The 

Assyrians
2
Middle Assyrian Empire
4
Assyrian chronology: early kings in the 1st millennium BCE
Adad‐Nirari II 911‐891 BCE
Tikulti‐Ninurta II 890‐884 BCE
Assurnasirpal II 883‐859 BCE
Shalmaneser III 858‐824 BCE
Shamshi‐Adad V 823‐811 BCE
Adad‐Nirari III 810‐783 BCE
Shalmaneser IV 782‐773 BCE
Ashur‐Dan III 772‐755 BCE
Ashur‐Nirari V 754‐745 BCE
Tiglath‐pileser III 744‐727 BCE
Shalmaneser V 726‐722 BCE
The Rise of Assyria 
• By the 10th century BCE the traditional powers of the Near East were in a state of disarray
• This situation enabled Assyria, a small nation of farmers and herders on the upper Tigris 
River, to move on to the centre stage of Near Eastern history 
• Assyriologists refer to the period 1000–612 BCE as the Late or Neo‐Assyrian period, 
when for four centuries Ashur (the land of Ashur) was one of the most powerful and 
well‐organized empires the ancient world had ever seen
• It is against a backdrop of political and social instability that the ancient Assyrians 
became mighty fighters whose reputation as the most violent and warlike people in the 
ancient Near East lived on long after they had ceased to exist as a nation 
• The Assyrians developed an economy based on war and military conquest that required 
acts of violence against conquered peoples
• However, the legendary brutality of the Assyrians was, in most instances, no worse than 
any other nation of the time
• The Assyrians were simply more efficient at war and conquest than everyone else
New Assyrian Empire
The Assyrian Empire 
in the 7th century BCE
Assyrian Warfare
• The Assyrians appear more brutal than their neighbours because they used both
written and visual art forms extensively, and accurately, to dramatize their military
might
• The Assyrians are remembered through written accounts of battles and scenes of
slaughter and conquest that have left a reputation of violence as their principal legacy
• But the Assyrians were more than just fighters and it would be unfair to mention only
their military exploits while ignoring their other achievements
• They were also great builders and administrators
• They produced beautiful and finely crafted works of art and built some of the most
impressive cities in the ancient world
• Like other peoples in the ancient Near East, the Assyrians went to war for economic,
strategic, and religious reasons
• Often, war was nothing more than a form of organized national theft where one nation
systematically robbed another
• Once a year the Assyrians would organize a military raid or razzia, a kind of annual
“hold‐up” of their weaker neighbours, to obtain what they called mandattu (tribute) or
shallatu (loot or booty)
• Economic gain was not the only reason for war
• It made strategic sense to attack and destroy one’s enemies before they had a chance
to destroy the home country ‐ often the reason for military action in the ancient world
• Had the Assyrians not struck out against their rivals on a number of occasions, it is likely
that they would have been overwhelmed
• The third reason the Assyrians waged war was religious
• Even though the Assyrians believed in many gods, they did have their own supreme god,
Assur, god of the Assyrian nation
• The Assyrians did not wish to convert people to the religion of Assur, but they did
believe that their enemies worshipped inferior gods, and that it was acceptable to
force them to recognize the might of the great god Assur
The Assyrian god Assur shown holding a bow and encircled by a winged disc 
Assurnasirpal II
• One of the most important Assyrian rulers of the Late or Neo‐Assyrian period
was King Assurnasirpal II, who reigned from 883‐859 BCE
• After he ascended to the throne he gathered his army and struck out against the
hill people of northern Mesopotamia
• Then he moved to the southwest against a vassal city on the lower Khabur River,
called Suru
• The king’s description of his attack on the city illustrates in vivid detail the power
and cruelty of the Assyrian leaders
• This type of text was one of the first of many that would become the standard
format for war propaganda used to strike fear and terror into the hearts of the
enemies of Assyria
King Assurnasirpal II (883‐859 BC)
Assurnasirpall II: Hunting of Wild Animals 
• Like most ancient Near Eastern monarchs, Assurnasirpal II hunted wild animals
such as bulls, lions, and elephants
• Lion hunting in particular was considered a royal sport, as well as a good
character‐building exercise for kings, who were ultimately responsible for
leading their troops into battle
• Assurnasirpal II tells us that during one hunt he trapped 30 elephants, killed 257
wild oxen, and brought down 370 lions with hunting spears from his chariot
• It was the king’s duty to protect his subjects and their farm animals from such
dangerous creatures
• Often, poor farmers living out in the hinterlands had neither the training nor the
weapons to rid themselves of dangerous beasts such as lions, and had to call
upon the king, or one of his soldiers, to come to their aid
• The practice of lion hunting was not new to the Assyrians, but known already in
the 4th millennium BCE, and the tradition continued in the Near East for
centuries afterwards
• Not all lion hunting by Assyrian monarchs occurred in the wild
• Some hunts took place in closed areas inside cities, such as parks
• One sculptured lion‐killing scene shows King Assurbanipal holding a lion at arm’s
length with his left hand while he plunges a sword into the animal’s chest with
his right hand
• Although this sort of feat may appear to be an unlikely form of exaggerated royal
propaganda, killing lions this way was entirely possible since the Mesopotamian
lion (subsequently hunted to extinction) was slightly smaller than African lions
King Assurbanipal (668 – 627 BC) killing a lion. Low‐relief sculpture. (British Museum, London). 
New Assyrian Kings

Ashurbanipal in action: Ashurbanipal during one of his famous lion hunts, and dining with his 
queen. Note the head of the king of Elam dangling from a tree! 17
Civil War and Decline
• After Assurnasirpal II’s reign, Assyria went into a period of decline, and for years
the land was troubled by serious internal problems
• If the Assyrians were going to survive the growing threat of other powers in the
area, they would need a leader with sufficient political skill and foresight to
recognize the demands of certain groups in Assyrian society, and to reorganize
the political structure of the country
• In 744 BCE just such a person came to the throne: Tiglath‐pileser III
• Although his family background and origins remain a mystery, there is good
reason to believe that he was an usurper who took advantage of the unrest of
the time to stage a palace coup d’état and take the Assyrian crown for himself
Tiglath‐pileser III (744‐727 BCE)
• The new king made a number of fundamental changes to the organizational and
administrative structure of Assyria that enabled it to become a powerful military and
economic force
• Many of his reforms and institutions would be perpetuated by the Babylonians and
Persians, and later authors falsely credited many of these reforms to them, although
they were created by the Assyrians
• Under the previous kings, large areas of conquered land were given as governorships
to various Assyrian officials
• These governors became nearly as powerful as the king
• They began to act as petty kings who ignored the king and acted as independent rulers
• Tiglath‐pileser III abolished these governorships and divided the land into many small
provinces, none large enough or strong enough to challenge the authority of the king
• These provinces were ruled by a district lord (bel‐pihati) or a governor (shakkanakku),
who was responsible only to the king
 Tiglath‐Pileser III: 
stela from the walls of his palace

Tiglath‐Pileser III besieging a town
• By increasing the power of the king, Tiglath‐pileser III was able to give new strength to the
land of Ashur
• To make sure that the appointed provincial governors did their job properly, overseers (qepu)
were placed in each province to report to the king
• If a governor failed in his duties the king would be notified by the overseer, and the offending
person would be admonished or removed from office
• Under the leadership of Tiglath‐pileser III the army was completely restructured
• Soldiers had better weapons and military leaders employed better tactics than before
• The era of simple raids was at an end; under Tiglath‐pileser III the army became large, full‐
time, and permanent
• As a result the size of the Assyrian army increased dramatically but its reliability was
reduced, since a large number of foreign elements in the army replaced the traditional sons
of Assyria, who were more patriotic and willing to make sacrifices for their homeland
• Tiglath‐pileser III’s predecessors had always considered the Euphrates River as the boundary
of greater Assyria in terms of direct rule, but Tiglath‐pileser III went beyond it and
incorporated a number of former vassal states into the Assyrian fold and made them
provinces
• As the empire grew larger the boundaries and frontiers it had to defend also grew, which in
turn required more and more soldiers to defend them
Problems in the South
• One of the major problems for Tiglath‐pileser III, and all subsequent Assyrian kings, was
their southern flank bordering on Babylonia
• Babylonia existed as an independent kingdom under Assyrian control and was a centre
for religion, art, literature, mythology, and other cultural traditions that the Assyrians
shared with the peoples who lived in the Tigris–Euphrates river valley
• The Babylonians were the inheritors of the Sumerian and Akkadian culture passed down
to them by great kings such as Sargon of Akkad and Hammurabi
• Most Assyrians held the land of Babylonia in high esteem and considered it the home of
much of their own culture
• Despite this, the relationship between Assyria and Babylonia was often strained
• Sometimes Babylonia stood with Assyria and added unity and strength to the empire,
while at others Babylonia withdrew and cast the whole of Mesopotamia into turmoil
and war
Assyrian chronology (later period): the Sargonid kings (722‐612 BCE)

Sargon II 721‐705 BCE
Sennacherib 704‐681 BCE
Esarhaddon 680‐669 BCE
Assurbanipal 668‐627 BCE?
Assur‐etel‐ilani 627‐624 BCE?
Sin‐shar‐ishkin 622?‐612 BCE
 New Assyrian Empire

Ashur‐Dan II Founder
Ashur‐nasir‐pal II Vast empire from Persian Gulf to Tyre, built Calah (Nimrud) 

Shalmaneser III Growing pressure on Syria‐Palestine, battle of Qarqar

Tiglath‐Pileser III Usurper, administrative reforms, empire from Persian Gulf to border of Egypt

Shalmaneser V Conquered Israel and destroyed Samaria

Sargon II Growing problems (Elam, Syria‐Palestine, Urartu), built Dur‐Sharrukin
(Khorsabad)
Sennacherib Rebult Nineveh, famous for campaign against coalition of Syria‐Palestine led 
by Hezekiah of Judah, besieged Jerusalem, destroyed Lachish, assassinated 
by sons
Esarhaddon On the road to destruction, invaded Egypt

Ashurbanipal Invaded Egypt, but could not hold, famous for library in  Nineveh
24
The Kings: Sargon II
• After a successful reign of 18 years, Tiglath‐pileser III left Assyria in a position of great
strength
• He had reorganized the country’s administration and army, and had established a
complex and efficient empire
• After the death of Tiglath Pileser III in 727 BC, there was a period of several years of
instability and an insurrection out of which emerged a new king who took the long‐
honoured name of an ancient Akkadian predecessor: Sargon
• This second “legitimate king”, as Sargon II called himself, probably took power in a
palace coup
• He claimed to be a son of Tiglath‐pileser III, and like him proved to be an able and
powerful ruler who continued Assyria’s policy of expansion on all fronts in the Near East
Sargon II
The Kings: Sennacherib, the Southern problem continues

• Sennacherib followed the rule of Sargon II

• Sennacherib ruled from 704 to 681 BC
• Although he was not Sargon II’s first‐born son, he was brought up in the bit rimki (the
“house of succession”), a special place where future kings were prepared to be rulers of
Assyria
• To protect Assyrian interests in Babylonia, Sennacherib placed his own son, Assur‐
nadin‐shumi, on the throne of Babylonia, hoping that with this gesture he could bring
order to the southern portion of Mesopotamia
• This arrangement worked well for several years
• However, in 689 BCE things finally boiled over when the Babylonians, with the help of
Elam, rose again in revolt against Assyria and kidnapped and murdered Sennacherib’s
son
• A shocked and enraged Sennacherib reacted by destroying the city of Babylon, the
ancient religious and cultural centre of Mesopotamia
New Assyrian Kings

Sennacherib siege of the Judean city of Lachish: Of importance to Biblical scholars, 
here showing the attack on the city, exiles and booty being taken away, Sennacherib 
on his throne outside the walls of Lachish. Originally covered the walls of a room in 
his palace in Nineveh. Only depiction of Judeans! 28
Sennacherib and the conquest of Lachish
Best documented event in Biblical history!

Accounts from Assyria:
• Annalls of Sennacherib (Taylor Prism)
• Bull inscription
• Threshold inscription

3 Biblical accounts
• 2 Kings 18‐20
• 2 Chronicles 32
• Isaiah 36‐39
• Remark by Herodotus

Excavations at Nineveh
Excavations at Tell Lachish
29
 Sennacherib’s Palace reliefs at 
Nineveh on the Conquest of Lachish

30
The reliefs covered the walls of
Room XXXVI in the palace of
Sennacherib

The suite was apparently

designed to commemorate the
conquest of Lachish

From the central court a Central

passage with three sets of court
human-headed winged bulls
lead to the Lachish room

31
32
33
I Slingers and archers attacking the city
II Slingers and archers approaching the city, which can be seen in
the right-hand corner

I II

34
35
36
III The central section of the besieged city being attacked by     
battering rams, a row of deportees are leaving through the gates,  
while three unfortunate citizens are hoisted on sharpened poles
IV City being attacked in the left‐hand corner by battering rams
approaching on a siege ramp, a row of soldiers carrying booty  
and deportees are leaving the city

III IV

37
38
39
V Rows of deportees leaving the city
VI Rows of deportees, two captives, stripped naked, are thrown to the ground

V VI

40
41
42
VII Rows of captives, one unfortunate captive is stabbed to death by an 
Assyrian soldier
VIII Sennacherib sits on his throne, before him appears high‐ranking officials and 
captives in submissive postures
IX Royal tent and ceremonial chariot

VII VIII IX

43
44
“Sennacherib, king of the world, king of Assyria, on a nemedu-throne he sat while
the booty of Lachish passed before him”

45
X Attendants and horses
XI Royal ceremonial (?) chariot and part of the Assyrian camp
XII Part of the Assyrian camp

X XI XII

46
47
48
49
Sennacherib at Jerusalem: different voices
• Peculiarity: Lachish in reliefs, Jerusalem in annals
• What really happened outside the walls of Jerusalem?
• Biblical accounts: miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem
• Annals: no word about conquest or inability to do it
• One thing is clear: Jerusalem not taken!

50
 Biblical accounts
2 Kings 18‐20;   Isaiah 36‐39;   2 Chronicles 32 

• Sennacherib besieged Lachish
• Sends general to besiege Jerusalem
• Demands Hezekiah’s capitulation
• Hezekiah seeks help from the Lord
• Isaiah is sent with message of hope
• Angel of the Lord slays the Assyrian army
• Miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem

51
 Sennacherib’s accounts
• Sennacherib’s annals:
“But as for Hezekiah, the Jew, who did not bow in submission to my
yoke – forty-six of his strong walled towns and innumerable smaller
villages in their neighborhood I besieged and conquered… He himself I
shut up like a caged bird within Jerusalem, his royal city… As for
Hezekiah, the awful splendor of my lordship overwhelmed him… He
sent his personal messenger to deliver the tribute and make a slavish
obeisance”

• Bull inscription
“I laid waste the wide district of Judah and made the overbearing and
proud Hezekiah, its king, bow submissively at my feet”

• Threshold inscription
“I overthrew the wide district of Judah. I imposed my yoke-ropes upon
Hezekiah, its king”

52
 Herodotus (Greek historian)

“one night a multitude of field mice swarmed

the Assyrian camp and devoured their quivers
and their bows and the handles of their shields
likewise, insomuch that the Assyrians fled the
next day and many fell”
(Book II 141)

Plague?

53
54
The Kings: Esarhaddon
• Sennacherib’s destruction of Babylon was perhaps understandable since he lost his son
to the rebels, but from a religious perspective it was not very wise
• His devastation of the great city was so complete that he even destroyed the temple of
Marduk, the great god of Babylon, the god of Hammurabi, who had been worshipped
for centuries by the people of Mesopotamia
• Many feared that with the loss of the cult centre of such a great god all manner of evil,
such as plagues, famines, and wars, would be inflicted on the land of Assyria, bringing
years of hardship in revenge for such a reckless and impious act
• However, following the sack of Babylon no great calamities befell the Assyrian people
• Instead, eight years after the attack, in 681 BC, Sennacherib was murdered
• One of the murdered king’s sons, Esarhaddon, succeeded his father, and once in power
devoted considerable resources in an effort to rectify the physical and spiritual
devastation his father had caused the city of Babylon
• With the reconstruction of Babylonia underway and the rest of the empire
momentarily stable, Esarhaddon was free to embark upon the ultimate
extension of the Assyrian Empire: the conquest of Egypt
• In the spring of 671 BC, Esarhaddon led his armies into Syria‐Palestine and
crossed the Sinai desert
• Esarhaddon’s account of the campaign claims that the conquest of the city of
Memphis took only two weeks
• However, because Egypt was so vast and far from the Assyrian heartland it
proved difficult to control, and was never fully integrated into the Assyrian
Empire like other conquered areas closer to home
• The Assyrians were able to raid Egypt, but they were never able to hold on to it
and make it part of their empire
The Kings: Esarhaddon’s sons
• When Esarhaddon died, two of his sons, by a pre‐arranged succession agreement, took 
the thrones of both Assyria and Babylonia
• Esarhaddon divided the kingship of the empire between the two of them to ensure that 
Assurbanipal would rule in the north and Shamash‐shum‐ukin would rule in the south
• With this arrangement he hoped to establish peace and security throughout 
Mesopotamia
• But even though in principle the two rulers were equal, it was Assurbanipal, the king of 
the north, who had most of the power
• The double monarchy in which the kingship of greater Mesopotamia was shared worked 
for nearly 17 years
• But eventually, Shamash‐shum‐ukin grew tired of this arrangement and wanted to assert 
Babylonian might as he saw fit 
• In 652 BCE he started a great revolt against his royal brother
• Shamash‐shum‐ukin put together a vast coalition of anti‐Assyrian forces that included 
Elamites, Chaldeans, and Arabs and engaged Assyria in a bloody four‐year struggle
Assyria on the defensive
• With the defeat of Elam and his withdrawal from Egypt, Assurbanipal had cut
his losses and consolidated his forces
• As a result of the land of Ashur should have been stronger and better prepared
to face its enemies, but in reality Assyria had been seriously weakened during
the civil war and was dangerously close to collapse

• After the great rebellion, things were temporarily quiet in the south
• The kingdom of Elam had been defeated, and Babylon and its allies had been
drained by years of bloody warfare
• But in Assyria proper things were not going well
• For the period after 640 BCE we have very little documentation about Assyrian
activities, which indicates that things were coming apart
The Collapse of Assyria
• With the collapse of Assyria the northern domination of the Tigris–Euphrates river
valley came to an end
• There is no single reason why the Assyrian Empire fell, but two important contributing
factors deserve to be mentioned
• The first concerns the use of foreigners in the Assyrian military
• Like many armies the Assyrians engaged large numbers of non‐Assyrians from
conquered territories as soldiers in their armed forces
• Their payment was often only a daily ration of food, the promise of adventure and
travel, and, occasionally, the right to some unrestrained looting of a conquered city
• Swelling its ranks with large numbers of non‐Assyrians surely weakened the resolve of
the army to fight effectively and with a spirit of commitment and love for the homeland
• The second reason was economic
• Prosperous regions conquered by the Assyrians initially brought in great wealth, which
subsequently diminished substantially
• The Assyrians eventually over‐extended themselves, while all the time
depending more and more on non‐Assyrians to protect and ensure the
functioning of the empire

• During the reign of Assurbanipal this system collapsed, and the Babylonians
moved in and took over the Assyrians and their empire and made it their own

• The capital city of Nineveh would fall in 612 BCE at the hands of the Babylonians