1. Other ANE empires Persia and Palestine

2. Ancient Near East: the empires

3. Evolution of the empires: – Sumer  c. 3000-2500 – Akkad  c. 2350-2250 – Assyria  c. 2100-1800 – Babylonia  c. 1800-1400 – Rivalries throughout the period (a large geography) – (1100-900: a relative “dark” age) – Persia  grows out of Assyria, Phoenicia, Babylon, etc. – 500bc: “How the west was won?” – How the EAST was LOST

4. Uniquely influential: Palestine

5. Palestine 4004bc: ~1900bc: Abram ~1500bc: Moses ~1000bc: Saul / David 10 th c. bc (~970s-920s bc): Solomon Divided kingdom: – 922-722bc: Israel (north) – 922-586bc: Judah (south)

6. 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)

7. 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

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