Chapter 6 Southwest Asia Civilizations “If your actions are upright and good, be assured that they will increase your power and happiness.” -Cyrus the Great, Persian leader, 585-529 B.C. Chapter 6 Southwest Asia Civilizations PowerPoint Presentation By: Billie Jean

Israelites Mesopotamians worshipped many gods, one to pray to for water, another for food, and yet another for love and war. Unlike the people of Ur, Abraham only believed in one god. (The belief of one god is known as Monotheism.) According to the bible god spoke to Abraham, telling him to leave Mesopotamia and settle with his family in Canaan, the area later became Israel. The Bible also say God made a covenant with Abraham, or a special agreement. Because of Abrahams faith in God, God promised to give Abrahams descendants the land of Canaan. Abraham had a son named Isaac who had a son called Jacob, which was later known as Israel. Jacob then had 12 sons, each son lead a different tribe and became known as the Israelites. When famine came to the land of Canaan, many Israelites migrated to Egypt to find food. The Israelites live peacefully in Egypt until a pharaoh enslaved them. In about 1225 B.C. Moses, a leader of the Israelites, led a revolt against the Egyptians.. During this time it is said that God gave Moses a set of laws for responsible behavior, called the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments became an important part of Judaism-and later of Christianity and Islam. The basic laws and teachings of Judaism come from the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. The Torah describes Gods covenant with Moses, the Exodus, and how the kingdom of Israel came to be. When the Israelites returned to Canaan, they were opposed from the people of the north, the Philistines. The Israelites agreed to have a king as a single leader for their 12 tribes because of the need to defend themselves.

Saul became their first king in 1020 B. C Saul became their first king in 1020 B.C. who was then followed by king David, who began his rule under the influence of the Philistines. Later, he defeated the Philistines and released all his people from their rule. The kingdom of Israel reached the height of its power in the 900s B.C. This happened during the rein of king David and his son king Solomon. King David captured the city of Jerusalem from the Jebusites and made it his capital. Solomon built a grand temple there. The temple was remembered as the first temple. After Solomon died in about 928 B.C., disagreements made Israel split in two. The Northern Kingdom, made up of 10 of the 12 tribes. Continued to be called Israel. Its capital was called Samaria. The Southern kingdom was made up of the remaining 2 tribes, kept Jerusalem as its capital. The kingdom became Judah. The kingdom Israel lasted until about 721 B.C, when the Assyrians conquered it. Judah lasted until 586 B.C, when the Babylonians conquered it. Many of the people of Jerusalem became enslaved or exiled. Then Babylonians were conquered by the Persians who allowed the Jews to come back to their homeland.

In 63 B. C. the Romans captured Judaea In 63 B.C. the Romans captured Judaea. The Jews then led a revolt against Roman rule and took back their capital. But the Romans then retook Jerusalem and destroyed their temple. The Romans destroyed everything. After diving all the Jews out of Jerusalem, they renamed the area Palaestina, or Philistia. The Jews then scattered, which is called Diaspora and settled outside of Palaestina. That’s when they realized that they could pray to God anywhere. Wherever the Jews settled, they built houses of worship known as synagogues.

Phoenicians The Phoenician kingdom lies on a narrow strip of land that is east of the Lebanon Mountains and west of the Mediterranean Sea. One of the most important invention of the Phoenicians was the Alphabet. Phoenicians consisted of separate city-states, such as Byblos, Sidon, Tyre, and Berytrus. Phoenicians were the center of Commerce. They exported gold and manufactured goods for cedar wood from the Lebanon Mountains. They borrowed Egyptians burial practices and the use of hieroglyphics. They were also influenced by the Babylonian culture. They began to write in cuneiform. The Phoenicians sent out sailors to explore the Mediterranean Sea. Soon settlers and traders followed. The Phoenicians built settlements all around the Mediterranean Sea. They established colonies on the Southern coast of Spain, the northern coast of Africa, the western coast of Sicily, and the island of Cyprus. Later when the Assyrians started to rise up into power one by one the city states lost their independence. They were also conquered by the Babylonians, the Persians, and the Romans.

Lydians The Lydians lived in a place northwest of Phoenicia. They were located on the western end of the peninsula that later became known as Asia Minor, or Anatolia. Lydians were rich in natural resources, it had fertile soil and abundant minerals, including gold. The Lydians made a major contribution to life around the Mediterranean. Their contribution too, was for Commerce. The Lydians were the first to use coined money put out by their government. Through trade, the Lydians passed this idea through culture. Before coined money they bartered goods which people pay goods for services with other goods or services instead of with money. After some time they worked out a system were they exchanged goods for the weight of the gold or silver. This system was difficult to use thought from the weight of the nuggets and the bars of gold were to heavy to carry around. The Lydians started making their own coins stamped with the head of a lion. As a result they developed a money economy. That’s when people started shaving the electrum off the coins, to stop this the government ruffed the edges so people would know. By 500s B.C., the Lydians had become a center for regional trade, however later on they reached their downfall and were conquered first by the Persians, then by the Greeks and then by the Romans.

Persians The one person most responsible for building the Persian Empire was Cyrus the Great. He was the son of a noble Persian family and was born in 590 B.C. In 559 B.C., Cyrus became the ruler of Anshan. Then in about 550 B.C. he overthrew the Medes and made Media the center of the Persian Empire. How he conquered Medes was with his standing army. The Persian infantry were soldiers on foot, and the Persians cavalry was soldiers who fought on horseback, camels, or chariots to deliver swift attacks. In around 539 B.C., the Babylonians, Lydians, Parthia, and Bactria, had been conquered by the Persians. The only battle that Cyrus ever lost was the one he died in. With his death the greatest growth for the Persian Empire was over. Cyrus was followed by his son Cambyses who conquered Egypt in 525 B.C. but died on his way back to Persia. Darius, then followed Cambyses. Darius was an organizer, who made the empire more efficient. He divided the empire into 20 territories called satrapies. Each satrap provided a tribute, usually a tribute was a soldier or money. Darius then had Couriers to carry messages on horseback from station to station along the roads he had built. Darius also had a secret service where people told Darius about what was going on in the kingdom.

Darius died in 486 B. C while preparing his army for more conquests Darius died in 486 B.C while preparing his army for more conquests. He was followed by his son Xerxes, who expanded the empire. Xerxes ruled until 479 B.C. In that year the Greeks defeated the Persians in a fierce battle at the Plateau. As a result they were driven out of eastern Europe. After Xerxes died the Persian Empire declined. However, it continued to exist until 331 B.C. That year they were defeated by Alexandra the Great, who conquered most of Europe and Asia.

Important People Abraham was a believer in God and because of that his descendants received the land of Canaan. Moses lead the Israelites out of Egypt. King Solomon built a Grand Temple. Darius was the organizer and brought prosperity to the kingdom. Xerxes expanded the Empire. Cyrus the Great was the one most responsible for building the Persian Empire.

Religion Belief in one god was called polytheism. Zoroastrianism was also the belief in one god. A prophet is a person who is believed to speak or write with a message from God or a god. The Jewish believed the Bible, which consisted of a collection of sacred writings from ancient Israel. The Christians believed in the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Islamic believed in the Qur’an which figures as in the New Testament.