Assyria

Assyria (also known as Assyriya or Assyrian) was an ancient state and civilization located in northern Mesopotamia, in what is now largely northern Iraq and parts of Syria and southeastern Turkey. Its territory centered on the Tigris River, particularly around the cities of Ashur, Nineveh, Kalhu (Nimrud), and Dur-Sharrukin.

The name derives from the city of Ashur, which was also the name of the chief deity worshipped there. The official language in early periods was Akkadian in its Assyrian dialect, written in cuneiform script (wedge-shaped marks impressed on clay); later Aramaic became the language of administration and commerce.

Periods of history

Historians generally divide Assyrian history into three periods: Old Assyria, characterized by long-distance trade reaching Anatolia; Middle Assyria, which became a powerful state after the Mitanni kingdom declined; and Neo-Assyria, the period of the empire's greatest territorial extent.

During the Neo-Assyrian period, kings including Tiglath-Pileser III, Sargon II, Sennacherib, and Ashurbanipal extended their rule to the Levant and, for a time, Egypt. The system of governance relied on provinces administered by appointed governors, annual taxation, and the mass displacement of populations from their lands to reduce the risk of rebellion.

Economy and military

Assyrian power rested on a standing army organized on a permanent basis, employing cavalry, chariots, and siege equipment for attacking fortified cities. Roads and a rapid messenger system connected the capital centers. Revenue came from taxation, tribute in goods, and trade flowing along Mesopotamian-Anatolian routes.

Culture and legacy

The library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh preserved tens of thousands of clay tablets containing literary, astronomical, and medical texts, which form the basis of modern knowledge of Mesopotamia. Relief sculpture from the palaces depicts hunting, warfare, and religious ceremonies. The empire collapsed in the late seventh century BCE when a coalition of Babylonians and Medes conquered the major cities; however, the name Assyrian persisted as a cultural and religious designation used by Christian communities in the Middle East.