A Chronological Particular Timeline of Near East and Europe History
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Introduction This compilation was begun merely to be a synthesized, occasional source for other writings, primarily for familiarization with European world development. Gradually, however, it was forced to come to grips with the elephantine amount of historical detail in certain classical sources. Recording the numbers of reported war deaths in previous history (many thousands, here and there!) initially was done with little contemplation but eventually, with the near‐exponential number of Humankind battles (not just major ones; inter‐tribal, dynastic, and inter‐regional), mind was caused to pause and ask itself, “Why?” Awed by the numbers killed in battles over recorded time, one falls subject to believing the very occupation in war was a naturally occurring ancient inclination, no longer possessed by ‘enlightened’ Humankind. In our synthesized histories, however, details are confined to generals, geography, battle strategies and formations, victories and defeats, with precious little revealed of the highly complicated and combined subjective forces that generate and fuel war. Two territories of human existence are involved: material and psychological. Material includes land, resources, and freedom to maintain a life to which one feels entitled. It fuels war by emotions arising from either deprivation or conditioned expectations. Psychological embraces Egalitarian and Egoistical arenas. Egalitarian is fueled by emotions arising from either a need to improve conditions or defend what it has. To that category also belongs the individual for whom revenge becomes an end in itself. Egoistical is fueled by emotions arising from material possessiveness and self‐aggrandizations. To that category also belongs the individual for whom worldly power is an end in itself. Finally, there is practical warring between Egalitarian and Egalitarian pushed against each other by larger powers, and warring between Egoistical and Egoistical to maintain respective superiority. Both emotional arenas are impacted by procreation, which has been and is still a fundamental contributor to warrings of Humankind‐‐Egalitarian by prolific population against an already disadvantaged state (spawning contending clans, tribes, sects); Egoistical through desirously dedicated intent to perpetuate power over resources and territorial possessions, via dynastic or political legacies. (As to ancient and medieval history, it is difficult to deny concluding that prolific procreation allowed repeated assemblies of armies of immense numbers.) The impact of trade equals that of procreation, its import also scarcely extractable from our synthesized knowledge of history‐‐“trade” as relates to providing respective population groups with the elements deemed necessary to their survival style, which can range from food itself to fuel for high‐ powered engines. (A rare example of record is Macedonian Philip II’s battling east to Byzantium and the Bosphorus, to keep the Black Sea open to shipments of the grain supply that provided Athens with much of its food.) Also scarce in the record is data on the realities of the countless refugees, enforcedly relocated groups, or civilians simply killed by conquerors. Language rounds out the war trilogy, for it contains all the nuances and vulgarities upon which come to feast notions of varying philosophies and religions, the final hovel of emotions of the starved‐‐ whether of food, shelter, education, opportunity, and/or reasonable capacity freely to pursue life, liberty and happiness. 2 This Introduction essentially has not been composed in contemplation of Timeline users; however, the following notes are included in case someone other than the compiler happens across it: (a) Footnotes are an integral part of the Timeline. (It was considered making them end notes, but they are necessary in place if one wishes to follow the text knowledgeably.) (b) Special effort had been made in use of terms to distinguish secular circumstances, events, and population groups from religious identifications. (c) In many cases, years must be taken as estimates, in that conflicts between sources present differences. Some alternative years have been shown by slashes. (d) Quotation marks around names may indicate (1) a location of the mentioned town or battle is not supplied, or some question or emphasis may relate to the term as used; (2) a regional name supplied before its common use in the year of the entry (e.g. “Syria”); (3) [only rarely] words in quotation marks are from one of the reference sources (below). (e) The work would benefit beyond measure from in‐depth review, adjustments and/or corrections by authorities in the respective historical epochs and eras. (One also can phantasize an expansion embracing the wider world.) Sonoma, California March 14, 2011 Sources for the Timeline Data: Asimov, Isaac, The Roman Empire, Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co./Cambridge: Riverside Press, 1967. Dr. Asimov’s ‘reader‐friendly’ narrative was extremely useful in connecting other disparately confusing sources. Botsford, Ph.D., George Willis, A History of Rome, NY and London: The Macmillan Co., 1902 (from which was taken additional data not used in the next source below). Lenci, Tosca, History of the Daughters, Sonoma, CA: L P Publishing, Third Edition, 2008 (which contains Its own extensive Bibliography; freely available at www.historyofthedaughters.com). Wells, H. G., The Enlarged and Revised Outline of History, New York, NY: Triangle Books, 1940‐41 Edition. Wikipedia, the Internet Encyclopedia Insufficient acknowledgement and praise is possible to the Wikipedia source, which enabled quick access, corroborative reviews, and extensive details as to persons, places, and events. 3 A Chronologically Particular Timeline Of Near East and Europe History EARLIEST PERIODS, B.C.E (briefly): 8000, Aceramic and Neolithic—domestication of plants and animals; first permanent but simple settlements in diverse ecological areas. 6500, Ceramic and Neolithic—settlements in rain‐fed regions within/at fringes of mountain ranges; some specialization of settlements and extensions of trading. 5000, Halaf—emergence of local centers, significantly that of the Minoan civilization west of Europe on the Island of Crete, where earliest signs of advanced agriculture appear about 5000 b.c.e. (it strongly conjectured, also, that the Minoan culture originated as a settlement as early as 128,000 b.c.e.). 4500, Urbaid—beginning of urban structures and earliest examples of institutionalization of 14 centers functioning in form of public buildings. “Urbaid culture” (defined by pottery style): integration of two large units in central plains running from Syria to SW Iran. 4000, Early Uruk—start of massive occupation from neighboring areas of southern Mesopotamian alluvian. Deep archaeological soundings evidencing preceding alluvial conditions in lowest courses (toward Persian Gulf) show relatively quick change in 4th millennium to cooler, dryer and state diminishing river waters, there before having been humidity and abundance of water (which has led to interpreting deposits as evidence of ‘The Flood’ of Gilgamesh Epic and Old Testament). 4000‐‐first Neolithic settlers in island of Thera (Santorini; volcanic island in southern Aegean Sea), conjectured as probably migrants from Minoan Crete. 3500, Late Uruk—emergence of urban centers/city‐states in southern Mesopotamia, with writing, art and monumental architecture. (Millions of beveled‐lip bowls found suggest the first historical mass production). Populations and settlements between 3500 and 3200 indicate a first known density in Near East. 3200: Date of first written documents that are extant. (“Written” here meaning pictorial cuneiform records of commercial information on clay tokens, stamp seals, and ultimately cylinder seal— an accelerated advance which seems to have taken place only after Urbaid period.) 3150, End of Egypt Predynastic period; beginning of Early Dynastic, 1st and 2nd dynasties. c. 3000 (possibly as late as 2500?—sources differ), Gilgamesh ruled during the “Djemder Nasr” period.; bginning of large‐scale canal systems; first evidence of beginning use of gold in Mid‐East. c. 2700, approximate date of full development of the Minoan civilization. Generally, in the early periods, sustenance necessitated each settlement to command sufficient surrounding territory for its own needs. As relatively secure local production developed the need to control wider territories lessened to a degree that allowed settlements to grow nearer to each other. “Mesopotamia” = commonly taken as the area between Euphrates and Tigris, but anciently referred to a wider area, as far as some of current Syria, throughout which region immigration occurred from time immemorial. It is impossible to name the people who by the fourth millennium b.c.e. created urban civilization in southern Mesopotamia, it plausibly concluded that a major role was played by Sumerians.1 1 Sumer = oldest civilization known in Near East; dominated Mesopoamia; origins a mystery, its existence only discovered in relatively recent deciphering of ancient cuneiform‐inscribed tablets, a writing that appears ancestor of Phoenician script. 4 THIRD MILLENNIUM, B.C. Marked by: 2900, foundation of city of Mari (in present‐day Syria2). 2890, reign of Hotepsekhemwy, Second Egyptian dynasty. Semitic3 tribes occupying Assyria in north part of plain of Shinar and Akkad.4 Phoenicians settle on upper east Mediterranean coast (present‐day Syria), with centers at Tyre and Sidon.5 Creation of Kingdom of Elam.6