18.2 The near east: a.d. 301 to 400

The near east

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ARABIA AND JORDAN

The Abyssinians had conquered the southern angle of the peninsula by 362 and there were still some fairly prosperous towns along the Red Sea. In the north there was an increasing level of civilization with more and more contact with Syria, while in the desert the nomad tribes gradually encroached on the towns. (Ref. 8 )

Mediterranean coastal areas of israel and lebanon&Iraq and syria

The eastern portion of Syria, comprising essentially present day Iraq and ancient Mesopotamia was under the domination and actually a part of the new Persian Empire. The western part of Syria, including the areas of Lebanon and Judea, were part of Byzantium, the eastern realm of the fading Roman Empire. Monophysite Christianity, which began a period of extreme ascetism among many monks of the East, became widely accepted in Syria and particularly in the Lebanon region. Judging from the irrigation systems, the population of Mesopotamia may well have reached its peak at this time, while epidemics and other problems were cutting the Italian Roman population (Ref. 140 ) The Bible and various theological works were translated into Syriac and then a copious original literature was developed. In central Syria, since the cities of Palmyra and Hatra had been destroyed in the previous century, the silk route now went farther north from Antioch on the coast through northern Syria to Seleucia, an ancient city now gone, which was located near present day Baghdad. (Ref. 127 , 137 )

IRAN: PERSIA

In the first decade of this century Persia was invaded by Arabs from Mesopotamia and Bahrain and Ctesiphon was sacked. At 17 years of age Shapur Il became emperor and he immediately invaded Arabia and exacted a terrible revenge upon the Arabs. Then between 337 and 376 he engaged in three wars with Rome, with neither side gaining any great advantage. When Shapur II died in 379 the Persian Empire was at its peak, controlling all territory that Darius I had ruled a thousand years before. Zorastrianism, tied up with the political destiny of the empire, was winning against both Judaism and Hellenization.

Iranian society in this Sassanian period consisted essentially of three classes:

(1) WARRIORS. The land owners, great and small, furnished the heavy cavalry and the mounted archers who were the effective strength of the army. The infantry consisted of their vassals and serfs. At the top of this class were seven great families dating back to the Achaemenid times and holding hereditary rights to various offices. The king was a member of one of these great families and the internal history of Iran continued to be one of nobles jockeying for power.

(2) PRIESTS: MAGI. The Avesta, written sometime during Sassanian domination, ordered every aspect of life in Persia. The Magi had great authority, including some judicial function. They owned large estates and had considerable political influence when Mazdaism finally became the dominant religion in the next century.