CHAPTER THREE
ERA OF SMALL KINGDOMS
While
larger civilizations, especially empires, usually gain more attention in
history books and history lectures, some of the most important and longest
lasting contributions in the ancient world were made by smaller, short-lived
civilizations. This is certainly evident when one looks at the ancient Near
East. For those living in smaller kingdoms and societies, there was a
remarkable and rare period between (roughly) 1200 - 800 BCE known as the Era of
Small Kingdoms. What distinguishes this period is the fact there were no
dominant empires present in the Near East
during this time. After the collapse of Egypt and the Hittite Empire at the
end of the second millennium, no empire dominated this region for almost four
hundred years, not until the Assyrians began their expansion. This created a
remarkable breathing space for peoples in the Near East.
This "window", this breathing period between powerful and
intimidating empires, was a time when the smaller civilizations and societies
in the region could more freely create distinctive, diverse, independent
traditions and cultures.
PHOENICIA
One example
of a small but influential kingdom which thrived during the Era of Small
Kingdoms (around 1000 BCE) was Phoenicia
- located in the region of present day Lebanon. (see map) The ancient
Phoenicians spent most of their history under the domination of an outside
power; however, when allowed to develop independently, this society exhibited
tremendous creativity and made important contributions to the cosmopolitan mix
of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean
world. The territory Phoenicians occupied had only a limited amount of
level ground for planting. To farm in this region meant terrace farming,
which is back breaking and produces limited yields. The Phoenicians therefore
turned to the sea, and trade and export of goods as the mainstay of their
economy. To maintain their trading connections and control, the Phoenicians
established colonies throughout the entire Mediterranean
sea. (see map)
Long before the ancient Greeks, it was the Phoenicians who tied Mediterranean
cultures together through extensive trading connections and networks. (see map) One of their
colonies in Northern Africa, Carthage,
even outlived the mother country of Phoenicia. Centuries after Phoenicia was conquered, the independent and
powerful state of Carthage survived, and in fact
grew to became a dangerous rival to the ambitions of the Roman
empire. The Phoenicians, then, played an important role in this
region as they transported goods, ideas and traditions throughout the
Mediterranean world. They founded colonies which developed into influential
cities and states, and helped to spread ancient Near Eastern culture to areas
in Africa and Western Europe.
The Phoenicians are also
credited with adopting, revising and spreading one of the most basic tools used
today in the Western world - the letter alphabet (as
opposed to pictographic writing.) This letter based alphabet had an important
influence on later Western societies, including the Greeks and Romans (and made
possible the text you are reading right now!) (see diagram) This
innovation, in addition to the important role Phoenicia had in the trading of
paper, resulted in the close connection between Phoenician culture and advances
in literacy and writing. The term "biblio" as a root word comes
from the great Phoenician city of Byblos.
Examples where we see the echoes of this city, this civilization, in our
vocabulary include terms like bibliography, and the word
"Bible" which means - the Book.
HEBREWS
The Hebrews were a culture
which never created an empire or even a trading network, yet had a tremendous
influence on the history of the Near East
and ultimately global history. The history of this tribally-based culture
during this ancient period reflected many of the themes mentioned earlier, for
example the influential role of migrations and empires, and the resulting
richness of Near Eastern culture due to constant interaction. The Hebrews
were profoundly influenced by neighboring and invading cultures such as the
Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Persians and Romans. And the Hebrews as
a civilization added their own ideas to the interactive story of human cultures
- most significantly, their development of a true and lasting monotheism.
Monotheism, the belief in
the existence of only one god or deity, briefly appeared earlier in Egypt during the New
Kingdom period. As your text discussed, the Pharaoh Akenaton
attempted to impose an unpopular belief of one god on a reluctant and resistant
Egyptian population. This attempt at a monotheistic religion, however, did
not survive after Akenaton's death and thus remains a footnote in history.
In contrast, the
monotheistic beliefs of the Hebrews were accepted and cherished by their
culture. Hebrew beliefs in ethical monotheism led to the development of
the religion of Judaism; this influential world religion grew out of
Hebrew history and experience in the Near East.
Judaism provided a societal and historical bond for Hebrew peoples that lasted
for thousands of years. Monotheism proved to be one of the most
important religious ideas in global history. From the religion of
Judaism, a product of the ancient Hebrew culture, we will later trace the
emergence of the two other significant world religions - Christianity and Islam.
In Chapter Four, we trace the history, religious developments, and
contributions of this influential Hebrew civilization.
Interesting Related Web
Sites
Encyclopedia Phoenicia
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