The Assyrians have lived in the Middle East for thousands of years and are well known for their large empire and fierce invasions.
The city of Assur was once the center of the Assyrian civilization and the ruins of the city are now in northern Iraq. The territory the Assyrians controlled was large, stretching from southern Iraq to the Mediterranean coast in the 7th century B.C.
The city of Assur was controlled by a group of people known as the Sumerians, who had a mixture of political, military and environmental problems that led to their decline.
The Old Assyrian, the Middle Assyrian and the Neo-Assyrian are periods of Assyrian history. Scholars don't agree about the time span.
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Around 2000 B.C. is when the Old Assyrian period begins.
In the first two centuries after independence, Assur was a city focused on trade. The city was less than 40 hectares in size and had a population of between 5000 and 8000 people.
It's early rulers didn't refer to themselves as a "king" in their inscriptions, but as a "vicegerent" of the god Ashur. " 3000- 330 BC opens in a new tab"
Scholars are still trying to understand why the rulers of Assyria used modest titles.
Assyrian is a distinct language, albeit closely related to Babylonian, which was used in the south of Assur.
Samsi-Adad was the ruler of Assur in the 1800 B.C. The city was incorporated into a large amount of territory that he already had control of. Albert Grayson, professor of Assyriology at the University of Toronto, wrote in the book " Assyrian Royal Inscription" that ShamShi-Adad gave himself a title that scholars sometimes translate as "king of the universe."
ShamShi-Adad's empire didn't last long. After his death, the kingdoms of Ekallatum, Eshnunna and Babylon all took control of Assur. By 1500 B.C., Assur was under control of a kingdom called Mitanni.
In the 14th century B.C., the kingdom of Mitanni began to fade, and those in charge of Assur began to assert their independence. This period of Assyrian independence is called the Middle Assyrian period. From 1363 B.C. to 1328 B.C., the ruler of Assur-uballit I came to power and claimed independence from the other side. Jacob said that Assur-uballit I referred to himself as a "brother" of the pharaoh in a letter. Assur-uballit tried to expand the territory he had control of.
The Assyrian territory was enlarged. The kingdom of Assyria had been conquered a century earlier. Adad-nirari I claimed in ancient texts that heowed salt over the capital of Taidu and imposed labor obligations on the survivors. He said that he built a palace over Taidu and deposited a stele to mark his control of the city. Future Assyrian kings would also use the title "king of the universe."
The successors of Adad-nirari I expanded Assyria, according to ancient records. During the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I, the Assyrians conquered Babylonians and reached the Mediterranean coast. The ancient texts say that Tiglath-Pileser brought cedar wood for building projects.
The Assyrian kings were noted for their martial prowess. Tiglath-Pileser boasted that he conquered 42 lands and their rulers from across the Middle East, and that he was a "valiant man" with an "unrivaled bow".
There are inscriptions from Tiglath-Pileser's time that show the problems Assyria was having. Cities and civilizations across the Middle East were collapsing as a group of people from the Aegean that are sometimes called the "sea people" arrived in the region. The Arameans, a group of people who were displaced or caught up in the chaos, were often fought against by Tiglath-Pileser and his successors. After Tiglath-Pileser's conquests, the kingdom retained control of Assur and nearby areas. In the 10th century B.C., Assyria expanded again.
The Assyrian Empire was destroyed in 600 B.C. during the Neo-Assyrian period. The territory of Assyria reached its greatest geographic size.
Assyria lost a lot of territory at the beginning of this time period. The Assyrian kings of the late tenth and ninth centuries were assertive and ruthless.
The Assyrians regained control of much of the territory they had lost. The city of Kalhu was used as Assyria's capital by Ashurnasirpal II. Future Assyrian kings would keep this policy in place. The reign of sargon II took place in the year 2000. He founded a new city called Khorsabad and built a new palace at Nineveh.
The reasons why Ashurnasirpal II and his successors decided to distance themselves from Assur are a source of debate among scholars.
According to a paper published in the book " Revolt and Resistance in the Ancient Classical World and the Near East", the king wasn't the only one jockeying for power. The king had to deal with nobles at Assur. The god Assur was important to the Assyrians, but he was not the only god they worshiped.
The relocation of the seat of royal power is seen as a strategy to emancipate the king from god Assur and to weaken the influence of the aristocracy and democratic powers.
Ashurnasirpal II and his successors abolished hereditary governors in order to establish a new capital. Men who had been castrated were increasingly relied on by the Assyrian kings. The king and his successors were less at risk due to the fact that these men couldn't have children.
The kings of Assyria increased their kingdom's size. The Assyrians launched a number of campaigns into modern-day Israel and Palestine, which resulted in many mentions in the Hebrew Bible.
According to a paper published in the book " The Dynamics", they did not always rule the newly conquered territories directly but sometimes allowed "client" rulers to rule over the territories on a case-by-case basis.
The yearly sending of tribute to the Assyrian king was a part of the act of disobedience. The Assyrians would take over the territory if the rulers broke their oaths.
There was trouble in the East as the Assyrians moved to the west. Babylonian rebellions were put down by Assyrian rulers during the seventh century B.C. The Medes launched attacks on Assyrian forces.
The Assyrian military came under attack while trying to maintain their holdings in the west. During the rule of the Babylonian king Nabopolassar, the Babylonians became independent. To 605 B.C.
The Median king Cyaxares ruled in the 6th century B.C. The Assyrian king Sinsharishkun attacked Nineveh in 625 B.C. The person tried to stop. The fight for Nineveh was going on for a while. The Medians invaded the city after three battles. According to ancient inscriptions, the city was destroyed by the Median army who turned it into a wasteland.
It is not known if Sinsharishkun died at Nineveh or later in a battle. The Assyrian kingdom was wiped out by 600 B.C.
Some Assyrians survived the downfall despite their cities being destroyed. They lived through a long line of rulers. The Assyrians converted to Christianity after the time of Jesus Christ, and have continued to do so today.
Many Assyrians have been killed or forced to flee due to the destruction caused by the Islamic State. The terrorist group has wreaked havoc on Assyrian sites. Assyrians can be found all over the world.
The original article was published on Live Science in October of 2016
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