City-states and empires in the Iron Age

2021 ◽  
pp. 55-73
Author(s):  
Eivind Heldaas Seland
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
City States

The Syro-Anatolian City-States

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
James F. Osborne
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Visual Arts ◽  
Settlement Patterns ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
City States ◽  
Cultural Mobility ◽  
Lines Of Evidence ◽  
Northeast Corner ◽  
Modern Nation State

This book presents a new model for the kingdoms that clustered around the northeast corner of the Mediterranean Sea during the Iron Age, ca. 1200–600 BCE. Rather than presenting them as an ancient version of the modern nation-state, characterized by homogenous ethnolinguistic communities like “the Aramaeans” or “the Luwians” living in neatly bounded territories, this book presents these polities as being fundamentally diverse and variable, distinguished by demographic fluidity and cultural mobility. This conclusion is reached via an examination of a host of evidentiary sources, including site plans, settlement patterns, visual arts, and historical sources. Together, these lines of evidence lead to the awareness that this time and place consisted of a complex fusion of cultural traditions that is nevertheless distinctly recognizable unto itself. This book thus proposes a new term to encapsulate that diversity: the Syro-Anatolian Culture Complex.

Canaanite Roots, Proto-Phoenicia, and the Early Phoenician Period

2019 ◽  
pp. 37-55
Author(s):  
Ann E. Killebrew
Keyword(s):  
International Trade ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Sea Peoples ◽  
Culture Centered ◽  
City States ◽  
Cultural Entity ◽  
Dynamic Interplay

The origins and ethnogenesis of a cultural entity, people, and territory referred to as “Phoenician” in later biblical and Classical sources and modern scholarship remain a topic of debate. This chapter examines the textual and archaeological sources relevant to the northern and central Levantine littoral during the Proto- (Late Bronze) and Early (Iron I) Phoenician periods (ca. fourteenth–eleventh centuries bce). What emerges out of the ruins of the Late Bronze Age is a resilient Early Iron Age coastal culture centered on the commercial interactions of maritime city-states, which survived the demise of the Hittite and Egyptian empires, as well as the collapse of international trade at around 1200 bce. Autochthonous Canaanite traditions dominate Iron I Phoenician cultural assemblages, but intrusive Aegean-style “Sea Peoples” and Cypriot influences are also present. Together they reflect the dynamic interplay of maritime cultural and commercial exchanges characteristic of the northern and central Levantine littoral during the final centuries of the second millennium bce.

scholarly journals Archaeology and Religion in Late Bronze Age Canaan

Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 258
Author(s):  
Aaron Greener
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Belief System ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Focal Points ◽  
Archaeological Remains ◽  
Animal Bones ◽  
Ancient Israel ◽  
The Rich ◽  
City States

Dozens of temples were excavated in the Canaanite city-states of the Late Bronze Age. These temples were the focal points for the Canaanites’ cultic activities, mainly sacrifices and ceremonial feasting. Numerous poetic and ritual texts from the contemporary city of Ugarit reveal the rich pantheon of Canaanite gods and goddesses which were worshiped by the Canaanites. Archaeological remains of these rites include burnt animal bones and many other cultic items, such as figurines and votive vessels, which were discovered within the temples and sanctuaries. These demonstrate the diverse and receptive character of the Canaanite religion and ritual practices. It seems that the increased Egyptian presence in Canaan towards the end of the period had an influence on the local belief system and rituals in some areas, a fact which is demonstrated by the syncretic architectural plans of several of the temples, as well as by glyptic and votive items. Late Bronze Age religious and cultic practices have attracted much attention from Biblical scholars and researchers of the religion of Ancient Israel who are searching for the similarities and influences between the Late Bronze Age and the following Iron Age.

Agricultural Production

2018 ◽  
pp. 118-141
Author(s):  
Alain Bresson
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Greek City ◽  
Rangeland Ecology ◽  
City States ◽  
Age Constraints ◽  
Regional Types ◽  
Greek World

This chapter examines the growth of agricultural production in the Greek city-states. It traces the evolutions and mutations of agriculture in the ancient Greek world as well as the consequences of these changes, first by discussing the so-called Mediterranean trilogy that comprised ancient Greek agriculture: grain, olives, and grapes. While cereals, grapes, and olives constituted the heart of agricultural production in ancient Greece, the role played by other products such as fig, vegetables, roses and other flowers, and honey is also considered. The chapter goes on to explore animal husbandry in the Greek city-states, focusing on the debate on “pastoralism” in the Early Iron Age, constraints in livestock raising, and the three main regional types of stock raising that extended from the southern Aegean to Thessaly, the Peloponnese, and the vast migratory areas of western Greece. Finally, it analyzes rangeland ecology and management during the period.

Centers of Power, Weapons of Iron

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Douglas Price
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
The Alps ◽  
Iron Artifacts ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
City States

The introduction of iron after 1000 BC brought new tools and weapons to Europe. Smelting technology and higher furnace temperatures were likely the key to iron production, which is generally thought to have originated in Anatolia around 1400 BC among the Hittites, but there are a few earlier examples of iron artifacts as old as 2300 BC in Turkey. Iron produced sharper, more readily available implements and was in great demand. In contrast to copper and tin, whose sources were limited, iron was found in a variety of forms in many places across the continent. Veins of iron ore were exploited in Iberia, Britain, the Alps, the Carpathian Mountains, and elsewhere. Bog iron was exploited in northern Europe. Carbonate sources of iron in other areas enabled local groups to obtain the raw materials necessary for producing this important material. At the same time, the collapse of the dominant Bronze Age civilizations of the Aegean changed the flow of raw materials and finished products across Europe. Greece fell into a Dark Age following the demise of the Mycenaean city-states. The Etruscans were on the rise in Italy. Rome was a small town at the border of the Etruscan region. Soon, however, new centers of power in classic Greece and Rome emerged, bringing writing and, with it, history to Europe. Again, we can observe important and dramatic differences between the “classic” areas of the Mediterranean and the northern parts of “barbarian” Europe. The chronology for the Iron Age in much of Europe is portrayed in Figure 6.2. The Iron Age begins earlier in the Mediterranean area, ca. 900 BC, where the Classical civilizations of Greece, the Etruscans, and eventually Rome emerge in the first millennium BC. Rome and its empire expanded rapidly, conquering much of western Europe in a few decades before the beginning of the Common Era and Britain around ad 43, effectively ending the prehistoric Iron Age in these parts of the continent. The Iron Age begins somewhat later in Scandinavia, around 500 BC.

THE ROLE OF AMIR KHUSRAV DEHLAVI AND ALISHER NAVOI IN SPIRITUAL PERFECTION OF MANKIND

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-31
Author(s):  
M.S. Imomnazarov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Spiritual Development ◽  
Primitive Society ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
City States ◽  
Theoretical Considerations

The article deals with the issue of the spiritual development of mankind as an orientalist-literary critic, and the subject is covered on the basis of new approaches that have not been seen in the scientific literature to date. For example, the history of the ancient world was divided into 3 stages - 1) primitive society, 2) city-states, 3) great kingdoms (empires), coordinated by archaeologists as "Stone Age", "Bronze Age", "Iron Age". These new interpretations have been proven based on the views of oriental thinkers. It has been proved, based on the research of world scientists, that the spiritual development of this period developed on the basis of mythical thinking. The history of the Middle Ages is considered within the framework of the Muslim cultural region, and the spiritual development of the peoples of the region is considered as a development of monotheistic thinking and its 4 stages - 1) Sunnah, 2) Muslim enlightenment, 3) Sufi teachings and irfan, 4) “Majoz tariqi” - are briefly explained. In the works of the great poets of the East, Amir Khusrav Dehlavi and Alisher Navoi, the stage of the "Majoz tariqi", which is theoretically substantiated as an independent spiritual essence of fiction, is in fact has been proved in detail by the author that the development of monotheistic thinking is the highest stage in the spiritual development of not only the peoples of the region, but of all mankind. The theoretical considerations summarized in the article are the author's books: "Stages of perfection of our national spirituality", "Fundamentals of our national spirituality", "Introduction to Navoi studies" and a number of scientific articles which are published in different years. They are reflected in one form or another, and in this text they are enriched to some extent with new interpretations

ON THE QUESTION OF EARLY URBAN PLANNING FERGANA VALLEY

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-58
Author(s):  
Alisher Alokhunov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Planning ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Urban Culture ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Ferghana Valley ◽  
City States ◽  
The Bronze Age

In Central Asia, in particular, on the territory of Uzbekistan to the Bronze Age,important historical changes took place, such as the emergence of traditions of early urban culture, the emergence and development of the oldest state associations. From an archaeological point of view, this article highlights the emergence of first agricultural settlements in the Ferghana Valley, then urban-type fortresses, and later of the early city-states in the late Bronze and Early Iron Age

Roman History

2018 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-266
Author(s):  
James Corke-Webster
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Wall Painting ◽  
American Football ◽  
Identity Studies ◽  
Football Team ◽  
Colour Image ◽  
Roman Culture ◽  
Language Writing ◽  
History Of ◽  
City States

Identity studies live. This latest batch of publications explores what made not just the Romans but the Italians, Christians, and Etruscans who they were. We begin with both age and beauty, the fruits of a special exhibition at the Badischen Landesmuseum Karlsruhe in the first half of 2018 into the most famous of Roman predecessors, the Etruscans. Most of the exhibits on display come from Italian museums, but the interpretative essays that break up the catalogue – which are also richly illustrated – are by both Italian and German scholars. These are split between five overarching sections covering introductory affairs, the ages of the princes and of the city-states, the Etruscans’ relationship with Rome, and modern reception. The first contains essays treating Etruscan origins, history, identity, and settlement area. The second begins with the early Iron Age Villanova site, before turning to early Etruscan aristocratic culture, including banqueting, burials, language, writing, and seafaring. The third and longest section considers the heyday of Etruscan civilization and covers engineering and infrastructure, crafts and production, munitions, women's roles, daily life, dance, sport, funerary culture, wall painting, religious culture, and art. The fourth section treats both the confrontation between Etruscan and Roman culture and the persistence of the former after ‘conquest’ by the latter. The fifth section contains one essay on the modern inheritance of the Etruscan ‘myth’ and one on the history of scholarship on the Etruscans. Three aspects to this volume deserve particular praise. First, it includes not only a huge range of material artefacts but also individual essays on Etruscan production in gold, ceramic, ivory, terracotta, and bronze. Second, there is a recurring interest in the interconnections between the Etruscans and other cultures, not just Romans but Greeks, Iberians, Celts, Carthaginians, and other Italian peoples. Third, it includes the history of the reception of Etruscan culture. Amid the just-shy-of-200 objects included (almost every one with description and high-quality colour image), the reader can find everything from a mid-seventh-century pitcher made from an Egyptian ostrich egg painted with birds, flowers, and dancers (147), through the well-known third- or second-century bcTabula Cortonensis – a lengthy and only partially deciphered Etruscan inscription that documents either a legal transaction or a funerary ceremony (311) – to the 2017 kit of the Etruschi Livorno American Football team (364). Since we have no extant Etruscan literature, a volume such as this is all the more valuable in trying to get a sense of these people and their culture, and the exceptionally high production value provides quality exposure to material otherwise scattered throughout Italy.

The Logic of Growth

2018 ◽  
pp. 199-222
Author(s):  
Alain Bresson
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Economic History ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Western World ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Greek City ◽  
Greek Economy ◽  
City States

This chapter examines the logic of growth in the Greek city-states. It first considers the relationship between self-consumption and economic growth, focusing on the roles played by self-consumption and the market in agriculture and in the ancient Greek economy more generally. It then explains how the Greek cities managed to become the dominant culture in the Mediterranean between about 700 BCE and 300 BCE after experiencing negative growth at the end of the Bronze Age and probably very slow growth during the Early Iron Age. It also explores the notion that the ancient Greek economy did not manage to achieve “capitalist revolution” or “industrial revolution”; the economic impact of technological innovation; and how innovation is associated with supply and demand. The chapter concludes with an analysis of the transition to modernity, arguing that such transition makes ancient Greece's economic history part of the long history of the western world.

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