Hittites, Phoenicians, and Assyrians 

Hittites:

  • Controlled Anatolia in 2000 B.C.E
  • City-states join to form empire in 1650 B.C.E
  • Borrowed ideas from Mesopotamian culture, wrote in cuneiform

Lived north of Mesopotamia, modern day turkey.

Hittite Technology

  • Skillful in war- had superior iron weapons and chariot

Around 1190 B.C.E. the empire falls due to attacks from northern tribes/sea people.

Phoenicians

  • Powerful traders in wealthy city-states along the Mediterranean
  • Skilled shipbuilders, seafarers; sailed past the Straits of Gibraltar

SEA ROUTES:

  • Had colonies in western and central Mediterranean

    • Carthage was the greatest
  • Famous for red-purple dye

    TRADE ROUTES:

Legacy was a system of writing to record trade deals. It was later developed into western alphabet.

Assyrians

Known for their combat skills. They were especially brutal and cruel.

  • Used military might to acquire empire across southwest Asia
  • Glorified armies wore metal armor, copper helmets, leather protection
  • Used iron weapons, engineering skill, and brute force to conquer cities
  • Killed, enslaved, or banished captive people to distant lands

The Assyrian Empire had no mercy for the lands that they conquered.

  • Defeated Syria, Palestine, & Babylonia: 850-650 BCE

  • Collected taxes and tributes (slaves) from conquered lands

Assyrian Culture:

  • Rulers (including Ashurbanipal) built great cities
    • Capital at Nineveh
  • Carved sculptures of military campaigns and lion hunts
  • Library of 20,000 cuneiform tablets
    • including Epic of Gilgamesh

Decline and Fall of the Assyrians:

  • Army of Chaldeans (people of Babylon ) revolted and destroyed Nineveh
  • Chaldean King Nebuchadnezzar makes Babylon the capital city of the Chaldean Empire
    • Famous for the Hanging Gardens of Babylon