Chapter 2: The Ancient Near East: Peoples and Empires 

Pre-reading

A. Skim and scan the following passage and answer the following questions.

1. In what way was the Jewish faith unique in the ancient Near East, and how did it develop ?

2. What effect did the other peoples in the ancient Near East have on the history of Israel and the development of the Jewish faith?

3. What methods and institutions did the Assyrians and Persians use to amass and maintain their respective empires?

4. What were the chief teachings of Zoroastrianism, and what was its role in the Persian Empire ?

5. What is the relationship between the political history of the Israelites and the evolution of their religious beliefs?

Reading 

The name Indo-European refers to people who used a language derived from a single parent tongue. Indo-European languages include Greek, Latin, Persian, Sanskrit, and the Germanic languages. It has been suggested that the original Indo-European-speaking peoples were based somewhere in the steppe region north of the Black Sea or in southwestern Asia, in modern Iran or Afghanistan . Around 2000 B.C. these people began major nomadic movements into Europe,India, and western Asia . One group of Indo-Europeans who moved into Asia Minor and Anatolia (modern Turkey ) around 1750 B.C. mixed with the native peoples to form the Hittite kingdom with its capital at Hattusha (Bogazk?y in modern Turkey ). Between 1600 and 1200 B.C., the Hittites assembled their own empire in western Asia and even threatened the power of the Egyptians. The Hittites were the first of the Indo-European peoples to make use of iron, enabling them to construct weapons that were stronger and cheaper to make because of the widespread availabili- ty of iron ore. But around 1200 B.C., new waves of invading Indo-European peoples known only as the Sea Peoples destroyed the Hittite empire. The destruct -ion of the Hittite kingdom and the weakening of Egypt in 1200 B.C. left a power vacuum in western Asia, allowing a patchwork of petty kingdoms and city-states to emerge, especially at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea , like the Hebrews.

The Hebrews were a Semitic-speaking people who had a tradition concerning their origin and history that was eventually written down as part of the Hebrew Bible, known to Christians as the Old Testament. Describing them as nomads organized in clans, the Hebrews' tradition states that they were descendants of the patriarch Abraham, who had migrated from Mesopotamia to Palestine , where they became identified as the “Children of Israel.” Again according to tradition, a drought in Palestine caused many Hebrews to migrate to Egypt , where they lived peacefully until they were enslaved by pharaohs who used them as laborers on building projects. These Hebrews remained in bondage until Moses led them eastward out of Egypt in the Exodus, which some historians have argued would have occurred in the first half of the thirteenth century B.C. According to the Bible, the Hebrews then wandered for many years in the desert until they entered Palestine . Organized in twelve tribes, they became embroiled in conflict with Philistines, a people who had settled in the coastal area of Palestine but were beginning to move into the inland areas. In the 11th century bc, the Hebrews established a united kingdom known as Israel .

Like the other small nations of the eastern Mediterranean , Israel was at the mercy of the major powers of Egypt , Assyria, and Babylonia and could prosper independently only when they were in decline or preoccupied with struggles among themselves.

The monarchy arose in the midst of internal strife and external threat. The internal strife concerned the question of the proper form of government for the nation. Some favored the more traditional form of charismatic leadership in times of crisis; others wanted a stable kingship. Kingship won out because of the external threat from the militarily superior Philistines, who occupied five cities on the coastal plain. Saul united the tribes and established a monarchy, but was killed, along with his son Jonathan, in a battle with the Philistines. David then became king, first in the south and then of the entire nation. It was left to him to put an end forever to the Philistine threat and then to establish an empire that exerted control from Syria to the border of Egypt . His reign was long and prosperous, although not without internal conflict over his throne. He was succeeded by his son Solomon, who set up a court after the manner of other oriental monarchs. Solomon built a palace and the great Temple in Jerusalem , and overtaxed the resources of the country for his luxurious programs.

After the death of Solomon, the northern tribes rebelled under his son Rehoboam. The two nations, Israel in the north and Judah in the south, were never again reunited, and they often fought each other. In Judah the dynasty of David continued until the Babylonians took the country (597 and 586 BC), but in Israel numerous kings and several dynasties came and went. The period of the divided monarchy was marked by threats from the Assyrians, the Arameans, and the Babylonians. Israel , with its capital Samaria , fell to the Assyrian army in 722-21 bc , its people were deported, and foreigners settled in their place. Judah suffered two humiliations at the hand of the Babylonians: the surrender of Jerusalem in 597 and its destruction in 586 BC. Captives were carried off to Babylon on both occasions, but because foreigners were not settled in Judah, and the captives were allowed some measure of freedom—at least to associate with one another—the life of the people continued both in Babylon and in their native land. The exile was a disaster long announced by the prophets as a divine judgment, but the experience led the Israelites to a reconsideration of their own meaning as a people, and to the writing down and interpretation of their old traditions.

The people were set free from Babylon in 538 bc , when the Persian king Cyrus established the Persian Empire . The prophets Ezra and Nehemiah were leaders in the era after the exile when institutions were reestablished and the Temple was rebuilt. Judah became a province of the Persian Empire , and the people had relative autonomy, especially in religion.

At some point during the postexilic period, the history of Israel became the history of Judaism, but at precisely what time is debated. By the beginning of the Christian era the people had survived the rise of the Hellenistic empire (333 BC), the Maccabean revolution (168-165 bc ) and rule, and the establishment of Roman control in Palestine (63 BC). After an abortive revolution in ad 70 that led to the destruction of Jerusalem , their life changed dramatically

Early Israelites probably worshiped many gods, including nature spirits dwelling in trees and rocks. For some Israelites, Yahweh was the chief god of Israel , but many worshiped other gods as well. It was among the Babylonian exiles that Yahweh , the God of Israel , came to be regarded as the only God, and then the belief that there is only one God for all peoples came to be the major principle of Judaism ( 犹太教 ). This theme echoes from Exodus 20:3 (“You shall have no other gods before me”) throughout the Hebrew Scriptures ( 经文 ). That God is affirmed to be the creator of the earth, the king active in history to save and to judge, all-powerful but concerned for his people: “I am the Lord [Yahweh] your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage” (Exodus 20:2). He is known to reveal himself in diverse ways—through the law, through events, and through prophets and priests.

Two other themes fundamental to the Old Testament, covenant and law , are closely related. Covenant signifies many things, including an agreement between nations or individuals, but above all it refers to the pact between Yahweh and Israel sealed at Mount Sinai . The language concerning that covenant has much in common with that of ancient Near Eastern treaties; both are sworn agreements sealed by oaths. Yahweh is seen to have taken the initiative in granting the covenant by electing a people. Perhaps the simplest formulation of the covenant is the sentence: “I will take you for my people, and I will be your God” (Exodus 6:7). The law was understood to have been given as a part of the covenant, the means by which Israel became and remained the people of God. The law contains regulations for behavior in relation to other human beings as well as rules concerning religious practices, but by no means does it give a full set of instructions for life. Rather, it seems to set forth the limits beyond which the people could not go without breaking the covenant.

The Covenant and the Law: The Book of Exodus

During the Exodus from Egypt , the Hebrews are said to have made a covenant with Yahweh. They agreed to obey their God and follow his law. In return, Yahweh promised to take special care of his chosen people. The following selection from the Book of Exodus describes the making of the covenant and God's commandments to the Hebrews.

The Israelites believed that certain religious leaders or “holy men,” called prophets, were sent by God to serve as his voice to his people. Speeches by the prophets serve as the words of God concerning the immediate future. The most common speeches are prophecies ( 预言 ) of punishment or of salvation. Both of these are framed by formulas that identify the words as revealed by God; for example, “thus says the Lord.” The prophecy ( 预言 ) of punishment usually gives reasons for the punishment in terms of social injustice, religious arrogance, or apostasy ( 变节 ) and spells out ( 清楚地说明 ) the nature of the disaster—military or otherwise—to be visited upon the nation, group, or individual, who is spoken to. The prophecies of salvation announce God's coming intervention to rescue Israel . Other speeches include prophecies against foreign nations, woe ( 悲哀 ) speeches listing the sins of the people, and admonitions or warnings.

The Hebrew Prophets: Micah, Isaiah, and Amos

The Hebrew prophets warned the Israelites that they must obey God's commandments or face being punished for breaking their covenant with God. These selections from the prophets Micah, Isaiah, and Amos make clear that God's punishment would fall upon the Israelites for their sins. Even the Assyrians, as Isaiah indicated, would be used as God's instrument to punish them.

From about 1350  bc Assyria , a north Mesopotamian kingdom, began to show its power. Assyrian armies defeated Mitanni , conquered Babylon briefly about 1225 bc , and reached the Mediterranean about 1100 bc . Aramaean tribes from the Syrian steppe ( 大草原 ) halted Assyrian expansion for the next two centuries and, with related Chaldean tribes, overran Babylonia. To secure itself, Assyria fought these tribes and others, expanding again after 910 bc . At its greatest extent (730-650 bc ), the Assyrian Empire controlled the Middle East from Egypt to the Persian Gulf . Conquered regions were left under client kings or, if troublesome, annexed. Following ancient practice, rebellious subjects were deported, resulting in a mixture of peoples across the empire. The Assyrians develop the art of war, creating new forms of military organization and new technologies, including the battering ram and catapult ( 弹弓 ) , but it could not maintain control of so vast a realm for long. Internal pressures and attacks from Iranian Medes and Chaldeans from Babylonia caused Assyria to collapse in 612 bc . The Medes took the hill country, leaving Mesopotamia to the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar II. The Chaldeans ruled Mesopotamia until 539 bc , when Cyrus the Great of Persia, who had conquered Media, captured Babylon.

Assyrian Culture and Customs

Assyrian culture resembled that of Babylonia in most respects. Assyrian literature was practically identical with its Babylonian counterpart, and the more cultured Assyrian kings, notably Ashurbanipal, boasted of stocking their libraries with copies of Babylonian literary documents. Social or family life, marriage customs, and property laws all resembled those of Babylonia . The three Assyrian law collections that have been found thus far all have a marked similarity to Sumerian and Babylonian law; the penalties provided for offenders under Assyrian law, however, were often more brutal and barbaric. Assyrian religious practices and beliefs were almost identical with those of Babylonia , except that the Assyrian national god, Ashur , was substituted for the Babylonian god Marduk. The major cultural contribution of the Assyrians lay in the field of art and architecture.

In the 3rd millennium bc , Assyria came under the influence of the Sumerian civilization to the south. A temple of this period, excavated in the city of Ashur, contained statues remarkably similar in style and appearance to those found in the temples of Sumer. Beginning about 2300 bc , Assyria formed part of the empire of Sumer and Akkad . Following the collapse of that empire about 2000 bc , the Amorites, a nomadic Semitic people from the Arabian Desert, infiltrated and conquered much of Mesopotamia, including Assyria . By 1850 bc Assyrian merchants had colonized parts of central Anatolia ( Asia Minor ), where they carried on a thriving trade in copper, silver, gold, tin, and textiles.

The Chaldeans, a Semitic-speaking people defeated the Assyrian Empire in 612 BC, found the New Babylonian Empire to rule Mesopotamia until the 6th century bc , when they were defeated by the Persians, an Indo-European-speaking people who lived in southwestern Iran . Cyrus the Great established the Persian Empire, captured Babylon , and Mesopotamia came under Persian rule. The empire ruled by Persia eventually became the largest empire the world had yet known .

Darius I established the capital at Persepolis in the late 6th century bc primarily as a residence and a place for large receptions. He pushed the Persian borders as far eastward as the Indus River , had a canal constructed from the Nile to the Red Sea , and reorganized the entire empire, earning the title Darius the Great . From 499 to 494 bc he engaged in crushing a revolt of the Ionian Greeks living under Persian rule in Asia, and then launched a punitive ( 惩罚性的 ) campaign against the European Greeks for supporting the rebels. His forces were disastrously defeated by the Greeks at the historic Battle of Marathon in 490 bc .

Persia became a subordinate unit within the Greco-Macedonian Empire around 330 bc when defeated by Alexander the Great , king of the Macedonian kingdom, who added Persia to his realm by enlisting large numbers of Persian soldiers in his armies and by causing all his high officers, who were Macedonians, to wed Persian wives. Persia remained a subordinate for more than five centuries .

Persian Religion

Of all the Persians' cultural contributions, the most original was their religion, Zoroastrianism. According to Persian tradition, its founder, Zoroaster , was born in 660 B.C. After a period of wandering and solitude, he experienced revelations that caused him to be respected as a prophet of the “true religion.” His teachings were eventually written down in the third century A.D. in the Zend Avesta .

In his writings, Zoroaster speaks of an ethical and moral opposition between Asha (“order”), which to him is equal to righteousness, and Drug (“confusion”), which to him is equal to evil and the lie. Zoroaster personifies this dualism in a pair of spirits called Ahura Mazda (“Wise Lord,”), and Angra Mainyu (“Evil Spirit,”).

According to Zoroastrian doctrine, Ahura Mazda is a perfect, rational, and all-knowing entity. Thus, Zoroastrians believe that Angra Mainyu created sin, disease, death, and similar evils. Ahura Mazda is said to have created six Holy Immortals, who represent aspects of material creation, in addition to other minor spiritual beings who assist in protecting the world and all creatures. Angra Mainyu is said to have produced numerous demonic ( 恶魔的 ) spirits, who represent aspects of pain, suffering, and death, to attack Ahura Mazda's creations. Many of the spirits worshiped or rejected by Zoroastrians also appear in early Hindu texts because the ancient Iranians and Indians shared a religious and linguistic heritage.

The Zoroastrian doctrine of heaven, hell, and limbo ( 地狱的边境 ) influenced other faiths. Islam absorbed not only the ideas of heaven, hell, and limbo, but also the scheme of individual judgment at a celestial ( 天上的 ) bridge and the notion of final, universal judgment. Christianity further assimilated the Zoroastrian belief of the soul's afterlife and the appearance of a savior, resurrection, and eternal life at the end of the world.

Around 1200 B.C., the decline of the Hittites and the Egyptians had created a void ( 空间 ) that allowed a number of small states to emerge and flourish temporarily. All of them were eventually overshadowed by the rise the great empires of the Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Persians. The Assyrian Empire was the first to unite almost all of the ancient Near East. Even larger, however, was the empires of the Great Kings of Persia. Although it owed much to the administrative organization created by the Assyrians, the Persian Empire had its own particular strengths. Persian rule was tolerant as well as efficient. Conquered peoples were allowed to keep their religions, customs, and methods of doing business. The many years of peace that the Persian Empire brought to the Near East facilitated trade and the general well-beings of its peoples. It is no wonder that many peoples expressed their gratitude for being subjects of the Great Kings of Persia.

The Hebrews were one of these peoples. They created no empire and were dominated by the Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Persians. Nevertheless, they left a spiritual legacy that influenced much of the later development of Western civilization. The evolution of Hebrew monotheism ( 一神论 ) helped Judaism become one of the world's greatest religions; it influenced the development of both Christianity and Islam. When we speak of the Judeo-Christian heritage of Western civilization, we refer not only to the concept of monotheism but also to ideas of law, morality, and social justice that have become important parts of Western culture.

On the western fringes of the Persian Empire , another relatively small group of people, the Greeks, were evolving cultural and political ideals that would also have an important impact on Western civilization.

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