Assyria

This article is about ancient Assyria. For its geographic and cultural heartland, see Assyrian homeland. For other uses, see Assyria (disambiguation).
"Assyrian Empire" redirects here. For the most powerful stage of the ancient Assyrian state, see Neo-Assyrian Empire.

Assyria
c. 2025 BC[a]–609 BC[b]
Flag of Assyria
Symbol of Ashur, the ancient Assyrian national deity
The ancient Assyrian heartland (red) and the Neo-Assyrian Empire in the 7th century BC (orange)
The ancient Assyrian heartland (red) and the Neo-Assyrian Empire in the 7th century BC (orange)
Capital
Official languages
Religion
Ancient Mesopotamian religion
GovernmentMonarchy
Notable kings 
• c. 2025 BC
Puzur-Ashur I (first)
• c. 1974–1935 BC
Erishum I
• c. 1808–1776 BC
Shamshi-Adad I
• c. 1700–1691 BC
Bel-bani
• c. 1363–1328 BC
Ashur-uballit I
• c. 1243–1207 BC
Tukulti-Ninurta I
• 1114–1076 BC
Tiglath-Pileser I
• 883–859 BC
Ashurnasirpal II
• 745–727 BC
Tiglath-Pileser III
• 705–681 BC
Sennacherib
• 681–669 BC
Esarhaddon
• 669–631 BC
Ashurbanipal
• 612–609 BC
Ashur-uballit II (last)
Historical eraBronze Age to Iron Age
• Foundation of Assur
c. 2600 BC
• Assur becomes an independent city-state
c. 2025 BC[a]
c. 2025–1364 BC
c. 1363–912 BC
911–609 BC
• Conquest by the Neo-Babylonian and Median empires
609 BC[b]
• Sack and destruction of Assur by the Sasanian Empire
c. AD 240
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Third Dynasty of Ur
Neo-Babylonian Empire
Median Empire
Periodization of ancient Assyria
Early Assyrian period c. 2600–2025 BC
Old Assyrian period c. 2025–1364 BC
Middle Assyrian period c. 1363–912 BC
Neo-Assyrian period 911–609 BC
Post-imperial period 609 BC – c. AD 240

Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , māt Aššur) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC to the 7th century BC.[4]

Spanning from the early Bronze Age to the late Iron Age, modern historians typically divide ancient Assyrian history into the Early Assyrian (c. 2600–2025 BC), Old Assyrian (c. 2025–1364 BC), Middle Assyrian (c. 1363–912 BC), Neo-Assyrian (911–609 BC), and post-imperial (609 BC–c. AD 240) periods, based on political events and gradual changes in language.[5][6] Assur, the first Assyrian capital, was founded c. 2600 BC, but there is no evidence that the city was independent until the collapse of the Third Dynasty of Ur, in the 21st century BC,[3] when a line of independent kings starting with Puzur-Ashur I began ruling the city. Centered in the Assyrian heartland in northern Mesopotamia, Assyrian power fluctuated over time. The city underwent several periods of foreign rule or domination before Assyria rose under Ashur-uballit I in the early 14th century BC as the Middle Assyrian Empire. In the Middle and Neo-Assyrian periods, Assyria was one of the two major Mesopotamian kingdoms, alongside Babylonia in the south, and at times became the dominant power in the ancient Near East. Assyria was at its strongest in the Neo-Assyrian period, when the Assyrian army was the strongest military power in the world[7] and the Assyrians ruled the largest empire then yet assembled in world history,[7][8][9] spanning from parts of modern-day Iran in the east to Egypt in the west.

The Neo-Assyrian Empire fell in the late 7th century BC, conquered by a coalition of the Babylonians, who had lived under Assyrian rule for about a century, and the Medes. Though the core urban territory of Assyria was extensively devastated in the Medo-Babylonian conquest of the Assyrian Empire and the succeeding Neo-Babylonian Empire invested few resources in rebuilding it, ancient Assyrian culture and traditions continued to survive for centuries throughout the post-imperial period. Assyria experienced a recovery under the Seleucid and Parthian empires, though it declined again under the Sasanian Empire, which sacked numerous cities and semi-independent Assyrian territories in the region, including Assur itself. The remaining Assyrian people, who have survived in northern Mesopotamia to modern times, were gradually Christianized from the 1st century AD onward. Ancient Mesopotamian religion persisted at Assur until its final sack in the 3rd century AD, and at certain other holdouts for centuries thereafter.[10]

The triumph of ancient Assyria can be attributed not only to its vigorous warrior-monarchs but also to its adeptness in efficiently assimilating and governing conquered territories using inventive and advanced administrative mechanisms. The developments in warfare and governance introduced by ancient Assyria continued to be employed by subsequent empires and states for centuries.[7] Ancient Assyria also left a legacy of great cultural significance,[11] particularly through the Neo-Assyrian Empire, making a prominent impression in later Assyrian, Greco-Roman, and Hebrew literary and religious tradition.[12][13][c]

  1. ^ Düring 2020, p. 39.
  2. ^ Lambert 1983, pp. 82–85.
  3. ^ a b Roux 1992, p. 187.
  4. ^ "Assyria | History, Map, & Facts". Britannica. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  5. ^ Frahm 2017a, p. 5.
  6. ^ Hauser 2017, p. 229.
  7. ^ a b c Aberbach 2003, p. 4.
  8. ^ Düring 2020, p. 133.
  9. ^ Frahm 2017b, p. 161.
  10. ^ Parpola 2004, p. 21.
  11. ^ Frahm 2017b, p. 196.
  12. ^ Frahm 2017b, pp. 195–196.
  13. ^ Kalimi & Richardson 2014, p. 5.


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