Assyria

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Assyria, Athura (Aramaic for Assyria), or Aur (Akkadian for Assyria) was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the late 25th or early24th century BC to 605 BC.[1] Assyria was centered on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia (present day northern Iraq). The Assyrians came to rule powerful empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur/Ashur (Akkadian: Aryu; Aramaic: Aur; Hebrew: Ar; Arabic: r). As part of the greater Mesopotamian civilization, Assyria was at its height a highly advanced nation for its time in terms of architecture, engineering, agriculture, economics, civil service, mathematics, medicine, literature, military technology, law, astronomy and libraries/record keeping. A number of Assyrian kings showed an early interest in botany and zoology also.[1] Assyria was also sometimes known as Subartu, and after its fall, from 605 BC through to the late 7th century AD variously as Athura, Syria (Greek), Assyria (Latin) and Assuristan. The term Assyria can also refer to the geographic region or heartland where Assyria, its empires and the Assyrian people were and still are centred. The modern Assyrian Christian minority in northern Iraq, north east Syria, south east Turkey and north west Iran are the descendants of the ancient Assyrians (see Assyrian continuity).[2][3]

Assyria originally was one of a number of Akkadian city states in Mesopotamia. In the late 24th century BC, Assyrian kings were regional leaders only, and subject to Sargon of Akkad who united all the Akkadian Semites and Sumerian speaking peoples of Mesopotamia under the Akkadian Empire which lasted from c. 2334 BC to 2154 BC. Following the fall of the Akkadian Empire c. 2154 BC,[4] and the succeeding Sumerian Third Dynasty of Ur, there were a number of other competing Amorite states such as Isin and Larsa, but Mesopotamia eventually coalesced into two distinct nations: Assyria in the north, and Babylonia in the south. In the Old Assyrian period of the Early Bronze Age, Assyria had been a kingdom of northern Mesopotamia, initially competing with their fellow Sumero-Akkadian states in southern Mesopotamia for dominance of the region, and also with the Hattians and Hurrians to the north in Asia Minor, the Gutians to the east in the Zagros Mountains and the Eblaites and later Amorites in the Levant to the west. During the 20th century BC, it established colonies in Asia Minor, and under king Ilushuma it asserted itself over southern Mesopotamia. From the late 19th century BC Assyria came into conflict with the newly created state of Babylonia which eventually eclipsed the older SumeroAkkadian states in the south. Assyria experienced fluctuating fortunes in the Middle Assyrian period. Assyria had a period of empire under Shamshi-Adad I and Ishme-Dagan in the 19th and 18th centuries BC. Following this it found itself under short periods of Babylonian and MitanniHurrian domination in the 18th and 15th centuries BC respectively, and another period of great power with the rise of the Middle Assyrian Empire (from 1365 BC to 1075 BC) that included the riegns of great kings such as Ashur-uballit I, Arik-den-ili, Tukulti-Ninurta I and Tiglath-Pileser I. During this period Assyria overthrew the Mitanni and eclipsed both the Hittite Empire and Egyptian Empire in the Near East. Beginning with the campaigns of Adad-nirari II from 911 BC,[1] it again became a great power over the next three centuries, overthrowing the Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt and conquering Egypt,[1] Babylonia, Elam, Urartu/Armenia, Media, Persia, Mannea, Gutium, Phoenicia/Canaan, Aramea (Syria), Arabia, Israel, Judah, Edom, Moab, Samarra, Cilicia, Cyprus, Chaldea, Nabatea, Commagene, Dilmun and the Hurrians, Sutu and Neo-Hittites, driving the Ethiopians and Nubians from Egypt,[1] defeating the Cimmerians and Scythians and exacting tribute from Phrygia, Magan and Punt among others.[1] After its fall, (between 612 BC and 605 BC), Assyria remained a province and Geo-political entity under the Babylonian, Median, Achaemenid, Seleucid, Parthian, Roman and Sassanid empires until the Arab Islamic invasion and conquest of Mesopotamia in the mid-7th century, when it was finally dissolved.[5]

Contents
[hide]

1 Early history o 1.1 Classical dating 2 Old Assyrian period o 2.1 Assyrian Empire of Shamshi-Adad I o 2.2 Assyria under Babylonian domination

2.3 Assyrian dynasty restored 2.4 Assyria under Mitanni domination 3 Middle Assyrian Empire Assyrian resurgence o 3.1 Assyrian expansion and empire 1390 - 1076 BC o 3.2 Assyria in the Ancient Dark Ages, 1075-912 BC o 3.3 Society in the Middle Assyrian period 4 Neo-Assyrian Empire o 4.1 Expansion, 911-627 BC o 4.2 Downfall, 626-605 BC 5 Assyria after the empire o 5.1 Athura, Assuristan, Assyria province o 5.2 Germany and West Africa theories 6 Assyrian Religion 7 Language 8 Arts and sciences 9 Legacy and rediscovery 10 See also 11 Notes and references 12 Literature 13 External links

o o

[edit] Early history

In prehistoric times the region was home to a Neanderthal culture such as has been found at the Shanidar Cave. The earliest Neolithic sites in Assyria were the Jarmo culture c. 7100 BC and Tell Hassuna, the centre of the Hassuna culture, c. 6000 BC. During the 3rd millennium BC, there developed a very intimate cultural symbiosis between the Sumerians and the Semitic Akkadians throughout Mesopotamia, which included widespread bilingualism.[6] The influence of Sumerian (which was a language isolate and thus not related to any other language) on Akkadian (and vice versa) is evident in all areas, from lexical borrowing on a massive scale, to syntactic, morphological, and phonological convergence.[6] This has prompted scholars to refer to Sumerian and Akkadian in the 3rd millennium BC as a sprachbund.[6]

Letter sent by the high-priest Lu'enna to the king of Lagash (maybe Urukagina), informing him of his son's death in combat, c. 2400 BC, found in Girsu. Akkadian gradually replaced Sumerian as the spoken language of Mesopotamia somewhere after the turn of the 3rd and the 2nd millennium BC (the exact dating being a matter of debate),[7] but Sumerian continued to be used as a sacred, ceremonial, literary and scientific language in Mesopotamia until the 1st century AD. The city of Assur (Ashur) existed since at least before the middle of the 3rd millennium BC (c. 2600 - 2500 BC), although it appears to have been a Sumerian ruled administrative centre at this time rather than an independent state. Assyrian kings are attested as far back as the late 25th to early 24th Century BC, beginning with Tudiya. During the Akkadian Empire (2334-2154 BC) the Assyrians, like all the Akkadian peoples, were subject to the dynasty of Akkad. The Akkadian Empire of Sargon the Great, which united all the Akkadian speaking Semites, including the Assyrians, claimed to encompass the surrounding "four quarters"; the regions north of the seat of the empire in central Mesopotamia had been known as Subartu. The name Azuhinum in Akkadian records also seems to refer to Assyria proper. During the Akkadian Empire, the city of Ashur was a regional administrative center of the Empire, implicated by Nuzi tablets,[8] subject to their fellow Akkadian Sargon and his successors. However, towards the end of the reign of Sargon the Great, the Assyrian faction rebelled against him; "the tribes of Assyria of the upper countryin their turn attacked, but they submitted to his arms, and Sargon settled their habitations, and he smote them grievously". The Akkadian Empire was destroyed by economic decline, internal strife and barbarian Gutian people in 2154 BC. The rulers of Assyria during the period between 2154 BC and 2112 BC may have once again been fully independent as the Gutians are only known to have administered southern Mesopotamia, however there is no information from Assyria bar the king list for this period. Assyria became part of the Empire of the Sumerian 3rd dynasty of Ur founded in 2112 BC, and appears to have remained largely under Sumerian domination until the mid-21st century BC. According to some Judaeo-Christian theological traditions, the city of Ashur (also spelled Assur or Aur) was founded by Ashur the son of Shem, who was deified by later generations as the city's patron god. However, there is absolutely no historical basis whatsoever for this tradition in the far older Mesopotamian annals; Assyrian tradition itself lists an early Assyrian king named Ushpia as having dedicated the first temple to the god Ashur in the city in the 21st century BC. It is highly likely that the city was named in honour of the Assyrian god of the same name.

[edit] Classical dating

George Syncellus in his Chronographia quotes a fragment from Julius Africanus which dates the founding of Assyria to 2284 BC.[9] The Roman historian Velleius Paterculus citing Aemilius Sura states that Assyria was founded 1995 years before Philip V was defeated in 197 BC (at the Battle of Cynoscephalae) by the Romans.[10] The sum therefore 197 + 1995 = 2192 BC for the foundation of Assyria. Diodorus Siculus recorded another tradition from Ctesias, that dates Assyria 1306 years before 883 BC (the starting date of the reign of Ashurnasirpal II) and so the

sum 883 + 1306 = 2189 BC.[11] The Chronicle of Eusebius yet provides another date for the founding of Assyria, with the accession of Ninus, dating to 2057 BC, but the Armenian translation of the Chronicle puts back this figure slightly back to 2116 BC. Another classical dating tradition found in the Excerpta Latina Barbari dates the foundation of Assyria, under Belus, to 2206 BC.

[edit] Old Assyrian period

Of the early history of the kingdom of Assyria, little is positively known. In the Assyrian King List, the earliest king recorded was Tudiya. He was a contemporary of Ibrium of Ebla who appears to have lived in the late 25th or early 24th century BC, according to the king list. Tudiya concluded a treaty with Ibrium for the use of a trading post in The Levant officially controlled by Ebla. Apart from this reference to trading activity, nothing further has yet been discovered about Tudiya. He was succeeded by Adamu and then a further thirteen rulers (Yangi, Suhlamu, Harharu, Mandaru, Imshu, Harshu, Didanu, Hanu, Zuabu, Nuabu, Abazu, Belu and Azarah) about all of whom nothing is yet known. The earliest kings such as Tudiya, who are recorded as kings who lived in tents were likely to have been independent Akkadian semi nomadic pasturalist rulers. However, these Assyrian kings became subject to the Akkadian Empire from the late 24th century BC.[1] These kings who dominated the region, at some point during this period became fully urbanised and founded the city state of Ashur.[12] The first written inscriptions by 'urbanised' Assyrian kings appear in the mid-21st century BC. Assyria then consisted of a number of city states and small Semitic Akkadian kingdoms. The foundation of the first true urbanised Assyrian monarchy was traditionally ascribed to Ushpia a contemporary of Ishbi-Erra of Isin and Naplanum of Larsa.[13] c. 2030 BC. He was succeeded by kings named Apiashal, Sulili, Kikkiya and Akiya of whom nothing is yet known. In approximately 1975 BC, Puzur-Ashur I (a contemporary of Shu-ilishu of Larsa and Samium of Isin) founded a new dynasty, and his successors such as Shalim-ahum (died 1946 BC), Ilushuma (1945- 1906 BC), Erishum I (1905- 1867 BC), Ikunum (1867- 1860 BC), Sargon I, Naram-Sin and Puzur-Ashur II left inscriptions regarding the building of temples to gods such as Ashur, Adad and Ishtar in Assyria. Ilushuma in particular appears to have been a powerful king, and the dominant ruler in the region, who made many raids into southern Mesopotamia between 1945 BC and 1906 BC, attacking the independent Sumero-Akkadian city states of the region such as Isin, and founding colonies at the expense of the Hattians and Hurrians in Asia Minor. The conflict between Assyria and the states of the south was to become a pattern throughout the history of ancient Mesopotamia, with the future rivalry between Assyria and Babylonia. However, Babylonia did not exist at this time, but was founded in 1894 BC by an Amorite prince named Sumuabum during the reign of Erishum I. The Amorites, a Semitic people hailing from the north eastern Levant had overrun southern Mesopotamia from the mid-20th century BC, deposing native Sumero-Akkadian dynasties and

setting up their own kingdoms. However, they were successfully repelled by the Assyrian kings of the 20th and 19th centuries BC. The main rivals to early Assyrian kings during the 22nd, 21st and 20th centuries BC would have been the Hattians and Hurrians to the north in Asia Minor, the Gutians to the east in the Zagros Mountains of north west Iran, the Elamites to the south east in what is now south central Iran, the Amorites to the west in what is today Syria and their fellow Sumero-Akkadian City-States of southern Mesopotamia such as Isin, Kish, Ur and Larsa.[1] Assyria had extensive contact with Hattian, Hittite and Hurrian cities on the Anatolian plateau in Asia Minor. The Assyrians established colonies in Cappadocia, (e.g., at Kanesh (modern Kltepe) from 1945 BC to 1740 BC. These colonies, called karum, the Akkadian word for 'port', were attached to Hattian and Hurrian cities in Anatolia, but physically separate, and had special tax status. They must have arisen from a long tradition of trade between Assyria and the Anatolian cities, but no archaeological or written records show this. The trade consisted of metal (perhaps lead or tin; the terminology here is not entirely clear) and textiles from Assyria, that were traded for precious metals in Anatolia. Like many city-states in Mesopotamian history, Ashur was, to a great extent, an oligarchy rather than a monarchy. Authority was considered to lie with "the City", and the polity had three main centres of power an assembly of elders, a hereditary ruler, and an eponym. The ruler presided over the assembly and carried out its decisions. He was not referred to with the usual Akkadian term for "king", arrum; that was instead reserved for the city's patron deity Assur, of whom the ruler was the high priest. The ruler himself was only designated as "the steward of Assur" (iiak Assur), where the term for steward is a borrowing from Sumerian ensi(k). The third centre of power was the eponym (limmum), who gave the year his name, similarly to the archons and consuls of Classical Antiquity. He was annually elected by lot and was responsible for the economic administration of the city, which included the power to detain people and confiscate property. The institution of the eponym as well as the formula iiak Assur lingered on as ceremonial vestiges of this early system throughout the history of the Assyrian monarchy.[14]

[edit] Assyrian Empire of Shamshi-Adad I

In 1813 BC the native Akkadian king of Assyria Erishum II (1819- 1813 BC) was deposed, and the throne of Assyria was usurped by Shamshi-Adad I (1813 BC 1791 BC) in the expansion of Semitic Amorite tribes from the Khabur River delta. Although regarded as an Amorite by later Assyrian tradition, Shamshi-Adad is also credited with descent from the native ruler Ushpia in the Assyrian King List. He put his son Ishme-Dagan on the throne of a nearby Assyrian city, Ekallatum, and maintained Assyria's Anatolian colonies. Shamshi-Adad I then went on to conquer the kingdom of Mari (in modern Syria) on the Euphrates putting another of his sons, Yasmah-Adad on the throne there. Shamshi-Adad's Assyria now encompassed the whole of northern Mesopotamia and included territory in Asia Minor and northern Syria. He himself resided in a new capital city founded in the Khabur valley, called Shubat-Enlil. Ishme-Dagan inherited Assyria, but Yasmah-Adad was overthrown by a new king called Zimrilim in Mari. The new king of Mari allied himself with the Amorite king Hammurabi of

Babylon, who had made the recently created, and originally minor state of Babylon a major power. Assyria now faced the rising power of Babylon in the south. Ishme-Dagan responded by making an alliance with the enemies of Babylon, and the power struggle continued without resolution for decades. Ishme-Dagan, like his father was a great warrior, and in addition to repelling Babylonian attacks, campaigned successfully against the Turukku and Lullubi who had attacked the Assyrian city of Ekallatum, and against Dadusha, king of Eshnunna and Iamhad (modern Aleppo)

[edit] Assyria under Babylonian domination

Hammurabi after first conquering Mari, Larsa and Eshnunna eventually prevailed over IshmeDagan's successors, and conquered Assyria for Babylon in 1756 BC. With Hammurabi, the various karum colonies in Anatolia ceased trade activity probably because the goods of Assyria were now being traded with the Babylonians. The Assyrian monarchy survived, however the three Amorite kings succeeding Ishme-Dagan; Mut-Ashkur (who was the son of IshmeDagan and married to a Hurrian queen), Rimush and Asinum were vassals, dependent on the Babylonians during the reign of Hammurabi.

[edit] Assyrian dynasty restored

The short lived Babylonian Empire quickly began to unravel upon the death of Hammurabi, and Babylonia lost control over Assyria during the reign of Hammurabi's successor Samsu-iluna. A period of civil war ensued after the deposition of the Amorite vassal king of Assyria Asinum, who was a grandson of Shamshi-Adad I, by a powerful native Akkadian vice regent named Puzur-Sin. A native king named Ashur-dugul then seized the throne with the help of Puzur-Sin, and a period of internal instability ensued with five further kings (Ashur-apla-idi, Nasir-Sin, Sinnamir, Ipqi-Ishtar and Adad-salulu) all reigning in quick succession. Babylonia seems to have been too powerless to intervene or take advantage of this situation. Finally, a king named Adasi came to the fore c. 1720 BC and completely freed Assyria from any pretence of Babylonian dominance. Adasi drove the Babylonians and Amorites from Assyria during the late 18th century BC and Babylonian power began to quickly wane in Mesopotamia as a whole, although the Amorites would retain control over Babylonia and southern Mesopotamia until 1595 BC when they were overthrown by the Kassites, a people from the Zagros Mountains who spoke a language isolate and were neither Semites nor Indo-Europeans.

Assyrian, 1400 BC Adasi was succeeded by Bel-bani (1700-1691 BC). Little is known of many of the kings that followed such as; Libaya (1690-1674 BC), Sharma-Adad I (1673-1662 BC), Iptar-Sin (16611650 BC), Bazaya (1649-1622 BC), Lullaya (1621-1618 BC), Shu-Ninua (1615-1602 BC), Sharma-Adad II (1601-1599 BC), Erishum III (1598-1586 BC), and Shamshi-Adad II (15851580 BC). However Assyria seems to have been a relatively strong and stable nation, existing undisturbed by its neighbours such as the Hatti, Hittites, Hurrians, Amorites, Babylonians or Mitanni for well over 200 years. When Babylon fell to the Kassites in 1595 BC, they were unable to make any inroads into Assyria, and there seems to have been no trouble between the first Kassite ruler of Babylon, Agum II and Erishum III of Assyria, and a treaty was signed between the two rulers. Similarly, Ashur-nirari I (1547-1522 BC) seems not to have been troubled by the newly founded Mitanni Empire in Asia Minor, the Hittite empire or Babylon during his 25 year reign. Puzur-Ashur III (1521-1498 BC) proved to be a strong and energetic ruler. He undertook much rebuilding work in Assur, the city was refortified and the southern quarters incorporated into the main city defences. Temples to the moon god Sin (Nanna) and the sun god Shamash were erected during his reign. He signed a treaty with Burna-Buriash I the Kassite king of Babylon, defining the borders of the two nations in the late 16th century BC. He was succeeded by Enlil-nasir I (1497-1483 BC) who appears to have had an uneventful reign.

[edit] Assyria under Mitanni domination

The emergence of the Mitanni Empire in the 16th century BC did eventually lead to a period of Mitanni-Hurrian domination in the 15th century. The Mitanni were an Indo-European people who conquered and formed the ruling class over the indigenous Hurrians of Asia Minor/Anatolia. The Hurrians were a Caucasoid people who spoke a language isolate and were neither Semites nor Indo-Europeans. Some time after the death of the capable Puzur-Ashur III in 1498 BC, Saushtatar, king of Hanilgalbat (Hurrians of Mitanni), sacked Ashur and Assyria became a sometime vassal state. This event is most likely to have happened during the rule of Nur-ili (1483 - 1471 BC). The Assyrian monarchy survived, and the Mitanni influence appears to

have been only sporadic, and they appear not to have been always willing or able to interfere in Assyrian internal affairs For example the son of Nur-ili, Ashur-shaduni (1470 BC) was deposed by his uncle Ashur-rabi I in his first year of rule, and similarly, Ashur-nadin-ahhe I (who had made an alliance with Egypt, which sent him a consignment of gold) was deposed by his own brother Enlil-nasir II in 1420 BC. Assyrian kings seemed to have been free of Mitanni influence regarding international affairs at times also, as evidenced by the border treaty between Ashurbel-nisheshu (14171409 BC) and Karaindash of Babylon in the late 15th century. Ashur-rimnisheshu (14081401 BC) and Ashur-nadin-ahhe II (14001391 BC) were the final two kings subject to the Mitanni empire. Eriba-Adad I, a son of Ashur-bel-nisheshu, ascended the throne in 1390 BC and the ties to Mitanni began to unravel. There are dozens of Mesopotamian cuneiform texts from this period, with precise observations of solar and lunar eclipses, that have been used as 'anchors' in the various attempts to define the chronology of Babylonia and Assyria for the early 2nd millennium BC (i.e., the "high", "middle", and "low" chronologies.)

[edit] Middle Assyrian Empire Assyrian resurgence

Middle Assyrian Period 1365 BC934 BC

Map of the Ancient Near East during the Amarna Period (14th century BC), showing the great powers of the day: Egypt (green), Hatti (yellow), the Kassite kingdom of Babylon (purple), Assyria (grey), and Mitanni (red). Lighter areas show direct control, darker areas represent spheres of influence. The extent of the Achaean/Mycenaean civilization is shown in orange.

Capital

Assur

Languages

Akkadian

Religion

Mesopotamian religion

Government

Monarchy

King

1365 - 1330 BC

Ashur-uballit I (first)

967 - 934 BC

Tiglath-Pileser II (last)

Historical era

Mesopotamia

- Independence from Mitanni

1365 BC

- Reign of Ashurdan II

934 BC

Scholars variously date the beginning of the "Middle Assyrian period" to either the fall of the Old Assyrian kingdom of Shamshi-Adad I, or to the ascension of Ashur-uballit I to the throne of Assyria.

[edit] Assyrian expansion and empire 1390 - 1076 BC

See also: Military history of the Neo-Assyrian Empire By the reign of Eriba-Adad I (1390 BC - 1366 BC) Mitanni influence over Assyria was on the wane. Eriba-Adad I became involved in a dynastic battle between Tushratta and his brother Artatama II and after this his son Shuttarna II, who called himself king of the Hurri while seeking support from the Assyrians. A pro-Hurri/Assyria faction appeared at the royal Mitanni

court. Eriba-Adad I had thus loosened Mitanni influence over Assyria, and in turn had now made Assyria an influence over Mitanni affairs. During the reign of Ashur-uballit I (1365 BC 1330 BC). Assyrian pressure from the east and Hittite pressure from the north-west, enabled Ashur-uballit I to gain the upper hand over the Mitannians, and again make Assyria an imperial power at the expense of not only the Mitanni themselves, but also Kassite Babylonia, the Hurrians and the Hittites; and a time came when the Kassite king in Babylon was glad to marry Muballiat-ra, the daughter of Ashur-uballit, whose letters to Akhenaten of Egypt form part of the Amarna letters. This marriage led to disastrous results, as the Kassite faction at court murdered the Babylonian king and placed a pretender on the throne. Assur-uballit promptly invaded Babylonia to avenge his son-in-law, entering Babylon, deposing the king and installing Kurigalzu II of the royal line king there. Ashur-uballit I then attacked and defeated Mattiwaza the Mitanni king despite attempts by the Hittite king Suppiluliumas, now fearful of growing Assyrian power, attempting to preserve his throne with military support. The lands of the Mitanni and Hurrians were duly appropriated by Assyria, making it a large and powerful empire. Enlil-nirari (1329- 1308 BC) succeeded Ashur-uballit I. He described himself as a "Great-King" (Sharru rab) in letters to the Hittite kings. He was immediately attacked by Kurigalzu II of Babylon who had been installed by his father, but succeeded in defeating him, repelling Babylonian attempts to invade Assyria, counterattacking and appropriating Babylonian territory in the process, thus further expanding Assyria. The successor of Enlil-nirari, Arik-den-ili (c. 1307-1296 BC), consolidated Assyrian power, and successfully campaigned in the Zagros Mountains to the east, subjugating the Lullubi and Gutians. In the Levant, he defeated Semitic tribes of the so-called Ahlamu group. He was followed by Adad-nirari I (1295- 1275 BC) who made Kalhu (Biblical Calah/Nimrud) his capital, and continued expansion to the northwest, mainly at the expense of the Hittites and Hurrians, conquering Hittite territories such as Carchemish and beyond. Adad-nirari I made further gains to the south, annexing Babylonian territory and forcing the Kassite rulers of Babylon into accepting a new frontier agreement in Assyria's favour. Adad-nirari's inscriptions are more detailed than any of his predecessors. He declares that the gods called him to war, a statement used by most subsequent Assyrian kings. He referred to himself again as Sharru Rabi ( meaning "The Great King"in the Akkadian language) and conducted extensive building projects in Ashur and the provinces. In 1274 BC Shalmaneser I ascended the throne. He proved to be a great warrior king. During his reign he conquered the powerful kingdom of Urartu that had encompassed most of Eastern Anatolia and the Caucasus Mountains, and the fierce Gutians of the Zagros Mountains in modern Iran. He then attacked the Mitanni-Hurrians, defeating both King Shattuara and his Hittite and Aramean allies, finally completely destroying the Hurrian kingdom in the process. During the campaign against the Hittites, Shattuara cut off the Assyrian army from their supply of food and water, but the Assyrians broke free in a desperate battle, counterattacked, and

conquered and annexed what remained of the Mitanni kingdom. Shalmaneser I installed an Assyrian prince, Ilu-ippada as ruler of Mitanni, with Assyrian governors such as Meli-sah, installed to rule individual cities. The Hittites tried unsuccessfully to save Mitanni. In alliance with Babylon, they fought an economic war against Assyria for many years. Assyria was now a large and powerful empire, and a major threat to Egyptian and Hittite interests in the region, and was perhaps the reason that these two powers, fearful of Assyrian might, made peace with one another.[15] Like his father, Shalmaneser was a great builder and he further expanded the city of Kalhu (the biblical Calah/Nimrud) at the juncture of the Tigris and Zab Rivers. Shalmaneser's son and successor, Tukulti-Ninurta I (1244 BC -1208 BC), won a major victory against the Hittites and their king Tudhaliya IV at the Battle of Nihriya and took thousands of prisoners. He then conquered Babylonia, taking Kashtiliash IV as a captive and ruled there himself as king for seven years, taking on the old title "King of Sumer and Akkad" first used by Sargon of Akkad. Tukulti-Ninurta I thus became the first native Akkadian speaking Mesopotamian to rule the state of Babylonia, its founders having been Amorites, succeeded by Kassites. Tukulti-Ninurta petitioned the god Shamash before beginning his counter offensive.[16] Kashtiliash IV was captured, single-handed by Tukulti-Ninurta according to his account, who trod with my feet upon his lordly neck as though it were a footstool[17] and deported him ignominiously in chains to Assyria. The victorious Assyrian demolished the walls of Babylon, massacred many of the inhabitants, pillaged and plundered his way across the city to the Esagila temple, where he made off with the statue of Marduk.[18] He then proclaimed himself king of Karduniash, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of Sippar and Babylon, king of Tilmun and Meluhha.[16] Middle Assyrian texts recovered at ancient Dr-Katlimmu, include a letter from Tukulti-Ninurta to his sukkal rabiu, or grand vizier, Ashur-iddin advising him of the approach of his general Shulman-mushabshu escorting the captive Kashtiliash, his wife, and his retinue which incorporated a large number of women,[19] on his way to exile after his defeat. In the process he defeated the Elamites, who had themselves coveted Babylon. He also wrote an epic poem documenting his wars against Babylon and Elam. After a Babylonian revolt, he raided and plundered the temples in Babylon, regarded as an act of sacrilege. As relations with the priesthood in Ashur began deteriorating, Tukulti-Ninurta built a new capital city; Kar-TukultiNinurta.[20] However, Tukulti-Ninurta's sons rebelled and besieged the ageing king in his capital. He was murdered and then succeeded by Ashur-nadin-apli. Another unstable period for Assyria followed, it was riven by periods of internal strife and the new king only made token and unsuccessful attempts to recapture Babylon, whose Kassite kings had taken advantage of the upheavals in Assyria and freed themselves from Assyrian rule. However, Assyria itself was not threatened by foreign powers during the reigns of Ashur-nirari III, Enlil-kudurri-usur and Ninurta-apal-Ekur (1192-1180 BC), although Ninurta-apal-Ekur usurped the throne from Enlilkudurri-usur. Ashur-Dan I (1179-1133 BC) stabilised Assyria during his unusually long reign. He maintained friendly relations with Babylonia and other neighbours of Assyria, and seems to have quelled internal instability. However, another brief period of internal upheaval followed the death of

Ashur-Dan I when his son and successor Ninurta-tukulti-Ashur (1133 BC) was deposed in his first year of rule by his own brother Mutakkil-Nusku and forced to flee to Babylonia. Mutakkil-Nusku himself died in the same year (1133 BC) leaving a third brother Ashur-resh-ishi I (1133 -1116 BC) the throne. This was to lead to a renewed period of Assyrian expansion and empire. As the Hittite empire collapsed from the onslaught of the Indo-European Phrygians (called Mushki in Assyrian annals), Babylon and Assyria began to vie for Aramean regions (in modern Syria), formerly under firm Hittite control. When their forces encountered one another in this region, the Assyrian king Ashur-resh-ishi I met and defeated Nebuchadnezzar I of Babylon on a number of occasions. Assyria then invaded and annexed Hittite controlled lands in Asia Minor and Aram (Syria), marking an upsurge in imperian expansion. Tiglath-Pileser I (1115- 1077 BC), vies with Shamshi-Adad I and Ashur-uballit I among historians as being regarded as the founder of the first Assyrian empire. The son of Ashur-reshishi I, he ascended to the throne upon his father's death, and became one of the greatest of Assyrian conquerors during his 38 year reign.[21] His first campaign in 1112 BC was against the Phrygians who had attempted to occupy certain Assyrian districts in the Upper Euphrates; after driving out the Phrygians he then overran the Luwian kingdoms of Commagene, Cilicia and Cappadocia in western Asia Minor, and drove the Hittites from the Assyrian province of Subartu, northeast of Malatia. In a subsequent campaign, the Assyrian forces penetrated Urartu, into the mountains south of Lake Van and then turned westward to receive the submission of Malatia. In his fifth year, Tiglath-Pileser again attacked Commagene, Cilicia and Cappadocia, and placed a record of his victories engraved on copper plates in a fortress he built to secure his Cilician conquests. The Aramaeans of northern Syria were the next targets of the Assyrian king, who made his way as far as the sources of the Tigris.[21] The control of the high road to the Mediterranean was secured by the possession of the Hittite town of Pitru[22] at the junction between the Euphrates and Sajur; thence he proceeded to conquer the Canaanite/Phoenician cities of (Byblos), Sidon, and finally Arvad where he embarked onto a ship to sail the Mediterranean, on which he killed a nahiru or "sea-horse" (which A. Leo Oppenheim translates as a narwhal) in the sea.[21] He was passionately fond of hunting and was also a great builder. The general view is that the restoration of the temple of the gods Ashur and Hadad at the Assyrian capital of Assur (Ashur) was one of his initiatives.[21] He also invaded and defeated Babylon twice, assuming the old title "King of Sumer and Akkad", forcing tribute from Babylon, although he did not actually depose the actual king in Babylonia, where the old Kassite Dynasty had now succumbed to an Elamite one.

[edit] Assyria in the Ancient Dark Ages, 1075-912 BC

The period from 1200 BC to 900 BC was a dark age for the entire Near East, North Africa, Caucasus, Mediterranean and Balkan regions, with great upheavals and mass movements of people.

Assyria and its empire were not unduly affected by these tumultuous events for some 125 years, perhaps the only ancient power that was not. However, after Tiglath-Pileser I died in 1076 BC, Assyria was in comparative decline for the next 150 years. The empire shrank significantly, and Assyria appears to have controlled only areas close to Assyria itself, essential to keeping trade routes open in eastern Syria, south eastern Asia Minor central Mesopotamia and north western Iran. Semitic peoples such as the Arameans, Chaldeans and Suteans moved into areas to the west and south of Assyria, including overrunning much of Babylonia to the south, Indo-European/Iranic peoples such as the Medes and Persians moved into the lands to the east of Assyria, displacing the native Gutians and pressuring Elam and Mannea (which were both ancient non IndoEuropean civilisations of Iran), and to the north the Indo-European Phrygians overran their fellow Indo European Hittites, Urartians (Armenians) rose in the Caucasus, and Cimmerians, Colchians and Scythians around The Black Sea. Egypt was divided and in disarray, and Semitic Israelites were battling with other fellow Semitic Canaanite peoples and the Peleset (Philistines) for the control of southern Canaan.

Assyrian horsemen pursue defeated Arabs. Despite the apparent weakness of Assyria in comparison to its former might, at heart it in fact remained a solid, well defended nation whose warriors were the best in the world. Assyria, with its stable monarchy and secure borders was in a stronger position during this time than potential rivals such as Egypt, Babylonia, Elam, Phrygia, Urartu, Persia and Media[23] Kings such as Ashur-bel-kala, Eriba-Adad II, Ashur-rabi II, Ashurnasirpal I, Tiglath-Pileser II and Ashur-Dan II successfully defended Assyria's borders and upheld stability during this tumultuous time. Assyrian kings during this period appear to have adopted a policy of maintaining and defending a compact, secure nation and satellite colonies immediately surrounding it, and interspersed this with sporadic punitive raids and invasions of neighbouring territories when the need arose; For example, during the reign of Ashur-rabi II (1013972 BC) Aramaean tribes took the cities of Pitru and Mutkinu (which had been taken and colonized by Tiglath Pileser I.) This event showed how far Assyria could assert itself militarily when the need arose. The Assyrian king attacked the Arameans, forced his way to the far off Mediterranean and constructed a stele in the area of Mount Atalur.[24] Similarly, Ashur-Dan II (935912 BC) is recorded as having made punitive raids outside the borders of Assyria to clear Aramean and other tribal peoples from the regions surrounding Assyria. Ashur-dan II concentrated on rebuilding Assyria within its natural borders, from Tur Abdin to the foothills beyond Arbela, he built government offices in all provinces, and as an economic boost, provided ploughs throughout the land, which yielded record grain production.

[edit] Society in the Middle Assyrian period

Assyria had difficulties with keeping the trade routes open. Unlike the situation in the Old Assyrian period, the Anatolian metal trade was effectively dominated by the Hittites and the Hurrians. These people now controlled the Mediterranean ports, while the Kassites controlled the river route south to the Persian Gulf. The Middle Assyrian kingdom was well organized, and in the firm control of the king, who also functioned as the High Priest of Ashur, the state god. He had certain obligations to fulfill in the cult, and had to provide resources for the temples. The priesthood became a major power in Assyrian society. Conflicts with the priesthood are thought to have been behind the murder of king Tukulti-Ninurta I. The main Assyrian cities of the middle period were Ashur, Kalhu (Nimrud) and Nineveh, all situated in the Tigris River valley. At the end of the Bronze Age, Nineveh was much smaller than Babylon, but still one of the world's major cities (population c. 33,000). By the end of the Neo-Assyrian period, it had grown to a population of some 120,000, and was possibly the largest city in the world at that time.[25] All free male citizens were obliged to serve in the army for a time, a system which was called the ilku-service. A legal code was produced during the 14th13th century which, among other things, clearly shows that the social position of women in Assyria was lower than that of neighbouring societies. Men were permitted to divorce their wives with no compensation paid to the latter. If a woman committed adultery, she could be beaten or put to death. It's not certain if these laws were seriously enforced, but they appear to be a backlash against some older documents which granted things like equal compensation to both partners in divorce. The women of the king's harem and their servants were also subject to harsh punishments such as beatings, mutilation, and death. Assyria in general had much harsher laws than most of the region. Executions were not uncommon, nor were whippings followed by forced labour. Some offenses allowed the accused a trial under torture/duress. One tablet that covers property rights has brutal penalties for violators. A creditor could force debtors to work for him, but not sell them.

Assyrian troops return after victory. The Middle Assyrian Period is marked by the long wars fought during this period that helped build Assyria into a warrior society. The king depended both on the citizen class and priests in his capital, and the landed nobility who supplied the horses needed by Assyria's military. Documents and letters illustrate the importance of the latter to Assyrian society. Assyria needed less artificial irrigation than Babylon, and horse-breeding was extensive. Portions of elaborate texts about the care and training of them have been found. Trade was carried out in all directions.

The mountain country to the north and west of Assyria was a major source of metal ore, as well as lumber. Economic factors were a common casus belli. Assyrian architecture, like that of Babylonia, was influenced by Sumero-Akkadian styles (and to some degree Mitanni), but early on developed its own distinctive style. Palaces sported colourful wall decorations, and seal-cutting (an art learned from Mittani) developed apace. Schools for scribes taught both the Babylonian and Assyrian dialects of Akkadian, and Sumerian and Akkadian literary works were often copied with an Assyrian flavour. The Assyrian dialect of Akkadian was used in legal, official, religious, and practical texts such as medicine or instructions on manufacturing items. During the 13th-10th centuries, picture tales appeared as a new art form: a continuous series of images carved on square stone steles. Somewhat reminiscent of a comic book, these show events such as warfare or hunting, placed in order from the upper left to the lower right corner of the stele with captions written underneath them. These and the excellent cut seals show that Assyrian art was beginning to surpass that of Babylon. Architecture saw the introduction of a new style of ziggurat, with two towers and colorful enameled tiles.

[edit] Neo-Assyrian Empire

Map of the Neo-Assyrian Empire and its expansions. Main articles: Neo-Assyrian Empire and Military history of the Neo-Assyrian Empire The Neo-Assyrian Empire is usually considered to have begun with the accession of Adad-nirari II, in 911 BC, lasting until the fall of Nineveh at the hands of the Babylonians, Medes, Scythians and Cimmerians in 612 BC.[26]

[edit] Expansion, 911-627 BC

Beginning with the campaigns of Adad-nirari II (911-892 BC), Assyria once more became a great power, growing to be the greatest empire the world had yet seen. He firmly subjugated the areas previously under only nominal Assyrian vassalage, conquering and deporting troublesome Aramean, Neo-Hittite and Hurrian populations in the north to far-off places. Adadinirari II then twice attacked and defeated Shamash-mudammiq of Babylonia, annexing a large area of land north of the Diyala River and the towns of Ht and Zanqu in mid Mesopotamia. He made further gains over Babylonia under Nabu-shuma-ukin I later in his reign.

His successor, Tukulti-Ninurta II (891-884 BC) consolidated Assyria's gains and expanded into the Zagros Mountains in modern Iran, subjugating the newly arrived Persians and Medes as well as pushing into central Asia Minor.

Assyrian attack on a town with archers and a wheeled battering ram, 865860 BC Ashurnasirpal II (883859 BC) was a fierce and ruthless ruler who advanced without opposition through Aram and Canaan (modern Syria) and Asia Minor as far as the Mediterranean and conquered and exacted tribute from Aramea, Phrygia and Phoenicia among others. Ashurnasirpal II also repressed revolts among the Medes and Persians in the Zagros Mountains, and moved his capital to the city of Kalhu (Calah/Nimrud). The palaces, temples and other buildings raised by him bear witness to a considerable development of wealth, science, architecture and art. He also built a number of new heavily fortified towns, such as Imgur-Enlil (Balawat), Tushhan, KarAshurnasirpal and Nibarti-Ashur. Ashurnasirpal II also had a keen interest in Botany and Zoology; collecting all manner of plants, seeds and animals to be displayed in Assyria. Shalmaneser III (858823 BC) attacked and reduced Babylonia to vassalage, and defeated Aramea, Israel, Urartu, Phoenicia, the neo Hittite states and the Arabs, forcing all of these to pay tribute to Assyria. Shalmanesser III fought the Battle of Qarqar against an alliance of 12 nations (including Egypt, Israel, Hamath, Phoenicia, the Arabs, Arameans, and neo Hittites among others). His armies penetrated to, The Caucasus, Lake Van and the Taurus Mountains; the Hittites of Carchemish were compelled to pay tribute, and the kingdoms of Hamath and Aram Damascus were subdued. In 831 BC he received the submission of the Georgian kingdom of Tabal. He consolidated Assyrian control over the regions conquered by his predecessors, and by the end of his 27 year reign Assyria was master of Mesopotamia, The Levant, western Iran, Israel, Jordan and much of Asia Minor. Due to old age, in the last 6 years of his reign he passed command of his armies to the "Turtanu" (General) Dayyan-Assur.

Jehu, king of Israel, bows before Shalmaneser III of Assyria, 825 BC

However, his successor Shamshi-Adad V (822-811 BC) inherited an empire beset by civil war in Assyria, The first years of his reign saw a serious struggle for the succession of the aged Shalmaneser. The revolt was led by Shamshi-Adad's brother Assur-danin-pal, and had broken by 826 BC. The rebellious brother, according to Shamshi-Adad's own inscriptions, succeeded in bringing to his side 27 important cities, including Nineveh. The rebellion lasted until 820 BC, preventing Assyria expanding its empire further until it was quelled. Later in his reign, ShamshiAdad V successfully campaigned against both Babylonia and Elam, and forced a treaty in Assyria's favour on the Babylonian king Marduk-zakir-shumi I. In 814 BCE he won the battle of Dur-Papsukkal against the Babylonian king Murduk-balassu-iqbi, and went on to subjugate the Aramean, Sutean and Chaldean tribes newly settled in parts of Babylonia. He was succeeded by Adad-nirari III (810- 782 BC) who was merely a boy. The Empire was thus ruled by his mother, the famed queen Semiramis (Shammuramat) until 806 BC. Semiramis held the empire together, and appears to have campaigned successfully in subjugating the Persians and Medes during her regency, leading to the later Iranic myths and legends surrounding her.[27] In 806 BC, Adad-nirari III took the reins of power from Semiramis. He invaded the Levant and subjugated the Arameans, Phoenicians, Philistines, Israelites, neo Hittites, Moabites and Edomites. He entered Damascus and forced tribute upon its Aramean king Ben-Hadad III. He next turned eastward to Iran, and subjugated the Persians, Medes and the pre Iranic Manneans, penetrating as far north east as the Caspian Sea. He then turned south, forcing Babylonia to pay tribute. His next targets were the Chaldean and Sutu tribes who had settled in the far south eastern corner of Mesopotamia, whom he conquered and reduced to vassalage, then the Arabs in the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula to the south of Mesopotamia were invaded, vanquished and forced to pay tribute also.

A lamassu from the palace of Sargon II at Dur-Sharrukin. Adad-nirari III died prematurely in 782 BC and this led to a temporary period of stagnation within the empire. Shalmaneser IV (782 - 773 BC) seems to have wielded little personal authority, and a victory over Argishti I, king of Urartu at Til Barsip is accredited to an Assyrian General ('Turtanu') named Shamshi-ilu who does not even bother to mention his king. Shamshiilu also scored victories over the Arameans and neo Hittites, and again, takes personal credit at

the expense of his king. Ashur-dan III ascended the throne in 772 BC. He proved to be a largely ineffectual ruler who was beset by internal rebellions in the cities Ashur, Arrapkha and Guzana. He failed to make any further gains in Babylonia and Aram (modern Syria). His reign was also marred by Plague and an ominous Solar Eclipse. Ashur-nirari V became king in 754 BC, his reign seems to have been one of permanent internal revolution, and he apprears to have barely left his palace in Nineveh, although he did lead a successful campaign in Asia Minor in 750 BC. He was deposed by Tiglath-pileser III in 745 BC bringing a resurgence to Assyrian expansion. Tiglath-Pileser III (745-727 BC) initiated a renewed period of Assyrian expansion; Urartu, Persia, Media, Mannea, Babylonia, Arabia, Phoenicia, Israel, Judah, Samaria, Palestine, Nabatea, Chaldea, Cyprus, Moab, Edom and the Neo-Hittites were subjugated, Tiglath-Pileser III was declared king in Babylon and the Assyrian empire was now stretched from the Caucasus Mountains to Arabia and from the Caspian Sea to Cyprus. Tiglath-Pileser III had reorganised the Assyrian army into a professional fighting force, and greatly improved the civil administration of his empire, setting the template for all future ancient empires[28] Tiglath-Pileser III introduced eastern Aramaic as the Lingua Franca of Assyria and its vast empire.[29] Shalmaneser V (726-723 BC) consolidated Assyrian power during his short reign, and repressed Egyptian attempts to gain a foothold in the near east. Sargon II (722-705 BC) maintained the empire, driving the Cimmerians and Scythians from Iran, where they had invaded and attacked the Persians, who were vassals of Assyria. Mannea, Cilicia Cappadocia and Commagene were conquered, Urartu was ravaged, and Babylon, Aram, Phoenicia, Israel, Arabia, Cyprus, and the famed Midas, (king of Phrygia) were forced to pay tribute. His stele has been found as far west as Larnaca in Cyprus. Sargon II conquered Gurgum, Milid, the Georgian state of Tabal, and all of the Hittite kingdoms of the Taurus Mountains. He was killed in 705 BC while on a punitive raid against the Cimmerians, and was succeeded by Sennacherib.

Relief showing a lion hunt, from the north palace of Nineveh, 645-635 BC Sennacherib (705-681 BC), a ruthless ruler, defeated the Greeks who were attempting to gain a foothold in Cilicia, and defeated and drove the Nubian ruled Egyptians from the Near East where the Nubian Pharaoh Taharqa had fomented revolt against Assyria. Babylon revolted, and Sennacherib laid waste to the city, defeating its Elamite and Chaldean allies in the process. He sacked Israel and laid siege to Judah. He installed his own son Ashur-nadin-shumi as king in Babylonia. He maintained Assyrian domination over the Medes, Manneans and Persians to the

east, Asia Minor to the north and north west, and the Levant, Phonecia and Aram in the west. Sennacherib was murdered by his own sons (according to the Bible the sons were named Adrammelech, Abimlech and Sharezer) in a palace revolt, apparently in revenge for the destruction of Babylon. Esarhaddon (680-669 BC) expanded Assyria still further, campaigning deep into the Caucasus Mountains in the north, breaking Urartu completely in the process. Tiring of Egyptian interference in the Assyrian Empire, Esarhaddon crossed the Sinai Desert, and invaded and conquered Egypt, driving its foreign Nubian/Kushite and Ethiopian rulers out and destroying the Kushite Empire in the process. He expanded the empire as far south as Arabia and Dilmun (modern Bahrain or Qatar). Esarhaddon also completely rebuilt Babylon during his reign, bringing peace to Mesopotamia as a whole. The Babylonians, Egyptians, Elamites, Cimmerians, Scythians, Persians, Medes, Manneans, Arameans, Chaldeans, Israelites, Phoenecians and Urartu were vanquished and regarded as vassals and Assyria's empire was kept secure. Esarhaddon died whilst preparing to leave for Egypt to once more eject the Nubians, who were attempting to encroach on the southern part of the country. This task was successfully completed by his successor, Ashurbanipal. Under Ashurbanipal (669-627 BC) Assyrian domination spanned from the Caucasus Mountains in the north to Nubia, Egypt and Arabia in the south, and from Cyprus and Antioch in the west to Persia in the east.

Ashurbanipal's brutal campaign against Susa in 647 BCE is recorded in this relief. Ashurbanipal destroyed Elam and smashed a rebellion led by his own brother Shamash-shumukin who was the Assyrian king of Babylon, exacting savage revenge on the coalition of Chaldeans, Nabateans, Arameans, Sutu, Arabs and Elamites who had supported him. An Assyrian governor named Kandalanu was installed to rule Babylonia on Ashurbanipal's behalf. Ashurbanipal easily crushed the Nubian/Cushite king Tantamani, who had attempted to invade Assyrian controlled Egypt, Tantamani fled back to Nubia and was never again to pose a threat. Persia and Media were regarded as vassals of Ashurbanipal.

He built vast libraries and initiated a surge in the building of temples and palaces. After the crushing of the Babylonian revolt Ashurbanipal appeared master of all he surveyed. To the east, Elam was devastated and prostrate before Assyria, the Manneans and the Iranic Persians and Medes were vassals. To the south, Babylonia was occupied, the Chaldeans, Arabs, Sutu and Nabateans subjugated, the Nubian empire destroyed, and Egypt paid tribute. To the north, the Scythians and Cimmerians had been vanquished and driven from Assyrian territory, Urartu (Armenia), Phrygia, Corduene and the neo Hittites were in vassalage, and Lydia pleading for Assyrian protection. To the west, Aramea (Syria), the Phoenicians, Israel, Judah, Samarra and Cyprus were subjugated, and the Hellenised inhabitants of Caria, Cilicia, Cappadocia and Commagene paid tribute to Assyria. Assyria now appeared stronger than ever. However, the long struggle with Babylonia and Elam and their allies, and the constant campaigning to control and expand its vast empire in all directions, left Assyria exhausted. It had been drained of wealth and manpower; the devastated provinces could yield nothing to supply the needs of the imperial exchequer, and it was difficult to find sufficient troops to garrison the huge empire. At its height Assyria conquered the 25th dynasty Egypt (and expelled its Nubian/Kushite dynasty) as well as Babylonia, Chaldea, Elam, Media, Persia, Ararat (Armenia), Phoenicia, Aramea/Syria, Phrygia, the Neo-Hittites, Hurrians, northern Arabia, Gutium, Israel, Judah, Moab, Edom, Corduene, Cilicia, Mannea and parts of Ancient Greece (such as Cyprus), and defeated and/or exacted tribute from Scythia, Cimmeria, Lydia, Nubia, Ethiopia and others. The Assyrian Empire at its height encompassed the whole of the modern nations of Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Palestine and Cyprus, together with swathes of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Sudan, Libya, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

[edit] Downfall, 626-605 BC

The Assyrian Empire was severely crippled following the death of Ashurbanipal in 627 BC the nation descending into a prolonged and brutal series of civil wars involving three rival kings, Ashur-etil-ilani, Sin-shumu-lishir and Sin-shar-ishkun. Ashur-etil-ilani came to the throne in 626 BC, and was immediately beset by a series of internal civil wars. He was deposed in 623 BC, after four years of bitter fighting by Sin-shumu-lishir, an Assyrian Turtanu (General) who also occupied and claimed the throne of Babylon in that year. In turn, Sin-shumu-lishir was deposed as ruler of Assyria and Babylonia after a year of warfare by Sin-shar-ishkun (622 - 612 BC) who was then himself faced with constant violent rebellion in the Assyrian homeland. This situation led to wholesale revolution in Babylonia, and during his reign many Assyrian colonies to the west, east and north similarly took advantage and ceased to pay tribute to Assyria, most significantly the Medes, Persians and Scythians. By 620 BC, Nabopolassar, a member of the Chaldean people from the far southeast of Mesopotamia, had claimed the city of Babylon and much of Babylonia in the confusion. Sinshar-ishkun amassed a large army to eject Nabopolassar from Babylon, however yet another revolt broke out in Assyria proper, forcing the bulk of his army to turn back, where they promptly joined the rebels in Nineveh; similarly, Nabopolassar was unable to make any inroads

into Assyria despite its weakened state, being repelled at every attempt, and the next four years saw bitter fighting in the heart of Babylonia itself, as the Assyrians tried to wrest back control.[1] However, Nabopolassar entered into an alliance with the Median king Cyaxares the Great, who had taken advantage of the upheavals in Assyria to free the Iranic peoples from Assyrian vassalage and unite the Iranic Medes, Persians and Parthians, together with the remnants of the pre-Iranic Elamites and Manneans, into a powerful Median-dominated force. The Babylonians and Medes, together with the Scythians and Cimmerians to the north, attacked Assyria in 616 BC, sacking the city of Kalhu. After four years of bitter fighting, Nineveh itself was finally sacked in 612 BC, after a prolonged siege followed by house to house fighting. Sin-shar-ishkun was killed defending his capital. Despite the loss of almost all of its major cities, and in the face of overwhelming odds, Assyrian resistance continued. Ashur-uballit II (612- 605? BC) took the throne and refused a request to bow in vassalage to Nabopolassar, Cyaxares and their allies. He managed to break out of Nineveh and successfully fight his way to Harran which he took and founded a new capital. However Harran too was eventually over run in 608 BC. Egypt, itself a former Assyrian colony whose current dynasty had been installed as puppet rulers by the Assyrians, then came to Assyria's aid, possibly in fear that without Assyria they would be next to succumb.[1] Ashur-uballit II and Necho of Egypt made a failed attempt to recapture Harran in 608 BC. The next three years saw the remnants of the Assyrian army and their Egyptian allies vainly attempting to eject the invaders from Assyria. In 605 BC, the Babylonians and Medes defeated the Egyptians and Assyrians at Carchemish, bringing an end to Assyria as an independent political entity, although it was to launch a major rebellion against the Achaemenid Empire in 520 BC, and remained a geo-political region and colonised province until the late 7th century AD. The fate of Ashur-uballit II remains unknown, his Limmu Lists end after the fall of Harran, and it is possible he was either killed at this time, at the battle of Carshemish in 605 BC, or simply dissapeared into obscurity.

[edit] Assyria after the empire

See also: Assyrian continuity

[edit] Athura, Assuristan, Assyria province

Assyria was ruled by Babylon from 605 BC until 539 BC, and in a twist of fate, Nabonidus the last king of Babylon was himself an Assyrian from Harran; however apart from plans to dedicate religious temples in that city, Nabonidus showed little interest in rebuilding Assyria. Nineveh and Kalhu remained in ruins, conversely a number of towns and cities such as Arrapkha, Guzana and Harran remained intact, and Assur and Arbela were not completely destroyed, as is attested by their later revival. However, Assyria spent much of this period in a degree of devastation following its fall.

After this, it was ruled by the Persian Achaemenid Empire (as Athura) from 539 BC to 330 BC (see Achaemenid Assyria). Assyria seems to have recovered dramatically, and flourished during this period. It became a major agricultural and administrative centre of the Achaemenid Empire, and its soldiers were a mainstay of the Persian Army.[30] In fact Assyria even became powerful enough to raise a full scale revolt against the empire in 520 BC. The Persians had spent centuries under Assyrian domination, and Assyrian influence can be seen in Achaemenid art, infrastructure and administration. Early Persian rulers saw themselves as successors to Ashurbanipal, and Mesopotamian Aramaic was retained as the lingua franca of the empire for over two hundred years.[31] Nineveh was never rebuilt however, and 200 years after it was sacked Xenophon reported only small numbers of people living amongst its ruins. In 330 BC, Assyria fell to Alexander the Great, the Macedonian Emperor from Greece; it thereafter became part of the Seleucid Empire and was renamed Syria, a Hurrian, Luwian and Greek corruption of Assyria.[32] It is from this period that the later Syria Vs Assyria naming controversy arises, the Seleucids applied the name not only to Assyria itself, but also to the lands to the west (Aram modern Syria) which had been part of the Assyrian empire. When they lost control of Assyria itself, the name Syria survived and was applied only to the land of Aramea to the west, that had once been part of the Assyrian empire. This was to lead to both the Assyrians from Mesopotamia and Arameans from the Levant being dubbed Syrians in Greco-Roman culture. By 150 BC, Assyria was under the control of the Parthian Empire as Athura (the Parthian word for Assyria) where the Assyrian city of Assur seems to have gained a degree of autonomy, and temples to the native gods of Assyria were resurrected. A number of neo-Assyrian states arose, namely Adiabene, Osroene and Hatra. In 116 AD, under Trajan, it was taken over by Rome as the Roman Province of Assyria. The Assyrians began to convert to Christianity from Ashurism during the period between the early 1st and 3rd centuries AD. Romans and Parthians fought over Assyria and the rest of Mesopotamia until 226 AD, when it was taken over by the Sassanid (Persian) Empire. It was known as Asuristan during this period, and became a main centre of the Church of the East (now the Assyrian Church of the East), with a flourishing Syriac (Assyrian) Christian culture which exists there to this day. The city of Ashur again flourished, and appears to have gained a great deal of autonomy during this period. The noted Assyriologist Simo Parpola has speculated that it may even have once again been independent for a while prior to being sacked by Shapur I in 256 AD. Temples were still being dedicated to the national god Ashur in his home city and in Harran during the 4th century, indicating an Assyrian identity was still strong. After the Arab Islamic conquest in the 7th century Assyria was dissolved as an entity. Under Arab rule Mesopotamia as a whole underwent a process of Arabisation and Islamification, and the region saw a large influx of non indigenous Arabs, Kurds, and later Turkic peoples. However, a percentage of the indigenous Assyrian population (known as Ashuriyun by the Arabs) resisted this process, Assyrian Aramaic language and Church of the East Christianity were still dominant in the north, as late as the 11th and 12th centuries.[33] The city of Assur was still occupied by Assyrians during the Islamic period until the 14th century when Tamurlane

conducted a massacre of indigenous Assyrian Christians. After that there are no traces of a settlement in the archaeological and numismatic record.[34] The massacres by Tamurlane massively reduced the Assyrian population throughout Mesopotamia. The Hamidian Massacre of the 19th Century further greatly reduced numbers. An Assyrian war of independence was fought during World War I following the Assyrian Genocide suffered at the hands of the Ottomans and their Kurdish allies. The Assyrians fought successfully against overwhelming numbers for a time, until their Russian allies left the war and the Armenian line broke. The Assyrian Levies were founded by the British in 1928, with ancient Assyrian military rankings such as Rabshakeh, Rab-talia and Tartan, being revived for the first time in millennia for this force. The Assyrians were prized by the British rulers for their fighting qualities, loyalty, bravery and discipline, and were used to help the British put down insurrections among the Arabs and Kurds.[35] During World War II,Eleven Assyrian companies saw action in Palestine and another four served in Cyprus. The Parachute Company was attached to the Royal Marine Commando and were involved in fighting in Albania, Italy and Greece. Many persecutions have befallen the Assyrians since, such as the Simele Massacre, Anfal campaign and Baathist, Kurdish and Islamist persecutions.

[edit] Germany and West Africa theories

Thus far the only people who have been attested with a high level of genetic, historical, linguistic and cultural research to be the descendants of the ancient Mesopotamians are the Assyrian Christians of Iraq and its surrounding areas in north west Iran, north east Syria and south eastern Turkey. Assyria continued to exist as a geopolitical entity until the Arab-Islamic conquest in the mid-7th century, and Assyrian identity, personal names and both spoken and written evolutions of Mesopotamian Aramaic (which still contain many Akkadian loan words) have survived among the Assyrian people from ancient times to this day. (see Assyrian people). However, there have been many wild claims of ancient mid eastern ancestry (including Assyrian) throughout Europe, Africa and even the Americas, none of which have been supported by mainstream opinion or strong evidence, let alone proof. The most long standing and popularised theory has been the attempts to link Assyrian ancestry to the ancient Germans. The idea has also some backing in German legend, for example the Gesta Treverorum (a 12th century German medieval chronicle) makes Trebeta son of Ninus the founder of Trier.[36] This legend of Trebeta as having founded Trier is also found in Godfrey of Viterbo's Pantheon (1185) and several other German chronicles of the 12th or 13th century, including the works of Sigebert of Gembloux.[37] The legend is also found cited in compendiums of historical sources from later periods, for example Gottfried Leibniz's Scriptures rerum Brunsvicensium (1710) and the Anthologia veterum latinorum epigrammatum et poematum (1835).[38] As with the West Africa theory, this idea does not have the backing of serious historians, nor contemporary written records of the time in the Near East. There have been no studies or records which show such a link, and it must be pointed out that Ninus and Trebeta were fictional figures, and not historically attested. In addition, there are no traces of Akkadian or Mesopotamian Aramaic in any Germanic Language.

According to a single unsupported piece of recent research, refugees from the collapsed Assyrian Empire claim to have reached the region of Lake Chad and founded the kingdoms of Kanem and Kebbi. These alleged refugees claimed the ancestry of Sargon of Akkad (whose dynasty died out some 15 centuries before the fall of Assyria), they also contradictionally claimed ancestry from Nabopolassar, a Babylonian king of Chaldean extraction who played a major part in the destruction of the Assyrian Empire. From the Medieval Arabic king lists of both African states, allegedly copied from earlier lists in ancient Near Eastern languages it appears that the state founders claimed to be deportees of the Assyrian empire who had fled from Syria and Samaria after the defeat of the Egyptian-Assyrian army at Carchemish in 605 BCE.[39] A counterpoint to this argument would be that neither Samaria nor Syria where these refugees were claimed to have originated from were actually ever part of Assyria, but were colonies inhabited largely by Hebrews, Nabateans and Arameans respectively. In addition, there is no evidence whatsoever in Assyrian, Babylonian, Median, Persian, Greek or Egyptian records of the time mentioning deportations of Assyrians from their homelands[5][40] Additionally, the claimants to this ancestry also claim descendancy from Sargon of Akkad (whose dynasty died out over 1500 years before the Assyrian dynasty fell), and from Nabopolassar, who was a Chaldean, politically and militarily opposed to Assyria, and not in fact an Assyrian.[41]

[edit] Assyrian Religion

The Assyrians, like the rest of the Mesopotamian peoples, followed the Sumero-Akkadian Mesopotamian Religion, with the national god Ashur having pride of place at the head of the pantheon. Other major gods within the pantheon were; Anu, Baal, Ea, Enlil, Ishtar (Astarte), Shamash, Tammuz, Adad/Hadad, Sin (Nanna), Dagan, Ninurta, Nisroch, Nergal, Tiamat, Ninlil, Mullissu, Zababa and El. Native religion survived at least until the 4th century, although Assyrians had begun to adopt Eastern Rite Christianity which had its birthplace in Assyria between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD, which they still adhere to this day.

[edit] Language
During the 3rd millennium BC, there developed a very intimate cultural symbiosis between the Sumerians and the Akkadians, which included widespread bilingualism.[6] The influence of Sumerian on Akkadian (and vice versa) is evident in all areas, from lexical borrowing on a massive scale, to syntactic, morphological, and phonological convergence.[6] This has prompted scholars to refer to Sumerian and Akkadian in the 3rd millennium BC as a sprachbund.[6] Akkadian gradually replaced Sumerian as the spoken language of Mesopotamia somewhere around the turn of the 3rd and the 2nd millennium BC (the exact dating being a matter of

debate),[7] but Sumerian continued to be used as a sacred, ceremonial, literary and scientific language in Mesopotamia until the 1st century AD. In ancient times Assyrians spoke a dialect of the Akkadian language, an eastern branch of the Semitic languages. The first inscriptions, called Old Assyrian (OA), were made in the Old Assyrian period.[42] In the Neo-Assyrian period the Aramaic language became increasingly common,[43] more so than Akkadian this was thought to be largely due to the mass deportations undertaken by Assyrian kings,[44] in which large Aramaic-speaking populations, conquered by the Assyrians, were relocated to Assyria and interbred with the Assyrians. The ancient Assyrians also used the Sumerian language in their literature and liturgy,[44] although to a more limited extent in the Middle- and Neo-Assyrian periods, when Akkadian became the main literary language.[44] The destruction of the Assyrian capitals of Nineveh and Assur by the Babylonians, Medes and their allies ensured that much of the bilingual elite (but not all) were wiped out. By the 7th century BC, much of the Assyrian population used Akkadian influenced Eastern Aramaic and not Akkadian itself. The last Akkadian inscriptions in Mesopotamia date from the 1st century AD. However, Eastern Aramaic dialects, as well as Akkadian and Mesopotamian Aramaic personal and family names, still survive to this day among Assyrians in the regions of northern Iraq, southeast Turkey, northwest Iran and northeast Syria that constituted old Assyria.[44] After 90 years of effort, the University of Chicago has published an Assyrian Dictionary, whose form is more encyclopedia in style than dictionary.[45]

[edit] Arts and sciences

Main articles: Art of Mesopotamia and Architecture of Mesopotamia

Relief from Assyrian capital of Dur Sharrukin, showing transport of Lebanese cedar (8th century BC) Assyrian art preserved to the present day predominantly dates to the Neo-Assyrian period. Art depicting battle scenes, and occasionally the impaling of whole villages in gory detail, was intended to show the power of the emperor, and was generally made for propaganda purposes. These stone reliefs lined the walls in the royal palaces where foreigners were received by the king. Other stone reliefs depict the king with different deities and conducting religious

ceremonies. Many stone reliefs were discovered in the royal palaces at Nimrud (Kalhu) and Khorsabad (Dur-Sharrukin). A rare discovery of metal plates belonging to wooden doors was made at Balawat (Imgur-Enlil). Assyrian sculpture reached a high level of refinement in the Neo-Assyrian period. One prominent example is the winged bull Lamassu, or shedu that guard the entrances to the king's court. These were apotropaic meaning they were intended to ward off evil. C. W. Ceram states in The March of Archaeology that lamassi were typically sculpted with five legs so that four legs were always visible, whether the image were viewed frontally or in profile. Although works of precious gems and metals usually do not survive the ravages of time, some fine pieces of Assyrian jewelry were found in royal tombs at Nimrud. There is ongoing discussion among academics over the nature of the Nimrud lens, a piece of quartz unearthed by Austen Henry Layard in 1850, in the Nimrud palace complex in northern Iraq. A small minority believe that it is evidence for the existence of ancient Assyrian telescopes, which could explain the great accuracy of Assyrian astronomy. Other suggestions include its use as a magnifying glass for jewellers, or as a decorative furniture inlay. The Nimrud Lens is held in the British Museum.[46] The Assyrians were also innovative in military technology with the use of heavy cavalry, sappers, siege engines etc.

[edit] Legacy and rediscovery

Main articles: Achaemenid Assyria, Assyriology, and Assyrianism

Austen Henry Layard in Nineveh, 1852 Achaemenid Assyria (539 BC 330 BC) retained a separate identity (Athura), official correspondence being in Imperial Aramaic, and there was even a determined revolt of the two Assyrian provinces of Mada and Athura in 520 BC. Under Seleucid rule (330 BC approximately 150 BC), however, Aramaic gave way to Greek as the official administrative language. Aramaic was marginalised as an official language, but remained spoken in both Assyria and Babylonia by the general populace. It also remained the spoken tongue of the indigenous Assyrian/Babylonian citizens of all Mesopotamia under Persian, Greek and Roman rule, and indeed well into the Arab period it was still the language of the majority, particularly in the north of Mesopotamia, surviving to this day among the Assyrian Christians.

Between 150 BC and 226 AD Assyria changed hands between the Parthians and Romans (Roman Province of Assyria) until coming under the rule of Sassanid Persia in 226 AD 651 AD, where it was known as Asuristan. A number of at least partly neo-Assyrian kingdoms existed in the area between in the late classical and early Christian period also; Adiabene, Hatra and Osroene. Classical historiographers had only retained a very dim picture of Assyria. It was remembered that there had been an Assyrian empire predating the Persian one, but all particulars were lost. Thus Jerome's Chronicon lists 36 kings of the Assyrians, beginning with Ninus, son of Belus, down to Sardanapalus, the last king of the Assyrians before the empire fell to Arbaces the Median. Almost none of these have been substantiated as historical, with the exception of the Neo-Assyrian and Babylonian rulers listed in Ptolemy's Canon, beginning with Nabonassar. The modern discovery of Babylonia and Assyria begins with excavations in Nineveh in 1845, which revealed the Library of Ashurbanipal. Decipherment of cuneiform was a formidable task that took more than a decade, but by 1857, the Royal Asiatic Society was convinced that reliable reading of cuneiform texts was possible. Assyriology has since pieced together the formerly largely forgotten history of Mesopotamia. In the wake of the archaeological and philological rediscovery of ancient Assyria, Assyrian nationalism became increasingly popular among the surviving remnants of the Assyrian people, and has come to strongly identify with ancient Assyria.

Canaan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Canaanites) Jump to: navigation, search "Canaanites" redirects here. For the 1940s social and political movement in Israel, see Canaanites (movement). "Land of Canaan" redirects here. For the upcoming film, see Land of Canaan (film). For other uses, see Canaan (disambiguation). Canaan (Northwest Semitic knan; Phoenician: ; Biblical Hebrew: / knan; Masoretic: / Knan; Arabic: / Kann) is a historical Semitic-speaking region roughly corresponding to the Levant (modern-day Israel, Palestinian territories, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan and Syria). Canaan was of geopolitical importance in the Late Bronze Age Amarna period as the area where the spheres of interest of the Egyptian, Hittite Empire and Assyrian Empires converged. Canaan is historically attested throughout the 4th millennium BC; the later Amarna Letters use Kinau, while sources of the Egyptian New Kingdom mention numerous military campaigns conducted in Ka-na-na.[1] In modern usage, the name is often

associated with the Hebrew Bible, where the "Land of Canaan" extends from Lebanon southward to the "Brook of Egypt" and eastward to the Jordan River Valley. Much of the modern knowledge about Canaan stems from excavation in this area. Canaanite culture apparently developed in situ from the Circum-Arabian Nomadic Pastoral Complex, which in turn developed from a fusion of Near Eastern Harifian hunter gatherers with Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) farming cultures, practicing animal domestication, during the 6200 BC climatic crisis.[2] Linguistically, the Canaanite languages form a group within the Northwest Semitic languages; its best-known member today is the Hebrew language, being mostly known from Iron Age epigraphy. Other languages in the Northwest Semitic Canaanite group include Phoenecian, Ugaritic, Amorite, Ammonite, Moabite, and Edomite. The various Canaanite nations of the Bronze to Iron Ages are mentioned in the Bible, Mesopotamian (Assyrian and Babylonian), Hittite and Ancient Egyptian texts. The Late Bronze Age state of Ugarit (modern Ras Shamra in Syria) is considered quintessentially Canaanite archaeologically,[3] even though its Ugaritic language does not belong to the Canaanite group proper.

Contents
[hide]

1 Nomenclature o 1.1 Etymology o 1.2 Mesopotamian references o 1.3 Greco-Roman historiography 2 History o 2.1 Overview o 2.2 Prehistory o 2.3 Early Bronze Age (35002000) o 2.4 Middle Bronze Age (20001550) o 2.5 Late Bronze Age (15501200) o 2.6 Bronze Age collapse o 2.7 Iron Age 3 Canaan in the Hebrew Bible o 3.1 Biblical Canaanites 4 List of Canaanite rulers 5 Archaeological sites 6 See also 7 Notes 8 Bibliography 9 External links

[edit] Nomenclature

Ancient Canaan included the region between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean, an area roughly equivalent to the modern states of Israel, the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, and coastal and southern inland Syria.[4] According to archaeologist Jonathan N. Tubb, "Ammonites, Moabites, Israelites and Phoenicians undoubtedly achieved their own cultural identities, and yet ethnically they were all Canaanites" "the same people who settled in farming villages in the region in the 8th millennium BC."[5]

Canaanites as they were portrayed in the Ancient Egyptian "Book of Gates", dated to the 13th century BC. In the north, Lebanon, bordered by the Litani river to the watershed of the Orontes river, was known by the Egyptians as upper Retjenu.[6] Between Lebanon and Syria, Canaan was bordered to the North by Hazor, Aram and Kadesh, which all included the lands of the Semitic Amorites. In Egyptian campaign accounts, the term Djahi was used to refer to the watershed of the Jordan river. Many earlier Egyptian sources also mention numerous military campaigns conducted in Ka-na-na, just inside Asia.[1] In Biblical usage, the name was confined to the country West of the Jordan, the Canaanites being described as dwelling "by the sea, and along by the side of the Jordan," (Numbers 33:51; Joshua 22:9) and was especially identified with Phoenicia (Isaiah 23:11).[7] The Biblical narrative makes a point of the renaming of the "Land of Canaan" to the "Land of Israel" as marking the Israelite conquest of the Promised Land.[8][verification needed]

[edit] Etymology
The English term Canaan (pronounced /'kenn/ since c. 1500, thanks to the Great Vowel Shift) comes from the Hebrew ( knn), via Greek Khanaan and Latin Canaan. It appears as KUR ki-na-ah-na in the Amarna letters (second half of the 2nd millennium BCE), and knn is found on coins from Phoenicia in the last half of the 1st millennium. It first occurs in Greek in the writings of Hecataeus as Khna().[9]The Bible derives the name from an alleged eponymous ancestor, Canaan son of Ham. Scholars connect the name Canaan with knn, Kana'an, the general Northwest Semitic name for this region. The etymology is uncertain. One explanation is that it has an original meaning of "lowlands", from a Semitic root kn "to be low, humble, depressed", in contrast with Aram, "highlands".[10]

An alternative suggestion derives the term from Hurrian Kinahhu, purportedly referring to the colour purple, so that Canaan and Phoenicia would be synonyms ("Land of Purple"), but it is just as common to assume that Kinahhu was simply the Hurrian rendition of the Semitic knn.[11][12]

[edit] Mesopotamian references

Certain scholars of the Semitic Eblaite material (dated 2350 BC) from the archive of Tell Mardikh see the oldest reference to Canaanites in the ethnic name ga-na-na which provides a third millennium reference to the name Canaan.[13] Canaan is mentioned in a document from the 18th century BC found in the ruins of Mari, a former Sumerian and at that time Assyrian outpost in Syria, located along the Middle Euphrates. Apparently Canaan at this time existed as a distinct political entity (probably a loose confederation of city-states). A letter from this time complains about certain "thieves and Canaanites (i.e. Kinahhu)" causing trouble in the town of Rahisum.[3] Tablets found in the Mesopotamian city of Nuzi use the term Kinahnu ("Canaan") as a synonym for red or purple dye, laboriously produced by the Kassite rulers of Babylon from murex shells as early as 1600 BC, and on the Mediterranean coast by the Phoenicians from a byproduct of glassmaking. Purple cloth became a renowned Canaanite export commodity which is mentioned in Exodus. The dyes may have been named after their place of origin. The name 'Phoenicia' is connected with the Greek word for "purple", apparently referring to the same product, but it is difficult to state with certainty whether the Greek word came from the name, or vice versa. The purple cloth of Tyre in Phoenicia was well known far and wide and was associated by the Romans with nobility and royalty. Anne Killebrew has shown that cities such as Jerusalem were large and important walled settlements in the 'Pre-Israelite' Middle Bronze IIB and the Israelite Iron Age IIC period (ca. 18001550 and 720586 BCE), but that during the intervening Late Bronze (LB) and Iron Age I and IIA/B Ages sites like Jerusalem were small and relatively insignificant and unfortified towns.[14] References to Canaanites are also found throughout the Amarna letters of Pharaoh Akenaton circa 1350 BC, and a reference to the "land of Canaan" is found on the statue of Idrimi of Alalakh in modern Syria. After a popular uprising against his rule, Idrimi was forced into exile with his mother's relatives to seek refuge in "the land of Canaan", where he prepared for an eventual attack to recover his city. Texts from Ugarit also refer to an individual Canaanite (*kn'ny), suggesting that the Semitic people of Ugarit, contrary to much modern opinion, considered themselves to be non-Canaanite.[15] Archaeological excavations of a number of sites, later identified as Canaanite, show that prosperity of the region reached its apogee during this Middle Bronze Age period, under leadership of the city of Hazor, at least nominally tributary to Egypt for much of the period. In the north, the cities of Yamkhad and Qatna were hegemons of important confederacies, and it would appear that Biblical Hazor was the chief city of another important coalition in the south.

In the early Late Bronze Age, Canaanite confederacies were centered on Megiddo and Kadesh, before again being brought into the Egyptian Empire and Hittite Empire. Later still, the region was conquered into the Neo Assyrian Empire.

[edit] Greco-Roman historiography

Further information: Phoenicia In the 6th century BC, Hecataeus of Miletus affirms that Phoenicia was formerly called , a name that Philo of Byblos subsequently adopted into his mythology as his eponym for the Phoenicians: "Khna who was afterwards called Phoinix". Quoting fragments attributed to Sanchuniathon, he relates that Byblos, Berytus and Tyre were among the first cities ever built, under the rule of the mythical Cronus, and credits the inhabitants with developing fishing, hunting, agriculture, shipbuilding and writing. The southern highlands of the region were later named Judea after the kingdom of Judah, while the coastal region came to be known as in Greek (Latin Palaestina), from the name of the Philistines. That name was extended to a larger area in the 2nd century, with the establishment of the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. Saint Augustine also mentions that one of the terms the seafaring Phoenicians called their homeland was "Canaan". This is further confirmed by coins of the city of Laodicea in modern day Syria, that bear the legend, "Of Laodicea, a metropolis in Canaan"; these coins are dated to the reign of Antiochus IV (175164 BC) and his successors. Augustine also records that the rustic people of Hippo retained the Punic self-designation Chanani.[16]

[edit] History
[edit] Overview

Prior to 3500 BCE (prehistory Stone Age and Chalcolithic): hunter-gatherer societies slowly giving way to farming and herding societies, and early metal-working in the last thousand years; 35002000 (Early Bronze): invention of writing; 20001550 (Middle Bronze): city-states; 15501200 (Late Bronze): Egyptian hegemony; 1200586 (Iron Age, divided into Iron Age I and II): village societies in Iron I giving way to kingdoms in Iron II.

After the Iron Age the periods are named after the various empires that ruled the region: Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Greek (Hellenistic) and Roman.[17] Canaanite civilization was a response to long periods of stable climate interrupted by short periods of climate change. During these periods, Canaanites profited from their intermediary position between the ancient civilizations of the Middle East Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia (Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, Babylonia), the Hittites, and Minoan Crete to become city states of

merchant princes along the coast, with small kingdoms specializing in agricultural products in the interior. This polarity, between coastal towns and agrarian hinterland, was illustrated in Canaanite mythology by the struggle between the storm god, variously called Teshub (Hurrian) or Ba'al Hadad (Semitic Amorite/Aramaean) and Ya'a, Yaw, Yahu or Yam, god of the sea and rivers. Early Canaanite civilization was characterized by small walled market towns, surrounded by peasant farmers growing a range of local horticultural products, along with commercial growing of olives, grapes for wine, and pistachios, surrounded by extensive grain cropping, predominantly wheat and barley. Harvest in early summer was a season when transhumance nomadism was practiced shepherds staying with their flocks during the wet season and returning to graze them on the harvested stubble, closer to water supplies in the summer. Evidence of this cycle of agriculture is found in the Gezer Calendar and in the Biblical cycle of the year. Periods of rapid climate change generally saw a collapse of this mixed Mediterranean farming system; commercial production was replaced with subsistence agricultural foodstuffs; and transhumance pastoralism became a year-round nomadic pastoral activity, whilst tribal groups wandered in a circular pattern north to the Euphrates, or south to the Egyptian delta with their flocks. Occasionally, tribal chieftains would emerge, raiding enemy settlements and rewarding loyal followers from the spoils or by tariffs levied on merchants. Should the cities band together and retaliate, a neighbouring state intervene or should the chieftain suffer a reversal of fortune, allies would fall away or inter-tribal feuding would return. It has been suggested that the Patriarchal tales of the Bible reflect such social forms.[18] During the periods of the collapse of Akkadian Empire in Mesopotamia and the First Intermediary Period in Egypt, the Hyksos invasions and the end of the Middle Bronze Age in Assyria and Babylonia, and the Late Bronze Age collapse, trade through the Canaanite area would dwindle, as Egypt, Babylonia, and to a lesser degree Assyria, withdrew into their isolation. When the climates stabilized, trade would resume firstly along the coast in the area of the Philistine and Phoenician cities. The Philistines, while an integral part of the Canaanite milieu, do not seem to have been ethnically homogenous with the Canaanites; the Hurrians (who spoke a language isolate), Hittites (Indo-European speakers), as well as the Semitic Aramaeans, Moabites, and Ammonites, are also considered "distinct" from generic Canaanites/Amorites, in scholarship or in tradition (although in the Biblical Book of Nations, "Heth", Hittites are a son of Canaan, despite the fact that it has been proven beyond doubt that the Hittites spoke an Indo-European language). As markets redeveloped, new trade routes that would avoid the heavy tariffs of the coast would develop from Kadesh Barnea, through Hebron, Lachish, Jerusalem, Bethel, Samaria, Shechem, Shiloh through Galilee to Jezreel, Hazor and Megiddo. Secondary Canaanite cities would develop in this region. Further economic development would see the creation of a third trade route from Eilath, Timna, Edom (Seir), Moab, Ammon and thence to the Aramean states of Damascus and Palmyra. Earlier states (for example the Philistines and Tyrians in the case of Judah and Israel, for the second route, and Judah and Israel for the third route) tried generally unsuccessfully to control the interior trade.[19] Eventually, the prosperity of this trade would attract more powerful regional neighbours, such as Ancient Egypt, Assyria, the Babylonians, Persians, Ancient Greeks and Romans, who would control the Canaanites politically, levying tribute, taxes and tariffs. Often in such periods, thorough overgrazing would result in a climatic collapse and a repeat of the cycle (e.g. PPNB,

Ghassulian, Uruk, and the Bronze Age cycles already mentioned). The fall of later Canaanite civilization occurred with the incorporation of the area into the Greco-Roman world (as Iudaea province), and after Byzantine times, into the Muslim Arab and proto-Muslim Ummayad Caliphate. Western Aramaic, one of the two lingua francas of Canaanite civilization, is still spoken in a number of small Syrian villages, whilst Phoenician Canaanite disappeared as a spoken language in about 100 AD. A separate Akkadian-infused Eastern Aramaic is still spoken by the existing Assyrians of Iraq, Iran, northeast Syria and southeast Turkey.

[edit] Prehistory
History of the Levant

Stone Age

Kebaran culture Natufian culture Halafian culture Ghassulian culture Jericho

Ancient history

Ebla Akkadian Empire Canaanites Amorites Aramaeans Hittites Israel and Judah Philistines Phoenicians Neo-Assyrian Empire Neo-Babylonian Empire Achaemenid Empire

Classical antiquity

Wars of Alexander the Great Seleucid Empire Hasmonean kingdom Nabataeans Roman Empire Herodians Palmyra Byzantine Empire Sassanid Empire

Middle Ages

Muslim conquest Early Caliphates (Umayyads

Abbasids) Fatimids Hamdanids Crusades Ayyubids Mamluks

Modern history

Ottoman Syria (Mount Lebanon Jerusalem) Mandatory Syria and Lebanon Mandatory Palestine (Transjordan) Syria Lebanon Jordan Israel Palestinian territories(West

Bank Gaza Strip)

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Main article: Pre-history of the Southern Levant One of the earliest settlements in the region was at Jericho in Canaan. The earliest settlements were seasonal, but, by the Bronze Age, had developed into large urban centres. By the Early Bronze Age other sites had developed, such as Ebla (where an East Semitic tongue was spoken), which by ca. 2300 BC was incorporated into the Mesopotamian based Akkadian empire of Sargon the Great and Naram-Sin of Akkad (Biblical Accad). Sumerian references to the Mar.tu ("tent dwellers" considered to be Amorite) country West of the Euphrates date from even earlier than Sargon, at least to the reign of the Sumerian king, Enshakushanna of Uruk. The archives of Ebla show reference to a number of Biblical sites, including Hazor, Jerusalem, and as a number of people have claimed, to Sodom and Gomorrah mentioned in Genesis as well. The collapse of the Akkadian Empire in 2154 BC saw the arrival of peoples using Khirbet Kerak Ware pottery,[20] coming originally from the Zagros Mountains (in modern Iran) east of the Tigris.

[edit] Early Bronze Age (35002000)

The first cities in the southern Levant arose during this period.[21] These "proto-Canaanites" were in regular contact with the other peoples to their south such as Egypt, and to the north Asia Minor (Hurrians, Hattians, Hittites, Luwians) and Mesopotamia (Sumer, Akkad, Assyria), a trend that continued through the Iron Age.[21] The end of the period is marked by the

abandonment of the cities and a return to lifestyles based on farming villages and semi-nomadic herding, although specialised craft production continued and trade routes remained open.[21]

[edit] Middle Bronze Age (20001550)

Urbanism returned and the region was divided among small city-states, the most important of which seems to have been Hazor.[22] Many aspects of Semitic Canaanite material culture now reflected a Mesopotamian influence, and the entire region became more tightly integrated into a vast international trading network.[22] It was during this period too that Canaanites invaded the eastern Delta of Egypt, where, known as the Hyksos, they became the dominant power.[23] In Egyptian inscriptions, Amar and Amurru (Amorites) are applied strictly to the more northerly mountain region east of Phoenicia, extending to the Orontes. In the Akkadian Empire, as early as Naram-Sin's reign (ca. 2240 BC), Amurru was called one of the "four quarters" surrounding Sumer, along with Subartu/Assyria, Akkad, and Elam. Amorite dynasties also came to dominate in much of Mesopotamia, including in Larsa, Isin and founding the state of Babylon in 1894 BC. Later on, Amurru became the Assyrian/Akkadian term for the interior of south as well as for northerly Canaan. At this time the Canaanite area seemed divided between two confederacies, one centred upon Tel Megiddo in the Jezreel Valley, the second on the more northerly city of Kadesh on the Orontes River. An Amorite chieftain named Sumuabum founded Babylon as an independent City State in 1894 BC. One Amorite king of Babylonia, Hammurabi (1792 1750 BC) founded the first Babylonian Empire, which lasted only as long as his lifetime. Upon his death, the Amorites were driven from Assyria, but remained masters of Babylonia until 1595 BC, when they were ejected by the Hittites.

[edit] Late Bronze Age (15501200)

Map of the Ancient Near East during the Amarna Period, showing the great powers of the day: Egypt (green), Hatti (yellow), the Kassite kingdom of Babylon (purple), Middle Assyrian Empire (grey), and Mitanni (red). Lighter areas show direct control, darker areas represent spheres of influence. The extent of the Achaean/Mycenaean civilization is shown in orange.

During the 2nd millennium BC, Ancient Egyptian texts use the term Canaan to refer to an Egyptian-ruled colony, whose boundaries generally corroborate the definition of Canaan found in the Hebrew Bible, bounded to the west by the Mediterranean Sea, to the north in the vicinity of Hamath in Syria, to the east by the Jordan Valley, and to the south by a line extended from the Dead Sea to around Gaza. Nevertheless, the Egyptian and Hebrew uses of the term are not identical: the Egyptian texts also identify the coastal city of Qadesh in north west Syria near Turkey as part of the "Land of Canaan", so that the Egyptian usage seems to refer to the entire Levantine coast of the Mediterranean Sea, making it a synonym of another Egyptian term for this coastland, Retenu. There is uncertainty about whether the name Canaan refers to a specific Semitic ethnic group wherever they live, the homeland of this ethnic group, or a region under the control of this ethnic group, or perhaps any of the three. At the end of what is referred to as the Middle Kingdom era of Egypt, there was a breakdown in centralised power, the assertion of independence by various nomarchs and the assumption of power in the Delta by Pharaohs of the 17th Dynasty. Around 1674 BC, these Canaanites, whom the Egyptians referred to as "rulers of foreign lands" (Egyptian, Heqa Khasut), hence "Hyksos" (Greek), invaded Egypt, where they would rule for over a century. Among the migrant Semitic tribes who appear to have settled in the region were the Amorites, who had earlier controlled Babylonia. In the Old Testament, the Amorites are mentioned in the Table of Peoples (Gen. 10:1618a). Evidently, the Amorites played a significant role in the early history of Canaan. In Gen. 14:7 f., Josh. 10:5 f., Deut. 1:19 f., 27, 44, we find them located in the southern mountain country, while in Num. 21:13, Josh. 9:10, 24:8, 12, etc., we are told of two great Amorite kings residing at Heshbon and Ashtaroth, east of the Jordan. However, in other passages such as Gen. 15:16, 48:22, Josh. 24:15, Judg. 1:34, etc., the name Amorite is regarded as synonymous with "Canaanite"only "Amorite" is never used for the population on the coast. In the centuries preceding the appearance of the Biblical Hebrews, parts of Canaan and south western Syria became tributary to the Egyptian Pharaohs, although domination by the Egyptians was sporadic, and not strong enough to prevent frequent local rebellions and inter-city struggles. Other areas such as northern Canaan and northern Syria came to be ruled by the Assyrians during this period. Under Thutmose III (14791426 BC) and Amenhotep II (14271400 BC), the regular presence of the strong hand of the Egyptian ruler and his armies kept the Amorites and Canaanites sufficiently loyal. Nevertheless, Thutmose III reported a new and troubling element in the population. Habiru or (in Egyptian) 'Apiru, are reported for the first time. These seem to have been mercenaries, brigands or outlaws, who may have at one time led a settled life, but with badluck or due to the force of circumstances, contributed a rootless element of the population, prepared to hire themselves to whichever local mayor, king or princeling prepared to undertake their support. Although Habiru SA-GAZ (a Sumerian ideogram glossed as "brigand" in Akkadian), and sometimes Habiri (an Akkadian word) had been reported in Mesopotamia from the reign of the

Sumerian king, Shulgi of Ur III, their appearance in Canaan appears to have been due to the arrival of a new state based in Asia Minor to the north of Assyria based upon Maryannu aristocracy of horse drawn charioteers, associated with the Indo-Aryan rulers of the Hurrians, known as Mitanni. The Habiru seem to have been more a social class than any ethnic group. One analysis shows that the majority were, however, Hurrian (a non Semitic group from Asia Minor who spoke a Language Isolate), though there were a number of Semites and even some Kassite and Luwian adventurers amongst their number. The reign of Amenhotep III, as a result was not quite so tranquil for the Asiatic province, as Habiru/'Apiru contributed to greater political instability. It is believed[by whom?] that turbulent chiefs began to seek their opportunities, though as a rule could not find them without the help of a neighbouring king. The boldest of the disaffected nobles was Aziru, son of Abdi-Ashirta, a prince of Amurru, who even before the death of Amenhotep III, endeavoured to extend his power into the plain of Damascus. Akizzi, governor of Katna (Qatna?) (near Hamath), reported this to the Pharaoh, who seems to have sought to frustrate his attempts. In the next reign, however, both father and son caused infinite trouble to loyal servants of Egypt like Rib-Addi, governor of Gubla (Gebal), not the least through transferring loyalty from the Egyptian crown to that of the expanding neighbouring Asia Minor based Hittite Empire under Suppiluliumas I.[24] Egyptian power in Canaan thus suffered a major setback when the Hittites (or Hatti) advanced into Syria in the reign of Amenhotep III, and became even more threatening in that of his successor, displacing the Amorites and prompting a resumption of Semitic migration. AbdAshirta and his son Aziru, at first afraid of the Hittites, afterwards made a treaty with their king, and joining with the Hittites, attacked and conquered the districts remaining loyal to Egypt. In vain did Rib-Addi send touching appeals for aid to the distant Pharaoh, who was far too engaged in his religious innovations to attend to such messages. In the el Amarna letters (circa 1350 BC), some of which were sent by governors and princes of Canaan to their Egyptian overlord Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV) in the 14th century BC commonly known as the Tel-el-Amarna tabletsare found, beside Amar and Amurru (Amorites), the two forms Kinahhi and Kinahni, corresponding to Kena' and Kena'an respectively, and including Syria in its widest extent, as Eduard Meyer has shown. The letters are written in the official and diplomatic Akkadian language of Assyria and Babylonia, though "Canaanitish" words and idioms are also in evidence. In the El Amarna letters(~1350 BC), we meet with the Habiri in northern Syria. Itakkama wrote thus to the Pharaoh, "Behold, Namyawaza has surrendered all the cities of the king, my lord to the SA-GAZ in the land of Kadesh and in Ubi. But I will go, and if thy gods and thy sun go before me, I will bring back the cities to the king, my lord, from the Habiri, to show myself subject to him; and I will expel the SA-GAZ."

Similarly, Zimrida, king of Sidon (named 'Siduna'), declared, "All my cities which the king has given into my hand, have come into the hand of the Habiri." The king of Jerusalem, Abdi-Heba, reported to the Pharaoh, "If (Egyptian) troops come this year, lands and princes will remain to the king, my lord; but if troops come not, these lands and princes will not remain to the king, my lord." Abdi-heba's principle trouble arose from persons called Iilkili and the sons of Labaya, who are said to have entered into a treasonable league with the Habiri. Apparently this restless warrior found his death at the siege of Gina. All these princes, however, maligned each other in their letters to the Pharaoh, and protested their own innocence of traitorous intentions. Namyawaza, for instance, whom Itakkama (see above) accused of disloyalty, wrote thus to the Pharaoh, "Behold, I and my warriors and my chariots, together with my brethren and my SA-GAZ, and my Suti ?9 are at the disposal of the (royal) troops to go whithersoever the king, my lord, commands."[25] From the mid 14th century BC through to the 11th century BC, much of Canaan (particularly the north, central and eastern regions of Syria and the north western Mediterranean coastal regions) fell to the Middle Assyrian Empire, and both Egyptian and Hittite influence waned as a result. Powerful Assyrian kings forced tribute on Caananite states and cities from north, east and central Syria as far as the Mediterranean.[26] Arik-den-ili (c. 1307-1296 BC), consolidated Assyrian power in the Levant, he defeated and conquered Semitic tribes of the so-called Ahlamu group. He was followed by Adad-nirari I (12951275 BC) who continued expansion to the northwest, mainly at the expense of the Hittites and Hurrians, conquering Hittite territories such as Carchemish and beyond. In 1274 BC Shalmaneser I ascended the throne, a powerful warrior king, he annexed territories in Syria and Canaan previously under Egyptian or Hittite influence, and the growing power of Assyria was perhaps the reason why these two states made peace with one another.[27] This trend continued under Tukulti-Ninurta I (12441208 BC) and after a hiatus, Tiglath-Pileser I (11151077 BC) who conquered the Aramaeans of northern Syria, and thence he proceeded to conquer Damascus and the Canaanite/Phoenician cities of (Byblos), Sidon, Tyre and finally Arvad.[27]

[edit] Bronze Age collapse

The name Canaan occurs in hieroglyphs as k3nn on the Merneptah Stele in the 13th century BC Just after the Amarna period a new problem arose which was to trouble the Egyptian control of southern Canaan (the rest of the region now being under Assyrian control). Pharaoh Horemhab

campaigned against Shasu (Egyptian = "wanderers") or living in nomadic pastoralist tribes, who had moved across the Jordan to threaten Egyptian trade through Galilee and Jezreel. Seti I (ca. 1290 BC) is said to have conquered these Shasu, Semitic nomads living just south and east of the Dead Sea, from the fortress of Taru (Shtir?) to "Ka-n-'-na". After the near collapse of the Battle of Kadesh, Rameses II had to campaign vigorously in Canaan to maintain Egyptian power. Egyptian forces penetrated into Moab and Ammon, where a permanent fortress garrison (Called simply "Rameses") was established. After the collapse of the Levant under the so-called "Peoples of the Sea" Ramesses III (ca. 1194 BC) is said to have built a temple to the god Amen to receive tribute from the southern Levant.[28] This was described as being built in Pa-Canaan, a geographical reference whose meaning is disputed, with suggestions that it may refer to the city of Gaza or to the entire Egyptian-occupied territory in the south west corner of the Near East.[29] Some believe the "Habiru" signified generally all the nomadic tribes known as "Hebrews," and particularly the early Israelites, who sought to appropriate the fertile region for themselves[citation needed] . However, the term was rarely used to describe the Shasu. Whether the term may also include other related Semitic peoples such as the Moabites, Ammonites and Edomites is uncertain. It may not be an ethnonym at all; see the article Habiru for details.

[edit] Iron Age

Main articles: Phoenicia and History of ancient Israel and Judah

Map of the southern Levant,[original research?] c.830s BC. Kingdom of Judah Kingdom of Israel Philistine city-states

Phoenician states Kingdom of Ammon Kingdom of Edom Kingdom of Aram-Damascus Aramean tribes Arubu tribes Nabatu tribes Assyrian Empire Kingdom of Moab See also: Archaeology of Israel and History of ancient Israel and Judah By the Early Iron Age, the southern Levant came to be dominated by the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, besides the Philistine city-states on the Mediterranean coast, and the kingdoms of Moab, Ammon and Aram-Damascus east of the Jordan River, and Edom to the south. The northern Levant was divided into various petty kingdoms, the so-called Syro-Hittite states and the Phoenician city-states. The entire region (including all Phoenician/Canaanite and Aramean states,together with Israel, Philistia and Samarra) was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire during the 10th and 9th centuries BC, and would remain so for three hundred years until the end of the 7th Century BC. Assyrian emperor-kings such as Ashurnasirpal, Adad-nirari II, Sargon II, Tiglath-pileser III, Esarhaddon, Sennacherib and Ashurbanipal came to dominate Canaanite affairs. The Egyptians, then under a Nubian Dynasty, made a failed attempt to regain a foothold in the region, but were vanquished by the Assyrians, leading to an Assyrian invasion and conquest of Egypt and the destruction of the Kushite Empire. The Kingdom of Judah was forced to pay tribute to Assyria. Between 616 and 605 BC the Assyrian Empire collapsed due to a series of bitter internal civil wars, followed by an attack by an alliance of Babylonians, Medes and Persians and the Scythians. The Babylonians inherited the western part of the empire of their Assyrian brethren, including all the lands in Canaan and Syria, together with Israel and Judah. They successfully defeated the Egyptians, who had belatedly attempted to aid their former masters, the Assyrians, and then remained in the region in an attempt to regain a foothold in the Near East. The Babylonian Empire itself collapsed in 539 BC, and Canaan fell to the Persians and became a part of the Achaemenid Empire. It remained so until in 332 BC it was conquered by the Greeks under Alexander The Great, later to fall to Rome in the late 2nd Century BC, and then Byzantium, until the Arab Islamic invasion and conquest of the 7th Century AD.[26]

[edit] Canaan in the Hebrew Bible

Map of Canaan, with the border defined by Numbers 34:112 shown in red. Canaan and the Canaanites are mentioned some 160 times in the Hebrew Bible, mostly in the Pentateuch and the books of Joshua and Judges.[30] Canaan first appears as one of Noah's grandsons, cursed with perpetual slavery because his father Ham had "looked upon" the drunk and naked Noah; God later promises Canaan's land to Abraham and eventually delivers it to the Israelites.[30] The Biblical history has become increasingly problematic as the archaeological and textual evidence supports the idea that the early Israelites were in fact themselves Canaanites.[30] The Hebrew Bible lists borders for the land of Canaan. Numbers 34:2 includes the phrase "the land of Canaan as defined by its borders." The borders are then delineated in Numbers 34:312. The term "Canaanites" in Biblical Hebrew is applied especially to the inhabitants of the lower regions, along the sea coast and on the shores of Jordan, as opposed to the inhabitants of the mountainous regions. By the time of the Second Temple, "Canaanite" in Hebrew had come to be not an ethnic designation, so much as a general synonym for "merchant", as it is interpreted in, for example, Job 40:30, or Proverbs 31:24.[31] John N. Oswalt notes that "Canaan consists of the land west of the Jordan and is distinguished from the area east of the Jordan." Oswalt then goes on to say that in Scripture Canaan "takes on a theological character" as "the land which is God's gift" and "the place of abundance".[32] The Hebrew Bible describes the Israelite conquest of Canaan in the "Former Prophets" (Nevi'im Rishonim [ ,) ] viz. the books of Joshua, Judges, 1st & 2nd Samuel, 1st & 2nd Kings. These five books of the Old Testament canon give the narrative of the Israelites after the death of Moses and Joshua leading them into Canaan.[33] In 586 BC, the Israelites in turn lost the

land to the Babylonians. These narratives of the Former Prophets are also "part of a larger work, called the Deuteronomistic History".[34]

[edit] Biblical Canaanites

The part of the book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible often called the Table of Nations describes the Canaanites as being descended from an ancestor called Canaan The son of Ham, the Grandson of Noah (Hebrew: ,Knaan), saying (Genesis 10:1519): Canaan is the father of Sidon, his firstborn; and of the Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites. Later the Canaanite clans scattered, and the borders of Canaan reached [across the Mediterranean coast] from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then [inland around the Jordan Valley] toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. The Sidon whom the Table identifies as the firstborn son of Canaan has the same name as that of the coastal city of Sidon, in Lebanon. This city dominated the Phoenician coast, and may have enjoyed hegemony over a number of ethnic groups, who are said to belong to the "Land of Canaan". Similarly, Canaanite populations are said to have inhabited:

the Mediterranean coastlands (Joshua 5:1), including Lebanon corresponding to Phoenicia (Isaiah 23:11) and the Gaza Strip corresponding to Philistia (Zephania 2:5). the Jordan Valley (Joshua 11:3, Numbers 13:29, Genesis 13:12).

The Canaanites (Hebrew: ,Modern Kna'anim Tiberian Knanm) are said to have been one of seven regional ethnic divisions or "nations" driven out by the Israelites following the Exodus. Specifically, the other nations include the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites (Deuteronomy 7:1). According to the Book of Jubilees, the Israelite conquest of Canaan, and the curse, are attributed to Canaan's steadfast refusal to join his elder brothers in Ham's allotment beyond the Nile, and instead "squatting" on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, within the inheritance delineated for Shem. One of the 613 mitzvot (precisely n. 596) prescribes that no inhabitants of the cities of six Canaanite nations, the same as mentioned in 7:1, minus the Girgashites, were to be left alive. While the Hebrew Bible contrasts the Canaanites ethnically from the Ancient Israelites, modern scholars consider the kingdoms of Israel and Judah to be a subset of Canaanite culture on archaeological and linguistic grounds.[15][35]

[edit] List of Canaanite rulers

Further information: kings of Ugarit Names of Canaanite kings or other figures mentioned in historiography or known through archaeology Confirmed archaeologically

Rulers of Tyre

Ebrium, king of Ebla, a contemporary of Tudiya of Assyria Ibbi-Sipish, his son, king of Ebla Ili-ilimma, father of Idrimi, king of Halab Idrimi, king of Alalakh Ammittamru I of Ugarit (Amarna letters) Niqmaddu II of Ugarit (Amarna letters) (13491315 BC) Arhalba of Ugarit (13151313 BC) Niqmepa of Ugarit (13131260 BC) Ammittamru II of Ugarit (1260 1235 BC) Ibiranu of Ugarit (12351220 BC) Ammurapi of Ugarit (12151185 BC) Aziru, ruler of Amurru (Amarna letters) Labaya, lord of Shechem (Amarna letters) Abdikheba, mayor of Jerusalem (Amarna letters) uwardata, mayor of Qiltu (Amarna letters)

Biblical characters

Canaan, son of Ham (Gen. 10:6) (not attested in historical records) Sidon, son of Canaan (Gen. 10:15) (not attested in historical records) Heth, firstborn son of Canaan (Gen. 10:15) (not attested in historical records) Cronos (Ilus), founder of Byblos according to Sanchuniathon Mamre, an Amorite chieftain (Gen. 13:18) Makamaron, king of Canaan (Jubilees 46:6) Sihon, king of Amorites (Deut 1:4)

Abibaal 990978 BC Hiram I 978944 BC Baal-Eser I (Balbazer I) 944927 BC Abdastartus 927918 BC Methusastartus 918906 BC Astarymus 906897 BC Phelles 897896 BC Eshbaal I 896863 BC Baal-Eser II (Balbazer II) 863829 BC Mattan I 829820 BC Pygmalion 820774 BC Eshbaal II 750739 BC Hiram II 739730 BC Mattan II 730729 BC Elulaios 729 694 BC Abd Melqart 694680 BC Baal I 680660 BC Tyre may have been under control of Assyria and/or Egypt for 70 years Eshbaal III 591573 BCCarthage became independent of Tyre in 574 BC Baal II 573564 BC (under Babylonian overlords) Yakinbaal 564 BC Chelbes 564563 BC Abbar 563562 BC Mattan III and Ger Ashthari 562556 BC Baal-Eser III 556555 BC Mahar-Baal 555551 BC Hiram III 551532 BC Mattan III (under Persian Control) Boulomenus Abdemon c.420411 BC

Og, king of Bashan (Deut 1:4) Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem (Josh. 10:1) Debir, king of Eglon (Josh. 10:3) Jabin, name of two kings of Hazor (Josh. 11:1; Judges 5:6)

[edit] Archaeological sites

Tel Kabri contains the remains of a Canaanite city from the Middle Bronze Age (20001550 B.C.). The city, the most important of the cities in the Western Galilee during that period, had a palace at its center. Tel Kabri is the only Canaanite city that can be excavated in its entirety because after the city was abandoned, no other city was built over its remains. It is notable because the predominant extra-Canaanite cultural influence is Minoan; Minoan-style frescoes decorate the palace

Phoenicia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search For other uses of "Phoenicia", see Phoenicia (disambiguation).

Phoenicia

1200 BC539 BC

Map of Phoenicia and trade routes

Byblos (1200 BC
1000 BC)

Capital

Tyre (1000 BC333 BC) Phoenician, Punic Canaanite religion Kingship (Citystates)

Languages Religion Government Well-known kings of Phoenician cities ca. 1000 BC

Ahiram

969 BC 936 BC Hiram I

820 BC 774 BC Pygmalion of Tyre Classical antiquity 1200 BC

Historical era Established Tyre, under the reign of Hiram I, becomes the

969 BC

dominant citystate Pygmalion founds Carthage (legendary) Cyrus the Great conquers Phoenicia Population 1200 BC[1] est.

814 BC

539 BC

200,000 Lebanon Cyprus Turkey Israel Gaza Strip Syria

Today part of

Phoenicia (UK pron.: /fn/, US /fni/;[2] from the Greek: : Phoink) was an ancient Semitic civilization situated on the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent and centered on the coastline of modern Lebanon. All major Phoenician cities were on the coastline of the Mediterranean, some colonies reaching the Western Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550 BC to 300 BC. The Phoenicians used the galley, a man-powered sailing vessel, and are credited with the invention of the bireme.[3] They were famed in Classical Greece and Rome as 'traders in purple', referring to their monopoly on the precious purple dye of the Murex snail, used, among other things, for royal clothing, and for their spread of the alphabet (or abjad), from which all major modern phonetic alphabets are derived. Phoenicians are widely thought to have originated from the earlier Canaanite inhabitants of the region. In the Amarna tablets of the 14th century BC, people from the region called themselves Kenaani or Kinaani (probably same as Canaanites), although these letters predate the invasion of the Sea Peoples by over a century. Much later, in the 6th century BC, Hecataeus of Miletus writes that Phoenicia was formerly called (Latinized: khna), a name Philo of Byblos later adopted into his mythology as his eponym for the Phoenicians: "Khna who was afterwards called Phoinix".[4] Egyptian seafaring expeditions had already been made to Byblos to bring back "cedars of Lebanon" as early as the third millennium BC.

"Phoenicia" is really a Classical Greek term used to refer to the region of the major Canaanite port towns, and does not correspond exactly to a cultural identity that would have been recognised by the Phoenicians themselves. It is uncertain to what extent the Phoenicians viewed themselves as a single ethnicity and nationality. Their civilization was organized in city-states, similar to ancient Greece.[5] However, in terms of archaeology, language, life style and religion, there is little to set the Phoenicians apart as markedly different from other Semitic cultures of Canaan. As Canaanites, they were unique in their remarkable seafaring achievements. Each of their cities was a city-state which was politically an independent unit. They could come into conflict and one city might be dominated by another city-state, although they would collaborate in leagues or alliances. Though ancient boundaries of such city-centered cultures fluctuated, the city of Tyre seems to have been the southernmost. Sarepta (modern day Sarafand) between Sidon and Tyre is the most thoroughly excavated city of the Phoenician homeland. The Phoenicians were the first state-level society to make extensive use of the alphabet. The Phoenician phonetic alphabet is generally believed to be the ancestor of almost all modern alphabets, although it did not contain any vowels (these were added later by the Greeks). From a traditional linguistic perspective, they spoke Phoenician, a Canaanite dialect.[6][7] However, due to the very slight differences in language, and the insufficient records of the time, whether Phoenician formed a separate and united dialect, or was merely a superficially defined part of a broader language continuum, is unclear. Through their maritime trade, the Phoenicians spread the use of the alphabet to North Africa and Europe, where it was adopted by the Greeks, who later passed it on to the Etruscans, who in turn transmitted it to the Romans.[8] In addition to their many inscriptions, the Phoenicians were believed to have left numerous other types of written sources, but most have not survived. Evangelical Preparation by Eusebius of Caesarea quotes extensively from Philo of Byblos and Sanchuniathon.

Contents
[hide]

1 Etymology 2 Origins: 23001200 BC o 2.1 Genetic studies 3 High point: 1200800 BC 4 Decline: 53965 BC o 4.1 Persian rule o 4.2 Hellenistic rule 5 Trade 6 Important cities and colonies 7 Culture o 7.1 Language and literature o 7.2 Art 8 Religion

8.1 Gods 8.1.1 Attested 2nd Millennium 8.1.2 Attested 1st Millennium 9 Influence in the Mediterranean region 10 In the Bible 11 Phoenician ships o 11.1 Depictions 12 Relationship with the Greeks o 12.1 Trade o 12.2 Alphabet o 12.3 Connections with Greek mythology 12.3.1 Kadmos 12.3.2 Phoenician gods of the sea 13 See also 14 References 15 Sources 16 Bibliography 17 External links

[edit] Etymology
The name Phoenicians, like Latin Poen (adj. poenicus, later pnicus), comes from Greek (Phonikes), attested since Homer and influenced by phonix "Tyrian purple, crimson; murex" (itself from phoins "blood red").[9] The word stems from Mycenaean po-ni-ki-jo, po-niki, ultimately borrowed from Ancient Egyptian fnw (fenkhu)[10] "Asiatics, Semites". The folketymological association of phoiniki with phonix mirrors that in Akkadian which tied kinani, kinai "Canaan; Phoenicia" to kinau "red-dyed wool".[11][12] Note that there is no connection to the superficially similar phoenix, though this term is also ultimately from Ancient Egyptian, via Greek and Latin (hence the "ph" and "oe"). The land was natively known as knn (cf. Eblaite ca-na-na-um, ca-na-na), remembered in the 6th century BC by Hecataeus under the Greek form Chna (), and its people as the knny (cf. Punic chanani, Hebrew kanaani).

[edit] Origins: 23001200 BC

Herodotus' account (written c. 440 BC) refers to the Io and Europa myths. (History, I:1). According to the Persians best informed in history, the Phoenicians began the quarrel. These people, who had formerly dwelt on the shores of the Erythraean Sea (the eastern part of the Arabia peninsula),[dubious discuss][verification needed] having migrated to the Mediterranean and settled in the parts which they now inhabit, began at once, they say, to adventure on long voyages, freighting their vessels with the wares of Egypt and Assyria... Herodotus

Strabo, the Greek historian, geographer and philosopher mentioned that the Phoenicians came from the eastern part of the Arabia peninsula where they have similar gods, cemeteries and temples. This theory was accepted by the 19th century German classicist Arnold Heeren who said that: In the Greek geographers, for instance, we read of two islands, named Tyrus or Tylos, and Aradus, which boasted that they were the mother country of the Phoenicians, and exhibited relics of Phoenician temples.[13] The people of Tyre in particular have long maintained Persian Gulf origins, and the similarity in the words Tylos and Tyre has been commented upon.[14] However, there is little evidence of occupation at all in Bahrain during the time when such migration had supposedly taken place.[15] Later classicist theories were proposed prior to modern archaeological excavations which revealed no disruption of Phoenician societies between 3200 B.C. and 1200 B.C.[16]

[edit] Genetic studies

History of Lebanon series Ancient History Phoenicia Ancient history of Lebanon Foreign Rule Assyrian Rule Babylonian Rule Persian Rule Macedonian Rule Roman Rule Byzantine Rule Arab Era Ottoman Rule French Rule Topical Modern Lebanon Timeline of Lebanese history

Phoenician sarcophagus found in Cdiz, Spain; now in Archaeological Museum of Cdiz. The sarcophagus is thought to have been designed and paid for by a Phoenician merchant, and made in Greece with Egyptian influence. Spencer Wells of the Genographic Project has conducted genetic studies that demonstrate that male populations of Lebanon, Syria, Malta, Sicily, Spain, and other areas settled by Phoenicians, as well as the main Jewish populations, including modern Israel, share a common m89 chromosome Y type.[16] m89 first arose around 40,000 years back; a lineage marker of 90 to 95 percent of all non-Africans who migrated out of Africa and settled in the fertile lands of the Middle East and beyond.[17] Pierre Zalloua and Wells (2004), under the auspices of a grant from National Geographic Magazine examined the origins of the Phoenicians. The debate between Wells and Zalloua was whether haplogroup J2 (M172) should be identified as that of the Phoenicians or that of its "parent" haplogroup M89 on the YDNA phylogenetic tree. Initial consensus suggested that J2 be identified with the Canaanite-Phoenician (Northwest Semitic) population, with avenues open for future research.[18] As Wells commented, "The Phoenicians were the Canaanites and the ancestors of today's Lebanese"[19] It was reported in the PBS description of the National Geographic TV Special on this study entitled "Quest for the Phoenicians" that ancient DNA was included in this study as extracted from the tooth of a 2500 year-old Phoenician mummy.[20] Based on the genetic dating methods utilized by Zalloua the J2 genetic marker dates back to around 12,000 years and stem from the Levant.[21] The National Geographic Genographic Project linked haplogroup J2 to some ancient towns such as Jericho, Tel el-Sultan, ca. 8500 BC and indicated that in modern populations, haplogroup J2 is found in North Africa, Southern Europe, and the Middle East. J2 alone is found at a frequency of (20%) in Southern Italians, and at lesser frequencies in Southern Spain (10%). Both haplogroup J, to whose descendants originally appeared exclusively in the Mediterranean area around 10,000 years ago, and its subgroup J2 constitute a combined frequency of about (30%) among Jews.[22]

For identifying distinct Phoenicians male genetic traces in nowadays contemporary populations, Zalloua studied sites influenced by the Phoenicians on the basis of well-recorded historical documents, from which Y-chromosomal material was sampled, in conjunction with comparative data from the literature. Of the counterparts used were the coastal Lebanese heartland versus the rest of the Levant (Phoenician periphery), Phoenician Mediterranean colonies versus Phoenician trading centers, and trading centers versus Phoenician non-influenced sites sharing distance proximity. The research drew a conclusion upon the given and was that haplogroup J2, for the most part, and the six Y-STR haplotypes, in particular, exhibited the Phoenician distinguishable signature. Haplotypes PCS1+, a Phoenician colonization signal, through PCS6+ therefore represent lineages that have likely been spread by the Phoenicians.[23] In spite the fact that each STR+ comprises colonies established at distinct geographical sites across the Mediterranean, each remains rooted with high frequencies in the Phoenician heartland. This argues for a joint source of related lineages deep-rooted in Lebanon.[23]

[edit] High point: 1200800 BC

Fernand Braudel remarked in The Perspective of the World that Phoenicia was an early example of a "world-economy" surrounded by empires. The high point of Phoenician culture and sea power is usually placed ca. 1200800 BC.

Assyrian warship (probably built by Phoenicians) with two rows of oars, relief from Nineveh, ca. 700 BC Many of the most important Phoenician settlements had been established long before this: Byblos, Tyre, Sidon, Simyra, Arwad, and Berytus, all appear in the Amarna tablets. Archeology has identified cultural elements of the Phoenician zenith as early as the third millennium BC. The league of independent city-state ports, with others on the islands and along other coasts of the Mediterranean Sea, was ideally suited for trade between the Levant area, rich in natural resources, and the rest of the ancient world. During the early Iron Age, in around 1200 BC an unknown event occurred, historically associated with the appearance of the Sea Peoples from the north. They weakened and destroyed the Egyptians and the Hittites respectively. In the resulting power vacuum, a number of Phoenician cities rose as significant maritime powers.

The societies rested on three power-bases: the king; the temple and its priests; and councils of elders. Byblos first became the predominant center from where the Phoenicians dominated the Mediterranean and Erythraean (Red) Sea routes. It was here that the first inscription in the Phoenician alphabet was found, on the sarcophagus of Ahiram (ca. 1200 BC). Later, Tyre gained in power. One of its kings, the priest Ithobaal (887856 BC) ruled Phoenicia as far north as Beirut, and part of Cyprus. Carthage was founded in 814 BC under Pygmalion of Tyre (820 774 BC). The collection of city-states constituting Phoenicia came to be characterized by outsiders and the Phoenicians as Sidonia or Tyria. Phoenicians and Canaanites alike were called Sidonians or Tyrians, as one Phoenician city came to prominence after another.

[edit] Decline: 53965 BC

[edit] Persian rule
Main article: Achaemenid Phoenicia

A naval action during the siege of Tyre (350 BC). Drawing by Andr Castaigne, 18881889. This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2011) Cyrus the Great conquered Phoenicia in 539 BC. The Persians divided Phoenicia into four vassal kingdoms: Sidon, Tyre, Arwad, and Byblos. They prospered, furnishing fleets for the Persian kings. Phoenician influence declined after this. It is likely that much of the Phoenician population migrated to Carthage and other colonies following the Persian conquest. In 350 or 345 BC a rebellion in Sidon led by Tennes was crushed by Artaxerxes III. Its destruction was described by Diodorus Siculus.

[edit] Hellenistic rule

Alexander the Great took Tyre in 332 BC after the Siege of Tyre. Alexander was exceptionally harsh to Tyre, executing 2,000 of the leading citizens, but he maintained the king in power. He gained control of the other cities peacefully: the ruler of Aradus submitted; the king of Sidon was overthrown. The rise of Hellenistic Greece gradually ousted the remnants of Phoenicia's former dominance over the Eastern Mediterranean trade routes. Phoenician culture disappeared entirely in the motherland. Carthage continued to flourish in North Africa. It oversaw the mining of iron and precious metals from Iberia, and used its considerable naval power and mercenary armies to protect commercial interests. Rome finally destroyed it in 146 BC, at the end of the Punic Wars. Following Alexander, the Phoenician homeland was controlled by a succession of Hellenistic rulers: Laomedon (323 BC), Ptolemy I (320), Antigonus II (315), Demetrius (301), and Seleucus (296). Between 286 and 197 BC, Phoenicia (except for Aradus) fell to the Ptolemies of Egypt, who installed the high priests of Astarte as vassal rulers in Sidon (Eshmunazar I, Tabnit, Eshmunazar II). In 197 BC, Phoenicia along with Syria reverted to the Seleucids. The region became increasingly Hellenized, although Tyre became autonomous in 126 BC, followed by Sidon in 111. Syria, including Phoenicia, were seized by king Tigranes the Great of Armenia from 82 until 69 BC, when he was defeated by Lucullus. In 65 BC Pompey finally incorporated the territory as part of the Roman province of Syria.

[edit] Trade
See also: Phoenicians and wine

Map of Phoenicia and trade routes The Phoenicians were among the greatest traders of their time and owed much of their prosperity to trade. At first, they traded mainly with the Greeks, trading wood, slaves, glass and powdered Tyrian purple. Tyrian purple was a violet-purple dye used by the Greek elite to color garments.

In fact, the word Phoenician derives from the ancient Greek word phonios meaning "purple". As trading and colonizing spread over the Mediterranean, Phoenicians and Greeks seemed to have unconsciously split that sea in two: the Phoenicians sailed along and eventually dominating the southern shore, while the Greeks were active along the northern shores. The two cultures clashed rarely, mainly in Sicily, which eventually settled into two spheres of influence, the Phoenician southwest and the Greek northeast.

Phoenician plate with red slip, 7th century BC, excavated in Mogador island, Essaouira, Morocco In the centuries after 1200 BC, the Phoenicians were the major naval and trading power of the region. Phoenician trade was founded on the Tyrian purple dye, a violet-purple dye derived from the shell of the Murex sea-snail, once profusely available in coastal waters of the eastern Mediterranean Sea but exploited to local extinction. James B. Pritchard's excavations at Sarepta in present-day Lebanon revealed crushed Murex shells and pottery containers stained with the dye that was being produced at the site. The Phoenicians established a second production center for the dye in Mogador, in present day Morocco. Brilliant textiles were a part of Phoenician wealth, and Phoenician glass was another export ware. They traded unrefined, prick-eared hunting dogs of Asian or African origin which locally they had developed into many breeds such as the Basenji, Ibizan Hound, Pharaoh Hound, Cirneco dell'Etna, Cretan Hound, Canary Islands Hound, and Portuguese Podengo.[citation needed] To Egypt, where grapevines would not grow, the 8th-century Phoenicians sold wine: the wine trade with Egypt is vividly documented by the shipwrecks located in 1997 in the open sea 30 miles west of Ascalon;[24] pottery kilns at Tyre and Sarepta produced the big terracotta jars used for transporting wine. From Egypt, they bought Nubian gold. From elsewhere, they obtained other materials, perhaps the most important being silver from the Iberian Peninsula and tin from Great Britain, the latter of which when smelted with copper from Cyprus created the durable metal alloy bronze. Strabo states that there was a highly lucrative Phoenician trade with Britain for tin. It was once thought that this was direct trade but it is now believed to have been indirect. Professor Timothy Champion, a specialist in this period found it likely that the trade of the Phoenicians with Britain was indirect and under the control of the Veneti of Brittany.[25] The Phoenicians established commercial outposts throughout the Mediterranean, the most strategically important being Carthage in North Africa, directly across the narrow straits. Ancient Gaelic mythologies attribute a Phoenician/Scythian influx to Ireland by a leader called Fenius Farsa. Others also sailed south along the coast of Africa. A Carthaginian expedition led by

Hanno the Navigator explored and colonized the Atlantic coast of Africa as far as the Gulf of Guinea; and according to Herodotus, a Phoenician expedition sent down the Red Sea by pharaoh Necho II of Egypt (c. 600 BC) even circumnavigated Africa and returned through the Pillars of Hercules after three years. Using gold obtained by expansion of the African coastal trade following the Hanno expedition, Carthage minted gold staters in 350 BC bearing a pattern, in the reverse exergue of the coins, which some have interpreted as a map of the Mediterranean with America shown to the west.[26] In the Second Millennium BC, the Phoenicians traded with the Somalis. Through the Somali city-states of Mosylon, Opone, Malao, Sarapion, Mundus and Tabae, trade flourished.

[edit] Important cities and colonies

Map of Phoenician and Greek colonies at about 350 BC (with German legend). From the 10th century BC, their expansive culture established cities and colonies throughout the Mediterranean. Canaanite deities like Baal and Astarte were being worshipped from Cyprus to Sardinia, Malta, Sicily, Spain, Portugal, and most notably at Carthage in modern Tunisia. In the Phoenician homeland:

Detailed map of Phoenicia

Akk (Hebrew ;Arabic ) Amia Amrit Jaffa Caesarea Arka Arwad (Classical Aradus) Berut (Greek ; Latin Berytus; Arabic ; English Beirut) Botrys (modern Batroun) Dor (English Tantura; Arabic ; Hebrew ) Gebal (Greek Byblos) Porphyreon Safita Sarepta (modern Sarafand) Sidon Tripoli Tyre Ugarit

Zemar (Sumur) Majdel Balhis (Lebanon)

Phoenician colonies, including some of lesser importance (this list might be incomplete):

Located in modern Algeria o Cirta (modern Constantine) o Malaca (modern Guelma) o Igigili (modern Jijel) o Hippo (modern Annaba) o Icosium (modern Algiers) o Iol (modern Cherchell) o Tipasa (modern Tipaza) o Timgad (modern Timgad) Located in modern Cyprus o Kition (modern Larnaca) o Dhali (modern Dali, Cyprus) o Marion (modern Polis, Cyprus) Located in modern Italy o Mainland Genoa o Sardinia Karalis (modern Cagliari) Nora Olbia [27] Sulci Tharros o Sicily Zyz (modern Palermo) Lilybaeaum (modern Marsala) Motya Solus (modern Solunto) Located in modern Libya o Leptis Magna o Oea (modern Tripoli) o Sabratha The islands of Malat (modern Malta) [28] o Maleth (modern Mdina) [29] o Gajn Qajjet

Located in modern Portugal o Baal Saphon or Baal Shamen, latter romanized as Balsa (modern Tavira, in the Algarve)[34][35] Located in modern Spain o Abdera (modern Adra)

Carthage and its dependencies in the 3rd century BC. Abyla (modern Ceuta, on the Moroccan coast) o Akra Leuke (modern Alicante) o Gadir (modern Cdiz) o Ibossim (modern Ibiza) [36] o Malaka or mlk (modern Mlaga) o Onoba (modern Huelva) o Qart Hadat (Greek ; Latin Carthago Nova; Spanish Cartagena) o Rusadir (modern Melilla, on the Moroccan coast) o Sexi (modern Almucar) Located in modern Tunisia o Qart Hadat (Greek ; Latin Carthago; English Carthage) o Hadrumetum (modern Susat) o Hippo Diarrhytos (modern Bizerte)
o

Tas-Sil[30] Mtarfa[31] Qallilija[32] Ras il-Wardija in Gozo[30] Located in modern Mauritania o Cerne Located in modern Morocco o Acra [33] o Arambys (Mogador) o Caricus Murus o Gytta o Lixus (modern Larache) o Tingis (modern Tangier) o Volubilis
o o o o

Kerkouane Sicca (modern El Kef) Thapsus (near modern Bekalta) Utica Located in modern Turkey o Phoenicus (modern Finike) Other colonies o Calpe (modern Gibraltar) o Gunugu o Thenae o Tipassa o Sundar o Surya o Shobina o Tara

o o o o

[edit] Culture
[edit] Language and literature
Main articles: Phoenician languages, Phoenician alphabet, and Alphabet The Phoenician alphabet was one of the first (consonantal) alphabets with a strict and consistent form. It is assumed that it adopted its simplified linear characters from an as-yet unattested early pictorial Semitic alphabet developed some centuries earlier in the southern Levant.[37][38] The precursor to the Phoenician alphabet was likely of Egyptian origin as Middle Bronze Age alphabets from the southern Levant resemble Egyptian hieroglyphs, or more specifically an early alphabetic writing system found at Wadi-el-Hol in central Egypt.[39][40] In addition to being preceded by proto-Canaanite, the Phoenician alphabet was also preceded by an alphabetic script of Mesopotamian origin called Ugaritic. The development of the Phoenician alphabet from the Proto-Canaanite coincided with the rise of the Iron Age in the 11th century BC.[41] This alphabet has been termed an abjad, a script that contains no vowels. The first four letters aleph, beth, jamal, and daleth gave the name to the alphabet.

Sarcophagus of Ahiram in the National Museum of Beirut The oldest known representation of the Phoenician alphabet is inscribed on the sarcophagus of King Ahiram of Byblos, dating to the 11th century BC at the latest. Phoenician inscriptions are found in Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Cyprus and other locations, as late as the early centuries of the Christian Era. The Phoenicians are credited with spreading the Phoenician alphabet throughout the Mediterranean world.[42] Phoenician traders disseminated this writing system along Aegean trade routes, to Crete and Greece. The Greeks adopted the majority of these letters but changed some of them to vowels which were significant in their language, giving rise to the first true alphabet. The Phoenician language is classified in the Canaanite subgroup of Northwest Semitic. Its later descendant in North Africa is termed Punic. In Phoenician colonies around the western Mediterranean, beginning in the 9th century BC, Phoenician evolved into Punic. Punic Phoenician was still spoken in the 5th century AD: St. Augustine, for example, grew up in North Africa and was familiar with the language.

[edit] Art
Phoenician art lacks unique characteristics that might distinguish it from its contemporaries. This is due to its being highly influenced by foreign artistic cultures: primarily Egypt, Greece and Assyria. Phoenicians who were taught on the banks of the Nile and the Euphrates gained a wide artistic experience and finally came to create their own art, which was an amalgam of foreign models and perspectives.[43] In an article from The New York Times published on January 5, 1879, Phoenician art was described by the following: He entered into other men's labors and made most of his heritage. The Sphinx of Egypt became Asiatic, and its new form was transplanted to Nineveh on the one side and to Greece on the other. The rosettes and other patterns of the Babylonian cylinders were introduced into the handiwork of Phoenicia, and so passed on to the West, while the hero of the ancient Chaldean epic became first the Tyrian Melkarth, and then the Herakles of Hellas.

[edit] Religion
Further information: Canaanite religion

[edit] Gods
[edit] Attested 2nd Millennium

[edit] Attested 1st Millennium

Adonis Amen (Amun) Astarte Baal Saphon Baalat Gebal "Lady of Byblos" Baal Shemen consort of Baalat Gebal

Chusor Dagon Eshmun-Melqart Milkashtart Reshef-Shed Shed-Horon Tanit-Astarte

El Eshmun Hail Isis Melqart Osiris Shed Venerable Reshef (Reshef of the Arrow) Gebory-Kon

[edit] Influence in the Mediterranean region

Cadmus fighting the dragon. Side A of a black-figured amphora from Euba, ca. 560550 BC, Louvre Phoenician culture had a huge effect upon the cultures of the Mediterranean basin in the early Iron Age, and had also been affected in reverse. For example, in Phoenicia, the tripartite division between Baal, Mot and Yam seems to have been influenced by the Greek division between Zeus, Hades and Poseidon.[citation needed] Phoenician temples in various Mediterranean ports sacred to Phoenician Melkart, during the classical period, were recognized as sacred to Hercules. Stories like the Rape of Europa, and the coming of Cadmus also draw upon Phoenician influence. The recovery of the Mediterranean economy after the late Bronze Age collapse, seems to have been largely due to the work of Phoenician traders and merchant princes, who re-established long distance trade between Egypt and Mesopotamia in the 10th century BC. The Ionian revolution was, at least in legend, led by philosophers such as Thales of Miletus or Pythagoras, both of whom had Phoenician fathers. Phoenician motifs are also present in the Orientalising period of Greek art, and Phoenicians also played a formative role in Etruscan civilisation in Tuscany.[citation needed] There are many countries and cities around the world that derive their names from the Phoenician Language. Below is a list with the respective meanings:

Altiburus: City in Algeria, SW of Carthage. From Phoenician: "Iltabrush" Bosa: City in Sardinia: From Phoenician "Bis'en" Cdiz: City in Spain: From Phoenician "Gadir"

Dhali (Idalion): City in Central Cyprus: From Phoenician "Idyal" Erice: City in Sicily: From Phoenician "Eryx" Malta: Island in the Mediterranean: From Phoenician "Malat" ('refuge') Marion: City in West Cyprus: From Phoenician "Aymar" Oed Dekri: City in Algeria: From Phoenician: "Idiqra" Spain: From Phoenician: "I-Shaphan", meaning "Land of Hyraxes". Later Latinized as "Hispania" Carthage: City in Tunisia: From Phoenician "Qart Hadat" meaning "New City", Cartagena: City in Spain (Greek ; Latin Carthago Nova; Spanish Cartagena) A colony of Carthage. Which also gave rise to Cartagena, Colombia.

[edit] In the Bible

Hiram (also spelled Huran) associated with the building of the temple.

2 Chronicles 2:14The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father [was] a man of Tyre, skillful to work in gold, silver, brass, iron, stone, timber, royal purple(from the Murex), blue, and in crimson, and fine linens; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him...

This is the architect of the Temple, Hiram Abiff of Masonic lore. They are vastly famous for their purple dye. Later, reforming prophets railed against the practice of drawing royal wives from among foreigners: Elijah execrated Jezebel, the princess from Tyre who became a consort of King Ahab and introduced the worship of her gods Baal. Long after Phoenician culture had flourished, or Phoenicia had existed as any political entity, Hellenized natives of the region where Canaanites still lived were referred to as "SyroPhoenicians", as in the Gospel of Mark 7:26: "The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by nation". In Acts 15 Paul and Barnabas travel through Phoenicia in route to Jerusalem. Acts 15:3 (NIV) "The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the brothers very glad." The word Bible itself derives from Greek biblion, which means "book" and either derives from, or is the (perhaps ultimately Egyptian) origin of Byblos, the Greek name of the Phoenician city Gebal.[44]

[edit] Phoenician ships

The Greeks had two names for Phoenician ships: hippoi and galloi. Galloi means tubs and hippoi means horses. These names are readily explained by depictions of Phoenician ships in the palaces of Assyrian kings from the 7th and 8th centuries, as the ships in these images are tub

shaped (galloi) and have horse heads on the ends of them (hippoi). It is possible that these hippoi come from Phoenician connections with the Greek god Poseidon.

[edit] Depictions
The Tel Balawat gates (850 BC) are found in the palace of Shalmaneser III, an Assyrian king, near Nimrud. They are made of bronze, and they portray ships coming to honor Shalmaneser.[45][46] The Khorsabad bas-relief (7th Century BC) shows the transportation of timber (most likely cedar) from Lebanon. It is found in the palace built specifically for Sargon II, another Assyrian king, at Khorsabad, now northern Iraq.[47]

[edit] Relationship with the Greeks

[edit] Trade
Towards the end of the Bronze Age (around 1200 BC) there was trade between the Canaanites (early Phoenicians), Egypt, Cyprus, and Greece. In a shipwreck found off of the coast of Turkey, the Ulu Bulurun wreck, Canaanite storage pottery along with pottery from Cyprus and Greece was found. The Phoenicians were famous metalworkers, and by the end of the 8th Century BC, Greek city-states were sending out envoys to the Levant (the eastern Mediterranean) for metal goods.[48] The height of Phoenician trade was around the 7th and 8th centuries. There is a dispersal of imports (ceramic, stone, and faience) from the Levant that traces a Phoenician commercial channel to the Greek mainland via the central Aegean.[48] Athens shows little evidence of this trade with few eastern imports, but other Greek coastal cities are rich with eastern imports that evidence this trade.[49] Al Mina is a specific example of the trade that took place between the Greeks and the Phoenicians.[50] It has been theorized that by the 8th century BC, Euboean traders established a commercial enterprise with the Levantine coast and were using Al Mina (in Syria) as a base for this enterprise. There is still some question about the veracity of these claims concerning Al Mina.[51] The Phoenicians even got their name from the Greeks due to their trade. Their most famous trading product was purple dye, the Greek word for which is phoenos.[52]

[edit] Alphabet
The Phoenician phonetic alphabet was adopted and modified by the Greeks probably at the 8th century BC (around the time of the hippoi depictions). This most likely did not come from a single instance but from a culmination of commercial exchange.[52] This means that before the 8th century, there was a relationship between the Greeks and the Phoenicians. Though there is no evidence to support the suggestion, it is probable that during this period there was also a passing of religious ideas. Herodotus cited the city of Thebes (a city in central Greece) as the place of the importation of the alphabet. The legendary Phoenician hero Cadmus is credited with bringing the

alphabet to Greece, but it is more plausible that it was brought by Phoenician emigrants to Crete,[53] whence it gradually diffused northwards.

[edit] Connections with Greek mythology

[edit] Kadmos In both Phoenician and Greek mythologies, Kadmos is a Phoenician prince, the son of Agenor, the king of Tyre. Herodotus credits Kadmos for bringing the Phoenician alphabet to Greece[54] approximately sixteen hundred years before Herodotus' time, or around 2000 BC[55] as he attested. "So these Phoenicians, including the Gephyraians, came with Kadmos and settled this land, and they transmitted much lore to the Hellenes, and in particular, taught them the alphabet which, I believe the Hellenes did not have previously, but which was originally used by all Phoenicians" The Landmark Herodotus: The Histories, Book 5.58, translated by Andrea L. Purvis. [edit] Phoenician gods of the sea Due to the number of deities similar to the Lord of the Sea in classical mythology, there have been many difficulties attributing one specific name to the sea deity or the PoseidonNeptune figure of Phoenician religion. This figure of Poseidon-Neptune is mentioned by authors and in various inscriptions as being very important to merchants and sailors,[56] but a singular name has yet to be found. There are, however, names for sea gods from individual city-states. Ugarit is an ancient city state of Phoenicia. Yamm is the Ugaritic god of the sea. Yamm and Baal, the storm god of Ugaritic myth and often associated with Zeus, have an epic battle for power over the universe. While Yamm is the god of the sea, he truly represents vast chaos.[57] Baal, on the other hand, is a representative for order. In Ugaritic myth, Baal overcomes Yamm's power. In some versions of this myth, Baal kills Yamm with a mace fashioned for him, and in others, the goddess Athtart saves Yamm and says that since defeated, he should stay in his own province. Yamm is the brother of the god of death, Mot.[58] Some scholars have identified Yamm with Poseidon, although he has also been identified with Pontus

Carthage
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Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the city itself. For the empire, see Ancient Carthage. For other uses, see Carthage (disambiguation). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2011)

Carthage

City

Carthage

Coordinates:

365129N 101951E36.85806N
365129N 101951E36.85806N 10.33083E

10.33083ECoordinates:

Country Governorate Government Mayor Area City

Tunisia Tunis

Azedine Beschaouch

180 km2 (70 sq mi)

Population (2008 census)[1] City Density Metro Time zone 20,715 120/km2 (300/sq mi) 2,412,500 CET (UTC+1)

UNESCO World Heritage Site Type: Criteria: Designated: Reference #: State Party: Region: Cultural ii, iii, vi 1979 (3rd session) 37 Tunisia Arab States

Downfall of the Carthaginian Empire Lost to Rome in the First Punic War (264BC - 241BC) Won after the First Punic War, lost in the Second Punic War Lost in the Second Punic War (218BC - 201BC) Conquered by Rome in the Third Punic War (149BC - 146BC) Carthage is a suburb of Tunis, Tunisia, with a population of 20,715 (2004 census), and was the centre of the Carthaginian Empire in antiquity. The city has existed for nearly 3,000 years, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC into the capital of an ancient empire. Other spellings are: Latin: Carthago or Karthago, Ancient Greek: Karkhdn, Arabic: Qarj, Berber: Kartajen, Etruscan: *Caraza, Modern Hebrew: Qartgo, from the Phoenician Qart-adat[2] meaning New City (Aramaic: , Qarta datha), implying it was a 'new Tyre'.[3] The first civilization that developed within the city's sphere of influence is referred to as Punic (a form of the word "Phoenician") or Carthaginian. The city of Carthage is located on the eastern side of Lake Tunis across from the center of Tunis. According to Greek historians, Carthage was founded by Canaanite-speaking Phoenician colonists from Tyre (in modern Lebanon) under the leadership of Elissa, who was renamed (Queen Dido) in Virgil's Aeneid. It became a large and rich city and thus a major power in the Mediterranean. The resulting rivalry with Syracuse, Numidia, and Rome was accompanied by several wars with respective invasions of each other's homeland. Hannibal's invasion of Italy in the Second Punic War culminated in the Carthaginian victory at Cannae and led to a serious threat to the continuation of Roman rule over Italy; however, Carthage emerged from the conflict weaker after Hannibal's defeat at the Battle of Zama in 202 BC. Following the Third Punic War, the city was destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC. However, the Romans refounded Carthage, which became the empire's fourth most important city and the capital of the short-lived Vandal kingdom. It remained one of the most important Roman cities until the Muslim conquest when it was destroyed a second time in 698.

Contents
[hide]

1 Topography 2 History o 2.1 Foundation legends 2.1.1 Queen Elissa (Dido) 2.1.1.1 Virgil's Aeneid o 2.2 Carthaginian Republic 2.2.1 Army 2.2.2 Navy 2.2.3 Fall o 2.3 City of survivors 2.3.1 Byrsa 2.3.2 Other alternatives 2.3.3 Vandals o 2.4 Islamic conquests 3 Modern times 4 Portrayals in fiction 5 See also 6 Sources o 6.1 Religion o 6.2 Navy 7 Further reading 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Topography
Carthage was built on a promontory with sea inlets to the north and the south. The city's location made it master of the Mediterranean's maritime trade. All ships crossing the sea had to pass between Sicily and the coast of Tunisia, where Carthage was built, affording it great power and influence.

EO-1 Two large, artificial harbors were built within the city, one for harboring the city's massive navy of 220 warships and the other for mercantile trade. A walled tower overlooked both harbours. The city had massive walls, 23 miles (37 kilometers) in length, longer than the walls of comparable cities. Most of the walls were located on the shore and thus could be less impressive, as Carthaginian control of the sea made attack from that direction difficult. The 2.5 to 3 miles (4 to 4.8 kilometers) of wall on the isthmus to the west were truly large and, in fact, were never penetrated. The city had a huge necropolis or burial ground, religious area, market places, council house, towers and a theater and was divided into four equally sized residential areas with the same layout. Roughly in the middle of the city stood a high citadel called the Byrsa. Carthage was one of the largest cities in Hellenistic times (by some estimates, only Alexandria was larger)[citation needed] and was among the largest cities in pre-industrial history.

[edit] History

Layout of the city. Main article: History of Carthage The historical study of Carthage is problematic. Because its culture and records were destroyed by the Romans at the end of the Third Punic War, very few primary Carthaginian historical sources survive. While there are few ancient translations of Punic texts into Greek and Latin, inscriptions remain on monuments and buildings discovered in North Africa,[4] the main sources are Greek and Roman historians, including Livy, Polybius, Appian, Cornelius Nepos, Silius Italicus, Plutarch, Dio Cassius, and Herodotus. These writers belonged to peoples in competition, and often in conflict, with Carthage.[5] Greek cities contested with Carthage for Sicily,[6] and the Romans fought three wars against Carthage.[7] Not surprisingly, their accounts of Carthage are extremely hostile; while there are a few Greek authors who took a favorable view, these works have been lost.[8]

[edit] Foundation legends

[edit] Queen Elissa (Dido)

Carthage According to Roman sources, Phoenician colonists from modern-day Lebanon, led by Queen Dido (Elissa), founded Carthage. Queen Elissa (also known as "Alissar") was an exiled princess

of the ancient Phoenician city of Tyre. At its peak, the metropolis she founded, Carthage, came to be called the "shining city," ruling 300 other cities around the western Mediterranean and leading the Phoenician (or Punic) world. Elissa's brother, King Pygmalion of Tyre, had murdered her husband, the high priest. Elissa escaped the tyranny of her own country, founding the "new city" of Carthage and subsequently its later dominions. Details of her life are sketchy and confusing, but the following can be deduced from various sources. According to Justin, Princess Elissa was the daughter of King Matten of Tyre (also known as Belus II). When he died, the throne was jointly bequeathed to her and her brother, Pygmalion. She married her uncle Acherbas (also known as Sychaeus), the High Priest of Melqart, a man with both authority and wealth comparable to the king. This led to increased rivalry between religion and the monarchy. Pygmalion was a tyrant, lover of both gold and intrigue, who desired the authority and fortune enjoyed by Acherbas.[citation needed] Pygmalion assassinated Acherbas in the temple and kept the misdeed concealed from his sister for a long time, deceiving her with lies about her husband's death. At the same time, the people of Tyre called for a single sovereign.
[edit] Virgil's Aeneid

In the Roman epic of Virgil, the Aeneid, Queen Dido, the Greek name for Queen Elissa, is first introduced as an extremely respected character. In just seven years, since their exodus from Tyre, the Carthaginians have rebuilt a successful kingdom under her rule. Her subjects adore her and present her with a festival of praise. Her character is perceived by Virgil as even more noble when she offers asylum to Aeneas and his men, who have recently escaped from Troy. A spirit in the form of the messenger god, Mercury, sent by Jupiter, reminds Aeneas that his mission is not to stay in Carthage with his new-found love, Dido, but to sail to Italy to found Rome. Virgil ends his legend of Dido with the story that, when Aeneas tells Dido, her heart broken, she orders a pyre to be built where she falls upon Aeneas' sword. As she lay dying, she predicted eternal strife between Aeneas' people and her own: "rise up from my bones, avenging spirit" (4.625, trans. Fitzgerald) she says, an invocation of Hannibal. The details of Virgil's story do not, however form part of the original legend and are significant mainly as an indication of Rome's attitude towards the city she had destroyed, exemplified by Cato the Elder's much-repeated utterance, Carthago delenda est, Carthage must be destroyed.[9]

[edit] Carthaginian Republic

Main article: Carthaginian Republic

Carthaginian held territory in the early 3rd century BC

The Carthaginian Republic was one of the longest-lived and largest states in the ancient Mediterranean. Reports relay several wars with Syracuse and finally, Rome, which eventually resulted in the defeat and destruction of Carthage in the third Punic war. The Carthaginians were Semitic Phoenician settlers originating in the Mediterranean coast of the Near East. They spoke Canaanite and followed a predominantly Canaanite religion. [edit] Army Main article: Military of ancient Carthage According to Polybius, Carthage relied heavily, though not exclusively, on foreign mercenaries,[10] especially in overseas warfare. The core of its army was from its own territory in north Africa (ethnic Libyans and Numidians (modern northern Algeria), as well as "LibyPhoenicians" i.e. Phoenicians proper). These troops were supported by mercenaries from different ethnic groups and geographic locations across the Mediterranean who fought in their own national units; Celtic, Balearic, and Iberian troops were especially common. Later, after the Barcid conquest of Iberia (modern Spain and Portugal), Iberians came to form an even greater part of the Carthaginian forces. Carthage seems to have fielded a formidable cavalry force, especially in its North African homeland; a significant part of it was composed of Numidian contingents of light cavalry. Other mounted troops included the now extinct North African elephants, trained for war, which, among other uses, were commonly used for frontal assaults or as anti-cavalry protection. An army could field up to several hundred of these animals, but on most reported occasions fewer than a hundred were deployed. The riders of these elephants were armed with a spike and hammer to kill the elephants in case they charged toward their own army. [edit] Navy

Roman trireme mosaic from Carthage, Bardo Museum, Tunis The navy of Carthage was one of the largest in the Mediterranean, using serial production to maintain high numbers at moderate cost. The sailors and marines of the Carthaginian navy were predominantly recruited from the Phoenician citizenry, unlike the multi-ethnic allied and mercenary troops of the Carthaginian armies. The navy offered a stable profession and financial security for its sailors. This helped to contribute to the city's political stability, since the unemployed, debt ridden poor in other cities were frequently inclined to support revolutionary leaders in the hope of improving their own lot.[11] The reputation of her skilled sailors implies

that there was in peacetime a training of oarsmen and coxswains, giving their navy a cutting edge in naval matters. The trade of Carthaginian merchantmen was by land across the Sahara and especially by sea throughout the Mediterranean and far into the Atlantic to the tin-rich islands of Britain and also to North West Africa. There is evidence that at least one Punic expedition under Hanno sailed along the West African coast to regions south of the Tropic of Cancer, describing how the sun was in the north at noon.[citation needed] Polybius wrote in the sixth book of his History that the Carthaginians were "more exercised in maritime affairs than any other people."[12] Their navy included some 300 to 350 warships. The Romans, who had little experience in naval warfare prior to the First Punic War, managed to finally defeat Carthage with a combination of reverse engineering captured Carthaginian ships, recruitment of experienced Greek sailors from the ranks of its conquered cities, the unorthodox corvus device, and their superior numbers in marines and rowers. In the Third Punic War Polybius describes a tactical innovation of the Carthaginians, augmenting their few triremes with small vessels that carried hooks (to attack the oars) and fire (to attack the hulls). With this new combination, they were able to stand their ground against the numerically superior Roman for a whole day. [edit] Fall

Ruins of Carthage The fall of Carthage came at the end of the Third Punic War in 146 BC at the Battle of Carthage.[13] Despite initial devastating Roman naval losses and Rome's recovery from the brink of defeat after the terror of a 15-year occupation of much of Italy by Hannibal, the end of the series of wars resulted in the end of Carthaginian power and the complete destruction of the city by Scipio Aemilianus. The Romans pulled the Phoenician warships out into the harbour and burned them before the city, and went from house to house, capturing, raping and enslaving the people. Fifty thousand Carthaginians were sold into slavery.[14] The city was set ablaze, and razed to the ground, leaving only ruins and rubble. After the fall of Carthage, Rome annexed the majority of the Carthaginian colonies, including other North African locations such as Volubilis, Lixus, Chellah, and Mogador.[15] The legend that the city was sown with salt is not mentioned by the ancient sources; R.T. Ridley suggested that the story originated from 1930 in section of the Cambridge Ancient History written by B Hallward whose influence might be an account of Abimelech's salting of Shechem in Judges 9:45.[16][17] Warmington admitted his fault in repeating

Hallward's error but mentions an example of the story that goes back to 1299 when Boniface VIII destroyed Palestrina.[18]

[edit] City of survivors

[edit] Byrsa Main article: Byrsa

Punic ruins in Byrsa On top of Byrsa hill, the location of the Roman Forum, a residential area from the last century of existence (early 2nd century) of the Punic city was excavated by the French archaeologist Serge Lancel. The neighborhood, with its houses, shops and private spaces, is significant for what it reveals about daily life there over twenty-one hundred years ago.[19] The habitat is typical, even stereotypical. The street was often used as a storefront; cistern tanks were installed in basements to collect water for domestic use, and a long corridor on the right side of each residence led to a courtyard containing a sump, around which various other elements may be found. In some places the ground is covered with mosaics called punica pavement, sometimes using a characteristic red mortar. The remains have been preserved under embankments, the substructures of the later Roman forum, whose foundation piles dot the district. The housing blocks are separated by a grid of straight streets approximately six metres wide, with a roadway consisting of clay; there are in situ stairs to compensate for the slope of the hill. Construction of this type presupposes organization and political will, and has inspired the name of the neighborhood, "Hannibal district", referring to the legendary Punic general or Suffete (consul) at the beginning of the 2nd century BC. [edit] Other alternatives

Roman Carthage When Carthage fell, its nearby rival Utica, a Roman ally, was made capital of the region and replaced Carthage as the leading center of Punic trade and leadership. It had the advantageous position of being situated on the Lake of Tunis and the outlet of the Majardah River, Tunisia's only river that flowed all year long. However, grain cultivation in the Tunisian mountains caused large amounts of silt to erode into the river. This silt accumulated in the harbor until it became useless, and Rome was forced to rebuild Carthage. By 122 BC Gaius Gracchus founded a short-lived colony, called Colonia Iunonia, after the Latin name for the punic goddess Tanit, Iuno caelestis. The purpose was to obtain arable lands for impoverished farmers. The Senate abolished the colony some time later, in order to undermine Gracchus' power. After this ill-fated attempt a new city of Carthage was built on the same land by Julius Caesar in 49-44 BC period, and by the 1st century A.D. it had grown to be the second largest city in the western half of the Roman Empire, with a peak population of 500,000[citation needed]. It was the center of the Roman province of Africa, which was a major breadbasket of the Empire. Carthage also became a centre of early Christianity. In the first of a string of rather poorly reported councils at Carthage a few years later, no fewer than 70 bishops attended. Tertullian later broke with the mainstream that was represented more and more in the west by the bishop of Rome, but a more serious rift among Christians was the Donatist controversy, which Augustine of Hippo spent much time and parchment arguing against. In 397 AD at the Council at Carthage, the biblical canon for the western Church was confirmed. [edit] Vandals Main article: Vandal kingdom

Vandal Empire in 500 AD, centered in Carthage. The political fallout from the deep disaffection of African Christians is supposedly a crucial factor in the ease with which Carthage and the other centres were captured in the 5th century by Gaiseric, king of the Vandals, who defeated the Roman general Bonifacius and made the city his capital. Gaiseric was considered a heretic too, an Arian, and though Arians commonly despised orthodox Catholic Christians, a mere promise of toleration might have caused the city's population to accept him. After a failed attempt to recapture the city in the 5th century, the Eastern Roman empire finally subdued the Vandals in the Vandalic War 533-534. Thereafter the city became the seat of the praetorian prefecture of Africa, which during the emperor Maurice's reign, was made into an Exarchate, as was Ravenna in Italy. These two exarchates were the western bulwarks of the Roman empire, all that remained of its power in the west. In the early 7th century it was the exarch of Carthage who overthrew emperor Phocas.

[edit] Islamic conquests

The Roman Exarchate of Africa was not able to withstand the Muslim conquerors of the 7th century. Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik in 686 AD sent a force led by Zuhayr ibn Qais who won a battle over Romans and Berbers led by Kusaila, on the Qairawan plain; but could not follow that up. In 695 AD Hasan ibn al-Nu'man captured Carthage and advanced into the Atlas Mountains. An imperial fleet arrived and retook Carthage, but in 698 AD Hasan ibn al-Nu'man returned and defeated emperor Tiberios III at the Battle of Carthage. Roman imperial forces withdrew from all Africa except Ceuta. Roman Carthage was destroyed and was replaced by Tunis as the major regional centre. The destruction of the Exarchate of Africa marked a permanent end to the influence there of the eastern Roman empire.

[edit] Modern times

In the mid-19th century Nathan Davis and other European archaeologists were given permission to excavate the ancient city. Carthage remains a popular tourist attraction and residential suburb of Tunis. The Tunisian presidential palace is located in the city.[20]

In February 1985, Ugo Vetere, the mayor of Rome, and Chedly Klibi, the mayor of Carthage, signed a symbolic treaty "officially" ending the conflict between their cities, which had been supposedly extended by the lack of a peace treaty for more than 2,100 years.[21]

[edit] Portrayals in fiction

Carthage features in Gustave Flaubert's historical novel Salammb (1862). Set around the time of the Mercenary War, it includes a dramatic description of child sacrifice, and the boy Hannibal narrowly avoiding being sacrificed. In The Dead Past, a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov, a leading character is an ancient historian who is trying to disprove the allegation that the Carthaginians carried out child sacrifice. In Kushiel's Mercy by Jacqueline Carey, Carthage is a conquering nation geographically and culturally based on the historical Carthage.[citation needed] The Purple Quest by Frank G. Slaughter is about the founding of Carthage