Phoenicians,%20Persians%20and%20Judaism

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Phoenicians, Persians and Judaism
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Role of Nomadic Peoples

• On the fringes of early civilizations were
  nomadic peoples that depended on hunting,
  gathering
• Some groups were pastoral nomads that raised
  animals for food and clothing
• Traded with settled groups and helped long
  distance trade and passed on new technologies by
  carrying products between civilized centers
• These groups occasionally overran settled
  communities and created their own empires

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Role of Nomadic Peoples

• Indo-Europeans were one group
• Their language became the mother tongue of Greek,
  Latin, Persian, Sanskrit and Germanic languages
• They originated in the steppes of central Asia
  and moved into Anatolia around 2000 B.C
• 1750 B.C. they established an empire in western
  Asia called the Hittite Empire
• They used iron to make tools and weapons
• 1200 B.C. the empire began to fall apart
• The end of the Hittites and the weakening of
  Egypt led to the rise of other small kingdoms and
  city states in the region

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Spread of Indo-European Languages
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Phoenicians

• They were a seafaring a trading empire based in
  the eastern Mediterranean that flourished between
  1550 B.C. to 300 B.C.
• They occupied a string of cities (city-states) in
  the Levant region (Lebanon, Syria, Israel)
• They were best known for trade they produced
  glass and purple dye that was widely distributed
  across the Mediterranean region
• They established colonies throughout the region
  to promote trade

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Phoenicians

• The Phoenicians developed an alphabet, where
  symbols represented sounds, not a word or
  concept.
• The alphabet was used to record business
  transactions.
• The Greek alphabet and later the Roman alphabet
  was based on the Phoenician alphabet

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Persian Empires

• In 539 B.C. Babylon fell to Persian invaders led
  by Cyrus the Great
• Persian Empire eventually became the largest in
  the world stretching from Asia Minor to northern
  India
• The empire embraced tolerance of religions and
  cultures

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Structure of the Persian Empire

• Emperor Darius was responsible for the
  unification of the empire
• The empire was divided into provinces (satrapys)
  that were ruled by a local governor that
  collected taxes based on resources and wealth
• Special officials were sent out to check on the
  empire and they traveled on the Royal Road that
  was maintained by the empire. This road made it
  easier to communicate and trade across the empire
• The Persian Empire used a common system of coins
  to allow trade
• Much of the power of the Persian Empire was based
  on the military, Persian kings created a standing
  military

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Religion

• The Persian Religion was one of their unique
  cultural achievements- Zoroastrianism
• According to tradition Zoroaster lived in the 5th
  century B.C. and was revered for his visions
• His teachings were written in the Zend Avesta,
  the sacred book of Zoroastrianism
• It is a monotheistic religion. The supreme deity
  is Ahura Mazda, who is good and brought all
  things into being
• He is opposed by Ahriman the evil god
• People are allowed the freedom to choose between
  right and wrong and in the end Ahura Mazda will
  triumph and there would be a judgment
• Zoroastrians believed in heaven, hell and final
  judgment
• Zoroastrian beliefs influenced Judaism, Islam and
  Christianity

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Roots of Judaism

• To the south of the Phoenicians there was a group
  of Semitic speaking people that were pastoral
  nomads
• Around 2000 B.C. they migrated to Canaan (Israel/
  Palestine) and later to Egypt where they were
  enslaved and led to freedom by Moses
• By 1000 B.C. they had emerged as a distinct group
  united under their king, David
• Solomon followed David and strengthened the
  Israelite kingdom

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Roots of Judaism

• After the death of Solomon the Israelites were
  divided by the northern (Israelites) and southern
  (Judah) tribes in the eighth century B.C.
• Israelites were defeated and assimilated by other
  groups in the region and gradually lost their
  identity
• In the sixth century B.C. the Kingdom of Judah
  was conquered by the Chaldeans
• People of Judah were sent to Babylon as captives
  (Babylonian Captivity)
• Babylonian Captivity ended when the Persians took
  control of the region and allowed the Jews to
  return to Israel where they reestablished their
  religion, but they were under foreign control
• The Babylonian Captivity made the Jews a people
  without a land

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The Spiritual Dimensions of Judaism

• Their god Yahweh created the earth and everything
  in it, God ruled the world and all people in it
  were his servants
• Ten Commandments provided rules to live by and
  stressed religious duty
• God was good and expected goodness from people if
  they followed the Ten Commandments
• Israelites believed that they had a covenant with
  God and they were his chosen people
• The Jews believed that God had sent prophets to
  be his voice to teach and warn people to follow
  God
• The prophets taught a code of ethics, or moral
  teachings, and that all people were equal before
  God
• Jewish religious beliefs were recorded in the
  Torah (Old Testament)
• Jews maintained their sense of identity by living
  in close knit communities and obeying religious
  laws and traditions