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fertile crescent

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cradle of ancient Middle Eastern civilizations

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4500-2000 BC: rise of civilization

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social and economic powers grew on both sides of the crescent

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Sumer, Akkad, Babylonia, Phoenicia, Assyria and Egypt were the dominant cultures until around 335 BC with the conquests of Alexander the Great

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Mesopotamia

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between Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

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Sumer (4500 BC - 2400 BC)

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settled by non-Semitic people

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proto-Euphrateans

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drained marshes for agriculture

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developed trade

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weaving, leather work, metalwork

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Akkad (2334 BC – 2193 BC)

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united Semites and Sumerian speakers under one rule

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Babylonia (1792 BC - 911 BC)

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became strong with Hammurabi

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Akkadian-speaking Semitic nation state

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retained the written Semitic Akkadian language for official use

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Assyria (2400 BC - 605 BC)

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a Semitic Akkadian kingdom

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700 BC: expanded from Mesopotamia to conquer Syria and Israel, and for a short period ruled Egypt as well

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trading up into Anatolia (Turkey)

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Egypt

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6000 BC, a Neolithic culture (10000 BC - 2000 BC) rooted in the Nile Valley

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3200 BC: first known hieroglyphic inscriptions in pottery

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3150 BC: King Menes unified kingdom

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southern edge of the Fertile Crescent

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Egyptian influence was felt in Israel throughout many centuries

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1400 BC - 1200 BC: Egypt ruled Israel and Syria

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Phoenicia (1550 BC - 300 BC)

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enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean

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Neo-Assyrian Empire (911 BC - 612 BC)

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most powerful state on earth

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eclipsed Babylonia, Egypt, Urartu/Armenia and Elam for dominance of the Near East, Asia Minor, Caucasus, North Africa and east Mediterranean

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conquered Eber-Nari, "Beyond the River"

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Syria, Phoenicia, Land of Israel

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three important areas seen as one area

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natural resources, strategic maritime area, technological developments

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first time in 911 BC did the lands of Israel belong to one geopolitical unit

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put an end to the entities which had existed there previously

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determined the fate of the region for centuries afterward

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Land of Israel

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it is in this Neo-Assyrian context that you have to understand the term for "other side of the river"

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King Solomon (970 BC - 931 BC)

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third king of the United Monarchy

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from 1 Kings 4:31: "And Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These countries brought tribute and were Solomon's subjects all his life."

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Abram (ca. 2000 BC according to Bible's internal chronology)

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from Genesis 15:18: "On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, 'To your descendants I give this land, from the Brook of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates."

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Canaan

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quite synonymous with The Levant

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Southern Syria and Israel

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often associated with the Hebrew Bible, where the "Land of Canaan" extends from Lebanon southward to the "Brook of Egypt" and eastward to the Jordan River Valley

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borders described in the book of Numbers and Ezekiel

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Judah

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was an area within Canaan within the larger geopolitical area which extended between Egypt and Mesopotamia

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Judah must be understood within this background along with the balance of present powers and their interests