Topic Five: The 13th Century Crisis and Aftermath
I. The 13th Century Collapse
A. Between ca. 1250 to 1150 B.C. there is evidence of crisis all over the Mediterranean and the
Middle East
1. The Mycenaean cities are abandoned and their civilization collapses (the Minoans are
already conquered)
2. The Hittite capital of Hattusas is sacked and abandoned; their empire falls
3. The Egyptians are invaded (again) by the “sea-peoples”
a. they repel these invasions, but at great cost
b. the Egyptians chronicle the destruction going on around the Middle East
4. Many of the Canaanite city-states are destroyed, i.e. Ugarit
B. Causes of the collapse are speculative
1. There are waves of migrations from outside the area, the mysterious “sea-peoples”
a. best evidence favor a migration from central and eastern Europe
2. climate change
3. natural disaster
4. the previous two could have weakened the Middle East OR forced the “sea-peoples” to
abandon their homelands and move into the Middle East
C. Results
1. Greek Dark Ages (Topic 6)
2. The “superpowers” withdraw from Canaan, which allows for small kingdoms to develop
there
3. The Assyrians will dominate Mesopotamia
II. Canaan, or Palestine
A. Aramaens, ca. 1100 to 900 B.C.
1. collection of small-city states
2. spoke a Semitic language, adopted the Phoenician alphabet to their language
3. their language and script is adopted by the Hebrews, Persians and Arabs
4. Aramaic becomes the lingua franca of the Middle East until replaced by Greek
B. Syria
1. kingdom, capital at Damascus
2. called themselves Hittites, but were Aramaens (sometimes known as Aram-Damascus)
3. found in the Assyrian records and in the Hebrew Torah
4. little else known about them
C. Phoenicians (name comes from the Greek word for purple), 1200 to 600 B.C.
1. Canaanites speaking a Semitic language
2. city-states, on the coast, where modern Lebanon is
3. main cities are Tyre, Byblos, Sidon
4. commercial power, not military
5. dyed cloth, glass, silk, built ships out of famous Cedars of Lebanon
6. explored as far as Britain and equatorial Africa
7. established colonies in north Africa, Gaul (France), Iberia (Spain)
8. first alphabet, which they gave to everyone, especially the Greeks
D. Philistines
1. Indo-European, “sea-peoples”, establish a coastal kingdom south of Phoenicia
2. give their name to the region, Palestine
3. had iron technology, not only for weapons, but also for food production
4. seem to be more Greek than Mesopotamian, not circumcised
5. our major problem with Philistine history is most of it is recorded in Hebrew sources
a. also in a few Egyptian records
6. almost constant warfare with the Hebrews
7. ca. 730’s overrun by the Assyrians, but population not deported, tribute state
8. when conquered by the Chaldeans, they lose their identity
E. Other States
1. Ammonites
a. in the trans-Jordan Highlands, will become a tribute state of the Hebrew monarchy
2. Moabites
b. also in the trans-Jordan Highlands, also eventually a tribute state of the Hebrew monarchy
3. According to Biblical accounts, both were founded by the sons of Lot, Ammon and Moab
III. Mesopotamia
A. Assyria, Semitic speaking and indigenous to northern Mesopotamia
1. Empire Building
a. Tiglath-Pilessar (1114 to 1077 bc) conquers Phoenicia and Syria, empire has begun
b. Ashurnazirpal II (883 to 859 bc) and Shalmaneser III (858 to 824 bc) conquer Palestine and
the Hebrew kingdom of Israel, then in the other direction, Babylon and southern Mesopotamia
c. By 663 B.C. Ashurbanipal conquers Egypt and sacks Thebes.
d. After Ashurbanipal however, a coalition of Chaldean, Egyptians and Medes form to
overthrow Assyrian rule (the Assyrians are really scary). In 612 B.C., the Assyrian capital of
Nineveh is burned to the ground.
2. Military Culture
a. Upper classes were military commanders
b. military innovations and advances in medicine and science
c. vast road system
d. relocated conquered populations (Hebrews)
e. practiced both psychological and biological warfare, the Assyrians were some seriously
scary people
3. Ashurbanipal, the last great ruler (669 to ca. 631 B.C.)
a. military figure, but also cultured
b. builds a huge library at Nineveh, when the city falls in 612 B.C., the fire “bakes” the
tablets, preserving them forever
B. Chaldeans (or Neo-Babylonians) 612 to 539 B.C.
Semitic speaking peoples with capital at Babylon, tribute state to Assyrians
1. Nabopolassar is the leader who is part of the coalition to defeat the Assyrians
2. Nebuchadnezzar II (605 to 562 B.C.) conquers Phoenicia and Judah, forcing the Hebrew
leaders into exile in Babylon.
a. destroys the Hebrew Temple
b. rebuilds Babylon, it becomes the cultural hub of the Middle East (Hanging Gardens)
3. When Nabonidus becomes king, he replaces Marduk with an Assyrian god, and brings
unrest
a. in 539 B.C. the Chaldeans are conquered by Cyrus of Persia
b. the Chaldeans welcome him, because he restores Marduk as the principle deity
C. Medes 612 to 549 B.C.
1. Entered Mesopotamia during the Bronze Age Collapse, settled in northern Iran
2. after Assyrian domination is over, able to briefly establish control over the various tribes in
the region, scholars question, however, if this constitutes an empire
3. This is an important grain growing region, so important and rich area to control
4. a local tribal leader rose up and overthrew the Median king in 549 B.C.…his name was
Cyrus and his tribe was called Persia.
D. Persia 550 to ca. 330 B.C.
I. The Persians lived in modern day Iran, under the control of the Medes.
A. Religion, was exceedingly important to the Persians and like the Hebrews, was the impetus
for what the Persians did
1. Zoroastrianism, Zarathustra writes down tenets in the Gathas in 11 th or 10th century
a. dualistic, good deity Ahura-Mazda vs. evil deity Ahriman
b. eschatology, epic struggle with an end point
c. other deities involved in this struggle
d. new role for humanity
B. Cyrus (the Great), chief of a minor Persian tribe, devoted to Zoroastrianism
1. Felt that his role was to conquer the world for Zoroastrianism
2. 559 B.C. overthrow Median overlords
3. conquers Lydia, Chaldea (Babylon), and Afghanistan
4. Cambyses conquers Egypt in 525 B.C.
C. Darius is king after Cambyses
1. He solidifies the empire
2. The Ionians Revolt happens during his reign, and the First Persian War
3. Under Darius, the empire is divided into provinces known as satrapies (satrapy)
D. Politics
1. Regional governors called satraps, under the rule of the King of Kings of Persia
2. Excellent road system and a horse and messenger system
3. 4 collection cities for taxes, Persepolis, Susa, Ecbatana, Babylon
4. accommodation of local populations, used them in armies, with Persian officers
5. The Persian Empire will survive until Alexander the Great
IV. The Hebrews
In the context of their time, the Hebrews are not really an important civilization. Other
civilizations barely mention them, and barely take notice of them (except to overrun and
conquer them…i.e. Merneptah Stele of 1209/8 B.C. ). Except for one, they don’t really leave any
meaningful contributions to Western Civilizations…no monuments, no philosophy, no massive
empire building. And yet, arguably, they are the most influential ancient civilization of Middle
East.
A. Hebrew Writing
1. The Hebrews came late to writing, they were for most of their history pastoral nomads
2. While parts of their texts were written during the monarchial period, their major religious
text, the Torah, was not completed until the 6th century.
3. The Torah is part of the Jewish Tanakh and the Christian Old Testament.
4. Important to understand that these writings were for religious purposes and not historical.
B. Canaan and the Age of Patriarchs ca. 1950 to 1500 B.C.
The Hebrews trace their ancestry to a single man, the Patriarch Abraham.
1. Abraham is Semitic. He is chosen specifically by Elohim, and enters into a covenant with
this deity.
2. Abraham takes his family and moves from Ur to Canaan, the land of “milk and honey”.
3. Hebrew society is nomadic, they are pastoralists, they do not want civilization (they just
came from Mesopotamia)
4. We say Hebrew, but they aren’t calling themselves Hebrew. We don’t really know what
they are calling themselves.
5. It is a very exclusive club centered around kinship. It’s also tribal in nature (12 tribes to be
exact).
6. This society, and I use the word society very, very loosely, will last for hundreds of years.
7. The Hebrew (but not really) religion in no way resembles the Mosaic religion of the Jews.
What we can infer is that:
a. Elohim is bisexual (both male/female, and plural)
b. he/she/it is a creator deity…in some editions of Genesis, he/she/it has labor pains
c. this is an animistic religion
d. Elohim makes absurd demands, can be cruel, capricious and arbitrary (just like a
Mesopotamian deity)
e. the (not) Hebrews practice animal sacrifice
f. they are polytheistic (Elohim is plural, so must have been many, amalgamated into one)
g. Elohim is anthropomorphic
8. The Hebrews don’t stay in Canaan, they are nomadic after all. Some of them wander into
Egypt (apparently wearing really cool coats)
C. Yahweh and the Hebrews ca. 1500 to 1250 B.C.
It is outside of their promised land that the Hebrew identity is forged. While in Egypt, the
Hebrews gain a sense of nationhood (though not in the traditional sense), and a common
identity. The Hebrews don’t record anything in their records about their time in Egypt until the
very end of their time there. So let’s conjecture…
1. During the Empire Period or New Kingdom Egypt
a. militant pharaohs are expelling foreigners, especially threatening ones
b. the delta region is being heavily fortified, meaning heavy taxes and forced labor
programs, which would fall on those foreigners left behind
2. So, in this anti-immigration atmosphere, where are the Hebrews?
a. The Egyptians don’t mention any plagues or weird things happening
b. The Hebrews aren’t on the list of people they kicked out of the country
3. Some more conjecturing:
a. Moses is a royal Egyptian name
b. Miriam is a royal Egyptian name
c. So was Moses a Hebrew, or a royal Egyptian prince who needed to leave the country
quickly and took a bunch of pissed off people with him?
d. Exodus was written centuries after the actual event (at least 5 centuries, if not more)
4. What we know from Exodus is:
a. this is the first time that the name of Yahweh is revealed
b. Moses reaffirms the covenant between Yahweh and the Hebrews
5. After the Exodus from Egypt, during the wanderings in the desert, Moses teaches the
Hebrews how to worship Yahweh
a. monolatry (no god before Yahweh)
b. gives them a set of laws to be obeyed, ten of them actually
c. there is no afterlife, only concerned with this life
d. Yahweh is now extrapomorphic
e. These new concepts don’t happen all at once, takes about two centuries to catch on
(Jeopardy Moment: there are no vowels in ancient Hebrew, so Yahweh is actually YHWH, and
we don’t know how it is pronounced.)
D. The Prophets 1250 to 1050 B.C.
The Hebrews emerge from the desert and lo, their promised land is already inhabited (see
above). It’s a harsh area, and because of the topography and their nomadic nature the Hebrews
find it difficult to unite against the various peoples already there, especially the Philistines.
1. Geography
a. The Coastal Plain, suited for agriculture
b. The Hill Country, rocky, with little water
c. The Jordan River Valley, fertile
d. trans-Jordan Highlands, rivers make it suitable for agriculture
e. think of these areas running in north-south strips
2. There seems to be two types of leaders during this time period, Judges and Prophets
a. Judges had both legislative and judicial control over the tribes, and they could be both
male and female (the most important Hebrew judge was Deborah)
b. Prophets were religious leaders, who set religious doctrine
3. For the most part, the Hebrews remained confined to the Hill Country
a. could not displace the Philistines from the coast
b. they also fought with their neighbors to the east, the Moabites and the Ammonites
c. in 1250 B.C., the Philistines sacked one of their few cities, Shiloh, and made off with the
Ark of the Covenant (giving us our modern day insult)
d. the Hebrews want a monarch
e. but they are still mostly a tribal, nomadic society, with very few cities
E. The Monarchy 1050 to ca. 920 B.C.
Tired of getting their biscuits kicked, the Hebrews want a king. The judge Samuel warns them
it’s a bad idea, but they select Saul.
1. Saul is the first Hebrew king. He is more of a military leader than a king however.
a. He only rules for about two years, and he dies in battle along with two of his sons
b. he is handicapped by several factors, no experience with monarchy and tension between
monarchy and cult of Yahweh
c. also, everyone likes someone else better…a handsome guy named David
2. David is the second king of the Hebrews. He creates an absolute monarchy and defeats the
Philistines, but he also commits a terrible crime.
a. creates a national capital at Jerusalem (but the Phoenicians build it)
b. religion is also nationalized
c. everything is centralized, army, navy, taxes, diplomacy, bureaucracy
d. creates an empire, recovers the Ark of the Covenant
e. all this takes money -> heavy taxes, forced labor, conscription
f. Mesopotamian model of kingship
g. and the terrible crime? he kills a man (Uriah) so he can get his wife (Bathsheba)
3. Third king of the Hebrews is Solomon, fully Mesopotamian, very opulent
a. 700 wives, 300 concubines
b. great Temple built, again by the Phoenicians
c. heavy taxes, 30k Hebrews into slavery to Tyre
d. legendary wisdom is a myth
e. so oppressive, when he dies the 10 northern tribes refuse his son and successor
Rehoboam
4. The Hebrew religion during the time of Prophets and the Monarchy evolves even further.
a. Monotheism is the most important development.
b. Yahweh can only do good deeds. Any “evil” is divine justice.
c. Ethical religion, the good are rewarded and the evil are punished.
d. No afterlife, just a holding room (Sheol) after death. Then fade away.
e. put in the context of their new society, first fighting for survival, then the formation of a
state.
Fractured Kingdoms ca. 920 to 597 B.C.
A. Israel, created by the 10 northern tribes who reject Rehoboam
1. capital at Samaria
2. engaged in trade
3. conquered by Assyria in 722 B.C., population is scattered and lost
4. Assyrians settle in Samaria, adopt the Hebrew religion, called Samaritans
B. Judah, the southern kingdom, 2 tribes that follow Rehoboam
1. succession of weak kings
2. superpowers back, Judah really a tribute state
3. Hebrews revert to tribal society, pastoral and agricultural
4. in 597, the Chaldeans conquer Judah, beginning the Exile
5. 10,000 Hebrews deported to Babylon
The Exile Period (Babylonian Exile) 597 to 538 B.C.
Period of despair, and homelessness, for the Hebrews.
A. By 586 B.C., the Temple was destroyed and Judah was gone. 10,000 Hebrews had been
deported to Babylon, but many remained in Palestine.
1. In Palestine, life seemed to suck for the Hebrews. See the Book of Lamentations.
2. In Babylon, the Hebrew religion undergoes a profound change.
a. must reassess themselves, their entire worldview, and their relationship with Yahweh.
b. Book of Job and Book of Psalms chronicles this new view
c. reforge the covenant, return to the “pure” Mosaic law and religion
d. no more deity of judgment, instead, Yahweh is a god of salvation
e. *will give the Hebrews (and their descendants, the Jews) focus and renewed identity,
especially when your population is scattered
f. The Torah is compiled
Now that we’ve covered the Hebrews I have to tell you, much of this history has to be deduced
from the Torah and the Bible. It must be said that archaeology does not agree with some of the
above (especially the monarchial period).*ahem* Sorry.