Chapter 4 - Neo-Assyrian, Persian, and the Greeks

What happened to territorial states between 1250 and 320 BCE?

Empires replaced rather than descended from territorial states

What factors contributed to the development of early empires?

Climate change migrations new technologies administrative innovations military innovation imperial ideologies religious beliefs increased agricultural yields and population growth

How did warfare contribute to the rise of empires?

Military innovations spurred warfare and helped states expand their territories

What were microsocieties?

Smaller societies that arose on the periphery of larger states and contributed to their development

What factors shaped the development of early empires?

Climate change migrations new technologies and administrative innovations

What happened around 1200 BCE because of climate change?

Another warming phase brought about social upheaval and human migration in Afro-Eurasia

How did population growth and soil exhaustion contribute to migration?

They forced many people to leave their homes and search for food and fertile land

How did drought contribute to political change?

Drought swept away many dominant states and caused people to migrate

How did environmental crisis affect Southwest Asia and Greece?

It contributed to political instability migration and the collapse of established societies

How did low Nile floods affect Egypt?

Low Nile floods forced the pharaohs to spend their time securing food

How did environmental problems affect the Hittites?

The Hittites pleaded for grain and moved their capital to northern Syria for a more plentiful food source but still collapsed

What happened to Mycenaean culture during the environmental crisis?

Mycenaean culture disintegrated

How did declining soil fertility affect East Asia?

Declining soil fertility following dust storms led groups including the Zhou to seek new sources of food

How did migrations affect urban societies?

Migrations led to incursions into urban societies

What did invaders often destroy when they entered urban societies?

They destroyed the administrative centers of kings priests and dynasties

What happened to Shang authorities because of migrations?

The Zhou peoples overwhelmed Shang authorities

How did nomads affect the Indus Valley?

Nomads pressed down into the Indus Valley

How did the destruction of cities and administrative centers affect political development?

It paved the way for new states though only after centuries of decline

What new technologies contributed to the rise of empires?

Pack camels seaworthy vessels iron cultivation tools and iron weapons

What were the two main types of pack camels?

The Saharan dromedary with one hump and the Bactrian camel with two humps

How did pack camels change transportation and trade?

They helped open new overland trade routes and could cross deserts and travel long distances

What advances were made in shipbuilding?

New ships were built for open seas with larger reinforced hulls stronger masts and rigging more sails and innovations in steering and ballast

How did shipbuilding advances affect maritime travel?

They allowed mariners to venture into the open sea

What replaced bronze as the dominant material for weapons and tools?

Iron

Why was iron important during the Iron Age?

Iron was harder and more abundant than bronze

Why was iron difficult to use?

Iron was difficult to extract and fabricate

What were forged-iron-edged plows?

Agricultural tools with forged iron edges that allowed farmers to till more difficult terrain

How did iron-edged plows affect societies?

They allowed farmers to till more difficult terrain and supported larger more integrated societies

What administrative innovation did the Neo-Assyrians use to control conquered peoples?

Mass deportations

Why did the Neo-Assyrians use mass deportations?

To break resisters' unity provide enslaved labor and integrate the empire

How did roads garrisons and way stations help the Neo-Assyrian Empire?

They facilitated troop movement

What did the Neo-Assyrian Empire require as tribute?

Grains animals raw materials people and valuable goods

How were roads used in the Neo-Assyrian Empire?

Roads were used to deliver tribute and facilitate troop movement

How did Neo-Assyrian administrative innovations affect later empires?

Many of their administrative innovations later became common among empires

What were the first empires in Southwest Asia to experiment with true imperial control?

The Neo-Assyrian and Persian Empires

How did the Neo-Assyrians maintain their empire?

They relied on constant harsh warfare brutal exploitation and military power

How long did the Neo-Assyrian Empire's period of rule last?

Almost 300 years

How did the Persians approach imperial rule differently from the Neo-Assyrians?

The Persians attempted to assimilate people already living in the empire and embraced cultural practices of subject populations

What did both the Neo-Assyrians and Persians use warfare to establish?

Trade networks

What type of state was the Neo-Assyrian Empire?

A military state

Who could be called up for military service in the Neo-Assyrian Empire?

All men including government officials could be called up for military service

How did the Neo-Assyrians use terror?

They used absolute force and violence to weaken resistance

What was meritocracy in the Neo-Assyrian Empire?

The use of people with the necessary merit or ability to fill positions which helped create a professional military

How did the Neo-Assyrian Empire expand during the ninth century BCE?

It dominated lands extending all the way to the Mediterranean

What helped the Neo-Assyrians expand their empire?

Advanced military techniques

How did Tiglath Pileser III affect the Neo-Assyrian Empire?

He concentrated power and ruled from 745 to 728 BCE

What were the four defining features of Neo-Assyrian imperial control?

A unique imperial structure deportation and forced labor the belief that empires worked and a rigid social hierarchy

How did the defining features of the Neo-Assyrian Empire contribute to its failure?

The systems that helped control the empire also created circumstances that contributed to its instability and collapse

What were the two major parts of the Neo-Assyrian Empire?

The Land of Ashur and the Land under the Yoke of Ashur

What was the Land of Ashur?

The core territory of the Neo-Assyrian Empire between the Zagros Mountains and the Euphrates River

Who governed the Land of Ashur?

The kings' appointees governed the lands

What were officials in the Land of Ashur responsible for?

Supplying food to the temple of the national god Ashur providing manpower for the god's residence and providing officials to carry out state business

What was the Land under the Yoke of Ashur?

Territories outside Assyria proper whose residents were not considered Assyrians

What did the Land under the Yoke of Ashur have to provide?

Tribute in the form of gold and silver

How was wealth from the Land under the Yoke of Ashur used?

It went to the king for his court and military costs

How did conquered peoples contribute to the Neo-Assyrian military?

Conquered peoples were incorporated into the military; for example Phoenicians supplied boats

Why did the Neo-Assyrians rely on deportation?

To create a large labor force

What did deported peoples help construct?

Splendid capitals and other major projects

How did Neo-Assyrian propaganda support the empire?

It supported and justified expansion exploration and inequality

What did Neo-Assyrian art communicate about imperial expansion?

It showed a strong sense of divinely determined destiny driving westward expansion

What was the role of Ashur in Neo-Assyrian imperial ideology?

Ashur the national god commanded Assyrians to support the expansion of the empire

How did Neo-Assyrian kings justify warfare?

The king with the aid of Ashur conducted holy war to transform the known world into a well-regulated Land of Ashur

What were the three parts of Neo-Assyrian propaganda?

Elaborate architectural complexes texts describing the king's achievements and vivid images of the army's brutal campaigns

How did the Neo-Assyrians treat conquered peoples who did not conform?

They moved into territories and removed or relocated people who did not conform

Who stood at the top of the Neo-Assyrian social hierarchy?

The king

What was the king's religious role in Neo-Assyrian society?

The king served as the sole agent of the god Ashur

How did military elites benefit from the Neo-Assyrian system?

They were highly rewarded became the noble class and controlled land and peasants

Who made up most of the Assyrian population?

Peasants who worked the fields of the elites

What rights did people enslaved because of debt have?

They could marry free partners engage in financial transactions and own property including enslaved people

What rights did enslaved people acquired through conquest have?

They had no rights

Why were some peasants relocated?

Some peasants were relocated to work new lands

What were most Neo-Assyrian peasant families like?

Most were small families living on small plots of land

How did debt servitude differ from conquest slavery?

People enslaved because of debt had certain rights and were more like indentured servants working off debt while people enslaved through conquest had no rights

How were Neo-Assyrian women treated compared with women in Sumerian or Old Babylonian times?

Women were more restricted and had little control over their lives

How was inheritance generally passed in Neo-Assyria?

Through the male line

What restrictions were placed on women's interactions with men outside the family?

Women had highly restricted interactions with men outside the family

When was veiling introduced by the Middle Assyrians?

In the thirteenth century BCE

Who was required to veil in Neo-Assyrian society?

All respectable women were required to veil

What could happen if a respectable woman removed her veil?

She could be beaten or executed

How were prostitutes treated regarding veiling?

Prostitutes could be beaten or killed for wearing a veil

How were Assyrian queens affected by women's social restrictions?

Queens were under the same general norms but lived more comfortably than common women and were often credited mainly as good wives and mothers rather than leaders

What role could the mother of a king have?

She could gain power and respect and a queen could serve as regent if her son was not of age when he became king

Why was the Neo-Assyrian Empire unstable?

It required occupying armies over vast territories and a relentless propaganda machine

What caused conflict among Neo-Assyrian elites?

Nobles became discontented which contributed to civil war

When did the Neo-Assyrian Empire collapse?

In 612 BCE

What event marked the collapse of the Neo-Assyrian Empire?

The conquest of Nineveh

When did the Persian Empire exist?

Approximately 560–331 BCE

What was Persian imperial rule based on?

Persuasion and mutual benefit rather than raw power

Where did the Persians originate?

They were part of a nomadic group that arrived on the Iranian Plateau at the end of the second millennium BCE

What language family did the Persians speak?

An Indo-European language

What military skill were the Persians known for?

They were expert horsemen

Who was Cyrus the Great?

A Persian unifier who united Persian tribes and conquered the Lydians in southwestern Anatolia and the Greek city-states on the Aegean coast

What were the approximate dates of Cyrus the Great's reign?

c. 559–529 BCE

What traditions did the Persians borrow to govern their empire?

They borrowed ideology and institutions from Neo-Babylonians Neo-Assyrians and other indigenous peoples

How did Cyrus the Great present himself?

As a kind and generous king

How did Cyrus present his conquest of Babylon?

He presented victory in Babylon as a sign that the city's gods had turned against its king

What did Cyrus the Great do for the Jews in Babylon?

He released Jews who had been enslaved by Nebuchadnezzar and allowed them to return to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple

How did Cyrus the Great portray himself toward conquered peoples?

As a benevolent king who liberated subjects from oppression

Who succeeded Cyrus the Great?

Darius I

How did Darius I strengthen the Persian Empire?

He suppressed revolts and put the empire on solid footing