The history of the Ancient World has always aroused keen interest not only among professional researchers, but also among ordinary inhabitants. This is completely unsurprising, since secrets hidden in the depths of centuries not only tease our imagination, but can also provide answers to many questions that torment modern people.
Sociologists and political scientists are still investigating the state system of the Persian empire, which lasted much longer than the Roman Empire. But especially many questions raise the ancient civilizations of the Ancient East. If we know relatively much about our ancestors, then from many states of those times there remained - at best - only obscure references on the pages of the works of ancient historians.
However, today we will talk about those cultures that were able to leave a sufficiently significant mark in history. What features of the civilization of the Ancient East can be highlighted, thanks to which the very emergence of state structures became possible?
Prerequisites for the emergence of the first state formations
From about the 11th century BC, the first large state formations began to emerge. In those days, they appeared only after the conquest of some peoples by others. The rulers of the first states were often talented warriors, but very average politicians. Their main desire was aggressive expansion, and they had to keep the conquered borders only by force. In general, the characteristic of the ancient civilizations of the East (most of them, in any case) clearly indicates the dependence of the development of the state economy on the success of waging wars of conquest.
If the invasion was successful, then in the hands of the conquerors were thousands of slaves and vast territories, whose population was immediately surrounded by an exorbitant tribute. The surplus of money that appeared allowed the kings to keep scribes, scholars, and artists, thanks to whom we knew something about those difficult times. Gradually, the rulers improved the forms of government, learned about the need to build large fortresses.
The conquered peoples, being within the framework of one state, knew each other better, new nationalities appeared. In general, if we highlight the key features of the civilization of the Ancient East, we cannot help but notice that many ethnic groups, famous for their aspirations for conquest, did not crave to destroy the culture, written language and language of the conquered peoples.
Table of comparative characteristics of the peoples of the East and WestCategories | West | East |
Core activities | Craft, Agriculture and Livestock | Sailing, crafts, cattle breeding |
Religion (before Christianity and Islam) | Paganism | Polytheism |
Social structure | Class division | Class and caste separation |
Government structure | Feudalism | Tyrannical monarchies, tyranny |
Culture | Mythology, exact sciences are underdeveloped | Developed: the appearance of Arabic (Indian) numbers, the development of astrology, rich mythology |
This is what distinguished the civilizations of the Ancient East. The table gives a fairly clear idea of this.
The most important factors in the emergence of ancient states
The emergence of truly major powers contributed to two important factors. Firstly, from the North came the tribes who brought with them domesticated horses. This served as a real catalyst for wars: from now on, well-armed armies could quickly move vast distances. Powerful chariots appeared that began to terrify the enemies. Thus, the development of civilizations of the Ancient East went at a very impressive pace.
Finally, people learned how to make steel of decent quality: iron agricultural tools made it possible to better cultivate the soil and grow more food, steel armor was incredibly strong, and swords easily chopped bronze armor and blades. The culture of ancient civilizations of the East did not stand still: many new trends in art arose, writing systems and public administration developed.
The consequences of the first Great Empires were quite versatile. Of course, the process of their formation was accompanied by an unprecedented surge of violence, but at the same time it was their emergence that contributed to the rapid development of sciences and the social sphere. So what were the ancient civilizations of the Ancient East?
Hittites
It is believed that the first developed empire was organized by the Hittites. This people is very mysterious, since too much time has passed since then, and therefore there are simply no reliable sources. It is known that they belonged to the Indo-European ethnic group, and came to Asia Minor from somewhere in the north. In fact, initially the Hittites created several states at once, but already in the XVIII century BC they merged into one. However, almost all civilizations of the Ancient East and Antiquity have passed such a development path.
The capital of the Hittite state was located in the city of Hattus. Like many ancient peoples, they were exclusively engaged in cattle breeding and agriculture. However, they also mastered the ore business extremely well. It is so good that among historians it is precisely this people that is considered the discoverer of iron smelting technology.
What does the school course say about this civilization of the Ancient East? Grade 10 in every school probably knows that the Hittites managed to establish good trade and cultural ties between all conquered cultures.
Hittite Conquests
The Hittites were experienced and courageous warriors: already in the 17th century BC they completely captured Northern Syria. In 1595 BC, the legendary Babylon fell under their onslaught. Along with the Persians, the Hittites were always distinguished by the fact that they did not actually oppress the conquered peoples. As a rule, they did not even demand the adoption of their proteges, preferring to retain the power of the legitimate kings (provided that they fulfilled some of their requirements). The first successful resistance to the Hittites was the Egyptians.
The war between them lasted a very long time, since no one could achieve unambiguous success. Prudence prevailed, and peace was finally concluded between the nations. The Hittites began to receive cheap bread from the Egyptian granaries, while the Egyptians themselves were very pleased with the supply of ores. In general, almost all civilizations of the Ancient East and Antiquity had close economic, cultural, and economic ties with each other.
The death of the Hittites
Historians believe that the Assyrians forced the Hittites to become so peaceful. At that time, their power intensified sharply, and quite quickly the warlike people came to the very borders of the Hittite state. Of course, the latter were not too seduced by the prospect of a war on two fronts at once. However, this did not save the Hittites. Historians around the world are still arguing about how this civilization of the Ancient East died. Egypt has nothing to do with it, since the militant people had peace agreements with the pharaohs.
Most likely, this happened not without the intervention of the “peoples of the sea”. Perhaps the detachments of these mysterious warriors still managed to reach Hattusa and destroy the city. By the way, in Egypt they also faced their invasion, but Ramses III managed to inflict a terrible defeat on them, after which the intensity of the raids of the "sailors" significantly decreased. Were there still ancient civilizations of the Ancient East?
Assyria and Urartu
At first, the Assyrians mentioned above occupied relatively little land. Their capital was the city of Ashur, located on the Tigris River. They preferred all the same activities that were respected by the Hittites, but especially succeeded in trading matters. Oddly enough, but this people at first was not particularly belligerent, and therefore, for the entire time the existence of their state, it was often captured by neighbors.
But already in the XIV century BC, the Assyrians managed to capture the long-suffering Babylon, and in the region of the 9-10th century the nomadic tribes themselves greatly damaged them, from which almost all civilizations of the ancient world suffered. The ancient East was also constantly subjected to their raids.
At the same time, a rather mysterious people lived on the shores of Lake Van (in Transcaucasia), which the Assyrians called themselves Urartians. In the same 10th century BC, many of their fragmented tribes united, giving rise to the powerful state of Urartu. The Assyrians “helped” their neighbors, as their constant attacks forced even the most stubborn local kings to recognize the need for a merger. The dawn of the people of Urartu falls on about the eighth century BC. Then the former oppressed themselves were able to wage war of aggression with their oppressors.
Relations with Urartu
During this period, the Assyrian kings repeatedly suffered defeat from Urartu. Military failures did not increase their authority among the people, and therefore often riots broke out and conspiracies arose in the ruling elite. Around 750 BC, the smart and cruel king Tiglathpalasar III came to power, who immediately began to strengthen the army.
It was he who completely reequipped his troops, providing them with first-class iron weapons, and made offensive wars the basis of the state economy. He and his heirs managed to add to the
Assyrian kingdom a huge number of new lands, which before that belonged to other civilizations of the ancient world. The ancient East acquired a new dominant culture.
Only 40 years after the reforms began, the Assyrians managed to completely defeat Urartu. In addition, they conquered many peoples of Palestine and Syria, captured a considerable part of Egypt and Babylon. For the first time in history, this civilization has intensively used the method of forced relocation. They sought to assimilate the conquered peoples, break them and force them to renounce their own faith and language.
Unlike the Hittites and Persians, they were not famous for their condescension to the conquered. Thus, it is the Assyrian kings who are considered the inventors of many sophisticated tortures and methods of cruel executions. However, this did not save them from constant riots and uprisings. But do not consider them as notorious villains: like all the largest civilizations of the Ancient East, this people also sowed "rational, good and eternal."
Assyrian achievements
The incredible wealth obtained in the form of military booty and tribute allowed the Assyrians to bring many outstanding scientists, writers and philosophers of their time to their court. It is thanks to this people that we possess information about the books of the Sumerians and Babylonians, which they translated. So, the texts of Mesopotamia, which are studied to this day, were saved and supplemented by Assyrian scholars.
In Nineveh, the new capital of the kingdom, the richest collection of books on clay tablets at that time was collected, containing all the knowledge that civilizations of the Ancient East managed to accumulate. In short, it was a real storehouse of wisdom, to which scientists came from all over the Ancient World to touch.
But the time of their state was already pumping: already in the seventh century BC, enemies began to push the Assyrians from all sides. Against this background, the growing contradictions within the ruling circles played a decisive role. In 626, the power of Nineveh was rejected by the governor of Babylon, proclaiming himself king. It was he who entered into numerous military alliances with some Iranian peoples (especially with the
state of Midia). With a joint onslaught, they literally swept Assyria off the face of the earth, and its last detachments were destroyed in 609 BC.
Persians
After the fall of their worst enemies, the Assyrians, the Midian and New Babylonian kingdoms were on the rise . Moreover, the latter was founded by the Chaldean Nabopalasar, who at one time organized active resistance to the conquerors. His son, Nebuchadnezzar II, was able to conquer not only the remains of Assyria, but also Palestine and Syria. Under him, Babylon reached incredible prosperity and power. Even one of the Wonders of the World, the Hanging Gardens, which the ancient Greeks mistakenly attributed to Queen Semiramis, were created precisely by his engineers.
At that time, Arians lived on the territory of Iran. It is not surprising that their contemporaries called those lands “the Land of the Aryans”, which by that time had largely mixed with the nomadic tribes of the Indo-Europeans (however, almost all the ancient civilizations of the Middle East had their blood). Over time, several new ethnic groups formed on the territory of Iran, and the Persians quickly became the most powerful. Officially, they were part of the kingdom of Media, but in fact they had their own ruler.
The famous Persian king Cyrus I just started by rejecting the power of the Midian sovereign, declaring his people independent. Thus was born the Persian kingdom. This people developed rapidly, and very soon their army reached India, and also captured the long-suffering Syria and Palestine. But the main "acquisition" of the Persians was the Lydian kingdom, still famous for the fact that it was in its mines that almost 70% of all the gold that had been circulated in the Old World before the discovery of America was mined. Simply put, the first civilizations of the Ancient East provided means of payment for all of humanity several centuries in advance.
In addition, the Persians quickly became sworn enemies of the Greeks, as they captured almost all the lands colonized by those. Finally, in 539 BC, their army waited their turn to capture Babylon.
Great Cyrus died during the next campaign in Central Asia. The son of the conqueror, Cambyses, managed to conquer Egypt. The tsar would hardly have stopped at what had been achieved, but a sudden unrest erupted in the state, and he died. However, Darius I, who came to power, did not allow internal unrest to destroy the state. He severely punished all troublemakers, completed the campaign of Cyrus in Central Asia, and the Persian army again conquered part of India. Failure befell the king only in the case of the Scythians, and the campaign in Greece did not succeed too much.
Distinctive features of this civilization
The Persian Empire became the first state entity in the world of such a huge size. The stability of the country was ensured by its division into regions - satrapy, each of which was ruled by a reliable governor (and often they were the kings of the conquered countries). For the first time in history, a centralized state post office was organized, a reform of the monetary unit was carried out with a view to its maximum standardization.
In addition, it is the Persians who have the steadily formed idea that without a properly developed road system there will be no strong country. This people was just noted for the fact that even to the most remote outskirts of each satrapy there was a good paved path. Thus, even an approximate characteristic of the ancient civilizations of the East indicates their high development.
Persians are now undeservedly forgotten and demonized through the works of cunning Greeks. In fact, their culture was in no way inferior to the Hellenistic and Roman, and it lasted much longer. Thus, the ancient civilizations of the Ancient East gave us much more than is customary to think about: government systems, the importance of transport routes, the first collections of legislative codes, etc., which many consider to be the hallmarks of the modern world.