Assyrian Civilization

1. Mike C. Gulay
Keren Joani L. Morales

2. Assyria
- the name derived from the city Asshur on
the Tigris, the original capital of the country,
was originally a colony from Babylonia, and
was ruled by viceroys from that kingdom.
1,900 BCE - Ashur, capital of Assyria, is founded.

3. • According to one interpretation of passages in
the biblical Book of Genesis,
Ashur was founded by a man named Ashur son
of Shem, son of Noah, after the Great Flood,
who then went on to found the other
important Assyrian cities. (Gen 10:22)

4. Assyria
• the region in the Near East which, under
the Neo-Assyrian Empire
• reached from Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq)
through Asia Minor (modern Turkey) and down
through Egypt.
• The empire began modestly at the city of Ashur
(known as Subartu to the Sumerians), located in
Mesopotamia north-east of Babylon, where
merchants who traded in Anatolia became
increasingly wealthy, and that affluence allowed
for the growth and prosperity of the city.

6. • Assyria began as a small trading
community centered at
the city of Ashur and grew to become
the greatest empire in the ancient world
prior to the conquests of
Alexander the Great and, after him,
the Roman Empire

8. Assyrian Empires
• Historians have divided the rise and fall of the Assyrian
Empire into three periods:
The Old Kingdom
The Middle Empire &
The Late Empire (also known as the Neo-Assyrian Empire)
- although it should be noted that Assyrian history
continued on past that point, and there are still Assyrians
living in the regions of Iran and Iraq, and elsewhere, in the
present day. The Assyrian Empire is considered the
greatest of the Mesopotamian empires due to its expanse
and the development of the bureaucracy and military
strategies which allowed it to grow and flourish.

9. Assyrian’s The First Rise
The Assyrians first rose to power when the
Akkadian Empire fell. The Babylonians had
control of southern Mesopotamia and the
Assyrians had the north.
One of their strongest leaders during this time
was King Shamshi-Adad. Under Shamshi-Adad
the empire expanded to control much of the
north and the Assyrians grew wealthy.
However, after Shamshi-Adad's death in 1781 BC,
the Assyrians grew weak and soon fell under
control of the Babylonian Empire.

10. Assyrians’ Second Rise
• The Assyrians once again rose to power from
1360 BC to 1074 BC.
This time they conquered all of Mesopotamia
and expanded the empire to include much of
the Middle East including Egypt, Babylonia,
Israel, and Cypress. They reached their peak
under the rule of King Tiglath-Pileser I.

11. Assyrians’ Final Empire
• The neo-Assyrian Empire The final, and perhaps
strongest, of the Assyrian Empires ruled
from 744 BC to 612 BC.
• During this time Assyria had a string of powerful and
capable rulers such as Tiglath-Pileser III, Sargon II,
Sennacherib, and Ashurbanipal. These leaders built
the empire into one of the most powerful empires in
the world.
• They conquered much of the Middle East and Egypt.
Once again, it was the Babylonians who brought down
the Assyrian Empire in 612 BC.

12. Assyrian Warfare
• The Assyrian Empire
- was built on the strength of their powerful army
- The warrior society of the Assyrians produced
fearsome soldiers as well as innovative generals.
- They used chariots, iron weapons, and siege
equipment to dominate their enemies.
- The early Assyrians were a warrior society.
• Every young man was expected to train as a warrior
and be ready to fight.
•

13. Assyrian Warfare
As the Assyrian Empire grew, they
built a standing army.
• A standing army
- is one made up of
professional soldiers
whose only job is to fight.
The Assyrian soldiers were trained
in siege warfare, battle tactics,
and hand-to-hand combat.

14. Assyrian Warfare
• Every spring the Assyrian army would launch a
battle campaign. They would conquer rich cities,
expanding the Assyrian Empire and bringing back
wealth to the king.
• It is estimated that the size of the Assyrian army at
its peak was several hundred thousand soldiers.

15. Assyrian Warfare
The secret to its success
- was a professionally trained standing army,
- iron weapons,
- advanced engineering skills,
- effective tactics, and,
most importantly,
- a complete ruthlessness
which came to characterize
the Assyrians to their neighbors
and subjects and still attaches
itself to the reputation of Assyria
in the modern day.
.

16. Assyrian Warfare
• Chariots
One of the greatest strengths of the Assyrian army
was its chariots. A chariot is a wheeled vehicle pulled
by two to four horses. Riders would stand on the
chariot. Typically there were two riders; a driver and a
soldier armed with a spear and a bow and arrow.
Sometimes a third man was added to protect the rear.
Chariots were used to smash into enemy lines to create
a gap for the rest of the army. They were also used for
leaders and generals who could move about the
battlefield quickly issuing orders.

18. Assyrian Warfare
• Weapons
The Assyrians used a wide variety of weapons
including swords, spears, bows and arrows, slings,
and daggers. The Assyrians were the first to use iron
to make their weapons.
Iron - was stronger than the bronze used by their
enemies and gave them a distinct advantage.

19. Assyrian Warfare
Armor - The main armor used by Assyrian soldiers was a shield and helmet.

20. • Archers had a
shield bearer
who would
cover them
while they
got off shots.

21. • Archers had a
shield bearer
who would
cover them
while they
got off shots.

22. Assyrian Warfare
Siege Equipment - The Assyrians invented some of
the first siege equipment to defeat fortified cities.
They used battering rams to break down gates and siege
towers to go over walls. This was the first time that such
complicated siege equipment was used in battle.

24. Assyrian Warfare
• A phrase oft-repeated by Assyrian kings in their
inscriptions regarding military conquests is. . . .
"I destroyed, devastated,
and burned with fire"
those cities, towns, and regions which resisted
Assyrian rule.

25. Assyrians’ Great Warriors
• The Assyrians were perhaps most famous for their
fearsome army.
• They were a warrior society where fighting was a part
of life. It was how they survived.
• They were known throughout the land as cruel and
ruthless warriors.
• Two things that made the Assyrians great warriors
were their deadly chariots and their iron weapons.
• They made iron weapons that were stronger than the
copper or tin weapons of some of their enemies.
• They were also skilled with their chariots which could
strike fear in the hearts of their enemies

26. Assyrians’ Warrior Kings
• The kings of the Assyrians were expected to
be warriors themselves.
• They led the Assyrian army into battle and
fought fiercely. Of course, they were
surrounded by an elite force of troops whose
job was to keep the king alive. Even so, some
kings did die in combat, such as Sargon II.

28. Assyrians’ Kings
• Ancient Assyrian KingsAssur-nasirpal II (885-860 B.C.) A
cruel warrior king, he made Assyria into the most fierce
fighting machine of ancient world.
• Shalmaneser III (860-825 B.C.) His reign was marked by
almost constant war. He was the first Assyrian king to come
into conflict with Israel. King Ahab fought against him, and
king Jehu paid him tribute in 841 BC. His royal inscriptions
were more detailed and more numerous than any other
king. His building works were massive just like his father
Assurnasirpal II.
• Shamsi-Adad V (825-808 B.C.) Most of his reign was
focused on Babylonia and his own internal conflicts.

29. Assyrians’ Kings
• Adad-nirari III (808-783 B.C.) The little information
about his reign mentions his building projects at Calah
and Nineveh, as well as a conflict at Der in Babylonia
and collecting tribute in Damascus, Syria.
• Shalmaneser IV (783-771 B.C.) The limited knowledge
of his reign reveal some conflicts in Damascus and a
period of decline in Assyria.
• Assur-dayan III (771-753 B.C.) The little information
about this ruler reveals Assyria being in a period of
decline

30. Assyrians’ Kings
• Assur-nirari V (753-747 B.C.) There is very little information
about his reign. The king of Urartu boasted of a victory over
this king of Assyria in an inscription.
• Tiglath-pileser III (Pul) (747-727 B.C.) He restored Assyria to
a major world power. He is the "Pul" mentioned in the Bible
and the one who began to destroy Samaria, the capital of
the Northern Kingdom of Israel. He carried many away into
captivity. This captivity is mentioned in his own inscriptions,
the Babylonian Chronicle, and the Bible.
• Shalmaneser V (727-722 B.C.) He besieged Samaria, the
capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. He died during
the siege after imposing taxation on the holy city (Asshur),
and his son Sargon came to power.

31. Assyrians’ Kings
• Sargon II (722-705 B.C.) He completed the destruction of
Samaria and the captivity of Israel. He was also famous for
his magnificent palace with his colossal winged guardians.
• Sennacherib (705-681 B.C.) He was the most famous of the
Assyrian kings. He mentions the name of Hezekiah on his
prism during his war campaigns, he claimed to have
"Hezekiah captured in his own royal city (Jerusalem) like a
caged bird." His army was defeated at the gates of
Jerusalem by the Angel of the Lord. Sennacherib returned
back to Nineveh and was killed violently by his own son, as
mentioned in the Babylonian Chronicle, The Bible, and
various other inscriptions. He also conquered Babylon.

32. Assyrians’ Kings
• Esar-haddon (681-668 B.C.) He rebuilt Babylon,
invaded and conquered Egypt by crossing over
the Sinai Desert with Arab camels carrying water
for his army, and was one of Assyria's greatest
kings. He died fighting Egypt.
Assur-banipal (668-626 B.C.) He destroyed the
Thebes in Egypt and collected a great library,
innumerable clay tablets were found.
Assur-etil-ilani (626-607 B.C.) It was under his
reign that the Assyrian Empire fell.

33. • Assyria is famous primarily for its military innovations.
Siege warfare, cavalry, and the integration and
methodical organization of warfare were all advanced
considerably by the Assyrian state in its insatiable
desire to conquer its neighbors.
• What Assyria is not well known for are its civil
innovations. Yet, Assyrian armies were sacking foreign
cities, the Assyrian homeland was being enriched with
various things stolen and looted from other countries.
The Assyrians may not have been great innovators, but
they were great derivators, taking inventions from
various parts of the world and adapting them to their
own needs.

34. Assyrian Cities
• Ashur
• Nineveh

35. Ashur
• The city was an important center of trade, as it lay
squarely on a caravan trade route that ran through
Mesopotamia to Anatolia and down through
the Levant.
• All of the great kings (except for Sargon II, whose body
was lost in battle) were buried at Ashur, from the
earliest days of the Assyrian Empire down to the last,
no matter where the capital city was located.
• A more likely account is that the city was named Ashur
after the deity of that name sometime in the 3rd
millennium BCE; the same god's name is the origin for
'Assyria.

37. Nineveh
• one of the oldest and greatest cities in antiquity. The area was
settled as early as 6000 BCE and, by 3000, had become an
important religious centre for worship of the goddess Ishtar
• King Sennacherib built great walls around the city with fifteen
gates, created public parks and gardens, aqueducts, irrigation
ditches, canals, and greatly expanded upon and improved the
structures of the city.
• "Nineveh, with its heterogeneous population of people from
throughout the Assyrian Empire, was one of the most beautiful
cities in the Near East, with its gardens, temples, and splendid
palaces"
• The city was best known through the Christian era (and still is) by
the central role it plays in the Hebrew composition known in
the Bible as The Book of Jonah.

39. • The Library at Nineveh
The last great Assyrian king, Ashurbanipal, constructed a
great library at the city of Nineveh. He collected clay tablets
from all over Mesopotamia. These included the stories of
Gilgamesh, the Code of Hammurabi, and more.
Much of our knowledge of the Ancient civilizations of
Mesopotamia comes from the remains of this library.
According to the British Museum in London, just over
30,000 tablets have been recovered. These tablets make up
around 10,000 different texts.
.

40. Assyrian Declination
The destruction of the Assyrian capital Nineveh by a coalition
of Babylonian and Median invaders in
612 B.C.E. which marked the fall of the empire.