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Assyria

Assyrian Empire was at the northern part of Mesopotamia that became the center of one of the great empires of the ancient Middle East. It was located in what is now northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey. T he Assyrians lived in the northern area of Mesopotamia, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Assyria occupies the northern and middle part of Mesopotamia, situated between the rivers Euphrates and Tigris; while the southern half, extending as far south as the Persian Gulf.

Assyrian Empire was mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically

In about 1100 B.C.E. the Assyrians came into power and empire that would spread from present day Egypt and Israel to Iran and from Turkey to Saudi Arabia. Coming from a harsh homeland, the Assyrians became used to war, which made them perfect conqueror. They started their invasions around 1200 B.C.E. They made several innovations in war in addition to those used by the Hitties who conquered Babylonia. They invented siege engines to break into fortified cities and divided their armies into separate units depending not on nationality but on what weapons they were using. As the empire grew, the Assyrians had enough people to grow crops that being a soldier became a full time job, as opposed to other civilizations whose soldiers were only there when their crops were not in need of harvesting. These aspects gave Assyrians an edge that allowed them to defeat many other people and create their huge empire.

For a warlike people, the Assyrians’ advancement of social aspects was also impressive. They had art, and their capital Nineveh, in addition to being a stronghold, contained many palaces and temples. They also took the writing of the Sumerians and simplified it so that it would be more accessible. They attempted to preserve the culture of the Babylonians and Sumerians with a library of their writing. They also developed a dictionary to document their own language.

To pay for wars and public works projects, the Assyrians imposed heavy taxes. Despite providing great services, people were unhappy with the taxation, and so there were constant revolts in many provinces. Fighting their own people in addition to invaders, and doing some invading themselves weakened the Assyrian Empire to the point where Medes and Chaldeans were able to raze much of the weakened empire. The Assyrians were not gone,

and much later on they reformed as a religious group, but the empire that had spilled over the Fertile Crescent was gone.

Section Reviews:

1. What inventions did the Assyrians have that made them succeceful?

2. What cultural innovations did the Assyrians have?

3. Did the Assyrian's love of war eventually lead to their own demise? Explain.

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