The spread of a more efficient system of writing which followed the discovery of the alphabet had profound implications for imperial organization. Babylonian and Egyptian civilizations and the empires which grew out of them were associated with great rivers in which the demand for centralization was imperative. Priestly colleges held a monopoly of knowledge through which they dominated successive organizations of political power. But the very success of the monopolies contributed to the destruction of empires.
Dominance of monopolies of knowledge in the centre of civilizations implied limitations on the fringes, particularly with new languages compelled to emphasize simplicity rather than complexity in writing. Marginal classes as well as marginal regions demanded simplicity and weakened the position of elaborate systems of the scribes. From a study of the inscriptions of Sinai discovered by Flinders Petrie in 1905 it has been suggested by A. G. Gardiner,[65] that since the Egyptians were interested in this region from 1887 to 1801 B.C., Semitic workmen had used devices for keeping records which evaded the intricacies of the Egyptian system and that they probably borrowed the simplest signs of the alphabet and abandoned the remainder of the complicated system. In any case, Semitic peoples in contact with Egyptians at some time before 1500 B.C. apparently invented an alphabet which was developed in Palestine and perfected on the Phoenician coast. Papyrus and the alphabet prevailed over clay in regions in which the latter was difficult to find and to which it was difficult to transport. The invasion of the Hyksos apparently imposed a barrier between the south and the north of Arabia and led to the development of divergent systems of writing.
About the tenth century the north-west Semitic alphabet was used to write the Aramaic language. Aramaic writing developed as a traders' script with a concise conventional alphabet, free from the complexities of cuneiform writing, which could be written quickly. It included numbers which had been introduced from India. It was probably developed in relation to parchment as a new medium. As a result of the influence of Arameans on Semitic trade over the land routes to the north Aramaic spread to Syria and far beyond. Toward the end of the eighth century it prevailed in Asia Minor and among the Phrygians. After 500 B.C. it became the most important script of the Near East, the diplomatic script of the Persian empire, and the official script for the western provinces of Persia. By about 400 B.C. it succeeded Hebrew as a spoken language.
The discovery of cuneiform texts[66] at Ras Shamra-Ugarit, a centre for the manufacture of copper brought from Cyprus into bronze, has shown that the alphabet was used at least as early as 1500 B.C. Nigmed, probably a Mitannian prince of about that date, had a college of learned priests and scribes who built up a library of clay tablets chiefly concerned with religion. Inclusion of the poetical works of the Canaanites suggests the existence of a literary tradition at least by the fourteenth century. Myths were concerned with the mysteries of nature—death in the approach of winter and revival with the approach of spring. None of the literature was concerned with the experiences of individuals. Animal representations were rare and secondary and the pantheon was essentially anthropomorphic. The supremacy of El pointed toward a tendency to monotheism. The chief merchants used the Babylonian scripts in correspondence and book-making, but the scribes had a cuneiform alphabet of twenty-nine signs in contrast with the twenty-four consonants of Egypt and the twenty-two signs of the Hebrews and the Canaanites.
The decline of Mycenean civilization after the Dorian invasion opened the road to Phoenician expansion in the Aegean area. Control over Phoenicia from Egypt was apparently followed by the shipment of quantities of papyrus through Byblos (hence the name Bible) and its use by Phoenicians by the end of the eleventh century and possibly by the Assyrians[67] in the eighth century. The Canaanite Phoenician alphabet was possibly influenced by cuneiform writing in the emphasis on short straight lines and by the papyrus and the brush in the emphasis on curving lines. Brush forms ran to long, vague strokes as in the tails of Phoenician letters. The dryness of the strokes eliminated the danger of blotting peculiar to the pen and facilitated crossing of the strokes. It seems doubtful that the use of the pen in relation to parchment could be adapted to papyrus. The contact between papyrus and the brush and cuneiform writing probably contributed to the process of analysing out of an alphabet of twenty-two consonants.[68] Distinctiveness was combined with simplicity of form. Sounds of human speech were analysed into primary elements each represented by a separate visual symbol.
The Phoenicians had no monopoly of knowledge in which religion and literature might hamper the development of writing. The necessities of an expanding maritime trade demanded a swift and concise method of recording transactions and the use of a single shortened type of script. Surplus signs and cumbersome determinatives were discarded in the interest of speed and brevity. Commerce and the alphabet were inextricably interwoven, particularly when letters of the alphabet were used as numerals. Phoenician cities rather than capitals of empires reflected a concern with trade. Submission to overlords was tolerated so long as they were allowed to trade. Sidon was lost to the Philistines in the twelfth century but Tyre became important after 1028 B.C. Sidon was recaptured in the eighth century but Assyrian advance and declining sea-power favoured independent colonies such as Carthage, founded in 814 B.C.
A flexible alphabet in contrast with cuneiform and hieroglyphic or hieratic writing facilitated the crystallization of languages and favoured the position of cities and smaller nations rather than empires. The oral tradition in these languages could be written down, particularly the myths which had reached the fringes of the Egyptian and the Babylonian empires. Hebrew and Phoenician were dialects of a common language and Hebrew was probably spoken in Palestine after 1200 B.C. The influence of Egypt[69] on the Hebrews was suggested in the emphasis on the sacred character of writing and on the power of the word which when uttered brought about creation itself. The word is the word of wisdom. Word, wisdom, and God were almost identical theological concepts.
With a restricted written tradition in the empires of Babylonia and Egypt emphasis was given to architecture and sculpture in the round, in temples, palaces, and pyramids. In the south Sumerian plain, dwellers[70] used the column, arch, vault, and dome, and constructed ziggurats of solid brickwork in their temples. Sculpture of the Sumer-Akkadians representing nature was replaced under the Kassites by an art emphasizing the human form. In the north the use of stone favoured centralized power and it was used to a larger extent in sculpture, as a medium of writing, particularly of laws, and in architecture. Since sculpture occupied a prominent place in the support of religious and political institutions it was prohibited in images by the Hebrews. ‘Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth’ (Exodus xx. 4). The written letter replaced the graven image as an object of worship. ‘The omission or the addition of one letter might mean the destruction of the whole world’ (Talmud). Denunciation of images and concentration on the abstract in writing opened the way for advance from blood relationship to universal ethical standards and strengthened the position of the prophets in their opposition to absolute monarchical power. The abhorrence of idolatry of graven images implied a sacred power in writing, observance of the law, and worship of the one true God.
As the alphabet had developed by conventionalization through adaptation to the language of conquerors, religion was probably more easily conventionalized by use of the alphabet and by absorption from the conquered. The Hebrews took over the Canaanite religion and purified and cleansed it to their own purposes. Stories of the creation and the Deluge of Babylonia were adopted by the Hebrew prophets and the mystical element reduced to a minimum.[71] In the creation the blood of gods was mixed with clay and man was created. Man was brought into association with gods. The naturalistic conception of creation was replaced by a monotheistic interpretation of divine rule. More primitive laws of the Mosaic code were probably Isr
aelite and descended from old nomadic custom and more advanced laws were gradually assimilated from Canaanite sources. The laws of Moses were probably based on Sumerian laws such as were collected by Hammurabi. The Book of the Covenant was relatively immature[72] compared to the laws of Hammurabi.
The decline of Egypt permitted the growth of nationalism in Israel. Resistance of David and Saul against the Philistines from 1090 to 1085 B.C. was followed by the union of Israel and Judah under a Hebrew monarchy and a brief period of glory under Solomon. Egyptian policy favoured distrust and division and the stirring up of religious and racial enmity between Israel and Judah. Political weakness was offset by the power of the priesthood which had been strengthened during the period of resistance against the Philistines. Elijah protested against the natural religion of Baal and insisted on the moral religion of Jehovah with its absolute and binding demands on king and peasant for righteousness.
Literature was mobilized in the interests of religion. About 850 B.C. stories in oral or written form which had been polished for generations were collected and given a literary stamp in a great work by J. Poems as the earliest form of literary production recited orally from generation to generation reflected the power of a rich oral tradition. Settled life in Palestine and spread in the use of a flexible alphabet and of writing enabled writers to capture and preserve poetry in the form of quotations in books of prose. The work of J was the first comprehensive history ever written and reflected the interest of a powerful mind which thought of history as the working out of the purpose of God, but the religious objective of the narratives was often transcended by delight in the story and the skill of handling it. Hebrew has been described as the only Semitic language before Arabic to produce an important literature characterized by simplicity, vigour, and lyric force. With other Semitic languages it was admirably adapted to the vivid, vigorous description of concrete objects and events. Poor in abstracts, they abounded in synonyms with fine shades of meaning for deeds and things and provided the vocabulary of the poet rather than the philosopher. Though vivid, ingenious simile was hampered by monotony and over-elaboration of detail, Patrick Carleton[73] has described the victory of the Semitic group of languages as carrying the imposition of a mental outlook and a way of thinking which had greater influence than that of Greece and Rome.
About 750 B.C. Elohist in the work of E emphasized the theocratic point of view and made the history of Israel more definitely a vehicle for his religious ideas. King and people were warned to be loyal to Jahweh. Monarchy was regarded as inherently wicked. The influence of theocracy was offset in the latter part of the eighth century by the emergence of literary prophets who attacked its limitations. Amos as the first exponent of ethical monotheism emphasized universal righteousness and justice to man and not gifts to God. From 745 to 735 B.C. Hosea attacked the local shrines and incurred the enmity of the priests. Isaiah flourished after 738 B.C. After beginning as an orator and a man of affairs, because of opposition he became a writer, teaching faith in the holiness of God. The prophets held that divine power acted from self-imposed laws of righteousness tempered with mercy. Religion was transformed into the worship of one God, the creator and ruler of all things, the God of social justice, mercy, and finally love.
In 732 B.C. the Assyrians captured Damascus and in 722 B.C. Samaria. After 734 B.C. Israel became a vassal to Assyria and in 701 B.C. Judah was devastated. Under Manasseh (692-638 B.C.) Assyrian influence dominated politics and religion. Jerusalem alone remained the single sanctuary and exercised its influence on centralization of worship and the unity of God. The work of J and E were combined. A compromise between prophetic and priestly views in a purified sacrificial system met the demands of a true social morality and whole-hearted worship. After the death of Ashur-bani-pal a movement for independence began in Judah and achieved success in 621 B.C. A new law code gave religion an authoritative book and tended to create a religion of the book and a written tradition. The Deuteronomic code established a single sanctuary and the Pentateuch included the material provided in 621 B.C. Where formerly a priestly oracle had been the final resort, Deuteronomy added a lay judge. The value of the individual with separate rights and obligations was recognized in criminal law. The work was permeated with a conscious didactic purpose and a spirit of expurgation in which the sagas of Semitic pagans were converted into monotheism. Foreign companions of Jahweh were expelled.
Collapse of the Assyrian empire led to new efforts of organization. In Babylonia Nebopolassar threw off the Assyrian yoke about 625 B.C. and was succeeded by Nebuchadnezzar, 605-562 B.C. Jerusalem was captured in 586 B.C., but Babylonian expansion was checked by the rise of the Medes and the Persians. The Medes were an Aryan people who migrated in the general movement to the Iranian plateau and the Hindu peninsula before the end of the fifteenth and fourteenth centuries. They emphasized patriarchal authority in the family and polygamy. Media had been ravaged by the Assyrians in 737 B.C. and Deioces (708-655 B.C.) attempted to unify the Medes in the interests of self-defence. After 632 B.C. Cyaxares built up an army on the Assyrian model and to 615 B.C. succeeded in pushing back an invasion of the Scythians. The Medes declined in importance after the fall of Nineveh and were defeated by Cyrus who had been named king of Ashan in 558 B.C. The latter captured Sardis, capital of Lydia, in 546 B.C. and was named king of Persia. With the use of new weapons, such as the long bow and the long pike, the Persians achieved notable military success. As a result of the opposition of the priests to Nabonidus, who introduced new gods in Babylonia, Cyrus was consecrated king in 536 B.C. He left the cult of Babylonian gods undisturbed and restored the statues to their owners in Babylon. In 529 B.C. Cambyses succeeded to the throne and in 525 B.C. added Egypt to the Persian empire.[74] He adopted the ceremonial, royal costume, and double cartouche of the Pharaohs but incurred religious hostility by his treatment of the priests. Darius I succeeded to the throne in 522 B.C. and in order to gain the support of the Egyptian priests reversed the policy of Cambyses. In 521 B.C. he gained more effective control over Babylonia. In 494 B.C. he encroached on the Greeks and captured Miletus.
Darius restored order throughout the empire and became a great oriental administrator. A system of communication was built up in which the horse played a dominant role. A road was built over a distance of 1,500 miles from Susa to Sardis and a system of posts to the capital established. The empire was divided into satrapies, each governed by a satrap, a military commander, and a secretary of state who acted independently of each other and received orders direct from the capital. Concentration of power in a single hand was thus avoided. The satraps and generals had no scribes and Babylonian civil servants were employed. The cuneiform script was taken over and reduced to thirty-six characters each with one value. This syllabary was adapted to the Indo-Persian language by scribes familiar with Aramaic. The Persian language was written in Aramaic characters and the Pahlavi or Parthian script was created.[75] The changes assumed the use of papyrus and the brush or of parchment and the pen. Croesus of Lydia had introduced precious metals as a medium of exchange and Darius followed his example in using gold coins on a large scale.
A single master, the Great King, dominated political and cultural life, and loyalty of the subjects to the reigning house became the basis of empire. Imposition of the Achaemenid monarchy of Persia on the Babylonian and Egyptian empires implied a dominance of Aryans over Semitic peoples and it became necessary to give autonomy to alien nationalities within a military and tribute collecting organization. In contrast with the Assyrians, who transported people in large numbers and carried off the plastic images of the gods of the conquered, the Persians recognized the significance of two separate religious centres in Babylonia and Egypt by a policy of toleration in which subject peoples were allowed to keep their religions. The Jews were released from captivity in Babylonia in 539 B.C. Judah as a Persian province under tolerant rule became the centre of an independent and effective religious organization.
The position of t
he king in the Persian empire implied enormous demands on administrative capacity. Darius died in 485 B.C. and Xerxes his successor proved less competent. The complexity of the task of controlling powerful religious centres became more evident. Egypt revolted in 486 B.C. but was suppressed in 484 B.C. Xerxes renounced his title ‘King of Babel’ and removed the statue of Bel-Marduk from its temple. Insurrections followed in Babylon, probably in 484 and in 479 B.C., but were quickly suppressed. The Persians were defeated by the Greeks at Marathon in 484 B.C. Later kings were faced with continued difficulties in Egypt which declared independence in 404 B.C. but was reconquered in 342 B.C. Conflicts with Greek city-states accentuated decline of the empire. The defeat of Darius III by Alexander at Issus in 333 B.C. and at Arbela in 331 B.C. brought the Persian empire to an end.
The Persian empire, like the Assyrian, failed to solve the problems of religion accentuated by a more flexible alphabet. Persian religion was unable to resist the influences of Babylonia. Ahura-Mazda, possibly the successor of the Assyrian Ashur, was the highest god who had created heaven and earth. About 1100 B.C. Zarathushtra carried out a revolution against Ahura-Mazda which purified worship and abolished blood sacrifices. The whole of creation was divided into the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light. The dualism of nature was projected into ethics in the division between good and evil. Revelation of a future life and judgement was developed as a substitute for miasma in the enforcement of moral laws. Every evil thought, word, and deed bound man to the kingdom of darkness. Mithraism was introduced to provide a doctrine of redemption. Common ancestors of Persians and Hindus celebrated the name of Mithra and in the later Vedic hymns of India and the Avesta of Persia he had similar characteristics, but Indians became more concerned with mystic absorption in the divine and Persians with the goal of practical duty free from antagonism to the world and human life. With the difficulties of divergent theological systems Ahura-Mazda established Mithra ‘to maintain and watch over all this moving world’.[76] As an ever victorious warrior he enabled the Supreme Being to destroy all demons and to cause even Ahriman to tremble. He was introduced in the special religion of the kings at the end of the fifth century. A system of unified administration with peace and property and intercommunication between nations and tribes demanded a synthetic religious movement and favoured ceremonial religions. The religious conceptions of the Achaeminids took on a simpler form than those of Zoroastrianism.
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