Ancient World History 900 – 600 BCE

Ancient World History 900 – 600 BCE Instructor Pacas

The fall of the Hittite Empire in the region between Anatolia and the Levant left a power vacuum as discussed prior and many independent city states emerged to fill the vacuum. • Between 1000 – 800 BCE the period saw a greater dimension of colonization by different civilizations of the area but particularly from Phoenicians and Greeks. Phoenicians moving west while the Greeks moving west and east.

Phoenician cities of Tyre, Sidon and Byblos sent men to establish colonies all over the Mediterranean. Colonies were founded in North Africa, Spain, and Sicily. • The Greeks established colonies in Sicily, southern part of Italy, all over the islands of the Aegean, western promontory of Turkey and in the Cherson peninsula in the Black Sea.

Both groups of colonies that is Phoenician and Greek were semi-autonomous that is that they were free to do with themselves as they saw fit. They were not tied or owned by the founding city state they had originated. This is not to say that the colony and the Metro-polis (Mother city) did not have close connections though.

Usually colonies were founded because the Metro-Polis was experiencing social problems tied to overpopulation on the part of the Greeks though trade and the need to find natural resources was also a mitigating factor. For the Phoenicians colonies were mostly a business enterprise.

Through these colonies much inter-cultural exchange occurred between the colonists and cultures already settled in the area as well as newly arriving cultures into the area from other parts. (This makes things particularly difficult for historians and archaeologist when trying to piece a comprehensible history together since we have a huge influx of diverse cultures in a relatively small area it is hard to deduce which group is represented from the data recovered).

It is probably from contact with Assyrian military that many of the Greek colonies in the eastern Mediterranean improved on their military equipment but it is also possible that the advent might have been a transmission from west to east. The important point to notice is the vast area covered and the huge inter-cultural exchange enjoyed by these ancient people thereby dismissing to a large extent the myth of homogenous pure-ethnic stock of 19th and 20th century scholarship.

Anatolia 900 – 600 BCE • Phrygia 900 – 600 BCE • The power vacuum left by the collapse of the Hittite Empire was filled by new immigrant groups to Anatolia who set up strong states and conquered other adjacent people and incorporated them into their territory. Migrating from an area west of the Black Sea in the late 1200 BCE & after the Phrygians occupied the larger portion of Anatolia.

They established many powerful kingdoms of particular importance Lydia, Gordion and Cholcis. The Phrygians influenced their neighbors the ‘Anatolian’ Greek communities. • To mythology they gave the riches of Lydia under Croesus, King Midas of Gordion, the Golden Fleece of Cholcis, and to fashion the famous Phrygian cap.

It is believed that the Phrygians were either descended from Thracians or formed a closely related group. They were definitely Indo-European and spoke Luwian dialect. They were expert metal-smiths and conducted trade with Greece and their neighbors to the east of them the Urartians.

The Phrygians specifically the cities of Lydia and Gordion were famous even in antiquity for the vast richness they possessed. Being in the trajectory of the famous trade routes between east and west they were well situated to enjoy huge profits.

The Phrygian city of Gordion fell to the predatory attacks of a people that are known as Cimmerians closely akin to Celts who seemed to have migrated from the area between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea. • Cimmerians trekked through Urartu and sacked Gordion in the 600’s BCE.

Urartu 900 – 600 BCE • The Urartian kingdom was situated on the middle half of the Anatolian land mass and shared their western borders with the Phrygians. • Lake Van was their nearest eastern border but sometimes it was extended to the Caspian Sea. • Relations between Phrygia and Urartu were for the most part amicable since the Urartians had to contend with the military aggressive Assyrians to their south.

Urartian kingdom though perhaps not as wealthy as the Phrygian was able to tap into the east-west trade route. The Urartians also enjoyed contact with the Phoenicians and conducted business with them as well. But in the mid 700’s the Urartian cities succumbed to the invading Assyrians and their power was reduced.

At times in the historical record we hear of Urartians and Scythians joining forces to commit raids on Assyrian territories in the 7th century BCE. They were one of the first groups in the historical record to actually utilize the steppe nomads as a mercenary force in their military exploits.

Scythia 900 – 600 BCE • The area north of the Black Sea was populated by a group of steppe nomadic horse breeders. • These people were known as Scythians by their Greek neighbors in the colonies of the north Black Sea in Panticapeum and Olbia.

The Greeks wrote that the Scythians were skilled archers and horsemen and inflicted heavy losses on any enemy that ventured into their territory. • The Greeks also said that the Scythians moved throughout the Eurasian steppes depending on the seasons.

The Scythians had a profound love for the elaborate and commissioned many Greek artisans to render in gold and silver objects of art usually to adorn their military gear. • There are many parallels that first appear in Scythian arms that later find their way east and have been discovered as far away as China.

Stories state that the Scythians used to fashion drinking cups out of their enemy’s skull caps line them with gold and use them for libations. Other tribes of Scythians it is said used to flay the skin of their enemies and use them as horse trappings. Scalping of enemies was also a common practice as well. • Often sedentary civilizations in Anatolia and Middle East would employ groups of Scythian archers as mercenaries in their armies. The Athenians at the time of Pericles 400’s BC used Scythians as the city’s police force.

Middle East 900 – 600 BCE • Assyrian Empire 900 – 600 BCE • The Assyrians were a military formidable empire that conquered much of the territory formerly belonging to the Hittites. They employed many military innovations such as battering rams, siege towers, and miners to undermine city walls. They also adopted and adapted much of the bronze armor and equipment of other cultures creating one of the best equipped and professional army of the ancient world.

It was this military machine that allowed them to conquer many of the city states of the Levant as well as defeating the Urartian kingdom under the rule of Tiglath Pilesser III 733 BCE. Assyrians even were able to conquer Egypt in 663-609 BCE.

Not only were they military superior to many of their neighbors but also administratively superior as well as they were able to administrate a large empire with relative ease. At the apogee of their power the Assyrians were controlling roughly the territory that had been under Hittite and Egyptian control just 600 years earlier.

It is also from Assyrian sources that we begin to receive mention from other groups that will become important to the history of Asia and Europe. Particularly the Parsua and Medes are mentioned as paying tribute to Shalmanesser III 858 BCE.

Persians 900 – 600 BCE • The Parsua and Medes were people who migrated to the region of Iran probably in about 900 BCE and settled the territory. • Initially as the written sources of Assyrian documents demonstrate the kings of the Parsua paid tribute to the Assyrians and seem to have been client kings or subjects to the Assyrian king. Although they are named as kings in the sources this leads scholars to suggest that their role was more as client kings to the Assyrians.

It would be the Medes and Persian coalition who would eventually destroy the Assyrian Empire in the early 500’s BCE. • Persians were an Indo-European people that had roamed the steppes until it seems that strong tribal leaders were able to unite diverse tribes of these steppe nomadic people perhaps as early as 1100 BCE and a new ethnogenesis known as Medes and Parsua emerged.

By 600 BCE the Persians, once having defeated the Assyrians, incorporated Assyrian military technology into their military machine and were able to exercise control over a vast territory from Iran, Mesopotamia, Egypt parts of the Levant, Anatolia and as far as Thrace in the next century to come.

The Mediterranean 900 – 600 BCE • The early colonies established in the Mediterranean by Phoenicians brought much wealth to their maritime Metropolis but more importantly established themselves as lucrative communities throughout the Mediterranean.

Of particular importance was the city of Carthage established in 814 BCE by citizens from Tyre. The Carthaginians also established footholds in Spain creating the city of Gades and in Marseille France thus promoting trade between Western Europe communities and North African communities.

The Carthaginians were in competition with the Greeks to see who could establish more lucrative colonies. • The island of Sicily became contested territory Cartheginians occupying the western half and Greeks occupying the eastern half.

The Greeks were responsible for founding the colony of Syracuse on the eastern promontory of Sicily. • From Syracuse they moved to the southern most portion of the Italian boot and proceeded to colonize a vast part of southern Italy influencing and spreading Greek culture to the natives and other groups occupying Italy such as the Etruscans, Samnites, Sabines, Latins, and Campanians.

Etruscans adopted from the Greeks the fighting equipment that by 650’s BCE was transforming the Aegean and making the Greeks predominant in the military field. Warriors heavily equipped in bronze armor from head to foot fought as a cohesive unit known as a phalanx with huge 8-12 foot spears tipped with iron blades servicing pretty much as a tank steam rolling through the lighter equipped enemies. These same warriors also employed a heavy bronze faced shield that had originated in the Argive region of Greece giving the name to the shield and thus equipped with heavy arms and armor the Greek Hoplite soldier transformed the military of the Mediterranean.

Roman Community Established 800 BCE • Around 753 BCE according to legend the city of Rome was founded. In fact there seems to have been communities around that predated this period. It is possible though not until the 8th century BCE did they unify to become an Iron Age city state.

Pretty soon Rome came under control of the expanding Etruscan kingdoms of Tarquini and for the major part of its history it was ruled by Etruscan kings until 509 BCE when the last Etruscan king Tarquin the Proud was ousted and a Republic established.

Through out its early history the Romans had many border disputes with the other Italian people specially the Samnites and the Sabines. Early Roman legend is filled with constant battles between a young Roman city state and these other people.

Etruscans 900 – 600 BCE • Not much is really known about the Etruscans though they have their own writing system it has not been deciphered yet. Many scholars believe that they originated from the east in the area of Anatolia or even farther. • What is known that between 900 – 600 BCE they were besides the Greeks in the south the main force to contend with in the Italian peninsula. Their powerful city states exercise control over pretty much central and southern portions of Northern Italy.

Their culture was heavily influenced by Greek culture and their Latin neighbors. They also traded heavily with the Celtic neighbors of Northern Italy around the Po valley area and as far as Gaul. In exchange for wine they imported bronze weapons and armor from this region as well and slaves also.

By the end of the 8th century they had brought the powerful independent city states in central Italy including Rome under their domain and had instituted their own kings to rule over these people.

Celts 900 – 600 BCE • Although no written language of these people survive we know through archaeology that they rivaled the culture of their southern neighbors. Their society was a warrior society akin to the Greeks as described in the Iliad.

They had chiefs instead of kings and these chiefs were popularly elected and led by example. The Celts were able craftsmen in working bronze to make weapons and armor coveted by many different civilizations throughout the Mediterranean.

Throughout their history Celtic tribes would often, due to social pressures at home, mount large invasion forces that spread throughout the European continent so the Celtic people of Europe spread over a wide area from Turkey to England and from Germany to northern Italy.

The Celts gave to civilization the iron framed barrel and the cast bronze spoke wheel plus in the field of the military the long slashing iron sword and chainmail. Some of the most amazing finds that attest to the Celtic craftsmanship are the remains of the artistic and cultural period known as Halstatt from the salt mines in Switzerland. The discovery of gold objects and a thriving community that bartered salt in exchange of Mediterranean goods specially wine have shed light into the culture of these people.

Early Celts it was stated by stories use to practice head hunting as a mark of distinction of the warrior and use to hang the decapitated heads of their enemies on their horse harness as war trophies a practice also employed by Scythians farther east.

Ancient World History 900 – 600 BCE