Semites

Semitic languages are members of the Afro-Asian family.

EAST SEMITES: AKKAD AND BABYON
Settlers [2500]. Speakers of an East Semitic language left the deserts of Syria and established farms and homes along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
Akkad empire [2360]. The ruler of a city [Sargon of Kish] conquered Sumer [2350/2180], built a capital city at Akkad, and used military force to create the world's first empire. Profits from conquest and trade paid the costs of running the army and the government. Akkadians worshipped many gods including the moon god. The Sumerian and Akkadian languages were not related. Akkadian replaced Sumerian as the spoken language. Cuneiform continued to be used for writing.
Akkad under Guti [2180]. Akkad grew weaker because of 300 years of low rainfall [2200/1800]. The Guti, whose language is not well known, came from mountains east of Akkad, disrupted trade, damaged irrigation systems, and took control of Akkad and Sumer for 100 years [2180/2082].
Akkad under Sumer [2082]. Sumerians rebelled against the Guti and gained control of Akkad.
Amorite raids [1952]. West Semitic Amorites from nearby deserts raided farms and robbed travelers. Famines began after farmers moved to the cities for protection.
Amorite Babylon [1830]. Amorite settlers took control of Babylon [1830/1531] and built a wall around the city. Amorite Babylon expanded by conquering nearby peoples.
• Hammurabi's Laws. Babylon's ruler [Hammurabi] had laws inscribed on a stone tablet [1728]. The laws governed three social classes: nobles, landowners, and slaves. Cases were tried in civil courts. Penalties included paying money to victims and 'eye for an eye' retaliation.
Babylon under Sealand [1531]. The Hittites destroyed Babylon [1531] and returned home. Sealand, the strongest state in the region, gained control of Babylon.
Kassite Babylon [1507]. Kassites, horsemen from mountains east of Babylon, displaced Sealand as rulers of Babylon. The Kassite language [possible language isolate] was not Iranian and not Semitic. The Kassites restored buildings and built monuments. They adopted local customs and the Semitic Akkadian language.
• Baked Bricks. Glazed bricks baked in ovens replaced sun-dried bricks on building exteriors [1400]. Colored glazes were used to make decorative images.
Babylon under Assyria [1225]. Assyria attacked Babylon, destroyed the city walls, and took treasures.
Babylon independent [1216]. After Assyria's king was assassinated the Kassites returned to power in Babylon.
Babylon under Elam [1159]. Assyria attacked Babylon. Elam attacked the weakened city and removed many of the city's treasures including Hammurabi's Laws and the statue of Babylon's city-god [Marduk].
Isin strong [1125]. The Babylonian city of Isin grew powerful enough to defeat Elam and recover Babylon's treasures [Second Dynasty of Isin, Nebuchadrezzar].
Babylon weak [1095]. After Babylon attacked an Assyrian city, Assyria retaliated by destroying Babylon [1095]. Aramean raids disrupted farming and caused a severe famine [1082] and a 200-year Dark Age.
Assyrian influence [900]. Assyria recovered from its Dark Age earlier than Babylon. The Assyrians conquered Babylon [900], but allowed its king to remain in power.
Babylon helps Assyria [821]. Babylon helped the Assyrians end a civil war [821] and demanded compensation. The Assyrians thought that the price was too high and destroyed Babylon, leaving it so weak that no king was able to rule.
Chaldean Babylon [747]. Chaldeans from Sealand, who spoke a Urartian language, took control of Babylon.
Babylon divided [729]. Assyria took control of Babylon's northern cities including Babylon [729]. The southern cities resisted the Assyrians.
Chaldeans regain Babylon [626]. After Assyria's king died the Chaldeans recovered northern Babylon. Media and Babylon joined together and defeated Assyria, ending its history [609].
Babylon takes Jerusalem [605]. Babylon defeated Egypt [605] and conquered Jerusalem [597]. Many Jews were taken to Babylon where they worked as slaves building city walls and monuments.
• Hanging Gardens. The Hanging Gardens, one of the 'Seven Wonders', were part of the royal palace in Babylon. The king [Nebuchadrezzar] built them [509] to remind his wife of her mountain home [Media]. The gardens were raised above the ground by columns and vaults.
Babylon under Persia [539]. Persia, the strongest state in the region, conquered Babylon [539] ending its history as an independent state.

EAST SEMITES: ASSYRIA
Old Assyria [1500]. East Semitic-speakers formed a city-state at Ashur.
Mitanni strong [1531]. The Hittites sacked Babylon [1531] and the Mitanni gained strength.
Under Mitanni [1500]. The Mitanni, who may have come from the Indus-Sarasvati region, conquered Ashur and the surrounding region [1500]. The Mitanni practiced fire worship rites popular in the Indus-Sarasvati culture. Their language, Hurrian, is not related to Afro-Asian Semitic or Indo-European languages.
Middle Assyria [1380]. After the Hittites defeated the Mitanni [1380] Ashur built a strong army and expanded.
Middle Assyria weak [1209]. Bands of raiders destroyed the Hittite kingdom and disrupted the entire region [1209]. Assyria began a 100 year period of weakness.
Middle Assyria peak [1116]. Assyria regained its strength and began annual military campaigns to collect tribute. The Assyrians treated conquered peoples harshly and relocated them to keep them weak. Assyria destroyed Babylon [1095] and Babylon remained weak for 200 years.
Dark Age [1078]. Raids by groups of Arameans, speakers of a Semitic language who lived in the desert, disrupted farming. Assyria remained weak for 150 years.
New Assyria [935]. Strong Assyrian kings reintroduced the annual military campaigns that collected tribute. They imposed brutal punishments and executed conquered armies. Assyria defeated Babylon [about 900].
New Assyria weak [854]. Aram and Samaria joined armies and defeated Assyria, its first military loss [854]. Babylon helped Assyria put down a civil war [821].
New Assyria peak [745]. Strong kings rose to power and greatly increased Assyria's territory.
Cimmerians attack [690]. The North Iranian Cimmerians, who had been forced out of their homeland, destroyed the kingdoms of the Urartu [690] and Phrygia [690] and killed Assyria's king in battle [679, Sargon II].
New Assyria takes Egypt [671]. Assyria [Esarhaddon] took northern Egypt [671] and then central Egypt [663].
New Assyria loses Egypt [655]. Egypt broke away from Assyria [655]. A civil war led by two brothers weakened Assyria [652/648]. The war ended with the destruction of Babylon, home of one of the brothers [648]. Elam had helped Babylon. Assyria took Elam's capital city [639, Susa], ending Elam's history.
New Assyria end [626]. A succession struggle erupted after an Assyrian king died [626]. Babylon broke away, formed a coalition with Media, and conquered Assyria's major cities [609]. Assyria never recovered. Persia [539], Macedon [332], and then the Seleucids [323] ruled this region.

WEST SEMITES: PHOENICIA
Amorites settle [1850]. West Semitic speaking Amorites left their homeland in the Syrian Desert and settled along the Mediterranean coast. Their descendents became the Phoenicians.
Sidon and Tyre [1570]. The Phoenician cities of Sidon [1500] and Tyre [1450] arose while Egypt controlled the area [1510/1365, New Kingdom]. Phoenician cities rarely acted together, not even to defend against attacks. As a result a centrally governed kingdom of Phoenicia never existed. Each Phoenician city had its favorite god and built temples where animals, and sometimes children, were sacrificed. The goddess of fertility [Astarte, also known as Ishtar] was important. The Phoenicians called their gods 'Ba'al', a reverent title similar to 'lord', not the god's name.
• Alphabet. The Phoenicians developed an alphabet [1400] in which the symbols expressed sounds that formed words. The Phoenician alphabet had 22 characters, all consonants.
• Purple Dye. The Phoenicians produced a dye from a shellfish and used it to color cloth purple. They weren't the first to make the dye, but it became known as a Phoenician product ['Tyrian purple']. Purple clothing became a symbol of royalty.
Trading Posts [1365]. Tyre, the strongest Phoenician city, formed trading posts in North Africa [Utica, 1101], Spain [Cadez, 1100], and Cyprus [1000].
Inland settlements attacked [1070]. The Arameans [1070/1050] and then the Philistines [1050/990] attacked Phoenician inland settlements. Unable to protect inland areas, the Phoenicians were forced to develop an economy based on sea trade.
Tyre strong [990]. Assyria occasionally demanded tribute from Pheonician cities [868, 842, 839]. Tyre founded Carthage in North Africa [814].
Assyria attacks [701]. Tyre and Sidon refused to pay tribute to Assyria [701]. The Assyrians attacked both cities [Sidon, 677 and Tyre, 672 and 668].
Under Babylon [626]. Babylon conquered Assyria [626] and took control of the Phoenician region. It took Babylon 13 years [585/573] to conquer Tyre which was built on an off-shore island.
Under Persia [539]. Persia took Phoenicia and named it as a one of Persia's provinces.
Under Alexander [332]. After Alexander the Great defeated Persia [333, Issus], Sidon welcomed him, but Tyre refused to let him enter the city. Alexander's army spent seven months building a road from the mainland the island city, before it was able to conquer Tyre. Angry, Alexander harshly punished its people, selling many as slaves.
Syrian Wars [316]. After Alexander's death his generals in Egypt and Syria [Ptolemies and Seleucids] fought five wars over Syria and Phoenicia. Control of the Phoenician cities changed several times.
Under Rome [65]. Rome took Phoenicia [65 BCE].

WEST SEMITES: ISRAEL
Exile in Egypt [1300]. Egypt invaded Palestine, captured slaves, and forced them to help build cities in the Nile delta region.
Exodus from Egypt [1250]. The slaves left Egypt and returned to Palestine. Their traditions include ten plagues, Moses leading the captives out of Egypt, crossing a sea before it swallowed up Egypt's pursuing army, receiving Ten Commandments from their God, and wandering in the desert for 40 years.
• Passover. Passover is a seven day religious holiday held in March or April that commemorates the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt [1250]. It celebrates a special bond [covenant] between a people and their God [Yahweh]. The holiday begins with a meal of thanksgiving [Seder] during which a sacrificial lamb is eaten and the story of the Passover is read.
Period of Judges [1200]. The Israelites were organized as tribes. In times of war the tribes joined together, formed an army, and chose a military leader [judge].
Under Philistines [1050]. Philistines defeated the loosely organized Israelite tribes and carried away religious properties including the Ark of the Covenant. The Philistines settled along the Mediterranean coast near Jerusalem.
Monarchy [1020]. The Israelites appointed a king [Saul] because they needed a strong leader to defeat the Philistines. His successor [David] defeated the Philistines and established Jerusalem as a capital city.
Civil War [925]. The king [Solomon] increased taxes to build a palace and temple. After he died a civil war split the kingdom [922/918]. The south kept the capital, the ruling family, and Hebrew religion, but took a new name, Judah. The north kept the name, Israel, formed a new capital [Samaria], and worshipped the storm god [Ba'al]. Egypt attacked both kingdoms [918], leaving them too weak to defeat each other.
Civil war ends [870]. The civil war ended [870] when the leaders at Jerusalem and Samaria joined together to defend themselves against Damascus.
Damascus strong [842]. Damascus conquered Samaria [842], but was only able to force Jerusalem to pay tribute [830]. Samaria joined forces with Damascus and defeated Assyria [754].
Samaria ends [750]. Samaria and Damascus planned to attack Assyria. Jerusalem refused to help and told Assyria of the plans. Assyria conquered Samaria [722], ending its history as a state.
Tribute to Assyria [722]. Jerusalem, Egypt, and Phoenicia joined forces to fight Assyria. The Assyrians began a siege of Jerusalem [701], but withdrew after their troops became sick during an epidemic.
Under Egypt [609]. Egypt took Jerusalem [609] and installed a puppet king.
Under Babylon [597]. Babylon conquered Judah [597] and took captives to Babylon. When Judah refused to pay tribute, Babylon destroyed Jerusalem's walls and temple [586] and again took captives to Babylon.
Under Persia [539]. Persia conquered Babylon [539, Cyrus II] and allowed the Hebrew captives held in Babylon to return to their homeland [538]. Persia helped rebuild Jerusalem?s walls and temple, because it wanted Jerusalem to be a strong buffer in case Egypt attacked.
Under Alexander [333]. Alexander took Asia Minor, Syria, and Palestine on his way to Egypt.
Under Alexander's successors [323]. After the death of Alexander his generals divided the kingdom and fought each other to enlarge their share. The Ptolemies of Egypt took Palestine [301], but then fought five wars [280/195] with the Seleucids of Syria. Control of Palestine changed several times.
Revolt of the Maccabees [198]. The Seleucids gained control of the Palestine [198] and forced the Greek culture and religion on the people of Israel. The Seleucids began to put citizens to death, if they refused to make sacrifices to idols, a practice forbidden by the Hebrew religion [167]. The Hebrews rebelled [164, Maccabee brothers] and won independence [141/64 BCE, Hasmonean Dynasty].
• Hanukkah. Hanukkah is a Hebrew holiday that celebrates the rebellion against the Seleucids [164]. The holiday, held for eight days in December, is celebrated by lighting candles and giving gifts.
Under Rome [64 BCE]. Rome took Jerusalem [64 BCE], permitted native kings to rule, and then ruled directly.
• Diaspora. Rome destroyed Jerusalem to punish rebellions [70 and 132]. Rome deported Jews [diaspora]. Many moved to North Africa and served alongside Berbers as merchants and traders. Hundreds of years later Jews crossed from North Africa into Spain and spread across Europe.

SOUTH SEMITES
Incense Kingdoms [600]. 'Incense kingdoms' formed in South Arabia. Incense was used for embalming, perfume, and religious ceremonies. Sabaea in the south, also known as 'Sheba', produced the incense from gum taken from trees and Nabataea in the north controlled trade routes. The people of the 'incense kingdoms' spoke South Semitic languages and worshipped many gods including the moon god [Almagah].
• Ma'rib Dam. A five story high dam [Ma'rib dam, 1970 feet long] provided water for groves of trees.
Sabaea builds city in Africa [400]. Sabaean traders moved across the Red Sea and started the city of Axum. They brought their gods, language, and alphabet to northeast Africa.
Nabataea attacked [312]. The Seleucids attacked Nabatea because they wanted to weaken the Ptolemies of Egypt [312]. The Ptolemies attacked Nabataea because they wanted to take over the trade routes [255]. Nabataea defeated both attacks.
Prosperity [250]. Axum grew and its seaport city, Adulis, supplied the Romans with ivory and goods from Africa. Nabataea expanded into Syria [85 BCE/106 CE].
Monsoon ocean currents [50]. /*BCE/CE/ Trade with India increased after sailors learned to time their voyages with the monsoon sea currents. Ships traveled to India beginning in April and returned beginning in November.
• Tombs at Petra. Tombs were carved out of rock at Petra, Nabataea's capital [80].
Nabataea under Rome [106]. Rome took Nabataea [106, Province of Arabia].
Sabaea under Himyar [280]. Himyar conquered its neighbor, Sabaea [280].
Axum peak [330]. The people of Axum raised cattle. Adulis remained an important seaport and center of trade. Axum conquered Meroe [330], held Himyar in South Arabia for 25 years [350/375], and adopted Christianity [350].
Axum takes southern Arabia [450]. Himyar declined. Its critical Ma'rib dam leaked several times and then broke [525]. Axum conquered Himyar in South Arabia because Christians were murdered [543].
Axum loses southern Arabia [572]. The South Arabians asked Persia to protect them. Persia drove Axum out and added South Arabia to the Persian Empire [572].
Axum abandoned [600]. Desert peoples raided farms near Axum. The people of Axum abandoned their capital [600].
Muslims take Arabia [628]. The prophet Muhammad began to preach in Mecca and Medina, which are located along the incense trade routes halfway between Sabaea and Nabataea. The Arab Muslims took South Arabia [628] and controlled Red Sea shipping. They cut off Axum's sea trade and sacked the port city, Adulis [702].
Axum relocates [702]. The people of Axum, cut off from trade and attacked by neighboring tribes [Beja], moved south and became known as Ethiopians [Greek] or Abyssinians [Arabic]. The Ethiopians remained Christians, but became isolated from other Christians because their neighbors were Muslim.
• Ali Baba. The Beja, who mined gold in the hills north of Axum, were one of the tribes that had caused the people of Axum move south [750]. The life of Ali Baba, a Beja leader, is told in the book, 'Thousand and One Nights'. The Abbasid Muslims defeated Ali Baba [831] and occupied Beja land.
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