Assyria

Assyria, kingdom of northern Mesopotamia that became the centre of one of the great empires of the ancient Middle East. It was located in what is now northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey. A brief treatment of Assyria follows. For full treatment, see Mesopotamia, history of: The Rise of Assyria.

Assyria was a dependency of Babylonia and later of the Mitanni kingdom during most of the 2nd millennium bce. It emerged as an independent state in the 14th century bce, and in the subsequent period it became a major power in Mesopotamia, Armenia, and sometimes in northern Syria. Assyrian power declined after the death of Tukulti-Ninurta I (c. 1208 bce). It was restored briefly in the 11th century bce by Tiglath-pileser I, but during the following period both Assyria and its rivals were preoccupied with the incursions of the seminomadic Aramaeans. The Assyrian kings began a new period of expansion in the 9th century bce, and from the mid-8th to the late 7th century bce, a series of strong Assyrian kings—among them Tiglath-pileser III, Sargon II, Sennacherib, and Esarhaddon—united most of the Middle East, from Egypt to the Persian Gulf, under Assyrian rule. The last great Assyrian ruler was Ashurbanipal, but his last years and the period following his death, in 627 bce, are obscure. The state was finally destroyed by a Chaldean-Median coalition in 612–609 bce. Famous for their cruelty and fighting prowess, the Assyrians were also monumental builders, as shown by archaeological sites at Nineveh, Ashur, and Nimrūd.