Trevor Bryce
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199218721
- eISBN:
- 9780191739101
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199218721.003.0013
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical, Ancient Religions
This chapter witnesses the reduction of the Neo-Hittite kingdoms, along with many other cities and states west of the Euphrates, from sometime tributaries of the Assyrians to mere provincial ...
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This chapter witnesses the reduction of the Neo-Hittite kingdoms, along with many other cities and states west of the Euphrates, from sometime tributaries of the Assyrians to mere provincial components of the Assyrian empire. The progression is, however, by no means a smooth one. It is interrupted by the intervention of other powers to challenge Assyrian supremacy, notably Urartu in the east and towards the end of the century Phrygia in the west. Assyrian supremacy west of the Euphrates is also challenged by local centres of resistance, notably the Aramaean kingdom of Arpad (Bit-Agusi) in north-central Syria. But Assyria ultimately prevailed. Its provincialization of the west, including the Neo-Hittite kingdoms, was made a certainty by the two most powerful rulers of the second half of the century, Tiglath-pileser III (745-727) and Sargon II (721-705). By the end of Sargon’s reign, all the Neo-Hittite kingdoms had been absorbed into the Assyrian provincial administration.Less
This chapter witnesses the reduction of the Neo-Hittite kingdoms, along with many other cities and states west of the Euphrates, from sometime tributaries of the Assyrians to mere provincial components of the Assyrian empire. The progression is, however, by no means a smooth one. It is interrupted by the intervention of other powers to challenge Assyrian supremacy, notably Urartu in the east and towards the end of the century Phrygia in the west. Assyrian supremacy west of the Euphrates is also challenged by local centres of resistance, notably the Aramaean kingdom of Arpad (Bit-Agusi) in north-central Syria. But Assyria ultimately prevailed. Its provincialization of the west, including the Neo-Hittite kingdoms, was made a certainty by the two most powerful rulers of the second half of the century, Tiglath-pileser III (745-727) and Sargon II (721-705). By the end of Sargon’s reign, all the Neo-Hittite kingdoms had been absorbed into the Assyrian provincial administration.
Stephen Ruzicka
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199766628
- eISBN:
- 9780199932719
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199766628.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Asian and Middle Eastern History: BCE to 500CE, World History: BCE to 500CE
The Persian-Egyptian conflict was actually one phase of continuous conflict between successive Near Eastern imperial powers and Egypt, which contested for control of the Levant (Syria-Palestine). ...
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The Persian-Egyptian conflict was actually one phase of continuous conflict between successive Near Eastern imperial powers and Egypt, which contested for control of the Levant (Syria-Palestine). This began ca. 1500 bc, when Egypt extended its authority over much of the Levant. Conflict was almost continuous in the ninth–sixth centuries, when the Assyrians mounted repeated campaigns and ultimately incorporated the Levant into the Assyrian Empire, instigating Egyptian military and diplomatic opposition, which led to Assyrian conquest of Egypt and installation of a native client king and the beginning of the 26th or Saite Dynasty. Saite kings opposed Babylonian takeover of the Levant and prompted numerous Babylonian campaigns through the 560s. Once the Persians took over the Babylonian Empire in 539, they inherited their predecessors’ Egyptian problem, making a Persian attempt to conquer Egypt inevitable.Less
The Persian-Egyptian conflict was actually one phase of continuous conflict between successive Near Eastern imperial powers and Egypt, which contested for control of the Levant (Syria-Palestine). This began ca. 1500 bc, when Egypt extended its authority over much of the Levant. Conflict was almost continuous in the ninth–sixth centuries, when the Assyrians mounted repeated campaigns and ultimately incorporated the Levant into the Assyrian Empire, instigating Egyptian military and diplomatic opposition, which led to Assyrian conquest of Egypt and installation of a native client king and the beginning of the 26th or Saite Dynasty. Saite kings opposed Babylonian takeover of the Levant and prompted numerous Babylonian campaigns through the 560s. Once the Persians took over the Babylonian Empire in 539, they inherited their predecessors’ Egyptian problem, making a Persian attempt to conquer Egypt inevitable.
Marvin A. Sweeney
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195133240
- eISBN:
- 9780199834693
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195133242.003.0013
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
Most scholars tend to overlook Nahum because of its purportedly vengeful spirit, but the book is designed to celebrate the downfall of the city of Nineveh in 612 b.c.e. Because Nineveh was the ...
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Most scholars tend to overlook Nahum because of its purportedly vengeful spirit, but the book is designed to celebrate the downfall of the city of Nineveh in 612 b.c.e. Because Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian empire that had subjugated Judah for approximately a century prior to Josiah's reign, its downfall was pivotal to Josiah's efforts to reestablish Israelite/Judean independence. An analysis of the structure of the book indicates that Nahum is formulated as a prophetic refutation speech that is designed to convince its audience of YHWH's role in bringing down the Assyrian oppressor.Less
Most scholars tend to overlook Nahum because of its purportedly vengeful spirit, but the book is designed to celebrate the downfall of the city of Nineveh in 612 b.c.e. Because Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian empire that had subjugated Judah for approximately a century prior to Josiah's reign, its downfall was pivotal to Josiah's efforts to reestablish Israelite/Judean independence. An analysis of the structure of the book indicates that Nahum is formulated as a prophetic refutation speech that is designed to convince its audience of YHWH's role in bringing down the Assyrian oppressor.
Karen Radner
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199354771
- eISBN:
- 9780199354795
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199354771.003.0004
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, World History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter focuses on the Assyrian Empire which from the 9th to the late 7th century BC dominated the political history of the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean. The creation of an ...
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This chapter focuses on the Assyrian Empire which from the 9th to the late 7th century BC dominated the political history of the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean. The creation of an innovative relay postal service covering the expanse of the empire was instrumental in guaranteeing cohesion and its infrastructure proved one of Assyria’s most lasting heritage. The 1,200 letters-strong state correspondence of King Sargon II (r. 721–705 BC) allows a close study of the mechanisms of state communication.Less
This chapter focuses on the Assyrian Empire which from the 9th to the late 7th century BC dominated the political history of the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean. The creation of an innovative relay postal service covering the expanse of the empire was instrumental in guaranteeing cohesion and its infrastructure proved one of Assyria’s most lasting heritage. The 1,200 letters-strong state correspondence of King Sargon II (r. 721–705 BC) allows a close study of the mechanisms of state communication.
Dominique Charpin
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226101583
- eISBN:
- 9780226101590
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226101590.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Asian and Middle Eastern History: BCE to 500CE
Ancient Mesopotamia, the fertile crescent between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now western Iraq and eastern Syria, is considered to be the cradle of civilization—home of the Babylonian ...
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Ancient Mesopotamia, the fertile crescent between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now western Iraq and eastern Syria, is considered to be the cradle of civilization—home of the Babylonian and Assyrian empires, as well as the great Code of Hammurabi. The Code was only part of a rich juridical culture from 2200–1600 bce that saw the invention of writing and the development of its relationship to law, among other remarkable firsts. Though ancient history offers inexhaustible riches, this book focuses here on the legal systems of Old Babylonian Mesopotamia and offers considerable insight into how writing and the law evolved together to forge the principles of authority, precedent, and documentation that dominate us to this day. As legal codes throughout the region evolved through advances in cuneiform writing, kings and governments were able to stabilize their control over distant realms and impose a common language—which gave rise to complex social systems overseen by magistrates, judges, and scribes that eventually became the vast empires of history books.Less
Ancient Mesopotamia, the fertile crescent between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now western Iraq and eastern Syria, is considered to be the cradle of civilization—home of the Babylonian and Assyrian empires, as well as the great Code of Hammurabi. The Code was only part of a rich juridical culture from 2200–1600 bce that saw the invention of writing and the development of its relationship to law, among other remarkable firsts. Though ancient history offers inexhaustible riches, this book focuses here on the legal systems of Old Babylonian Mesopotamia and offers considerable insight into how writing and the law evolved together to forge the principles of authority, precedent, and documentation that dominate us to this day. As legal codes throughout the region evolved through advances in cuneiform writing, kings and governments were able to stabilize their control over distant realms and impose a common language—which gave rise to complex social systems overseen by magistrates, judges, and scribes that eventually became the vast empires of history books.
David M. Lewis
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198769941
- eISBN:
- 9780191822728
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198769941.003.0011
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter explores the archival texts of the Neo-Assyrian Empire and attempts to gauge the legal and economic position of slavery in Assyrian society. It shows that the Assyrians held a similar ...
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This chapter explores the archival texts of the Neo-Assyrian Empire and attempts to gauge the legal and economic position of slavery in Assyrian society. It shows that the Assyrians held a similar legal understanding of slavery to the Greeks, and knew also of the phenomenon of debt bondage. The chapter then moves on to consider the location of slavery in Assyrian society, showing widespread and significant levels of slave ownership among the Assyrian elite; however, relatively high slave prices prevented slave ownership from becoming a more widespread phenomenon. The third part of the chapter looks at the Assyrian countryside more broadly, and shows that despite often owning large numbers of slaves, members of the Assyrian elite more probably drew the bulk of their income from the exploitation of bound tenant farmers.Less
This chapter explores the archival texts of the Neo-Assyrian Empire and attempts to gauge the legal and economic position of slavery in Assyrian society. It shows that the Assyrians held a similar legal understanding of slavery to the Greeks, and knew also of the phenomenon of debt bondage. The chapter then moves on to consider the location of slavery in Assyrian society, showing widespread and significant levels of slave ownership among the Assyrian elite; however, relatively high slave prices prevented slave ownership from becoming a more widespread phenomenon. The third part of the chapter looks at the Assyrian countryside more broadly, and shows that despite often owning large numbers of slaves, members of the Assyrian elite more probably drew the bulk of their income from the exploitation of bound tenant farmers.
Myles Lavan, Richard E. Payne, and John Weisweiler
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190465667
- eISBN:
- 9780190465681
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190465667.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, World History: BCE to 500CE
The empires of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean invented cosmopolitan politics. In the first millennia BCE and CE, a succession of territorially extensive states incorporated populations of ...
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The empires of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean invented cosmopolitan politics. In the first millennia BCE and CE, a succession of territorially extensive states incorporated populations of unprecedented cultural diversity. This volume traces the development of cultural techniques through which empires managed difference in order to establish effective, enduring regimes of domination. It focuses on the relations of imperial elites with culturally distinct local elites, offering a comparative perspective on the varying depth and modalities of elite integration in five empires of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean. If cosmopolitanism has normally been studied apart from the imperial context, the essays gathered here show that theories and practices that enabled ruling elites to transcend cultural particularities were indispensable for the establishment and maintenance of trans-regional and transcultural political orders. The first cosmopolitans, imperial elites regarded ruling over culturally disparate populations as their vocation Their capacity to establish normative frameworks across cultural boundaries played a vital role in the consolidation of their power. Together with an introductory chapter which offers a theory and history of the relationship between empire and cosmopolitanism, the volume includes case studies of Assyrian, Seleucid, Ptolemaic, Roman, and Iranian empires that analyze encounters between ruling classes and their subordinates in the domains of language and literature, religion, and the social imaginary. The contributions combine to illustrate the dilemmas of difference that imperial elites confronted as well as their strategies for resolving the cultural contradictions that their regimes precipitated.Less
The empires of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean invented cosmopolitan politics. In the first millennia BCE and CE, a succession of territorially extensive states incorporated populations of unprecedented cultural diversity. This volume traces the development of cultural techniques through which empires managed difference in order to establish effective, enduring regimes of domination. It focuses on the relations of imperial elites with culturally distinct local elites, offering a comparative perspective on the varying depth and modalities of elite integration in five empires of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean. If cosmopolitanism has normally been studied apart from the imperial context, the essays gathered here show that theories and practices that enabled ruling elites to transcend cultural particularities were indispensable for the establishment and maintenance of trans-regional and transcultural political orders. The first cosmopolitans, imperial elites regarded ruling over culturally disparate populations as their vocation Their capacity to establish normative frameworks across cultural boundaries played a vital role in the consolidation of their power. Together with an introductory chapter which offers a theory and history of the relationship between empire and cosmopolitanism, the volume includes case studies of Assyrian, Seleucid, Ptolemaic, Roman, and Iranian empires that analyze encounters between ruling classes and their subordinates in the domains of language and literature, religion, and the social imaginary. The contributions combine to illustrate the dilemmas of difference that imperial elites confronted as well as their strategies for resolving the cultural contradictions that their regimes precipitated.
Fergus Millar
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780807830307
- eISBN:
- 9781469603216
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/9780807876657_millar.9
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
This chapter analyses the structure of the Book of Daniel's text that shows Near Eastern history from the sixth century up to the 160s bc The Book of Daniel, written in the 160s bc, incorporates a ...
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This chapter analyses the structure of the Book of Daniel's text that shows Near Eastern history from the sixth century up to the 160s bc The Book of Daniel, written in the 160s bc, incorporates a series of narratives relating the impact on the Jewish community of Near Eastern empires, going back through the Persian Empire of the Achaemenids to the Babylonian and Assyrian empires.Less
This chapter analyses the structure of the Book of Daniel's text that shows Near Eastern history from the sixth century up to the 160s bc The Book of Daniel, written in the 160s bc, incorporates a series of narratives relating the impact on the Jewish community of Near Eastern empires, going back through the Persian Empire of the Achaemenids to the Babylonian and Assyrian empires.
Daniel Smith-Christopher
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199645534
- eISBN:
- 9780191755842
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199645534.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies, Religious Studies
All prophets, in some way, speak of events that are going to happen. Arguably the best known of all such statements about the future is the ‘swords into ploughshares’ passage in Micah 4:1–5. The ...
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All prophets, in some way, speak of events that are going to happen. Arguably the best known of all such statements about the future is the ‘swords into ploughshares’ passage in Micah 4:1–5. The multitude of diverse opinions about this text are often closely related to each scholar’s understanding of the significance of the chronologically significant phrase with which it begins—‘In days to come …’ Some take this as a reference to a distant apocalyptic future or a utopian ideal of an ultimate universalism, mysterious and mythical. Others see it as an eminently feasible vision for a better world, able to be imagined without requiring particularly unusual miracles. Sociologists, anthropologists, and social psychologists have written about conceptions of the future, and their observations call into question the presuppositions which often underlie the exegesis of biblical scholars. In order to understand better Micah’s sociology of the future, his historical context is particularly relevant, as regards both the pronounced violence in his era and the typically hyperbolic (but no less serious) rhetoric of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. It seems that modern doubts about a world without weapons have determined whether we believe that an ancient Israelite author could possibly have thought such a future was real. Sociological approaches require us to treat these visions as historically and temporally situated assertions of political agency, and motivational statements intended to influence action in the present—utopian perhaps, but by no means unrealistic.Less
All prophets, in some way, speak of events that are going to happen. Arguably the best known of all such statements about the future is the ‘swords into ploughshares’ passage in Micah 4:1–5. The multitude of diverse opinions about this text are often closely related to each scholar’s understanding of the significance of the chronologically significant phrase with which it begins—‘In days to come …’ Some take this as a reference to a distant apocalyptic future or a utopian ideal of an ultimate universalism, mysterious and mythical. Others see it as an eminently feasible vision for a better world, able to be imagined without requiring particularly unusual miracles. Sociologists, anthropologists, and social psychologists have written about conceptions of the future, and their observations call into question the presuppositions which often underlie the exegesis of biblical scholars. In order to understand better Micah’s sociology of the future, his historical context is particularly relevant, as regards both the pronounced violence in his era and the typically hyperbolic (but no less serious) rhetoric of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. It seems that modern doubts about a world without weapons have determined whether we believe that an ancient Israelite author could possibly have thought such a future was real. Sociological approaches require us to treat these visions as historically and temporally situated assertions of political agency, and motivational statements intended to influence action in the present—utopian perhaps, but by no means unrealistic.
Ellen F. Davis
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- June 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190260545
- eISBN:
- 9780190260583
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190260545.003.0013
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
The book of Joshua, the first book of the Former Prophets, has historically been used to justify violent conquest, but it is better read as a model of anti-propaganda. The narrative draws a sharp ...
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The book of Joshua, the first book of the Former Prophets, has historically been used to justify violent conquest, but it is better read as a model of anti-propaganda. The narrative draws a sharp contrast between the reliability of YHWH’s word and Israel’s slackness and offers a surprisingly sympathetic picture of Canaanites, the ostensible historical enemy. Origen’s practice of reading the story symbolically is suggestive: this is a complex theologically shaped story in which conquest is the dominant metaphor. The whole narrative may be seen as work of cultural memory that draws on stories of the distant past in order to support Israel’s resistance to apostasy and religious assimilation under the pressure of imperial threats, starting with the Assyrian empire in the seventh century.Less
The book of Joshua, the first book of the Former Prophets, has historically been used to justify violent conquest, but it is better read as a model of anti-propaganda. The narrative draws a sharp contrast between the reliability of YHWH’s word and Israel’s slackness and offers a surprisingly sympathetic picture of Canaanites, the ostensible historical enemy. Origen’s practice of reading the story symbolically is suggestive: this is a complex theologically shaped story in which conquest is the dominant metaphor. The whole narrative may be seen as work of cultural memory that draws on stories of the distant past in order to support Israel’s resistance to apostasy and religious assimilation under the pressure of imperial threats, starting with the Assyrian empire in the seventh century.
