Assyrian Empire By Kristen Yates, Kristen Keifer and Mary Ann Crawford Time Frame: 911BCE – 612BCE

Society Lots of agriculture allowed the army, government officials, religious experts, merchants, artisans, and other people of professions to participate in specialized activities 3 Social Classes: –Free, landowning citizens –Farmers and artisans –Debtors, POWs – slaves had legal rights & if talented, they could rise to positions of influence

Politics Ruled by a king (seen as a living god) Priests had political power as well Government didn’t distinguish between native Assyrians and immigrants living in Assyria (had the same legal protections)

Religion Temples were used God-like King They believed gods & demons caused diseases Practiced Ashurism –first Assyrian religion –Named after Assyrian go Ashur

Intellectual Endeavors Individual artisans/small workshops made: –Pottery, tools and clothing Writing: –Library of Ashurbanipal: contained official documents as well as literary and scientific texts –Scholars created a list of names for plant and animals, geographic terms and astronomical occurrences –Cunieform

Technology Agriculture: –Irrigation using canals –Plows pulled by oxen Advances in military: –siege warfare: conquered other cities by using military force

Economics Vast majority of people worked on the land State participated in long-distance trade Used silver as a basic medium of exchange (since coins weren’t present yet) Imported luxury goods: –Metals –Fine textiles –Gems –Dyes –Ivory

Terms: Mass deportation - forcibly uprooting entire communities and resettling them elsewhere to break the spirit of rebellious peoples Dur Sharrukin – (“Fortress of Sargon”) the Assyrian capital House of Knowledge - ancient university built in 1004 CE as a library and converted to a state university Empire - Assyrians of this era were the first to rule over far- flung lands and diverse peoples. In other words, the Assyrian empires were the first empires. Kalhu and Nineveh – royal palaces containing relief sculptures depicting hunts, battles, sieges, executions, & deportations

Important People Ashurbanipal: –Rules 668–627 BCE –one of the last Assyrian kings –avid collector of the literary and scientific heritage of Mesopotamia King Tiglathpileser: –Rules BCE –created a core army of professional soldiers –bowmen and slingers, spearmen, cavalry, and four- man chariots were jobs of the troops

Big Picture? Assyrians were the first to set up empires by forcefully taking over and ruling other lands. The king was the center of society and the Assyrians had advanced military campaigns, expansionism, and centers of knowledge which displayed their interest in writing and reading. They were agriculturally based and traded with the other civilizations.

Similarities to Other Civilizations Cunieform (Mesopotamia) Class structure (Mesopotamia) God-like King (Egypt)