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The Neo-Assyrian Empire was a period of Mesopotamian history which began in 934 BC and ended in 609 BC. 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 Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding [1] During this period, Assyria assumed a position as a great regional power, vying with Babylonia and other lesser powers for dominance of the region, though not until the reforms of Tiglath-Pileser III in the 8th century BC,[2][3] did it become a powerful and vast empire. Babylonia was an Amorite state in lower Mesopotamia (modern southern Iraq) with Babylon as its capital Tiglath-Pileser III (from the Hebraic form of Akkadian: Tukultī-apil-Ešarra, "my trust is in the son of Esharra" was a prominent king In the Middle Assyrian period of the Late Bronze Age, Assyria had been a minor kingdom of northern Mesopotamia (modern-day northern Iraq), competing for dominance with its southern Mesopotamian rival Babylonia. 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 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. Beginning with the campaign of Adad-nirari II, it became a great regional power, growing to be a serious threat to 25th dynasty Egypt. Adad-nirari II is generally considered to be the first King of Assyria in the Neo-Assyrian period. 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
The Neo-Assyrian Empire succeeded the Middle Assyrian period (14th to 10th century BC). Early history The most Neolithic site in Assyria is at Tell Hassuna, the center of the Hassuna culture Some scholars, such as Richard Nelson Frye, regard the Neo-Assyrian Empire to be the first real empire in human history. Richard Nelson Frye (born c 1920 is an American scholar of Iranian and Central Asian Studies, and Aga Khan Professor Emeritus [4] During this period, Aramaic was also made an official language of the empire, alongside the Akkadian language. Aramaic is a Semitic language with [4]
Assyria finally succumbed to the rise of the Chaldean dynasty, with the Fall 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 Battle of Nineveh was fought in 612 BC. It witnessed the Assyrian capital of Nineveh being sacked besieged and conquered by allied forces More than half a century later, the Babylonians and Assyrians both became provinces of the Persian Empire. "Aturia" redirects here For the Fossil Nautilus Genus, see Aturia (cephalopod. The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia Though the Assyrians during the reign of Ashurbanipal destroyed the Elamite civilisation, the Assyrians' culture did however influence the succeeding empires of the Indo-Iranian tribes of the Medes and the Persians. Ashurbanipal ( Akkadian: Aššur-bāni-apli, " Ashur has made a son" or "Ashur created an heir" (b Elam is the name of an ancient civilization located in what is now southwest Iran. Indo-Iranian peoples consist of the Indo-Aryan, Iranian, Dardic and Nuristani peoples that is speakers of Indo-Iranian languages The Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in the northwestern portions of present-day Iran. layout and formatting it should ensure no clashes with the top of the infobox [5]
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Pre-reform Assyria
Growth
After Tiglath-Pileser I, the Assyrians were in decline for nearly two centuries, a time of weak and ineffective rulers, wars with neighboring Urartu, and encroachments by Aramaean nomads. Urartu ( Assyrian: Urarṭu Urartian: Biainili Ուրարտու was an Iron Age kingdom in Eastern Anatolia ( Transcaucasia) rising The Aramaeans (also Arameans) ( Aramaic / Syriac: ܐܪܡܝܐ, Ārāmāye' were a Semitic (West Semitic language group This long period of weakness ended with the accession in 911 BC of Adad-nirari II. Adad-nirari II is generally considered to be the first King of Assyria in the Neo-Assyrian period. He firmly subjugated the areas previously under nominal Assyrian vassalage, deporting populations in the north to far-off places. Apart from pushing the boundary with Babylonia slightly southward, he did not engage in actual expansion, and the borders of the empire he consolidated reached only as far west as the Khabur. He was succeeded by Tukulti-Ninurta II, who made some gains in the north during his short reign. Tukulti-Ninurta II was King of Assyria from 891 to 884 BC He was the son of Adad-nirari II and the second king of the Neo-Assyrian period
The next king, Ashurnasirpal II (883–859 BC), embarked on a vast program of expansion, first conquering the peoples to the north as far as Nairi, then conquering the Aramaeans between the Khabur and the Euphrates. Ashur-nasir-pal II ( Transliteration: Aššur-nâṣir-apli, meaning " Ashur is guardian of the heir" was king of Assyria from 884 BC-859 The Assyrian Empire originated in the early 2nd millennium BC, succeeding the Akkadian Kingdom of the late 3rd millennium BC. The Khabur River (also Habur Habor Kebar Chebar Chaboras; Aramaic: ܚܒܘܪ, Kurdish: Çemê Xabûr, Turkish: Habur The Euphrates ( ( Arabic: ar نهر الفرات; Turkish: tr Fırat Syriac: syr ܦܪܬ; Hebrew: he פרת His harshness prompted a revolt that was crushed decisively in a pitched, two-day battle. Following this victory, he advanced without opposition as far as the Mediterranean and exacted tribute from Phoenicia. Phoenicia ( Phoenician: Phoenician nunsvg|12px|נ]]Phoenician nun Unlike any before, the Assyrians began boasting in their ruthlessness around this time. Ashurnasirpal II also moved his capital to the city of Kalhu (Nimrud). Nimrud is an ancient Assyrian city located south of Nineveh on the river Tigris. The palaces, temples and other buildings raised by him bear witness to a considerable development of wealth and art.
Ashurnasirpal's son, Shalmaneser III (858–823 BC), had a long reign of 34 years, when the capital was converted into an armed camp. Shalmaneser III ( Šulmānu-ašarēdu, "the god Shulmanu is pre-eminent" was king of Assyria (859 BC-824 BC and son of the previous ruler Each year the Assyrian armies marched out to campaign. Babylon was occupied, and Babylonia reduced to vassalage. He fought against Urartu, and marched an army against an alliance of Syrian states headed by Hadadezer of Damascus, and including Ahab, king of Israel, at the Battle of Qarqar in 853 BC. Hadadezer (" Hadad is my help" also known as Adad-Idri ( Assyr Damascus ( دمشق,, also commonly known as الشام ash-Shām) is the capital and largest city of Syria. Ahab (or Ach'av or) was king of Israel and the son and successor of Omri ( 1 Kings 1629-34 The Kingdom of Israel ( ( KJV Israel in Samaria) was one of the successor states to the older United Monarchy (also often called the 'Kingdom of Israel' The Battle of Karkar (or Qarqar) was fought in 853 BC when the army of Assyria, led by king Shalmaneser III, encountered an allied army Despite Shalmaneser's description of 'vanquishing the opposition', it seems that the battle ended in a deadlock, as the Assyrian forces were withdrawn soon afterwards.
Shalmaneser retook Carchemish in 849 BC, and in 841 BC marched an army against Hazael, King of Damascus, besieging that city but not taking it. Hazael ( Hebrew Hazael meaning " God has seen" was a court official and later an Aramean king who appeared in the Bible He also brought under tribute Jehu of Israel, Tyre, and Sidon. ' Yehu redirects here for the instrument see Yehu (instrument. Tyre ( Arabic صور Ṣūr, Phoenician Phoenician wawsvg|12px|ו]] Ṣur, Hebrew Sidon,or Saïda, ( Arabic ar صيدا; Phoenician phoenician yodh His black obelisk, discovered at Kalhu, records many military exploits of his reign. An obelisk (from Greek ὀβελίσκος - obeliskos, diminutive of ὀβελός - obelos, "spit nail pointed pillar" [1] The last few years of his life were disturbed by the rebellion of his eldest son that nearly proved fatal. Assur, Arbela and other places joined the pretender, and the revolt was quashed with difficulty by Shamshi-Adad V, Shalmaneser's second son, who soon afterwards succeeded him (824 BC). Shamshi-Adad V was the King of Assyria from 824 to 811 BC He was the son and successor of Shalmaneser III, the husband of Shammuramat (by some identified
Period of weakness, 823–745 BC
In the following 80 years or so, Assyria again experienced a relative decline, owing to weaker rulers (including Queen Semiramis) and a resurgence in expansion by Urartu. Semiramis was a legendary Assyrian queen also known as Semiramide, Semiramida, or Shamiram in Aramaic The notable exception was Adad-nirari III (810–782 BC), who captured Damascus in 804, bringing Syria under tribute as far south as Samaria and Edom, and who advanced against the Medes, perhaps even penetrating to the Caspian Sea. Adad-nirari III (also Adad-narari) was King of Assyria from 811 to 783 BC Samaria, or the Shomron ( שֹׁמְרוֹן, Standard Šoməron Tiberian Šōmərôn The Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in the northwestern portions of present-day Iran. The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged Sea.
Tiglath-Pileser III
When Nabonassar began the Neo-Babylonian dynasty in 747 BC Assyria was in the throes of a revolution. Tiglath-Pileser III (from the Hebraic form of Akkadian: Tukultī-apil-Ešarra, "my trust is in the son of Esharra" was a prominent king Nabonassar (also Nabonasser, Nabu-nasir, Nebo-adon-Assur or Nabo-n-assar) founded a kingdom in Babylon in 747 BC Civil war and pestilence were devastating the country, and its northern provinces had been wrested from it by Urartu. A civil war is a War between a State and domestic political actors that are in control of some part of the territory claimed by the state In 746 BC Kalhu joined the rebels, and on the 13th of Iyyar in the following year, a general named Pulu, who took the name of Tiglath-pileser III, seized the crown, and made sweeping changes to the Assyrian government, considerably improving its efficiency and security. Tiglath-Pileser III (from the Hebraic form of Akkadian: Tukultī-apil-Ešarra, "my trust is in the son of Esharra" was a prominent king
The conquered provinces were organized under an elaborate bureaucracy, with the king at the head — each district paying a fixed tribute and providing a military contingent. The Assyrian forces at this time became a standing army, that by successive improvements became an irresistible fighting machine; and Assyrian policy was henceforth directed toward reducing the whole civilized world into a single empire, throwing its trade and wealth into Assyrian hands. These changes are often identified as the beginning of the "Second Assyrian Empire".
When Tiglath-Pileser III had ascended the throne of Assyria, he went down to Babylonia and abducted the gods of Šapazza; the Assyrian-Babylonian Chronicle informs us (ABC 1 Col. The Babylonian Chronicles are series of tablets recording major events in Babylonian history 1:5). After subjecting Babylon to tribute, severely punishing Urartu, and defeating the Medes and Neo-Hittite polities, Tiglath-Pileser III directed his armies into Syria, which had regained its independence, and the commercially successful Mediterranean seaports of Phoenicia. The states that are called Neo-Hittite, or more recently Syro-Hittite, were Luwian, Aramaic and Phoenician -speaking political entities of He took Arpad near Aleppo in 740 BC after a siege of three years, and reduced Hamath. Arpad (modern Tell Rif'at, Syria) was an ancient Aramaean city located in north-western Syria For other meanings see Aleppo (disambiguation. Halab redirects here for other meanings see Halab (disambiguation. Hama (ancient Hamath; Arabic: حماة meaning fortress is a city on the banks of the Orontes river in central Syria north of Azariah (Uzziah) had been an ally of the king of Hamath, and thus was compelled by Tiglath-Pileser to do him homage and pay yearly tribute.
In 738 BC, in the reign of Menahem, king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser III occupied Philistia and invaded Israel, imposing on it a heavy tribute (2 Kings 15:19). For the Khazar ruler of the same name see Menahem (Khazar. For the medieval poet and philologist see Menahem ben Saruq. The Philistines ( Hebrew פלשתים plishtim) (see "other uses" below were a people who inhabited the southern coast of Canaan, Ahaz, king of Judah, engaged in a war against Israel and Syria, appealed for help to this Assyrian king by means of a present of gold and silver (2 Kings 16:8); he accordingly "marched against Damascus, defeated and put Rezin to death, and besieged the city itself". Ahaz (אחז lit "has held" an abbreviation of Jehoahaz, "God has held" was king of Judah, and the son and successor of Jotham Leaving part of his army to continue the siege, he advanced, ravaging with fire and sword the province east of the Jordan, Philistia, and Samaria (northern Israel; and in 732 BC he took Damascus, deporting its inhabitants and those of Samaria to Assyria. Samaria, or the Shomron ( שֹׁמְרוֹן, Standard Šoməron Tiberian Šōmərôn The Kingdom of Israel ( ( KJV Israel in Samaria) was one of the successor states to the older United Monarchy (also often called the 'Kingdom of Israel' In 729 BC, Tiglath-Pileser III went to Babylonia and captured Nabu-mukin-zeri, the king of Babylon (ABC 1 Col. 1:21). He had himself crowned as King Pul of Babylon.
Tiglath-Pileser III died in 727 BC, and was succeeded by Shalmaneser V. Shalmaneser V ( Akkadian: akk Šulmanu-ašarid) was King of Assyria from 727 to 722 BC However, King Hoshea of Israel suspended paying tribute, and allied himself with Egypt against Assyria in 725 BC. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. This led Shalmaneser to invade Syria (2 Kings 17:5) and besiege Samaria (capital city of Israel) for three years (ABC 1 Col. 1:27).
Sargonid dynasty
Sargon II
Shalmaneser V died suddenly in 722 BC while laying siege to Samaria, and the throne was seized by Sargon II, the Turtanu (commander-in-chief of the army, which the Old Testament refers to as Tartan), who then quickly took Samaria, effectively ending the northern Kingdom of Israel and carrying 27,000 people away into captivity into the Israelite Diaspora. Sargon II ( Akkadian Šarru-kinu "legitimate king" reigned 722 – 705 BC was an Assyrian king The Kingdom of Israel ( ( KJV Israel in Samaria) was one of the successor states to the older United Monarchy (also often called the 'Kingdom of Israel' Begun in or around the year 720 BC a rebellion against the Assyrian Empire broke out participated in by ancient Syria and the Philistines (descendants of the ' Sea (2 Kings 17:1–6, 24; 18:7, 9). Sargon II waged war in his second year (721 BC) against the king of Elam, Humban-Nikaš, and his ally Marduk-apal-iddina II of Babylon, who had thrown off Assyrian rule (2 Kings 20:12), but Sargon was defeated as told in ABC 1 Col. Elam is the name of an ancient civilization located in what is now southwest Iran. Marduk-apla-iddina II (the biblical Merodach-baladan, also called Marduk-baladan, Baladan and Berodach-baladan. 1:31-37. Sargon, unable to contain the revolt, turned his attention again to Urartu and Syria, taking Carchemish in 717, as well as the Medes, penetrating the Iranian Plateau as far as Mt. Urartu ( Assyrian: Urarṭu Urartian: Biainili Ուրարտու was an Iron Age kingdom in Eastern Anatolia ( Transcaucasia) rising Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية Carchemish (called Europus by the Greco-Romans) was an important ancient city of the Mitanni and Hittite empires now on the frontier between The Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in the northwestern portions of present-day Iran. The Iranian Plateau, also known as the Persian plateau is a Geological formation in Southwest Asia, Southern Bikni and building several fortresses. Assyria was belligerent towards Babylonia for ten years while Marduk-apla-iddina ruled Babylon (ABC 1 Col. 1:41-42). In 710 BC, Sargon attacked Babylonia and defeated Marduk-apla-iddina, who fled to his allies in Elam (ABC 1 Col. 2:1-3). Sargon also built a new capital at Dur Sharrukin ("Sargon's City") near Nineveh, with all the tribute Assyria had collected from various nations. Dur-Sharrukin ("Fortress of Sargon" present day Khorsabad, was the Assyrian capital in the time of Sargon II of Assyria. A tribute (from Latin tribulum, contribution is wealth one party gives to another as a sign of respect or as was often case in historical contexts of submission
Sennacherib, 705–681 BC
In 705 BC, Sargon was slain while fighting the Cimmerians, and was succeeded by his son Sennacherib (2 Kings 18:13; 19:37; Isa. See Cimmeria (Conan or Cimmeria (Poem for the fiction of Robert E Sennacherib ( Akkadian Sîn-ahhe-eriba "(moon god Sîn has replaced (lost brothers for me" was the son of Sargon II, whom he 7:17, 18), who moved the capital to Nineveh and made the deported peoples work on improving Nineveh's system of irrigation canals. In 701 BC, Hezekiah of Judah formed an alliance with Egypt against Assyria, so Sennacherib accordingly marched toward Jerusalem, destroying 46 villages in his path. Hezekiah (or Ezekias) ( Hebrew: Ḥizqiyyāhu Khizkiyahu or Yəḥizqiyyāhu Y'khizkiyahu " the {{LORD}} has strengthened" compare This is graphically described in Isaiah 10; exactly what happened next is unclear (the Bible says an Angel of the Lord smote the Assyrian army at Jerusalem; Sennacherib's account says Judah paid him tribute and he left); however what is certain is that Sennacherib failed to capture Jerusalem. Marduk-apla-iddina had returned to Babylonia during the reign of Sennacherib. The Assyrian king made battle with him in 703 BC outside Kish and defeated him. KISH (1029 FM) is Guam 's first all- Chamorro Music formatted FM station Sennacherib plundered Babylonia and pursued Marduk-apla-iddina through the land. At his return to Assyria, Sennacherib installed Bel-ibni as king of Babylon (ABC 1 Col. Bel-ibni was a Babylonian nobleman who served as King of Babylon for several years as the nominee of the Assyrian king Sennacherib. 2:12-23). Bel-ibni however committed hostilities, so Sennacherib returned to Babylon in 700 BC and captured him and his officers. Sennacherib instead installed his son Aššur-nadin-šumi on the throne of Babylon (ABC 1 Col. Ashur-nadin-shumi (d694 BC was an ancient King of Babylon. The son of the Assyrian king Sennacherib, Ashur-nadin-shumi was installed by his father as 2:26-31).
Sennacherib launched a campaign against Elam in 694 BC and ravaged the land. In retaliation the king of Elam ordered to attack Babylonia. Aššur-nadin-šumi was captured and brought back to Elam and a new king called Nergal-ušezib was installed as ruler of Babylon (ABC 1 Col. 2:36–45). The Assyrians returned the next year to Babylonia and plundered the gods of Uruk. Nergal-ušezib did battle against the army of Assyria, but was taken prisoner and transported to Assyria (ABC 1 Col. 2:46 – Col. 3:6). Another native ruler, called Mušezib-Marduk, soon seized the throne of Babylon. He held it with help of his Elamite allies for four years until 689 BC, when the Assyrians retook the city (ABC 1 Col. 3:13–24). Sennacherib responded swiftly by opening the canals around Babylon and flooding the outside of the city until it became a swamp, resulting in its destruction, and its inhabitants were scattered. A swamp is a Wetland featuring temporary or permanent inundation of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water In 681 BC, Sennacherib was murdered, most likely by one of his sons (according to 2 Kings 19:37, while praying to the god Nisroch, he was killed by two of his sons, Adramalech and Sharezer, and both of these sons subsequently fled to Armenia; repeated in Isaiah 37:38 and alluded to in 2 Chronicles 32:21). According to the Bible, Nisroch is the Assyrian god of agriculture in whose temple Sennacherib was worshipping when he was assassinated
Esarhaddon, 681–669 BC
Sennacherib was succeeded by his son Esarhaddon (Ashur-aha-iddina), who had been governor of Babylonia, and was campaigning in Urartu at the time of his father's murder, where he won a victory at Malatia (Milid). Esarhaddon (Greek and Biblical form Akkadian Aššur-ahhe-iddina " Ashur has given a brother to me" was a king of Assyria who reigned Malatya ( Hittite: Melid; Greek: Μαλάτεια Malateia; Armenian: Մալաթիա Malatia; Kurdish: During the first year of Esarhaddon, a rebellion broke out in the south of Babylonia. Nabu-zer-kitti-lišir, a governor of the mat Tamti, laid siege to Ur. This governor did not capture the city, but fled to his kinsmen in Elam (Hal-Tamti); however, "the king of Elam took him prisoner and put him to the sword" (ABC 1 Col. 3:39–42); also in (ABC 14:1–4).
As king of Assyria, Esarhaddon immediately had Babylon rebuilt, and made it his capital. Defeating the Cimmerians and Medes (again penetrating to Mt. Bikni), but unable to maintain order in these areas, he turned his attention westward to Phoenicia—now allying itself with Egypt against him—and sacked Sidon in 677 BC. Phoenicia ( Phoenician: Phoenician nunsvg|12px|נ]]Phoenician nun Sidon,or Saïda, ( Arabic ar صيدا; Phoenician phoenician yodh He also captured King Manasseh of Judah and kept him prisoner for some time in Babylon (2 Chronicles 33:11). Manasseh of Judah was the king of Judah and only son and successor of Hezekiah. Having had enough of Egyptian meddling, Esarhaddon attempted to conquer Egypt in 673 BC, but was defeated (ABC 1 Col. 4:16). Two years later he made a new attempt and was successful. The Babylonian Chronicle retells how Egypt "was sacked and its gods were abducted" (ABC 1 Col. 4:25); also in ABC 14:28–29. The pharaoh Tirhakah fled Egypt, and a stele commemorating the victory, and representing Tirhakah with black African features, was set up at Sinjirli (north of the Gulf of Antioch), and is now in the Pergamon Museum, Berlin. Pharaoh is the title given in modern parlance to the ancient Egyptian kings of all periods Taharqa was pharaoh of Egypt, and a member of the Nubian or Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt. A stele (from Greek:, stēlē, ˈstiːli plural stelae,, stēlai, ˈstiːlaɪ also found Latinised singular stela The Pergamon Museum ( German: Pergamonmuseum) is among the museums on Museum Island in Berlin.
Assyria was also at war with Urartu and Dilmun at this time. Dilmun (sometimes transliterated Telmun) is a land mentioned by Mesopotamian Civilizations as a trade partner source of raw material copper and Entrepot This was Assyria's greatest territorial extent. However, the Assyrian governors Esarhaddon had appointed over Egypt were obliged to flee the restive populace, so a new campaign was launched by Esarhaddon in 669 BC. He became ill on the way and died. His son Šamaš-šuma-ukin became king of Babylon and his son Aššur-bani-pal became king of Assyria; see ABC 1 Col. Shamash-shum-ukin was king of Babylon from 668-648 BCHe was the second son of the Assyrian King Esarhaddon. Ashurbanipal ( Akkadian: Aššur-bāni-apli, " Ashur has made a son" or "Ashur created an heir" (b 4:30–33 and ABC 14:31–32, 37. Bel and the gods of Babylonia returned from their exile in Assur to Babylon in the first year of Šamaš-šuma-ukin, and the akitu festival could be celebrated for the first time in twenty years; ABC 1 14:34–39 and ABC 1 Col. The Assyrian new year (Assyrian Akitu) lies on April 1. Traditionally falling on the Vernal equinox, it was moved to April 1 when the 4:34–36.
Ashurbanipal, 669–627 BC
Aššur-bāni-apli, or Ashurbanipal (Ashurbanapli, Osnapper), succeeded his father Esarhaddon to the throne. Ashurbanipal ( Akkadian: Aššur-bāni-apli, " Ashur has made a son" or "Ashur created an heir" (b Esarhaddon (Greek and Biblical form Akkadian Aššur-ahhe-iddina " Ashur has given a brother to me" was a king of Assyria who reigned He continued to campaign in Egypt, when not distracted by pressures from the Medes to the east, and Cimmerians to the north of Assyria. Unable to contain Egypt, he installed Psammetichus as a vassal king in 664 BC. However, after Gyges of Lydia's appeal for Assyrian help against the Cimmerians was rejected, Lydian mercenaries were sent to Psammetichus. Gyges (Γύγης was the founder of the third or Mermnad dynasty of Lydian kings and reigned from 716 BC to 678 BC (or from c By 652 BC, this vassal king was strong enough to declare outright independence from Assyria with impunity, especially as Ashurbanipal's older brother, Shamash-shum-ukin, governor of Babylon, began a civil war in that year. Shamash-shum-ukin was king of Babylon from 668-648 BCHe was the second son of the Assyrian King Esarhaddon. This rebellion lasted until 648 BC, when Babylon was sacked, and Shamash-shum-ukin set fire to the palace, killing himself. Elam was completely devastated in 646 BC and 640 BC, and its capital Susa completely leveled. Susa ( Biblical שושן ( Shushan) also Greek: Σοῦσα Transliterated as Sousa; Latin Susa)
Legacy of Ashurbanipal
Ashurbanipal had promoted art and culture, and had a vast library of cuneiform tablets at Nineveh. However, his long struggle with Babylonia and Elam left Assyria maimed and exhausted. It had been drained of wealth and fighting population; the devastated provinces could yield nothing to supply the needs of the imperial exchequer, and it was difficult to find sufficient troops to garrison the conquered populations. Assyria, therefore, was ill-prepared to face the hordes of Scythians and Medes who now began to harass the frontiers to the east; Asia Minor too was full of Cimmerians. The Scythians or Scyths (Σκύθες Σκύθοι were an Iranian speaking people of horse-riding Nomadic pastoralists who dominated the Pontic
Assyria falls, 627–605 BC
Upon Ashurbanipal's death in 627 BC, the empire began to disintegrate rapidly. The Scythians, Cimmerians and Medes immediately penetrated the borders, marauding as far as Egypt, while Babylonia again became independent; Ashurbanipal's successor, Ashur-etil-ilani, seems to have exercised little real power. The Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in the northwestern portions of present-day Iran. Ashur-etil-ilani was a king of Assyria ca ( 631 BC - ca 627 BC The Babylonian king Nabopolassar, along with Cyaxares the Mede, finally destroyed Nineveh in 612 BC, and Assyria fell. Nabopolassar ( Akkadian: Nabû-apal-usur) was the first king (ruled 625-605 BC of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Cyaxares, Hvakhshathra, or Kayxosrew (𐎢𐎺𐎧𐏁𐎫𐎼 Uvaxštra, Greek Κυαξαρης; r A general called Ashur-uballit II, with military support from the Egyptian Pharaoh Necho II, held out as a remnant of Assyrian power at Harran until 608 BC. Ashur-uballit II (Aššur-uballiṭ II, was the last king of the Assyrian empire [6] Egyptian aid continued to the Assyrians, who attempted to curb the increasing power of the Babylonians. In 605 BC at the Battle of Megiddo, an Egyptian force defeated a Judean force and managed to reach the last remnants of the Assyrian army. In a final battle the Babylonians crushed the Assyrian-Egyptian alliance, after which Assyria ceased to exist as an independent nation. [7]
From the 8th century, the Aramaic language had gradually established itself as a lingua franca of the Empire. Aramaic is a Semitic language with A lingua franca (from Italian, literally meaning Frankish language, see etymology under Sabir and Italian below is any Language widely By the 6th century, it had marginalized the Assyrian language so much that Aramaic came to be the imperial language of Achaemenid Assyria. Aramaic is a Semitic language with "Aturia" redirects here For the Fossil Nautilus Genus, see Aturia (cephalopod. One of key factors contributing to the use of Aramaic was the rise and fall of Assyria; during her rule, deportations and colonizations increased contact between Aramean and Assyrians. As the Empire then fell, only the elite knew how to read and write the Akkadian script. The savage sacking of Ninevah and Assur, as well as numerous other Assyrian cities ensured that few, if any of these elite survived to pass the language on.
Culture
- Further information: Art and architecture of Assyria and Ancient Assyrian religion
Several of the most ancient works of Babylonian literature are best preserved in Neo-Assyrian copies. See also History of architecture Assyria flourished from the Old Assyrian period in the Middle Bronze Age until the Neo-Assyrian Empire The pre- Christian religions of Babylonia and Assyria are the earliest attestation of Ancient Semitic religion, in particular Mesopotamian mythology Babylonian literature is one of the world's oldest Drawing on the traditions of Sumerian literature, the Babylonians compiled a vast textual tradition of mythological Thus, there are 7th century copies of both the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Enûma Eliš from Ashurbanipal's library in Nineveh, as well as Neo-Assyrian versions of the Atra-Hasis. The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Ancient Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literary fiction. The akk Enûma Eliš is the Babylonian Creation myth (named for its Incipit) Ashurbanipal ( Akkadian: Aššur-bāni-apli, " Ashur has made a son" or "Ashur created an heir" (b Nineveh ( Akkadian: Ninua; Aramaic: ܢܝܢܘܐ Hebrew נינוה Nīnewē; Arabic نينوى Naīnuwa) The 18th century BCE Akkadian Atra-Hasis epic, named after its human hero
Neo-Assyrian cuneiform is the final stage of the long evolution of the cuneiform script. The number of glyphs was reduced, and the glyph shapes were standardized and simplified, so that modern cuneiform sign inventories are usually based on the Neo-Assyrian glyph shapes. The following is a list of Cuneiform signs, ordered by their 2004 Borger number (MesZL Neo-Assyrian cuneiform remained in use alongside the Aramaic alphabet well into Parthian times. The Aramaic alphabet is an Abjad, a Consonantal Alphabet, used for writing Aramaic. The Aramaic language from the 8th century was adopted for correspondence with Aramaean provinces, and Assyrian scribes are often depicted in pairs. Aramaic is a Semitic language with One writing in Akkadian on the cuneiform tablet, the other writing in Aramaic on the parchment or papyrus.
References
- ^ 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 (English). Assyriology. Assyriology (from Greek grc Ἀσσυρίᾱ Assyriā; and grc -λογία -logia) is the archaeological historical and linguistic study Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies, Vol 18, N0. Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies is an Academic journal published by various Assyriologists and other academics focusing on the history of the Assyrian people 2. “The Neo-Assyrian Empire (934-609 BC) was a multi-ethnic state composed of many peoples and tribes of different origins. ”
- ^ Assyrian Eponym List
- ^ Tadmor, H. (1994). The Inscriptions of Tiglath-Pileser III, King of Assyria. pp. 29
- ^ a b Frye, Richard N. (1992). Richard Nelson Frye (born c 1920 is an American scholar of Iranian and Central Asian Studies, and Aga Khan Professor Emeritus Assyria and Syria: Synonyms (HTML) (English). PhD. , Harvard University. Journal of Near Eastern Studies. The Journal of Near Eastern Studies is an Academic journal published by the University of Chicago Press, devoted to examination of the Ancient and “And the ancient Assyrian empire, was the first real, empire in history. What do I mean, it had many different peoples included in the empire, all speaking Aramaic, and becoming what may be called, "Assyrian citizens. " That was the first time in history, that we have this. For example, Elamite musicians, were brought to Nineveh, and they were 'made Assyrians' which means, that Assyria, was more than a small country, it was the empire, the whole Fertile Crescent. ”
- ^ Hirad Dinavari. More alike than different (HTML) (English). The Iranian. “The cultural give and take influenced the many things some of which are the cuneiform writing and the building of ziggurats which the later Assyrians and the Achaemenid (Hakhamaneshi) Persians inherited. The Assyrians for the most part were responsible for the destruction of the Elamite civilization but the Assyrians influenced the cultures of Media and Urartu And the influence of Elam lived on among the Medes and Persians. The various Iranian speaking peoples who had been coming into what is now Caucasus Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia since around 4 thousand BCE were heavily influenced by the aboriginal Elamites and the Semitic Babylonians and Assyrians. This difference can be most noticed when one compares other Iranian speaking peoples who lived in Eurasia like the Scything and Sarmatians whose culture was very different with that of Iranian tribes who settled in the Iranian Plateau and became more intertwined with Slavic peoples. So from that far back Iran (the geographic location) has been multi-ethnic. ”
- ^ Grant, R G. Battle a Visual Journey Through 5000 Years of Combat. London: Dorling Kindersley, 2005 pg 19
- ^ Grant, R G. Battle a Visual Journey Through 5000 Years of Combat. London: Dorling Kindersley, 2005 pg 19
- Women and their Agency in the Neo-Assyrian Empire, Saana Teppo, Master's Thesis, April 2005. University of Helsinki, Faculty of Arts, Institute for Asian and African Studies, Assyriology.
See also
External links
- http://www.livius.org/as-at/assyria/assyria.html
- Decline of the Assyrian empire
- http://www3.uakron.edu/ziyaret/index.html
- http://www3.uakron.edu/ziyaret/historical.html
- http://www.geocities.com/garyweb65/neoassy.html
- http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-55456/history-of-Mesopotamia
- Chart of World Kingdoms, Nations and Empires - All Empires
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