The Hittites

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The Ancient Middle East
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The Hittites
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A group of fearsome warlike people known as the
Hittites swept into the Middle East around 2000
B.C. The Hittites used advanced weaponry that
allowed them to easily defeat and conquer any
enemies who stood in their way.
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The Hittites conquered what is now Turkey and
northern Syria.
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They were the first society to make tools and
weapons out of iron. They were also responsible
for starting the Iron Age, where iron was
increasingly used in making tools and weapons.
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• They were able to build a large empire because of
  their military strength. Between 1400 BC and
  1200 BC, they ruled over most of the Fertile
  Crescent.

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They also used horses in their wars. The first
horses were small, and the Hittites figured out
how to breed larger ones. Soldiers who fight on
horses were called cavalry.
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By 1650 B.C. the Hittites had established a
number of city-states on a plateau known as
Anatolia. From here they were able to develop an
advanced and sophisticated culture.
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The people lived in cities fortified by thick
stone walls. They built palaces and temples.
Outside the cities, farmers grew food for
everyone.
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In the 1590s B.C. the Hittites had conquered the
powerful city of Babylon, and had stretched their
empire outward into Asia. Their civilization
would continue until about 1200 B.C.
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The Assyrian Empire
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For hundreds of years the Assyrians occupied
lands that were bordered by more powerful
civilizations. As a result, the Assyrians were
frequently attacked by their neighbors. The
constant threat of attack led the Assyrians to
develop what would become the most powerful army
in the region.
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By 900 B.C. their well practiced and well
equipped army was ready to dominate. The
Assyrians began attacking and conquering the
peoples who had threatened them.
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The Assyrians earned a reputation of extreme
cruelty to those whom they conquered, often
burning their cities, and torturing their
peoples.
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Their armies were strong with iron weapons, foot
soldiers with giant shields, archers, a cavalry
and horse driven chariots.
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Assyrian War Bulletin 1500 600 BC
I destroyed, I demolished, I burned. I took
their warriors prisoner and impaled them on
stakes before their cities. flayed the nobles,
as many as had rebelled, and spread their skins
out on the piles of corpses
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many of the captives I burned in a fire. Many I
took alive from some I cut off their hands to
the right, from other I cut off their noses, ears
and fingers I put out the eyes of many of the
soldiers."
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By 650 B.C. the Assyrians had conquered a vast
empire, stretching between the Persian Gulf, the
Red Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea,
and the Caspian Sea.
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They built a capital city called Nineveh where
the king lived. The king appointed governors to
rule provinces, to collect taxes, and to maintain
order.
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Traders came from all over the world to Nineveh.
This ancient city had parks and a zoo.
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Assyrian cities were centers of commerce, which
is the buying, selling and transportation of
products. The first major city they built was
called Assur, which was located on the Tigris
River.
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The streets were laid out in blocks, just as in
modern cities like Chicago. Some cities even had
aqueducts which are large stone canals which
brought water from mountain streams.
AQUEDUCT
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Because of the cruelty and unfair treatment of
the Assyrians, they were despised by the people
they had conquered. In 612 B.C. the Chaldeans
formed an alliance with the Medes and overthrew
them, bringing the Empire down.
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The Chaldeans
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After defeating the Assyrians in 612 B.C. the
Chaldeans formed a new empire which would rule
and govern the Fertile Crescent.
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Under the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar the
Chaldeans built a powerful and wealthy nation.
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Nebuchadnezzar was king when the kingdom of Judah
was conquered and he destroyed the First Temple
that Solomon had built.
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Nebuchadnezzar also was famous for creating the
Hanging Gardens of Babylon for his favorite wife.
This was one of the seven wonders of the Ancient
World.
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After the death of King Nebuchadnezzar in 562
B.C. the Chaldean Empire quickly fell into
decline. By 539 B.C. they were conquered by the
Persians.
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The Phoenicians
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Around 3000 BC a group of individuals migrated
from the Arabian Peninsula into the land of
Canaan. Canaan is located between Egypt and
Syria. These people were known as the
Phoenicians.
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By 1200 B.C. the Phoenicians had built a number
of cites and villages that were bound to one
another by culture, but were governed
independently as separate city-states.
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The Phoenicians were masters of the sea. Their
economy was based on trade. Rather than moving
goods over the land in caravans, the Phoenicians
built large sailing ships.
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Many historians believe that the Phoenicians
may have traveled to lands as distant as Great
Britain and Spain. This is a tremendous feat
considering the level of technology at the time.
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The Phoenicians spread their culture and
civilization as traders sailors. They learned
to navigate the seas at night using the North
Star.
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The Phoenicians founded Carthage in North Africa,
which was the center of a great trading empire.
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Their purple dye was famous. It was a secret
recipe.
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They used a gland found in snails that had a
substance that turned purple when it was in the
light. This purple was so valued it became the
color of royalty.
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They mainly traded lumber from trees known as the
Cedars of Lebanon and the famous purple dye.
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Finally, the greatest contribution the
Phoenicians made to civilization was the alphabet.
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They invented a system in which each letter was
based on a single sound. By 1500 BC, the
alphabet had 22 letters but no vowels.
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Later, the Greeks added vowels.
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The Persians
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Around 2000 B.C. the Persians left central Asia
in search of greener fields for their cattle.
They eventually settled on a plateau near the
Persian Gulf in Iran.
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Around 545 B.C. the Persians, who had by now
developed a powerful military, moved out of their
homeland and began to conquer their neighbors.
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By 525 B.C. Persian armies had conquered a
territory that was over 3,000 miles across from
border to border. In its day it was the largest
empire on Earth and spanned 3 continents, Africa,
Europe and Asia.
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The founder of the Persian Empire was called
Cyrus the Great. He was called the Great because
he was able to rule the different groups of
conquered peoples without making enemies.
Cyrus the Great
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The Persians were tolerant of the beliefs and
cultures of the peoples they conquered. They
allowed them to continue living their lives in
the manner that their cultures dictated. This
stood in stark contrast to the Assyrians who had
enforced their rule through fear. This tolerance
led to the people accepting the Persian
conquerors.
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Cyrus the Great conquered the Lydians who lived
in Turkey and who also minted the first
coins.He also conquered the Chaldeans and ended
the Jewish captivity in Babylon. The Phoenicians
welcomed him too.
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Cyrus the great was killed in battle in 529 BC.
As Cyrus the Great allowed the Hebrew exiles to
resettle and rebuild Jerusalem, he is honored by
them.
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Darius I was another famous Persian leader. He
became king around 521 BC.He divided the empire
into districts or provinces called SATRAPIES.
Darius I (the Great)
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Each satrapy was governed by a Persian noble who
had a lot of power. Darius had a network of
spies called the Kings eyes and ears. They
were government agents who checked on the rulers
of his satrapies so that they would not try to
conquer him.
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Darius built a long highway that was 1677 miles
long. Along the highway was 111 stations where
fresh horses and riders waited to continue the
journey.
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The road was guarded and also provided food and
shelter for travelers. The Persian Empire had
created the first pony express.
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Xerxes was the next king of Persia. He was the
son of Darius I, but not as capable as his
father. He broke the tradition of ruling the
conquered people lightly and crushed the people
who revolted against Persian rule in Egypt and
Babylon. Xerxes was murdered.
Xerxes
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The last king of Persia Darius III was defeated
by Alexander the Great of Ancient Greece. That
ended the Persian empire in the year 330 BC. The
Persians had ruled for about 220 years.
Darius III