Introduction for Chapter 2

2. Small Kingdoms AND MIGHTY EMPIRES IN THE NEAR EAST, 1200–510 B.C.E.

>How did the Assyrians and the Persians win mighty empires, and how did they rule them once they had been won? Chapter 2 examines the new political order that emerged in the wake of the so-called “Bronze Age Collapse” of the late thirteenth century B.C.E. In the absence of powerful empires, the Phoenicians, Kushites, Hebrews, and many other peoples carved out small independent kingdoms. In the tenth century B.C.E., this jumble of small states gave way to an empire that for the first time embraced the entire Near East: the empire of the Assyrians, which lasted for about three hundred years and then broke apart with the rise of a new empire centered in Babylon. Beginning in 550 B.C.E. the Persians conquered the Medes — nomadic peoples who had settled in Iran — and then the Babylonians and Assyrians, creating the largest empire yet seen, stretching from Anatolia in the west to the Indus Valley in the east.

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Life in an Empire. In this colorful decorative frieze made of glazed brick, men wearing long Persian robes and laced ankle boots carry spears, bows, and quivers. (Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY)

>How did iron technology shape new states after 1200 B.C.E?

>How did the Hebrews create an enduring religious tradition?

>What explains the rise and fall of the Assyrians?

>How did the Persians consolidate their extensive empire?

ca. 1200 B.C.E. 626–539 B.C.E.
– Bronze Age Collapse; end of the Hittite Empire – Neo-Babylonian empire
ca. 1100 B.C.E. ca. 600 B.C.E.
– Beginning of the Iron Age; Phoenicians begin to trade in the Mediterranean – Ideas of Zoroaster gain prominence in Persia
ca. 1070–712 B.C. 587 B.C.E.
– Third Intermediate Period in Egypt – Kingdom of Judah destroyed by the Neo-Babylonians
ca. 965–925 B.C.E. 587–538 B.C.E.
– Hebrew kingdom ruled by Solomon – Babylonian Captivity of the Hebrews
911–609 B.C.E. 550 B.C.E.
– Neo-Assyrian Empire – Cyrus the Great conquers the Medes and consolidates the Persian Empire
727 B.C.E. 539 B.C.E.
– Kushite Dynasty established in Egypt – Persians defeat the Neo-Babylonians
722 B.C.E. 525 B.C.E.
– Kingdom of Israel destroyed by the Assyrians – Persians defeat the Egyptians and Nubians
Table 2.1: > CHAPTER CHRONOLOGY