Cultural Practices in the Near East

Akkadia

2340 BCE

Sargon, known as the leader of the Akkadians, created the very first empire known in world history. The cultural impact of an empire is vast and only has a single leader ruling a large political state or region. This was how the empires following Sargon were set up. Sargon used governors and gained much power through his military strength, which is what many of the cultural practices of the empire were centered around.

The Akkadian Empire and the Cultural Practice of Becoming Gods

Period: 2260 BCE to 2223 BCE

Sargon’s successor, his grandson Naram-Sin ruled the empire. He was a very powerful and successful ruler who had many military campaigns. He was so successful that he declared himself a God and claimed to be “King of the Four Corners of the Universe.”

The Code of Hammurabi

1792 BCE

Hammurabi (a Babylonian King) created “The Code of Hammurabi. “The Code of Hammurabi” was based on a system of strict justice. The Penalties for criminal offenses were very severe, and they depended on the social class of the victim. “The Code of Hammurabi” mainly focused on marriage and family. The parents arranged marriage for their children. The Mesopotamian society was patriarchal, which means that men dominated the society.

The Hyskos Technology

1650 BCE

The Hyksos invaded Egypt and forced the Middle Kingdom in Egypt to end. The cultural advance the Hyksos brought was numerous. They introduced chariots and also the use of bronze farming tools and weapon making. They used this to drive out the Hyksos years later.

Egyptians Fighting Over the Kingdom

1550 BCE

Ahmose I defeated the Hyksos in Egypt using the tools and knowledge they had shared with the Egyptians. The culture had been in disorder with many fighting over the kingdom. Ahmose used his power to bring a culture of pride in the Egyptian army by making it more professional.

The Height of the New Kingdom and the religious Culture

Period: 1412 BCE to 1375 BCE

During the New Kingdom, the reign of Amenhotep III, the Egyptians had many architectural achievements, and built many new buildings and temples, including 70-foot-high statues of Amenhotep III down the Nile river. The pharaoh Amenhotep IV tried to introduce the worship of a new god, Aten, god of the sun disk. He removed the old gods and many Egyptians were not happy with his choice.

Ramses II comes to power and brings back much power to the Egyptians

Period: 1279 BCE to 1213 BCE

Ramses II comes to power and brings back much power to the Egyptians. The buildings and monuments he built brought back a culture of pride and the culture of using slaves to build most things was a practice during his reign especially. Those slaves were the Israelites.

The Egyptian Empire Ends because of the Religious Culture

Period: 1279 BCE to 1213 BCE

The culture of religion was so important that the Pharaoh ignored foreign threats in Syria and Canaan. The Pharaoh spent so much money and time investing in the religious culture that he failed to notice changes in the surrounding kingdoms looking to take back their lands. The Pharaoh let the military strength lessen over time.

The Egyptian Empire Ends

1070 BCE

Ramses II tried to build his army but the Egyptians were pushed back to their old lands and the New Kingdom fell apart. The “Sea People” pushed the Egyptians back to their old lands and the Egyptian empire ended.

The Kingdom of Kush

1000 BCE

The Kingdom of Kush was an independent state and was a major trading empire that had different links to certain states throughout their region. The Economy of Kush was mainly based on farming at first, but then they made iron weapons and tools that were sent to different places.

Assyrians and Weapons

700 BCE

The culture of the Semitic-speaking Assyrians used much iron in creating weapons to form its empire. They were a culture that mixed with whichever land they conquered. They were very protective of Sumerian and Babylonian culture, even building a library in Nineveh with information about the culture of the time.

Persians and Hunting

650 BCE

A relief or relic found of Ashurbanipal, one of the Persian Kings, shows him hunting lions. These empires had a culture of hunting and game for sport. They are represented in the relief as strong and in control of even lions.

Zoroastrianism in the Near East

628 BCE

This is the year when Zoroaster was born. Zoroaster is considered to be the prophet of the “true religion.” Zoroastrianism was the Persians’ religion that was their most cultural and what mostly everyone practiced. In their religious culture, Ahuramazda was the “Wise Lord.” They believed that he was a supreme God who created all things.

The Culture of war in Assyria and Persia

612 BCE

The culture of War in Assyria and Persia and ultimate collapse Assyrians ruled and were able to make iron weapons to help them win wars. In 612 B.C. They also were ruthless and were known to destroy entire towns in their battles. The Assyrians were ruled by kings who had all the power. They also developed a system of communication that helped them relay messages throughout the kingdom quickly. This helped them win many wars but eventually collapsed because of the constant wars.

Babylonia and King Nebuchadnezzar

Period: 605 BCE to 562 BCE

The culture of greatness was something that King Nebuchadnezzar was known for in his empire. He created beautiful hanging gardens known around the world, but eventually the focus on making Babylon great and not giving attention to life outside of Babylon led to the downfall of Babylon to the Persians.

The Culture of Wisdom by Cyrus

539 BCE

Cyrus the Great allowed the Jews who had been in captivity to return to Israel. Cyrus was known for being merciful and allowing native peoples to rule their own lands in his empire. He had many different cultures represented in his palaces and made sure they were a part of the design of those palaces. He knew how to unite people by showing them respect.

The Kingdom Under Darius

Period: 521 BCE to 486 BCE

Darius ruled the Persian Kingdom with strength. He created a culture of unity by dividing the kingdom into 20 different provinces and giving them some freedom to rule their own province. The culture set by the King made him supreme ruler. He controlled all his subjects, even life or death was his to control. The Immortals were an army of professional soldiers from all over the kingdom that were important to the military culture in Persia.

Alexander the Great Conquest

330 BCE

Due to a culture of high taxes that fed the Persian kings rich lifestyle, many in the empire disliked that all their money went to the rich. The Persian Kings also had a culture practice of polygamy, taking many wives. They had many children and this caused conflicts for power because so many wanted to be King. These things helped Alexander the Great take over in 30 BC

The Flourishing of the Kingdom of Kush

250 BCE

state of Kush flourished and was found to have much wealth that was later discovered in tombs. The culture of trading was the Major exports in Kush being ivory, gold, ebony and slaves. They traded and sold these items for jewelry and silver lamps.

Crumbling of the Empire of Kush

150

The empire of Kush began to crumble. The surrounding powers and rise of an Axum in the region near the Red Sea.