Rating: Not rated
Tags: History, Lang:en
Summary
Includes pictures
Individuals who decide to take up learning about the Old
Testament of the Bible are immediately faced with the difficult
proposition of identifying the various peoples that the Hebrews
met and sometimes came into conflict with when they entered the
territory that eventually became Israel. The Moabites and
Edomites were just two of the many Canaanite groups that the
Hebrews dealt with, often violently, but there were dozens of
other Canaanite groups, which were all for the most part
identified through the names of their respective cities. In
fact, before the Hebrews established a kingdom and before the
Phoenicians colonized much of the Mediterranean, the Canaanites
were the most important group in the Levant for much of the
Bronze Age and into the early Iron Age. Although the Canaanites
never created a unified nation-state or kingdom, their
importance in the ancient Near East cannot be understated. It
was at least partially because of that fact that the Canaanites
were unable to resist their larger and more powerful neighbors
that the average person today knows so little about their
history, but modern studies have revealed that they developed a
unique religion that influenced non-Canaanite peoples and
continued to be practiced in some form centuries after the
Canaanites ceased to be an identifiable people. Furthermore,
during the height of the Bronze Age the Canaanites provided
important resources to the Egyptian and Hittite Empires and
played a key role in the geopolitical game of chess between
those two kingdoms. It also goes without saying that the
Canaanites were also a factor in the establishment of the
Kingdom of Israel, as the battles they lost to the Hebrews
later became the foundation of the Jewish kingdom. Although the Old Testament provides a credible source for
some aspects of Philistine culture, it naturally paints a
picture of them as a group of bloodthirsty warriors whose one
purpose was to oppress the Hebrews/Israelites. When
corroborated with ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian sources,
along with modern archaeological studies, an examination
reveals that the reputation that the Philistines earned from
the Old Testament was partially warranted, but that there was
also much more to Philistine culture. Today, Babylon has become a byword for greed, excess, and
licentiousness, mostly due to its mention in the Bible, but a
closer examination reveals that Babylon was so much more, and
even perhaps the most important city in the ancient world.
Ancient Babylon was home to great dynasties that produced some
of the world’s most influential leaders, most notably
Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar, and these rulers invoked their
wills on the entire ancient Near East and have been remembered
as both progressive and cruel all at the same time. Babylon was
also the seat of culture in ancient Mesopotamia and the place
where scholars made amazing scientific advances that would not
be eclipsed for several centuries. An examination of ancient
Babylon demonstrates that it was truly the first great city in
the ancient world. Although the Biblical accounts of the Assyrians are among
the most interesting and are often corroborated with other
historical sources, the Assyrians were much more than just the
enemies of the Israelites and brutal thugs. A historical survey
of ancient Assyrian culture reveals that although they were the
supreme warriors of their time, they were also excellent
merchants, diplomats, and highly literate people who recorded
their history and religious rituals and ideology in great
detail. The Enemies of the Ancient Israelites: The History of the
Canaanites, Philistines, Babylonians, and Assyrians looks at
the various groups and their impact on the region and
subsequent cultures. **
Includes ancient accounts of each group
*Includes a bibliography for further reading