Other ANE empires Persia and Palestine

Ancient Near East: the empires

Evolution of the empires: – Sumer  c – Akkad  c – Assyria  c – Babylonia  c – Rivalries throughout the period (a large geography) – ( : a relative “dark” age) – Persia  grows out of Assyria, Phoenicia, Babylon, etc. – 500bc: “How the west was won?” – How the EAST was LOST

Uniquely influential: Palestine

Palestine 4004bc: ~1900bc: Abram ~1500bc: Moses ~1000bc: Saul / David 10 th c. bc (~970s-920s bc): Solomon Divided kingdom: – bc: Israel (north) – bc: Judah (south)

Palestine 722bc: Assyrian conquest of Israel (Tiglath-Pilezer iii) 586bc: Babylonian conquest of Judah (Nebuchadnezzar ii) – Temple destruction 536bc: Persian conquest of Babylon (Cyrus) 516/515bc: Temple rebuilt (Darius) – Renovation 20bc (Herod the great); destruction in 70ad (Vespasian / Titus) – Now Dome of the Rock (late 7 th c. ad)

Palestine (Judaism) The big ideas: – Monotheism (cf. Decalogue) – Covenant faith (cf. Abraham) – Translation to law (cf. policy) Torah The law and the prophets Prophet, priest, and king – Messianism

Other ANE empires: Persia and Palestine Main points to remember: – Iron age – United monarchy – Divided monarchy – Babylonian exile – Syncretism – Covenant – Pentateuch – Torah