ancient Near East

Overview map of the ancient Near East

The terms ancient Near East or ancient Orient encompass the early civilizations predating classical antiquity in the region roughly corresponding to that described by the modern term Middle East (Egypt, Iraq, Turkey), during the time roughly spanning the Bronze Age from the rise of Sumer and Gerzeh in the 4th millennium BCE to the expansion of the Persian Empire in the 6th century BCE. As such, it is a term widely employed in the fields of Near Eastern archaeology, ancient History and Egyptology.

The ancient Near East is generally understood as encompassing Mesopotamia (modern Iraq and Syria), Persia (Iran), Armenia, Egypt, the Levant (Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Palestinian Authority), and Anatolia (Turkey). Some users of the term would extend its application into the Caucasus region, into modern Afghanistan (see Bactria), Minoan and Mycenaean Greece and other peripheral areas. Still, others would exclude Egypt from the ancient Near East as a geographically and culturally distinct area. However, because of Egypt's intimate involvement with the region, especially from the 2nd millennium BCE, this exclusion is rare.

Regions

Examples of Near Eastern people from a drawing by E. Wallcousins

Major regions during ancient times include:

Mesopotamia
Levant
Anatolia
Persia
Egypt
Caucasus (sometimes regarded as "Near East")

Cultures

Cultures, peoples and empires of the Ancient Near East, in roughly chronological order.

5th millennium BCE

Sialk

4th millennium BCE

3rd millennium BCE

2nd millennium BCE

Map of the ancient Near East during the Amarna period, showing the great powers of the period: Egypt (green), Hatti (yellow), the Kassite kingdom of Babylon (purple), Assyria (grey), and Mittani (red). Lighter areas show direct control, darker areas represent spheres of influence. The extent of the Achaean/Mycenaean civilization is shown in orange.

Hayasa-Azzi
Arzawa, Lukka Troy VI–VII
Assyria
Babylonia
Canaan: Ugarit, Kadesh, Megiddo, Kingdom of Israel
Ancient Egypt: Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom
Hittites
Hurrians
Ishuwa
Kizzuwatna
Luwians
Mari
Mitanni
Yamhad
Aramaeans
Sea peoples

Bronze Age collapse

1st millennium BCE

Periodization

Stone age (2,000,000 BP - 3300 BCE)	Paleolithic (2,000,000 BP - 8300 BCE)	Lower Paleolithic	2,000,000 BP - 300,000 BP
		Middle Paleolithic	300,000 BP - 30,000 BP
		Upper Paleolithic	30,000 BP - 12,000 BP
		Epipaleolithic	12,000 BP - 8300 BCE
	Neolithic (8300 BCE - 4500 BCE)	Pre-pottery Neolithic	8300 BCE - 5500 BCE
	Neolithic (8300 BCE - 4500 BCE)	Pottery Neolithic	5500 BCE - 4500 BCE
	Chalcolithic (4500 BCE - 3300 BCE)	Early Chalcolithic	4500 BCE - 4000 BCE
	Chalcolithic (4500 BCE - 3300 BCE)	Late Chalcolithic (Ghassulian)	4000 BCE - 3300 BCE
Bronze Age (3300 BCE - 1200 BCE)	Early Bronze Age (3300 BCE - 2000 BCE)	Early Bronze Age I	3300 BCE - 3000 BCE
		Early Bronze Age II	3000 BCE - 2700 BCE
		Early Bronze Age III	2700 BCE - 2200 BCE
		Early Bronze Age IV	2200 BCE - 2000 BCE
	Middle Bronze Age (2000 BCE - 1550 BCE)	Middle Bronze Age I	2000 BCE - 1750 BCE
		Middle Bronze Age II	1750 BCE - 1650 BCE
		Middle Bronze Age III	1650 BCE - 1550 BCE
	Late Bronze Age (1550 BCE - 1200 BCE)	Late Bronze Age I	1550 BCE - 1400 BCE
		Late Bronze Age II A	1400 BCE - 1300 BCE
		Late Bronze Age II B	1300 BCE - 1200 BCE
Iron Age (1200 BCE - 586 BCE)	Iron Age I (1200 BCE - 1000 BCE)	Iron Age I A	1200 BCE - 1150 BCE
	Iron Age I (1200 BCE - 1000 BCE)	Iron Age I B	1150 BCE - 1000 BCE
	Iron Age II (1000 BCE - 586 BCE)	Iron Age II A	1000 BCE - 900 BCE
		Iron Age II B	900 BCE - 700 BCE
		Iron Age II C	700 BCE - 586 BCE

Religions

Main article: Religions of the Ancient Near East

Ancient civilizations in the Near East were deeply influenced by their spiritual beliefs, which generally did not distinguish between heaven and Earth.^[1] They believed that divine action influenced all mundane matters, and also believed in divination (ability to predict the future).^[1] Omens were often inscribed in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, as were records of major events.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Lamberg-Karlovsky, C. C. and Jeremy A. Sabloff (1979). Ancient Civilizations: The Near East and Mesoamerica. Benjamin/Cummings Publishing, p. 4.

External links

Ancient Near East.net — an information and content portal for the archaeology, ancient history, and culture of the ancient Near East and Egypt
Archaeowiki.org—a wiki for the research and documentation of the ancient Near East and Egypt
ETANA — website hosted by a consortium of universities in the interests of providing digitized resources and relevant web links
Resources on Biblical Archaeology
Ancient Near East Photographs This collection, created by Professor Scott Noegel, documents artifacts and archaeological sites of the ancient Near East; from the University of Washington Libraries Digital Image Collection
Near East Images A directory of archaeological images of the ancient Near East

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