Assyria

Assyria

History of AssyriaHistory of Assyria  Earliest years (2,000’s BC), collection of city states  Shamshi-Adad I (ca. 1813–1781 B.C.), Amorite ruler over the city-state of Asshur.  First significant ruler  Assyria becomes a political entity (ca. 1741–1274 B.C.).  Little information from 1741–1364 B.C.  Ashur-uballit I (ca. 1363–1328 B.C.): the first appearance of Assyria as a political entity.  First “king of Assyria”  The beginning of Assyria’s rise to greatness

History of AssyriaHistory of Assyria  The Middle Assyrian Empire (ca. 1273–1076 B.C. )  Constant battle with Babylon ; usually victorious  Beginning of gory military tactics  Shalmaneser I (ca. 1273–1244) blinded over 14,000 Mitanni people taken captive  Began deporting conquered peoples  Short decline ; pressure from Mitanni and Babylon  Ashur-resha-ishi I (ca. 1132–1115 B.C.) Major revival  Tiglath-pileser I (ca. 1114–1076 B.C.): One of the greatest kings in Assyrian history

History of AssyriaHistory of Assyria  Period of Decline ( B.C.)  Rise of the Arameans (nomads from Syria)  David’s battle against the Arameans/Syrians (2 Sam 8, 10)  Aramean language: Aramaic  Becomes the dominant trade language after 8 th century  Cf. 2 Kings 18

History of AssyriaHistory of Assyria  Neo-Assyrian Empire ( B.C.)  The first real empire in human history

History of AssyriaHistory of Assyria  The Late Assyrian Empire (744–612 B.C. ).  “[T]he greatest and final flowering of Assyrian imperial power in the ANE” (Grayson)  Three main kings:  Tiglath-pileser III (744–727 B.C. ).  Expansion and stability  Shalmaneser V (726–722 B.C. )  Conquered Samaria (Israel) in 722 B.C.  Sennacherib (704–681 B.C. ).  Expansion and defeat (spanked by the “angel of the LORD,” 2 Kings 18-20)

History of AssyriaHistory of Assyria  Fall of Assyria  Rise of Babylon (teamed up with the Medes)  War with Babylon 652 B.C. Marks period of Assyrian decline  Sacked Asshur in 614 B.C.  Sacked Nineveh (capital) in 612 B.C.  Moved capital to Harran and then to Carchemish  Battle of Carchemish 605 B.C.  Assyria and Egypt (ally) fought against the Babylonian invaders  Babylon won. Assyrian Empire was forever ended. Babylon = new empire

Assyria’s MilitaryAssyria’s Military  “The Assyrian army was the most successful army developed in the ancient world in pre-Persian times” (Grayson)  Militaristic state: the existence of Assyria was secured and maintained through an excessively strong military  King = military leader  Well organized standing (professional) army  Massive infantry  Calvary  Chariots

Assyria’s MilitaryAssyria’s Military  Psychological warfare  Leader would taunt the city  If this failed, a nearby city was brutally mutilated to force the other city to surrender  Isaiah 36:4-20 and 37:8

Siege of Lachish (Isa. 36:2; 37:8)

Glory in the goreGlory in the gore  “I felled 50 of their fighting men with the sword, burnt 200 captives from them, [and] defeated in a battle on the plain 332 troops. … With their blood I dyed the mountain red like red wool, [and] the rest of them the ravines [and] torrents of the mountain swallowed. I carried off captives [and] possessions from them. I cut off the heads of their fighters [and] built [therewith] a tower before their city. I burnt their adolescent boys [and] girls.”

Glory in the goreGlory in the gore  “In strife and conflict I besieged [and] conquered the city. I felled 3,000 of their fighting men with the sword … I captured many troops alive: I cut off of some their arms [and] hands; I cut off of others their noses, ears, [and] extremities. I gouged out the eyes of many troops. I made one pile of the living [and] one of heads. I hung their heads on trees around the city.”

Everyday lifeEveryday life  Reading  Many libraries in Assyria  Hunting  Low view of women  Social pyramid: king, nobles, skill labors, manual labors  Militarism permeated all of life  “Assyria was a militaristic society, and everything revolved around the warrior” (Grayson)  Hobbies: Archery, javelin, stone throwing

Religion  Polytheistic: Believed in many gods  Asshur = chief god  Other gods: Ishtar (female), Ninurta, Shamash, Adad, and Sin.  Worshipped Babylonian gods: Enlil, Marduk, and Nabu  Many other “personal deities.”  King = Asshur’s representative on earth.  I.e. he bore the image of Asshur

Legacy 1.First real “empire”  “It was the Assyrian kings who first extended their authority well beyond the confines of national boundaries to rule over or effectively control a variety of far-flung peoples and territories. Subsequent conquerors—the Achaemenid Persians, Alexander the Great, and the Romans—would strive to emulate the Assyrian achievement.” (Grayson) 2.Militarism.  Assyrian military tactics would shape the way other empires ruled the world