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A Timeline of Western Civilization

From their capital city of Nineveh, the Assyrians established the largest empire to date.

Beginning in approx. 745 B.C.

By Emily Webb

Mesopotamians

Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians

Israelites

Egyptians

The Israelites practiced a monotheistic religion, which wasn't all that common at the time. This belief in Yahweh is particularly evident in the book of Isiah.

In 722, the Assyrians conquered Israel. Both Hebrew and Assyrian texts describe this.

The Mesopotamians had a somewhat advanced society, with irrigation systems, writing, and even oral histories, like the Epic of Gilgamesh.

The ancient Mesopotamians lived in the fertile crescent, between the tigris and the Euphrates rivers. They had many technological advances for their time, and are considered the first established civilization.

Another very important figure in Hebrew history is Moses. He lived approximately in the 13th century B.C. He led the Israelites out of their captivity in Egypt, and is the person who received the 10 Commandments.

In 1000-960 B.C. the Israelites had a king named David. He conquered the city of Jerusalem, which means city of peace, and it became the capital Hebrew city.

David's son Solomon succeeded his father on the throne, and built the temple in Jerusalem. It was during his reign that the city was strongest, but he also increased taxes.

After the tribes split, it left the area vulnerable. The Assyrians conquered Israel in 722 B.C. Then, in 586, the King of Babylon conquered Judah. The Babylonian captivity is recorded in the Biblical book of Daniel.

The Mesopotamians had cuneiform, the first written language. They also developed a numerical system, which allowed them to have a calendar and math.

Mesopotamia'a city of Uruke had about 50,000 people

The people in this city, and others, were living off the surplus of surrounding farms.

The new Babylonian empire was ruled by King Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled from 604-562 B.C.

It was during his reign that Jerusalem was conquered, as detailed in Daniel.

1730-1550 was an intermeidate period for Egypt. it was brought on by the Hyksos, a people from central Asia, outside the Fertile Crescent.

They brought Egypt into the Bronze age, and brought domesticated horses and chariots.

The Persians had their own religious tradition, Zoroastrianism, or Dualism. They believed there were two opposing forces in the world, good and evil.

To be continued.....

3100 B.C. The Pharaoh Menes, the first pharaoh, unified Egypt.

This was the Early Dynastic Period, and the start of the Old Kingdom, which was about 500 years of peace.

This caused problems when solomon's son, who wasn't as powerful as his father, also raised taxes. 10 of the 12 Tribes of Jacob broke away in 922 B.C. leaving divided kingdoms. These two kingdoms were Judah and Israel.

The Egyptian people were one of the first people whose religion had a sense of morality. They called it Ma'at, which meant justice, and would be served in the afterlife. They also had the sacred Book of the Dead, which told them what would happen after their death, and on their journey to Osiris in the Underworld.

The Assyrians borrowed much of their culture- all of it really- from nearby Mesopotamia.

In turn, the Babylonians were conquered by the Persians. Cyrus the Great was their leader at the time, and he ruled from 559-530 B.C.

1792-1750 brought about a new era for the Mesopotamians. The leader Hammurabi put forth a set of laws called Hammurabi's Code. It was a secular set of laws governing everything from property destruction, theft, and murder. The fact that this was a written set of laws is also significant.

2350 B.C. - Sargon of Akkhad, the First Empire builder in history. he lived in the southern part of Mesopotamia. He started as a gardner and worked his way to cupbearer, at which point he allegedly killed the king and then assumed power.

One of the most important figures in Hebrew history is Abraham. He is the patriarch of Israelite society, and he was called out of Ur and told to go to Palestine.

The Hittites were also a people group that lived around the Israelites. They were among the first of the ancient peoples to use iron weapons. they had a series of weak kings, and did not do much to advance the culture. In the year 1200, their capital city was sacked and burned.

One of the things most synonymous with Egypt is the pyramids, mostly the iconic symbol of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Most of the pyramids were built during the 4th Egyptian dynasty, which was around the year 2613 B.C.

The Phoenician were another group that interacted often with Hebrew people. They had bases at Tyre nd Sidon, and sailed all over the Mediterranean. They established the city of Carthage around 813 B.C.

The Phoenicians specialized in luxury items, including purple dye and clothing. The word "Phoenician" is actually a name given by the greeks, and it means purple people.

The Assyrian empire was ended by the rise of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. After being conquered, the Assyrians faded quickly.

The pharaoh Ramesses II ruled from 1290-1224 B.C. HE ruled for 66 years. During his reign, he extended Egypt's borders to the south, as well as leading armies out of Egypt and into Palestine. As Ramesses pushed his armies north, they ran into the Hittites. This resulted in the 1269 Battle of Kadesh.

Amenhotep is another key figure in Egyptian history. His reign was from 1369-1353 B.C. He attempted to introduce a monotheistic religion to Egypt, with Aton, the sun god. He and his wife Nefertiti saw themselves as religious reformers. However, after Amenhotep's death, the religion converted back to what it had been for centuries.

The Egyptians also used a style of writing called Hieroglyphics, and Hieratic, which was the cursive form. Hieroglyphics began as a system for keeping records. they were first able to be translated at the discovery of the Rosetta stone at the end of the 19th century.

After this, Mesopotamia was mostly ruled by different kingdoms, such as Babylon, and was no longer united.

Perhaps the most important contribution made by the Phoenicians is the development of an alphabet. They also were at the forefront of production of papyrus, and the Greeks got their work for book from a Phoenician city.

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