The Assyrian Empire

Assyrians came from the northern part of Mesopotamia. Around 850 BC, they acquired a large empire by using a strong military, organization, and advanced weaponry in Southwest Asia. Empire stretched from north and east of the Tigris River to central Egypt.

Sennacherib King from 705-681 BC Established the Assyrian capital at Nineveh Destroyed over 89 cities and 820 villages. Burned down Babylon Had most of the Babylonian inhabitants killed Killed by his eldest son

Military Organization Soldiers wore leather, metal armor, copper or iron helmets, and leather skirts laced with metal scales. Their weapons were iron swords and iron-pointed spears. They would dig below the city walls to weaken them and then hammer the walls with iron battering rams. They would either kill or enslave their enemies.

Assyrian Rule Between 850 and 650 BC, the Assyrians defeated Syria, Palestine, and Babylonia to expand its empire into Anatolia and all of Egypt. Assyrian kings gave power to governors they trusted over the conquered provinces. If a conquered civilization did not pay taxes or give tribute, their cities would be burned and the people would be sent into exile.

Assyrian Culture Most Assyrian paintings portrayed brutal military campaigns or the lion hunt. King Ashurbanipal collected over 20,000 clay tablets from the Fertile Crescent including the Epic of Gilgamesh. He, also, built one of the largest libraries in the ancient world. The first library to use a cataloging system.

Assyrian Decline and Fall In 612 BC, a combined army of Medes and Chaldeans burned down Nineveh. The Chaldeans made Babylon their capital after defeating the Assyrians.

Rebirth of Babylon Became the center of a new empire, more than 1,000 years after Hammurabi ruled Nebuchadnezzar built one of the seven ancient wonders of the world, the hanging gardens of Babylon. Babylon’s walls were so thick that a four- horse chariot could ride on it. Built a seven-tiered ziggurat that was more than 300 feet high.

Astronomy Chaldean priests used the ziggurat to observe the stars. Kept records of how the stars and planets seemed to change position. Concluded the sun, moon, Earth, and five other planets belonged to the same solar system. Chaldeans formed the basis for astronomy.