Assyrians

Examples of Assyrians in the following topics:

• Architecture in Assyria

  • Assyrian architects were initially influenced by previous forms dominant in Sumer and Akkad.
  • However, Assyrian structures eventually evolved into their own unique style.
  • One example is the Balawat Gates, from the Assyrian outpost of Balawat, or Imgur-Enlil.
  • Assyrian inscriptions suggest the gates were made of cedar.
  • Image shows the typical rectangular plan and massive fortified walls of Assyrian palace architecture.

• The Assyrians

  • The Assyrian Empire was a major Semitic kingdom, and often empire, of the Ancient Near East.
  • The history of Assyria proper is roughly divided into three periods, known as Old Assyrian (late 21st-18th century BCE), Middle Assyrian (1365-1056 BCE), and Neo-Assyrian (911- 612BCE).
  • In the Old Assyrian period, Assyria established colonies in Asia Minor and the Levant.
  • Assyria experienced fluctuating fortunes in the Middle Assyrian period.
  • However, a shift in the Assyrian's dominance occurred with the rise of the Middle Assyrian Empire (1365 BCE-1056 BCE).

• Nineveh

  • Nineveh, an Assyrian city on the Tigris River and capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, was one of the earliest, greatest cities in antiquity.
  • Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, and the capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
  • While there is no large body of evidence to show that Assyrian monarchs built at all extensively in Nineveh during the 2nd millennium BCE, it appears to have been originally an "Assyrian provincial town".
  • The Assyrian empire as such came to an end by 605 BC, with the Medes and Babylonians dividing its colonies between them.
  • Following its defeat in 612, the site remained largely unoccupied for centuries with only a scattering of Assyrians living amid the ruins until the Sassanian period, although Assyrians continue to live in the surrounding area to this day.

• Artifacts of Assyria

  • Assyrian artifacts consist of a variety of media and range in size from hand-held to monumental.
  • Additionally, they bear inscriptions in Assyrian cuneiform and Phoenician script, indicating use by speakers of both languages.
  • In Assyrian sculpture, lamassu figures bear similar beards and hairstyles to those of Ashurnasirpal II in the sculpture discussed above.
  • Erected during a time of civil war (825 BCE), the limestone Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III is the most intact Assyrian obelisk found to date.
  • Three registers on each side focus on conquered kings from specific regions paying tribute to the Assyrian ruler.

• The Assyrian Culture

  • The Assyrian and Neo-Assyrian capitals of Nimrud, Dur-Sharrukin, and Nineveh are known today for their ruins of great palaces and fortifications.
  • Nimrud is an ancient Assyrian city located in southern, modern Iraq on the River Tigris.
  • Today, Khorsabad is now a village in northern Iraq, and is still inhabited by Assyrians.
  • The primary discoveries from Khorsabad shed light on Assyrian art and architecture.
  • Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, and the capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.

• The Decline of Ancient Egypt

  • First occupied by the Assyrians, then the Persians, and later the Macedonians and Romans, Egyptians would never again reach the glorious heights of self-rule they achieved during previous periods.
  • First occupied by the Assyrians, then the Persians, and later the Macedonians and Romans, Egyptians would never again reach the glorious heights of self-rule they achieved during previous periods.
  • Having been victorious in Egypt, the Assyrians installed a series of vassals known as the Saite kings of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty.
  • In 653 BCE, one of these kings, Psamtik I, was able to achieve a peaceful separation from the Assyrians with the help of Lydian and Greek mercenaries.
  • In 609 BCE, the Egyptians attempted to save the Assyrians, who were losing their war with the Babylonians, Chaldeans, Medians, and Scythians.

• Dur Sharrukin

  • Dur-Sharrukin, present day Khorsabad, was the Assyrian capital in the time of King Sargon II.
  • Dur-Sharrukin, or present day Khorsabad, was the Assyrian capital in the time of King Sargon II.
  • Today, Khorsabad is now a village in northern Iraq, and is still inhabited by Assyrians.
  • The primary discoveries from Khorsabad shed light on Assyrian art and architecture.

• Art in the Second Millennium B.C.E.

  • The Babylonian and Assyrian empires in Mesopotamia in the 2nd millennium BCE were renowned for their sculpture and architecture.
  • The Assyrians, on the other hand, developed a style of large and exquisitely detailed narrative reliefs in painted stone or alabaster.
  • The Assyrians produced very little free-standing sculpture with the exception of colossal guardian figures, usually lions and winged beasts, that flanked fortified royal gateways.
  • While Assyrian artists were greatly influenced by the Babylonian style, a distinctly Assyrian artistic style began to emerge in Mesopotamia around 1500 BC .
  • Summarize the characteristics of both Babylonian and Assyrian art during the second millenium BCE.

• Babylon

  • Babylon spent long periods under Assyrian, Kassite, and Elamite domination.
  • Throughout the duration of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911-608 BCE) Babylonia was under Assyrian domination or direct control.
  • Babylon threw off Assyrian rule and destroyed the Assyrian Empire between 620 and 605 BCE, using an alliance with Cyaxares, king of the Medes, and Persians together with the Scythians and Cimmerians.
  • Although excavations are thought to reveal its foundations, many historians disagree about the location, and some believe it may have been confused with gardens in the Assyrian capital, Nineveh.

• Nebuchadnezzar and the Fall of Babylon

  • Later in his reign, he went to war with Assyria and had some initial success before suffering defeat at the hands of the Assyrian king Ashur-Dan I.
  • Some initial success in these conflicts gave way to catastrophic defeat at the hands of Tiglath-pileser I, who annexed huge swathes of Babylonian territory, thereby further expanding the Assyrian Empire.
  • His successor, Kadašman-Buriaš, however, did not maintain his predecessor's peaceful intentions, and his actions prompted the Assyrian king to invade Babylonia and place his own man on the throne.
  • Assyrian domination continued until c. 1050 BCE, with the two reigning Babylonian kings regarded as vassals of Assyria.
  • Assyria descended into a period of civil war after 1050 BCE, which allowed Babylonia to once more largely free itself from the Assyrian yoke for a few decades.