1. Assyria

2. Rulers of Assyria
Assyria was a region of farmland along the upper Tigris river in northern Mesopotamia
~ 2000 BCE the Amorites conquered the region and turned Assyria into a kingdom
1740 BCE – the small kingdom was conquered by the Babylonians
The region would continue to exchange rulers for the next few centuries including intermittent periods of Assyrian independence
1200 BCE – The Hittite Empire, who were the most recent rulers, collapsed along with much of the Late Bronze Age world
Assyria became independent and began to regain power

3. Assyrian Empire
~900 BCE – The Assyrian army had become ruthlessly efficient
Raided surrounding territories and demanded payment
Conquered regions around Assyria sent tribute and resources
663 BCE – Assyrian Empire reached its greatest extent

5. Assyrian Siege Warfare
The Assyrians were experts at attacking city
The city was surrounded so no one could escape
Starved the citizens of the city of food and supplies
Knocked down the walls with siege equipment and captured the city
Assyrians would then proceed to destroy the city – the people were killed, enslaved, or tortured to serve as a warning to other cities that might resist the Assyrians

6. Assyrian Rule
Assyrians believed their land belonged to Ashur – their chief god
Assyrian kings thought that they were chosen by the gods to rule Assyria and conquer new lands
Took the grand title “King of the Universe”
Grand cities full of magnificent palaces were built
Power kings would move the capital to newer and grander cities – Ashur, Nimrud, Khorsabad, lastly Nineveh
Assyrian kings lived in luxury relying on taxes from across their empire to support their lifestyle

7. Conquered Peoples Considered cruel even by ancient standards
Assyrians relied on impalement, mass execution, and mass deportation of entire peoples to different parts of their empire
They did set up state assistance to help establish the resettled people
The “Ten Lost Tribes” of Israel were subjected to this mass deportation
Ruling through fear and intimidation the Assyrians created many enemies

8. Fall of Assyria
By the 7th century BCE Assyria grew to its greatest extent but had overstretched itself
612 BCE – an alliance between the Medes and Neo-Babylonians (aka Chaldeans) attacked and destroyed Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire
The Empire quickly collapsed
The Chaldeans set up their rule in Babylon and created the Neo-Babylonian Empire which would last for less than a century