thousands of years ago in the lands of Mesopotamia the Assyrians arose from a
small city-state and steadily grew into a great Empire the Empire witnessed
ancient kings ruling a kingdom where military skill waged war with supremacy
and Merchants conducted their business as the economy flourished the Assyrians
are remembered conquerors but is there more to uncover about this ancient
people find out as we delve into the history of the Assyrian Empire the
history of the Assyrians starts long ago on the banks the Tigris River located a
modern-day Iraq the culture began in the city of Assur which shared its name with
their primary God as Assur evolved the region flourished due to its close
proximity to southern Mesopotamia the rivers and fertile plains cultivated the
growth of other cities and civilizations this region was known as the Fertile
Crescent the city was further north through Sumerian cities such as a Ur, Larsa
and Uruk however they acquired skills from their neighbours such as writing
which enabled substantial advancement many cities in Mesopotamia including
Assur fell under the rule of the Akkadian Empire which is led by Sargon of Akkad
the Akkadian empires fortunes were short-lived as the Assyrians were quick
to rebelled and gain independence around the year 2000 BC the city had developed
into a substantial State the Assyrians were able to develop far-reaching trade
routes merchants developed several trading towns where goods from
Mesopotamia were barter for goods in Anatolia and vice-versa notably
merchants conveyed goods such as ten and textiles on donkeys and later camels in
exchange for precious metals and timber the city of Assur became a central
location between these trade routes and helped in the growth and economic
competence of the city the city-state of Assur
would manage to conquer and control nearby cities such as Nineveh and a
Ekallatum gaining recognition throughout the known
world it was during the fall of the Neo Sumerian Empire the waves of migration
took place by a people known as the amorites over hundreds of years the
amorites migrated from Syria and some leaders successfully ascended to
power in various cities usurping native Akkadian and Sumerian Kings one of these
cities was the Assyrian city of Ekallatum ruled over by King shamshi adad
he was accepted by the Assyrians but was forced to flee to Babylon when the
city-state of eshnunna conquered the region within a few years the king of
eshnunna died and allowed shamshi adad to reconquer the city-state he honoured
the god Assur maintained stability and achieved political unity whilst also
conquering a vast amount of territory calling himself king of the universe his
empire did not continue after a death however his legacy remained within a
culture of the Assyrians Assyria was conquered by Hammurabi of Babylon
however after his death the Empire weakened nevertheless Babylon would
remain as Mesopotamia's greatest power until an invasion of the Hittites the
Hittites came from Anatolia whose orchestrated military campaigns
decimated the nearby kingdom of young heart and then followed this by sacking
the city of Babylon rather than rule the Hittites returned to their homeland the
power vacuum allowed the newly migrated kassities to rebuild and rule Babylon
while the hurrian tribes united to form the kingdom of the Mitanni Assyrian
influence and expansion was halted due to the dominance of the Mitanni
who had gained a substantial amount of territory within Mesopotamia over a
short time period Assyria was wedged between two superpowers until the
Mitanni fell into instability and infighting resulting in a loss
of unity the political landscape changed once again Assyria gained independence
and expanded their influence in the territories surrounding Assur it was the
Assyrian King Ashur-uballit I who instigated waves conquest and expansion
after defeating a coalition of Hittites and mitanni rebels Shalmaneser I
was recognised as a great king of Assyria by the Hittites Egyptians and
Babylonians after King Solomon's death King tukulti-ninurta replaced him
subsequently conquering Babylon seeking supreme control he ordered the
relocation of the statue of their chief god Marduk and destroyed the walls of
the city to coolie continued his military campaigns and defeated the
Elamites in battle the Babylonians tried to revolt against
two coolies rule but he returned burned and pillaged the city this would prove
to be a mistake of Babylon had been a cultural leader for thousands of years
and many Assyrians saw themselves as protectors of Babylonian culture -
coolie would be murdered by his sons and Babylon regained independence in the
12th century BC a mysterious series of events caused the collapse of many
Bronze Age civilizations and remains a contentious subject with archaeologists
and historians today evidence suggests a coalition of warrior tribes known as the
sea people ravaged the coastal kingdoms and empires
of Mesopotamia Anatolia and nearly destroyed Egypt due to being further
inland the Assyrian Empire escaped much of the bombardment from the sea people
attacks and consequently took advantage of the chaos military service became
compulsory and the first weapons made of iron were introduced the Assyrian army
consisted of light and heavy infantry heavy infantry were equipped with a
conical bronze helmet and leather coat and a large deep conical shield
In comparison lighter to infantry have smaller flatter
shields and shorter helmets however both carried a dagger and a spear those that
rode on horseback wore light armour whilst carrying a long spear cavalry
units were an elite class of soldier that generally dominated the battlefield
crossing rough terrain where chariots could not however the military wasn't
the only accomplishments the Assyrians under the leadership of Ashur Bel Kala
the world's first public Botanical Gardens and zoo were established
comprising of a collection of plants and animals ranging from primates to
crocodiles however conflict was never far away from the Assyrians a group
known as that arameans invaded from the north these raids and
attacks from this new group of migrating tribes reduced the Assyrian Empire to
its original heartland it wouldn't be until a few hundred years later that
Assyrian Kings began a new wave of conquests as each King was crowned they
adopted the same warfare lifestyle as their predecessors with the victories on
the battlefield they built many roads thereby allowing
armies to march with haste each new king built a new Capitol along these roads
with large palaces magnificent wealth lavish lifestyle and power the Assyrians
became known for their military expertise their psychological warfare
and brutal tactics inflicting cruel punishments for those who resisted their
rule their standing army was well-organised
with systematic numbers and rankings it was the largest and greatest standing
army the world had ever seen the reign of tigeleth pilesar proved to be most
profound he understood that the power of high Assyrian officials had become
excessive and sought to reduce their influence his strategy was to divide the
Empire into more provinces thereby decreasing the high officials resources
should they aspire to revolt he also pointed eunuchs as governors of
newly conquered provinces removing the threat of rule becoming a dynastic issue
instead of a largely native Assyrian army
tigeleth pilesar incorporated a large number of conquered people into his army
anyone had joined would become a Syrian and adopt their religion and culture
with an informed military many new tactics evolved perhaps the most
significant being siege warfare the army would set up outside an enemy city stop
all movement in and out this inevitably resulted in starving the populace
weakening the people inside the city to such an extent that surrender was the
only option when storming a city the Assyrians
would shower their opponents with arrows to provide cover fire siege weapons
included ladders and battering rams Knights and nobles who were defeated
were treated harshly giving the Assyrians of reputation for being cruel
and brutal it was not uncommon for a king to be killed by fleeing his skin
which was then put on display for the local population to witness their brutal
tactics against their enemies resulted in many opponents surrendering for a
single drop of blood was spilled the Assyrians relied on fear as a means of
bringing the population under their control
prisoners and citizens of a newly conquered city were often forcefully
removed or relocated to different parts of the Empire to fulfil their needs
under the rule of King Sargon the second 30,000 Israelite's who were removed and
relocated this effective tactic was used to likelihood a revolt breaking people's
bonds with their homeland Ashurbanipal was the last of the great kings of
Assyria who steered the Empire to its greatest extent stretching from the
Egyptian capital Thebes in the West to the elamite capital Susa in the east
under his rule an imperial library was built containing thousands of clay
tablets written in Akkadian and Sumerian cuneiform it was said to be
one of the largest libraries of its kind at the time the constant campaigning to
control and expand its vast empire left Assyria exhausted and drained of wealth
and manpower sourcing sufficient troops and subsequently feeding and resourcing
the military was challenging for such a huge Empire following Ashurbanipal
death the Empire began to disintegrate rapidly after a series of bitter civil
wars Egypt successfully rebelled and a new power in the East known as the Medes
emerged as a growing powerful people the final defeat for the Empire came as a
coalition of Babylonian and Meade forces attacked and sacked the city of Nineveh
as the Empire collapsed the neo-Babylonian empire rapidly took its
place the Assyrians had set the standard for imperial woman for the generations
that followed the Empire laid the foundations of many successful empires
that followed they were known as a cruel ruthless people that became the biggest
Empire of the time many of their military tactics were copied and used
for hundreds of years after their demise although the Empire was eventually
defeated the ancestors of such a prestigious people remain to this day