(Warning: Rather Long)
I am writing a science fiction story - and within that story, I have a character that is supposed to be from a planet that is just beginning to learn how to work Iron on a large scale. The character himself is from an area roughly analogous to the Southern Levant just after the fall of Egyptian Hegemony. The planned character is a part of his nation's hereditary scribes. However, to prevent this character's background from just being window dressing/making him into yet another Conan the Barbarian knockoff, I feel that I need a good understanding of the psychological background of this era. While I do have a layman's understanding, I feel like I may be missing some things.
Effectively, how did the people of the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages think, feel, and interact with their larger community and the world around them? Were there any fundemental differences in worldview that would be particularly alien or narratively interesting to a modern reader? Beyond simple folkways(though some of those will also feature), what foundational Mores and morals were central to the lives of the Late Bronze Mediterranean? I understand that surviving texts from the Levant are rather sparse, so an understanding of mentality from other LBA civilizations would also be appreciated.
As a further bit of context, I am not planning a story of "sky-men have magic boat!" Where a supposedly primitive character is consistently dazzled by advanced technology, and more of an exploration of how a person with this cultural-moral background with interact with some of our own contemporary morals.
Some Flavor Quotes(to see if I am getting the feel right so far):
(On the eve of a battle)
"And so he cast the sacrifice into his makeshift altar - not as propitiation for sins, as some might foolishly claim, but as a political act, calling his God to war, even as a vassal would plead with his suzerain when under attack."
(To a conquered people, after winning said battle)
"I haven't taken your sons as slaves, and I haven't divided your daughters among my own warriors - so what's the issue?"
(To a human criminal being interrogated, while playing up his 'barbarian' image)
"Yes, you have 'rights...' Unfortunately for you, I'm still a little... fuzzy on the concept."
Hi there - we're happy to approve your question related to your creative project, and we are happy for people to answer. However, we should warn you that many flairs have become reluctant to answer questions for aspiring novelists and the like, based on past experience: some people working on creative projects have a tendency to try to pump historians for trivia while ignoring the bigger points they were making, while others have a tendency to argue with historians when the historical reality does not line up with what's needed for a particular scene or characterization. Please respect the answers of people who have generously given you their time, even if it's not always what you want to hear.
Additionally, as amazing as our flair panel is, we should also point out that /r/AskHistorians is not a professional historical consultation service. If you're asking a question here because you need vital research for a future commercial product such as a historical novel, you may be better off engaging a historical consultant at a fair hourly rate to answer these questions for you. We don't know what the going rate for consultancy work would be in your locality, but it may be worth looking into that if you have in-depth or highly plot-reliant questions for this project. Some /r/AskHistorians flairs could be receptive to working as a consultant in this way. However, if you wish for a flair here to do this work for you, you will need to organize this with them yourselves.
For more general advice about doing research to inform a creative project, please check out our Monday Methods post on the subject.