Vintage Middle East

"There's no place like home!"; dwelling and 

shop of a Gypsy blacksmith, Syria, 1900

  

A Greek priest blessing the village children in Ramah, Palestine, 1900

 

Baptizing in the Jordan, 1899

 

Bedouin musicians by their tent, 1919

 

Calisthenics at Miss Arnot's Mission, Jaffa, Palestine, 1900

 

Feasting in the harem - typical costumes and furniture, Constantinople, ca. 1913

 

Ice cream merchant, Constantinople, Turkey, 1898

 

Music school, Syria, 1905

 

Source: Library of Congress Stereograph Collection

Church of the East

Normally a topic as broad as part of the history of Christianity is way to large for a Fist of History post, but having read a fascinating book titled The Lost History of Christianity by Philip Jenkins recently I had to at least put out a small bit of information on such a fascinating, and unusual chapter of Christian history.  In general the history of Christianity I'd learned could be broken up as follows:

• Originally the Papacy was one patriarch among many others in a Christianity that included the Byzantine Empire and Europe
• The Orthodox and Catholic traditions split over doctrinal issues and the Papacy ended up the head of European Christianity with the Orthodox heading up Christianity in North Africa and the Middle East
• Islamic conquests in the 7th and 8th centuries ended the Orthodox tradition, leaving the Papacy and European Christianity as the "winner" and the Orthodox church a smashed remnant of its former glory

Imagine my shock when I learned that there were actually three major divisions of Christianity, the Catholic, the Orthodox, and the Eastern Church.  The third was a fully fledged additional, and geographically massive, branch of Christianity with its own doctrines, specific traditions, and a rich array of writings on Christian thought and outlook.  This church rested upon, in crudely broad terms, the Nestorian tradition and came down strongly on the idea that Christ was divine and his divinity overwhelmed any mortal aspects of his existence.  Of particular fascination was that the Church of the East used Syriac as their language of choice for writing and Christian thought (versus Greek for the Orthodox and Latin for the Catholic faith.)

The map above shows how extensive the geographic sweep of the Church of the East was at its height in the 8th century, covering the Persian Empire, Central Asia, parts of lower India, all the way out to China and Japan.  At its height it was overseen by a Patriarch named Timothy I (727 to 823, Patriarch of the Church of the East from 780 to 823) considered himself on par with the heads of the Orthodox Church and the Pope based on the number of faithful, territory overseen, and influence wielded.

As a closing example of the odd loss of this history from our common story of Christianity, meet Rabban Bar Sauma, a Nestorian monk who was dispatched in 1287 by the Mongol overlord on a mission to recruit support for a combined Christian assault on Muslim Egypt.  Sauma originated from China and, along with another monk named Markos, undertook a journey of diplomacy and religious pilgrimage into the Middle East.  The two were able to travel safely through a network of monasteries and Christian communities that were part of the Church of the East for most of their journey.  Sauma on his mission was allowed to participate in holy rites in Rome and the King of England took communion from him.  This took place in the 13th century, when a "dream project" of a combined assault by Christian Mongols and Christian Europe on Islam was not only seen as possible but something that just needed to have the details worked out.

As you can probably guess though, things didn't work out and the Church of the East entered into decline and eventually all but vanished.  Which leads to the final surprise, it remained viable and with high numbers of faithful up till the modern century in many areas.  Small remnants of the faith remained hidden away throughout its former territory after prosecution, and within the Middle East sizable Christian communities remained in place until modern persecution finalized their destruction in the early to mid 20th century.  Although the Church of the East had a long period of decline, it remained tenacious and portions of it remain in place even today.

Sources:  Wikipedia entries on Timothy I, the Church of the East, Saint Thomas Christians, and Rabban Bar Sauma, It Happened Today entry on Rabban Bar Sauma, and The Lost History of Christianity, The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia - and How it Died by Philip Jenkins (ISBN 978-0-06-147280-0)

Battle of Latakia

The Battle of Latakia occurred on the night of October 6, 1973, the first day of the Yom Kippur War. The naval engagement takes it s name from Syria’s chief seaport on the Mediterranean Sea. It was fought between Israel and Syrian missile boats, the first battle between missile-firing ships in naval history.

Syrian had a reasonably strong navy, including several missile boats. These were considered the greatest danger to opposing forces.

The Egyptian and Syrian attack against Israel on October 6, 1973, caught Israel forces by surprise. Israel Navy missile boats (Saar and Reshef-class missile boats) put to sea that very evening to carry out a long-planned attack against units of the Syrian Navy.

Syrian missile boats engaged the attackers, in the first naval battle in history between missile-firing-ships, the Israelis defeated the incoming Syrian fire-and-forget Styx missiles.

The Israelis used jamming systems to confuse the Syrian’s Styx missiles and fired chaff (airborne debris) designed to set the missiles off prematurely (the missiles would hit the chaff instead of the Israel shisp and would blow up while still a safe distance away).

Israelis using their radar-guided Gabriel ship-to-ship missiles to destroy one Osa and two Komar class missile boats and a minesweeper. No Israel vessels were lost. The Syrian Navy then remained in port for the rest of the war.
Battle of Latakia

City of Akkad

City of Akkad

Mesopotamia’s first-known empire, founded at the city of Akkad, prospered from the end of the 24th century b.c.e. to the beginning of the 22nd century b.c.e. Sargon of Akkad (2334–2279 b.c.e.) established his empire at Akkad; its exact location is unknown but perhaps near modern Baghdad.

His standing army allowed him to campaign from eastern Turkey to western Iran. Although it is still unclear how far he maintained permanent control, it probably ranged from northern Syria to western Iran.

His two sons succeeded him, Rimush (2278–70 b.c.e.) and Manishtushu (2269–55 b.c.e.), who had military success of their own by suppressing rebellions and campaigning from northern Syria to western Iran.


Yet it was Manishtushu’s son Naram-Sin (2254–18 b.c.e.) who took the empire to its pinnacle. He established and maintained control from eastern Turkey to western Iran. In contrast to his grandfather who was deified after his death, Naram-Sin claimed divinity while he was still alive.

The rule of Naram-Sin’s son Shar-kali-sharri (2217–2193 b.c.e.) was mostly prosperous, but by the end of his reign the Akkadian Empire controlled only a small state in northern Babylonia. Upon Shar-kali-sharri’s death anarchy ensued until order was restored by Dudu (2189–2169 b.c.e.) and Shu-Durul (2168–2154 b.c.e.), but these were more rulers of a city-state than kings of a vast empire.

The demise of the Akkadian Empire can be explained by internal revolts from local governors as well as external attacks from groups such as the Gutians, Elamites, Lullubi, Hurrians, and Amorites. The Akkadian Empire set the standard toward which Mesopotamian kings throughout the next two millennia strove. Because of this, much literature appeared concerning the Akkadian kings, especially Sargon and Naram-Sin.

In the Sargon Legend, which draws upon his illegitimate birth, Sargon is placed in a reed basket in the Euphrates before he is drawn out by a man named Aqqi and raised as a gardener. From this humble beginning Sargon establishes himself as the king of the first Mesopotamian empire.

The King of Battle is another tale of how Sargon traveled to Purushkhanda in central Turkey in order to save the merchants there from oppression. After defeating the king of the city, Nur-Daggal, the local ruler is allowed to continue to govern as long as he acknowledges Sargon as king.

Map of Akkadian empire

Naram-Sin, however, is often portrayed as incompetent and disrespectful of the gods. In The Curse of Akkad, Naram-Sin becomes frustrated because the gods will not allow him to rebuild a temple to the god Enlil, so he destroys it instead. Enlil then sends the Gutians to destroy the Akkadian Empire.

As we know, however, the Akkadian Empire continued to have 25 prosperous years under Shar-kali-sharri after the death of Naram-Sin, and the Gutians were not the only reason for the downfall of the Akkadian Empire.

In fact, there is no evidence for the Gutians causing problems for the Akkadians until late in the reign of Shar-kali-sharri. Although this story had an important didactic purpose, it shows that caution must be used in reconstructing the history of the Akkadian Empire from myths and legends.


In the Cuthean Legend, Naram-Sin goes out to fight a group that has invaded the Akkadian Empire. Naram-Sin seeks an oracle about the outcome of the battle, but since it is negative, he ignores it and mocks the whole process of divination. As in The Curse of Akkad, Naram-Sin’s disrespect of the gods gets him in trouble as he is defeated three times by the invaders.

He finally seeks another oracle and receives a positive answer. Naram-Sin has learned his lesson: “Without divination, I will not execute punishment.” Despite these tales, there are others that paint Naram-Sin in a more positive light as an effective king with superior military capabilities.

Along with a centralized government comes standardization. This included the gradual replacement of Sumerian, a non-Semitic language, with Akkadian, an East Semitic language, in administrative documents.

Dating by year names, that is naming each year after a particular event such as “the year Sargon destroyed Mari,” became the system used in Babylonia until 1500 b.c.e. when it was replaced with dating by regnal years. There was also a standardized system of weights and measures. Taxes were collected from all regions of the empire in order to pay for this centralized administration.

The Akkadian ruler appointed governors in the territories the empire controlled, but many times the local ruler was just reaffirmed in his capacity. The governor would have to pledge allegiance to the Akkadian emperor and pay tribute, but at times, when the empire was weak, the local rulers could revolt and assert their own sovereignty.

This meant that the Akkadian rulers were constantly putting down rebellions. But perhaps the most important precedent started by the Akkadian Empire was the installation of Sargon’s daughter Enheduanna as the high priestess of the moon god Nanna at Ur.

She composed two hymns dedicated to the goddess Inanna, making her the oldest known author in Mesopotamia. This provided much needed legitimacy for the kingdom in southern Babylonia and continued to be practiced by Mesopotamian kings until the sixth century b.c.e.

Pre-Islamic Arabia

Pre-Islamic Arabia

Arabia, which spans an area of 1.25 million sq. miles, is a rugged, arid, and inhospitable terrain. It consists mainly of a vast desert, with the exception of Yemen on the southeastern tip, a fertile region with ample rain and well suited for agriculture.

The southwestern region of Arabia also has a climate conducive to agriculture. The first mention of the inhabitants of Arabia, or “Aribi,” is seen in the ninth century b.c.e., in Assyrian script. The residents of northern Arabia were nomads who owned camels.

In pre-Islamic Arabia, there was no central political authority, nor was there any central ruling administrative center. Instead, there were only various Bedu (Bedouin) tribes. Individual members of a tribe were loyal to their tribe, rather than to their families.


The Bedu formed nomadic tribes who moved from place to place in order to find green pastures for their camels, sheep, and goats. Oases can be found along the perimeter of the desert, providing water for some plants to grow, especially the ubiquitous date palm.

Since there was a constant shortage of green pastures for their cattle to graze in, the tribes often fought one another over the little fertile land available within Arabia, made possible by the occasional desert springs. Since warfare was a part of everyday live, all men within the tribes had to train as warriors.

By the seventh century b.c.e. Arabia was divided into about five kingdoms, namely the Ma’in, Saba, Qataban, Hadramaut, and Qahtan. These civilizations were built upon a system of agriculture, especially in southern Arabia where the wet climate and fertile soil were suitable for cultivation.

Of the five kingdoms Saba was the most powerful and most developed. Until 300 c.e. the kings of the Saba kingdom consolidated the rest of the kingdoms. Inhabitants of northern Arabia spoke Arabic, while those in the south spoke Sabaic, another Semitic language.

As Yemen lay along a major trade route, many merchants from the Indian Ocean passed through it in south Arabia. The south was therefore more dominant for more than a millennium as it was more economically successful and contributed much to the wealth of Arabia as a whole.

By the seventh century b.c.e. the oases in Arabia had developed into urban trading centers for the lucrative caravan trade. The agricultural base of Arabia contributed to the economy of Arabia, enabling inhabitants to switch to economic pursuits in luxury goods alongside an ongoing agrarian economy.

The commercial network in Arabia was facilitated mainly by the caravan trade in Yemen, where goods from the Indian Ocean Basin in the south were transferred on to camel caravans, which then traveled to Damascus and Gaza.

Arabia dealt in the profitable products of the day—gold, frankincense, and myrrh, as well as other luxury goods. The role of the Bedu, likewise, evolved. Instead of just being military warriors engaged in tribal rivalries, they were now part of the caravan trade, serving as guardians and guides while caravans traveled within Arabia. These Bedu were different from other nomadic tribes, as they tended to settle in one place.

Assyrians, followed by the neo-Babylonians, and the Persians disturbed unity in Arabia. From the third century c.e. the Persian Sassanids and the Christian Byzantines fought over Arabia. Later on, just before the rise of Islam, there emerged two Christian Arab tribal confederations known as the Ghassanids and the Lakhmid.

The city of Petra in northwest Arabia was under the control of the Byzantines (through the Ghassanids), followed by the Romans, while the northeastern city of Hira fell under Persian influence (the Lakhmid). Under the Lakhmid and Ghassanid dynasties Arab identity developed, as did the Arab language.

The central place of worship for the nomadic Bedu tribes was the Ka’ba, a cubic structure found in the city of Mecca, which houses a black stone, believed to be a piece of meteorite. The Ka’ba was the site of an annual pilgrimage in pre-Islamic Arabia.

Abraham first laid the foundations of the Ka’ba. Over a millennium the function of the Ka’ba had drastically changed and just before the coming of Islam through Muhammad, idols were found within the shrine.

The Bedu prayed to the idols of different gods found within. Although the various nomadic Bedu tribes often formed warring factions, within the sacred space of the Ka’ba, tribal rivalries were often put aside in respect for the place of worship. Mecca became a religious sanctuary and a neutral ground where tribal warfare was put on hold.

By the seventh century c.e., besides being an important religious site, the city of Mecca was also a significant commercial center of caravan trade, because of the rise of south Arabia as a mercantile hub. Merchants of different origins converged in the city.

Just before the rise of Islam, the elite merchants of the Quraysh tribe led Mecca loosely, although it was still difficult to discern a clear form of authoritative government in Mecca. Mecca, like southern Arabia, was home to many different people of various faiths.

Different groups of people had settled in Arabia, especially in the coastal regions of Yemen, where a rich variety of religions had coexisted, having originated from India, Africa, and the rest of the Middle East.

This is because of its strategic location along the merchant trade route from the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. They were Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians who had migrated from the surrounding region.

These migrants were markedly different from the indigenous inhabitants of Arabia in that they adhered to monotheistic faiths, recognizing and worshipping only one God. Thus, the inhabitants of pre-Islamic Arabia were familiar with other monotheistic faiths prior to the coming of Islam, however, subsequent Muslim society would refer to those living in pre-Islamic Arabia as living in jahiliyya, or “ignorance.”

Aramaeans

Aramaeans

The Aramaeans interest historians because of the two sources of information about them: the archaeological and the biblical. Part of the challenge in understanding the Aramaeans is in the effort to link both sets of data.

According to the first citation, the people of ancient Israel and Judah consider themselves ethnic Aramaeans who became a distinct religious group as a result of their experience in Egypt. According to the second citation, the Aramaeans were a people who experienced the brunt of Assyrian aggression in the 12th century b.c.e.

The 1993 discovery of the Tel Dan Stela, an Aramaic-language stone inscription that mentions Israel and David and apparently was written by Hazael, the king of Aram and the greatest Aramaean warrior, brings these two strands together in a historical and religious debate.


Archaeological Evidence

The historian is faced with the dilemma of determining when this people first came into existence versus when there is a historical written record about them. The Aramaeans presumably were a West Semitic–speaking people who lived in the Syrian and Upper Mesopotamian region along the Habur River and the Middle Euphrates for the bulk of the second millennium b.c.e., if not earlier.

Their first uncontestable appearance in the written record occurred when Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser I (1114–1076 b.c.e.) claimed to have defeated them numerous times. They very well may be connected to the Amorites who previously had been in that area before they spread out across the ancient Near East just as the Aramaeans would do 1,000 years later.

The early stages of Aramaean history are known not through their own writings, but from what others wrote about them. When the Assyrian Empire went into decline, the Assyrian references to the Aramaeans ceased. Presumably they continued to be the primarily pastoral people that the Assyrians had first encountered and lacked the urban-based political structure of the major powers of the region. They used this time to establish themselves in a series of small polities centering in modern Syria.

The void in the record changed in 853 b.c.e. when, thanks to the Assyrians, the Aramaeans again appear in a historical inscription. They do so in the records of Shalmaneser III (858–824 b.c.e.), an Assyrian king who sought repeatedly to extend his empire to the west all the way to the Mediterranean Sea.

His primary obstacle to achieving this goal was a coalition of peoples including Arabs, Egyptians, Israelites, and Aramaeans. According to the Assyrian inscriptions, it was Hadad-idr (Hadad-ezer, c. 880–843 b.c.e.) of Aram who led the coalition. The king was named after the leading deity of the Aramaeans, Hadad, the storm god. That deity is probably better known as Baal, a title meaning “lord,” than by his actual name.

Shalmaneser tried again in 849, 848, and 845 b.c.e. to no avail. At that point the coalition crumbled, enabling Shalmaneser to focus on the new ruler of Aram, Hazael (c. 843–803 b.c.e.), a “son of a nobody” (meaning a usurper). Even though Hazael now stood alone, Assyria was unable to prevail in 841, 838, and 837 b.c.e. Shalmaneser then stopped trying. The withdrawal of Assyria from the land provided Hazael with the opportunity to expand his own rule.

His success produced the pinnacle of Aramaean political power during the remaining years of the ninth century b.c.e. Hazael’s stature in the ancient Near East is attested by the Assyrian use of “House of Hazael” for the Aramaean kingdom in the eighth century b.c.e., and later Jewish historian Josephus’s discussion of Hazael’s legacy in Damascus in the first century c.e.

Eventually Assyria did prevail over Aram. Around 803 b.c.e. Adad-nirari III (810–783 b.c.e.) attacked Aram and its new king, Ben-Hadad (c. 803–775 b.c.e.), the son of Hazael. The weakening of Aram aided Israel, which enjoyed resurgence during the first half of the eighth century b.c.e. The political life of the Aramaeans soon ended when Tiglath-pileser III (745–27 b.c.e.) absorbed all the Aramaean states into the Assyrian Empire.

In a great irony of history the Assyrians required a more flexible and accessible language through which to govern their multi-peopled empire. Their cuneiform language was inadequate for the task. Centuries earlier, perhaps around 1100 b.c.e., the Aramaeans had adopted the 22-letter Phoenician alphabet.

Following the Assyrian conquest of the Aramaeans, the latter’s language was accorded special status within the empire and then became the lingua franca of the realm. Its usage continued for centuries including among the Jews.

Biblical Evidence

The writers of the Jewish Bible were of mixed opinion concerning the origin of the Aramaeans. In some biblical translations they appear as Syrians, reflecting the Greek-derived name for their land, a name that continues to be used to this very day.

In Genesis 10:22, Aram is a grandson of Noah and son of Shem. This genealogy puts the Aramaean people in Syria on par with the Elamites (in modern Iran) and the Assyrians (in modern Iraq).

By contrast in Genesis 22:19, the Aramaeans are grandsons of Abraham’s brother Nahor and thus comparable to Jacob, the grandson of Abraham. In Amos 9:7, the Aramaeans had their own exodus relationship with Yahweh from Kir (sometimes spelled Qir) west of the Middle Euphrates, just as Israel had had from Egypt under Moses.

Just as the archaeological record of the Aramaeans contains information involving Israel not found in the Bible, the Bible contains information about the Aramaeans during a time of minimal archaeological information about them. Biblical scholarship has struggled to integrate the archaeological and biblical data into a single story. Examples of points of contention include

1. Do the references to the Aramaeans in the stories of biblical Patriarchs better fit the circumstances of the 10th century b.c.e. in the time of David and Solomon?
2. What was David’s relationship with the Aramaeans particularly as recounted in II Samuel 8 and 10?
3. What was Israelite king Ahab’s relationship with the Aramaeans particularly as recounted in I Kings 20 and 22?
4. What was Hazael’s relationship with Israel during the Jehu dynasty, given the contrasting comments by the Israelite prophet Elijah in I Kings 19:15–17 and his successor the prophet Elisha in II Kings 8:8–29? According to the biblical text, Elisha was right to weep when he names Hazael king of Aram, given the devastation which the new king would wreak on Israel (see II Kings 10:32, 12:17–18, 13:3). These biblical accounts do agree with the Assyrian account that Hazael was not heir to the throne.
5. What is the solution to the double murder mystery of Israelite king Jehoram and Judahite king Ahaziah: Was the murderer the Israelite usurper Jehu (II Kings 9–10) or the Aramaean king Hazael (Tel Dan Stela)?

According to the biblical record, during the last century of Aram’s existence, Ramot Gilead in the Transjordan and the northern Galilee appear to have been a continual source of contention between Israel and Damascus. The biblical accounts in II Kings describe the ebb and flow to ownership of the land, with Hazael representing the pinnacle of Aramaean conquest, and Jeroboam II (c. 782–748 b.c.e.), the height of Israelite success.

During this time Assyria occasionally ventured into this arena generally to attack Aram, indirectly benefiting Israel. All this political maneuvering came to an end when Tiglath-pileser III ended the independent political existence of Aram in 732 b.c.e. Just over a decade later Israel fell to the Assyrians.

Babylon, Early period

Babylon’s throne

Babylon was the most famous Mesopotamian city in antiquity, located along the Euphrates River, 55 miles southwest of modern Baghdad. Major excavations began in 1899 by the Germans and, in recent times, have been continued by Iraq’s Department of Antiquities.

The city is first mentioned by the Agade king, Shar-kali-sharri (2217–2193 b.c.e.), who built two temples in Babylon. During the Ur III period (2112–2004 b.c.e.), various officials bore the title “governor of Babylon.”

In the following centuries Mesopotamia experienced a large influx of west Semitic nomads, who settled into new cities or populated existing ones. The Sumerians designated these migrants as Martu (the west), from which the Akkadians derived Amurru (Amorites).


In 1894 b.c.e. the Amorite Sumu-abum founded a dynasty at Babylon. His successor, Sumu-la-el, extended Babylon’s power by capturing the city-states of Sippar, Kish, and Dilbat. Others, however, were also expanding their kingdoms.

Shamshi-Adad I succeeded in conquering all of Upper Mesopotamia, including the important cities of Ashur and Mari. Rim-Sin of Larsa dominated the south, eventually annexing the longtime rival kingdom of Isin. The balance of power further depended on major city-states such as Eshnunna, Qatna, and Yamhad (Aleppo).

The Old Babylonian period began in 1792 b.c.e., with Hammurabi’s ascent to Babylon’s throne. He is perhaps best known for his Law Code, which contains many parallels with laws in the Jewish scriptures. In Hammurabi’s first 28 years only three campaigns are recorded.

Most of his time was spent building Babylon’s military defenses, economic infrastructure, and temples, as well as establishing diplomacy with foreign powers. After Shamshi-Adad died in 1782 b.c.e., Assyrian power slowly declined.

Babylon, Early period

Hammurabi, nonetheless, continued a defensive coalition with Rim-Sin, motivated by the proximity between their respective territories. He also formed friendly relations with Zimri-Lim, the native ruler who reclaimed Mari’s throne from Yasmah-Adad (Shamshi-Adad’s son).

From 1764 b.c.e. Hammurabi began to adopt a more aggressive military stance. A coalition of troops from Elam, Assyria, and Eshnunna was defeated by Babylon. The very next year, aided by Mari and Eshnunna, Hammurabi turned against his ally, Rim-Sin.

With Larsa subjugated, the southern cities under its control capitulated to Babylon. For the first time since the great third-millennium empires, both Sumer and Akkad were united under one kingdom.

Conscious of the significance of this, Hammurabi took for himself Naram-Sin’s title “King of the Four Quarters (of the World).” Despite changes in ruling dynasties, Babylon would remain the region’s capital until the time of Alexander the Great. Indeed, all of south Mesopotamia would later be named “Babylonia.”

Hammurabi’s ambition now turned toward Upper Mesopotamia. He betrayed Zimri-Lim and conquered Mari in 1761 b.c.e. The prologue to Hammurabi’s Law Code mentions that northern cities such as Ashur, Nineveh, and Tuttul were united under his control.

Babylon’s hegemony, however, did not survive Hammurabi for long. Barely a decade after his death his son Samsu-iluna was threatened by the invasion of the Kassites, whose homeland was in the Zagros Mountains. To the south the rise of the First Sealand dynasty encroached on Babylon’s territories.

For one and a half centuries Hammurabi’s successors clung to a dynasty that was a mere shadow of its former glory. In 1595 b.c.e. Murshili I, king of the Hittites, sacked Babylon, terminated its dynasty, and marked the end of the Old Babylonian period.