Mesopotamia and Egypt emerged  in the fourth millennium BCE, established themselves as early, successful and influential river-based civilizations and created important and influential precedents.  Almost two millennia later, around 2,000 - 1,800 BCE, a number of other civilizations and cultures began appearing in the surrounding regions, spreading this new model of "civilization" from the initial cradles of the Tigris/Euphrates and the Nile River valleys.  The name for this broader geographic area in which several new early civilizations cropped up is called many things - the Near East, the Middle East and the Fertile Crescent.  The ancient Near East encompasses the territory from Egypt to the Tigris-Euphrates river valley, and as far North as the region of Anatolia (modern day Turkey.) see map   Agriculture, and thus civilization, developed and flourished after the second millennium BCE in several parts of this ancient Near Eastern region.

Historians use a couple of terms to describe later-developing civilizations in the ancient Near East.  One is "satellite" civilizations - reflecting the fact that these later cultures were deeply influenced by their older neighbors Egypt and Mesopotamia.  Another term used is "rain watered".  This name underlines the important fact that these later agricultural societies were not based around a great river(s).  While the earliest agricultural settlements had to rely on key, supporting river valleys, most subsequent societies emerging in the Fertile Crescent region relied on their ability to capture and use rain water as the irrigation source for their agricultural settlements and development. Not until after 1,800 BCE was this technological capability of capturing, storing and distributing rainwater possible.

It is impossible for us to do justice to the many diverse civilizations emerging in the ancient Near East region during and after the second millennium BCE; you need to take a whole semester course on the ancient Near East to describe these many interesting cultures and their contributions.  We can, however, make general comments about the common experiences and patterns impacting societies in this region which helped to shape their histories and cultures.

The key word to remember when discussing the ancient Near East and the history of its peoples is INTERCHANGE. This was a region characterized by an extreme degree of on-going interaction and activity between different societies. The result was a cosmopolitan mix; civilizations borrowed, exchanged and even imposed ideas on one another.  This was a region where it was in fact impossible to develop as an isolated or insular society.  Even relatively isolated Egypt actively participated in trade and interchange, and was an important part of this mix.  Societies in the ancient Near East were profoundly affected by - and in turn they influenced - their neighbors.  Sometimes such influence was peaceful, at other times shockingly violent.  It was this mix and fusion of cultures that helped form all the civilizations emerging in this region.

There were three primary means of interaction and exchange visible in the ancient Near East: trade, migrations and empire building.   Recognize - these three forces in human history continue to be a prominent part of our discussions throughout this course. They were primary vehicles of change in human history - and these factors still impact us today.  We introduce and describe these historical influences in this section now since a dominant feature of the ancient Near East was the intense level of these forces of human interaction and interchange, but we will discuss the influence of cultural interchange throughout the semester.

TRADE

Trade was and still is an important avenue of interaction between people.  Through trade, people exchange not only money and goods but also ideas, languages, beliefs, customs, even diseases. The greater the flow of trade and the broader the range of groups involved, the more diverse the relationships and influences impacting people. The ancient Near East was a vibrant area of trade. Between the river valley civilizations and later satellite civilizations was an ever-increasing flow of goods - and with those goods came ideas, technology and religious beliefs.  Exchange of goods also led to adoption and blending of cultures.  People traded not only with close neighbors in this region, but engaged in early and expanding commerce with far-away civilizations in the East  - including Persia and even India.  The ancient Phoenicians and Greeks exemplify the important impact of trading networks in this ancient Near Eastern region.

MIGRATIONS

In the ancient past and still to the present day an important force of change is the movement of groups of people - in large and small numbers. Driven by environmental pressures, economic pressures, or to escape violence and repression, groups and cultures have relocated or been forced to relocate throughout history.  In the Fertile Crescent region during the third and second millennium BCE, there were a number of large and small migrations that added to the flux and cosmopolitan nature of this territory.  Recognize, as migrants move into a region they bring with them new ideas, technologies, cultural elements and typically have a lasting impact on their new home.  These migrants are also influenced by their new societal surroundings; their existing culture is enriched.  Last Unit, we touched on the Hyksos migration which had noticeable effects on ancient Egypt. Later in this unit, we discuss another important and influential migrating group - the Hebrews.

One very important migration which occurred during this ancient period was the Indo-Europeans. The Indo-European migration was an influential movement of people still studied and debated today. The current theory is that between 2,000 BCE and 1,200 BCE, groups of Indo-European peoples moved out of the region known today as the Caucasus (the region of what is today Armenia and Azerbaijan) and spread out in waves and in different directions. The Indo-European migration is believed to have covered a vast amount of territory.  The influence of migrating Indo-European peoples has been identified in Italy and Greece in the West, and as far East as the Indus River Valley, where Indo-European migrants profoundly impacted the development of India. (The Indo-Europeans who reached India are more commonly referred to as Aryans - we discuss them further in Unit 4.)

The most important way that Indo-European peoples impacted regions as diverse as Italy, Anatolia (modern day Turkey), Persia (modern day Iran) and India was in the development of their languages.  In fact much of this Indo-European migration has been traced by identifying and linking common features in the ancient languages of all these regions - all of which can be traced to the influence of a mother Indo-European tongue.  Thus the ancient tongues of Latin, Greek, Persian, and Sanskrit all share similarities in vocabulary, and are all linked to a mother Indo-European language. These common features in vocabulary and language seen across cultures and continents demonstrate the impact of migrations.

EMPIRES

A constant feature of "civilization" is warfare, more specifically the attempt by leaders to expand their power and build empires. During the third and second millennia BCE, important and powerful empires emerged in the Near East.  Leaders were able to incorporate a large number of territories and therefore cultures under their control.  We look at a few examples in this unit - the Hittites, the Assyrians and the Persians.   In later weeks, we look at other empires and their effects - for example the empire of Alexander the Great, Islamic empires, the Mongols and the greatest empire of the Mediterranean world - Rome. Recognize, although empires often represent periods of tremendous violence, they are an important force of change; some effects can be constructive and beneficial.

There are two ways that empire building affected history and the development of cultures. One is that an empire results in an exchange between the conquerors and those being absorbed. Often an invading society brings with it new ideas; these new ideas are shared with the conquered region or even imposed and forced on the populace.  Either way, conquered people are deeply affected by the experience of invasion and exposure to a new, dominant culture.  Conversely, those who invade are also impacted by those they subdue. It is not uncommon in history for the dominant, invading society to absorb and adopt influential ideas and knowledge from their conquered subjects, forever changing the direction of their own civilization.

The second way that empires create greater interchange of ideas is simple - empires tie people together. As a result of shared borders and shared political/economic policies, conquered people are increasingly exposed to others that are part of the empire; there is usually greater interaction between all peoples brought under an empire's control.  Trade, for example, usually flourishes within the boundaries of an empire. Travel is often safer under the protection of an encompassing and unifying empire, as was the case under ancient Persia, Rome, and even the Mongols.  Empires thus create increased interaction.  Even though the process may be violent and cause tremendous suffering and loss, empires are often also a force of constructive interchange, and thus increased creation and innovation between peoples.

In the next chapter we see this demonstrated in our discussion of the Assyrians and Persians; remember, however, these observations also apply to later topics and empires - not just in the Near East, but across the globe and throughout world history.