The Most Important

People and Events of the 900-600 BCE Epoch

We have arranged the following entries by date. Being first-time history students, it was difficult for us to narrow the entries down to just twenty. We feel that they are all important, and have thusly included more than twenty.

1000-750BC

Proto-Celtic people of the Urnfield culture dominate much of Continental Europe. Also start to spread out over northern Asia as far as the frontiers of China. Development of the deliberate smelting of iron in the Middle East and China around the same time, prompting the title 'The Iron Age' for this period.

2400 B.C. to 612 B.C.

First Golden Age: We enter into an extremely fruitful period in Assyrian History. This period would see 1800 years of Assyrian hegemony over Mesopotamia, beginning with Sargon of Akkad in 2371 B.C. and ending with the tragic fall of Nineveh in 612 B.C.?

Assyrians have used two languages throughout their history: ancient Assyrian (Akkadian), and Modern Assyrian (neo-syriac). Akkadian was written with the cuneiform writing system, on clay tablets, and was in use from the beginning to about 750 B.C. By 750 B.C., a new way of writing, on parchment, leather, or papyrus, was developed, and the people who brought this method of writing with them, the Arameans, would eventually see their language, Aramaic, supplant Ancient Assyrian because of the technological breakthrough in writing. Aramaic was made the second official language of the Assyrian empire in 752 B.C. Although Assyrians switched to Aramaic, it was not wholesale transplantation. The brand of Aramaic that Assyrians spoke was, and is, heavily infused with Akkadian words, so much so that scholars refer to it as Assyrian Aramaic.?

900 – 700 BCE

This is known as the Geometric period, also politically known as the Dark Age, in Greece. The population increases dramatically, creating overcrowding, and more political tension. Written language re-emerges, adopting characters of the Semitic alphabetic script, encountered via contact with the Phoenicians. The worship of gods becomes formalized, and the need for temples and sanctuaries develops.

900-840 BCE

The Assyrians expanded their empire to the west and conquered Syria and Turkey which formerly belonged to the Hittites.

Pre 900 – 700 BCE

Celtic Iron Age (1000 – 700 BCE). Celt’s have a massive expansion across central and western Europe during this period.

900 BCE

Homer’s Odyssey. First and foremost, the Odyssey is a great tale. It is at heart an adventure story of Odysseus's return to his home after the 10 year Trojan War. Because Odysseus has upset the wrong god, he has to spend another 10 years journeying home. Meanwhile, suitors for his wife, Penelope's, hand have gathered at his home trying to win her heart, and, in the meantime, eating Odysseus out of house and home.

900 BC- AD 450

The Olmec people introduced writing to the New World. The Olmec script is a logo syllabic script. The Olmec had both a syllabic and hieroglyphic script. The hieroglyphic signs were simply Olmec syllabic signs used to make pictures. There are two forms of Olmec hieroglyphic writing: the pure hieroglyphics (or picture signs); and the phonetic hieroglyphics, which are a combination of syllabic and logographic signs.

814 BCE

In 814 B.C., Phoenicians founded a colony at Carthage. The colony would soon overshadow the homeland and become an important world power in its own right.

800-320 BCE

The most prosperous period of Nubian civilization was that of the kingdom of Kush, which endured from about 800 BC to about 320 AD. During this time, the Nubians of Kush would at one point, assume rule over all of Nubia as well as Upper and Lower Egypt. Under one such king, Kashta, Kush acquired control of Upper (i.e., southern) Egypt, and under his son Piankhi (c. 750-c. 719 BC), the whole of Egypt to the shores of the Mediterranean was brought under the administration of Kush. As a world power, however, Kush was not to last. Just when the kings of Kush had established their rule from Abu Hamad to the Nile delta, the Assyrians invaded Egypt (671 BC) and with their superior iron-forged weapons defeated the armies of Kush under the redoubtable Taharqa; by 654 the Kushites had been driven back to Nubia and the safety of their capital, Napata.

800 BCE

A great climatic change overcame Europe at this time. This caused many Germanic tribes to migrate to other areas.

800-600 BCE

The Kingdom of Israel, with its capital Samaria, lasted more than 200 years under 19 kings, while the Kingdom of Judah was ruled from Jerusalem for 350 years by an equal number of kings of the lineage of David. The expansion of the Assyrian and Babylonian empires brought first Israel and later Judah under foreign control. The Kingdom of Israel was crushed by the Assyrians (722 BCE) and its people carried off into exile and oblivion. Over a hundred years later, Babylonia conquered the Kingdom of Judah, exiling most of its inhabitants as well as destroying Jerusalem and the Temple (586 BCE).

In the Bible there is a horrible picture of the treatment by Israelites of its inhabitants. we read in the Bible: "... so that the people went up into the city" (that is Jericho) "And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword, "and they bunt the city with all that was in it, "But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron are consecrated unto the Lord: they shall come into the treasury of the Lord,"

Thus Jericho remained in this condition until it was repaired in the reign of Ahab the son of Ouri who was one of the kings of Israel (874-852 B.C.) Hiel the Bethelite fortified and repaired it four hundred years after its destruction. There is a reference to that in the Bible, namely that Joshna’s curse befell Hiel.

Judea: The kingdom split up after Solomon's death, and both Israel and Judah suffered continual deterioration for many generations. The Assyrians invaded Palestine in 721 B.C. and gained control of the north. In 606 B.C. and again in 586 B.C. the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem, eventually bringing the whole land under their domination and taking many captives, including the prophet Daniel.

800 BCE

The Greek idea of the city-state came about at this time. The single greatest political innovation of the ancient Greeks was the establishment of the polis, or "city-state. In the Mycenaean age, the Greeks lived in small, war-oriented kingdoms, but for reasons unknown to us; they abandoned their cities and their kingdoms sometime between 1200 and 1100 BC. From that point onwards, they lived in either sedentary or nomadic tribal groups; the period is called the Greek Dark Ages and lasted until sometime between 800 and 700 BC. The tribal or clan units of the dark ages slowly grew into larger political units at the end of this period; beginning around 800 BC, trade began to dramatically accelerate between the peoples of Greece. Marketplaces grew up in Greek villages and communities began to gather together into large defensive units, building fortifications to use in common. On this foundation, the Greek-speaking people who lived on the Greek peninsula, the mainland, and the coast of Asia Minor, developed political units that were centrally based on a single city. These city-states were independent states that controlled a limited amount of territory surrounding the state. The largest of these city-states, for instance, was Sparta, which controlled more than 3000 square miles of surrounding territory.

776 BCE

According to historical records, the first ancient Olympic Games can be traced back to 776 BC. They were dedicated to the Olympian gods and were staged on the ancient plains of Olympia. They continued for nearly 12 centuries, until Emperor Theodosius decreed in 393 A.D. that all such “pagan cults” be banned.

771 BCE

The Eastern Zhou started around 771 BC at Luoyi, near modern Luoyang. The traditional western capital, at Hao, had been ruined by barbarians and was no longer habitable. For 20 years the kingdom was divided. The eastern part was ruled by Ping Wang, and the western part was ruled by the King of Hui. These kings were wounded in battle and that showed that the Zhou house no longer had any real power, but the symbolic role of the dynasty remained important.

June 15, 763 BCE

A solar eclipse on this date is used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history. Famous eclipse of June 15, 763 B.C. was recorded by Assyrian observers in Nineveh. Babylonian astronomers are credited with having discovered the 223-month period for lunar eclipses.

760 BCE

ISAIAH born approximately 760 B C E, Prophet of Israel, said to have written the Book of Isaiah, in the Bible. Isaiah received his call to prophetic ministry in the year that King Uzziah died (740 B.C.). He responded enthusiastically to this privilege even though he knew from the outset that his ministry would be fruitless and discouraging. His wife was a prophetess, probably in the sense that she was married to a prophet; we have no record that she prophesied herself. Isaiah also trained a group of disciples who gathered around him. His vision of God, which he received at the beginning of his ministry, profoundly influenced Isaiah's whole view of life as well as his prophecies, as is clear from what he wrote.

There is no historical record of Isaiah's death. Jewish tradition held that he suffered martyrdom under King Manasseh (697-642 B.C.) because of his prophesying. The early church father Justin Martyr (ca. A.D. 150) wrote that the Jews sawed him to death with a wooden saw. Another ancient source says he took refuge in a hollow tree, but his persecutors discovered and extracted him. This may account for the unusual method of his execution.

753 BCE

According to legend, Rome was founded in 753 BCE. Its traditional founder was Romulus, said to be the son of the princess of Alba Longa. In truth, we know little about the actual founding of the city. The first settlement in Rome most likely took place on Palatine Hill near the Tiber River.

745 BCE

Assyrian crown seized by the military adventurer Pul, who then assumed the name of Tiglath-pileser III. His origins are unknown but he may have been a usurper who assumed the name of a more legitimate predecessor. Under his rule, Assyrian power in the Near East greatly increased as the result of campaigns of conquest mounted against western kingdoms. Assyrian inscriptions record, in the fifth year of his reign (739 BC), a victory over Azariah (Uzziah), king of Judah, whose achievements are described in 2 Chronicles 26:6-15. In 733 BC his armies conquered Philistia (modern Lebanon) on the Mediterranean coast, destroyed Damascus and occupied most of Israel, with its northern regions becoming Assyrian provinces. Many of the inhabitants were enslaved and deported to other parts of the Assyrian empire.

736-716 BCE

Messenian Wars. One of the first acts of the Eighteenth Dynasty under Ahmose was the subjugation of Nubia. The Egyptians quickly subdued the Nubians and assimilated them into the Empire.

750 – 600 BCE

The “formative” years of Greece. Greece expands; colonizing shore regions of the Mediterranean and the Black Seas. Trade increases, and there is an exposure to luxury goods from Egypt, the Levant, and Asia Minor. All this has an important impact on Greek Art too.

753 BCE

Rome Archeological research indicates that the founders of Rome itself are Italic people who occupy the area south of the Tiber River. By the sixth century BCE, Rome will have become the dominant power of most of its surrounding area. Their conservative government consists of a kingship, resembling the traditional values of the patriarchal family; an assembly, composed of male citizens of military age; and a Senate, comprised of elders who serve as the heads of different community sects.

722-710 BC

One of the outstanding Chaldean kings was Merodach-baladan II (r. 722-710 BC), who fought bitterly and bravely, if unsuccessfully, against four mighty Assyrian monarchs: Tiglath-pileser III (r. 745-727 BC), Shalmaneser V (r. 727-722 BC), Sargon II (r. 722-705 BC), and Sennacherib (r. 705-681 BC), the destroyer of Babylon. Sennacherib's successors, Esarhaddon (r. 681-669 BC) and Ashurbanipal, retained political control of Babylonia in spite of numerous rebellions and defections. In 626, however, when Assyria was in turmoil and menaced by the Medes, the Scythians, and the Cimmerians, a Chaldean named Nabopolassar (r. 626-605 BC) proclaimed himself king of Babylonia. Allying himself with the Medes, he helped to destroy Assyrian might.

With Assyria no longer to be feared, Egypt began to menace Palestine and Syria. Nabopolassar's son Nebuchadnezzar II marched against the Egyptians and defeated them at Carchemish. Nebuchadnezzar, who reigned for 43 years, extended Babylonian political control over practically all of Mesopotamia. To students of the Bible he is known as the destroyer of Jerusalem and as the king who took the captive Jews to Babylonia. To archaeologists and historians he is known as the great builder and restorer. He reconstructed Babylon, his capital, in elaborate style and restored many temples throughout Babylonia.

700 BCE

Sparta's rise to power was a direct result of the militaristic nature of their society. They were the only Greek city-state to maintain a large standing army at all times, and their training and education was such that they were truly elite fighters. As a result, Sparta was often looked to by smaller city-states for protection.

690 BCE

Assyria conquers Babylon, Syria, and Palestine. An attempted revolt against the Assyrians by the Babylonians resulted in the destruction of Babylon by the Assyrians.

674 BCE

Egypt is conquered by the Assyrians; right after it had been conquered by Ethiopians of the Sudan. The Assyrians divide it into twenty satrapies.

660 BCE

The Empire of Japan was established. According to legend, Jimmu Tenno invaded Japan's main island Honshu. There he established himself as Japan's first emperor. He founded the Yamato family and is believed to be a direct ancestor of Japan's current emperor.

630-550 BCE

Zoroaster, also called Zarathustra, was an ancient Persian prophet who founded the first world religion - Zoroastrianism. According to the 'Zend Avesta', the sacred book of Zoroastrianism, he was born in Azerbaijan, in northern Persia, probably in the seventh century BC, although some scholars put the time-frame for Zoroaster much earlier.

612 BCE

In 612 B.C. Nabopolassar united the Babylonian army with an army of Medes and Scythians and led a campaign which captured the Assyrian citadels in the North. The Babylonian army laid siege to Nineveh, but the walls of the city were too strong for battering rams, so they decided to try and starve the people out. A famous oracle had been given that "Nineveh should never be taken until the river became its enemy." After a three month siege, "rain fell in such abundance that the waters of the Tigris inundated part of the city and overturned one of its walls for a distance of twenty states. Then the King, convinced that the oracle was accomplished and despairing of any means of escape, to avoid falling alive into the enemy's hands constructed in his palace an immense funeral pyre, placed on it his gold and silver and his royal robes, and then, shutting himself up with his wives and eunuchs in a chamber formed in the midst of the pile, disappeared in the flames. Nineveh opened its gates to the besiegers, but this tardy submission did not save the proud city. The unity of Israel and the feebleness of adjacent empires enabled David to establish a large independent state, with its capital at Jerusalem. Under David's son and successor, Solomon, Israel enjoyed peace and prosperity, but at his death in 922 BC the kingdom was divided into Israel in the north and Judah in the south. When nearby empires resumed their expansion, the divided Israelites could no longer maintain their independence. Israel fell to Assyria in 722 and 721 BC, and Judah was conquered in 586 BC by Babylonia, which destroyed Jerusalem and exiled most of the Jews living there. In the Hebrew Bible the name Samaria refers to the capital city of Israel, the northern kingdom. Omri ruled from 876-869 B.C.E. - and purchased a hill from a man named Shemer. After fortifying the hill, Omri constructed the city of Samaria, naming it after Shemer. This detached hill was 1454 feet above sea-level, and more than 328 feet above the surrounding hills. Omri's son, Achab, married to Jezabel, a Sidonian princess, introduced the worship of Baal. Shortly afterward, the Prophet Elias announced the famine which for three years and more devastated the city and surrounding country. Samaria suffered her first siege from Benadad, King of Damascus.

612 BCE

The fall of Nineveh. The Assyrian empire collapsed in 612 B.C. The Assyrian people survived the loss of their state, and they remained mostly inconspicuous for the next 600 years. The Persians mention employing Assyrians as troops, and there is the failed attempt at reestablishing an Assyrian Kingdom in 350 B.C.; the Persians squelched this attempt and castrated 400 Assyrian leaders as punishment.

600 BCE

The Etruscans, believed to be natives of Asia Minor, establish cities stretching from northern to central Italy. Their major contributions to the Romans are the arch and the vault, gladiatorial combat for entertainment and the study of animals to predict future events. The Greeks establish city-states along the southern coast of Italy and the island of Sicily. Their contributions to the Romans are the basis of the Roman alphabet, many religious concepts and artistic talent as well as mythology.

600 BCE

Greeks found the colony of Massilia, opening up trade between the Celts of inland Europe and the Mediterranean. First evidence of Britain having a name - Albion - (albino, white - called after the chalk-cliffs of Dover). A major rebuild of old Bronze Age defenses, and construction of new hill forts takes place in Britain.

600 BCE-On

In 626, however, when Assyria was in turmoil and menaced by the Medes, the Scythians, and the Cimmerians, a Chaldean named Nabopolassar (r. 626-605 BC) proclaimed himself king of Babylonia. Allying himself with the Medes, he helped to destroy Assyrian might.

With Assyria no longer to be feared, Egypt began to menace Palestine and Syria. Nabopolassar's son Nebuchadnezzar II marched against the Egyptians and defeated them at Carchemish. Nebuchadnezzar, who reigned for 43 years, extended Babylonian political control over practically all of Mesopotamia. To students of the Bible he is known as the destroyer of Jerusalem and as the king who took the captive Jews to Babylonia. To archaeologists and historians he is known as the great builder and restorer. He reconstructed Babylon, his capital, in elaborate style and restored many temples throughout Babylonia.

After searching for events, and having such a broad time span, we’ve come to the conclusion that five extra doesn’t do this epoch justice. Therefore, we have submitted more than five.

900 BCE

Trade between the East Africans and the Arabs began.

836 BCE

Civil war in Egypt.

700-500 BCE

Hallstatt culture developes in Austria.

700 BCE

Early Celts in Austria bury iron swords with their dead.

680 BCE

Republic founded in Athens.

610 BCE

Psamtik frees Egypt from foreign rule.

600 BCE

Egypt becomes a sea power.