Assur/History

From Warbirth Wiki

< Assur

Faction Overview Strategic Overview History

Assyria was a very ancient kingdom in the northern half of Mesopotamia. Formerly a tribal confederacy that came under the sway of Babylonia for a while, Assyria rose to become an independent state in the 14th century BCE. Beginning with the 12th century it declined, only to reemerge as a kingdom again in the 8th century BCE. Under a sequence of powerful Assyrian kings of Tiglath-pileser III, Shalmaneser V, Sargon II, Sennacherib and Esarhaddon, Assyria expanded by force and controlled most of the Middle East from Egypt to the Persian Gulf.

The Assyrians were known for their cruelty and military skills and for this reason soon declined quickly when a simultaneous revolt of Babylon and Media occurred in 625 BCE. They had no loyal allies when it looked like they could be overthrown. Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, was taken in 612 B.C. and razed to the ground. Fighting continued through 609 B.C. and for a few years the Assyrian general Ashur-uballit tried to save a remnant of the Empire with Harran as its capital, but that last gasp was destroyed in 605 B.C. The Babylonians quickly assumed prominence in the Middle East as the next great Empire as they began their own military campaigns.

Mesopotamia[edit | edit source]

So where did civilization begin? In a region known as Mesopotamia, which is Greek for "land between the rivers." The "rivers" are the Tigris and Euphrates, located in Western Asia. Where, exactly? Civilization began in fertile areas of Iraq northeast of the desert, known as part of the "Fertile Crescent." It extends along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea (including modern Israel, Lebanon and Syria) and through the fertile valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers that run southeast into the Persian Gulf (see the next page for the map). These rivers deposited silt in the surrounding land, creating rich alluvial soil. Today the Tigris and Euphrates rivers are not far from the location of present-day Iraq.

Genesis 2:8-14 describes the beginning in Mesopotamia as follows: "Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. ... A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. ... The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates."[1] Using the ages mentioned in the Bible and counting backwards, biblical scholars have dated this as about 6000 years ago, or about 4000 B.C. This is about 500 years before our earliest record of ancient writings, which is what one might expect; it wouldn't take long for man to start writing messages, but the oldest messages are unlikely to be "extant" (still existing today).

In the fourth millennium before Christ, between about 3500 and 3000 B.C., cities began to sprout their own political and economic systems. Both of these developments occurred in southern Mesopotamia. The first such city (that we know of) was called Sumer, and its occupants were the Sumerians.

We owe a great deal to the achievements of the Sumerians. They developed the first system of writing (the cuneiform), the first codes of law and the first "city-state" (essentially a nation consisting only of a large city). Their inventions were marvelous: the seed plow, the sailboat, and the potter’s wheel. (Distinguish "cuneiform" symbols from "ideograms", which show ideas with symbols such as arrows for war, from "phonograms", in which symbols represent sounds).

Most workers in Mesopotamia were farmers, but some devoted their time to trade. They had a calendar based on the moon to aid the farmers, and they developed a mathematical system using base 12. They were extraordinary inventors, creating complex systems of irrigation and discovering the plow, the cart and the wheel, and used bronze (a mixture of copper and tin) to make good farming tools. Both men and women owned private property, had slaves, and were ruled by a king.

They built cities known as Eridu, Lagash, Ur, Uruk, Isin, Kish, just to name a few. They were smart, and developed Akkadian as their language. One interesting aspect of Akkadian is that it lacks any tense forms such as past or future tense. The verbs expressed the manner of an action rather than its time.

By 3000 B.C. the people had built major canals to channel water, and roads on which to travel. Shepherds had dogs to help them tend the sheep, just as we use today to help herd sheep together. Each city was surrounded by a moat and a wall of brick, with as many as 900 towers inside the city. Soldiers watched people entering and exiting the city, and chariots and wagons carried people and goods within the city. By 3000 B.C. mankind had already built a mini-version of Manhattan, without the automobile and steel skyscrapers. But Mesopotamia (unlike Egypt and China) was not protected by geography, and constantly faced invasion by foreigners.

Do not think there was anything primitive about these ancient cities. They had shipping, fishing, brewers and bakers. They spun wool and traded fine jewelry. They discovered the Pythagorean Theorem, though it was later named after a Greek. In 2500 B.C., the queen of Ur, which was a prominent city, lived in a palace that featured harps and many servants. Slavery existed, but it was typically confined to domestic work in the cities rather than hard labor on a farm. Slaves were given a minimum standard of living and often had the opportunity to rise to freedom through diligent work.

Temples were everywhere. But the people also built stepped mountains known as ziggurats, with a temple on top, and the Bible tells how they tried to build one higher and higher. A massive ziggurat at Ur that is described in Genesis 11:1-9 as the Tower of Babel led to hundreds of different languages (a division which may have also led to different ethnic groups) in the world. As we shall learn in this course, language is a central part of a society that has much to do with its success or failure. Societies with useful and powerful languages prospered; those with difficult-to-use and weak languages failed.

Genesis Chapter 10 places the roots of modern mankind in Noah and his three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. The term "Semitic" means "pertaining to the descendants of Shem," and includes Assyrians, Chaldeans, Aramaeans, Sabaeans, and Hebrews (now known as Jews). Semitic languages include Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic. Semitic religions include Judaism, Christianity and Islam. One of Noah's descendants was Abram, who later changed his name to Abraham to reflect his covenant with God.

Both the Bible and many independent sources describe a Great Flood (or "Deluge"), having an estimated date of about 3300 or 3000 B.C. Very little of any history, including writings and civilization, has survived from before that time. The biblical account of the Flood is at Genesis 5-8, describing an ark having reasonable dimensions similar to modern ocean steamships. A non-biblical Sumerian (from Sumer in Mesopotamia) account of the Flood was found in the last hundred years, and that account was apparently written about 1600 B.C. Even better, a cuneiform tablet from Babylon was found dating from 3000 B.C., which also described a massive flood in great detail. There are many other ancient accounts of a massive flood found in most other cultures around the world. Fossils and limestone (the result of ocean sediment) are found today on mountaintops and land worldwide at all altitudes. Independent accounts of a great flood can be found in ancient works of China, India, Britain (Druid) and American Indians, all having striking similar details.[2] Recently two scientists at Columbia University published a widely praised book, entitled "Noah's Flood," which proved that the Flood did occur. This book concludes that the biblical Flood "is surely a true story of the permanent destruction of a land and its people ...."[3] Yet no public school textbook ever mentions a massive flood.

Civilization prospered in Sumeria, and wars soon broke out. The northwest (Akkad) was constantly fighting the southeast (Sumer), and eventually an Akkadian warrior named Sargon conquered Mesopotamia. Sargon was the first person in recorded history to create an empire or multi-ethnic state, from 2334 to 2279 B.C. His empire included the region of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and also part of what is Turkey today. The capital of his empire was Agade in Akkad. But like many military rulers, his empire collapsed when he died. He did not have a civil (non-military) form of government to pay his soldiers and sustain his empire. Instead, he could only survive as long his soldiers continued to capture and loot. Once the empire stopped expanding upon his death, it collapsed. At the time, the city of Ur in Sumer was the leading city.

The Sumerians established many of the things that define civilization today: buildings, engineering, legal codes, written language and a military. The Sumerians also had literature: in 2000 B.C., they wrote "The Epic of Gilgamesh," considered to be oldest fictional story ever written. The Epic of Gilgamesh was based on a real person who ruled a city-state in Sumer. He struggles with religious issues in the form of multiple gods, and the story seems to draw on some of the wisdom of the Bible. This non-biblical source also describes a great flood.

Each civilization or culture had its inventions. We can thank Mesopotamia (probably Ur) for inventing the wheel in about 3500 B.C., which is the single greatest invention of all time. It is used for much more than transportation. The wheel is essential to manufacturing and even pre-digital watches. No Native American civilization had the wheel until the Europeans brought it to them.

The Middle Assyrian Empire[edit | edit source]

The Mitanni[edit | edit source]

Independence[edit | edit source]

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/sargon/essentials/soldiers/theassyrianarmy/ "As a consequence of the ongoing incorporation of the professional warriors of the armies of defeated neighbouring kingdoms from the 10th century BC onwards, the Assyrian army was slowly but steadily transformed into a professional standing army, with specialised soldiers largely replacing the conscripts who provided military service only during the summer months, when the agricultural calendar permitted the absence of farm workers.

An army of professional soldiers

The transformation from an army of conscripts to an army of professionals was concluded by the mid-8th century BC at the very latest. The main part of the armed forces of Tiglath-pileser III (744-727 BC), and of all his successors, consisted of professional soldiers from within the borders of Assyria and of mercenaries (or perhaps more accurately auxiliaries) from all adjoining regions; this was a standing army which could be supplemented with temporary troops drafted from the Assyrian population whose traditional duty of seasonal military service had not been formally abolished. In terms of specialisation, one can differentiate chariotry, cavalry and infantry. In terms of leadership, one can distinguish between the "royal cohort" (kiṣir šarrūti) under the command of the king and the troops under the authority of the provincial governors and the magnates.

The Assyrian army was in reality many armies, each with its own command structure; its composite character can be seen as the intentional product of a royal strategy which aimed to neutralise the military's otherwise unbridled power vis-à-vis the king in order to protect his sovereignty - a useful and successful approach that significantly contributed to Assyria's internal stability and the longevity of its royal dynasty. The different contingents which constituted the Assyrian army were allowed and encouraged to preserve and develop their own customs and idiosyncrasies: rather than being forged into a unified army, its individual components found themselves in intense competition with each other for royal recognition and favour.


Two infantry soldiers carrying spears and round shields, marching in a military parade before the Assyrian king. Stone slab from the decoration of the west city gateway of Hadattu PGP (modern Arslan Tash) in northern Syria; 8th century BC, reign of Tiglath-pileser III or later. Louvre, AO 11502; photo by Karen Radner. View large image. The king, a mighty warrior

Ancient Near Eastern tradition judged a warrior's death reputable and praiseworthy, and those who bravely sacrificed their lives in battle could achieve eternal fame; the belief in this paradox is also well attested for Assyria, where respect and esteem in general were all-important. Courage in battle, and the desire to die a heroic death, is not claimed by the Assyrian sources for their own warriors alone; they also attribute these qualities to the enemy.

Such qualities were also expected from the Assyrian kings: in their official records, both Tiglath-pileser III and Sargon II (721-705 BC) portrayed themselves as operational fighters who personally led their men into the fray, as an episode from the account of Sargon's eighth campaign may illustrate: "With only my own chariot and the horses which are (always) with me, never leaving my side in enemy and friendly territory, (and) the contingent of (my brother) Sîn-ahu-uṣur, I hit (the enemy army) like a terrible arrow in its heart". Since Sargon died in battle, there is no reason to cast doubt on his active participation in combat. It was not the fact that he had fallen on the battlefield but that his corpse was never recovered (so that no proper funeral could be conducted) which caused an ideological crisis for Assyrian kingship that overshadowed the rule of his successors and changed their attitude to the front line.

Yet in the 8th century BC the king was still expected to pursue acts of personal heroism, as emerges clearly from archival sources which, unlike royal inscriptions, were not meant to impress an audience. Hence, a letter from one of Tiglath-pileser's officials expresses his expectation that the king should rise to the challenge of personally attacking the mountain fortress Turušpa, the capital of the kingdom of Urartu, Assyria's main rival at the time: "When the king, my lord, went up to Urartu for the first time, the gods Aššur and Šamaš delivered the city of Turušpa into the hands of the king, my lord. Hence, may the king, my lord, advance against Urartu so that they may conquer Turušpa and that the king, my lord, may immortalise his name!" (NL 45 = SAA 19 76).


The heroic king: Tiglath-pileser III with bow and arrow in his chariot. Detail of the wall paintings of the palace in Til-Barsip PGP (modern Tell Ahmar) in northern Syria. Reconstruction drawing on display in the Louvre; photo by Karen Radner. View large image. Bravery on the battleground as a ticket to fame

The potentially lethal nature of war also made it attractive as it provided a chance to attain fame, regardless of eventual failure or success. This sentiment was attributed to the soldiers in the service of Assurbanipal (668-c. 630 BC) by their commanding officer Bel-ibni who quoted the words of his men in a letter to his king: in the course of a military operation in the marsh regions at the extreme south of Babylonia, a contingent of 150 soldiers suddenly found themselves ambushed just outside of enemy territory. Outnumbered by the 400 men of the hostile forces, they prepared for the perilous confrontation by executing the 130 enemy soldiers taken captive in a previous encounter, to prevent their liberation or uprising, and proclaimed in the face of this precarious situation: "Should we die, we will die with a supreme name!" (ABL 520). The Assyrian contingent was indeed victorious, killing 17 and wounding 60 or 70 men before putting the enemy troops to flight; yet 20 of the Assyrian soldiers suffered injuries and although some may have survived their battle wounds, other will certainly have died.


In the fray: two Assyrian riders bring down enemy warriors from their horses while a vulture hovers over the battlefield, carrying away human entrails in its talons. Detail of the wall decoration of Tiglath-pileser III's Central Palace in Kalhu (modern Nimrud), later reused in Esarhaddon's Southwest Palace. British Museum, WA 118907; photo by Karen Radner. View large image. But to what extent did brave acts such as these, which were also undoubtedly meant to attract the attention and gratitude of the king, make a soldier's reputation? It is clear that, at least within the administrative and military cadres of the empire, certain army contingents (such as the Ituean PGP auxiliaries who were used as crack troops during the reign of Tiglath-pileser III) enjoyed a special appreciation, based undoubtedly on an outstanding past performance, both from the survivors and the dead.

That individuals, too, were held in high esteem for their accomplishments is evident from the honours and rewards which the king bestowed on war heroes and is perhaps most obvious when they were considered for future missions. The available evidence naturally favours high-ranking officers, such as the Chief Eunuch Ša-Nabû-šû (SAA 4 9, SAA 4 63, SAA 4 78-80, SAA 4 88, SAA 4 96), the most senior military officer under kings Esarhaddon (680-669 BC) and Assurbanipal, and his successor Nabû-šarru-uṣur (SAA 4 267, SAA 4 270-272, SAA 4 292), who were both routinely considered to lead the army in particularly difficult assignments, a clear indication of their excellent reputations."

The Fall of Assur[edit | edit source]

E53c9b02285e97286d183933c1a305c1.png

(http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/fall_of_assyria.htm)

"The decline and demise of the Assyrian empire was surprisingly rapid. Under Ashurbanipal Egypt regained its independence and his successors faced two enemies in the east: the Medes and the Babylonians. The fall of Assyria In 626 Babylon shook off the Assyrian yoke, defeating an Assyrian army.

"It was then that Egypt began to give active support to their former overlords, in order to keep Assyria as a much weakened buffer state between their regions of interest and the rising powers of the East - an interesting example of Realpolitik. Yet Egypt was too weak to be able to withstand the attacks of the Medes for long: Two years after a battle between the united Assyrian-Egyptian forces and the Babylonians only 300 km from Babylon itself in 616, the Medes under Cyaxares conquered Ashur. In the year 612 BCE, Niniveh fell to the combined forces of the Babylonians and Medes. Haran, Ashur-uballit's last stronghold, was taken in 610, ending the Assyrian empire."

References[edit | edit source]

  1. This course uses a variety of translations for the Bible, this time using the "NIV" version.
  2. See, e.g., http://www.searchgodsword.org/enc/isb/view.cgi?number=T2631
  3. Ryan & Pitman, "Noah's Flood" (Simon & Schuster, NY: 1998), p. 251.