10 Things to Know About the Assyrian Empire
Who were the Assyrians?
The Assyrians referenced in the Hebrew Bible were a mighty force that exerted power over much of the Near East, including Israel and Judah, in the ninth through seventh centuries B.C.E. In “Biblical Archaeology 101: Who Were the Assyrians?” in the May/June 2019 issue of BAR, ancient Near Eastern studies professor Christopher B. Hays describes the Assyrians’ beginnings more than a millennium before they appeared in the Bible and how they expanded their empire from Urartu to Egypt. Below, learn 10 fascinating facts about the Assyrians.
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The Assyrian population grew around the region known as Mesopotamia in modern-day Iraq.
Nourished by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, the cities of Mesopotamia—Greek for “the land between two rivers”—flourished from the 20th century to the end of the seventh century B.C.E. As the Assyrians created and expanded their empire, their political reach came to encompass—at its zenith around 680 B.C.E.—the Fertile Crescent, Egypt, central Anatolia, and western Iran. -
Akkadian was the lingua franca of the ancient Near East.
The earliest known Semitic language, Akkadian comprises both the Assyrian and Babylonian dialects. The name Akkadian comes from the capital city of Akkad, established by King Sargon around 2300 B.C.E. Hundreds of thousands of inscriptions dating from the 26th century B.C.E. to the first century C.E. attest to the pervasiveness of the cuneiform-based writing system.
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The Assyrians of the Bible were part of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
Throughout the Hebrew Bible, the Assyrians who again and again came into conflict with Israel and Judah were part of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (c. 1000–609 B.C.E.). Detailed inscriptions and imposing reliefs attest to the strength of their reign across the Middle East.
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Ashurnasirpal II (r. 883–859 B.C.E.) is thought of as the founder of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
Ashurnasirpal II established the city of Kalhu (biblical Calah, modern Nimrud) as the capital of his kingdom, lavishly outfitting it with a walled citadel, palace, temples, and gardens paid for through taxes, trade, and tribute from vassal nations.
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Shalmaneser III’s famous Black Obelisk describes King Jehu of Israel paying tribute to the Assyrians.
A close-up of the 6.5-foot-tall Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III. Photo: Werner Forman/Art Resource, NY.
The 6.5-foot-tall Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III (r. 858–824 B.C.E.) features 20 reliefs depicting five defeated kings bringing tribute before the Neo-Assyrian monarch. The prostrate figure in the bottom panel (see image right) is thought to be King Jehu, although some scholars have called this identification into question.
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According to the Bible, the Israelite king Menahem taxed landowners to pay for tributes to the Assyrian Empire.
During his campaign in the region around 738 B.C.E., Tiglath-pileser III received tribute from Menahem in exchange for the Israelite king’s independence. Menahem, in turn, taxed every landowner 50 shekels of silver (2 kings 15:19–20).
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Assyrian king Sargon II (r. 721–705 B.C.E.) faced rebellion from Syro-Palestinian states after ascending to the throne.
After defeating the rebels, King Sargon II turned Israel into the province of Samaria and claimed in the so-called Great Summary Inscription that he took more than 27,000 Israelites as booty.
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Judahite king Hezekiah was prepared for Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem in 701 B.C.E.
Ahead of the Assyrian king Sennacherib’s attack on Jerusalem, Hezekiah ordered a tunnel to be dug to the Gihon Spring outside the city wall to ensure that the town’s residents would have access to water. The Judahite king also repaired the city walls, built towers, strengthened the Millo, and made sure weapons were in adequate supply (2 Chronicles 32: 5). These efforts kept the Assyrians from invading the city itself, but Sennacherib’s Prism listing the Assyrian king’s campaigns boasts of having shut up Hezekiah in Jerusalem “like a bird in a cage.” In an attempt to end the siege, Hezekiah paid the tribute that he had been withholding.
This small black basalt prism of Esarhaddon records his restoration of the walls and temples in Babylon. Photo: Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY.
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There are many similarities between the life of Assyrian king Esarhaddon and the story of Joseph in the Bible.
Like the story of Joseph from the Book of Genesis, Esarhaddon was favored by his father over his older brothers and had to flee to a foreign land for safety. After eventually gaining the throne, Esarhaddon pacified the land and expanded the Assyrian Empire southward into Egypt between 675 and 671 B.C.E.
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The Hebrew prophets taunted the fall of Assyria.
Toward the end of the seventh century B.C.E., the Assyrian Empire began its rapid descent. The Babylonians, together with the Medes and Scythians, overtook various Assyrian cities in 615. The Assyrian capital of Nineveh fell in 612 after just three months of battle.
Of Assyria’s defeat, Nahum 3:19 says, “All who hear the news about you clap their hands over you.” And Ezekiel 31:16 includes Assyria among the fallen empires that went “down to the pit.”
Subscribers: Read the full article “Biblical Archaeology 101: Who Were the Assyrians?” by Christopher B. Hays in the May/June 2019 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.
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A version of this post originally appeared in Bible History Daily in May 2019.
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Very interesting article
The statement, “Despite these efforts, Sennacherib’s Prism listing the Assyrian king’s campaigns boasts of having shut up Hezekiah in Jerusalem “like a bird in a cage” is curious. It seems the author is unaware of the larger story behind Sennacherib not being able to conquer Jerusalem.
But he did exactly that in besieging Jerusalem. The actual sculptor said what he was told to say, or knew he’d better tell the right tale! Probably that was the only tale known in Nineveh.
Curious, is the name “Syria” derived from Assyria?
It is time to update the information on the Assyrians, and their associations with the Israelites in the 2nd and 1st millennium BCE.
Is Germany related in any way to the Assyrians .
Re point#7: I realize that the term ‘Syro-Palestinian’ is commonly used, but here it seems out of place. Why refer to this area ,which was until very recently (721 BCE) the Kingdom of Israel, as ‘Syro-Palestinian’ when there was no region known as Palestine at that time?
Very disappointing to see a supposed biblical website attempting to denigrate Christ by substituting BCE and CE for BC and AD. This is pseudo-intellectual nonsense. There is no “common era” dating system without Christ as the reference point.
This is a fascinating breakdown of the Neo-Assyrian collapse. It’s particularly interesting how the fall of Nineveh in 612 B.C.E. created a power vacuum that shifted the entire geopolitical landscape of the Near East. Given the focus on “10 things to know,” I’m curious if there are any specific archaeological findings that detail how the Assyrians managed risk and verified the legitimacy of their vassal states during their zenith, much like we perform due diligence today? For instance, when looking at modern digital structures and risk assessments in Brazil, I’ve been reading some technical analysis at guiadeBetfairbrasil.com regarding operational transparency and verification. It makes me wonder—did the Assyrian administrative machine have a formal “vetting” equivalent for their international trade and tribute partners, or was it purely maintained through military threat?
Quite interesting info from Claude AI: Q: “Nahum wrote of the fall of Nineveh before or after?”
Claude AI responded: Before — and that is actually one of the most remarkable prophetic credentials in the entire Old Testament. Before — and the prophetic credentials are remarkable when you look at the details closely.
The book was written somewhere between 663 and 612 BCE — after the fall of Thebes which Nahum references as a past event, and before Nineveh fell in 612 BCE. A strong case can be made for around 650 BCE.
So roughly forty years before Nineveh fell — at the absolute zenith of Assyrian power. That is the crucial detail. Nahum prophesied the destruction of Nineveh, the capital of the sole superpower, at the very pinnacle of its prosperity and glory. Most Judeans would have thought his prediction of Nineveh’s downfall was simply impossible.
Think about what Nineveh looked like from the outside at that moment. Its walls were 100 feet high and wide enough for three chariots to ride side by side, surrounded by a 60-foot-deep moat, with enough provisions to withstand a twenty year siege. The most fortified city on earth, capital of the most powerful empire on earth, at its peak.
And Nahum said — it’s finished.
But the detail that is almost supernatural in its precision comes from the mechanism of the fall. Shortly before Babylon attacked, the Tigris River overflowed its banks and destroyed a significant portion of Nineveh’s walls. When Babylon attacked they penetrated the defenses through that exact gap — and Nahum had previously prophesied “with an overflowing flood he will make a complete end of its site.”
Not just that Nineveh would fall. That water would be the instrument.
And then the permanence of it. Nahum said Nineveh’s destruction would be final — the city would never again regain its greatness and would never again cause problems for Israel. Nahum was right. Nineveh was never again a world power and today is little more than an archaeological site.