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Assyria

Assyria. Terror in the Land. Assyria. Assyria. History of Assyria. Earliest years (2,000’s BC), collection of city states Shamshi-Adad I (ca. 1813–1781 B.C.), Amorite ruler over the city-state of Asshur . First significant ruler Assyria becomes a political entity (ca. 1741–1274 B.C.).

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Assyria

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  1. Assyria Terror in the Land

  2. Assyria

  3. Assyria

  4. History of Assyria • Earliest years (2,000’s BC), collection of city states • Shamshi-Adad I (ca. 1813–1781 B.C.), Amorite ruler over the city-state of Asshur. • First significant ruler • Assyria becomes a political entity (ca. 1741–1274 B.C.). • Little information from 1741–1364 B.C. • Ashur-uballit I (ca. 1363–1328 B.C.): the first appearance of Assyria as a political entity. • First “king of Assyria” • The beginning of Assyria’s rise to greatness

  5. History of Assyria • The Middle Assyrian Empire (ca. 1273–1076 B.C.) • Constant battle with Babylon; usually victorious • Beginning of gory military tactics • Shalmaneser I (ca. 1273–1244) blinded over 14,000 Mitanni people taken captive • Began deporting conquered peoples • Short decline; pressure from Mitanni and Babylon • Ashur-resha-ishi I (ca. 1132–1115 B.C.) Major revival • Tiglath-pileser I (ca. 1114–1076 B.C.): One of the greatest kings in Assyrian history

  6. History of Assyria • Period of Decline (1076-934 B.C.) • Rise of the Arameans(nomads from Syria) • David’s battle against the Arameans/Syrians (2 Sam 8, 10) • Aramean language: Aramaic • Becomes the dominant trade language after 8th century • Cf. 2 Kings 18

  7. History of Assyria • Neo-Assyrian Empire (934-744 B.C.) • The first real empire in human history

  8. History of Assyria • The Late Assyrian Empire (744–612 B.C.). • “[T]he greatest and final flowering of Assyrian imperial power in the ANE” (Grayson) • Three main kings: • Tiglath-pileser III (744–727 B.C.). • Expansion and stability • Shalmaneser V (726–722 B.C.) • Conquered Samaria (Israel) in 722 B.C. • Sennacherib (704–681 B.C.). • Expansion and defeat (spanked by the “angel of the LORD,” 2 Kings 18-20)

  9. History of Assyria • Fall of Assyria • Rise of Babylon (teamed up with the Medes) • War with Babylon 652 B.C. Marks period of Assyrian decline • Sacked Asshur in 614 B.C. • Sacked Nineveh (capital) in 612 B.C. • Moved capital to Harran and then to Carchemish • Battle of Carchemish 605 B.C. • Assyria and Egypt (ally) fought against the Babylonian invaders • Babylon won. Assyrian Empire was forever ended. Babylon = new empire

  10. Assyria’s Military • “The Assyrian army was the most successful army developed in the ancient world in pre-Persian times” (Grayson) • Militaristic state: the existence of Assyria was secured and maintained through an excessively strong military • King = military leader • Well organized standing (professional) army • Massive infantry • Calvary • Chariots

  11. Assyria’s Military • Psychological warfare • Leader would taunt the city • If this failed, a nearby city was brutally mutilated to force the other city to surrender • Isaiah 36:4-20 and 37:8

  12. Siege of Lachish (Isa. 36:2; 37:8)

  13. Glory in the gore “I felled 50 of their fighting men with the sword, burnt 200 captives from them, [and] defeated in a battle on the plain 332 troops. … With their blood I dyed the mountain red like red wool, [and] the rest of them the ravines [and] torrents of the mountain swallowed. I carried off captives [and] possessions from them. I cut off the heads of their fighters [and] built [therewith] a tower before their city. I burnt their adolescent boys [and] girls.”

  14. Glory in the gore “In strife and conflict I besieged [and] conquered the city. I felled 3,000 of their fighting men with the sword … I captured many troops alive: I cut off of some their arms [and] hands; I cut off of others their noses, ears, [and] extremities. I gouged out the eyes of many troops. I made one pile of the living [and] one of heads. I hung their heads on trees around the city.”

  15. Everyday life • Reading • Many libraries in Assyria • Hunting • Low view of women • Social pyramid: king, nobles, skill labors, manual labors • Militarism permeated all of life • “Assyria was a militaristic society, and everything revolved around the warrior” (Grayson) • Hobbies: Archery, javelin, stone throwing

  16. Religion • Polytheistic: Believed in many gods • Asshur = chief god • Other gods: Ishtar (female), Ninurta, Shamash, Adad, and Sin. • Worshipped Babylonian gods: Enlil, Marduk, and Nabu • Many other “personal deities.” • King = Asshur’s representative on earth. • I.e. he bore the image of Asshur

  17. Legacy • First real “empire” • “It was the Assyrian kings who first extended their authority well beyond the confines of national boundaries to rule over or effectively control a variety of far-flung peoples and territories. Subsequent conquerors—the Achaemenid Persians, Alexander the Great, and the Romans—would strive to emulate the Assyrian achievement.” (Grayson) • Militarism. • Assyrian military tactics would shape the way other empires ruled the world

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