The first empire of the ancient world was Assyria. This state existed on the world map for almost 2000 years - from the 24th to the 7th century BC, and around 609 BC. e. ceased to exist. The first mention of Assyria was found among ancient authors such as Herodotus, Aristotle and others. The Assyrian kingdom is also mentioned in some books of the Bible.
Geography
The Assyrian kingdom was located in the upper reaches of the Tigris River and stretched from the lower reaches of the Lesser Zab in the south to the mountains of Zagras in the east and the mountains of Masios in the northwest. In different eras of its existence, it was located on the lands of such modern states as Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Turkey, Syria, Cyprus and Egypt.
Many centuries of history know more than one capital of the Assyrian kingdom:
- Ashur (the first capital, located 250 km from modern Baghdad).
- Ekallatum (the capital of upper Mesopotamia, located in the middle reaches of the Tigris).
- Nineveh (located on the territory of modernIraq).
Historical periods of development
Since the history of the Assyrian kingdom takes too much time, the era of its existence is conventionally divided into three periods:
- Old Assyrian period - XX-XVI centuries BC.
- Middle Assyrian period - XV-XI centuries BC.
- New Assyrian Kingdom - X-VII centuries BC.
Each of the periods was characterized by its domestic and foreign policy of the state, monarchs from various dynasties were in power, each subsequent period began with the rise and flourishing of the Assyrian statehood, a change in the geography of the kingdom and a change in foreign policy guidelines.
Old Assyrian period
The Assyrians came to the territory of the Euphrates River in the middle of the 20th century. BC e., these tribes spoke the Akkadian language. The first city they built was Ashur, named after their supreme deity.
During this period, there was no single Assyrian state yet, so Ashur, who was a vassal of the kingdom of Mitania and Kassite Babylonia, became the largest sovereign nome. Nome retained some independence in the internal affairs of the settlements. The Ashur nome included several small rural settlements headed by elders. The city developed quite quickly due to its favorable geographical location: trade routes from the south, west and east passed through it.
Talking about ruling in this periodmonarchs are not accepted, since the rulers did not have all the political rights characteristic of holders of such a status. This period in the history of Assyria has been singled out by historians for convenience as the prehistory of the Assyrian kingdom. Until the fall of Akkad in the 22nd century BC. Ashur was part of it, and after his disappearance became independent for a short period of time, and only in the 21st century BC. e. was captured by Ur. Only 200 years later, power passes to the rulers - the Assurians, from that moment the rapid growth of trade and commodity production begins. However, such a situation within the state did not last long, and after 100 years Ashur loses its significance as a central city, and one of the sons of the Shamsht-Adad ruler becomes its governor. Soon the city was under the rule of the king of Babylon, Hammurabi, and only around 1720 BC. e. the gradual flourishing of the independent Assyrian state begins.
Second Period
Starting from the 14th century BC, Assyrian rulers are already referred to as kings in official documents. Moreover, when addressing the pharaoh of Egypt, they say "Our brother." During this period, there is an active military colonization of the lands: invasions are carried out into the territory of the state of the Hittites, raids on the Babylonian kingdom, in the cities of Phenicia and Syria, and in 1290-1260. BC e. Territorial registration of the Assyrian Empire ends.
A new rise in the Assyrian wars of conquest began under King Tiglath-Pileser, who was able to capture Northern Syria, Phoenicia and part of Asia Minor, moreover, the kingseveral times he went on ships to the Mediterranean Sea to show his superiority over Egypt. After the death of the conquering monarch, the state begins to decline, and all subsequent kings can no longer save the previously captured lands. The Assyrian kingdom was driven out to its indigenous lands. Documents of the period of the XI-X centuries BC. e. not preserved, indicating a decline.
New Assyrian kingdom
A new stage in the development of Assyria began after the Assyrians managed to get rid of the Aramaic tribes who came to their territory. It is the state created during this period that is considered to be the first empire in the history of mankind. The protracted crisis of the Assyrian kingdom was able to be stopped by the kings Adad-Nirari II and Adid-Nirari III (it is with his mother Semiramis that the existence of one of the 7 wonders of the world, the Hanging Gardens, is associated). Unfortunately, the next three kings could not withstand the blows of an external enemy - the kingdom of Urartu, and pursued an illiterate internal policy, which significantly weakened the state.
Assyria under Tiglapalasar III
The real rise of the kingdom began in the era of King Tiglapalasar III. Being in power in 745-727. BC e., he was able to seize the lands of Phenicia, Palestine, Syria, the Kingdom of Damascus, it was during his reign that the long-term military conflict with the state of Urartu was resolved.
Success in foreign policy due to domestic reforms. So, the king began a forced resettlement to his landsinhabitants from the occupied states, together with their families and property, which led to the spread of the Aramaic language throughout Assyria. The tsar solved the problem of separatism within the country by dividing large regions into many small ones headed by governors, thus preventing the emergence of new dynasties. The tsar also undertook to reform the army: the army, which consisted of militias and military colonists, was reorganized into a professional regular army that received a salary from the treasury, new types of troops were introduced - regular cavalry and sappers, special attention was paid to the organization of the intelligence and communications service.
Successful military campaigns allowed Tiglathpalasar to create an empire that stretched from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea, and even to be crowned King of Babylon - Poolu.
Urartu - a kingdom (Transcaucasia), which was invaded by Assyrian rulers
The Kingdom of Urartu was located on the territory of the Armenian Highlands and occupied the territory of modern Armenia, eastern Turkey, northwestern Iran and the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan. The heyday of the state came at the end of the 9th - the middle of the 8th century BC, the decline of Urartu was largely facilitated by the wars with the Assyrian kingdom.
Having received the throne after the death of his father, King Tiglath-Pileser III sought to regain control of the Asia Minor trade routes for his state. In 735 BC. e. in a decisive battle on the western bank of the Euphrates, the Assyrians were able to defeat the army of Urartu and move deep into the kingdom. The monarch of Urartu, Sarduri, fled and soon died, the state was in a deplorable state. His heir Rusa I was able to establish a temporary truce with Assyria, which was soon broken by the Assyrian king Sargon II.
Taking advantage of the fact that Urartu was weakened by the defeat received from the tribes of the Cimmerians, Sargon II in 714 BC. e. destroyed the Urartian army, and thus Urartu and the kingdoms dependent on it were under the rule of Assyria. After these events, Urartu lost its importance on the world stage.
Policy of the last Assyrian kings
The successor of Tiglath-Pileser III could not keep in his hands the empire founded by his predecessor, and eventually Babylon declared its independence. The next king, Sargon II, in his foreign policy was not limited to the possession of only the kingdom of Urartu, he was able to return Babylon to the control of Assyria and was crowned as the Babylonian king, he also managed to suppress all the uprisings that arose on the territory of the empire.
The reign of Sennacherib (705-680 BC) was characterized by constant confrontation between the king and the priests and townspeople. During his reign, the former king of Babylon again tried to restore his power, this led to the fact that Sennacherib brutally cracked down on the Babylonians and completely destroyed Babylon. Dissatisfaction with the policy of the king led to the weakening of the state and, as a result, outbreaks of uprisings, some states regained their independence, and Urartu regained a number of territories. This policy led to the assassination of the king.
Having received power, the heir of the murdered king, Esarhaddon, first of all took upthe restoration of Babylon and the establishment of relations with the priests. As for foreign policy, the king managed to repel the Cimmerian invasion, suppress the anti-Assyrian uprisings in Phenicia and undertake a successful campaign in Egypt, which resulted in the capture of Memphis and ascension to the throne of Egypt, but the king was unable to maintain this victory due to an unexpected death.
The last king of Assyria
The last strong king of Assyria was Ashurbanipal, known as the most competent ruler of the Assyrian state. It was he who collected a unique library of clay tablets in his palace. The time of his reign was characterized by a constant struggle with vassal states wishing to regain their independence. Assyria during this period was at war with the kingdom of Elam, which led to the complete defeat of the latter. Egypt and Babylon wanted to regain their independence, but as a result of numerous conflicts, they did not succeed. Ashurbanipal managed to extend his influence to Lydia, Media, Phrygia, to defeat Thebes.
The death of the Assyrian kingdom
The death of Ashurbanipal marked the beginning of the turmoil. Assyria was defeated by the Median kingdom, and Babylon gained independence. By the combined armies of the Medes and their allies in 612 BC. e. The main city of the Assyrian kingdom, Nineveh, was destroyed. In 605 B. C. e. under Carchemish, the Babylonian heir Nebuchadnezzar defeated the last military units of Assyria, thus the Assyrian Empire was destroyed.
The historical significance of Assyria
The ancient Assyrian kingdom left behind many cultural and historical monuments. Many bas-reliefs with scenes from the life of kings and nobles, six-meter sculptures of winged gods, a lot of ceramics and jewelry have survived to our time.
A great contribution to the development of knowledge about the Ancient World was made by the discovered library with thirty thousand clay tablets of King Ashurbanipal, where knowledge on medicine, astronomy, engineering was collected, and even the Great Flood was mentioned.
Engineering was at a high level of development - the Assyrians were able to build a canal-water pipeline and an aqueduct 13 meters wide and 3 thousand meters long.
The Assyrians were able to create one of the strongest armies of their time, they were armed with chariots, battering rams, spears, warriors used trained dogs in battles, the army was well equipped.
After the fall of the Assyrian state, Babylon became the heir to centuries of achievements.
