Atlas of the Ancient Near East: From Prehistoric Times to the Roman Imperial Period

2016·66.93 MB·English

by  Trevor Bryce

Atlas of the Ancient Near East
This atlas provides students and scholars with a broad range of information on the development
of the Ancient Near East from prehistoric times through the beginning of written records in the
Near East (c. 3000 bc) to the late Roman Empire and the rise of Islam. The geographical coverage
of the Atlas extends from the Aegean coast of Anatolia in the west through Iran and Afghanistan
to the east, and from the Black and Caspian Seas in the north to Arabia and the Persian Gulf and
Indian Ocean in the south.
The Atlas of the Ancient Near East includes a wide-ranging overview of the civilizations and
kingdoms discussed, written in a lively and engaging style, which considers not only political and
military issues but also introduces the reader to social and cultural topics such as trade, religion,
how people were educated and entertained, and much more. With a comprehensive series of
detailed maps, supported by the authors’ commentary and illustrations of major sites and key
artifacts, this title is an invaluable resource for students who wish to understand the fascinating
cultures of the Ancient Near East.
Trevor Bryce is an Honorary Professor at the University of Queensland and Fellow of the
Australian Academy of the Humanities. He has held positions as Reader in Classics and Ancient
History, University of Queensland, Professor of Classics and Ancient History, University of New
England (Australia), and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Lincoln University, New Zealand.
Jessie Birkett-Rees is Lecturer in the Centre for Ancient Cultures at Monash University,
Melbourne. She is an archaeologist of the ancient Near East and a specialist in cultural landscape
analyses. Her fieldwork and research have focused on the emergence and development of com-
plex societies, and the changing relationships between humans and their environment in Turkey,
South Caucasia, Africa and Australia.
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Atlas of the Ancient Near East
From Prehistoric Times to the Roman Imperial Period
by
Trevor Bryce
with an introductory section on
The Prehistoric Near East
by
Jessie Birkett-Rees
First published 2016
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2016 Trevor Bryce; Jessie Birkett-Rees for Part I
The right of Trevor Bryce to be identified as author of this work, and of Jessie Birkett-
Rees to be identified as the author of Part I, has been asserted by them in accordance
with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in
any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to
infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-0-415-50800-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-50801-8 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-73481-1 (ebk)
Typeset in Minion Pro and Myriad Pro
by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon, UK
Contents
List of figures xiii
Acknowledgements xv
List of abbreviations xvi
Introduction 1
Map: The Near East in its modern context 1
PART I
The prehistoric Near East 7
1 The geography and geology of the ancient Near East 9
Maps: The physical geography of the Near East 10
Tectonic plate boundaries 11
Forest zones 12
The Fertile Crescent 13
2 Foragers and farmers: early agricultural communities 16
Maps: Locations of the independent development of agricultural
communities worldwide 18
Sites excavated in the ‘hilly flanks’ of the Fertile Crescent 19
3 The prehistory of the Near East: key sites 21
Maps: Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene sites 22
Neolithic sites in the Near East 24
Site-plans: Abu Hureyra 25
Çayönü 28
Çatalhöyük 31
Maps: Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites in Mesopotamia 33
Sites of the Halaf and Early Ubaid periods 37
vi Contents
PART II
Background to the historical era 39
4 The homelands of the major Near Eastern kingdoms 41
Maps: Core regions of the Near Eastern kingdoms 42
Mesopotamia and surrounding territories (NASA satellite image) 44
Modern Syria and its neighbours 45
5 Writing systems 47
6 A sample of sites where important inscriptions have been found 53
Map: Sites of important inscriptions 54
7 Trade and mineral resources 58
Maps: Trade routes linking Mesopotamia with its neighbours in the
Early Bronze Age 59
Mineral sources in the ancient Near East 60
PART III
The Early Bronze Age (continuing into the Middle Bronze Age) 63
8 The Sumerians 65
Map: Sumer and Akkad 66
Site-profile: Nippur 67
Site-plan: Nippur 67
9 Uruk (Warka, biblical Erech) 68
Map: Uruk in context 69
Site-plan: Uruk 69
10 Early Dynastic and Old Kingdom Egypt 71
Maps: Egypt during the Early Dynastic and Old Kingdom periods 71
Egypt today (NASA satellite image) 72
11 The Akkadian empire 73
Map: The Akkadian empire in Naram Sin’s reign (c. 2254–2218) 74
12 Ur and the Ur III empire 75
Map: The Ur III empire 76
13 The Early and Middle Bronze Age kingdoms of western Iran 78
Maps: Mesopotamia and western Iran in the 3rd and 2nd millennia bc 79
Trade routes linking Akkad with the Persian Gulf and Meluhha 79
14 The Amorites 81
Map: Northern Syria and northern Mesopotamia in the Early and Middle
Bronze Ages 82
Site-profile: Ebla 83
Site-plan: Ebla 83
Contents vii
PART IV
The Middle Bronze Age (continuing into the Late Bronze Age) 85
15 The Isin and Larsa dynasties 87
Maps: The kingdoms of Isin and Larsa (c. 1950) 88
The kingdoms of Babylon and Larsa (c. 1790) 88
16 The Old Assyrian kingdom 89
Map: The Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia in Samsi-Addu’s reign
(c. 1796–1775) 90
17 The Assyrian merchant colonies 92
Map: Trade routes during the Assyrian colony period 93
18 The Diyala region 94
Maps: Main centres of the Diyala region 95
19 The Habur (Khabur) river region 96
Map: The Habur region and its environs 97
20 The Old Babylonian kingdom 100
Map: The kingdom of Hammurabi (c. 1792–1750) 101
21 Mari 103
Site-plan: The palace of Mari 103
Map: Northern Mesopotamia during Zimri-Lim’s reign
(c. 1774–1762) 104
22 The cities and kingdoms of Syria in the Middle and Late Bronze Ages 106
Map: Syria, south-eastern Anatolia, and north-western Mesopotamia in
the 2nd millennium bc 107
Site-profile: Ugarit 110
Site-plan: Ugarit 110
PART V
The Late Bronze Age (continuing into the Iron Age) 111
23 The major Late Bronze Age kingdoms 113
Map: Late Bronze Age Anatolia, northern Syria, and northern
Mesopotamia (mid 14th cent.) 114
24 The Hittites 115
Maps: The Hittite homeland 115
The Hittite empire (late 14th–13th cent.) 116
Site-plan: Hattusa 118
25 Arzawa and the Luwians 121
Map: The Arzawa lands 121
viii Contents
26 The Hurrians and Mitanni (Mittani) 123
Map: The Mitannian empire and its contemporaries (15th cent.) 123
27 The adventures of Idrimi 125
Map: Idrimi’s quest 125
28 The Middle Assyrian empire 127
Map: The Middle Assyrian empire (c. 1365–1076) 128
29 Kassite Babylonia 129
Maps: Babylonia under Kassite rule 130
Kassite Babylonia and the contemporary ‘Great Kingdoms’ 130
30 Middle and New Kingdom Egypt 131
Maps: New Kingdom Egypt 132
Ahmose’s expulsion of the Hyksos 133
31 The Canaanites 134
Map: Canaan 135
32 The Syro-Palestinian states attested in the Amarna letters 137
Map: Sites named in the Amarna letters 138
33 Hittites and Egyptians in conflict 139
Map: Ramesses’ route to Qadesh 140
Site-plan: The Hittite attack at Qadesh 140
34 Troy 142
Map: The Troad 142
Site-plan: Citadel of Troy, major levels 143
35 Ahhiyawa 145
Map: The Mycenaean (‘Ahhiyawan’) world and western Anatolia 146
36 Bronze Age Cyprus 147
Maps: Alasiya under attack 147
Cyprus: main Bronze Age sites 148
37 The Sea Peoples 150
Map: Suggested routes of the Sea Peoples 150
38 The Middle Elamite and Neo-Elamite periods 152
Map: The middle Elamite kingdom 152
Site-plan: Al-Untash-Napirisha (Chogha Zanbil) 153
PART VI
The Iron Age 155
39 The age of iron 157
Map: The Iron Age kingdoms of northern Syria and south-eastern Anatolia 158
Site-profile: Damascus 159
Contents ix
40 The Neo-Hittite kingdoms 160
Map: The region of the Neo-Hittite states 161
41 Tabal, Hilakku and Que (Adanawa/Hiyawa) 163
Map: The kingdoms of Tabal, Hilakku and Que 164
42 The Neo-Assyrian empire 166
Maps: The Neo-Assyrian world 167
The Neo-Assyrian empire: main stages in its development 168
Site-plan: Nineveh 170
Battle of Qarqar (853) 171
Map: Routes leading to Qarqar 171
43 The Phoenicians 172
Maps: Phoenicia and its neighbours 173
Phoenician colonizing and commercial enterprises abroad 174
44 The Iron Age countries and kingdoms of Transjordan 176
Maps: Iron Age Palestine and Transjordan: main regions 177
Iron Age Palestine and Transjordan: main cities and towns 179
45 The Philistines 181
Maps: Philistia and its neighbours 181
The Philistine Pentapolis 182
46 1st millennium bc Anatolia 184
Map: Countries, kingdoms and cities of 1st millennium bc Anatolia 185
47 Phrygia and Lydia 186
Map: The kingdoms of Phrygia and Lydia 187
48 Urartu 189
Map: Urartu 190
49 The Cimmerians 193
Map: The Cimmerian invasions 193
50 Egypt in the Third Intermediate and Saite periods (1069–525 bc) 195
Map: Egypt in the Third Intermediate Period (1069–747) 196
PART VII
The Greeks in the East 197
51 Aeolians, Ionians, Dorians 199
Map: Post Bronze Age Greek migrations 200
52 Two major Bronze Age–Classical sites of western Anatolia 201
Site-plan: Miletus 201
Map: Greek and Roman cities of western Anatolia/Asia Minor 202