Western Civilization

CHAPTER TIMELINE

CHAPTER REVIEW

Upon Reflection

Q What were the major characteristics of the

civilization established by the Israelites?

Q Compare and contrast the administrative and

military structure and attitudes toward subject

peoples of the Assyrian and Persian Empires.

Q If the large empires of the Assyrians and Persians

dominated the entire Near East for centuries, why

did the small state of the Israelites have a greater

impact on Western civilization?

Key Terms

monotheism(p. 32)

satrapy(p. 40)

satrap(p. 43)

Zoroastrianism(p. 44)

Suggestions for Further Reading

THE HITTITES On the Hittites, seeT. Bryce,The Kingdom

of the Hittites,2d ed. (Oxford, 2006), andLife and Society in

the Hittite World(Oxford, 2002).

ANCIENT ISRAEL There is an enormous literature on ancient

Israel. For an important revisionist view on the archaeological

aspects, see I. Finkelstein and N. Silberman, The Bible

Unearthed: Archaeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel(New

York, 2002). For a historical narrative, seeH. Shanks,Ancient

Israel: A Short History from Abraham to the Roman

Destruction of the Temple, rev. ed. (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.,

1999). On the origins of the Israelites, seeW. G. Dever,Who

Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From?

(Grand Rapids, Mich., 2003). On controversies surrounding the

history of the Israelites, seeJ. M. Golden,Ancient Canaan and

Israel(Oxford, 2004). For a general study on the religion of Israel,

seeW. J. Doorly,The Religion of Israel(New York, 1997).

THE PHOENICIANS For a good account of Phoenician domes-

tic and overseas expansion, seeD. Harden,The Phoenicians,

1000 B.C.E. 800 B.C.E. 600 B.C.E. 400 B.C.E. 200 B.C.E.

Zoroastrianism

Babylonians Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Height of Neo-Babylonian Empire

Persians Conquests of Cyrus Reign of Darius

Assyrians Height of Assyrian Empire

Assyrian Empire destroyed

Assyria destroys Return of Babylonian exiles to Jerusalem

northern kingdom of

Israel

Hebrews Creation of monarchy in Israel Chaldeans destroy Jerusalem

Golden age of Hebrew prophecy

46 Chapter 2 The Ancient Near East: Peoples and Empires

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