Iron Age Flashcards
The Late Helladic IIIB/IIIC Transition
• 14th-13th C BC acme of Mycenaean palatial system
• 13th C some signs of trouble
• End of 13th C (LH IIIB) widespread horizon of destruction and abandonment in Mycenaean heartland
• 12th C (LH IIIC) depopulation in some areas, various changes
• 13th-12th centuries BC - general upheaval in the Mediterranean, from Italy to Near East, including - non-Aegean collapses documented - Aegean only known through archaeology
• Collapse of Hittite Empire
• Attacks on Egypt and Levant from the ‘Sea Peoples’
-Era of destruction inspiration for Homer’s Trojan War stories?
The ‘Sea Peoples’ in Egyptian texts
c.1200 BC (reign of Merenptah – allies of Libyan invaders):
Eqwesh (Achaeans?)
• Lukka (Lycaeans?)
• Shekelesh (Sicilians?)
• Sherden (Sardinians?)
• Teresh (Tyrrhenians?)
c.1165 BC (reign of Rameses III) - some overlap but some different ones:
• Denyen (Danaeans?)
• Peleset (Philistines?)
• Tjekker (Palestinian coast-dwellers, near Haifa)
• Weshesh (S. Palestinians)
Turin Strike Papyrus
- c 1880, reign of Rameses III, Dyn XX
- Economic problems - rations for tomb builders at Deir el-Medina not delivered on times so they go on a sit down strike at the HQ of the Necropolis
- Demands are eventually met
King Rameses III
- Dyn XX 1173-1142
- Memorial Temple at Medinet Habu gives most of our information about war with Sea Peoples
- Sea Peoples knocked out all civilizations inc. Hittites and Mycenaens until they reached the chokehold of the Egyptian border, where they were stopped by Rameses III
- Body found partially mummified and preserved
- Thought to have died from a neck wound - murder?during battle? Throat slit - assassination by wives or sons perhaps?
- More than one chief wife so issues as to whose son should be heir - conspiracy against him
High Priest Herihor & King Rameses XI
Dyn XX c1080 BC
- Karnak depiction of them both
- Priest Herihor takes on a position equivalent to the King - depicted as the same size as the pharaoh at Karnak
- Goes on to become King in the South of Egypt as there is a break down of unity after this
Greek Dark Ages
-Entire Aegean basin goes through a decline in cultural power, a few years where no meaningful remains survive
-Residual Late Helladic IIIC/Late Minoan IIIC wares disappear by c. 1100.
• Submycenean (c1125–1050 BC)
• Protogeometric (c1050–900 BC)
• Early Geometric (900–850 BC)
• Middle Geometric (c850–760 BC)
• Late Geometric (c760–700 BC)
11th century Dorian invasion?
- According to later Greek myth, Dorians came from somewhere up North and replaced existing populations
- Identifying Dorians archaeologically has proved impossible - could be one of the Northern Greek sea peoples, but about a century too late
Toumba building
- -Start of a revival after the Dark Ages
- Middle Protogeometric c1000-950 BC
- Lefkandi (Euboea)
- Very different style of architecture - first of this type, found in Later Greek architecture
- Large hall
Egypt c1080–750 BC
- Lower Egypt (North) ruled from Tanis
- Upper Egypt (South) ruled from Thebes -High priest
- King in Tanis nominal king of whole country c1050-c850 BC
Theban Civil War
- Begins under Osorkon II, Dyn XXII, capital at Tanis
- Mid-9th C- beginning of national disintegration
- Two seperate rival lines of rulers at eachother’s throats at Thebes
Mid-8th C BC disintegrations
- Various different ruling lines in different parts of Egypt, with one beginning in Nubia
Neoassyrian Empire
- Extended in Syria, part of Anatolia by 7th century BC
- Become ruler of various city states in Syria=Palestine
- At one of it’s greatest extents so far
- Ultimately comes into conflict with Nubian ruled Egypt
Growth of Neoassyrian Empire
Adad-nirari II (911-891 BC): begins annual
military campaigning
• Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 BC): major
expansion; move of capital to Kalhu (Nimrud)
• Shamaneser III (859-824 BC): Babylon
conquered & much of Syria-Palestine; civil war
at end, resulting in successful revolts
• Adad-niri III (811-783 BC): attempted reconquest of losses, followed by
stagnation, plague and civil wars
• Tilgath-Pileser III (744-727 BC): Babylon defeated and Syria-Palestine conquered
• Sargon II (721-705 BC): Babylon defeated; Cyprus swears allegiance; new capital
at Dur Sharrukin near Nineveh
• Sennacherib (705-681 BC): Jerusalem besieged (701); Babylon defeated and
principal buildings demolished (689); capital moved to Nineveh
Growth of Neoassyrian Empire
Adad-nirari II (911-891 BC): begins annual military campaigning
• Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 BC): major expansion; move of capital to Kalhu (Nimrud)
• Shamaneser III (859-824 BC): Babylon conquered & much of Syria-Palestine; civil war at end, resulting in successful revolts
• Adad-niri III (811-783 BC): attempted reconquest of losses, followed by stagnation, plague and civil wars
• Tilgath-Pileser III (744-727 BC): Babylon defeated and Syria-Palestine conquered
• Sargon II (721-705 BC): Babylon defeated; Cyprus swears allegiance; new capital at Dur Sharrukin near Nineveh
• Sennacherib (705-681 BC): Jerusalem besieged (701); Babylon defeated and principal buildings demolished (689); capital moved to Nineveh
Egypto -Assyrian interactions
• 726/5: ‘So’ (= Osorkon IV) givesaid to Israel against Shalmaneser V.
• 720: General ‘Re’u’ sent to aid Palestinian rebellion against Sargon II.
• 716: ‘Shilkanni’ (= Osorkon IV) gives horses to Sargon II
• 706: Shabataka extradites fugitive to Sennacherib
• 701: Shabaka sends troops to Palestine to support local forces against Assyrians
-Esarhaddon becomes ruler of Assyria and wants to take over Egypt
• 674 Abortive Assyrian invasion
• 670 New invasion: Taharqa wounded by five arrows Memphis taken & royal family captured, including Crown Prince ‘Ushanukhuru’.
• Egyptian rulers became Assyrian vassals -Egyptians don’t like Nubian rulers and are happy to switch allegiance
• 669 Taharqa back in Memphis, Death of Esarhaddon
• 667 Invasion by Assurbanipal II, September: Apis buried
• After September: Memphis occupied Assyrian vassals reinstalled
• 666 Conspiracy of vassals: all executed by Assurbanipal, except for Nekau I of Sais
• 664 Death of Taharqa
• 664 Tanutamun in Memphis, Execution of Nakau I, Psamtik I flees to Assyria
• 664/3 Invasion by Assurbanipal II, Sack of Thebes, Assyrian withdrawal
• North under Assyrian vassals (inc Psamtik I of Sais) Thebes still loyal to Tanutamun
• 663/55 Gradual reunification of Egypt by Psamtik I
Greek Colonisation
-Greeks exporting people to be mercenaries in the Egyptian armies but are also colonising Aegean Basin areas, similar to the Bronze Age
• First wave, Euboeans and Dorian: south-central Italy; east coast of Sicily.
• 770 Pithekoussai
• 750 Cumae
• 735 Naxos
• 734 Syracuse
• Second wave Achaeans: instep of Italy and south of Cumae, to control overland routes between Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas, bypassing Straits of Messina (in Euboean hands)
• 720 Sybaris
• 709 Croton
• 706 Taras
• 7th C Metapontum
Nabopolassar
- Ruled 626–605 BC
- Sacked Nineveh (Assyrian capital) 612 BC by Babylonians
Neo-Babylonian Empire
-612–538 BC - former Assyrian empire becomes part of a Neo-Babylonian one, and it goes ever further into parts of Arabia and Syria - however threatened by Median empire including Persians, Scythians, Cimmerians and old Hittite Homeland
Persepolis
• Persian base
-Designed to impress people before they meet the King
-In the mountains
• Begun c 515 BC
Pylos tablet
- Gives detail of Coastguard organisation - maybe reaction to invaders from the sea?
- One of the only documents from the time
- From a destroyed palace in Pylos - direct threat before the destruction or did they always have this?
Medinet Habu
- Sons and wives of Rameses III have cartouches with no names or faces scratched out - political problems, illegitimacy?
- Sons or wives said to have caused his death - known an assassination attempt occured but unknown if this caused his death until recently
Tomb Robbery Papyri
- Rameses IX, Dyn XX
- unprecedented orgy of tomb robbery and oblique references to civil war at the same time
- As this is a one of, unsure if this is typical or unprecedented
- Mummies/Tombs being moved from place to place and rewrapped/reburied after being robbed
- Trying to keep them hidden/safe
Banishment Stela
- High priest of Amun Menkheperre
- Had to travel down to Thebes to put down some kind of rebellion
- Brother may have been murdered
King Pasebkhanut
- Dyn XXI, c.1050-1000BC
- Capital at Tanis, brother of one of the high priests
- High status, elaborate burial
- Gold death mask
Dyn XXII
- Pharaohs have Libyan names, not Egyptian e.g. Shoshenq I - doesn’t flaunt Libyaness except for name
- Officials have Libyan titles
- Shoshenq I tries to reassert Egyptian place in the world- expansion and hold on areas had previously ceased - military campaigns into Byblos and Israel
- Seems at this time Libyans stop invading and immigrate peacefully and become relatively Egyptianised
- Retain Libyan culture and names
- At some point a rich Libyan family marries into the Egyptian line and son becomes king
Gebel Barkal
- Nubian rulers
- Consider themselves more genuinely Egyptian than Northern rulers
- Relgiious hub is the holy mountain of Gebel Barkal
- Amun supposed to live within the mountain
- Nubians want to liberate Egypt for Amun and put an end to the squabling happening in the North
- By 720s, even Thebes is part of the new kingdom known as the 25th Dynasty
Victory Stela
- King Pi(ankh)y, 25th dyn
- Nubian king who takes the submission of 4 different pharaohs - actually local rulers of restricted parts of Egypt
- Period of a century after this where Egypt and Nubia is one entity with a single Nubian ruler, although local leader continue to exist under his power
Naukratis
- Greek Trading Colony in the North Delta in Egypt
- Has Greek buildings as well as Egyptian ones
- Reign of Ahmose II, 6th c BC
- Similar to Heraklion - also a trading colony, still under the authority of Egypt
Temple of Hera
- Italy, in a Greek Colony c.500 BC
- Oldest surviving example of Classical Greek architecutre
Persians
- Median Empire then taken over by Persians under Cyrus the Great/ II
- Take over Median and Babylonian empire, leaving only the Egyptians - but this is eventually conquered in the Conquest of Cambyses
