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Assyria was originally (in the Middle Bronze Age) a region on the Upper Tigris river, named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur (Akkadian: Aššur; Arabic: أشور Aššûr; Hebrew: אַשּׁוּר Aššûr, Aramaic: Aṯûr). This is a list of the rulers of the Iraqi city of Mosul. Emirs Hamdanid Dynasty Abu'l-Haija 'Abdullah 905-929 The Principality of Antioch, including parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria, was one of the Crusader states created during the First Crusade The Assyrian people ( Aramaic: Āṯūrāyē; Akkadian: Aššūrāyu) are descended from the ancient Assyrians of Mesopotamia The term Assyrianism or Assyrian nationalism refers to a variant of Syriac Christian Nationalism, which originated in the 19th century and is The Assyrian Genocide (also known as Sayfo or Seyfo; Aramaic: ܩܛܠܐ ܕܥܡܐ ܐܬܘܪܝܐ or ܣܝܦܐ Since World War I, the Assyrian diaspora has steadily increased so that there are now more Assyrians living in western and eastern Europe, North America The Assyrian independence (also known as the Assyrian Question) is a Political movement and Ideology that supports the creation of an Assyrian homeland The Simele massacre ( Syriac: syr ܦܪܡܬܐ ܕܣܡܠܐ Premta d-Simele) was the first of many massacres committed by the The term Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced Metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use included techniques for The Tigris is the eastern member of the two great Rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of southeastern Assur also spelled Ashur, from Assyrian Aššur, was one of the capitals of ancient Assyria. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Aramaic is a Semitic language with
Later, as a nation and empire that came to control all of the Fertile Crescent, Egypt and much of Anatolia, the term "Assyria proper" referred to roughly the northern half of Mesopotamia (the southern half being Babylonia), with Nineveh as its capital. The Fertile Crescent is a Crescent -shaped region in the Middle East, originally incorporating the Levant and Ancient Mesopotamia, and often This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding Babylonia was an Amorite state in lower Mesopotamia (modern southern Iraq) with Babylon as its capital Nineveh ( Akkadian: Ninua; Aramaic: ܢܝܢܘܐ Hebrew נינוה Nīnewē; Arabic نينوى Naīnuwa)
The Assyrian kings controlled a large kingdom at three different times in history. These are called the Old (20th to 15th c. BC), Middle (15th to 10th c. BC), and Neo-Assyrian (911–612 BC) kingdoms, or periods, of which the last is the most well known and best documented. The Neo-Assyrian Empire was a period of Mesopotamian history which began in 934 BC and ended in 609 BC
The Assyrian homeland was located near a mountainous region, extending along the Tigris as far as the high Gordiaean or Carduchian mountain range of Armenia, sometimes known as the "Mountains of Ashur". Armenia (Հայաստան transliterated: Hayastan,) officially the Republic of Armenia (Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն Hayastani
Assyrians invented excavation to undermine city walls, battering rams to knock down gates, as well as the concept of a corps of engineers, who bridged rivers with pontoons or provided soldiers with inflatable skins for swimming. Sapping is a term used in siege operations Any trench excavated under defensive musket or artillery fire that was intended to advance a besieging army's position in relation to the works Fortifications are Military Constructions and Buildings designed for defense in Warfare Humans have constructed defensive works for A battering ram is a Siege engine originating in ancient times to break open Fortification walls or doors An engineer is a person professionally engaged in a field of Engineering. [1]
Contents |
Early history
| Ancient Mesopotamia |
|---|
 |
| Euphrates • Tigris |
| Cities / Empires |
| Sumer: Eridu • Kish • Uruk • Ur • Lagash • Nippur • Ngirsu |
| Elam: Susa |
| Akkadian Empire: Akkad • Mari |
| Amorites: Isin • Larsa |
| Babylonia: Babylon • Chaldea |
| Hittites • Kassites • Hurrians/Mitanni |
| Assyria: Assur • Nimrud • Dur-Sharrukin • Nineveh |
| Chronology |
| History of Mesopotamia |
| History of Sumer • Kings of Sumer |
| Kings of Assyria |
| Kings of Babylon |
| Mythology |
| Enûma Elish • Gilgamesh |
| Assyro-Babylonian religion |
| Language |
| Sumerian • Elamite |
| Akkadian • Aramaic |
| Hurrian • Hittite |
The most neolithic site in Assyria is at Tell Hassuna, the center of the Hassuna culture. Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding The Euphrates ( ( Arabic: ar نهر الفرات; Turkish: tr Fırat Syriac: syr ܦܪܬ; Hebrew: he פרת The Tigris is the eastern member of the two great Rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of southeastern Sumer ( Sumerian: sux-Latn [[Ki (earth ki]]-[[EN (cuneiform en]]-'''ĝir15''', Akkadian: Šumeru; possibly Biblical Shinar Eridu (URUNUNKI; Sumerian:eridug Akkadian: ?) from the Sumerian for 'mighty place' is modern Tell Abu Shahrain, Iraq Uruk ( URU UNUG, Sumerian: unug Akkadian: uruk) from the Akkadian rendering of the Sumerian Toponym 'unug' is modern Ur ( Sumerian:urim; Akkadian: ?) is modern Tell el-Mukayyar, Iraq, and was a city in ancient Sumer. Lagash ( is modern Tell al-Hiba, Iraq. Located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk Nippur (URUENLIL; Sumerian: Nibru Akkadian: Nibbur) from the Sumerian for 'lord wind' (Enlil is modern ? in Afak Al Qadisyah Ngirsu (cuneiform? Sumerian:Ĝirsu Akkadian: ?) is modern Tell Telloh, Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq, and it was a city of Elam is the name of an ancient civilization located in what is now southwest Iran. Susa ( Biblical שושן ( Shushan) also Greek: Σοῦσα Transliterated as Sousa; Latin Susa) Mari (modern Tell Hariri, Syria) was an ancient Sumerian and Amorite city located 11 kilometers north-west of the modern town of Amorite ( Sumerian MARTU, Akkadian Tidnum or Amurrūm, Egyptian Amar, Hebrew ’emōrî Isin (modern Ishan al-Bahriyat was a city of lower Mesopotamia, which flourished during the 20th century BC. Larsa (also Larag or Larak, modern Tell as-Senkereh, Iraq, possibly the Biblical Ellasar) was an important city of Babylonia was an Amorite state in lower Mesopotamia (modern southern Iraq) with Babylon as its capital Babylon was a City-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq Chaldea (from Greek grc Χαλδαία Chaldaia; Akkadian akk māt Kaldu Hebrew כשדים Kaśdim, "the Chaldees" of the The Hittites were an ancient Anatolian people who spoke a language of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family and established The Kassites were an Ancient Near Eastern tribe who gained control of Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire after ca The Hurrians (also Khurrites; cuneiform Ḫu-ur-ri 𒄷𒌨𒊑 were a people of the Ancient Near East, who lived in northern Mesopotamia Mitanni ( Hittite cuneiform, also Mittani) or Hanigalbat ( Assyrian Hanigalbat Khanigalbat cuneiform) Assur also spelled Ashur, from Assyrian Aššur, was one of the capitals of ancient Assyria. Nimrud is an ancient Assyrian city located south of Nineveh on the river Tigris. Dur-Sharrukin ("Fortress of Sargon" present day Khorsabad, was the Assyrian capital in the time of Sargon II of Assyria. Nineveh ( Akkadian: Ninua; Aramaic: ܢܝܢܘܐ Hebrew נינוה Nīnewē; Arabic نينوى Naīnuwa) See Short chronology for a timeline in absolute dates The Chronology of the Ancient Near East is a framework of dates for Ancient Mesopotamia was settled and conquered by numerous ancient Civilizations. The history of Sumer, taken to include the prehistoric Ubaid and Uruk periods spans the 5th to 3rd millennia BC ending with the downfall of the Third The Sumerian king list is an ancient text in the Sumerian language that lists kings of Sumer from Sumerian and foreign dynasties The following is a list of the kings of Babylonia, a major city and empire in ancient lower Mesopotamia, compiled from the traditional Babylonian king lists and modern Mesopotamian mythology is the collective name given to Sumerian Akkadian Assyrian and Babylonian mythologies from the land between the Tigris The akk Enûma Eliš is the Babylonian Creation myth (named for its Incipit) Gilgamesh was the son of Lugalbanda and the fifth king of Uruk (Early Dynastic II first dynasty of Uruk ruling circa 2600 BC according to the Sumerian king The pre- Christian religions of Babylonia and Assyria are the earliest attestation of Ancient Semitic religion, in particular Mesopotamian mythology Assyriology (from Greek grc Ἀσσυρίᾱ Assyriā; and grc -λογία -logia) is the archaeological historical and linguistic study Sumerian ( " native tongue " was the language of ancient Sumer, spoken in Southern Mesopotamia since at least the 4th millennium BC Elamite is an Extinct language, which was spoken by the ancient Elamites. Aramaic is a Semitic language with Hurrian is a conventional name for the language of the Hurrians (Khurrites a people who entered northern Mesopotamia around 2300 BC and had mostly Hittite or Nesili is the Extinct language once spoken by the Hittites, a people who created an empire centered on ancient Hattusas (modern The Neolithic (from Greek νεολιθικός — neolithikos from νέος neos, "new" + λίθος lithos Hassuna or Tell Hassuna is an ancient Mesopotamian site situated in Iraq, south of Mosul.
Of the early history of the kingdom of Assyria, little is positively known. According to some Judaeo-Christian traditions, the city of Ashur (also spelled Assur or Aššur) was founded by Ashur the son of Shem, who was deified by later generations as the city's patron god. Ashur (אַשּׁוּר often also transliterated as Asshur to reflect the pointing of Hebrew letter 'ש' ( Shin) in the Masoretic text which doubles the 'ש' was the Assur also spelled Ashur, from Assyrian Aššur, was one of the capitals of ancient Assyria. Ashur (אַשּׁוּר often also transliterated as Asshur to reflect the pointing of Hebrew letter 'ש' ( Shin) in the Masoretic text which doubles the 'ש' was the Shem (; Greek: Σημ, Sēm; Arabic: ar سام; Ge'ez: ሴም Sēm; "renown prosperity name"
The upper Tigris River valley seems to have been ruled by Sumer, Akkad, and northern Babylonia in its earliest stages; once a part of Sargon the Great's empire, it was destroyed by barbarians in the Gutian period, then rebuilt, and ended up being governed as part of the Empire of the 3rd dynasty of Ur. The Tigris is the eastern member of the two great Rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of southeastern Sumer ( Sumerian: sux-Latn [[Ki (earth ki]]-[[EN (cuneiform en]]-'''ĝir15''', Akkadian: Šumeru; possibly Biblical Shinar You may be looking for the Assyrian kings Sargon I "Barbarian" is a pejorative term for an uncivilized person either in a general reference to a member of a nation or Ethnos perceived The Gutian dynasty came to power in Mesopotamia around 2150 BC ( Short chronology) by destabilising Akkad at the end of the reign of king Ur-Utu The Third Dynasty of Ur refers simultaneously to a 21st to 20th century BC ( Short chronology) Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the city of
Old Assyrian city-states and kingdoms
The first inscriptions of Assyrian rulers appear after 2000 BC. Assyria then consisted of a number of city states and small Semitic kingdoms. In Linguistics and Ethnology, Semitic (from the Biblical " Shem " Hebrew שם translated as "name" Arabic: ساميّ The foundation of the Assyrian monarchy was traditionally ascribed to Zulilu, who is said to have lived after Bel-kap-kapu (Bel-kapkapi or Belkabi, ca. Zulilu was traditionally the founder of the Assyrian monarchy some time before 1900 BC 1900 BC), the ancestor of Shalmaneser I. The 19th century BC was the century which lasted from 1900 BC to 1801 BC Shalmaneser I ( Shulmanu-asharidu) king of Assyria. (1274 BC – 1245 BC or 1265 BC - 1235 BC Son of Adad-nirari I, he succeeded his father as King
City state of Ashur
The city-state of Ashur had extensive contact with cities on the Anatolian plateau. Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black The Assyrians established "merchant colonies" in Cappadocia, e. Cappadocia (or Capadocia, Turkish Kapadokya, from Greek: Καππαδοκία / Kappadokía which in turn is from the Persian: g. , at Kanesh (modern Kültepe) circa 1920 BC–1840 BC and 1798 BC–1740 BC. For the village in Azerbaijan see Kültəpə. Kültepe is the name of the modern village near the ancient city of Kaneš in central eastern For the village in Azerbaijan see Kültəpə. Kültepe is the name of the modern village near the ancient city of Kaneš in central eastern The 20th century BC is a Century which lasted from the year 2000 BC to 1901 BC The 19th century BC was the century which lasted from 1900 BC to 1801 BC The 18th century BC was the Century which lasted from 1800 BC to 1701 BC The 18th century BC was the Century which lasted from 1800 BC to 1701 BC These colonies, called karum, the Akkadian word for 'port', were attached to Anatolian cities, but physically separate, and had special tax status. They must have arisen from a long tradition of trade between Ashur and the Anatolian cities, but no archaeological or written records show this. The trade consisted of metal (perhaps lead or tin; the terminology here is not entirely clear) and textiles from Assyria, that were traded for precious metals in Anatolia.
Kingdom of Shamshi-Adad I
The city of Ashur was conquered by Shamshi-Adad I (1813 BC–1791 BC) in the expansion of Amorite tribes from the Khabur river delta. Shamshi-Adad I (fl late 18th century BC ( Short chronology) rose to prominence when he carved out a large kingdom in northern Mesopotamia, the Old Assyrian The 19th century BC was the century which lasted from 1900 BC to 1801 BC The 18th century BC was the Century which lasted from 1800 BC to 1701 BC Amorite ( Sumerian MARTU, Akkadian Tidnum or Amurrūm, Egyptian Amar, Hebrew ’emōrî The Khabur River (also Habur Habor Kebar Chebar Chaboras; Aramaic: ܚܒܘܪ, Kurdish: Çemê Xabûr, Turkish: Habur He put his son Ishme-Dagan on the throne of a nearby city, Ekallatum, and allowed the former Anatolian trade to continue. Ishme-Dagan I was the son of the Amorite king Shamshi-Adad I, put on throne of Ekallatum by his father after a successful military attack Shamshi-Adad I also conquered the kingdom of Mari on the Euphrates putting another of his sons, Yasmah-Adad on the throne there. Mari (modern Tell Hariri, Syria) was an ancient Sumerian and Amorite city located 11 kilometers north-west of the modern town of The Euphrates ( ( Arabic: ar نهر الفرات; Turkish: tr Fırat Syriac: syr ܦܪܬ; Hebrew: he פרת Yasmah-Adad was the son of the Amorite king Shamshi-Adad I, put on throne of Mari by his father after a successful military attack Shamshi-Adad's kingdom now encompassed the whole of northern Mesopotamia. He himself resided in a new capital city founded in the Khabur valley, called Shubat-Enlil. Tell Leilan, Syria is the site of a city known as Shekhna in ancient times
Ishme-Dagan inherited the kingdom, but Yasmah-Adad was overthrown, and Mari was lost. The new king of Mari allied himself with Hammurabi of Babylon. Hammurabi ( Akkadian from Amorite ˤAmmurāpi, "the kinsman is a healer" from ˤAmmu, "paternal kinsman" and Rāpi Babylon was a City-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq Assyria now faced the rising power of Babylon in the south. Ishme-Dagan responded by making an alliance with the enemies of Babylon, and the power struggle continued for decades.
Assyria reduced to vassal states
Hammurabi eventually prevailed over Ishme-Dagan, and conquered Ashur for Babylon. With Hammurabi, the various karum in Anatolia ceased trade activity—probably because the goods of Assyria were now being traded with the Babylonians' partners.
Assyria was ruled by vassal kings dependent on the Babylonians for a century. A vassal (also called feodary or fedary) in the terminology that both preceded and accompanied the feudalism of Medieval Europe, After Babylon fell to the Kassites, the Hurrians dominated the northern region, including Assur. The Kassites were an Ancient Near Eastern tribe who gained control of Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire after ca The Hurrians (also Khurrites; cuneiform Ḫu-ur-ri 𒄷𒌨𒊑 were a people of the Ancient Near East, who lived in northern Mesopotamia Assur also spelled Ashur, from Assyrian Aššur, was one of the capitals of ancient Assyria.
There are dozens of Mesopotamian cuneiform texts from this period, with precise observations of solar and lunar eclipses, that have been used as 'anchors' in the various attempts to define the chronology of Babylonia and Assyria for the early second millennium (i. See Short chronology for a timeline in absolute dates The Chronology of the Ancient Near East is a framework of dates for e. , the 'high', 'middle', and 'low' chronologies).
Middle Assyrian period
(Scholars variously date the beginning of the "Middle Assyrian period" to either the fall of the Old Assyrian kingdom of Shamshi-Adad I, or to the ascension of Ashur-uballit I to the throne of Assyria. Shamshi-Adad I (fl late 18th century BC ( Short chronology) rose to prominence when he carved out a large kingdom in northern Mesopotamia, the Old Assyrian Ashur-uballit I (Aššur-uballiṭ I, was king of the Assyrian empire (1365 BC-1330 BC or 1353 BC – 1318 BC )
Ashur-uballit I
In the 15th century BC, Saushtatar, king of Hanilgalbat (Hurrians of Mitanni), sacked Ashur and made Assyria a vassal. Shaushtatar (or Šauštatar) was a king of the Hurrian kingdom of Mitanni in the fifteenth century BC Mitanni ( Hittite cuneiform, also Mittani) or Hanigalbat ( Assyrian Hanigalbat Khanigalbat cuneiform) Assyria paid tribute to Hanilgalbat until Mitanni power collapsed from Hittite pressure from the north-west and Assyrian pressure from the east, enabling Ashur-uballit I (1365 BC–1330 BC) to again make Assyria an independent and conquering power at the expense of Babylonia; and a time came when the Kassite king in Babylon was glad to marry the daughter of Ashur-uballit, whose letters to Akhenaten of Egypt form part of the Amarna letters. The Hittites were an ancient Anatolian people who spoke a language of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family and established Ashur-uballit I (Aššur-uballiṭ I, was king of the Assyrian empire (1365 BC-1330 BC or 1353 BC – 1318 BC Babylonia was an Amorite state in lower Mesopotamia (modern southern Iraq) with Babylon as its capital Akhenaten (often alt: Akhnaten, or rarely Ikhnaton) (In English ˌɑkəˡnɑtən or approximately "AHK-en-AHT-en" his royal name Amenhotep This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. The Amarna letters (sometimes "Amarna correspondence" or "Amarna tablets" are an archive of correspondence on Clay tablets mostly diplomatic This marriage led to disastrous results, as the Kassite faction at court murdered the Babylonian king and placed a pretender on the throne. Assur-uballit promptly marched into Babylonia and avenged his son-in-law, making Kurigalzu of the royal line king there. Kurigalzu is the name of at least two kings in the Kassite Dynasty of Babylonia.
Assyrian expansion
Hanilgalbat was finally conquered under Adad-nirari I, who described himself as a "Great-King" (Sharru rabû) in letters to the Hittite rulers. The Assyrian Empire originated in the early 2nd millennium BC, succeeding the Akkadian Kingdom of the late 3rd millennium BC. Adad-nirari I (1307 BC – 1275 BC or 1295 BC - 1263 BC was a king of Assyria. The successor of Adad-nirari I, Shalmaneser I (c. Shalmaneser I ( Shulmanu-asharidu) king of Assyria. (1274 BC – 1245 BC or 1265 BC - 1235 BC Son of Adad-nirari I, he succeeded his father as King 1300 BC), threw off the pretense of Babylonian suzerainty, made Kalhu his capital, and continued expansion to the northwest, mainly at the expense of the Hittites, reaching Carchemish and beyond. Nimrud is an ancient Assyrian city located south of Nineveh on the river Tigris. Carchemish (called Europus by the Greco-Romans) was an important ancient city of the Mitanni and Hittite empires now on the frontier between
Shalmaneser's son and successor, Tukulti-Ninurta I, deposed Kadashman-Buriash of Babylon and ruled there himself as king for seven years, taking on the old title "King of Sumer and Akkad". Tukulti-Ninurta I was a king of Assyria. (reigned 1243 BC – 1207 BC He succeeded Shalmaneser I, his father as king and won a major victory against the Hittites Another weak period for Assyria followed when Babylon revolted against Tukulti-Ninurta, and later even made Assyria tributary during the reigns of the Babylonian kings Melishipak II and Marduk-apal-iddin I.
The correct chronology of these Assyrian kings is still is much debated. There are some crucial solar eclipse records. Wikipedia's Assyrian eclipse page refers to four such eclipses. ***************************************************************************************** * * The Assyrian eclipse is also known as Bur-Sagale (Bur-Saggile Pur-Sagale or Par-Sagale eclipse For example, the Assyrian eclipse associated with June 15, 763 BC is widely accepted by the defenders of a middle chronology, but three ignored solar eclipses from the reign of Esarhaddon would affect the calculation drastically. The Assyrian eclipse is also known as Bur-Sagale (Bur-Saggile Pur-Sagale or Par-Sagale eclipse
Tiglath-Pileser I reaches the Mediterranean Sea
As the Hittite empire collapsed from onslaught of the Phrygians (called Mushki in Assyrian annals), Babylon and Assyria began to vie for Amorite regions, formerly under firm Hittite control. In antiquity Phrygia (Φρυγία was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. In the Bible Meshech, משך, [ me'ʃek ], "price" or "precious" literally "a drawing up (getting" is named as a son of Amorite ( Sumerian MARTU, Akkadian Tidnum or Amurrūm, Egyptian Amar, Hebrew ’emōrî The Assyrian king Ashur-resh-ishi I defeated Nebuchadnezzar I of Babylon in a battle, when their forces encountered one another in this region. Ashur-resh-ishi I was King of Assyria from 1133 to 1115 BC He succeeded his father Mutakkil-Nusku, and was succeeded by his son Tiglath-Pileser I Nebuchadrezzar I, more commonly known as Nebuchadnezzar I ( Akkadian: Nabu-kudurri-usur, meaning " Nebo, protect my eldest son" or "Nebo
The son of Ashur-resh-ishi's, Tiglath-Pileser I, may be regarded as the founder of the first Assyrian empire. Tiglath-Pileser I (from the Hebraic form of Akkadian: Tukultī-apil-Ešarra, "my trust is in the son of Esharra " was a king In 1120 BC, he crossed the Euphrates, capturing Carchemish, and defeated the Mushki and the remnants of the Hittites—even claiming to reach the Black Sea. The Euphrates ( ( Arabic: ar نهر الفرات; Turkish: tr Fırat Syriac: syr ܦܪܬ; Hebrew: he פרת The Black Sea is an inland Sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolian peninsula ( Turkey He advanced to the Mediterranean, subjugating Phoenicia, where he hunted wild bulls. Phoenicia ( Phoenician: Phoenician nunsvg|12px|נ]]Phoenician nun He also marched into Babylon twice, assuming the old title "King of Sumer and Akkad", although he was unable to depose the actual king in Babylonia, where the old Kassite dynasty had now succumbed to an Elamite one.
Society in the Middle Assyrian period
Assyria had difficulties with keeping the trade routes open. Unlike the situation in the Old Assyrian period, the Anatolian metal trade was effectively dominated by the Hittites and the Hurrians. The Hittites were an ancient Anatolian people who spoke a language of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family and established The Hurrians (also Khurrites; cuneiform Ḫu-ur-ri 𒄷𒌨𒊑 were a people of the Ancient Near East, who lived in northern Mesopotamia These peoples now controlled the Mediterranean ports, while the Kassites controlled the river route south to the Persian Gulf. The Kassites were an Ancient Near Eastern tribe who gained control of Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire after ca The Persian Gulf, in the Southwest Asian region is an extension of the
The Middle Assyrian kingdom was well organized, and in the firm control of the king, who also functioned as the High Priest of Ashur, the state god. In Akkadian mythology, Anshar (also spelled Anshur) which means "sky pivot" or "sky axle" is a Sky God. He had certain obligations to fulfill in the cult, and had to provide resources for the temples. The priesthood became a major power in Assyrian society. Conflicts with the priesthood are thought to have been behind the murder of king Tukulti-Ninurta I. Tukulti-Ninurta I was a king of Assyria. (reigned 1243 BC – 1207 BC He succeeded Shalmaneser I, his father as king and won a major victory against the Hittites
The main Assyrian cities of the middle period were Ashur, Kalhu (Nimrud) and Nineveh, all situated in the Tigris River valley. Assur also spelled Ashur, from Assyrian Aššur, was one of the capitals of ancient Assyria. Nimrud is an ancient Assyrian city located south of Nineveh on the river Tigris. Nineveh ( Akkadian: Ninua; Aramaic: ܢܝܢܘܐ Hebrew נינוה Nīnewē; Arabic نينوى Naīnuwa) The Tigris is the eastern member of the two great Rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of southeastern At the end of the Bronze Age, Nineveh was much smaller than Babylon, but still one of the world's major cities (population ca. 33,000). By the end of the Neo-Assyrian period, it had grown to a population of some 120,000, and was possibly the largest city of that time. [2]
All free male citizens were obliged to serve in the army for a time, a system which was called the ilku-service. The Assyrian law code, notable for its repressive attitude towards women in their society, was compiled during this period. Assyrian law was very similar to Sumerian and Babylonian law, however notably more brutal than its predecessors
Neo-Assyrian Empire
The Neo-Assyrian Empire is usually considered to have begun with the accession of Adad-nirari II, in 911 BC, lasting until the fall of Nineveh at the hands of the Babylonians in 612 BC. The Neo-Assyrian Empire was a period of Mesopotamian history which began in 934 BC and ended in 609 BC The Assyrian Empire originated in the early 2nd millennium BC, succeeding the Akkadian Kingdom of the late 3rd millennium BC. Adad-nirari II is generally considered to be the first King of Assyria in the Neo-Assyrian period. Events and trends 915 BC (by William F Albright) — Death of Rehoboam, King of the ancient Kingdom of Judah. Events and trends 619 BC — Alyattes becomes king of Lydia. 619 BC — Death of Zhou xiang wang, King of the Zhou [3]
In the Middle Assyrian period, Assyria had been a minor kingdom of northern Mesopotamia, competing for dominance with Babylonia to the south. Babylonia was an Amorite state in lower Mesopotamia (modern southern Iraq) with Babylon as its capital Beginning with the campaigns of Adad-nirari II, Assyria became a great regional power, growing to be a serious threat to 25th dynasty Egypt. The twenty-first twenty-second twenty-third twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth dynasties of Ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title Third Intermediate It began reaching the peak of its power with the reforms of Tiglath-Pileser III (ruled 745–727 BC)[4][5]. Tiglath-Pileser III (from the Hebraic form of Akkadian: Tukultī-apil-Ešarra, "my trust is in the son of Esharra" was a prominent king Tiglath-Pileser III (from the Hebraic form of Akkadian: Tukultī-apil-Ešarra, "my trust is in the son of Esharra" was a prominent king Events and trends 747 BC — February 26 - Nabonassar becomes king of Babylonia. Events and trends 728 BC — Piye invades Egypt, conquering Memphis, and receives the submission of the rulers of the Nile This period, which included the Sargonic dynasty, is well-referenced in several sources, including the Assyro-Babylonian Chronicles and the Hebrew Bible. The Babylonian Chronicles are series of tablets recording major events in Babylonian history The term Hebrew Bible is a generic reference to those books of the Bible originally written in Biblical Hebrew (and the related Biblical Aramaic Assyria finally succumbed to the rise of the neo-Babylonian Chaldean dynasty with the sack of Nineveh in 612 BC. The term Neo-Babylonian or Chaldean refers to Babylonia under the rule of the 11th ("Chaldean" dynasty from the revolt of Nabopolassar The term Neo-Babylonian or Chaldean refers to Babylonia under the rule of the 11th ("Chaldean" dynasty from the revolt of Nabopolassar Nineveh ( Akkadian: Ninua; Aramaic: ܢܝܢܘܐ Hebrew נינוה Nīnewē; Arabic نينوى Naīnuwa) Events and trends 619 BC — Alyattes becomes king of Lydia. 619 BC — Death of Zhou xiang wang, King of the Zhou
Language
The ancient people of Assyria spoke an Assyrian dialect of the Akkadian language, a branch of the Semitic languages. The Semitic languages are a Language family whose living representatives are spoken by more than 467 million people across much of the Middle East, The first inscriptions, called Old Assyrian (OA), were made in the Old Assyrian period. In the Neo-Assyrian period the Aramaic language became increasingly common, more so than Akkadian - this was thought to be largely due to the mass deportations undertaken by Assyrian kings, in which large Aramaic-speaking populations, conquered by the Assyrians, were relocated to other parts of the empire. Aramaic is a Semitic language with The ancient Assyrians also used the Sumerian language in their literature and liturgy, although to a more limited extent in the Middle- and Neo-Assyrian periods, when Akkadian became the main literary language. Sumerian ( " native tongue " was the language of ancient Sumer, spoken in Southern Mesopotamia since at least the 4th millennium BC
The utter and complete destruction of the Assyrian capitals of Nineveh and Assur by the Babylonians and Medes ensured that the bilingual elite, perhaps the few remaining still competent in Akkadian, were wiped out. By the 6th century B. C. , much of the Assyrian population that survived used Aramaic and not the cuneiform Akkadian. In time, Akkadian would no longer be used by the Assyrians, although many aspects of the culture associated, such as naming with Assur, continued, and do so today.
Arts and sciences
Assyrian art preserved to the present day predominantly dates to the Neo-Assyrian period. See also History of architecture Assyria flourished from the Old Assyrian period in the Middle Bronze Age until the Neo-Assyrian Empire Dur-Sharrukin ("Fortress of Sargon" present day Khorsabad, was the Assyrian capital in the time of Sargon II of Assyria. Art depicting battle scenes, and occasionally the impaling of whole villages in gory detail, was intended to show the power of the emperor, and was generally made for propaganda purposes. These stone reliefs lined the walls in the royal palaces where foreigners were received by the king. Other stone reliefs depict the king with different deities and conducting religious ceremonies. A lot of stone reliefs were discovered in the royal palaces at Nimrud (Kalhu) and Khorsabad (Dur-Sharrukin). Nimrud is an ancient Assyrian city located south of Nineveh on the river Tigris. Dur-Sharrukin ("Fortress of Sargon" present day Khorsabad, was the Assyrian capital in the time of Sargon II of Assyria. A rare discovery of metal plates belonging to wooden doors was made at Balawat (Imgur-Enlil). Balawat is a village in Northern Iraq, 25 km (15 miles southeast from the city of Mosul.
Assyrian sculpture reached a high level of refinement in the Neo-Assyrian period. One prominent example is the winged bull Lamassu, or shedu that guard the entrances to the king's court. The Sumerian word lama, which is rendered in Akkadian as lamassu, refers to a beneficient protective female deity These were apotropaic meaning they were intended to ward off evil. C. W. Ceram states in The March of Archaeology that lamassi were typically sculpted with five legs so that four legs were always visible, whether the image were viewed frontally or in profile.
Since works of precious gems and metals usually do not survive the ravages of time, we are lucky to have some fine pieces of Assyrian jewelry. These were found in royal tombs at Nimrud.
There is ongoing discussion among academics over the nature of the Nimrud lens, a piece of rock crystal unearthed by Austen Henry Layard in 1850, in the Nimrud palace complex in northern Iraq. The Nimrud lens is a 3000 year old piece of Rock crystal, which was unearthed by Austen Henry Layard at the palace of Nimrud in what is now Iraq Quartz (from German) is the most abundant Mineral in the Earth 's Continental crust (although Feldspar is more common in The Right Honourable Sir Austen Henry Layard (ˈɔːstɪn ˈhɛnriː lɛəd 5 March, 1817 – 5 July, 1894) was a For the game see 1850 (board game. 1850 ( MDCCCL) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. A small minority believe that it is evidence for the existence of ancient Assyrian telescopes, which could explain the great accuracy of Assyrian astronomy. Astronomy is the oldest of the Natural sciences dating back to antiquity, with its origins in the religious, Mythological, and Astrological Other suggestions include its use as a magnifying glass for jewellers, or as a decorative furniture inlay. The Nimrud Lens is held in the British Museum. [6]
Legacy and rediscovery
Achaemenid Assyria retained a separate identity for some time, official correspondence being in Imperial Aramaic, and there was even an attempted revolt of the two provinces of Mada and Athura in 520 BC. "Aturia" redirects here For the Fossil Nautilus Genus, see Aturia (cephalopod. The Assyrian people ( Aramaic: Āṯūrāyē; Akkadian: Aššūrāyu) are descended from the ancient Assyrians of Mesopotamia Assyriology (from Greek grc Ἀσσυρίᾱ Assyriā; and grc -λογία -logia) is the archaeological historical and linguistic study Aramaic is a Semitic language with Under Seleucid rule, however, Aramaic gave way to Greek as the official language. The Seleucid Empire /sə'lusɪd/ ( 312 - 63 BC) was a Hellenistic empire i Aramaic was marginalised, but remained spoken in Judea (Biblical Aramaic), the Syrian Desert (Nabataeans) and Khuzestan (Mandaic). Judea or Judæa ( Hebrew: יהודה Standard Yəhuda Tiberian Yəhûḏāh, "praised Biblical Aramaic is the form of the Aramaic language that is used in the books of Daniel, Ezra and a few other places in the Hebrew Bible. The Syrian Desert (بادية الشام badiyah ash sham also known as the Syro-Arabian desert is a combination of Steppe and true Desert that is located in parts The Nabataeans ( Arabic: الأنباط, Al-Anbāṭ) were an ancient Semitic people Arabs of southern Jordan, Canaan Khūzestān (خوزستان is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. The Mandaic language is the Liturgical language of the Mandaean religion
Classical historiographers had only retained a very dim picture of Assyria. Before the Decipherment of cuneiform text knowledge of the history of the Ancient Near East was mostly dependent upon classical authorities It was remembered that there had been an Assyrian empire predating the Persian one, but all particulars were lost. Thus Jerome's Chronicon lists 36 kings of the Assyrians, beginning with Ninus, son of Belus, down to Sardanapalus, the last king of the Assyrians before the empire fell to Arbaces the Median. The Chronicle (or Chronicon or Temporum liber) was a Universal chronicle, one of Jerome 's earliest attempts in the department of history Ninus, in texts arising in Hellenistic period and later was accepted as the eponymous founder of Nineveh, and thus the city itself personified although he does not Sardanapalus (also spelled Sardanapallus) was according to the Greek writer Ctesias of Cnidus the last king of Assyria. Arbaces, according to Ctesias, one of the generals of Sardanapalus, king of Assyria and founder of the Median empire about 830 BC. Almost none of these have been substantiated as historical, with the exception of the Neo-Assyrian and Babylonian rulers listed in Ptolemy's Canon, beginning with Nabonassar. The Canon of Kings was a dated list of kings used by ancient Astronomers as a convenient means to date astronomical phenomena such as Eclipses The Canon was preserved Nabonassar (also Nabonasser, Nabu-nasir, Nebo-adon-Assur or Nabo-n-assar) founded a kingdom in Babylon in 747 BC
With the rise of Syriac Christianity, Aramaic enjoyed a renaissance as a classical language in the 2nd to 8th centuries AD, and the modern Assyrian people continue to speak Neo-Aramaic dialects. Syriac Christianity is a culturally and linguistically distinctive community within Eastern Christianity. The Assyrians are an Ethnic group whose origins lie in what is today Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. Neo-Aramaic, or Modern Aramaic, languages are varieties of Aramaic that are spoken as a Mother tongue in the modern era.
The modern discovery of Babylonia and Assyria begins with excavations in Nineveh in 1845, which revealed the library of Ashurbanipal. For many centuries knowledge of Babylonia and Assyria was largely confined to the often dubious classical sources Nineveh ( Akkadian: Ninua; Aramaic: ܢܝܢܘܐ Hebrew נינוה Nīnewē; Arabic نينوى Naīnuwa) Ashurbanipal ( Akkadian: Aššur-bāni-apli, " Ashur has made a son" or "Ashur created an heir" (b Decipherment of cuneiform was a formidable task that took more than a decade, but by 1857, the Royal Asiatic Society was convinced that reliable reading of cuneiform texts was possible. Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (RAS was according to its Royal Charter of August 11, 1824 Assyriology has since pieced together the formerly forgotten history of Mesopotamia. Assyriology (from Greek grc Ἀσσυρίᾱ Assyriā; and grc -λογία -logia) is the archaeological historical and linguistic study In the wake of the archaeological and philological rediscovery of ancient Assyria, Assyrian nationalism has come to strongly identify with ancient Assyria. For many centuries knowledge of Babylonia and Assyria was largely confined to the often dubious classical sources The term Assyrianism or Assyrian nationalism refers to a variant of Syriac Christian Nationalism, which originated in the 19th century and is
References
- ^ Bertman, Stephen (2005). Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia. New York: Oxford UP.
- ^ see historical urban community sizes. Estimated populations of historical cities over time Neolithic settlements See also Neolithic architecture Bronze Age See also Estimates are those of Chandler (1987).
- ^ Chart of World Kingdoms, Nations and Empires - All Empires
- ^ Assyrian Eponym List
- ^ Tadmor, H. (1994). The Inscriptions of Tiglath-Pileser III, King of Assyria. pp. 29
- ^ Lens, Britiſh Muſeum.
See also
- Assyrian eclipse
- Assyriology
- Ancient Near East
- Kings of Assyria
- Military history of the Assyrian Empire
- Assyria and Babylonia contrasted
- Chronology of Babylonia and Assyria
- Geography of Babylonia and Assyria
- Social life in Babylonia and Assyria
- Cuneiform script
References and further reading
- Ascalone, Enrico. The Assyrian eclipse is also known as Bur-Sagale (Bur-Saggile Pur-Sagale or Par-Sagale eclipse Assyriology (from Greek grc Ἀσσυρίᾱ Assyriā; and grc -λογία -logia) is the archaeological historical and linguistic study The Ancient Near East refers to early Civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq The Assyrian Empire originated in the early 2nd millennium BC, succeeding the Akkadian Kingdom of the late 3rd millennium BC. During the period when they were competing for dominance in Mesopotamia the neighbouring sister-states of Babylonia and Assyria differed essentially in character See Short chronology for a timeline in absolute dates The Chronology of the Ancient Near East is a framework of dates for The Geography of Babylonia, like its Ethnology and History, enclosed between the two great rivers the Tigris and Euphrates, forms but one country During the period when they were competing for dominance in Mesopotamia the neighbouring sister-states of Babylonia and Assyria differed essentially in character Mesopotamia: Assyrians, Sumerians, Babylonians (Dictionaries of Civilizations; 1). Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007 (paperback, ISBN 0520252667).
- Grayson, Albert Kirk: Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles (ABC), Locust Valley, N. Y. ; Augustin (1975), Winona Lake, In. ; Eisenbrauns (2000).
- Healy, Mark (1991). The Ancient Assyrians (in English). London: Osprey. ISBN 1855321637. OCLC 26351868. The OCLC Online Computer Library Center is according to its website a "nonprofit membership computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purpose
- Leick, Gwendolyn. Mesopotamia.
- Lloyd, Seton. The Archaeology of Mesopotamia: From the Old Stone Age to the Persian Conquest.
- Nardo, Don. The Assyrian Empire.
- Nemet-Nejat, Karen Rhea. Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia.
- Oppenheim, A. Leo. Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead Civilization.
- Parpola, Simo (2004). Simo Parpola is professor of Assyriology at the University of Helsinki located in Helsinki, Finland. "National and Ethnic Identity in the Neo-Assyrian Empire and Assyrian Identity in Post-Empire Times" (in English) (PDF). Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies Vol. Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies is an Academic journal published by various Assyriologists and other academics focusing on the history of the Assyrian people 18 (No. 2).
- Roux, Georges. Ancient Iraq. Third edition. Penguin Books, 1992 (paperback, ISBN 014012523X).
- Saggs, H. W. F. , The Might That Was Assyria, ISBN 0283989610
- Virginia Schomp (2005). The Might That Was Assyria (1984 ISBN 978-0283989612 is written by Assyriologist H Ancient Mesopotamia: The Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians (in English). New York: Scholastic Library Pub. ISBN 0531167410. OCLC 60341786. The OCLC Online Computer Library Center is according to its website a "nonprofit membership computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purpose
- Spence, Lewis. Myths and Legends of Babylonia and Assyria.
External links
- Assyrian administrative letters
- Morris Jastrow, Jr., The Civilization of Babylonia and Assyria: its remains, language, history, religion, commerce, law, art, and literature London, Lippincott (1915) (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries); also as layered PDF format
- "The Assyrian Empire", All Empires Online History
- "Assyrian Legacy", Prototype Productions (video)
- "Assyria", LookLex Encyclopedia
- Robert William Rogers, The History of Assyria in "btm" format
- Theophilus G. Pinches, The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria in "btm" format
- "The Library at Ninevah", In our Time - BBC Radio 4
This entry incorporates text from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897.