Assyrian Empire

Assyria The Empire Assyria was a great empire that spanned over four countries. It was a empire that had a strong army, advanced technology and a influential Religion.

Assyrian Geography Assyria was a great empire but it was greatly affected by the climate its people lived in. Geography and climate affects what you eat what you where and the culture that you live in.

Placement of the Assyrian empire
Assyria spans 4 countries in the northern part of Mesopotamia
To the west it reaches the Euphrates River
To the north it extends to the point of Lake Van
To the east it reaches Lake Urmi
Both the Euphrates and the Tigris Rivers run in the empires area
Tourus and Zagros mountains lie north east of where Assyria was
To the south west is a enormous limestone plateau
In the south lie alluvium with is dumped on the land by the Tigris when the river floods
Even further south lies land that doesn't have enough rainfall to hold agriculture
These two inhabitable areas mark the boundaries to Assyria and its neighbors

Farmland and Water Supply
The Assyrians lived on flat exposed farmland
Land was fertile and every region in the empire ad fields of produce
Two critical crop producers in the empire where the people of the Arbel plain and the Nineveh plain
These groups helped Assyrians receive food needed to feed its enormous population
And because of the surplus the empire was able to advance and expand their civilization and its art
Their lack of natural barriers like mountains or rivers it meant they needed to build a strong army
The Assyrians like the Egyptians where a river valley civilization
The Assyrians depended on the Tigris river for water for transportation and for trading

Climate
On the lime stone plateau it was cold and wet in the winters
Warm in summer
Apples where grown along figs, olives , pomegranates ,almonds ,mulberries ,and vines where grown as well
A multitude of grains where also harvested such as barley and wheat
Rice was grown and popular in Babylonia
Cotton was also grown
The people wore knee length tunics
Clothing was mostly made of wool but linen was used for nicer quality garments
They grew onions but considered to be peasant food
Onion leeks and Garlic plants where grown plentifully in the Assyrians gardens
Knew there fungi as they knew both poisons and non poisons mushrooms

Animals
The Assyrians also hunted for food besides the trading and crops that they grew
In the nearby forests lions lived
Wild bull lived in the plains
Also in the plains where wild asses, wild goats, and Gazelles
Mastiffs (very big dog) where tamed and used for hunting
Horses where imported from other lands
Pelicans trained for fishing
The people hunted Fowl like thrushes sparrows and larks
Fishing was done by line and through means of nets
Fish eaten both fresh and dried as bigger fish would usually be dried for future purposes

In conclusion Assyria was affected by its climate and geography. Its climate and geography affected what they wore what they lived in and what they ate as well

As a result, the Assyrians created and used devices that had helped them conquer nations and also assisted with everyday life.

War and Construction
mud brick construction: is a technique to build massive palaces with sculptures that portrayed battles and victories.
pontoons: floating structures used to support bridge; used them for crossing a river.
ladders: troops used them to climb up enemy’s city walls.
iron daggers and swords: weapons used by Assyrian army
iron tipped battering rams: used to destroy the enemy’s city walls.

Inventions and Ideas
locks and keys were first used.
sexagesimal system of keeping time was developed.
developed medicine that eventually influenced doctors as far away as Europe.
first to divide a circle into 360 degrees and invented the concept of longitude and latitude

Inventions and Ideas (Cont.)
Akkadian language was written on clay tablets.
Arameans had introduced a language and the idea of writing on parchment, leather, or papyrus; knew the it would replace the original Assyrian language because of the technological breakthrough in writing.
a piece of rock crystal unearthed and was discovered in Northern Iraq; possibly used as an telescope, which implies Assyria’s advanced understanding of Astronomy

As a result, the Assyrians created and used devices that had helped them conquer nations and also assisted with everyday life.

Assyrian Religion Anastasiya Sergeyeva

Intro The ancient Assyrian religion existed as a belief system for 1300 years. Assyrian religion originated in Sumer and Akkad . The Assyrians were polytheistic. They performed rituals and ceremonies, and built temples for their gods. They had religious celebrations. And they put a negative view on death.

Gods/Deities *Assyrians were polytheistic. They recognized thousands of gods, but only about twenty were important in actual practice. Assyrian Gods: Adad : Weather God, God of storms, creator and destroyer, God of Heaven, God of oracles and divination. The number six, the lion and the bull were sacred to him and his symbol was the cypress. Ashur : National God and God of War Atrahasis : Only survivor, of the flood that destroyed mankind. Bel : "Master", applied to Enlil and Marduk. Lamassu : Protective spirits in the form of winged bulls with a human head. Carved around the throne of Sargon with 5 legs, (so that it looked like they were walking). Mah : Earth Goddess. Mutu : God of Underworld. Pazuzu : Demon king of the evil wind who protects humans from plague and evil. Sulmanu : God of war and the Underworld. Assyrian Deities: Assur / Anshar : patron of Assur Ishta r : the goddess of love and war, patroness of Nineveh Adramelech As Shalla : the Assyrian goddess of grain Anasas : god of medicine Nishraeli Nisroch : god of agriculture Nimrud Oannes Nabu Samnuha Kubaba

Temples Temples were built for all the various gods. In Assyrian religion it was assumed that a god or a goddess needed a home, or a place where humans could communicate with a god/goddess. The various gods were thought of as residing in cosmic places. They were also present in their idol, and lived in the temple as a king in his palace. The temples had an open court with fountains for ablution and altars for sacrifices. The indoor part of the temple contained the dwellings of the god. The god/goddess was represented with a statue. The most important gods were honored at large temples. The temples varied in size according to the god's importance. In these temples daily ceremonies were held. The monthly and yearly rituals were the most important.

Ceremonies/ Religious Sacrifices/Celebrations There were ceremonies and sacrifices to worship a god or goddess or group of deities. These ceremonies included, animal sacrifices, ritualistic purification, libations, sprinkling of water, and symbolical rites of all kinds. In ancient times the most important celebration of the year was “Akitu”. It is the new year according to the ancient Assyrian calendar. In ancient times, the event was held in the first month of the year (Nissanu).

Marriage An ancient Assyrian marriage contract reads: “Laqipum has married Hatala, daughter of Enishru in the country Laqipum [and] may not marry another [woman] in the City. He may marry a hierodule. If within two years she does not provide him with [an] offspring, she [must] purchase a slave woman. [If she does produce an offspring,] he may dispose of her by sale [or however] he pleases. Should Laqipum choose to divorce her, he must pay five minas of silver [to her] and should Hatala choose to divorce him, she must pay five minas of silver [to him]”. Witnessed by: Masa, Ashurishtikal, Talia, Shupianika. (Finkelstein)

Death Death in and Assyrian religion was not viewed optimistically. The spirit of the dead would go to the underworld. There wasn’t any paradise or hope for any rewards for the righteous. The spirits would go to a large dark cavern below the earth, in which all the dead were gathered and they led a miserable existence of inactivity. Occasionally a favored individual was permitted to escape from this fate and placed in a pleasant island. It appeared that the rulers were always singled out for divine grace, owing to the prevailing view that the rulers stood nearer to the gods than other mortals.

The Assyrians

The Assyrians have long been known as a ruthless and barbaric people of the ancient civilizations.
While this may be true in some instances, it is not an entirely accurate view of the Empire of Assyria.
The Assyrians even had special schools set up to teach sapping (military demolition of walls etc.) and mining city walls

The Assyrian army was feared for many reasons one including the use of iron in their weapons.
The Assyrians were the first to use iron in spears, swords, shields and armor.
They even tipped their battering rams for extra effectiveness.

Their bowmen were also among the worlds finest. They had heavy chariots drawn by two horses and had a crew of two, the driver and an archer.
The primary weapon of the infantry was the bow.

Tatics

Another weapon used by the Assyrians was not made of wood or iron, but was used in equal effect was psychological warfare.
The Assyrians were masters of psychological warfare. They believed that it was necessary that should be persuaded that it was vain to attempt to oppose Assyria. The Assyrians achieved this in two ways, demonstration of overwhelming might and by propaganda

other tactics Assyrians would do...
were to cut off the supplies of the kingdoms with powerful armies. Therefore the results= the fall of the city.
They would build ladders so that the army can climb walls.
They also used battering rams to take down walls.

Overall the Assyrians conquered many kingdoms and this was accomplished by war.

“ Geography” http:// www.aina.org/aol/peter/brief.htm#Geography (Accessed on 11/10/08)
“ Climate and Production” http:// www.searchgodsword.org/enc/isb/view.cgi?number =T898 (Accessed on 11/17/08)
“ Climate and Environment” http://www.sron.nl/~jheise/akkadian/mesopotamia.html (Accessed on 11/16/08)
“ Gazelle” http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/animals/images/primary/gazelle.jpg (Accessed on 11/15/08)
“ Food and diet in Assyria” http://www.nineveh.com/Food%20and%20Diet%20in%20Assyria.html (Accessed on 11/17/08)
World History, Patterns of interaction, McDougal Little
2003 McDougal Little Inc (Accessed on 11/03/08)
“ Assyrian flag” http://www.aina.org/aol/album.htm (Accessed on 11/15/08)
“ Assyrians With planting” http:// www.discovery.mala.bc.ca/web/rudischedm/scribes.gif (Accessed on 11/15/08)
“ Assyrian mountains” http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17327/17327-h/images/221.jpg (Accessed on 11/15/08)
“ Clothing in Ancient Assyria” http://www.nineveh.com/Clothing%20in%20Ancient%20Assyria.html (Accessed on 11/16/08)

Bibliography
McDougal Littell: World History textbook
http://ancienthistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_ancient_assyrians
www. bethsuryoyo.com /Code/Gallery/AssyrianWeapons.html
http://patentednews.com/science-discovery/assyrian-inventions/31/
http:// www.aina.org/aol/peter/brief.htm
http://www.witiger.com/centennialcollege/GNED117/alphabet.gif
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17327/17327-h/images/013.jpg

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Assyrian Empire

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Assyrian Empire Presentation Transcript