INTRODUCTION

West Asia is sometimes called the Near East or the Middle East; It is a part of
Asia that is coldest to the Mediterranean Sea. It covers all the land between modern
Turkistan in north, Afghanistan in east, the Persian Gulf in so0uth and Mediterranean
Sea in west.

Ancient Kingdoms and Empires

SUMERIANS 2900-1800 BC

• Ruled by monarch
• Bureaucracy: Sumerian government
• Polytheism- Sumerian religion: worshipped many Gods

Contributions

• First people in the world to develop the system of writing

Cuneiform- a wedge-shape character
Record-keeping- the first writing
Calendar- Invented by Sumerians (w/c divided into 12 months based on the cycle of the moon)
Astrology- produced the most sophisticated astronomical knowledge and sophisticated
Mathematics
Ur-Naman- King of Sumerian in the city of Ur; made the first written law

Ur, Lagash and Eridu- Sumerian’s city-kingdoms

AKKADIANS 2340-2125 BC

Sargon- King of Akkad; conquered Sumerians

Akkad Empire- The first built empire made by Sargon
• Sargon brought the idea that a king should be succeed by his son

AMORITES 1800- 1530 BC (old Babylonian)

After the Sumerian Dynasty fell around 2000 BC, Mesopotamian drifted into
conflict and chaos for almost a century. After the group Semites called the Amorites
manage the control most of the Mesopotamian region.

Hammurabi – Greatest Babylonian ruler: the founder of the empire and author of the
famous “Hammurabi Code”

ASSYRIAN 2300 BC

Tiglat Pileser- Extende Assyrian dominance to Syria and Armenia

Ashurnazirpal II and Shalmeneser III- Conquer all of Syria and Palestine
Sargon II - first forcefully relocated Hebrews after the conquest of Israel
Nebuchadnessar II – Conqures Judah, the southern kingdom of Hebrews
Nabopolassar- Conquered Nineveh (Assyrian Capital)

Contributions

• Invention of circle division into 360˚

• Geographical Navigation (longitude and Latitude)

CHALDEANS (New Babylonian) 612-539 BC

Nebuchadnessar II – Their greatest ruler: son of Nabopolassar

Nabonidus- Attacked Babylonian culture at its heart
PERSIANS

• Invaded West Asia moving South from Central Asia

Zoroastrianism- Religion of Persia: a dualistic religion

Ahura Mazda- God of light and good
Ahriman- God of dark and evil
Miltiades- Outstanding soldier in Persia
Xerxes- The next king successor of Darius II

HELLENISTIC PERIOD 323 BC

The Hellenistic period may either be seen to end with the final conquest of the
Greek heartlands by Rome in 146 BC; or the final defeat of the last remaining
successor-state to Alexander's empire, the Ptolemaic kingdom of Egypt in 31/30 BC.
The Hellenistic period was characterized by a new wave of colonists which established
Greek cities and kingdoms in Asia and Africa.
• Represent s a fusion of ancient Greek world and of Near East, Middle east and
southeast Asia , and the departure from earlier Greek attitudes towards
“Barbarian” culture.
Peloponnesian War- Greece had fallen under Spartan Hegemony
King Philip- began the ascendancy of Macedon
Achaemenid Empire- the Persian and Median Empire also Known as Medo-Persian
Empire

• Invaded by Alexander the Great of Macedon

Ptolemaic Kingdom- after the achaemenid kingdom collapsed
Arsacids- ruled by the Iranian and re-established in the region in the middle of 3rd
Century
Pyrrhus or Pyrrhos- King of greek tribe of Molossians
Punic War- First three major wars fought between Empire of Carthage and Roman
Republic
Seleucid Empire-Centered Near East included Anatolia, Mesopotamia, Persia and partt
of Pakistan

RELIGION and PHILOSOPHY

New philosophies and religions arose in both east and west, particularly about the 6th
century BC. Over time, a great variety of religions developed around the world.

1. Hinduism-A predominant and indigenous religious tradition[of South Asia

• Oten referred to as Sanātana Dharma (a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the
eternal law") by its adherents.
• World’s third largest religion
• Includes yogic tradition and wide spectrum of “daily morality”
2. Buddhism- Religion and philosophy largely based on teaching attributed to
Siddharta Gautama known as” Buddha”

Two Branches of Buddhism

a. Theravada- the school of the elders: the oldest surviving branch

b. Mahayana- the great vehicle: recognized as the third branch

3. Jainism- Is an ancient religion of India that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all
living beings.

• Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to progress

the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation.
• Jainism is also referred to as Shraman (self-reliant) Dharma or the
religion of Nirgantha (who does not have attachments and aversions)
4. Judaism- Is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people.

• Originating in the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Tanakh, and explored in later
texts such as the Talmud,
• Jews consider Judaism to be the expression of the covenantal relationship God

5. Christianity- A monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of

Nazareth as presented in the New Testament.
6. Islam- Is the monotheistic religion articulated by the Qur’an, a text considered by its
adherents to be the verbatim word of the one, incomparable God(Allah)and by the
Prophet of Islam Muhammad's teachings.

Sunnah- demonstrated in collections of Hadith).

Islam- literally means "submission (to God).

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS

Iraq

In ancient times, Iraq (then known as Mesopotamia) was the first “Cradle of
civilization”. Ancient civilization thrived in this plain “between two rivers”. Iraq is bordered
by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the west, Syria to the northwest, Turkey to the
north, Iran to the east, and Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to the south.

• Most people in Iraq are Arabs

• The rest are Kurds (19%), Iranians (3%)
• Islam is the faith (96%)

Iraq was conquered by the Arabs under:

Umayyad Caliphate- the 2nd of the 4th Islamic Caliphates established after the death of
Muhammad

• Ruled by Umayyad Dynasty whose name derived from Umayya Ibn Abd Shams,
the great grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph.

Abbasid Dynasty-