Marshall High School Mr. Cline Western Civilization I: Ancient Foundations Unit Two CB * The Elamites • Mostly known from their wars with the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians, the Elamites were a powerful people occupying modern day south western Iran. They spoke an obscure language, not known to be related to any other known language. • The Elamite kingdom existed from roughly 2700 to 650 B.C.. • Elam composed fertile lowlands, where intensive agriculture was practiced, and part of the Zagros Mountains where resources of stone, metals, timber and pastures were found. It was the exchange of these commodities that led to the development of a shared economy, and eventually shared governmental rule, in this region. • The Elamites were not part of Mesopotamia, and frequent conflicts arose between the two. • Naram-Sin of Akkad kept them as a vassal for a period, as did the City of Ur for awhile. Later, however, King Kindattu of Elam captured and sacked Ur, from which the Sumerians never recovered. The attack was unexpected as Ur had been sending food to the Elamites who were suffering from a drought. * The Elamites • The rise of the Elamites in the Middle Elamite Period towards 1300 B.C. coincided with the rise of Assyria, and the two were rivals for the City of Babylon. • In 1154, the Elamites overthrew Babylon and became the major power of the region. • However, shortly after, a new Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, came to power and defeated the Elamites. This began a period where the Elaimtes entered into obscurity for about 300 years. • In the mid 8th century, a neo Elamite period began when an Elamite kingdom tried to exert influence in Mesopotamia by supporting Babylonian rebellions against the Assyrians. However the Assyrians took a terrible revenge, and decimated the Elamites so much that their culture was eradicated from history. • The last time the Elamites are heard from as a sovereign state is a spring celebration in Assyria where King Humban-Haltash, III of Elam, is seen pulling the chariot of King Ashurbanipal of Assyria * The Assyrians • Military and administrative efficiency made Assyria the dominant power of the ancient Near East in the first half of the 1st millennium B.C. Assyrian kings were skillful propagandists who carefully cultivated an image of overwhelming might to cow their opponents into submission • “I am king. I am lord, I am praiseworthy, I am exalted, I am magnificent, I am the foremost, I am a great warrior, I am a hero, I am a lion, and I am virile; Ashburnasirpal….king of Assyria.” Royal Annals of Ashurnasirpal II • Assyria’s period of imperial greatness started in the reign of Ashur-dan II from 934-912 B.C. By securing Assyria’s frontiers and pursuing a policy of agricultural improvement he increased his kingdom’s resources and created a strong base for his successor Adad-nirari II (911-891) to reconquer most of the lands held by the Middle Assyrian empire. • The Assyrian empire reached its greatest extent in the reign of Ashburnasirpal who conquered Egypt, and as previously stated, destroyed the Elamites. * The Assyrians • The city of Assur had been a powerful player in Mesopotamian politics since at least the 25th century BC. • Likely founded as a Sumerian administrative center, Assur had been dominated by Akkadians, Amorites, Babylonians and Hurrians. • Now was their time to seize control. They did so with great alacrity, devouring northern Mesopotamia. • Where the Babylonians had been farmers and merchants ruled by priests, the Assyrians were first and foremost warriors. • While their kings might have traced their descent from the city's patron diety, Ashur, it was in essence a military aristocracy. • Yet, like the Babylonians before them, the Assyrians assiduously copied the accomplishments of their predecessors and had not yet begun to generate a unique culture of their own, though they did use art and architecture to display their power. * The Assyrians • Like other Assyrian Kings, Ashurbanipal publicized his victories with carved and painted friezes on the walls of his palace at Nineveh, the Assyrian capitol. They depicted the terrifying fate awaiting his enemies. • Ashurbanipal was one of Mesopotamia’s most cultured rulers, and he kept a vast library of cuneiform tablets, rediscovered in the 19th century, which have become one of our primary sources for ancient near eastern history, politics, literature, and religious texts and beliefs. • Ashurbanipal’s conquests, however, seriously over extended the empire, while his oppressive rule led to a great deal of internal dissent and unrest. Egypt regained its independence during his lifetime, and no sooner was he dead than Babylon rebelled again, this time successfully. • Allied with the Medes of Iran, the Babylonians went on the offensive and captured Nineveh in 612 B.C. The Assyrian empire was so centralized, that the capture of Nineveh was a death blow to its empire. Their policy of deportation and resettlement had weakened their identity, and their subjects had no real loyalty to the state. By 609 B.C. the Assyrian Empire had passed virtually intact to the Babylonians. * The Assyrians • The Assyrians were perhaps the greatest military might of the ancient near east, and their tactics and weaponry were copied by the Greeks as well as others. • Evidence suggests they may have invented the telescope, as a lens was found in Assyrian remains, they did have a great deal of knowledge regarding astronomy, and were able to accurately depict the rings around Saturn, which cannot be seen with the naked eye • They believed in one god named Ashur, which is where they get the name of their civilization, and thus were the first major state to be monotheistic. * The Assyrians • Assyrian Art and Architecture • Assyrian Palaces • Due to the expansive size of their empire, the Assyrians gained access to many resources including stone and iron. • The popularity of iron tools led to the creation of massive palaces. • Although the availability of stone was ample, Assyrians chose to use mud brick to build many of their palaces in order to emulate the Sumerians. • The Sumerians were a largely successful empire that preceded the Assyrians in controlling large parts of Mesopotamia. • Many other groups mimicked Sumerian architecture and art to imply their success by comparison. * The Assyrians • Assyrian Art and Architecture • Assyrian Palaces • Assyrian palaces were decorated with vivid colors and painted decorations • Each new Assyrian king in the early first millennium BC would either enlarge an old palace or build a completely new one. • The new palaces would be bigger and more impressive than older ones to exhibit the king's power and wealth. • In some palaces, like that of a king named Sargon II, mud brick was mainly used in construction, but stone slabs called orthostats were used at the base of the walls. • Orthostats are a unique characteristic of Assyrian architecture. • Orthostats were rows of stone serving as foundational stones, that often included detailed carvings depicting the victories of Assyrian kings * The Assyrians • Assyrian Art and Architecture • Carvings • One of the unique characteristics of Assyrian art is their relief carvings. • They created elaborate relief carvings in stone which exhibited very extensive detail. • The carvings often held images of battles and major events of war. • These carvings also held depictions of the violent results of battle. • This may even be the earliest form of narrative art, or art that tells a story. • Many orthostats contained these dramatic images. * The Assyrians • Assyrian Art and Architecture • Carvings • One example of detailed Assyrian carvings is the lamassu. • The lamassu was a winged lion or bull with the head of a human. • Lamassu were carved into the entrance of the palace. • They were intended to ward off evil, looming over foreign ambassadors and allies. • Minute detail, true to Assyrian form, can be seen in the curls of the beard of the human head, muscles and veins in the legs, and feathers in the wings. • In other words, they took what the Sumerians created and made it bigger, creating massive palaces, detailed carvings, and huge ziggurats. * The Hittites • Babylon would continue to be the seat of the Mesopotamian empire until its sack around 1600 BC by the Hittites. • In 1595, under King Mursilis, the Hittites made a daring raid down the Euphrates and sacked Babylon. The glory was short lived, however, as Mursilis was assassinated, and the Hittite Kingdom crumbled. • Hittites raids of the Babylonian Empire plunged the region into chaos, allowing new groups to emerge. • The Hittites sacked Babylon, tearing apart the Babylonian Empire, but made no attempt to establish themselves there, preferring to remain in Anatolia. • Nearly 300 years later, however, the Hittites were united again under King Suppiluliumas, and were strong enough to set up an empire from Mesopotamia to the Levant, and even fought Egypt and extended their territory at their expense. • The earliest reference to the Hittites was in Assyrian texts dated to 1900- 1750 B.C. * The Hittites • “From the land of Thrace, there came a terrifying band of warriors on horses, with chariots that held two people, one to drive, and another to thrust the spear, or fire the arrow.” • At this time, they were most likely still a tribal people, but by 1620 B.C. they were an empire in southern Anatolia (Turkey) and northern Mesopotamia • The Hittites may have first occupied Anatolia in the 17th century BC. • The Hittites were made up of several tribes who spoke Indo- European languages. • Hattusilis, who was a priest and a king, established the Hittite capital at Bogazkoy in the 17th century. • The city was set on a steep slope and contained at least five great temples. • Hattusilis aspired to build an empire.