Assyria is a country located in the middle reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates. These rivers here are stormy and have a very deep channel. Their spill was expressed in Assyria much less clearly, so that a significant part of the country's territory was not affected at all. Most of the river valley is dry. The harvest was largely dependent on the rains, which fell more than in Babylonia. Artificial irrigation did not play a big role. In addition, Assyria was characterized by a mountainous terrain. The mountains that bordered the country from the east, from the north and from the west were partially covered with forests. On the plains of Assyria there were lions, elephants, leopards, wild donkeys and horses, wild boars, in the mountains - bears and fallow deer. Hunting for lions and leopards was a favorite pastime of the Assyrian kings. In the mountainous regions, various types of stone were mined, including marble, metal ores (copper, lead, silver, iron). In addition to agriculture, hunting and cattle breeding played an important role in the economy. Favorable geographical position at the crossroads of caravan routes contributed to the early development of trade.

At the beginning of the III millennium BC. e. the main population of northeastern Mesopotamia were subarea, associated with one of the most ancient peoples of Western Asia, the Hurrians, whose main settlement area was northwestern Mesopotamia. From here the Hurrians later spread to Syria, Palestine and Asia Minor. In the second half of the III millennium BC. e. there is an intensified Semitization of Northern Mesopotamia. An ethnos is being formed Assyrians speaking their dialect of Akkadian. Nevertheless, the Hurrian traditions were preserved for a long time on the eastern outskirts of Assyria, beyond the Tigris.

Speaking of sources Assyrian history, it is necessary to single out among them the monuments of material culture from the excavations of the largest cities. A turning point in the study of Assyrian antiquities was the discovery by an English diplomat G. O. Layard in 1847 during the excavations of the Kuyunjik hill, northeast of Mosul (modern Iraq), the Assyrian capital Nineveh. In it, Layard opened the ruins of the palace of King Ashurbanipal, which died in a fire, with a huge library of books written on clay tablets. It was Layard's findings that formed the basis of the richest collection of Assyrian antiquities in the British Museum. Botta's French diplomat 1843 discovered the fortress and the royal residence of Dur-Sharrukin, built by Sargon, near the village of Khorsabad II. These findings laid the foundation for a new science - Assyriology.

The main group of written sources are cuneiform texts from the library of Ashurbanipal and other palace complexes. This diplomatic documents, letters and reports of priests and military leaders, administrative and economic documentation, etc. The so-called Middle Assyrian laws stand out from legal monuments (middle II thousand BC BC): 14 tablets and fragments found during excavations in Ashur. Actually, historical literature did not exist in Assyria, however, “royal lists” and chronicles of individual kings were compiled, in which they praise their exploits.

Information about Assyria is also preserved by sources originating from other countries (for example, the Old Testament of the Bible). Ancient authors (Herodotus, Xenophon, Strabo) also write about Assyria, but they know little about its history, and the information they report is often semi-legendary.

Periodization of the history of ancient Assyria

• 1. Old Assyrian period (XX-XVI centuries BC).
• 2. Middle Assyrian period (XV-XI centuries BC).
• 3. Neo-Assyrian period (X-VII centuries BC).

• The history of Assyria, briefly described in this article, is full of conquests. It was one of the states of antiquity that played a significant role in the development of the history of Mesopotamia. Initially, Assyria was not a strong power - the state of Assyria occupied a small territory, and throughout its history, the city of Ashur was its center. The inhabitants of Assyria mastered agriculture, grew grapes, which was facilitated by natural irrigation in the form of rain or snow. They also used wells for their needs, and by building irrigation facilities, they managed to put the Tigris River at their service. In the drier eastern regions of Assyria, pastoralism was more common, aided by the abundance of green meadows on the mountain slopes.

• The first period is called Old Assyrian. While most of the ordinary population of Assyria was engaged in cattle breeding and agriculture, in the city of Ashur, through which the main trade routes passed, along which trade caravans passed from Asia Minor and the Mediterranean to Mesopotamia and Elam. All this allowed

• Assyria, and first of all, its ruler. On the border of the 2nd and 3rd millennia, Ashur was already trying to establish his trading colonies, and began to conquer the colonies of neighboring states.
  The country of Assyria was a slave-owning state, but during this period the tribal system, from which society had already managed to move away, still left its influence. The king owned a large number of lands and farms, the priesthood took no less possession of them. However, the community owned most of the land in the state.

• In the 20th century BC. near the Euphrates, the state of Mari gained power, and merchants from the country of Assyria lost most of their profits, which was also facilitated by the resettlement of the Amorites in Mesopotamia. As a result, the Assyrian army, having developed progressive siege weapons at that time, headed west and south. During these wars, the northern cities of Mesopotamia and the state of Mari itself submitted to Assyria. It was then that not just a state was formed, but the whole kingdom of Assyria, which is one of the most influential forces in the ancient Near East.
  The rulers of the state, in the end, realized how large the territories they had captured, so the state of Assyria was completely reorganized.

• The king headed a huge government apparatus, concentrated judicial power in his hands and became the supreme commander in chief. The territory of the state was divided into khalsums, which were led by governors elected by the king. The population was obliged to pay taxes to the royal treasury, and perform certain labor duties. They began to recruit professional soldiers into the army, and in some cases they used the militia. The Old Assyrian period ended in decline - the state of the Hittites, Egypt and Mitanni undermined the influence of Assyria in their markets.

• This was followed by the Middle Assyrian period, during which the kingdom of Assyria tried to regain its influence. In the 15th century, Assyria entered into an alliance with Egypt, as a result of which the power of Babylonia was shaken. Soon, King Ashur-uballit 1 placed his entourage on the Babylonian throne. Mitanni fell, a hundred years later Assyria captured Babylon, and sent successful expeditions to the Caucasus. However, the wars were so frequent and continuous that in the 12th century BC. The empire of Assyria was weakened. Half a century later, the situation improved a little, but later the Arameans invaded Asia Minor, capturing Assyria and settling in its territory, moreover, there is no historical information about a period of 150 years from that moment.

• The empire of Assyria reached its greatest prosperity and achievements in the third period of its existence (the Neo-Assyrian period), spreading its influence from Egypt to Babylon and part of Asia Minor. However, the old enemies were replaced by new ones - in the 6th century BC. Assyria was suddenly struck by the Medes, who betrayed the alliance. The undermined power of Assyria played into the hands of Babylon, who in 609 BC. captured last territories belonging to the Assyrian state, after which it left the world forever.

culture

Art

Undoubtedly, Assyria was one of the most developed states of the ancient Near East. And, while the Assyrian troops plowed the expanses of neighboring countries, annexing and capturing them, in the most major cities the art of Assyria developed and improved. However, its origins should be sought in even more ancient times....

Cities

Throughout almost the entire history of the city of Assyria, the first of which was Ashur, were the center of culture and trade activities of the entire region. Ashur was the capital of Assyria, and remained so until the death of the Assyrian state under the blows of the Babylonians. The city was named after the supreme deity of the Assyrian pantheon - Ashur. Most likely, it was built on the site of ancient settlements....

Capital

The capital of Assyria for most of the history of this ancient empire was in the city of Ashur, also known as Assur. It was he who gave the name to the whole state.

Assyria Map

The ancient state of Assyria was one of the most influential in the Middle East. The map of Assyria was constantly changing, as its kings continually carried out conquests and annexed new lands. Not without conquests from outside.

King of Assyria

Unlike ancient Akkad and Egypt, the king (queen) of Assyria was never revered as a god.

Territory

The territory of Assyria during the entire existence of this state was constantly changing, since the Assyrians themselves constantly waged wars of conquest, and their neighbors continually raided.

Rulers of Assyria

Initially, the rulers of Assyria did not play a decisive role in the state. In the early stages of the history of the city of Ashur, and the state formed around it, the king was only the highest dignitary of the priesthood, and was in charge of only some issues in the city, and in wartime he could lead the troops.

Wars

In the early period of its existence, Assyria was not a warlike state. It developed through active trade, and for a long time was under the dominion of other civilizations.

Laws

The laws of Assyria throughout history have been characterized by brevity of content and extreme cruelty.

Gods

The inhabitants of Ancient Mesopotamia worshiped a single pantheon of gods, only sometimes different peoples had slightly different names and powers patronized by their deities. The gods of Assyria were no exception to this rule.

Army

The army of Assyria was one of the most powerful in its time. The Assyrian commanders were masters of siege work, and in battle they used various types of tactics.

Fall of Assyria

The Assyrian Empire, which existed for almost one and a half thousand years, at the end of the 6th century BC. was destroyed.

Religion

The religion of Assyria was closely connected with the entire religious cult practiced by the peoples of Mesopotamia.

Geographic location of Assyria

The area along the rivers Euphrates and Tigris was extremely favorable for the peoples living here.

River in Assyria

The main river in Assyria, which played an important role in the development of the state, is called the Tigris.

Conquest of Assyria

Assyria has been constantly conquering for most of its history.

Architecture

Between the 11th and 7th centuries BC. Assyria became the most powerful slave state in Western Asia.

Writing

Historians have been able to learn a lot about the writing of Assyria thanks to the multiple clay tablets found in the ruins of ancient cities.

Achievements

Undoubtedly, Assyria was one of the most powerful states in the history of ancient Mesopotamia. Its history lasted almost 1.5 thousand years, during which a small nome state turned into a mighty empire.

reliefs

In the 9th century BC. During the reign of King Ashurnasirpal II, Assyria reached its greatest prosperity in its history.

Period (XX-XVI centuries BC)

In the Old Assyrian period, the state occupied a small territory, the center of which was Ashur. The population was engaged in agriculture: they grew barley and spelt, planted grapes using natural irrigation (rain and snow precipitation), wells and, in a small amount - with the help of irrigation facilities - Tigris waters. In the eastern regions of the country, cattle breeding with the use of mountain meadows for summer grazing had a great influence. But the main role in the life of the early Assyrian society was played by trade.

The most important trade routes passed through Assyria: from the Mediterranean and from Asia Minor along the Tigris to the regions of Central and Southern Mesopotamia and further to Elam. Ashur sought to create his own trading colonies in order to gain a foothold on these main frontiers. Already at the turn of 3-2 thousand BC. he subjugates the former Sumerian-Akkadian colony of Gasur (east of the Tigris). The eastern part of Asia Minor was especially actively colonized, from where raw materials important for Assyria were exported: metals (copper, lead, silver), livestock, wool, leather, wood - and where grain, fabrics, ready-made clothes and handicrafts were imported.

The Old Assyrian society was a slave society, but retained strong remnants of the tribal system. There were royal (or palace) and temple farms, the land of which was cultivated by community members and slaves. Most of the land was owned by the community. The land plots were owned by large-family communities "bitum", which included several generations of the closest relatives. The land was subjected to regular redistribution, but could also be in frequent ownership. During this period, the trading nobility stood out, becoming rich as a result of international trade. Slavery was already widespread. Slaves were acquired through debt slavery, purchases from other tribes, and also as a result of successful military campaigns.

The Assyrian state at that time was called alum Ashur, which meant the city or community of Ashur. People's assemblies and councils of elders still survived, which elected a ukullum - an official in charge of the judicial and administrative affairs of the city of the state. There was also a hereditary position of the ruler - ishshakkum, who had religious functions, supervised temple construction and other public works, and during the war became a military leader. Sometimes these two positions were combined in the hands of one person.

At the beginning of the 20th century BC. the international situation for Assyria is unfortunate: the rise of the state of Mari in the Euphrates region became a serious obstacle to the western trade of Ashur, and the formation of the Hittite kingdom soon brought to naught the activities of Assyrian merchants in Asia Minor. Trade was also hampered by the advance of the Amorite tribes in Mesopotamia. Apparently, in order to restore it, Ashur during the reign of Ilushuma undertook the first campaigns to the west, to the Euphrates, and to the south, along the Tigris. Especially active foreign policy, in which the western direction prevails, Assyria conducts under Shamshi-Adad 1 (1813-1781 BC). Her troops capture the North Mesopotamian cities, subjugate Mari, capture the Syrian city of Qatna. Intermediary trade with the West passes to Ashur. Assyria maintains peaceful relations with its southern neighbors - Babylonia and Eshnunna, but in the east it has to wage constant wars with the Hurrians. Thus, at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 18th century BC. Assyria turned into a large state and Shamshi-Adad 1 appropriated the title "king of multitudes" to himself.

The Assyrian state was reorganized. The king headed an extensive administrative apparatus, became the supreme commander and judge, and managed the royal economy. The entire territory of the Assyrian state was divided into districts, or provinces (khalsum), headed by governors appointed by the king. The basic unit of the Assyrian state was the community - alum. The entire population of the state paid taxes to the treasury and performed various labor duties. The army consisted of professional soldiers and general militia.

Under the successors of Shamshi-Adad 1, Assyria began to suffer defeats from the Babylonian state, where Hammurabi then ruled. He, in alliance with Mari, defeated Assyria and she, at the end of the 16th century BC. became the prey of the young state - Mitanni. Assyrian trade declined as the Hittites drove Assyrian merchants out of Asia Minor, Egypt out of Syria, and Mitanni closed the west.

Back in the 2nd millennium BC. Assyria became one of the largest ancient Eastern states. However, the invasion of the semi-nomadic Aramaic tribes had a heavy impact on her fate. Assyria experienced a protracted, almost two hundred year decline, from which it recovered only in the 10th century BC. The settled Arameans mixed with the main population. The introduction of iron into military affairs began. In the political arena, Assyria did not have worthy rivals. The lack of raw materials (metals, iron), as well as the desire to seize forced labor - slaves - pushed Assyria to aggressive campaigns. Assyria often moved entire peoples from place to place. Many peoples paid great tribute to Assyria. Gradually, over time, the Assyrian state began to essentially live with these constant robberies.

In an effort to seize the wealth of Asia Minor, Assyria was not alone. Such states as Egypt, Babylon, Urartu, constantly opposed Assyria in this, and she waged long wars with them.

By the beginning of the 9th century BC. Assyria strengthened, restored its power in northern Mesopotamia and resumed its aggressive foreign policy. It became especially active during the reign of two kings: Ashurnatsirapal 2 (883-859 BC) and Shalmaneser 3 (859-824 BC). During the first of them, Assyria successfully fought in the north with the Nairi tribes, from which the state of Urartu was later formed. Assyrian troops inflicted a number of defeats on the mountain tribes of Media, who lived east of the Tigris. But the main direction of Assyrian expansion was directed to the west, to the region of the Eastern Mediterranean coast. The abundance of minerals (metals, precious stones), magnificent timber, incense were known throughout the Middle East. Here were the main routes of land and sea trade. They passed through such cities as Tire, Sidon, Damascus, Byblos, Arvad, Karchemish.

It is in this direction that Ashshurnatsinapar 2 undertakes the main military campaigns. He managed to defeat the Aramaic tribes living in Northern Syria, to conquer one of their principalities - Bit-Adini. Soon he reached the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, and a number of rulers of the Syrian principalities and Phoenician cities brought him tribute.

His son Shalmanasar 3 continued his father's policy of conquest. Most of the campaigns were also directed to the west. However, at this time Assyria fought in other directions. In the north there was a war with the state of Urartu. At first, Shalmanasar 3 managed to inflict several defeats on him, but then Urartu gathered strength, and the wars with him took on a protracted character.

The Assyrians gained great success in their struggle against Babylon. Their troops invaded far inland and reached the shores of the Persian Gulf. Soon an Assyrian protege was seated on the Babylonian throne. In the west, Shalmaneser 3 finally captured the principality of Bit-Adini. The kings of the principalities of northern Syria and the southeast of Asia Minor (Kummukh, Melid, Hattina, Gurgum, etc.) brought him tribute and expressed their obedience. However, the Kingdom of Damascus soon created a large coalition to fight Assyria. It included such states as Kue, Hamat, Arzad, the Kingdom of Israel, Ammon, the Arabs of the Syrian-Mesopotamian steppe, and the Egyptian detachment also participated in the battles.

A fierce battle took place at the city of Karkara on the Orontes River in 853 BC. Apparently, the Assyrians were unable to inflict a final defeat on the coalition. Although Karkar fell, the other cities of the coalition - Damascus, Ammon - were not taken. Only in 840, after 16 campaigns across the Euphrates, Assyria managed to achieve a decisive advantage. Chazael, the king of Damascus, was defeated, rich booty was captured. Although the city of Damascus itself was not taken again, the military strength of the Damascus kingdom was broken. Tire, Sidon and the kingdom of Israel hastened to bring tribute to the Assyrian king.

As a result of the capture of numerous treasures, Assyria began extensive construction during this period. Ancient Ashur was rebuilt and decorated. But in the 9th century BC. Assyrian kings paid special attention to the new Assyrian capital - the city of Kalha (modern Nimrud). Majestic temples, palaces of Assyrian kings, powerful fortress walls were built here.

At the end of the 9th - beginning of the 8th century BC. The Assyrian state again enters a period of decline. Most of the Assyrian population was involved in constant campaigns, as a result of which the country's economy was in decline. In 763 BC a rebellion broke out in Ashur, and other regions and cities of the country soon rebelled: Arraphu, Guzanu. Only five years later all these rebellions were suppressed. A fierce struggle was waged within the state itself. The trading elite wanted the world to trade. The military elite wanted to continue campaigns to capture new prey.

The decline of Assyria at this time was facilitated by the change by the beginning of the 8th century BC. international situation. Urartu, a young state with strong army, which made successful trips to the Transcaucasus, to the southeast of Asia Minor and even to the territory of Assyria itself.

In 746-745. BC. after the defeat suffered by Assyria from Urartu, an uprising broke out in Kalkha, as a result of which Tiglathpalasar 3 came to power in Assyria. He carried out important reforms. Firstly, he carried out the disaggregation of the former governorships, in such a way that too much power would not be concentrated in the hands of any civil servant. The entire territory was divided into small areas.

The second reform of Tiglathpalasar was carried out in the field of military affairs and the army. Previously, Assyria waged wars with militia forces, as well as colonist soldiers who received land plots for their service. In the campaign and in peacetime, each warrior supplied himself. Now a standing army was created, which was recruited from recruits and was fully supplied by the king. The division according to the types of troops was fixed. The number of light infantry has been increased. Cavalry began to be widely used. The striking force of the Assyrian army was made up of war chariots. Four horses were harnessed to the chariot. The crew consisted of two or four people. The army was well armed. Armor, shields, helmets were used to protect warriors. Horses were sometimes covered with "armor" made of felt and leather. During the siege of cities, rams were used, embankments were erected to the fortress walls, tunnels were made. To protect the troops, the Assyrians built a fortified camp surrounded by a rampart and a moat. All major Assyrian cities had strong walls that could withstand a long siege. The Assyrians already had a kind of sapper troops who built bridges, paved passages in the mountains. In important areas, the Assyrians laid paved roads. Assyrian gunsmiths were famous for their work. The army was accompanied by scribes who kept records of booty and captives. The army included priests, soothsayers, musicians. Assyria had a fleet, but it did not play a significant role, since Assyria waged its main wars on land. The fleet for Assyria was usually built by the Phoenicians. Intelligence was an important part of the Assyrian army. Assyria had a huge agent in the countries she conquered, which allowed her to prevent speeches. During the war, many spies were sent to meet the enemy, who collected information about the number of enemy troops and their whereabouts. Intelligence was usually led by the Crown Prince. Assyria almost did not use mercenary troops. There were such military posts - general (slave-reshi), head of the prince's regiment, great herald (slave-shaku). The army was divided into detachments of 10, 50, 100, 1000 people. There were banners and standards, usually with the image of the supreme god Ashur. The largest number of the Assyrian army reached 120,000 people.

So, Tiglath-Pileser 3 (745-727 BC) resumed aggressive activity. In 743-740. BC. he defeated a coalition of northern Syrian and Asia Minor rulers and received tribute from 18 kings. Then, in 738 and 735. BC. he made two successful trips to the territory of Urartu. In 734-732. BC. a new coalition was organized against Assyria, which included the kingdom of Damascus and Israel, many coastal cities, Arab principalities and Elam. In the east, by 737 B.C. Tiglathpalasar managed to gain a foothold in a number of areas of Media. In the south, Babylon was defeated, and Tiglath-Pileser himself was crowned in it with the crown of the Babylonian king. The conquered territories were given under the authority of the administration appointed by the Assyrian king. It was under Tiglathpalasar 3 that the systematic migration of the conquered peoples began, in order to mix and assimilate them. From Syria alone, 73,000 people were displaced.

Under the successor of Tiglathpalasar 3 - Shalmaneser 5 (727-722 BC), a broad policy of conquest was continued. Shalmaneser 5 tried to limit the rights of wealthy priests and merchants, but was overthrown by Sargon 2 (722-705 BC) as a result. Under him, Assyria defeated the rebellious kingdom of Israel. After a three-year siege, in 722 BC. Assyrians stormed the capital of the kingdom - Samaria, and then completely destroyed it. Residents were relocated to new places. The kingdom of Israel is gone. In 714 BC a heavy defeat was inflicted on the state of Urartu. A heavy struggle went on for Babylon, which had to be recaptured several times. In the last years of his reign, Sargon 2 fought hard against the Cimmerian tribes.

The son of Sargon 2 - Sennacherib (705-681 BC) also waged a fierce struggle for Babylon. In the west, the Assyrians in 701 B.C. besieged the capital of the Kingdom of Judah - Jerusalem. The Jewish king Hezkiah brought tribute to Sennacherib. The Assyrians approached the border of Egypt. However, at this time, Sennacherib was killed as a result of a palace coup and he ascended the throne younger son- Esarhaddon (681-669 BC).

Esarhaddon makes campaigns to the north, suppresses the uprisings of the Phoenician cities, asserts his power in Cyprus, conquers the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula. In 671, he conquers Egypt and assumes the title of Egyptian pharaoh. He died during a campaign against the newly rebellious Babylon.

In Assyria, Ashurbanapal (669 - about 635/627 BC) came to power. He was a very smart, educated man. He spoke several languages, knew how to write, had literary talent, acquired mathematical and astronomical knowledge. He created the largest library of 20,000 clay tablets. Under him, numerous temples and palaces were built and restored.

However, Assyria's foreign policy did not go so smoothly. Egypt rises (667-663 BC), Cyprus, Western Syrian possessions (Judea, Moab, Edom, Ammon). Urartu and Manna attack Assyria, Elam opposes Assyria, and the Median rulers revolt. Only by the year 655 Assyria manages to suppress all these speeches and repulse the attacks, but Egypt has finally fallen away. In 652-648. BC. rebellious Babylon rises again, joined by Elam, Arab tribes, Phoenician cities and other conquered peoples. By 639 B.C. most of the speeches were suppressed, but these were the last military successes of Assyria.

Events developed rapidly. In 627 BC Babylonia fell away. In 625 BC - Mussel. These two states conclude an alliance against Assyria. In 614 BC Ashur fell, in 612 - Nineveh. The last Assyrian troops were defeated in the battles of Harran (609 BC) and Carchemish (605 BC). The Assyrian nobility was destroyed, the Assyrian cities were destroyed, the ordinary Assyrian population mixed with other peoples.

A source: unknown.

How did the first empire rise and fall? History of the Assyrian state

Assyria - this name alone terrified the inhabitants of the Ancient East. It was the Assyrian state, having a strong combat-ready army, that was the first of the states to embark on the path of a broad policy of conquest, and the library of clay tablets collected by the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal became the most valuable source for studying science, culture, history, and ancient Mesopotamia. The Assyrians, who belonged to the Semitic language group (this group also includes Arabic and Hebrew) and who came from the arid regions of the Arabian Peninsula and the Syrian Desert, along which they wandered, settled in the middle part of the Tigris River Valley (the territory of modern Iraq).

Ashur became their first major outpost and one of the capitals of the future Assyrian state. Due to the neighborhood and as a result of acquaintance with the more developed Sumerian, Babylonian and Akkadian cultures, the presence of the Tigris and irrigated lands, the presence of metal and wood, which their southern neighbors did not have, due to the location at the intersection of important trade routes of the Ancient East, the foundations of statehood were formed among the former nomads , and the settlement of Ashur turned into a rich and powerful center of the Middle East region.

Most likely, it was the control over the most important trade routes that pushed Ashur (this was the name of the Assyrian state originally) on the path of territorial conquest (in addition to the seizure of slaves and booty), thereby predetermining the further foreign policy of the state.

The first Assyrian king to launch a major military expansion was Shamshiadat I. In 1800 B.C. he conquered all of Northern Mesopotamia, subjugated part of Cappadocia (modern Turkey) and the large Middle Eastern city of Mari.

In military campaigns, his troops reached the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, and Assyria itself began to compete with powerful Babylon. Shamshiadat I himself called himself "the king of the universe." However, at the end of the 16th century BC. for about 100 years, Assyria fell under the rule of the state of Mitanni, located in the northern Mesopotamia.

A new surge of conquests falls on the Assyrian kings Shalmaneser I (1274-1245 BC), who destroyed the state of Mitanni, capturing 9 cities with the capital, Tukultininurta I (1244-1208 BC), which significantly expanded the possessions of the Assyrian state , who successfully intervened in Babylonian affairs and made a successful raid on the powerful Hittite state, and Tiglath-Pileser I (1115-1077 BC), who made the first sea voyage in the history of Assyria in the Mediterranean Sea.

But, perhaps, Assyria reached its highest power in the so-called Neo-Assyrian period of its history. The Assyrian king Tiglapalasar III (745-727 BC) conquered almost the entire powerful Urartian kingdom (Urartu was located on the territory of modern Armenia, up to present-day Syria), except for the capital, Phoenicia, Palestine, Syria, and the fairly strong Damascus kingdom.

The same king, without bloodshed, ascended the throne of Babylon under the name of Pulu. Another Assyrian king Sargon II (721-705 BC), spending a lot of time in military campaigns, capturing new lands and suppressing uprisings, finally pacified Urartu, captured the state of Israel and subjugated Babylonia by force, taking the title of governor there.

In 720 BC Sargon II defeated the combined forces of the rebellious Syria, Phoenicia and Egypt that joined them, and in 713 BC. makes a punitive expedition to Media (Iran), captured before him. The rulers of Egypt, Cyprus, the Sabaean kingdom in South Arabia fawned over this king.

His son and successor Sennacherrib (701-681 BC) inherited a huge empire, in which rebellions had to be suppressed periodically in various places. So, in 702 BC. Sennacherrib in two battles at Kutu and Kish defeated the powerful Babylonian-Elamite army (the Elamite state, which supported the rebellious Babylonia, was on the territory of modern Iran), capturing 200,000 thousand prisoners and rich booty.

Babylon itself, whose inhabitants were partly exterminated, partly resettled in various areas Assyrian power, Sennacherib flooded the river Euphrates with the discharged waters. Sennacherib also had to fight with a coalition of Egypt, Judea and the Arab tribes of the Bedouins. During this war, Jerusalem was besieged, but the Assyrians failed to take it because, as scientists believe, a tropical fever that crippled their army.

The main foreign policy success of the new king Esarhaddon was the conquest of Egypt. In addition, he rebuilt the destroyed Babylon. The last powerful Assyrian king, during whose reign Assyria flourished, was the already mentioned library collector Ashurbanipal (668-631 BC). Under him, the hitherto independent city-states of Phenicia, Tire and Arvada, were subordinated to Assyria, and a punitive campaign was carried out against the longtime enemy of Assyria, the Elamite state (Elam then helped his brother Ashurbanipal in the struggle for power), during which in 639 BC. e. its capital, Susa, was taken.

During the reign of three kings (631-612 BC) - after Ashurbanipal - uprisings raged in Assyria. Endless wars exhausted Assyria. In Media, the energetic king Cyaxares came to power, expelled the Scythians from his territory and even, according to some statements, managed to win them over to his side, no longer considering himself to be indebted to Assyria.

In Babylonia, a longtime rival of Assyria, King Nabobalasar, the founder of the New Babylonian kingdom, comes to power, who also did not consider himself a subject of Assyria. These two rulers made an alliance against their common enemy Assyria and began joint military operations. Under the circumstances, one of the sons of Ashurbanipal - Sarak - was forced to enter into an alliance with Egypt, by that time already independent.

Military actions between the Assyrians and the Babylonians in 616-615. BC. went with varying degrees of success. At this time, taking advantage of the absence of the Assyrian army, the Medes broke through to the indigenous regions of Assyria. In 614 BC they took the ancient sacred capital of the Assyrians Ashur, and in 612 BC. the combined Median-Babylonian troops approached Nineveh (the modern city of Mosul in Iraq).

Nineveh from the time of King Sennacherib was the capital of the Assyrian state, a large and beautiful city of gigantic squares and palaces, the political center of the Ancient East. Despite the stubborn resistance of Nineveh, the city was also taken. The remnants of the Assyrian army, led by King Ashshuruballit, retreated to the Euphrates.

In 605 BC in the battle of Karchemish near the Euphrates, the Babylonian prince Nebuchadnezzar (the future famous king of Babylon), with the support of the Medes, defeated the combined Assyrian-Egyptian troops. The Assyrian state ceased to exist. However, the Assyrian people did not disappear, retaining their national identity.

What was the Assyrian state like?

Army. Attitude towards conquered peoples.

The Assyrian state (approximately XXIV BC - 605 BC) at the highest peak of its power owned vast territories by then standards (modern Iraq, Syria, Israel, Lebanon, Armenia, part of Iran, Egypt). To capture these territories, Assyria had a strong, combat-ready army that had no analogues in the then ancient world.

The Assyrian army was divided into cavalry, which in turn was subdivided into chariot and simple cavalry, and into infantry - lightly armed and heavily armed. The Assyrians in a later period of their history, unlike many states of that time, were influenced by Indo-European peoples, for example, the Scythians, famous for their cavalry (it is known that the Scythians were in the service of the Assyrians, and their union was sealed by marriage between the daughter of the Assyrian king Esarhaddon and the Scythian king Bartatua) began to widely use simple cavalry, which made it possible to successfully pursue the retreating enemy. Due to the presence of metal in Assyria, the Assyrian heavily armed warrior was relatively well protected and armed.

In addition to these types of troops, for the first time in history, the Assyrian army used engineering auxiliary troops (recruited mainly from slaves), who were engaged in laying roads, building pontoon bridges and fortress camps. The Assyrian army was one of the first (and perhaps the very first) to use various siege weapons, such as a battering ram and a special device, somewhat reminiscent of an ox-vein ballista, which fired stones weighing up to 10 kg at a besieged city at a distance of 500-600 m The kings and commanders of Assyria were familiar with frontal and flank attacks and a combination of these attacks.

Also, the system of espionage and intelligence was quite well established in countries where military operations were planned or were dangerous for Assyria. Finally, a warning system, like signal beacons, was quite widely used. The Assyrian army tried to act unexpectedly and quickly, not giving the enemy the opportunity to come to their senses, often making sudden night raids on the enemy camp. When necessary, the Assyrian army resorted to "starvation" tactics, destroying wells, blocking roads, etc. All this made the Assyrian army strong and invincible.

In order to weaken and keep the conquered peoples in greater submission, the Assyrians practiced the resettlement of the conquered peoples to other, uncharacteristic for them. economic activity regions of the Assyrian Empire. For example, sedentary agricultural peoples were resettled in deserts and steppes suitable only for nomads. So, after the capture of the 2nd state of Israel by the Assyrian king Sargon, 27,000 thousand Israelis were resettled in Assyria and Media, and Babylonians, Syrians and Arabs settled in Israel itself, who later became known as the Samaritans and included in the New Testament parable of the "good Samaritan".

It should also be noted that in their cruelty the Assyrians surpassed all other peoples and civilizations of that time, which also did not differ in particular humanity. The most sophisticated torture and execution of a defeated enemy was considered normal for the Assyrians. One of the reliefs shows how the Assyrian king feasts in the garden with his wife and enjoys not only the sounds of harps and tympans, but also a bloody spectacle: the severed head of one of his enemies hangs on a tree. Such cruelty served to intimidate enemies, and also partly had religious and ritual functions.

Political system. Population. Family.

Initially, the city-state of Ashur (the core of the future Assyrian Empire) was an oligarchic slave-owning republic, governed by a council of elders, which changed every year and was recruited from the most prosperous inhabitants of the city. The tsar's share in the administration of the country was small and was limited to the role of commander in chief of the army. However, gradually royal power intensifies. The transfer of the capital from Ashur for no apparent reason to the opposite bank of the Tigris by the Assyrian king Tukultininurt 1 (1244-1208 BC) apparently testifies to the king’s desire to break with the Ashur council, which became only the council of the city.

The main basis of the Assyrian state was the rural communities, which were the owners of the land fund. The fund was divided into plots owned by individual families. Gradually, as successful conquests and accumulation of wealth, rich communal slave owners stand out, and their poor fellows in the community fall into debt slavery to them. So, for example, the debtor was obliged to provide a wealthy creditor neighbor with a certain number of reapers in return for paying interest on the loan amount. Also, a very common way to get into debt slavery was to give the debtor into temporary slavery to the creditor as collateral.

Noble and wealthy Assyrians did not perform any duties in favor of the state. The differences between the rich and poor inhabitants of Assyria were shown by clothing, or rather, the quality of the material and the length of the "kandi" - a short-sleeved shirt, widespread in the ancient Near East. The more noble and richer a person was, the longer his candi was. In addition, all ancient Assyrians grew thick long beards, considered a sign of morality, and carefully looked after them. Only eunuchs did not wear beards.

The so-called "Middle Assyrian laws" have come down to us, regulating various parties Everyday life ancient Assyria and being, along with the “laws of Hammurabi”, the oldest legal monuments.

In ancient Assyria, there was a patriarchal family. The power of the father over the children differed little from the power of the master over the slaves. Children and slaves alike were counted among the property from which the creditor could take compensation for the debt. The position of the wife also differed little from that of a slave, since a wife was acquired by purchase. The husband had a legally justified right to use violence against his wife. The wife after the death of her husband went to the relatives of the latter.

It is also worth noting that the external sign of a free woman was the wearing of a veil that covered her face. This tradition was subsequently adopted by the Muslims.

Who are the Assyrians?

Modern Assyrians are Christians by religion (the majority belong to the "Holy Apostolic Assyrian Church of the East" and to the "Chaldean Catholic Church"), speaking the so-called northeastern New Aramaic language, continuers of the Old Aramaic language spoken by Jesus Christ, consider themselves direct descendants of the ancient Assyrian state, which we know from school history books.

The ethnonym “Assyrians” itself, after a long oblivion, appears somewhere in the Middle Ages. It was applied to the Aramaic-speaking Christians of modern Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey by European missionaries, who declared them descendants of the ancient Assyrians. This term successfully took root among the Christians of this region, surrounded by alien religious and ethnic elements, who saw in it one of the guarantees of their national identity. It was the presence of the Christian faith, as well as the Aramaic language, one of the centers of which was the Assyrian state, that became ethno-consolidating factors for the Assyrian people.

We practically know nothing about the inhabitants of ancient Assyria (the backbone of which was occupied by the territory of modern Iraq) after the fall of their state under the blow of Media and Babylonia. Most likely, the inhabitants themselves were not completely exterminated, only ruling class. In the texts and annals of the Persian state of the Achaemenids, one of the satrapies of which was the territory of the former Assyria, we find characteristic Aramaic names. Many of these names contain the Assyrian sacred name Ashur (one of the capitals of ancient Assyria).

Many Aramaic-speaking Assyrians occupied quite high posts in the Persian Empire, such as, for example, a certain Pan-Ashur-lumur, who was the secretary of the crowned princess of Cambysia under Cyrus 2, and Aramaic itself under the Persian Achaemenids was the language of office work (imperial Aramaic). There is also an assumption that appearance Ahura Mazda, the main deity of the Persian Zoroastrians, was borrowed by the Persians from the ancient Assyrian god of war Ashur. Subsequently, the territory of Assyria was occupied by successive various states and peoples.

In the II century. AD the small state of Osroena in western Mesopotamia, inhabited by the Armai-speaking and Armenian population, with the center in the city of Edessa (the modern Turkish city of Sanliurfa, 80 km from the Euphrates and 45 km from the Turkish-Syrian border), thanks to the efforts of the apostles Peter, Thomas and Jude Thaddeus, the first in history adopted Christianity as the state religion. Having adopted Christianity, the Arameans of Osroene began to call themselves “Syrians” (not to be confused with the Arab population of modern Syria), and their language became the literary language of all Aramaic-speaking Christians and was called “Syriac”, or Middle Aramaic. This language is now practically dead (now used only as a liturgical language in the Assyrian churches), became the basis for the emergence of the New Aramaic language. With the spread of Christianity, the ethnonym "Syrians" was adopted by other Aramaic-speaking Christians, and then, as mentioned above, the letter A was added to this ethnonym.

The Assyrians were able to preserve the Christian faith and not dissolve in the surrounding Muslim and Zoroastrian population. In the Arab caliphate, Assyrian Christians were doctors and scientists. They did a great job of spreading secular education and culture there. Through their translations from Greek into Syriac and Arabic, ancient science and philosophy became available to the Arabs.

The real tragedy for the Assyrian people was the First World War. During this war, leadership Ottoman Empire decided to punish the Assyrians for "betrayal", or rather, for helping the Russian army. During the massacre, as well as from forced exile in the desert from 1914 to 1918, according to various estimates, from 200 to 700 thousand Assyrians died (presumably one third of all Assyrians). Moreover, about 100 thousand Eastern Christians were killed in neighboring neutral Persia, whose territory the Turks invaded twice. 9 thousand Assyrians were exterminated by the Iranians themselves in the cities of Khoi and Urmia.

By the way, when the Russian troops entered Urmia, they created detachments from the remnants of the refugees, at the head of which they put the Assyrian general Elia Agha Petros. With his small army, he managed for some time to hold back the attacks of the Kurds and Persians. Another black milestone for the Assyrian people was the 1933 murder of 3,000 Assyrians in Iraq.

A reminder and day of remembrance of these two tragic events for the Assyrians is August 7th.

Fleeing from various persecutions, many Assyrians were forced to flee the Middle East and scattered throughout the world. To date, the exact number of all Assyrians living in different countries, cannot be installed.

According to some data, their number is from 3 to 4.2 million people. Half of them live in their traditional place habitats - in the countries of the Middle East (Iran, Syria, Turkey, but most of all in Iraq). The other half settled throughout the rest of the world. The United States ranks second after Iraq in terms of the Assyrian population in the world (here, most Assyrians live in Chicago, where there is even a street named after the ancient Assyrian king Sargon). Assyrians also live in Russia.

Assyrians first appeared on the territory Russian Empire after the Russian-Persian war (1826-1828) and the signing of the Turkmenchay peace treaty. According to this agreement, Christians living in Persia had the right to move to the Russian Empire. A more numerous wave of emigration to Russia falls on the already mentioned tragic events of the First World War. At that time, many Assyrians found salvation in the Russian Empire, and then in Soviet Russia and Transcaucasia, such as, for example, a group of Assyrian refugees who marched along with Russian soldiers retreating from Iran. The influx of Assyrians into Soviet Russia continued further.

It was easier for the Assyrians who settled in Georgia, Armenia - there the climate and natural conditions were more or less familiar, there was an opportunity to engage in familiar agriculture and cattle breeding. The same is true in the south of Russia. In the Kuban, for example, Assyrian immigrants from the Iranian region of Urmia founded the village of the same name and started growing red bell pepper. Every year in May, Assyrians from Russian cities and from the Near Abroad come here: the Khubba (friendship) festival is held here, the program of which includes football matches, national music, and dances.

It was more difficult for the Assyrians who settled in the cities. Former mountaineers-farmers, who were mostly illiterate and did not know the Russian language (many Assyrians did not have Soviet passports until the 1960s), found it difficult to find employment in urban life. The Moscow Assyrians found a way out of this situation by cleaning shoes that did not require special skills, and practically monopolized this area in Moscow. The Moscow Assyrians settled compactly, according to tribal and one-village characteristics, in the central regions of Moscow. The most famous Assyrian place in Moscow was the house in 3rd Samotechny Lane, inhabited exclusively by Assyrians.

In 1940-1950, an amateur football team "Moscow Cleaner" was created, consisting of only Assyrians. However, the Assyrians played not only football, but also volleyball, as Yuri Vizbor reminded us in the song "Volleyball on Sretenka" ("The son of an Assyrian Assyrian Leo Uranus"). The Moscow Assyrian diaspora continues to exist today. There is an Assyrian church in Moscow, and until recently there was an Assyrian restaurant.

Despite the great illiteracy of the Assyrians, the All-Russian Union of Assyrians "Hayatd-Atur" was created in 1924, national Assyrian schools also operated in the USSR, and the Assyrian newspaper "Star of the East" was published.

Hard times for the Soviet Assyrians came in the second half of the 1930s, when all Assyrian schools and clubs were abolished, and the few Assyrian clergy and intelligentsia were repressed. The next wave of repressions hit the Soviet Assyrians after the war. Many were exiled to Siberia and Kazakhstan on trumped-up charges of espionage and sabotage, despite the fact that many Assyrians fought alongside the Russians on the fields of the Great Patriotic War.

Today, the total number of Russian Assyrians is between 14,000 and 70,000. Most of them live in the Krasnodar Territory and in Moscow. Quite a lot of Assyrians live in the former republics of the USSR. In Tbilisi, for example, there is the Kukia quarter, where the Assyrians live.

Today, the Assyrians scattered all over the world (although in the thirties a plan for the resettlement of all Assyrians to Brazil was discussed at a meeting of the League of Nations) have retained their cultural and linguistic identity. They have their own customs, their own language, their own church, their own calendar (according to the Assyrian calendar, it is now 6763). They also have their own national dishes - for example, the so-called prahat (which means “hand” in Aramaic and symbolizes the fall of the Assyrian capital of Nineveh), round cakes based on wheat and corn dough.

Assyrians are cheerful, cheerful people. They love to sing and dance. Assyrians all over the world dance the national dance "Sheikhani".