New Centers of Civilization

Hittites One of the first Indo- European civilizations Created an empire in western Asia that threatened the power of the Egyptians Were the first to use iron Iron weapons were stronger and cheaper to make because of the abundance of iron ore

The Phoenicians Expanded after the fall of the Egyptians and the Hittites Lived in the area of Palestine Trade was the basis of their prosperity They produced a lot of goods to trade Purple dye, glass, lumber Set up new trade routes in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic

Phoenician Culture Best known for its alphabet Used 22 different signs to represent the sounds of their speech Not the first to invent an alphabet , but theirs is important because it was eventually passed to the Greeks, then to the Romans which is what we use today.

Israelites Minor political power, but they influenced the religions of Christianity and Islam History is written down in the Bible Lifestyle based on grazing animals rather than farming

Israelite Journey Drought forced the Israelites to move to Egypt Become enslaved Moses led them out of Egypt Israelites wondered for years in the desert Returned to Canaan between 1200 B.C and 1000 B.C. This is when they organized in tribes and became known as Israel

United Kingdom King David established Jerusalem as the capital David’s son Solomon is known for building the temple Temple was viewed as the symbolic center of their religion and their kingdom Solomon is also known for being very wise Settled the dispute between two women and a baby

The Divided Kingdom Solomon’s Death led to the division of Israel Kingdom of Israel Kingdom of Judah 10 Northern tribes Capital at Samaria Assyrians overran the kingdom Israelites forced to scatter (Lost tribes) Merged with neighboring tribes and gradually lost their identity 2 Southern Tribes Capital at Jerusalem Chaldeans defeated Assyria, conquered the kingdom of Judah Many of the people of Judah were sent as captives to Babylonia (Babylonian Exile)

Freedom Babylonian’s are conquered by the Persians The Persians allow the people of Judah to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their temple The provinces was controlled by Persia until 300 B.C People of Judah survived, eventually becoming known as the Jews

Judaism Monotheistic- Believing in one God, who is the Creator of the world and everything in it. The covenant, law, and prophets are three aspects of Jewish religious tradition

Judaism continued When Moses was leading his people out of bondage God made a Covenant, or a contract with them God promised to protect them if they followed the Torah, Judaism’s foundational set of precepts (Most famous being the 10 commandments)

Prophets The Jews believed that God sent additional religious teachers or prophets, to serve as his voice to his people Time of prophecy lasted from 1000s B.C. to the 400s B.C. Introduced concepts that enriched the Jewish tradition Declared faithlessness would bring catastrophe, but turning from evil would bring God’s mercy.

Judaism was unique at the time Was monotheistic while the other civilizations were polytheistic With other ancient religions only priests and rulers had access to the Gods/ with Judaism everyone could know God’s will by reading the Hebrew Bible Jews would not accept the God’s of their conquerors