Prepare Ye the Way

1100 - 1000 BC, the Middle East

Around 1100 BC, Assyria flowered briefly under the ferocious armies of Tiglath-Pileser I, but the First Empire collapsed at this death into a tiny kingdom around Nineveh and Assur. Aramaeans replaced Assyrians in Syria and Mesopotamia.

The ancient Canaanite city of Tyre had become the leader of a new confederation, Phoenecia. To the south a new coalition of Philistine cities had arison which was gradually expanding its territory, driving back the less sophisticated Israelites.

Ancient Egypt remained in a twilight of power.

Far to the north and east, a new development was about to affect the world. The nomads of the grasslands had long ago been the first to exploit chariot warfare. They cherished their horses, developed stronger breeds until they were sturdy enough for men to ride vast distances over the steppes. The great mobility of the mounted Iranian nomads would change the patterns of the civilized world.

Posted by John Read more Comments (15) 17.01.