Promised and sexual love.
Land. Before his death,
Moses turned leadership of Shiloh
the people over to a warrior
named Joshua. The Israelites The Israelites set up a sanctu-
remained in what is now ary to Yahweh at Shiloh that
Jordan for some years, on contained the Ark of the
the eastern bank of the river Covenant.Also referred to as
of the same name, but in the Ark of the Law, the Ark
time, they began to cross of the Testimony, or the
over into Canaan, the place
described to them in Egypt Ark of God, this wooden
as “a land flowing with milk chest was, according to
and honey.” biblical accounts, 2.5 cubits
(3 feet, 9 inches; 1.15 m)
Religious strife This limestone stele long and 1.5 cubits (2
carries a depiction feet, 3 inches; 0.7 m) wide
In Canaan, the Israel- of the god Baal. and high. The Israelites
ites encountered Semitic It was found in took it with them on
tribes and isolated groups the city of Ugarit military campaigns and
of Hittites, a people who in Canaan. carried it into battle on
had founded an empire poles. The Ark was said
in the region in the 17th to contain both a pot of
century BCE but whose manna (the food that God
power was now dwindling. sent to feed the Israelites
According to the biblical in the desert after their
account, God had ordered escape from Egypt) and
the eradication of the peo- the stone tablets on which
ple of Canaan. Some settlers the Ten Commandments
burned towns and villages and were carved.
slaughtered the inhabitants, but more To many Israelites, Yahweh took on
often than not, this occupation was the aspects of a god of war. In addition to
peaceful—and the native populace was the sanctuary at Shiloh, the Israelites
left alone to coexist peacefully with worshipped Yahweh at Bethel, Gilgal,
the Israelites. Mizpah, and Hebron. The Canaanites
built sanctuaries to Baal and Ishtar beside
The Israelites and Canaanites spoke the Israelite sanctuaries.
related Semitic languages and were able

123

ANCIENT EGYPT AND THE NEAR EAST

The first king of Israel the transition to a strong monarchy was
achieved with great difficulty. Saul had to
For more than a century, the Israelites contend with opposition from within his
lived in Canaan without a common fledgling kingdom as well as from Israel’s
leader, but then the Canaanites and enemies, but he largely succeeded in his
Hittites joined forces to combat a new most important task, that of defending
enemy (the Philistines), and the Israelites Israel. Saul drove the Philistines back
had to organize themselves as a unified toward the coast and defeated the
power. The Philistines, one of the Sea Amalekites, although his reign ended
Peoples described in Egyptian docu- with a defeat at the hands of the resur-
ments of the period, ransacked towns gent Philistines on the plains of Gilboa.
along the eastern Mediterranean coast.
At first, the Philistines occupied only five David and Solomon
coastal towns (Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod,
Ekron, and Gath), but before long, they Saul’s successor, David, expanded the
began to drive the Israelites and the Kingdom of Israel as far as the Red Sea
Canaanites farther and farther inland. and the Euphrates River. David also
established Jerusalem as the capital of the
The Israelites gradually made the Israelites. This ancient settlement in the
difficult transition from tribal organiza- arid mountains of Judaea, 35 miles
tion under chiefs or judges to the estab- (56 km) east of the Mediterranean and
lishment of a single monarchy. The first 15 miles (24 km) to the west of the
king of Israel was Saul, who reigned from Dead Sea, was founded around 3000
around 1021 to 1000 BCE.According to BCE. It was a possession of the Egyptians
biblical accounts, Saul was chosen as king around 1800 BCE, and in the Amarna
by the seer Samuel and then acclaimed Letters, a collection of Egyptian diplo-
by the people after winning a great vic- matic correspondence from around 1400
tory over the Ammonites. Control of the BCE, it was called Uru-Salem (meaning
tribal chiefs had always been limited, and

This 17th-century-
CE engraving by
Merian Matthäus
the Elder depicts the
return of the Ark of
the Covenant.The
Ark was said to
contain the stone
tablets on which the
Ten Commandments
were written.

124

THE ISRAELITES

(Elat) on the eastern arm of the Red Sea,
conquered in King David’s reign, and
traded with Seba (probably southern
Arabia). The arrangement enabled
Solomon to procure the means to main-
tain a magnificent court during the high-
est point of power and importance for
ancient Israel and its monarchy.

This relief shows “City of Peace”). When David captured Israel and Judah under attack
the Assyrian king the city around 1000 BCE, it was—
Sennacherib laying according to biblical accounts—a strong- After Solomon’s death around 928 BCE,
siege to the city of hold of a Canaanite people called Israel divided into two hostile kingdoms.
Jerusalem. the Jebusites. The main group of the 12 tribes of
Israel, fed up with the extravagance of
David made Jerusalem the center of Solomon, rejected the rule of Solomon’s
the Israelite religion. The city consisted son Rehoboam and established the
of two hills separated by a ravine. Most of northern Kingdom of Israel, with its cap-
the people lived on the western hill, ital at Shechem (soon superseded by
while David established his own royal Samaria) and religious sanctuaries at Dan
quarters on the eastern hill, which and Bethel. The tribes of Judah and
became known as Zion. David intended Benjamin, meanwhile, remained loyal
to build a great temple and palace, but he and established the southern Kingdom of
died before he could bring the plans Judah, with Jerusalem as its capital and
to fruition. However, his son King holy city.
Solomon, using the best Phoenician
architects and craftsmen and the finest Before long, however, Israel and
materials from Lebanon, constructed a Judah came under attack from the rising
superb temple and palace complex in the powers of Assyria and Babylonia. In 722
mid-10th century BCE. BCE, an Assyrian army led by King
Sargon II captured Samaria, by then the
Solomon allied himself with the capital of Israel, and drove thousands of
Phoenician king Hiram of Tyre, who sent the children of Israel into exile. In 701
a merchant fleet to Ophir (possibly mod- BCE, Sennacherib, Sargon’s son and suc-
ern Arabia) every three years. Hiram sent cessor, led Assyrian armies against the
sailors and shipbuilders, while Solomon southern Kingdom of Judah. After many
provided the harbor of Ezion-Geber brutal victories, Sennacherib besieged
Jerusalem but failed to capture it.

The respite for the people of
Judah was relatively brief. A little more
than a century later, in 586 BCE,
Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon,
captured Jerusalem, destroying the city
and razing the Temple of Solomon to
the ground.

See also:

The Assyrians (page 102) • Egypt’s New

Kingdom (page 28) • The Phoenicians

(page 90)

125

THE
PERSIANS

TIME LINE The Persian Empire flourished from the late seventh century
BCE until the late fourth century BCE. The empire reached
612 BCE the height of its power during the reigns of Cyrus the Great and his
successors Cambyses II, Darius I, and Xerxes.
Median king
Cyaxares joins forces The Persians were originally a nomadic stayed on the plateau; another group—
with Babylonians to Indo-European people who settled on the Indians—moved on to a region on
capture Assyrian city the Iranian plateau. From the middle of the Indian subcontinent between the
of Nineveh. the sixth century BCE, they embarked Indus and Ganges rivers. Around 700
on a campaign of conquest that enabled BCE, a number of tribes on the plateau
559 BCE them to build an enormous empire, attempted to form a kingdom. These
extending from Egypt and Anatolia in people were the Medes.According to the
Cyrus the Great the west to northwestern India in the Greek historian Herodotus, the first
ascends Persian east. It was the largest empire the world Median king was Deioces. Although the
throne; later had ever known and was to last until 330 accuracy of this account is not certain,
conquers Medes BCE, when it fell to the Macedonian it seems that Deioces established a cap-
to absorb lands king Alexander the Great. ital for the new kingdom at Ekbatana
into new Persian (present-day Hamadan).
Empire. The heartland of this great empire
was a vast plateau in southwestern Asia A later Median king, Phraortes, ruled
529 BCE surrounded by volcanic mountain ranges from around 675 to 653 BCE. Leading
interspersed with some lowlands. an army of Median tribes, all carrying
Cambyses II defeats Sometime during the third millennium only a long spear and a wicker shield,
Egyptian pharaoh BCE, a hardy people, along with their Phraortes braved the might of the
at Pelusium; Egypt horses and sheep, spread from the grass- Assyrians, meeting them in a battle in
comes under lands of central Asia to settle on this 653 BCE. However, the Medes were
Persian rule. plateau between the Persian Gulf and the defeated and Phraortes was slain. He was
Caspian Sea. They called themselves succeeded by his son Cyaxares, who
521 BCE Aryans, or Irani, and they called their modernized the army and added bows
new homeland Irania (present-day Iran). and arrows to its arsenal of weapons.
Darius I takes These people later came to be called Cyaxares succeeded in banishing a
Persian throne; Persians because of a mistake made by northern nomadic people known as the
reorganizes empire the Greeks, who named them after the Scythians, who had invaded Median ter-
and embarks on province of Parsa. ritory in his father’s reign, and in 612
campaigns of BCE, with the help of the Babylonians,
territorial The Medes Cyaxares captured Nineveh, the Assyrian
expansion. capital. The city was thoroughly de-
These Indo-European people gradually stroyed and never rebuilt. The loss of
c. 490 BCE abandoned their nomadic lifestyle and Nineveh marked the beginning of the
settled down as farmers and cattle downfall of the Assyrian Empire.
Persian forces herders. One group—the Persians—
defeated by Greeks
at Battle of
Marathon.

c. 330 BCE

Persian Empire
falls to forces
of Alexander
the Great.

126

THE PERSIANS

The last Median king was Astyages, Cyrus the Great This relief from
son of Cyaxares. Astyages inherited a around the sixth
large kingdom from his father, including Cyrus II was descended from the Persian century BCE depicts
the vassal kingdoms of the Persians. king Achaemenes, and for this reason, the two sphinxes,
Despite his long reign from 585 to 550 Persian dynasty he was to found was animals that are
BCE, Astyages, preferring a life of luxu- called the Achaemenids. Cyrus was commonly seen
ry, did little to consolidate his empire. He ambitious to restore the fortunes of the in art from the
did, however, marry his daughter to the Persians, and soon after he became king, Persian Empire.
Persian king, Cambyses I. In 559 BCE, he united several Persian and Iranian
that couple’s son became the Persian tribes and led a revolt against Astyages.
vassal king Cyrus II. An army with Astyages at its head set out
to quell the rebellion, but when the army

127

ANCIENT EGYPT AND THE NEAR EAST

reached the capital of Parsa, the generals the walls. The city was taken, and
mutinied and handed Astyages over to Croesus was captured. Cyrus put Croesus
Cyrus. In 550 BCE, the triumphant to death and annexed Lydia and the
Persians captured Ekbatana and seized its Greek coastal cities of Ionia that had pre-
treasury of gold and silver. viously been subject to Lydia.

The Persians under Cyrus had routed Turning east, Cyrus set his sights on
the Medes, and the vanquished Median Babylon. A successful campaign through
Empire now became the Persian the Iranian lands had not only doubled
Empire. However, the Persians did not the size of his empire but also swelled the
wreak vengeance upon the Median ranks of his army with soldiers drawn
people. Under Persian rule, Medes from the defeated regions. His march on
were often appointed to high official Babylon was largely unopposed, since the
positions and even given commands in country was suffering from the weak rule
the Persian army. of the scholarly King Nabonidus. Famine
threatened the peasants, and the popula-
Conquest of Lydia tion was looking for someone to deliver
it from its predicament. Cyrus reached
In the far west of Anatolia, King Croesus Babylon in October of 539 BCE and
of Lydia heard of the fall of the Median took the city without a battle.
Empire and took the opportunity to
invade former Median territory with the Cyrus was in possession of the whole
hope of extending his own kingdom. Babylonian Empire, which included
Legend has it that Croesus consulted the Syria and Palestine. He proved himself to
oracle at Delphi in Greece before setting be a benevolent ruler and was soon pop-
out on his campaign. In answer to his ular with the Babylonians. He rebuilt the
question about whether it was wise to go ruined temples and restored statues of
to war, Croesus was told that if he the gods (which had been removed by
crossed the Halys River (the border with Nabonidus) to their rightful places.
the former Median Empire) to engage Cyrus also decreed that the Jews, who
with the Persians, an empire would fall. had been exiled to Babylon from
Unfortunately, he did not realize that the Palestine, were free to return home and
doomed empire was his own. that the temple in Jerusalem (which had
been destroyed by the Babylonian kings)
Eager to defend the borders of his should be rebuilt and its gold and silver
new empire (and probably eager also to utensils should be restored.
capture Croesus’s immense treasury of
gold), Cyrus drove Croesus back across Cyrus established his capital city at
the Halys River and pushed on into Pasargadae, in the southern part of Iran.
Lydia. On a small plain near the Lydian His palace there was set in a park and
capital of Sardis, Cyrus’s army was con- contained a great hall fronted by an
fronted by a troop of Lydian cavalry impressive porch consisting of two rows
armed with spears. Taking the advice of of 20 wooden columns, each 20 feet
his general, Cyrus brought to the front (6 m) high. The park later contained
the camels that were carrying the army’s his tomb, which was constructed from
baggage.The enemy horses took fright at huge blocks of white limestone and bore
the camels’ horrible smell, turned tail, the inscription “Here I lie, Cyrus, king
and bolted. Cyrus forced the remnants of of kings.” The last years of Cyrus’s
the Lydian army back into Sardis and reign were spent defending his eastern
then laid siege to the city. After two frontier, where he was killed in battle in
weeks, his engineers succeeded in scaling 529 BCE.

128

THE PERSIANS

THE GROWTH OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE

Black Sea Caspian Sea BACTRIA

Plataea ANATOLIA

Marathon LYDIA
Salamis

Sardis MEDIA PARTHIA
Nineveh
SYRIA
Mediterranean Sea
Tyre
JerusalemPALESTINE Susa Pasargadae
Pelusium Babylon Persepolis

Memphis PERSIA

Persian Gulf
Red Sea
EGYPT

NUBIA KEY

Battles against Egypt crossed the Sinai Desert and defeated Persia on the
the Egyptian pharaoh at Pelusium. accession of Cyrus
Cyrus was succeeded by his son Continuing into Egypt, Cambyses took II (559 BCE)
Cambyses II (ruled 529–522 BCE). At Memphis and then marched up the Nile
the time of Cyrus’s death, Cambyses was as far as Ethiopia. Area conquered
the regent in Babylon. On acceding to by Cyrus II
the Persian throne, Cambyses immedi- The whole of Egypt was then under (559–550 BCE)
ately made plans to attack Egypt and add Persian rule, although life at the grass-
it to his territories. In 525 BCE, he roots level went on much as before. Area conquered
by Cyrus II
(550–529 BCE)

Area conquered
by Cambyses II
(529–522 BCE)

Area conquered
by Darius I
(521–486 BCE)

Vassal state

Major battle

129

ANCIENT EGYPT AND THE NEAR EAST

The palace of Cambyses honored the Egyptian gods After almost two years of civil strife all
Cyrus the Great and restored their temples, although over the empire, Darius finally succeeded
at Pasargadae. he did substantially reduce the revenues in quelling all opposition and took the
Pasargadae was the allotted to the temples. This reduction Persian throne as Darius I. On the
first capital of the of the temple revenues may have Behistun Inscription (see box, page 137)
Persian Empire. earned Cambyses his reputation as a Darius claimed his right to rule through
harsh ruler. his descent from princes of the royal
blood. Darius also claimed that Cambyses
In 522 BCE, Cambyses learned that had slain Bardiya before going to Egypt
his brother Bardiya had seized control of and that it was an imposter, Gaumatan,
the empire. Cambyses hastily set out back who had rebelled in Bardiya’s name.
to Persia to quell this revolt, but he died
on the way. It was left to a young prince The first imperative for Darius on
of the Achaemenid line, Darius, to put ascending the throne was to restore order
down the rebellion and claim the empire in a war-torn empire. Darius was an able
for himself. administrator, and he set about restoring
and strengthening the system of satrapies
The reign of Darius I (provinces) that had been instituted by
Cyrus II.The empire was divided into 20
At the beginning of 522 BCE, Darius satrapies, each a vast territory ruled over
(ruled 521–486 BCE) was 28 years of age by a satrap (governor) who was directly
and, according to the Greek historian responsible to the king. Each province
Herodotus, one of the king’s spear-bear- also had a military commander who took
ers in Egypt. It seems likely that as soon instructions directly from the king,
as Cambyses died, Darius left the army thereby ensuring military supervision
and hastened back to Media to join with of the whole empire. In addition,
a party of nobles to usurp the usurper.

THE PERSIANS

This frieze shows
how soldiers would
have dressed during
the reign of Darius I.
The frieze originally
adorned the walls of
the king’s palace.

THE PERSIAN ARMY

The Persian army of the sixth and fifth centuries Immortals was richly decorated with gold, and
BCE was, at that time, the most massive army each soldier carried a spear, a bow, and a quiver
that had ever existed. At one point in time, the of arrows.The members of this privileged regi-
army is said to have comprised more than a mil- ment were allowed to take servants and concu-
lion soldiers, although such claims are probably bines along on campaigns.
exaggerated. All subjugated people had to supply
troops to Persia, which resulted in an army that The provinces all had to supply their own
consisted of groups of foreign soldiers who contingents of troops, which were divided into
each had trained to fight with different weapons squads, companies, regiments, and brigades that
and with different strategies. consisted of ten, one hundred, one thousand,
and ten thousand troops respectively.
The king had three units of royal troops, each Altogether, the army of Xerxes had six corps,
consisting of 2,000 horsemen and 2,000 infantry, each under its own corps commander. Many of
and an elite regiment of 10,000 soldiers called the provinces also supplied cavalry and chario-
the Immortals.These Immortals were the king’s teers, while the maritime provinces supplied
personal bodyguard, and their number never fell ships and oarsmen for the redoubtable Persian
below 10,000; there was always a replacement navy.The Persian army on the move was a truly
ready to step into the shoes of any Immortal formidable sight, calculated to inspire terror in
who became ill or died.The uniform of the the hearts of all who saw it.

131

ANCIENT EGYPT AND THE NEAR EAST

Darius established a secret service, called improvement carried out by Darius was
“the king’s eyes and ears,” which consist- to establish a uniform system of coinage
ed of messengers who inspected each throughout the empire, which, together
province annually and reported back to with standardized weights and measures,
the king. greatly simplified the process of collect-
ing taxes.
Darius also instituted a new legal sys-
tem to be imposed on the whole empire. Territorial expansion
In each province, there were to be two
courts. One court would hear cases relat- With his empire more or less under con-
ing to local laws.The other court would trol, Darius turned his attention to fur-
deal with cases that came under Persian ther expansion. A campaign to the east
imperial jurisdiction.The tax system was secured new territories right up to the
also revised by Darius. While Persians Indus River. Another campaign in 516
were only required to pay taxes in times BCE against the Scythians north of the
of national emergency, each province had Black Sea was not so successful, and
to pay a fixed annual amount of money Darius was forced to withdraw. A rebel-
and goods to the king’s treasury. Because lion by the Greek cities in Ionia in 500
of the different harvest sizes in the vari- BCE had to be suppressed, and after that,
ous provinces, surveyors were sent out to Darius set his sights on the Greek
estimate the yield in each province, and mainland. At first, Darius met with some
taxes were assessed accordingly. Another success. However, he was thoroughly

The tomb of the defeated at the Battle of
Persian king Cyrus Marathon in 490 BCE. A
the Great is located revolt in Egypt fol-
in Pasargadae (in lowed, but just as
southern Iran), which Darius was pre-
was the location of paring to move
Cyrus’s palace when
he was alive.

132

THE PERSIANS

to quell the latest rebellion, he died at the This relief sculpture rat were demolished, together with many
age of 64, leaving his son and successor, of an unidentified other temples. The golden statue of the
Xerxes, to crush the Egyptians. man was found at god Marduk was removed and melted
Persepolis and dates down, while all the citizens of Babylon
Xerxes to the reign of saw their possessions confiscated and
Darius I. handed over to the Persians.The policies
In contrast to his predecessor, Xerxes of Xerxes were in complete contrast to
(ruled 486–465 BCE) proved himself to those of earlier Persian kings, who had
be a heavy-handed ruler of Egypt. been tolerant of local gods and religions
Ignoring the usual forms of Egyptian and who had even rebuilt the local tem-
rule, he imposed Persian law, riding ples on occasion.
roughshod over local sensibilities. Xerxes
proved equally ruthless when the In 480 BCE, Xerxes invaded Greece
Babylonians rebelled against Persian rule with an army of 70,000 men.At first, the
in 482 BCE. After the city of Babylon campaign went well, and Athens was
was retaken, the fortifications and ziggu- captured. However, in a great sea battle at
Salamis, the Persians were defeated and
lost a third of their fleet. When the
Persians were subsequently beaten, this
time on land, at the Battle of Plataea in
479 BCE, the campaign petered out, and
Xerxes lost interest in any further
attempts to expand his empire.

After Xerxes was assassinated in 465
BCE, a century of rebellion and civil
war ensued. Various members of the
Achaemenid royal house at times gained
power and at others plotted against each
other. During this period, the empire
inevitably suffered; it was never again to
know the firm direction it had enjoyed
under Darius. Despite its military weak-
ness, Persia did play a significant
diplomatic role in the Peloponnesian
Wars, which involved Athens and Sparta.
Persia supplied first one side and then the
other with financial aid in return for
political concessions.

The coming of Alexander

When Darius III succeeded to the
throne in 336 BCE, he found himself
under threat from the might of
Alexander the Great of Macedonia, who
had already conquered Greece and was
eager to extend his empire. Alexander
marched on Persia, winning three battles
before capturing the capital, Persepolis,
in 330 BCE. In triumph, Alexander held

133

ANCIENT EGYPT AND THE NEAR EAST

PERSEPOLIS

Work on the great city of Persepolis was supporting the timber beams that held up the
started by Darius I and completed by his roof. South of the Apadana were the many private
son Xerxes. Darius intended the city to be the royal apartments, including a harem.
capital of the Persian Empire, reflecting both its
might and wealth. He also wanted a luxurious The palace housed many ceremonial gates and
royal residence fit for an all-powerful king. Darius stairways, all decorated with elaborate stone
chose a site a few miles southwest of Pasargadae, carvings, which were carried out by an army
the old capital of Cyrus the Great.Work started of stone carvers, wood carvers, goldsmiths,
on the fortifications sometime around 500 BCE. silversmiths, and other artists. Almost every
A great perimeter wall was constructed on a stone surface carried a carved relief.These
natural platform at the base of the Mount of magnificent examples of Persian art are nowhere
Mercy.The wall consisted of huge limestone seen to better effect than in the Apadana, where
blocks topped by mud bricks, bringing the total there were scenes of palms and cypresses, lions
height in places to 60 feet (18.2 m). and bulls, culminating in the depiction of a great
procession of nobles, courtiers, soldiers, and
The royal palace was situated on the west side of representatives of the subject peoples advancing
the citadel.The palace included a large reception to greet their king.
hall, called the Apadana, which featured imposing
columns of stone up to 65 feet (20 m) high.The On the east side of the citadel, Xerxes built
columns were topped with ornate capitals a vast throne room that had 10 rows of
columns with 10 columns in each row, giving rise
The remains of the palace of Darius at Persepolis. to its modern name, the Hall of a Hundred
Much of the palace was destroyed by fire on the Columns.The hall was entered through a porch
orders of Alexander the Great. on the north side.The porch was held up by 16

columns, each decorated
at the top by a bull with a
human head.The eight
doorways into the hall
were all decorated
with reliefs.

This palace complex was
sacked by Alexander the
Great in 330 BCE, and
the buildings were put to
the torch. According to
some sources, Alexander’s
order to burn the palace
was given while he was
drunk at a feast and
being urged on by his
fellow revelers.

134

THE PERSIANS

The remains of a great feast in the palace at Persepolis— Wisdom). The prophet’s name was
the city of and the next morning burned it to the Zoroaster (or Zarathustra), and the reli-
Persepolis, which ground. Persepolis itself—reputedly the gion he preached was eventually to
was the capital of richest city under the sun—was looted of become the official religion of the
the Persian Empire. its treasures, all the men were put to the Persian Empire.
The city was famous sword, and the women were enslaved. In
throughout the the same year that Persepolis was taken, Zoroaster is believed to have lived for
ancient world Darius was murdered, probably by his around 77 years. The stories told about
for its riches. own followers, and the history of the him testify to his desire to help the poor
Persian Empire was at an end. and unfortunate. In his youth, during
a period of great drought, he is said to
Religion have distributed his father’s stores of food
to the poor. On another occasion, he
The early Persians worshipped a variety tried to save a half-starved dog and its
of gods, many of whom were associated five pups. When he was 20, he left his
with natural phenomena, such as the sun. parents’ house and embarked on a search
However, around 600 BCE, a great for the most just and merciful person he
prophet started expounding the tenets could find. He traveled for seven years,
of a new religion that recognized just and during that time, he began to for-
one god, called Ahura Mazda (Lord of mulate the ideas behind his new religion.

135

ANCIENT EGYPT AND THE NEAR EAST

This bronze harness Zoroaster rejected all but one of the helps his friends.Teach me to think well
ring, discovered in many gods of his day. He chose to wor- and correctly.”
the Luristan region ship Ahura Mazda as the one all-power-
of western Iran, was ful god, the embodiment of good. Ahura Evidently, his prayers were answered.
made between the Mazda’s adversary was Angra Mainyu, After ten years of preaching, Zoroaster
10th and 7th the personification of evil.The world was made his first convert—his cousin
centuries BCE. created, said Zoroaster, in the struggle Maidioman, who became his disciple.
between the two of them. Since then, the Two years later, a local king called
conflict between good and evil, light and Hystaspes also converted and embraced
dark, has been a never-ending battle. the new religion very enthusiastically.
Hystaspes and Zoroaster became close
The prophet struggled for many years friends, and the king converted his entire
to persuade people to relinquish their
beliefs in the old magic cults and adhere court to the new religion. Hystaspes
to his new faith. Even though he was not also undertook military campaigns
very eloquent, he was determined to free with the aim of imposing the
his people from the grip of irrational teachings of Zoroaster on
superstition. “As a priest,” he is recorded neighboring peoples.
as saying, “I will continue to search for Hystaspes was probably
the paths of righteousness and teach the only a minor ruler who had
way to cultivate the earth.” It seems he to pay tribute to the
was persecuted for his teachings, and he nomadic Tartars who were
writes: “To which country shall I flee? his neighbors. Urged on
Where shall I hide?” For a moment, his by his new belief and by
faith seems to waver: “Do not desert me the prophet, Hystaspes waged
Ahura Mazda. Help me as a friend who two successful holy wars against

the Tartars to end this humiliat-
ing situation. The triumphs of
Hystaspes greatly enhanced the rep-
utation of the faith among the
Persian people.
It is believed that Zoroaster was mur-
dered around 550 BCE by fanatic Tartars
or by a hostile religious figure defending
the old faith. In some legends, the
prophet’s death is depicted as a supernat-
ural event; he is said to have been carried
off to heaven by a flash of lightning to
save him from cruel tortures.

The Avesta

Zoroaster’s teachings are preserved in the
Avesta, the sacred books of Zoro-
astrianism. The Avesta was compiled
around 224 CE and is based on the writ-
ings of Zoroaster himself. In it, he
preaches a faith in a benevolent god,
Ahura Mazda, and describes the eternal
conflict between good and evil. The
good spirit battles its opposite spirit,

136

THE PERSIANS

which has chosen evil. The first spirit religion. For every good creation of
works toward unity and creativity, while Ahura Mazda, his enemy Angra Mainyu
the second only seeks to destroy. Human counters with a disaster.
beings, says the prophet, must chose
between the two. If they opt for the side Early migration
of good, they support Ahura Mazda in
his work. Ahura Mazda demands right After describing the 15 other countries,
thinking, honesty, devotion, and health the Avesta retells a legend linked to the
(all manifestations of good) from his fol- emigration of the early Indo-Europeans
lowers. In his youth, Zoroaster was influ- from Persia. Yima, the first Indo-
enced by the cult of fire, which main- European king of a tribal people, takes it
tained that all evil on earth would even- upon himself “to extend the country,”
tually be purified by fire. which is packed with herds, people, and
dogs.After leading three attempts to emi-
According to the writings in the grate, Yima goes south toward the sun
Avesta, the supreme god Ahura Mazda and touches the earth with his dagger
created 16 countries, the first of which and his seal ring, ordering the earth to
was Airyana Vaeja, the cradle of all peo- expand to twice its size: “Open, earth,
ple. Although described as an area with and extend yourself in order to feed
many good features, this country was more people and animals.”
endowed with winter and serpents by
the evil force, Angra Mainyu.The winter According to the Avesta, dogs and
(which was considered to be “the worst cattle were the only domestic animals
of horrors” by Ahura Mazda) lasted for kept by the Persians as they migrated.
10 months, while the summer lasted for Persians held dogs in high esteem and
only 2 months.This duality pervaded the considered them only slightly less devel-
oped than humans—the punishment for

THE BEHISTUN INSCRIPTION

One of the most important sources of informa- The Behistun Inscription is important for more
tion about the reign of the Persian king Darius I than just its content.The text is written three
is an inscription on a rock face in the foothills times, once in Old Persian, once in Elamite, and
of the Zagros Mountains.The text is known as once in Babylonian.The fact that the text was
the Behistun Inscription, from the ancient name the same in all three cases allowed linguists to
of the nearby town of Bisitun.The location of translate these languages for the first time.
the inscription is extremely inaccessible.
. The first person in modern times to attempt
The inscription lists Darius’s ancestors, details to translate the inscription was Sir Henry
his rise to power and his defeat of the imposter Rawlinson, a British soldier and academic who
Gaumata (who had rebelled in Bardiya’s name), began work on the Old Persian inscription in
and gives accounts of Darius’s many victories 1835. He managed a complete translation of
over peoples such as the Babylonians, the the text by 1838. Five years later, Rawlinson
Medes, and the Elamites.The text is accompa- returned to Bisitun to copy the other two
nied by a life-size carving of Darius standing inscriptions, which were gradually translated
with his foot on Gaumata’s chest. during the following years.

137

ANCIENT EGYPT AND THE NEAR EAST

Ahura Mazda was the ill-treatment of dogs and slaves was Lifestyle
the chief god of the the same. The Avesta advises owners to
Zoroastrian religion. feed dogs milk and meat and to punish Herodotus also provided a description of
Rituals involving the the dogs as if they were responsible for the Persians’ lifestyle, saying that they had
worship of Ahura their behavior. After the first attack by a no statues of gods, or temples, or altars
Mazda were often dog, its right ear was to be cut off; after (although archaeological evidence says
performed at the second, its left ear; and so on. otherwise). “They also bring offerings to
outdoor altars.This the god of the sun, the moon, fire, water,
altar is located in Most of the Persian priests belonged and wind,” he continues. “Of all the
southwestern Iran. to the Median tribe and were called feasts, the most important one for the
Magi. The Magi adapted many of Persians is their birthday.” He goes on to
Zoroaster’s teachings and used them for say that after courage, the Persians most
their own purposes. In the Avesta, frag- admire fertility: “Each year the king
ments of Zoroaster’s original teachings sends gifts to the family with the most
are found mingled with age-old tales children.” According to Herodotus, chil-
about the evil spirits of the steppes and dren were taught only three things
detailed descriptions of magicians’ rites. between the ages of 5 and 20—horse-
The Greek historian Herodotus consid- back riding, archery, and telling the
ered many of the Persian rituals to be truth. “The most contemptuous deed is
of Magi origin, including the protection to tell a lie,” Herodotus reports,“and after
of dogs and the funeral practice of that comes getting into debt. The
leaving corpses to be destroyed by Persians never pollute the waters of their
the elements rather than burying or rivers with garbage, and neither do they
cremating them. wash their hands in them.They consider
the rivers to be holy.”

Before the rise of their empire, the
Persians were still a relatively primitive
people. When Croesus of Lydia was
preparing to go to war with the Persians
around 550 BCE, one of his counselors
advised him: “You are going to war
against a people who wear leather pants,
live off dry ground, drink water rather
than wine, and do not know figs. If you
conquer them, you will still own noth-
ing. If they vanquish you they will be
incredibly rich.”

Whatever their reputation, the
Persian lifestyle certainly did not exclude
a love of wine. The alcoholic tendencies
of Cambyses II were legendary, and
Herodotus reports of the Persians: “It is
their custom to discuss business when
they are drunk—but they only make
their decisions the next day, when they
are sober again.”

Despite this dubious press, the Persian
kings were on the whole enlightened
and benevolent rulers. For the most part,

138

THE PERSIANS

when they conquered a territory, they which was called the Royal Road, cov- This statue of a
respected the local customs and gods and ered a distance of 1,550 miles (2,500 km) griffin is located
often employed local people as officials. and linked Sardis in Lydia to the one- at Persepolis, the
Although the regional satrapies had to time Persian capital of Susa. There were capital of the
pay heavy taxes, in return they enjoyed staging posts along all the main routes Persian Empire.
the benefits of the public projects that where travelers could change horses, get
the Persian government carried out a meal, and take some rest.This road net-
throughout the empire. These projects work enabled messengers for the king to
included improving drainage and irriga- travel at great speed, keeping him
tion of agricultural land by constructing informed of events in even the most
a system of underground channels to remote parts of his empire.The network
carry water in desert regions. One vast also enabled relays of messengers on
water project carried out during Darius’s horseback to provide a fast, efficient
reign was the building of a great canal postal service. Herodotus was so
to link the Red Sea with the impressed by these messengers that he
Mediterranean Sea. The journey along wrote of them, “Neither snow, nor rain,
the canal took four days to complete. nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these
couriers from the swift completion of
The Royal Road their appointed rounds.”

The Persians built a great network of See also:
roads that made traveling from one part
of the empire to another relatively The Assyrians (page 102) • The Babylonians
simple. The greatest one of these roads, (page 62)

GLOSSARY

Ahura Mazda Zoroastrian god of light Canaanites Semitic tribes who settled in Euphrates river of western Asia that flows
and truth. Palestine and the western Levant in the from the mountains of western Asia to the
third millennium BCE and mixed with Persian Gulf. Its lower reaches form the
Akhetaton city built by the Egyptian the native population.They maintained western edge of Mesopotamia.
pharaoh Akhenaton to replace the old separate city-states. Around 1200 BCE,
Egyptian capital at Thebes; modern their territory was infiltrated by Israelites Gutians Iranian mountain people who
Amarna, Egypt. and Philistines. invaded the Akkadian Empire repeatedly
between around 2230 and 2100 BCE.
Akkadians Semitic people who cartouche oval frame enclosing the
flourished in the third millennium BCE; hieroglyphs of the name of an Egyptian Heliopolis city of ancient Egypt and site
named after Akkad, the capital of their sovereign. of a great temple to the sun god Re.
empire.
Chaldeans Aramaean people from south- hieroglyphics writing system found in
Amarna Letters archive of clay tablets ern Mesopotamia who caused the fall of inscriptions on Egyptian monuments
written in Babylonian cuneiform script; Assyria in the seventh century BCE. that uses characters in the form of
found at Akhetaton. pictures.
cuneiform writing system with wedge-
Amorites Semitic people who invaded shaped characters that emerged at the end Hittites people who established an empire
Mesopotamia from the north and northwest of the fourth millennium BCE. Cuneiform in western Asia around 2000 BCE and were
beginning around 2000 BCE. writing was used by the Sumerians and the first to base their power on iron pro-
other early civilizations of western Asia. cessing.Their civilization peaked around
Anubis ancient Egyptian god of the dead; 1500 BCE.
depicted as a jackal or as a man with the Damascus ancient capital of a city-state
head of a jackal. in Roman times; conquered variously by Horus Egyptian sun god and son of Osiris;
David of Israel, Assyrian Tiglath-pileser III represented as a falcon.
Aramaeans Semitic people who invaded in 732 BCE, and Alexander the Great in
southern Mesopotamia around 1100 333–332 BCE; part of the Seleucid king- Hurrians tribe from the east that settled in
BCE. dom until taken by Pompey the Great in northern Mesopotamia around 1800 BCE.
64 BCE. Made a Christian bishopric in They founded the Mitanni Empire ruled by
Aryans prehistoric inhabitants of Iran the first century CE, it was taken over a militarily superior Indo-European elite.
and northern India. by Muslims in 635 CE and by Turks in After 1200 BCE, the Hurrians settled in
1056 CE. Damascus was besieged by the Urartu and from there conquered parts of
Assyrians people of northern Christians in 1148 CE. In 1154 CE, it fell Syria and Phoenicia.
Mesopotamia whose independent state, to the Egyptians. It was the headquarters
established in the 14th century BCE, of Saladin during the Third Crusade. Hyksos Asiatic people who settled in
became a major power in the region. Egypt during the 17th century BCE.They
Early Dynastic period era of Egyptian later ruled the kingdom.
ba in ancient Egyptian religion, one of history, also known as the Archaic period,
the three main aspects of the soul, along when the pharaohs developed an effective Inanna Sumerian fertility goddess; daughter
with ka (the sum of a person’s physical system of ruling the whole of Egypt; lasted of Anu (the god of heaven and ruler of the
and intellectual qualities) and akh (the from around 2925 to 2650 BCE. gods).
spirit in the hereafter).
Elam ancient country in western Indo-European languages common family
Babylon major city in southern Asia, roughly equivalent to modern of European and Asiatic (Indian) languages.
Mesopotamia. From 612 to 539 BCE, southwestern Iran.
Babylon was the capital of the Neo- iron metallic element that can be made
Babylonian Empire. ensi governor of a Sumerian city-state; into tools, weapons, and ornaments. Iron
temple king and ruler of the city on behalf was being processed in western Asia by
bronze copper-tin alloy widely used by of the deity and the temple. 3000 BCE.
1700 BCE.
Epic of Gilgamesh ancient poem written in Iron Age period during which major
Bronze Age period during which bronze the Akkadian language.The earliest surviv- tools and weapons were made of iron;
became the most important basic material; ing written version was inscribed in followed the Bronze Age.The Hittites
began around 3500 BCE in western Asia cuneiform script in the seventh century formed the first Iron Age culture around
and around 1900 BCE in Europe. BCE. 1700 BCE.

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GLOSSARY

Ishtar Semitic war goddess who merged Nile world’s longest river; flows north from coastal regions of the eastern Mediterranean
with Inanna and became the goddess of central Africa into Egypt. All of the great Sea at the end of the Bronze Age.
love and fertility. cities of ancient Egypt grew up on its
banks. Semites people residing in northern and
Israelites Semitic tribes who infiltrated southern Mesopotamia.They spoke a dif-
Canaan in the second millennium BCE. Nineveh city of the ancient Assyrian ferent language from the Sumerians and
They probably stayed in Egypt or in the Empire; situated on the east bank of the largely dwelt in rural areas.They founded
border area between around 1650 and Tigris River opposite modern Mosul the Akkadian Empire around 2335 BCE.
1214 BCE. After 1200 BCE, they con- (Iraq).
quered Canaan, according to the Bible. Sidon city on the Phoenician coast that
They lived in a loose alliance of tribes Nubia region in Africa, extending approxi- was a powerful trading center (c. 1400–700
but joined under a king around 1000 mately from the Nile River Valley to the BCE). Phoenicians were often called
BCE. shores of the Red Sea, southward to Sidonians.
Khartoum, and westward to the Libyan
Kush kingdom of southern Egypt; part of Desert. stele standing stone slab used in the
modern Sudan. In the Late period, the ancient world either to mark the site of
Kushites ruled Egypt. Old Kingdom period of Egyptian history a grave or to commemorate a historic
that lasted from around 2650 to 2150 event.
Lagash Sumerian city-state that constituted BCE.
a dominant empire in Mesopotamia in the Sumerians people of Sumer, in
22nd century BCE. Osiris ancient Egyptian god of death and Mesopotamia, the site of the earliest
the underworld. known civilization, which emerged
Late period era, from around 671 BCE, around 3400 BCE.
when Egypt was ruled by a succession of Persepolis important center of the Persian
foreign powers: the Kushites, the Assyrians, kingdom of the Achaemenids. From the Tigris great river of western Asia that flows
the Persians, and finally, in 332 BCE, the reign of Darius, it was also a major royal from the mountains of eastern Turkey to
Greeks under Alexander the Great. citadel with multicolumned halls. Persepolis the Persian Gulf. Its lower reaches form
was destroyed by Alexander the Great. the eastern edge of Mesopotamia.
lugal political leader in the Sumerian city-
states. pharaoh Egyptian king, who also acted as Tyre Phoenician city situated on an island
legislator, military general, and religious off the coast of Lebanon.Tyre was a boom-
Medes Indo-European people who entered leader. Later, he was considered the son of ing trade city from the 10th century BCE
northeastern Iran around the 17th century Re. and founded many colonies, including
BCE. Carthage.
Phoenicia ancient region roughly corre-
Memphis city in Lower (northern) Egypt; sponding to modern Lebanon.Its inhabi- Ugarit trading town in northern Canaan;
residence of the pharaohs during the Old tants, the Phoenicians, were merchants, Semitic city-state from the third millenni-
Kingdom and during the time of the traders, and colonizers of the Mediterranean um BCE. After reaching its height of power
Ramesside kings. region in the first millennium BCE. (c. 1550–1360 BCE), Ugarit was controlled
by the Hittites. It was destroyed by the Sea
Mesopotamia area in western Asia pyramid Egyptian royal tomb with trian- Peoples around 1200 BCE.
between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers; gular sides and a square base. Pyramid con-
location of several of the world’s first struction reached its height between around Ur Sumerian city-state that constituted a
great civilizations, including that of 2600 and 2400 BCE. centralized empire in Mesopotamia from
Sumer. around 2100 to 2000 BCE.
Re Egyptian sun god.The pharaoh was
Middle Kingdom period of Egyptian considered his son and ascended to his Uruk Sumerian city-state in Mesopotamia
history, from around 2150 to 1550 BCE, heavenly empire after death. to the northwest of Ur.The ancient site was
during which unity was restored by the first excavated in 1928 CE.
Theban kings. relief figurative sculpture that projects from
a supporting background, which is usually a Valley of the Kings area on the western
Mitanni Hurrian kingdom that flourished plane surface. bank of the Nile River opposite Thebes.
in northern Mesopotamia from around New Kingdom pharaohs were buried there.
1500 to 1350 BCE. Scythians nomadic people who migrated
from central Asia to the northern coast of vizier high Egyptian administrative official;
mummification method of preserving the Black Sea in the eighth and seventh usually a close relative of the pharaoh.
human remains by embalming. centuries BCE.
ziggurats pyramidal, stepped temple towers
New Kingdom period of Egyptian history Sea Peoples maritime warriors of uncer- built from brick in Mesopotamia between
that lasted from around 1550 to 1075 BCE. tain origin who invaded Egypt and other around 2200 and 500 BCE.

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