The Ancient Near East: the Cradle of Civilization

The Neolithic: where Civilization began

10,000 BCE

The process of sedentism, domestication of animals and plants, and the creation of food storage such as pottery begins in the Fertile Crescent (Earley-Spadoni, "The Neolithic in the Ancient Near East).

Hassana-Samarra

6500 BCE

The widespread use of pottery begins which was created by hand with painted motifs with elaborate designs (Earley-Spadoni, "The Pottery Neolithic in the Ancient Near East").

Uruk Period: Cylinder Seals

4000 BCE

Cylinder Seals became the dominate from of signature during Mesopotamia. The motif on the seal would be rolled unto the clay to create the imprint. The Uruk cylinder seals were created from limestone, were rather large and had a knob at the end. The changes of seal style changed over time and provides us with chronology information (Earley-Spadoni, "The Uruk Period").

Predynastic Egypt

3500 BCE

The pit graves of Predynastic Egypt represent the beginning of the mortuary practices exhibited by the Ancient Egyptians. The graves would include personal belongings such as jewelry, weapons, and pottery (Earley-Spadoni, "The Pottery Neolithic in the Ancient Near East).

Uruk Period: Cuneifrom Tablet

3500 BCE

The earliest writing was Cuneifrom which was imprinted on clay tablets and recorded sales transactions (Earley-Spadoni, "The Uruk Period"). Found at the city of Uruk, archaeologists uncovered 400 tablets that were predominately administrative and word lists (Delnero, pg. 1).

Early Dynastic: Egypt

2900 BCE

The Ancient Egyptians created the writing material Papyrus from the papyrus plant that grew along the Nile. They began by taking strips from inside of the stalk, laying the pieces down in layers, and leaving it out to dry. Once dried, they would roll the papyrus or cut it into sheets and write on it. The first papyrus found dates to the 1st Dynasty but was blank. The first papyrus found with written text dates to the 4th Dynasty and was administrative (Earley-Spadoni, "Sources in Ancient Egypt).

Early Dynastic: Mesopotamia

2700 BCE

It was during this time that the first historical narrative is told. The Sumerian Kings List details the reigns of kingship beginning with the gods with long reigns to human kings with reigns we can confirm through their inscriptions and tablets (Earley-Spadoni, "The Early Dynastic Period).

Old Kingdom: Egypt

2560 BCE

The beginnings of monumental architecture begins with the Djoser's Step Pyramid from the 3rd Dynasty. By the 4th Dynasty, the true pyramid was created; the biggest and most famous being the pyramids of Giza built by Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure. Exemplifying divine kingship, these monuments set the standard for future pharaohs building endeavors. We also see here the inclusion of "Son of Re" used for the first time (Murnane, pg. 696).

The Akkadian Empire

2300 BCE

Founded by Sargon with its peak during the reign of his gradson Naram-Sim, Akkad is considered the first empire. This period is where the the new "presentation scene" motif is used on cylinder seals. Texts are written in Akkadian for the first time with Sumerian only written as a scholarly language. It is here that we see the inclusion of kingly deification used. (Earley-Spadoni, "The Akkadian Empire").

Syria: the Dominate Ebla

2200 BCE

With only one archive available to guide us, we know that the Syrian city of Ebla had dominance in the region for roughly two centuries with an emphasis on trade. This great city however, fell under the expansion of Naram-Sin which resulted in a cultural decline in Syria that can be seen in the elimination of urban life (Lemche, pg. 1200).

Middle Kingdom: Egypt

1938 BCE

Pharaoh Amenemhet 1 from the 12th Dynasty, recreates a strong central government in Egypt. Writing political propaganda such as "The Prophecy of Nefertiti" and "Instructions of Amenemhet", Amenemhet presented his kingship as central to the life of Egypt. He also instituted the first coregency with his son, Senwosret I, which created a smooth transition of reigns that future kings followed (Mernane, pg. 699).

The Kingdom of Mari

1771 BCE

Due to the amount of textual evidence, Mari is the most known Near Eastern Kingdom. With the amount of archives available, we are able to reconstruct the harem hierarchy, palace worship, and foreign embassy practices.The most notable king was Zimri-Lim who participated in the marriage alliances that were common during this time and who actively corresponded with other rulers, governors, and his daughters who had married foreign rulers (Earley-Spadoni, "Age of the Amorites").

Old Babylonian Empire

1759 BCE

Hammurabi created the Old Babylonian empire through conquering Mesopotamia and his empire did not outlast his rule. The Stele of Hammurabi with 282 "laws" was the first inscription that presented a king as a just ruler and not just a conqueror or builder which encouraged loyalty because of his character as king (Earley-Spadoni, "Age of the Amorites").

Old Kingdom: Hittites

1650 BCE

The founding of the Hittite Kingdom begins with Khattushili at the new capital, Khattusha. This period is marked by aggressivie imperialism among the world states. (Macqueen, pg. 1089).

Second Intermediate Period Egypt: Hyksos

1630 BCE

The invasion of the Hyksos ("rulers of foreign countries") was a gradual progress. Egyptian pictorial sources show this nomadic group settling in the Nile delta for trade purposes. As the Middle Kingdom rulers weakened, the Canaanite Hyksos were able to establish the 15th Dynasty in Lower Egypt (Lemche, pg. 1205). Simultaneously, the 17th Dynasty of Thebian rulers of Upper Egypt ruled as vassals to the Hyksos in Avaris (Murnane, pg. 702).

Kingdom of Mitanni

1490 BCE

Mitanni reached its peak during the end of the 16th century and was a major power during the Amarna Period. Their expansion went as far north as the Syrian city of Qadesh and Arrapkha in the east (Earley-Spadoni, "Peoples of the Late Bronze Age"). To combat the growing threat in the north from the Hittites, a defensive alliance was made between Egypt and Mitanni under Thutmose IV which resulted in 3 generations of Mitanni princesses being married to an Egyptian pharaoh (Lemche, pg. 1206).

Kassite Babylonia

1465 BCE

From the mountains of Zagros,the Kassite people assimulated into Babylonian society. Ruling for around 4 centuries, the Kassite kings focused on restoring temples and left many stone monuments called "kudurru" that had divine inscriptions detailing land grants and tax exemption (Earley-Spadoni, "Peoples of the Late Bronze Age).

New Kingdom Egypt: The Amarna Letters

1385 BCE

The Amarna Letters show the correspondence of the 4 great powers over a 30 year period: Egypt, Mittani, Babylonia and Hatti. The letters are written in Akkadian, the official international language, and discuss gift giving between the "great kings" such as gold from Egypt, treaties that would often be sealed by marriage, and concerns they had of each others vassals (Earley-Spadoni, "Peoples of the Late Bronze Age).

The Hittite Empire

1380 BCE

Under King Shuppiluliuma, the Hittite empire was born. Conquering much of Syria and taking advantage of the neglectful Heretic Pharaoh, Akhenaten, Shuppiluliuma was able to maintain the attack on the kingdom of Mittani and reach as far south as the Lebanon Mountains (Macqueen, pg. 1092).

The Treaty of Qadesh

1271 BCE

Sixteen years after the Battle of Qadesh, the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II and the Hittite king Muwattalli II signed the worlds first peace treaty due to the rising threat of the Assyrians (Earley-Spadoni, "Peoples of the Late Bronze Age").

Assyria

1235 BCE

Assyrian expansion culminated with King Tukulti-Ninurta. The "Epic of Tukulti-Ninurta" details the stunning victory over Babylon and he was the first king to call himself "king of the universe". Many documents from the Assyrian period detail how the conquered regions were managed (Earley-Spadoni, "Peoples of the Late Bronze Age").

The Sea Peoples

1177 BCE

Under the Pharaoh, Merneptah, inscriptions reveal the first mention of not only Israel but of the "Sea Peoples" who are blamed for the for the decline of society in the Ancient Near East. 30 years later, Pharaoh Ramesses III continues detailing the battles fought against these people with Egypt (Cline, pg. 8 ). Assyria and Egypt were the only powers left at the end of the Late Bronze Age (Earley-Spadoni, "Peoples of the Late Bronze Age").

The Levant: 1200-1000

1150 BCE

Located between Mesopotamia in the West and Egypt in the South, textual information is scarce and what we know comes from the Assyrians for the region of Syria and from the Egyptians for Palestine. While not reliable for historical information, this is the time period that the Hebrew Bible describes the history of Israel before the monarchy (Lemche, pg. 1196).

Palestine: A United Kingdom

1000 BCE

According to the Hebrew Bible, this is the period where the local tribes united under the reign of Saul (Lemche, pg. 1211).

Palestine: A Divided Kingdom

932 BCE

Palestine splits between two kingdoms, Israel and Judah, with Israel reaching its height by 886 during the reign of King Omri.(Lemche, pg. 1212).

The Neo-Assyrian Empire

883 BCE

Based on the royal annals we are told that under the reign of Assurnasirpal II, Assyria began its request and established its reputation of cruelty. These military campaigns resulted in large deportations of conquered people, pillaging, and forced annual tribute to be paid to Assyria. These methods ensured that many kingdoms would prefer to surrender than suffer the smite of Assyria (Earley-Spadoni, "The Neo-Assyrian Empire").

Kingdom of Israel

722 BCE

The religious texts of the Hebrew Bible help illustrate the relationship of a vessel to the kingdom of Assyria. The books of Kings and other prophetic writings describe the fall of Israel that resulted in the deportation of the people of Israel by the Assyrians. In their place the Assyrians put deported people from Mesopotamia into Israel, who became the ancestors of the Samaritans (Lemche, pg. 1213).

Neo-Babylon

604 BCE

With the decline of Assyria during his fathers reign, King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon constructed massive rebuilding and restoration campaigns, such as Ishtars Gate, that continued on with future kings. The Hebrew Bible details the destruction and deportation of Jerusalem under King Nebuchadnezzar in 582 whereas Babylonian sources do not distinguish it between their conquests (Earley-Spadoni, "The Neo-Babylonian Empire).

Kingdom of Judah

586 BCE

Babylonian, Mesopotamian, and the Hebrew Bible all detail the consistent battles and foreign rulers over Judah. By the 6th century Babylon ruled over Israel and ultimately destroyed the capital of Jerusalem and exiled most of the population of Israel into Babylon (Lemche, pg. 1214).

The Persian Empire

559 BCE

Established under King Cyrus, the expansion of the Persian empire was systematic and began with unification of Anatolia, the fall of Babylon, and the conquering of Syria, Palestine and Egypt. Called "The Great King", Cyrus established satraps to govern the vast empire and due to his respect for religion and culture, it was a relatively peaceful period across the Near East (Lemche, pg. 1215).

Macedonian Rule

332 BCE

Alexander the Great began his expansion and brought Hellenism to the Near East and ended the Persian rule in the area. With the death of Alexander, his empire was split between the spheres of the Seleucid and Ptolemaic empires.This solidified the permanent end to many independent rules across the Near East (Lemche, pg 1215).