subject: The Origin Of The Western Tradition (modern Life) Traced Through The Bloody Life During The Assyrian [print this page] Ancient Assyria, Babylon and Persia out of their bloody wars Western civilization, so dominating our modern life today, was nurtured. As one empire gave to another trade and culture spread, Barbarians and other savage tribes were tamed and new cities were founded around the Mediterranean.
The wars which the Assyrians, the Babylonians and the Persians fought consisted of jewels and ores they did not have or they could not buy from the savage tribes or from other foreigners. These jewels included metals, stone and timber. The wars were very bloody indeed. The plundering and murder conducted by kings like Sargon of Assyria around 1850 BC shed tremendous blood. The Assyrian king Assurbanipal 700 BC boasted of the looted he made through wars this way; The people, the asses, camels, sheep I carry the spoils to Assyria.
The distribution of conquered wealth spread purchasing power throughout Mesopotamia. This stimulated demand and production at the same time war captives increased the supply of slaves and of the skills. The merchants merchants contracted to dispose of the loot and make profit. And in the process a distinct social group developed that you might call the middle class between the warriors and priests on one side and the poor masses in the other side. The money economy spread what we might call culture.
Success of the Assyrian armies came because of the use of bronze. If you wanted to defeat the Assyrians you have to manufacture similar armaments you have to find smiths and supply them with raw materials.
It is possible to argue that technological and economic improvements throughout history followed less the plough or agriculture than it followed war. In other it is war not making a living that causes civilization.
During 2400 BC the period which was characterized by anarchy around Mesopotamia nobodys property or life was safe because of the endless raids and plundering and gore. What happened in those times was that the pillaging in the countryside and the disruption of the estates emphasized the value of the incorruptible and mobile metals wealth than real perishable wealth as land. During this period the natural economy of the known across the Mediterranean collapsed in anarchy because of brutal wars.
In 1500 BC iron was so rare that it was worth twice as much as gold. After 1200 BC where people learned how to harden iron by carbonation, iron became increasingly affordable and provided better cutting tools whether for shearing wool or castrating animals and human beings. Because iron is cheaper to produce and more readily available than bronze it democratized agriculture.
The peasants could now access iron easily and develop better ploughs. The common artisan could own his own toolkit and be independent businessmen. And the commoner could use iron to make weapons and this in turn deomcratised war. Poor and backward barbarians could now challenge the powerful armies of civilized states which until then have monopolies over bronze arms.
So the interaction between war and technology became manifest. And we see the rise of great military empires. And we get the period of blood, gore and brutality. And when we look again we found that things had moved on. Between 1500 BC the size of literate urban society had expanded far more. The change was because of the large empires of Assyria, Babylon and Persia.
Each of these empires unified tremendous territories under their rule and even though they did this through brutality and at frightful costs to human life, they empires made social interaction through vast geographical areas possible. Social interaction between people of different territories and backgrounds over a wider area than ever before was promoted.
As armies, slaves and skilled workers and traders moved all over this vast area they developed a lingua franca a common speech which enabled people to be understood where ever they went. It was a Syrian language and it was called Aramaic. Aramaic had 22 letters all consonants just like all Semitic languages Aramaic was then absorbed by the Chaldeans who ruled in Babylon and later it was adopted as the official language of the Persian Empire in the 6th century BC.
In the process it replaced Hebrew as some of the Old Testament texts were written in Aramaic. It was also the language Jesus and his disciples used centuries later.
The Assyrians and the Babylonians were very brutal people and they often uprooted and transported whole communities from one end of their empire to the other end. This was done to make people less dangerous and getting them away from their homelands to strange places was a strategy that enable them to be tamed.
The unintended outcome of this strategy was that through this uprooting and pulling of people hither and thither it made cities to be cosmopolitan. The Assyrians brought disaster amongst other nations.
The Hebrews, who came from Ur in Mesopotamia eventually settled in the west of Canaan by way of Egypt. The Hebrews established two kingdoms in Canaan. One was called Judah with the capital in Jerusalem, the other was called Israel in the northern part. The northern kingdom was destroyed by the Asyrians in 722 BC. Isaiah, the Hebrew prophet describes this plaundering of Israel in the Bible this way.
Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers. The Daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a field of melons, like a city under siege.
In 586 BC the Hebrews southern kingdom Judah was also defeated this time by Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II. Thousands of captives were taken off to Babylon and they were made slaves.
The Hebrews were not the only people to be moved about in this way. In the 6th or 5th century BC the kings of Persia hired archers in central Asia to carry out wars across the area.
In the same period in the 6th century BC Sirius the great of Persia made an alliance with Babylon and led a rebellion against the Medes who were the overlords of Persia. Through subsequent conquests the Persian Empire spread from India to the Aegean Sea. The Persians were warrior horsemen ruling over a terribly desperate empire. As conquerors the Persians and Medes were the privileged dominant race. Their king was not a god but rather a delegate of a god.
As the empire expanded there were not enough Medes and Persians to go around. So the subjected people were forced to bear arms in defense of the empire - the very empire which kept them in servitude. So the Persians could not rely on their loyalty.
Still the Persian Empire helped to spread civilization from Asia Minor to the Mediterranean. A few 100 years BC we found vigorous barbarians tamed by Syrians, Phoenicians, Persians and Egyptians. Barbarians who are going to create an intellectual and artistic renaissance which combined strength and vision with the technical skills that they learned from older traditions. Things were simplified. Reading and writing became simple like it is today. Literacy ceased to be a mysterious privilege of highly specialized class or priests and scribes, administrators, engineers and medical men. Now even some soldiers were able to read and write. Literacy provided a means of civilization that could last through time.
So here you have the beginning of western life. And if you are looking for the origin of the western life as we know it, you might say that the western traditions and culture that is so dominating the world today is an Asian culture.
