Phoenicians,%20Persians%20and%20Judaism - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Phoenicians,%20Persians%20and%20Judaism

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Title: Phoenicians,%20Persians%20and%20Judaism

1
Phoenicians, Persians and Judaism
2
Role of Nomadic Peoples

On the fringes of early civilizations were
nomadic peoples that depended on hunting,
gathering
Some groups were pastoral nomads that raised
animals for food and clothing
Traded with settled groups and helped long
distance trade and passed on new technologies by
carrying products between civilized centers
These groups occasionally overran settled
communities and created their own empires

3
Role of Nomadic Peoples

Indo-Europeans were one group
Their language became the mother tongue of Greek,
Latin, Persian, Sanskrit and Germanic languages
They originated in the steppes of central Asia
and moved into Anatolia around 2000 B.C
1750 B.C. they established an empire in western
Asia called the Hittite Empire
They used iron to make tools and weapons
1200 B.C. the empire began to fall apart
The end of the Hittites and the weakening of
Egypt led to the rise of other small kingdoms and
city states in the region

4
Spread of Indo-European Languages
5
Phoenicians

They were a seafaring a trading empire based in
the eastern Mediterranean that flourished between
1550 B.C. to 300 B.C.
They occupied a string of cities (city-states) in
the Levant region (Lebanon, Syria, Israel)
They were best known for trade they produced
glass and purple dye that was widely distributed
across the Mediterranean region
They established colonies throughout the region
to promote trade

6
Phoenicians

The Phoenicians developed an alphabet, where
symbols represented sounds, not a word or
concept.
The alphabet was used to record business
transactions.
The Greek alphabet and later the Roman alphabet
was based on the Phoenician alphabet

7
Persian Empires

In 539 B.C. Babylon fell to Persian invaders led
by Cyrus the Great
Persian Empire eventually became the largest in
the world stretching from Asia Minor to northern
India
The empire embraced tolerance of religions and
cultures

8
Structure of the Persian Empire

Emperor Darius was responsible for the
unification of the empire
The empire was divided into provinces (satrapys)
that were ruled by a local governor that
collected taxes based on resources and wealth
Special officials were sent out to check on the
empire and they traveled on the Royal Road that
was maintained by the empire. This road made it
easier to communicate and trade across the empire
The Persian Empire used a common system of coins
to allow trade
Much of the power of the Persian Empire was based
on the military, Persian kings created a standing
military

9
Religion

The Persian Religion was one of their unique
cultural achievements- Zoroastrianism
According to tradition Zoroaster lived in the 5th
century B.C. and was revered for his visions
His teachings were written in the Zend Avesta,
the sacred book of Zoroastrianism
It is a monotheistic religion. The supreme deity
is Ahura Mazda, who is good and brought all
things into being
He is opposed by Ahriman the evil god
People are allowed the freedom to choose between
right and wrong and in the end Ahura Mazda will
triumph and there would be a judgment
Zoroastrians believed in heaven, hell and final
judgment
Zoroastrian beliefs influenced Judaism, Islam and
Christianity

10
Roots of Judaism

To the south of the Phoenicians there was a group
of Semitic speaking people that were pastoral
nomads
Around 2000 B.C. they migrated to Canaan (Israel/
Palestine) and later to Egypt where they were
enslaved and led to freedom by Moses
By 1000 B.C. they had emerged as a distinct group
united under their king, David
Solomon followed David and strengthened the
Israelite kingdom

11
Roots of Judaism

After the death of Solomon the Israelites were
divided by the northern (Israelites) and southern
(Judah) tribes in the eighth century B.C.
Israelites were defeated and assimilated by other
groups in the region and gradually lost their
identity
In the sixth century B.C. the Kingdom of Judah
was conquered by the Chaldeans
People of Judah were sent to Babylon as captives
(Babylonian Captivity)
Babylonian Captivity ended when the Persians took
control of the region and allowed the Jews to
return to Israel where they reestablished their
religion, but they were under foreign control
The Babylonian Captivity made the Jews a people
without a land

12
The Spiritual Dimensions of Judaism

Their god Yahweh created the earth and everything
in it, God ruled the world and all people in it
were his servants
Ten Commandments provided rules to live by and
stressed religious duty
God was good and expected goodness from people if
they followed the Ten Commandments
Israelites believed that they had a covenant with
God and they were his chosen people
The Jews believed that God had sent prophets to
be his voice to teach and warn people to follow
God
The prophets taught a code of ethics, or moral
teachings, and that all people were equal before
God
Jewish religious beliefs were recorded in the
Torah (Old Testament)
Jews maintained their sense of identity by living
in close knit communities and obeying religious
laws and traditions