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| b. Civilizations and Nonurban Societies |
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| Commercial and military contacts with surrounding peoples resulted in the formation of distinctive societies. “Barbarians” often successfully invaded civilized states, and this interaction was part of the expansion of civilization into new regions. | 1 |
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| 1700–1300 B.C.E |
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| War Chariot invasions. The development of the two-wheeled war chariot among “barbarians” around 1700 B.C.E. resulted in conquests of major civilized societies. HYKSOS charioteers conquered Egypt (See 1786–1552) and ruled it from 1730–1570 B.C.E. Kassite (See c. 1700–1600) charioteer invaders successfully invaded Mesopotamia around 1700 B.C.E. and formed the first of a series of charioteer empires there. In China, the Shang dynasty used war chariots as they established control. The Aryan invaders of India were also charioteers. The end of the Minoan civilization around 1400 B.C.E. opened the way for the chariot warriors of Mycenae, on the Greek mainland, to emerge as the dominant force in that region. | 2 |
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| c. 1000 B.C.E |
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| New migrations and conquests. Charioteer dominance was broken by new peoples with new technologies in many areas. In the Middle East, often in association with the development of iron tools and weapons, new peoples conquered much of the region. Hittites in Anatolia and groups like the Philistines in the eastern Mediterranean coastal areas established powerful states, while old centers of civilization in Egypt and Mesopotamia experienced repeated invasions. The climax came with the establishment by 665 B.C.E. of the new ASSYRIAN EMPIRE (See 668–627). Many of these groups were INDO-EUROPEAN, coming from central Eurasia and migrating into Europe and South Asia as well as the Middle East. These included the Aryans in India and the Dorians in Greece. The Zhou conquerors of China in the 11th century B.C.E. came from Central Asia, and may have been forced out by Indo-European migrations. | 3 |
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