The document provides details about the Assyrian Empire, including its origins, expansion, military tactics, and eventual decline. It describes how the Assyrians used innovative military strategies and technology to build a vast empire through conquest between 850 BC and 612 BC. However, the empire rapidly collapsed after neighboring countries like Babylon, Chaldea and the Medes united and attacked the Assyrians, destroying the once powerful military force and bringing an end to the Assyrian rule.

1. As an enormous military-based empire arises through its economy, rulers, social structure, technology, culture, and captured countries, its furious neighboring countries are bound to attack at some point.

2. Geography The Assyrian Empire included almost all of the centers of civilization in Southwest Asia. The Assyrians organized their conquered territorties into empires. Location Assyria is located in north Mesopotamia The approximate distance between Niveveh and Thebes is about 1500 miles Niveveh - where King Sennacherib who had burned Babylon also established Assyria's capital along the Tirgis River (eastern of the Euphrtes River) Babylonia was in lower Mesopatamia with Babylon as capital South of Baghdad is Babylon The southern most part of the Assyrian Empire is Thebes Thebes was 1000 miles south of the Mediterranean Sea; east bank of The Nile River Tigris and Euhprates River run though Assyria North and East of Assyria lies the Taurus and the Zagros mountains

3. How The Assyrians Got Started The Assyrians used military force to extend their rule and to gain wealth and power. Starting first from Egypt, Assyria would come to dominate Egypt and expand around Southwest Asia as each time they gian power form empires. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Background The Assyrians are ancient people who came from the northern part of the Mesopatamia Beginning around 850 B.C. Assyria acquired a large empire The Assyrian Empire had been organized around 650 B.C. For more then two centuries, Assyrian army advanced across Southwest Asia Overwhelmed it's military strenght after Assyrian seized control of Egypt, King Esarhaddon proclaimed _______________________________________________________________________ The Golden Age of Meroe In 671 B.C., Assyrians, a warlike people form Southwest Asia, conquered Egypt Kushites - Egypt's domination of Nubia and the Nubian kingdom [ lasted about 1000 years, between 2000 B.C. and 1000 B.C. ] after their defeat by Assyrians, the Kushite family moved south to Meroe The Decline of Meroe After four centuries, from about 250 B.C. to A.D. 150, Meroe began to decline Like Kush, Assyria would come to dominate Egypt Assyria Dominates the Fertile Crescent Acquired a large empire around 850 B.C. with a military and state-of-art-weaponry for a time, assyria had the greatest power in Southwest Asia With more great power, more Assyria could decline

4. How The Assyrians Got Started (Continued...) Persia Unties Many Lands Medes and Chaldeans, overflow the Assyrian Empire in 612 B.C. Persians - the next rulers of Southwest Asia Assyrians forced a vast empire Persians would based their empire on tolerance and diplomacy The Persian Homeland joined forces, along with the Babylonians, to overthrow the Assyrian Empire in 612 B.C. a ruler will soon lead Persia to dominate a huge empire - The Assyrians started out with a royal and powerful empire around 850 B.C.. As there empire got stronger and powerful, they have becomed to mos powerful empire in the Southwest Asia. That is until Persians got involved to stabilize the region in 612 B.C. From there is was all down hill for Assyria.

5. Weapons and War Strategies The Assyrians rose to power through military genius and innovative war technology Napoleon said “a soldier will fight long and hard for a piece of coloured ribbon”. Yet the Assyrians were not in it for a piece of coloured ribbon. They were in it for the sheer sake of domination, power, and might. These were the “serial killers” of the Ancient World Genius Strategizing and Organization The Assyrians used a powerful, ruthless, and organized army to conquer their victims. They divided their warriors into foot soldiers who carried spears, helmets, shields, and daggers. The other divisions were archers, cavalry, and archers. The army consisted of almost 150,000,000 men, which when on the field took up about 1.5 miles. Massive chariot launches would weaken an enemy’s defenses while foot soldiers would exploit this is and attack. Archers and cavalry would place continuous strain on the opposition and obliterate defenses. The Assyrians would continue this domination throughout battle, always keeping their momentum up and enemies bewildered. They would also build tunnels and weaken the enemy’s larger defenses (when taking cities, etc.), and then storm the opposition. Their tactics ruthless and overall cunning, they were fairly developed military strategies for the time.

6. Military – strategy and technology cont…. Deadly Technology Paired with their dominating battle tactics, the Assyrians used modern weapons technology to overwhelm their opponents and defeat them. Chariots – One of the main innovations of the empire, the Assyrians used heavier Chariots to ram into enemy frontlines and lighter ones to relay messages during the battle. They used 2-3 horses for the lighter ones and 4 for the heavier. Ladders – A major weapon when taking cities, ladders were used to climb enemy walls and overcome obstacles and defenses . Arrows – Archers used arrows and their bows to hold back enemy defenses and foot soldiers. They slowed the opponent down and caused amounts of confusion. Archers were key to Assyrian victory. Armor – Soldiers and especially archers usually wore bronze helmets while also wearing body armor referred to lamellar, an almost scaly, yet sturdy, metallic material. Shields were common and came in both square and round varieties.

7. Military continued… Conquests Assyrians led a long line of killing, capture, and conquest. Here is a timeline recording the landmark conquests that took place: 1300 BC – The Assyrians conquer Turkey and Syria, both of which formerly belonging to the Hittites 803 BC – Hadad-Nirari, the current king, conquers Palestinian states 701 BC – Sennacherib conquers Jerusalem 689 BC – Sennacherib destroys Babylon 671 BC – Esarhaddon of Assyria records victory over Egyptians at the face of Nahr al Kalb 648 BC – Ashurbanipal destroys rebuilt Babylon *expansion map on next slide…

8. A map of Assyrian Expansion – through domination and brute Over time, Assyria established itself as a dominating empire through its military conquests. As they defeated their enemies, the Assyrians expanded their borders.

9. Assyrian Economy Assyria concentrated its economic wealth to military welfare through agriculture and brutally taxing its enemies Farming and Agriculture – Assyrians’ main economy was agriculture which was fed by the Tigris River and water from the Armenian mountains. As Assyria expanded, more forms of economy sprung up. Mining and forestry were among them. As they conquered, slaves also grew in to become a noteworthy element of the economy, but it never expanded to become larger than agriculture. These forms of profession and economy were mainly fed to the military cause: the center of Assyrian life. Money was used to pay for the production and manufacture of weapons, for transport and for sieges. Money was also set aside for execution and the capture/abduction of slaves and hostages. Assyria also gained large amounts of money by taxing the people they conquered. If these people refused to pay, the Assyrians would burn and destroy their cities. The people would be sent into exile. This ensured a steady stream of income into the Assyrian administration. - An example of the brutality conquered peoples’ faced if they refused to pay taxes

10. Sennacherib - The Assyrian King that burned Babylon. He took over 89 cities and 820 villages. He built the Assyrian capital, Nineveh along the Tigris River. Assyrian officials governed land as provinces and made them dependent territories. These governors were called satraps. Military campaigns added new territories which brought forth taxes. If the conquered people refused to pay, Assyrians destroyed their cities. Assyrian kings defeated Syria, Babylon and Palestine. They also noticed that using art in a society can spread more cultures to other places (getting more advancements or inventions). After Sennacherib came Ashurbanipal, who proved to be the last and best king of the Assyrian Empire. King Sennacherib

11. Before any invasions, Assyrians made lots of sculptures, buildings, religious ziggurats, paintings, and wrote texts in Nineveh, their main city. Since the Assyrians conquered so many different civilizations, the people were very diverse and had a variety of cultures. Culture - People's unique way of life including tools, art, customs, traditions, religion, clothing, media, language, values, and ideas. There was cultural diffusion such as those of different languages and religions. The more places the Assyrians conquered, the more diversity is introduced to the area. Assyrians also enjoyed lion hunting as a pasttime. A carving of a lion hunt.

12. The Assyrians experienced a few possibilities in religion. There were lots of different people that believed in many things and after time, religions changed along with the rulers. The first religion was Ashurism. Their name, Assyria, comes from their god named Asshur in Latin. They were one of the first civilizations to accept Christianity. The first Assyrian Church was opened 33A.D.by Thomas, Bartholomew and Thaddeus. They believed in many gods at first like As Shalla, the Assyrian goddess of grain, and Ishtar, the goddess of love. The Assyrians are also mentioned in the Bible as the people who took over Israel. The symbol for the highest Assyrian god, Asshur.

13. Tiglath Pileser III was the founder of the Assyrian Empire. During his reign, he captured Israel and crowned himself the King of Babylon. An important monumental city, Nimrud, was greatly known for its beautiful and lush gardens. Nimrud was so important to the Assyrians, that it was protected with a wall enclosing 200 hectares. In 1813 B.C., another ruler by the name of Samshi-Adad united three great cities to make the center of Assyria. These cities were Nineveh, Ashur, and Arbel. His great political skills and administrative efficiency helped him accomplish this. These colonies renewed their old habits and began trading with outsiders, helping their economy. In 1472 B.C., Mittanians ruled over Assyria for about 70 years. King Ashuruballit was the ruler of this time until about 1371 B.C. The Mittanians paved the way for a successful empire. The Empire’s best years are based on their flourishing economy and vastly expanding empire under different kings.

14. The time of Tiglath Pilaser III, Sargon II, Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, and Ashurbanipal was the period of Assyria’s greatest expansion. These Kings ruled from 745 – 612 B.C. Through five of Assyria’s best rulers, more than 45 cities were annexed to the great empire including those of the Egyptian Empire such as Memphis and Thebes.

15. Although the Assyrians conquered all areas around them, this vast empire came to an end rapidly. Assyria’s last king was Ashurbanipal. For all the cruelty displayed by Assyrians when they took over a land, in return they earned many enemies, all waiting to take them down. Once Egypt became independent from Assyria, its Eastern enemies took whatever chance they had to defeat them. Egypt still fought with the Assyrians, though still making sure they stayed a weak power so as not to conquer the areas Egypt wanted to claim. The combined forces of Babylon, the Chaldeans, and Medes soon began attacking the Egyptian-Assyrian army. Historians still find it a mystery as to how this combined army can completely destroy the greatest military power at that time. The great Assyrian empire fell after being attacked multiple times by its neighboring countries. The Assyrian Empire Declines Rapidly

16. It did not take too long for the empire to crumble. King Ashurbanipal died in 631B.C. After his death, the Babylonian region that was taken over by Assyria revolted against their satraps and decided to attack once more. The Medes, Babylonians and Chaldeans burned and looted many cities of the Assyrian Empire. In 616 B.C., Medes conquered a major city, Ashur. Four years later, more of Assyria’s enemies attacked the capital city of Nineveh, officially declaring the decline of the once great Assyrian Empire. A sculpture of King Ashurbanipal.

17. Bibilography Websites: http://www.geocities.com/farfarer2001/geography/assyrian_geography.htm http://www.bible-history.com/maps/map/map_assyrian_empire_650_bc.html http://wsu.edu/~dee/meso/assyria.htm [1996 Richard Hooker] http://www.betnahrain.org/glossay/art/assyrian_art_and_artist.htm [Ann-Margaret "Maggie" Yonan http://www.keyway.ca/gif/assyria.gif http://www.livius.org/a/1mesopotami/flood_tablet.jpg http://www.uakron.edu/ziyaret/finds.html http://www.aina.org/aol/peter/brief.htm http://library.thinkquest.org/J002807/Time%20and%20Time%20Again/Time%20and%20Time%20Again/mesoassyr.html http://www.assyriatimes.com/engine/modules/news/article.php?storyid=71 http://www.history-of-armor.com/assyrianamor.html http://www.timeslinesdb.com/listevents.php?subjid=307&title=Assyria Books/Textbooks: World History Patterns of Interaction by McDougal Littell Publisher Houghton Mifflin Company Evanston, Illinois Boston Dallas Researches in Assyrian and Babylonian Geography by Olaf Alfred Toffeteen Published January 1908 Chicago