The Assyrian Empire
About 1500 B.C. the city of Ashur located along the banks of the Tigris River in northern Mesopotamia became the capital of the Assyrian Empire. Its warlike ruler Tiglath-Pileser I conquered forty peoples including the Hittites Armenians, and the Hebrews in northern Israel. Tiglath-Pileser I founded an empire which became so powerful that it controlled the city of Babylon and even received tribute and gifts from the Egyptians. The city of Ashur was not in a pleasant location. Once the Assyrian empire grew the king moved the capital to a new city Nineveh. Nineveh remained the capital until the Assyrean Empire was destroyed. Tow other Assyrians cities were also important Nimrod and ancient city mentioned in the Bible was believed to be built by the great hunter Nimrod. The other city Arbela was a great trade city.
Assyrian army
Assyrian soldiers whose major occupations were warfare and hunting were held in great respect. The Assyrians adopted the Hittites iron weapons including iron-tipped spears and arrows. They also wore bronze helmets and breastplates. The Assyrians had one weapon that gave then a great advantage in warfare. They used spoked wheels on their chariots making them lighter, faster, and easier to maneuver on the battlefield.
Government
The Assyrians were the first people to conquer and control people by terrorism. This term means they used brutality and violence against the common people in order to control the government. The Assyrians were so brutal that everyone was afraid to fight them or to rebel once they had been conquered. No act seemed to cruel or too heartless for the Assyrians when a city refused to surrender. Mounds of dead bodies often lay in front to city gates. In other cities hundreds of prisoners were locked in buildings that were then burned to the ground. The Assyrians used and unusual method of keeping their subjects under control to prevent rebellions. Once they conquered a people the Assyrians moved the entire population to a different territory. Other people were brought to the conquered area. In these strange countries people were usually more easily governed. They had no sense of nationalism such as the Egyptians had for their country when they were taken over by the Hyksos. Most of the people in the Mesopotamian area trembled with fear when they heard the Assyrians were coming. Nobody seemed strong enough to defeat them. For years the Egyptians bought their freedom by paying tribute to the Assyrian kings. The Assyrian king was an "absolute" ruler. This means that his word was law and he could do anything he wished. He might have a council to advise him but he did not have to follow its advice. If anyone displeased the he would be killed without a trial. There was no court of appeals and no second chance when the king gave an order it was obeyed.
Destruction of Babylon
When Babylon rebelled against the Assyrians about 721 B.C. King Sennacherib completely destroyed the city. Babylon was burned to the ground. Most of the population regardless of age or sex was put to death. So many people were killed that bodies blocked the streets. Babylon lost much of her importance but as we shall see she was quick to recover.
Architecture
Although the Assyrians destroyed the city of Babylon they were greatly influenced by the Babylonians. Nineveh was designed with the same architectural style used in Babylon. The major difference was that the Assyrian buildings were made of stone instead of brick mainly because so much stone was available. In addition to temples for their gods the Assyrians built huge palaces for their kings. The royal palace at Khorsabad covered 25 acres and housed 80,000 guests. On the walls of the temples and palaces the different kings left records of their rule. Most of these records proudly told of cutting off soldiers hands, blinding enemies eyes, and skinning traitors alive.
Art
The Assyrians spent little time on sculpturing and other types of artwork. They did make huge statues with their king's face on the body of a large winged lion or bull. These elaborate statues were designed to show the king was all-powerful and godlike. The walls of Assyrian palaces also displayed bas-relief carvings. Almost all Assyrian artwork pictured realistic scenes of warfare or hunting. The human figures were stiff and formal but the animals were very lifelike.
Literature
The Assyrians did not create much literature. One Assyrian king had scribes collect and copy many of the literary works of Babylon. Archaeologists have discovered a royal library with over 20,000 clay tablets neatly cataloged and filed in baskets. Most of them were copies of Babylonian literature.
Religion
The chief god of the Assyrians was Ashur. When they conquered countries they added other gods to those they worshiped. But the Assyrians always believed Ashur was the great god who protected their empire. In fact King Ashurbanipal even had this god's name as part of his name. Like the other civilization we have studied the Assyrians were interested in astrology. They kept careful records of the movements of the stars and planets in and effort to foretell the future.
Astrology
Early civilizations of Assyria Babylonia and Medo-Persia carefully studied the stars and planets a science called astronomy. This information was combined with the worship of their gods to form what is known as astrology. These ancient people believed that the movements of the stars and planets affected the lives and fortunes of people on earth. They tried to predict the future by them. As people learned more about science and the natural laws of the universe astrology was no longer considered important. People felt that only the superstitious and foolish could believe it. But all through history there have been people (some of them very famous like Hitler) who believed strongly in astrology. Many would not do anything without consulting and astrologer to learn whether the stars predicated a good or bad day. Today astrological "forecasts" are printed in most daily newspapers books and many other publications. Some believed in the "religiously" others think they are fun. Unfortunately interest in astrology has moved into areas of the occult and witchcraft. While most early religions adopted astrology as part of their worship and belief it is interesting to note that the Bible states that God specifically condemns this practice. He commands people who believe in him not to have anything to do with astrology.
Economy
The Assyrians soon developed a thriving trade with the rest of the Middle East. They invented a moneary system using bars of silver as money with the weight of the bar stamped on each one. It was not until Lydia became an empire many years later that these clumsy bars were replaced with minted coins.
Assyria's Decline and Fall
Under King Ashurbanipal who ruled around 631 B.C. the Assyrian Empire was geographically the largest it had ever been. Even Egypt had been conquered and was an Assyrian province. A wealthy but unstable empire. The very conditions that contributed to the rise of the Assyrian Empire led to its destruction. Over the years its bravest and strongest men had been killed in wars decreasing the population. The people of conquered provinces were shifted around and as a result there was a large and somewhat disloyal minority. These captives were waiting for an opportunity to rebel. Meanwhile riches and tribute poured into the Assyrian Empire. The upper class people preferred to stay home and enjoy themselves rather than protect their country. King Ashurbanipal was forced to hire mercenaries, soldiers from foreign countries who fight for money. Throughout history mercenaries have not been the best soldiers because they have not been willing to die for the country that hired them. On the other hand soldiers who have fought to defend their own homes and countries were more willing to die for these causes. They often have defeated and army mad up of mercenaries. Assyria was ripe for destruction. The dynamic rule of Ashurbanipal ended with his death in 626 B.C. His successors were unable to withstand the hostile forces. The mighty Assyrian Empire was conquered by the Chaldeans and their tow allies the Medes and the Scythians. By 612 B.C. Nineveh was destroyed. Desert sands covered the ruins. The city of Nineveh disappeared from history until centuries later when archaeologists uncovered this once great civilization.