Assyrian Empire

The Assyrian Empire began in northern Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) along the Tigris River, and spread as far as Egypt. The original Assyrian kingdom was settled after the city of Sumer was founded to the south; and was dominated by the Sumerians both culturally and politically during its early history.

The capital of Assyria was Assur for most of its existence but moved to other sites when kings built new palaces. Other important cities and capitals in the Assyrian homeland were Nineveh, Arbela, Khorsabad, and Nimrud.

Around 2000 BCE, a Semitic people called the Amorites invaded Assyria. By 1800 BCE, an Amorite king of the Assyrians had established control over most of northern Mesopotamia. Their power was short-lived in this period, however, due first to the rise of Babylonia under Hammurabi and later to the ascendancy of the Mitanni in modern Syria. The Middle Assyrian Empire dominated the region from 1363 to 1000 BCE. Several strong kings first reasserted Assyrian independence and then began encroaching on neighboring empires.

The Assyrians avoided destruction during the Bronze Age catastrophe of 1200 BCE when several major civilizations (including the Mycenaeans and Hittites) collapsed, perhaps because the Assyrians were already embracing the new military tactics and weapons that the older kingdoms were not. In fact, during the political vacuum created by that dramatic collapse of powers, the Assyrians prospered. By 1076 BCE, Tiglath Pileser I had reached the Mediterranean to the west. The New Assyrian Empire (1000-600 BCE) was the peak of their conquests. Their empire stretched from the head of the Persian Gulf and around the Fertile Crescent through Damascus, Phoenicia, Palestine, and into Egypt as far south as Thebes. Their northwestern border was the Taurus Mountains of modern Turkey.

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