Test 2 Flashcards
What four related forces shaped the development of early empires in the first millennium BCE?
Climate change, migrations, new technologies, and administrative innovations.
What climate change occurred during the first century BCE, and what did it cause?
A drought occurred that caused food shortages leading to mass migrations.
What is an empire?
A group of states or different ethnic groups brought together under a single sovereign power.
What was the result of the mass migration in the first century BCE?
The mass migration disrupted urban societies and destroyed administrative centers of kings, priests, and dynasties.
What new technologies arose following the disruption caused by mass migration during the first century BCE?
1) Advances in use of pack camels
2) Seaworthy vessels
3) Iron tools for cultivation
4) Iron weapons for warfare
What administrative innovations resulted from the expansion of the first empires?
1) Well-equipped armies
2) Mass deportations of conquered peoples (to break resistor’s unity, provide slave labor, and integrate the realm).
3) Road systems for transit and communication.
4) Tribute (from royal subjects for the royals)
What are some defining features of the Neo-Assyrian empire?
Some defining features include…
1) Deportations
2) Forced labor
3) Rigid social hierarchy
4) Invaders, ruthless people
5) Well-trained, professional army (used battering rams)
What were the two parts of the Neo-Assyrian empire, and what are there characteristics?
The “Land of Ashur” (core of empire governed by king’s appointees); inhabitants had to supply food for temple of national God Ashur, manpower for god’s residence in city of Ashur, and officials to carry out the state’s business.
The “Land under the Yoke of Ashur” (outside Assyria proper, governed by local rulers); Inhabitants had to supply the king with tributes in the form of gold and silver.
What did the Assyrians believe that their God, Ashur, wanted them to do?
Expand their empire with a goal of establishing and maintaining order and keeping an ever-threatening cosmic chaos at bay. They thought only Ashur and his agent the king could bring universal order.
What were the three parts of Neo-Assyrian propaganda (to demonstrate their inevitable triumph)?
1) Elaborate architectural complexes and ceremonies.
2) Texts such as inscriptions and year-by-year accounts (Annals) of Kings’ achievements.
3) Vivid images of the army’s brutal campaign.
Who was Tiglath Pilesar III?
An Assyrian leader who freed his people from the Babylonians, centralized power in royal hands, set up a new period of expansion/conquest, and took away the rights of Assyrian nobles.
What were some characteristics of the Neo-Assyrian-Assyrian army?
1) Officers chosen by merit rather than by birth.
2) Combined deployment of cavalry and infantry.
3) Had 120,000 soldiers
4) Had iron-built siege towers, iron armour, and iron-covered battering rams.
5) Used prisoners of war as slaves (Deportation).
What was the Neo-Assyrian social structure like?
1) King was top of social ladder
2) Military elite/nobles came next, who were rewarded by king with land, silver, and tax exemptions.
3) Peasants were owned by kings and elites and had differing privileges.
4) Women had almost no control over their lives, and could not interact w men outside of family. Respectable women (non-prostitutes) wore veils. Queens had more comfortable lives, were respected, and could even help a son rule.
Why did the Neo-Assyrian empire collapse?
The empire was unstable as a result of its vastness (armies had to spread out). Discontent among nobles led to civil war, which made empire vulnerable. The conquest of Nineveh by a combined force of Medes, Neo-Babylonians, and other groups contributed to the collapse of the empire.
Who were the successors of the Neo-Assyrian empire?
The Persian Empire.
What was the capital of the Persian Empire?
Persepolis
Who was the founder of the Persian Empire and how did he do it?
Cyrus the Great founded the Persian Empire by uniting the Persian tribes and conquering the Lydians (Anatolia) and Greek city-states.
How did Cyrus the Great present himself to the people he conquered?
He presented himself as a benevolent ruler who had liberated them from the oppression of their kings. He claimed that his victory in Babylon was the result of the city’s gods turning against its king. He also released the Jews from captivity in Babylon (where the Neo-Babylonians had exiled them) and allowed them to return to Jerusalem.
What was the Persian’s preferred method of fighting?
The Persians preferred not to fight, but to persuade people to surrender to them.
Who was Darius I?
The great grandson of Cyrus the Great, who became ruler of Persia after Cyrus died in battle.
How did Darius I strengthen the Persian Empire?
He…
1) Suppressed revolts.
2) Conquered the territories of ethnic groups.
3) introduced dynamic administrative systems to manage his empire.
What was the administrative system of Persia like?
It combined central and local administration. Each of the empire’s provinces, or satrapies, was ruled by a satrap (governor). This governor was either a relative or close associate of the king.
