Near East (909 BCE – 819 CE) Early Iron and Antiquity — Greeks of Ionia, Levantine Tyre, Roman–Byzantine Egypt, Arabia’s Caravans

Geographic and Environmental Context

The Near East includes Egypt, Sudan, Israel, most of Jordan, western Saudi Arabia, western Yemen, southwestern Cyprus, and western Turkey (Aeolis, Ionia, Doris, Lydia, Caria, Lycia, Troas) plus Tyre (extreme SW Lebanon).

• Anchors: the Nile Valley and Delta; Sinai–Negev–Arabah; the southern Levant (with Tyre as the sole Levantine node in this subregion); Hejaz–Asir–Tihāma on the Red Sea; Yemen’s western uplands/coast; southwestern Cyprus; western Anatolian littoral (Smyrna–Ephesus–Miletus–Halicarnassus–Xanthos; Troad).

Climate & Environment

• Nile’s late antique variability; Aegean storms seasonal; Arabian aridity persistent but terraces/cisterns mitigated.

Societies & Political Developments

• Western Anatolia Greek city-states (Ionia–Aeolia–Doria, with Troad): Miletus, Ephesus, Smyrna, etc.

• Tyre (sole Near-Eastern Levantine node here) dominated Phoenician seafaring.

• Egypt (Ptolemaic → Roman → Byzantine): Nile granary and Christianizing hub.

• Arabian west: caravan kingdoms and Hejaz–Asir oases; western Yemen incense terraces and caravan polities.

• Southwestern Cyprus embedded in Hellenistic–Roman maritime circuits.

Economy & Trade

• Grain–papyrus–linen from the Nile; olive–wine Aegean; incense–myrrh from Yemen; Red Sea lanes linked to Aden–Berenike nodes (outside core but connected).

• Tyre exported craft goods and purple dye.

Technology & Material Culture

• Iron agriculture and tools; triremes and merchant galleys; advanced terracing, cisterns; lighthouse/harbor works.

Belief & Symbolism

• Egyptian polytheism → Christianity (Alexandria); Greek civic cults; Tyrian traditions; Arabian deities; monasticism along Nile/Desert.

Adaptation & Resilience

• Canal maintenance buffered Nile shocks; terraces/cisterns stabilized Arabian farming; Aegean coastal redundancy protected shipping routes.

Transition

By 819 CE, the Near East was a multi-corridor world of Nile granaries, Ionia’s city-coasts, Tyre’s Phoenician legacy, and Arabian incense roads — a foundation for the medieval dynamics ahead (Ayyubids in Syria/Egypt next door, Abbasids beyond, and the Ionian–Anatolian littoral under Byzantine/Nicaean arcs).

The Persians were led during the seventh century BCE by Hakamanish (Achaemenes, in Greek), ancestor of the Achaemenian dynasty.

A descendant, Cyrus II (also known as Cyrus the Great or Cyrus the Elder), leads the combined forces of the Medes and the Persians to establish the most extensive empire known in the ancient world.

Cyrus defeats Croesus, the Lydian king of fabled wealth, by 546 BCE and secures control of the Aegean coast of Asia Minor, Armenia, and the Greek colonies along the Levant.

Moving east, he takes Parthia (land of the Arsacids, not to be confused with Parsa, which is to the southwest), Chorasmia (Khwarezm), and Bactria.

He besieges and captures Babylon in 539 BCE and releases the Judahites who had been held captive there, thus earning his immortalization in the Book of Isaiah.

When Cyrus dies in 529 BCE, his kingdom extends as far east as the Hindu Kush in present-day Afghanistan.

Cyrus's successors are less successful.

His unstable son, Cambyses II, conquers Egypt in 525 BCE but later commits suicide during a revolt led by a priest, Gaumata, who holds the throne until 522 BCE, when he is overthrown by a member of a lateral branch of the Achaemenian family, Darius I (also known as Darayarahush and Darius the Great).

Darius attacks the Greek mainland, which has supported rebellious Greek colonies under his aegis, but his defeat at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE forces him to retract the limits of the empire to Asia Minor.

The Achaemenians hereafter consolidated areas firmly under their control.

It is Cyrus and Darius who, by sound and farsighted administrative planning, brilliant military maneuvering, and a humanistic worldview, establish the greatness of the Achaemenians, raising them in less than thirty years from an obscure tribe to a world power.

The quality of the Achaemenians as rulers begins to disintegrate, however, after the death of Darius in 486 BCE.

His son and successor, Xerxes, chiefly occupies himself with suppressing revolts in Egypt and Babylonia.

He also attempts to conquer the Greek Peloponnesus, but, encouraged by a victory at Thermopylae, he overextends his forces and suffers overwhelming defeats at Salamis and Plataea.

Near East (621–478 BCE): Transformation, Conquest, and Cultural Renewal

Josiah’s Religious Reforms and Judah’s Fall

During the early part of this age, Josiah, king of Judah, implements sweeping religious reforms that establish the worship of Yahweh as the sole deity. This monotheistic movement centralizes religious practices in Jerusalem. Josiah aims to reunify Judah and Israel, leveraging the decline of the Assyrian Empire, but is killed at Megiddo in 609 BCE while confronting Egyptian Pharaoh Necho II. This marks the end of Judah’s independence, and subsequently, the kingdom falls under Egyptian and later Babylonian domination.

Babylonian Ascendancy and the Judahite Exile

Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon decisively defeats Egypt at Carchemish in 605 BCE, subsequently asserting Babylonian dominance over the Near East. Jerusalem falls to Babylon in 586 BCE after a prolonged siege. The First Temple is destroyed, and a significant portion of the Judahite population, including King Zedekiah, is deported to Babylon—an event known as the Babylonian Captivity. Scattered in exile, Judahites maintain their identity through adherence to their religious laws and rituals such as circumcision, Sabbath observance, festivals, dietary rules, and cleanliness laws. These customs become foundational in preserving Jewish cultural identity.

Egyptian Revival and Saite Dynasty

Pharaoh Necho II, followed by his successor Amasis II, revitalizes Egypt, fostering cultural and economic growth. Amasis II adorns temples in Lower Egypt with splendid monolithic shrines and other monumental constructions, remnants of which still exist. The Cypriot kingdoms recognize Egyptian overlordship under Amasis, adopting Egyptian artistic and sartorial conventions. However, Egypt's strength is transient; Persian forces under Cambyses II conquer Egypt in 525 BCE, ending the Twenty-sixth Dynasty and integrating Egypt as a province within the Persian (Achaemenid) Empire. Persian emperors are thus recorded as Egypt's Twenty-seventh Dynasty.

Kush and the Shift to Meroë

Egypt under Pharaoh Psamtik II invades and sacks Napata in 590 BCE, causing the Kushite court to relocate southward to the iron-rich and secure region of Meroë. Here, Kush develops independently for centuries, insulated from Egypt’s subsequent periods of Persian, Greek, and Roman domination.

Phoenician Resistance and Babylonian Control

Phoenician cities experience increased turbulence during Babylonian dominance (605–539 BCE). The city of Tyre notably endures a thirteen-year siege by Nebuchadnezzar, finally capitulating in 574 BCE, resulting in enslavement and the deposition of its king.

Lydia and the Ionian Cities

Croesus of Lydia, ruling from Sardis, initially controls western Anatolia until defeated by Persian king Cyrus the Great in 546 BCE. The Ionian Greeks initially welcome Persian rule to escape Lydian dominance but soon rebel against the Persians’ imposition of tyrants. This triggers the Ionian Revolt (499–493 BCE), the opening conflict of the Greco-Persian Wars, a series of conflicts lasting until 448 BCE.

Philosophical Advances in Ionia

This period sees significant philosophical developments in Ionia. Thales of Miletus, active around 585 BCE, is known for predicting a solar eclipse and promoting water as the primary element. His student, Anaximander, introduces the concept of apeiron (the boundless), proposes a cylindrical earth, and creates the first known map of the world. His successor, Anaximenes, suggests air as the fundamental substance, explaining natural phenomena through its condensation and rarefaction.

Judahite Return and Temple Reconstruction

In 539 BCE, Persian conquest of Babylon under Cyrus the Great permits Judahites to return to Jerusalem. Led by Zerubbabel, they reconstruct the Temple by 515 BCE, despite opposition from local Samaritans.

Linguistic Developments and Cultural Influences

During this era, languages such as Lydian and Lycian begin to be recorded using the West Greek alphabet. Additionally, Egypt's influence significantly impacts Cypriot artistic practices, evident in surviving limestone sculptures.

Moab’s Disappearance and Edomite Migration

Moab disappears from historical records during Persian domination, with Arabian tribes like the Nabataeans infiltrating its territory. Edomites, pressed by Arab incursions, migrate into southern Judah, becoming known in later Roman periods as Idumaeans.

Samaritans and Religious Identity

The Samaritan population, regarded by Judahites as a mixed group originating from Assyrian colonists and native Israelites, adheres strictly to the Pentateuch, worshiping Yahweh and honoring Moses as their sole prophet. Their contentious relationship with returning Judahites becomes a defining cultural dynamic in post-exilic Judah.

Cultural and Philosophical Flourishing

The period concludes with the philosophical contributions of Heraclitus of Ephesus, who emphasizes the constant flux of reality and the unity of opposites, advancing ideas about change, identity, and the logos, influencing subsequent Greek philosophy and Western thought profoundly.

This age thus encapsulates an era of profound political transformations, religious realignments, and intellectual flourishing, setting the stage for enduring cultural legacies throughout the Near East.

Order is restored in Anatolia by the Lydians, a Thracian warrior caste who dominate the indigenous peasantry and derive their great wealth from alluvial gold found in the tributaries of the Hermus River (Gediz Nehri).

Such Lydian kings as Croesus control western Anatolia from their court at Sardis until their kingdom falls to the Persians in 546 BCE.

The Middle East: 585–574 BCE

Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonian Renaissance

Following the devastation of Babylon through repeated rebellions and conflicts with Assyrian rulers like Sennacherib and Ashurbanipal, Nebuchadnezzar II (r. ca. 605–562 BCE), one of the most renowned rulers of the Chaldean Dynasty, continues extensive restoration and reconstruction efforts begun by his father, Nabopolassar. Nebuchadnezzar seeks to transform Babylon into a city of unparalleled magnificence, surpassing even the grandeur of his military achievements. The city is fortified by a triple line of walls and divided by the Euphrates River, crossed by a robust bridge supported by streamlined, asphalt-covered brick piers designed to resist erosion.

Among his grand architectural projects are numerous temples dedicated to the Babylonian pantheon, the lavish royal palace finished with cedar-wood, bronze, gold, silver, and precious stones, and the legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon, reputedly built for his Median wife, Queen Amytis, to ease her homesickness. Babylon's splendor is further adorned by the famed Ishtar Gate, part of a museum housing the trophies of Nebuchadnezzar’s conquests.

Prophetic Voices and Literary Developments

This era also witnesses significant developments in religious and literary traditions. The Hebrew prophet Jeremiah, active during this tumultuous period, preaches from Anathoth, near Jerusalem. Jeremiah advocates for moral reform, repentance, and a renewed relationship between humanity and God amid the Babylonian conquest of Judah. His deeply personal reflections, known as the "confessions of Jeremiah," appear in the first 25 chapters of the Biblical Book of Jeremiah, revealing the prophet's inner spiritual struggles. Jeremiah's prophecies and historical accounts significantly influence later biblical literature, notably the composition of the Deuteronomistic History found in the Hebrew scriptures.

Median-Lydian Rivalry and Diplomacy

In the same period, tension escalates between the Median Empire, under Cyaxares, and Lydia, under King Alyattes, triggered by territorial ambitions and personal animosity. The conflict culminates at the Battle of the Halys River (also called the Battle of the Eclipse) on May 28, 585 BCE. This encounter abruptly ends when a solar eclipse frightens both armies into believing it to be an omen from the gods. Negotiations, mediated by Babylonia and the Cilician kings, result in peace: the Halys River becomes the official boundary, and Alyattes’s daughter, Aryenis, marries Cyaxares's son, Astyages, sealing the treaty through marriage.

Astyages and the Median-Persian Dynamics

Astyages ascends the Median throne in 585 BCE upon his father Cyaxares's death. He inherits a vast empire stretching from western Iran into Anatolia, managing it alongside his two powerful brothers-in-law—Croesus of Lydia and Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Astyages strengthens Median control over Persia by subjugating various Iranian tribes. To further secure political alliances, Astyages arranges for his daughter, Mandane, to marry the Persian prince Cambyses I, a notable but politically unambitious figure from the minor Persian kingdom of Anshan.

This era, from 585 to 574 BCE, thus marks a period of significant political realignments, extensive cultural achievements, and religious introspection, shaping the historical trajectory of the Middle East profoundly.

Astyages, married to Aryenis, the sister of King Croesus of Lydia, to seal the treaty between the two empires, ascends the Median throne in 585 upon the death of his father Cyarxes later in the year.

He has inherited a large empire, ruled in alliance with his two brothers-in-law, Croesus of Lydia and Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, whose wife, Amytis, Astyages' sister, is the queen for whom Nebuchadnezzar is said to have built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Near East (573–562 BCE): Diplomatic Realignments and Power Shifts

Naukratis and Greek Influence in Egypt

The Ionian city of Miletus had earlier founded Naukratis, a prominent Greek settlement in Egypt’s Nile Delta. By this period, Greeks from various city-states have also settled here, creating a dynamic cultural and commercial hub. As an emporion, or exclusive trading station, Naukratis becomes a pivotal center for Greek-Egyptian interactions, significantly influencing cultural relations in the pre-Hellenistic Mediterranean. To manage Greek influence more carefully, Egyptian Pharaoh Amasis II (reigned 570–526 BCE) confines all Greek merchants to Naukratis, southwest of his capital, strengthening Egyptian control over foreign trade.

Turmoil and Diplomacy in Cyrene

In neighboring Libya, the prosperous Greek colony of Cyrene sees its harmonious Greek-Libyan relations disrupted around 570 BCE due to increased immigration of Greek settlers and internal factional disputes under King Battus III. Conflict escalates, resulting in Cyrene repulsing an Egyptian invasion around the same year. However, this hostility transitions into diplomacy: Pharaoh Amasis II successfully forges an alliance with Cyrene by marrying Ladice, daughter of King Battus, consolidating Egyptian influence and mitigating tensions along Egypt’s western border.

Amasis II’s Rise and Egypt’s Resurgence

Previously a victorious Egyptian general under Pharaoh Psamtik II, Amasis II ascends the throne following a rebellion against Pharaoh Apries (Wahibre), who had disastrously mismanaged conflicts in Libya and internal military tensions. In 570 BCE, Egyptian native soldiers, suspecting betrayal by Apries, rally around Amasis. Following Apries’ defeat and exile, he returns with Babylonian support in 567 BCE but is likely killed in battle against Amasis’ forces. To legitimize his reign further, Amasis marries Apries’ daughter, Chedebnitjerbone II, becoming Egypt's uncontested ruler.

Egypt’s Mediterranean Ambitions and Greek Alliances

Under Amasis, Egypt asserts control over Cyprus around 570 BCE, with the island’s kingdoms formally recognizing him as their overlord. Cypriot art and statuary from this period frequently mirror Egyptian conventions, showcasing Egypt’s wide cultural influence. Amasis diligently cultivates strong alliances within the Greek world, making significant diplomatic gestures, including financial support for the reconstruction of the temple at Delphi. His friendly relations extend notably to Polycrates, tyrant of Samos, and to Croesus, the wealthy king of Lydia.

Nebuchadnezzar II and Babylonian Constraints

Meanwhile, Babylon, under King Nebuchadnezzar II, attempts to challenge Egyptian ascendancy. In the fourth year of Amasis’ reign (ca. 567 BCE), Nebuchadnezzar leads a military campaign against Egypt. This assault fails, forcing the Babylonians to retreat and redirect their energies to stabilizing their vast empire. The unsuccessful invasion underscores Egypt’s resilience and the limitations of Babylonian military capabilities at the empire's farthest reaches.

Edomite and Nabataean Movements in Jordan

The weakening of Judah following the Babylonian captivity provides a political vacuum in the region now known as Jordan. As Edomites increasingly relocate into southern Palestine—where they will later become known as Idumaeans in Roman times—an Arabian people, the Nabataeans, begin moving into traditional Edomite territory. Nabataean inscriptions gradually appear, signaling shifting settlement patterns and foreshadowing the rise of Nabataea as a regional power.

Legacy of the Era

This era notably represents a significant diplomatic and cultural reshuffling in the Near East. Egypt under Amasis II experiences heightened prosperity, expanded regional dominance, and increased integration with the Greek world. Meanwhile, Babylonia, despite its vast territorial holdings, encounters strategic limitations. The dynamics between Greek colonies, local powers, and major empires underline a complex geopolitical landscape that sets the stage for subsequent historical developments.

The rapid spread of the new coinage and of Athenian products, particularly olive oil and pottery, throughout the commercial world of the times, attested by archaeology, shows that Solon's measures are effective.

Poverty, though not eliminated, will never again in Attica be the evil that it had been before Solon's reforms.

Solon's new political constitution abolishes the monopoly of the eupatridae and substitutes for it government by the wealthy citizens.

He institutes a census of annual income, reckoned primarily in measures of grain, oil, and wine, the principal products of the soil, and divides the citizens into four income groups, accordingly. (He must rate those whose income is in other forms, including money, on a system of equivalents.)

Henceforth, political privilege will be allotted based on these divisions, without regard to birth.

All citizens are entitled to attend the general Assembly (Ecclesia), which becomes, at least potentially, the sovereign body, entitled to pass laws and decrees, elect officials, and hear appeals from the most important decisions of the courts.

All but those in the poorest group might serve, a year at a time, on a new Council of Four Hundred, which is to prepare business for the Assembly.

The higher governmental posts are reserved for citizens of the top two income groups.

Thus, the foundations of the future democracy are laid, but a strong conservative element remains in the ancient Council of the Hill of Ares (Areopagus), and the people themselves will for a long time prefer to entrust the most important positions to members of the old aristocratic families.

Solon's third great contribution to the future good of Athens is his new code of laws.

He revises every statute except that on homicide and makes Athenian law altogether more humane. (His code, though supplemented and modified, will remain the foundation of Athenian statute law until the end of the fifth century, and parts of it will be embodied in the new codification made at that time.)

When Solon has completed his task, complaints come in from all sides, but the Athenians, though discontented, stand by their promise to accept Solon's dispositions; they are given validity for one hundred years and posted for all to see on revolving wooden tablets.

To avoid having to defend and explain them further, Solon sets off on a series of travels, undertaking not to return for ten years. (He certainly visits Egypt and Cyprus, and reportedly visits the court of Croesus, King of Lydia, but chronological grounds cast doubt on this account).

Solon's reforms prove only temporarily successful, and civil strife soon breaks out again.

Although Solon has improved the economic position of the Athenian lower classes, his reorganization of the constitution has not eliminated bitter aristocratic contentions for control of the archonship, the chief executive post.

Athenian potters, who have experimented with different techniques, such as silhouette, outline drawing, and the use of white in their vase paintings, gradually concentrate on black figure, borrowing the technique from the Corinthian animal style.

Practitioners of the black-figure style paint figures in silhouette on a light ground and then incise details in the black with a fine instrument, decorating vases with scenes from mythology as well as from daily life.

The black-figure style, particularly suited to a decorative medium such as pottery, is used by a number of excellent artists, some of whom, like Cleitias, the painter of the “Francois Vase,” sign their work.

Near East (561–550 BCE): Wealth of Croesus and Ionian Intellectual Flourishing

Croesus and the Prosperity of Lydia

The wealthy Croesus, succeeding his father Alyattes as king of Lydia, rapidly becomes renowned for his extraordinary riches, derived chiefly from extensive trade networks. Croesus notably issues coins made from electrum—an alloy of gold and silver that the Greeks call "white gold" (today known as "green gold"). Although electrum coins had been minted previously, possibly beginning with King Gyges, Croesus refines the system significantly. His earliest coins bear distinctive motifs: facing heads of a lion and a bull, a design he later transfers to a groundbreaking bimetallic series featuring separate coins of pure gold and pure silver. Recent scholarship debates whether this pure-metal coinage was issued by Croesus himself or introduced later by his Persian successors. Nonetheless, Croesus' innovations deeply influence monetary systems in Greece, coinciding with the initial Greek production of silver coins.

Ephesus and the Temple of Artemis

During this period, Croesus asserts authority over the prominent Ionian city of Ephesus, which had previously been ruled by local tyrants allied by marriage to Lydia’s kings. His patronage significantly enhances Ephesus' religious and architectural status, especially through the lavish rebuilding of the Artemisium (Temple of Artemis), one of the ancient world’s architectural marvels. Following a destructive flood in the seventh century BCE, reconstruction under Croesus' sponsorship begins around 560 BCE, led by the acclaimed Cretan architect Chersiphron and his son Metagenes. The temple, reputedly the first Greek temple constructed entirely of marble, spans approximately 377 by 180 feet (115 by 55 meters), becoming the largest and most celebrated temple of its era. Decorated with detailed columns bearing reliefs of mythical figures and inscriptions commemorating Croesus’ donations, the Artemisium houses a revered archaic statue of Artemis. Its grandeur secures its place as one of the legendary Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. At this time, the Ephesians relocate their primary settlement onto the plain, prompting legal and civic reforms reportedly drafted by the Athenian lawgiver Aristarchus.

Intellectual Legacy of the Milesian Philosophers

In the nearby city of Miletus, significant philosophical advancements continue to shape early Western thought. The pioneering philosopher Thales of Miletus, renowned for his work on geometry, astronomy, and navigational methods, passes away around this time. Thales famously holds that water is the fundamental substance underlying all existence, asserting that the Earth itself floats upon water.

Thales’ student and intellectual heir, Anaximander of Miletus, also dies shortly after his teacher. Distinguished for challenging Thales' single-element theory, Anaximander introduces the concept of the apeiron ("boundless" or "indefinite"), an infinite and undefined principle from which all matter emerges and into which it eventually returns. Rejecting traditional mythology, Anaximander seeks rational explanations for cosmological phenomena, hypothesizing a cylindrical Earth and creating the first known map of the world, while also proposing early theories about marine life's origins.

Completing this lineage of Milesian philosophers, Anaximenes proposes yet another innovative cosmology, suggesting air (aer) as the foundational substance of all existence. According to Anaximenes, transformations among air, water, fire, and earth result from processes of condensation and rarefaction—thus offering early explanations for various natural phenomena, including celestial bodies and divine entities.

Legacy of the Era

The decade spanning 561 to 550 BCE is marked by extraordinary cultural and economic dynamism in the Near East. Lydia under Croesus achieves unmatched commercial prosperity and innovation in monetary systems, leaving a lasting economic legacy. Ephesus, benefiting from Lydian patronage, becomes architecturally iconic through the construction of the magnificent Artemisium. Concurrently, the Milesian philosophers—Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes—profoundly influence the intellectual landscape, laying foundational stones for Western philosophy and science through their rational, observational approaches to understanding nature.

Alyattes' son and successor, the wealthy Croesus of Lydia, has become famous for his great wealth gained by trade.

Croesus' earliest coins are of electrum (an alloy of gold and silver), which the Greeks call “white gold” (modern “green gold”). (The foundation deposit of the Artemisium at Ephesus shows that electrum coins were in production before Croesus, possibly under King Gyges.)

The coins attributed to Croesus are stamped on one side with the facing heads of a lion and a bull; this type is later transferred to his bimetallic series of pure gold and pure silver. (Some recent scholarship, however, suggests that this latter series had in fact been struck under Croesus' Persian successors.)

Croesus' relations with Greece are close, and his later bimetallic system of pure gold and pure silver coins may have owed something to the fact that Greece has itself now produced its first silver coins.