The study of humankind. (the study of human culture)

AD 661-750. Capital: Damascus

                Spread of Islam throughout arab world; middle east, north africa,                 

Moorish Spain

Abbasid Caliphates

AD 750 when Baghdad was founded, when the switch occurred

                AD 750-1258 , Capital: Baghdad; guardians of Classical learning; Baghdad                         is center of enlightened culture

 Five Pillars of Islam- Muslims view them as a framework of their religion.

1)(Shahada) Declaration of Faith: “there is no god but Allah and                                 Muhammad is his messenger.”

2) (Salet)- Prayer five times a day in the direction of the Ka ‘abah in Mecca.                 Prayers are performed at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and night; as                 signated by muezzins singing the call to prayer, which begins “Allahu akbar;”                 “God is great.”

3) (Sawm)- Fasting during Ramadan (on the lunar calendar); abstain from food,                                 drink, tobacco, sex during daylight hours.

o Commemorates the first revelation of the Qu ‘ran; unifying and                         spiritually purifying. End of Ramadan celebrated as Eid al-Fitr, Feast of Breaking the Fast

4) (Zakat)- Alms-giving (tithing) to the poor and needy, normally at the end                         of Ramadan (ideally 2.5% of wealth)

5(Hajj) - Pilgrimage to Mecca during month of Dhu al-Hijjah. Expected at                 least once in lifetime. If unable, many sponsor someone to go in their                 place. A village may pool their money to pay the way for one individual to                 go on behalf of all. The end of Dhu al-Hijjah celebrated as Eid al-Aida,                         Feast of the Sacrifice.

Word used to mark the end of the Israelites having a homeland. Started in                 the Iron Age after the first Temple was destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar (Babylonian King) and ended in 1948 when WWII ended.

hundreds of thousands of fragments found in the 1940’s - on in the                 city of Qumran near the shore of the Dead Sea (where it gets its name).

        - Manual of Discipline - explains different rules about how to live your life, in a disciplined manner.

  - Letter to Jerusalem - letter of 20-25 complaints

        - War Scroll - tells story about the battle of Sons of light and Sons of darkness that is supposed to take place at end of time.

The scholars had access to these.

Letter sent from the small groups of people living in the desert awaiting the Messiah's arrival to the people living in the town of Jerusalem.

-The letter contained a series of complaints and accusations about the way they were living in the town and saying they should all live in the desert because it was the correct thing to do.

was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean -destroyed holy temple in Jerusalem

S. Arabian Bronze Age tombs:

- shaft tombs (possibly infering sedentary population)

- beehive tombs (possibly infering nomadic population)

- turret tombs

that was previously known as the “Holy Land,” “Walls came tumbling down” It is known in Judeo-Christian tradition as the place of the Israelites' return from bondage in Egypt, led by Joshua, the successor to Moses. NW of the dead sea South Jerusalem

the mountain where Moses stood and spoke to God and received the 10 commandments.

fundamentalists, a lot of rules thought that the Sadducee's were too willy nilly

king of Assyria that expanded the Assyrian empire during the 8th century bc

Founded the Israelite temple (The first temple) David’s son built the first temple of God where the arc of the covenant was. Known as the wisest in the Ancient near East

Laurence of South Arabia

arabist, explorer, writer, british, intelligence officer

wrote “Sheba’s Daughter” (1939)

a record of his travels in south Arabia, including observations of remaining iron age cities

formed framework for future work

Mukkarib (S. Arabia)

- king like tribal leadership of South Arabia

- succession was hereditary but could sometimes be achieved through conflict

- rulers and general succession of leadership for each kingdom is still being worked out archaeologically

- no one ruler stands out more than others, unlike Mesopotamia and Egypt

written in the Greek language,

KNOW CAPITALS BUILT ON RIVERS-It’s not that they were built on rivers, it’s that they were placed at their positions for political strategy.

Washington D.C.-Potomac

        Memphis-Nile

        Jerusalem-The Jordan river

        Baghdad-Tigris and Euphrates

        Cairo-Nile

        Founded by Muhammad who was told the entire contents of the Quran by Arch Angel Gabriel. in AD 612 the prophet began preaching and in AD 622 him and his followers were forced to flee from Mecca to Medina on a Hijra to save their lives and their beliefs. When they returned years later the Roman empire was collapsing and the religion of Islam was flourishing.

        There are 3 types of Islam. The two most popular are Sunni which makes up about 90% of all Islamic believers (centered in Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, Najaf [ali’s tomb], and Karbala). And Shia which makes up about 10% and is concentrated in Mecca, medina, and Jerusalem.

   The five pillars of Islam are extremely important to the religion and are expected to be carried out by each member. Declaration of faith (Shahada), Prayer 5 times a day (Salet), fasting during Ramadan (Sawm), Alms giving (Zakat) and Pilgramage to Mecca (Hajj).

        In AD 661 thru 750 the Captial of Umayyad was Damascus and Islam spread throughout it.

Founded in AD 750 as a political boundary and capital of Iraq. Abbasid Caliphates: from AD 750-1258 Baghdad was the center and gaurdian of the Classical culture. In AD 1258 Baghdad was sacked in the Mongol Conquest which was the outward push of siege and capture of Baghdad. This was the most devastating event is Islam’s history. And Baghdad never fully recovered. However in AD 1958 Iraq became independent which shows that it took a lot of time.

Lasted from 3500 BC to 1200 BC. There are not many records about the Bronze Age but it is known that this is when we see the first towns appear.

        The primary people of this time were the Canaanites. They were located in Canaan which is the Holy Land in the Levant on the Eastern side of the Mediterranean.

        In 1200 BC at the end of the Bronze Age we see “Sea People” come about. There people came from the Mediterranean and began to set up a living. They stand out like a sore thumb when compared to other people living in this area at this time. In Israel the “Sea People” are thought to be the Peleset or the Philistines.

The major players of this time were the Israelites however the Canaanites and the Philistines were also important. These three groups were competing for the Levant.

 More is known about the Israelites because they kept great records and everything is from their point of view. Even the bible is written from an Israelite’s point of view. Goliath was a Philistine and David was an Israelite. The Israelites are thought to be Gods chosen people and they are made up primarily of Jewish religion.

               Some key figures in Israelite history are King David and King Solomon. David unified 12 tribes and created the City of David for the Israelites he wanted to build a temple for the Israeli people but God told him that he couldn’t because he had blood on his hands. However his son Solomon would one day build the temple. So Solomon became king and built the temple for the Israelites in the city of Jerusalem which was the capital. The temple was called the Solomonic (first) Temple and was built to unify the Israelites. The Queen of Sheba had heard of how wise Solomon was and traveled from Africa to see for herself. In 586 BC Nebuchadnezzar came to power and began to sack all the towns of the Israelites. He destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. This brought an end to Israelites political power and to the Iron age and enters into a state of Diaspora.

               Although it is NOT IN THE IRON AGE, the Herodian temple is worth mentioning after the Solomonic temple. It was built by Ezra and finished building by Herod. It was destroyed in AD 70.

Base teachings off the book of Torah which consists of the first 5 books of Moses. These stories were revealed to Moses at Mt. Sinai. The same place where Abraham made the covenant with God and where Moses received the 10 commandments .

               There are 4 major political and religious groups: Pharisees, Sadducees, Essences, and Zealots. All played different roles however Essences and Zealots seemed to be the most important.

               The Essences lived in Qumran. They fled from Jerusalem because they saw corruption and ungodliness. The lived on the outskirts in the desert because they thought that when the Messiah returned he would come from the desert and meet them first. They are the creators of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Found in caves in Qumran. The first set contained 7 containers and the second set contained 800,000 fragments. Put together and analyses the scrolls create 8000 documents. Many create stories from the bible and other texts include some non biblical. Among the non biblical are the Letters to Jerusalem (complaints of those living in Jerusalem), the Manual of Discipline (guidelines for those living communally) and the War Scrolls (which predict a war between light and dark where light prevails and God returns).

               The Zealots are also important because of their story. They are rebels who established a strong hold against the Romans for 3 years in Masada (where Herodian’s Palace was built). Once it seemed as if they were not going to survive the Zealots then committed mass suicide.

               The men decided upon it, then left and killed their wives and children. Then they were all charged with murder and they were all sentenced to death. Then they put their names on Ostracas and pulled one. This man was to stay alive till everyone else was dead then kill himself. However somewhere along the way men escaped and turned themselves in. this is how we have this story. Flavius Silva was the commander that was to attack the zealots. Flavius Josephus (Joseph) was taken captive and had to write an account of the zealot fiasco.

The south Arabian peninsula has 3 ecological zones: desert, Mt chains, and coastal within these zones there are 3 niches: pastoralism, fishing, and agriculture.

               It contains the modern countries Yemen and Oman. Yemen is particularly important because it is where the Marib Dam is. This dam is the biggest in Asia and has been around for thousands of years. It has been used as a reference for modern day dam building.

               Philby was the first to explore the area. He wrote “Sheba’s daughter” which documents his observations and sets the frame work for future endeavors. Phillip and Albright participated in the first large scale archaeological operations in Yemen and Oman.

               The people in these areas had interesting burial customs with turret tombs, shaft tombs, and beehive tombs. Based on the burials there was no large difference in social class.