Lecture 17 - The Birth of Israel

Israel's history will be so much clearer after studying so much about the earlier empires and the world as it was at that time. It won't have much in common with America I suppose but it certainly has an impact! We have fervent pro-Israel supporters who think Israel should be supported no matter what as well as anti-Israelites who believe they should be sanctioned if not destroyed.

Here's the Quizlet link: Quizlet and the password is Israelbornlec17

Lecture 16 - The Collapse of the Mycenaean World

I thoroughly enjoyed Professor Dise's diatribe against heroic values! LOL! Calling them "the values of a bar-brawling redneck"! That was great.

Quite a disconcerting lecture detailing the total annihilation of an entire culture and the collapse of the entire Bronze Age! The Philistines of the Bible were Greeks?! And if the Mycenaeans were seafaring trouble-makers, were they or were they not the Sea Peoples? Or part of them? But if they were, against whom were they so frantically preparing their coastal defenses just before their society disappeared into thin air?

Here are maps to help visualize the area in 1400 B.C. and then in 1200 B.C. to avoid thinking these are sequential empires - some are but several exist at the same time.
http://www.ourfarm.org/webs/pytw/1400BC_ME.asp


 


Site is titled Prepare Ye The Way
Along the left of their page is a list of maps for each 1000 years.
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This site has an interesting discussion of the Sea Peoples: http://www.phoenician.org/sea_peoples.htm

Dise suggests that during the 14th century, Mycenaean culture changed from one of merchant princes to one based on "heroic values" where men proved themselves through war and domination. Is America doing the same thing? We used to try to stay out of others' battles, now we can't get enough, even starting something if we can't jump in someone else's. Yes, the entire world is much more interconnected now but it still seems wrong to so many.

Quizlet link and the password is MycenFalllec16  

Lecture 15 - Mycenae and the Dawn of Greece

The migration of the Greeks was a branch of the great Indo-European migrations that swept across central Asia and Europe during the Bronze Age. Here's a different, more useful map than the migration one:
Map of Bronze Age Greece
Then this map shows the different regions of ancient Greece:


This is a difficult lecture, mostly because it's just more of the same - a group invades, destroys, sets up at least a pseudo-empire, and I'm guessing not too long after, collapses itself. It never ends. Perhaps I should check and see which empire/culture is still around; not that it will be in anywhere near the same form, as well it shouldn't. Why would it when the world changes so rapidly?

Also, what's this about the Cyclopean architecture? The ancients thought only Cyclops could have moved such massive stones but the Mycenaeans ARE the ancients. And they're the ones who built them. So, to whom does Professor Dise (and the others who say this) refer when stating what was thought?

Quizlet for Mycenaean Greece and the password is MycenGreeklec15

Wow! Underground ancient cities in Turkey

Here's a link to a History channel video I found while looking up Pelasgians; ancient underground cities, it's fascinating!
History Channel Video 
and here's the second one: Underground Pelasgian cities Part 2
I'm also linking the Hittite "Hatti At War" lecture to these.

Also, I've added a Quizlet now to Minoa, lecture 14.

Lecture 14 - The Minoan Thalassocracy

Map of Crete and surroundings from website: ed-ification.net
Here's an easy to read and follow site with plenty of illustrations of Minoan life: Minoan Civilization and here's a map of Crete itself in Minoan times: Close-up map of Crete

It's amusing to imagine America as a lost civilization like Minoan Crete. Future archaeologists may think we worshipped at our "altars" (TVs or computers) in our homes or neighborhood restaurants and bars. Maybe they'll think our airplanes were giant stylized sculptures of birds! That would be the material remains, what about the tales told of us by current enemies or friends. Or like the Minoans, they were discussed by people who wrote about them centuries later! Subject of myth... 

Quizlet about Minoa and the password is seaMincretelec14

Lecture 13 - The End of the Egyptian Empire

Going by this lecture, it's difficult to see what Egypt could have done differently to maintain its empire. Obviously, the chaos over succession to the throne didn't help, but with all the attacks, invasions, and influxes of other peoples, what could they do? They couldn't control what was going on in other parts of the world and didn't seem to have a habit of invading for territory so much. Maybe an empire always has to fight to expand, not just maintain. Sad, that. 


Quizlet practice   password Ecollapselec13

Lecture 12 - The Imperial Army and Administration

Egypt administered Nubia directly with many layers of control - things mostly stayed peaceful for the Egyptians. In the Levant, loose control didn't seem to work so well. Perhaps they didn't have the resources to control both Nubia and the Levant or maybe the Levant was considered less of a threat. If the Levant was conquest instead of defense, that could explain it to a degree.

Quizlet - Lecture 12          password: ENKgovarmylec12

Just for fun, I found these toy figures of ancient Egyptians and artifacts here: Ancient Egypt figures