Bowley writes: "the israelites political fortunes and their daily lives were always lived out underthe power or threats of the great empires." which empires is he referring to and what is the effect on the texts of bible? 2. bowley emphasizes that ancient cultures (like that of sumer) possessed all the features of modern governments, from law courts to taxation to various kinds of literature. what’s his evidence? 3. post sumerian times, the mesopotamian region is home to three great empires – each of which plays a role in israelite history. these include the assyrian, the babylonian, and the persian empires. identify key events in israelite history related to these empires (see file "timeline" for ).4. why is canaan called "the land in between"? 5. what are the features of canaan and israel, geographically speaking? 6. when and why and how did the israelites move from clan society to a monarchy? who played a pivotal role in that transition? 7. what is the earliest known mention of israel and when was it created? 8. what do we know about the economy of most israelites (how did they "make their living")? what were their houses like? why was physical labor so important? what kinds of things did they plant and eat? 9. what is the oldest known hebrew inscription and what is it about?