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Assyrians & their horses (10.8.11)
- 1. Archaeological Institute of America, Chicago October 8, 2011 THE Assyrians & Their Horses
- 2. The Middle East and Northeast Africa “Land of Ashur” Kushite heartland
- 3. Horses in the Assyrian Empire
- 5. The Kingdom of Kush
- 6. Levant º Memphis The Kingdom of Kush
- 7. The AssyrianEmpirein c. 650bc Yadnana
- 11. The king and his men
- 13. Siege warfare
- 14. Economic warfare
- 15. The Assyrian army on the march
- 16. Chariot horses and mounts
- 17. Chariots: The nucleus of the campaigning army
- 18. Cavalrymen worked in pairs early on
- 19. Cavalrymen in action later on
- 20. Growing demand for bigger horses
- 21. Horses in the 9th-8th centuries vs. the 7th century bc 750 bc 650 bc
- 22. Well-built, well-muscled animals
- 23. Horses were acquired as booty
- 24. Horses were delivered as tribute
- 25. title Medes and manneans
- 26. title Medes & manneans Egyptians & kushites
- 27. Partial list of horse reports from Nabû-shumu-iddina, “Mayor” of the Nabû Temple in Nimrud
- 28. Kushite horses from Assyrian magnates
- 29. More Kushite horses from Assyrian magnates
- 30. Kushites in Assyria … in the Nimrud ivories
- 31. Ivory cheek-pieces from Nimrud
- 32. Kushites were in involved in the care and handling of horses in Assyria
- 33. Other Kushites in Assyrian texts
- 34. The Zincirli stele of Esarhaddon
Editor's Notes
- *(2) The Middle East and Northeast Africa. The Assyrian heartland or “Land of the God Ashur” was centered on the plains of northern Iraq bordering the Tigris River. Assyria expanded from this heartland between about 900 and 650 bc, and eventually extended its dominance over much of the Middle East and northeast Africa. Also, as we will see, Kush expanded its control over Egypt during the latter part of this period.speriod.
- *(3) Horses in the Assyrian Empire.By 900 bc, when Assyria began to expand, horses had been domesticated for well over a millennium and had been used in military adventures for almost as long. It shouldn’t surprise us, then, that horses played a critical role in Assyria’s imperial growth over the next two-and-a-half centuries. Before the development of firearms, the horse was crucial to warfare and before the invention of the steam engine, it was the fastest and most reliable form of land transport.
- *(4) The Assyrian Empire in 700 bc.Horses also played a pivotal role in maintaining control over the lands which Assyria ruled or exerted influence. By 700 bc, such lands included Babylonia to the south (fitfully), the highlands of Iran and Anatolia to the east and north, the kingdoms of Hamath, Damascus, Israel, and Judah to the west, and the cities of Phoenicia and Philistia along the Mediterranean coast. Even the island of Cyprus, then known as Yadnana, had fallen under Assyria’s sway by this time.
- *(5) The Kingdom of Kush.As I mentioned, this period also saw the rise to prominence of the kingdom of Kush whose kings struck north along the Nile from their homeland in the Sudan and extended their rule over Egypt, thus coming within striking distance of the Levant and Assyria’s expanding realm.
- *(6) The Kingdom of Kush – closeup.The Kushite king Piye campaigned through Egypt sometime in the later 8th century bc and succeeded in extending Kushite control into Lower Egypt as far north as Memphis. His successor, Shabaqo, then consolidated Kushite rule over all of Egypt, including the Delta, setting Kush and Assyria on a collision course.
- *(7) The Assyrian Empire in c. 650 bc.After the collision, however, Assyria had gained the upper hand. Assyria subjugated Judah in the late eighth century, and afterwards turned an eye to the rich and fertile Nile Valley. By 664 bc, Assyria had conquered both Memphis in Lower Egypt and Thebes in Upper Egypt.
- *(8) “Calculated frightfulness”.According to the accounts left by their kings, the Assyrians used what the historian A. T. Olmstead called “calculated frightfulness” to subjugate and control foreign populations.
- *(9) “More calculated frightfulness”. The Assyrians impaled, flayed, castrated, and beheaded those who dared to oppose them. Other peoples – fearing similar treatment – sent off their luxuries as tribute.
- *(10) Deportation and resettlement.The Assyrians are especially known for deporting and resettling the populations they vanquished. They resettled foreign urban elites in and around their capital cities and deported troublesome Assyrian countrymen to the provinces where they could pose less threat to the throne.
- *(11) The king and his men. On behalf of the god Ashur, the Assyrian king took possession of all conquered lands and turned them into provinces of the “Land of Ashur.” The Assyrians rebuilt provincial capitals in Assyrian-style architecture, and imposed on provincial populations a uniform system of taxation and conscription and the use of imperial weights and measures. The king appointed men whom he could trust to govern these provinces, and he dispatched his personal advisers to the courts of client kings to keep a watchful eye on developments on the empire’s periphery, and – with garrisons at their disposal – to enforce client obligations if necessary. These obligations were detailed in formal treaties and loyalty oaths, along with the possible punishments for failing to meet them.
- *(12) A professional army.Professional warriors of defeated kingdoms were incorporated in the ranks of the Assyrian military from the ninth century bc onwards. In the process, an army of conscripts was gradually transformed into something like a professional standing army. Professional soldiers from Assyria and its adjoining regions constituted the core of the Assyrian army by 745 bc. This army was divided into a “royal cohort”, which the king himself commanded, and the “king’s troops.” The latter were contingents which his provincial governors and magnates commanded. When the core army lacked manpower, the general Assyrian populace was mobilized.
- *(13) Siege warfare.Assyria had greatly developed the art of besieging cities by this time. Therefore the “royal cohort” and “king’s troops” included teams of sappers and engineers and men trained to use battering-rams, scaling-ladders, siege towers, and mineshafts.
- *(14) Economic warfare. To persuade besieged populations to capitulate, the Assyrians flooded fields and chopped down fruit trees outside town walls. Their forces consumed the harvests of their enemies and broke into their stores. By this time it was standard practice to lay waste an enemy’s land; and of course it has remained standard practice to this day.
- *(15) The Assyrian army on the march.Foot-soldiers made up the bulk of the “royal cohort” and “king’s troops.” These were the bowmen, the spearmen, and the shield-bearers. They were the men who manned the supply depots, the transport columns, and the bridging-trains. The Assyrian army could campaign hundreds of miles from home and move at speeds that would not be exceeded until the coming of the internal combustion engine.
- *(16) Chariot horses and mounts.Assyria’s formidability owed to the number and strength of its mules, its horses “trained to the yoke,” and its mounts. But ultimately, it owed to the expertise of those who trained, handled, and drove these equids.
- *(17) Chariots: The nucleus of the campaigning army.The chariot was the nucleus of the campaigning army which the Assyrians used to carve out their empire. That is why the horses which are depicted in the alabaster reliefs lining the interior walls of Assyrian palaces are primarily shown in harness.
- *(18) Cavalrymen worked in pairs early on.But over time horses were increasingly depicted as mounts. Before 800 bc, cavalrymen worked in pairs. One man shot his bow, and the other held the reins of both horses.
- *(19) Cavalrymen in action later on.But by the mid-eighth century bc, perhaps even a little earlier, selective breeding had produced a horse that Assyrians could ride from the forward seat, with their weight over the shoulders. Also, a sufficient mutuality had developed between steed and rider for the man to use a bow while in motion. When horsemanship had advanced far enough that riders were ready to release the reins, cavalry eclipsed chariotry in importance on the battlefield.
- *(20) Growing demand for bigger horses.The increasing importance of mounted troops and the development of larger, heavier chariots created ever greater demand for bigger horses.
- *(21) Horses in the 9th-8th centuries vs. the 7th century bc. This can be seen in theway horses are depicted in Assyrian reliefs. For example, the horses shown in reliefs from 750 bc and earlier are smaller than those depicted, for example, in reliefs from 650 bc, … [next slide]
- *(22) Well-built, well-muscled animals… which show well-built, well-muscled animals, with large bones, and aristocratic heads.
- *(23) Horses were acquired as booty.Horses were not only sculpted on palace walls but were also listed in royal inscriptions – often in large numbers – among the booty taken by the kings of Assyria in the course of their conquests.
- *(24) Horses were delivered as tribute.Horses were also often recorded among the tribute items the kings of Assyria received from their vassals.
- *(25) Urartians, Medes, Manneans.The Assyrians also undertook military expeditions into distant horse-breeding regions in order to replenish their chariot and mounted corps. Urartu, in the Armenian highlands to the north, was one such target. It was famous for its rich pasturage and fine cavalry mounts. Media and Mannea in the Zagros Mountains of Iran were also targets. These regions, too, were famous for the horses which were bred there.
- *(26) Urartians, Medes, Egyptians, Kushites.Egypt and Kush were important suppliers of the large horses and the skilled charioteers in demand at the time. Tiglath-pileser III, Sargon II, and Esarhaddon all claim to have taken large Egyptian horses as booty in the course of campaigns near or within Egypt. Sargon II received a gift of large Egyptian horses from Shabaqo upon the inauguration of his new capital. Sennacherib captured Egyptian and Nubian charioteers upon his conquest of Judah. And Esarhaddon annually received a payment of large horses as tribute from Egypt after he had conquered Memphis. Assyrian merchants probably also acquired horses from Egypt and Kush, since most Assyrian merchants at this time were either called “horse-traders” or were involved in the horse trade in some way.
- *(27) Partial list of horse reports.Some 40 letters from Nineveh show us how many of these horses were acquired. From these letters we learn that more than 1,000 Kushite horses were received by one imperial institution during a single three-month period in the 670s. The “mayor” of the temple of the god Nabû in Nimrud received these horses (and mules), he inspected them, and he then forwarded reports to the king on their numbers, breeds, origins, and eventual disposition.
- *(28) Kushite horses from Assyrian magnates. We learn from these reports that deliveries of horses came from all the major cities of Assyria, from Parsua in Iran, and from Damascus in Syria. They came from the commander-in-chief, the palace herald, the chief cupbearer, the treasurers of the queen and the queen mother, the governors of Nimrud and Nineveh, and the magnates of the province of Bet-kari in Media.
- *(29) More Kushite horses from Assyrian magnates.The horses were designated as Kushite, Egyptian, and occasionally Mesean, and were destined to become either cavalry mounts or “yoke horses.” Some horses were sent on to the palace in Nineveh, while others remained in Nimrud.
- *(30) Kushites in Assyria.Kushite people of course followed their horses to Assyria. Kushites are listed as recipients of rations of wine in the royal capital Nimrud in a text that also mentions a procurement officer involved in the supply of horses for the army. These Kushites were probably involved in the care and handling of horses in the royal stables.
- *(31) Ivory cheek-pieces from Nimrud. The “chariot driver of the Prefect of the Land” was a Kushite, and he had at his disposal 15 corral-men.
- *(32) Kushites were involved in the care and handling of horses in Assyria.Another Kushite worked in the king’s stables, where he was responsible for delivering bales of straw and measures of grain. He may have lived in the “KushiteTown” mentioned in one of the horse reports.
- *(33) Other Kushites in Assyrian texts.Other Kushites followed these horse handlers to Assyria. Assyrian texts mention two Kushite eunuchs working as debt collectors. And fifteen Kushite women are found on a list of foreign workers that included musicians, temple personnel, scribes, smiths, stone-workers, a barber, and a baker.
- *(34) The Zincirli stele of Esarhaddon.Of course, not all Nubians willingly settled in Assyria. Esarhaddon tells us that after he had conquered Memphis, he carried off to Assyria numerous captives from the palace, including the crown prince of the Kushite king Taharqo – seemingly depicted here –along with Taharqo’s other sons, his daughters, his wives and concubines, his palace attendants, physicians and omen-priests.