Western Civilization

separation of good and evil would occur. Individuals,

too, would be judged. Each soul faced a final evalua-

tion of its actions. The soul of a person who had per-

formed good deeds would achieve paradise, but if the

person’s deeds had been evil, the soul would be

thrown into an abyss of torment. Some historians

believe that Zoroastrianism, with its emphasis on

good and evil, heaven and hell, and a last judgment,

had an impact on Christianity, a religion that eventu-

ally surpassed it in significance.

Chapter Summary

By 1500B.C.E., much of the creative impulse of the Mesopota-

mian and Egyptian civilizations was beginning to decline. And

by 1200B.C.E., the decline of the Hittites and Egyptians had

created a power vacuum that allowed a patchwork of petty

kingdoms and city-states to emerge, especially in the area of

Syria and Canaan. One was that of the Phoenicians, who cre-

ated a trading empire in the Mediterranean as well as an

alphabet that was later adapted by the Greeks and the

Romans.

Of these small states, however, per-

hapsthemostimportantwasthatof

the Israelites, who created a kingdom

under Saul, David, and Solomon. By

the tenth centuryB.C.E., the inhabitants

of Israel had divided into a northern

kingdom of Israel and a southern king-

dom of Judah, but the rise of larger

states in the region led eventually to

their demise. Israel fell to the Assyrians at the end of the

eighth centuryB.C.E. and Judah to the Chaldeans in the sixth

century. Nevertheless, although the Israelites created no

empire and were dominated by the Assyrians, Chaldeans, and

eventually the Persians, they left a spiritual legacy that influ-

enced much of the later development of Western civilization.

The evolution of Hebrew monotheism created in Judaism

one of the world’s great religions; it influenced the develop-

ment 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.

Allofthesesmallstateswereeventually

overshadowed by the rise of the great

empires of the Assyrians, Chaldeans, and

Persians. The Assyrian Empire, built upon

the effective use of military force, was the

first to unite almost all of the ancient Near

East. Nevertheless, after reaching the

height of its power by 700B.C.E., it gradu-

ally succumbed to internal dissension and

was overrun by the armies of the Medes

and the Chaldeans near the end of the sev-

enth centuryB.C.E. The latter created a Neo-Babylonian Empire,

which in turn was short-lived and soon conquered by the Per-

sians. Although the Persian Empire owed much to the adminis-

trative organization developed by the Assyrians, the Persian

Empire had its own peculiar strengths. Persian rule was toler-

antaswellasefficient.Conqueredpeopleswereallowedto

keep their own religions, customs, and methods of doing busi-

ness. The two centuries of relative peace that the Persian

Empire brought to the Near East facilitated trade and the gen-

eral well-being of its peoples. Many Near Eastern peoples,

including the Israelites, expressed gratitude for being subjects

of the Great Kings of Persia.

Chapter Summary • 45

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