What caused their rapid expansions?
Why were they so successful?
Kamsen Lau
Thesis
What caused the Assyrian’s rapid expansion?
The birth of Assyria was in the midst of the
chaotic warring Mesopotamia. After
centuries of struggling they formed an
empire centralized in their army and
expansion.
•Harshness of survival made the Assyrians
do anything to better improve their army
and warfare.
•Created an unstoppable war machine.
•Army pushed the Assyrian empire domain
•In centuries the Assyrian empire grew
more than ten times in size.
•Used some first examples of psychological
warfare.
Constant war
and conflict
• Around 1200 BC a change and migration took place in western Asia.
•An Indo-European people called Mushki settled in eastern Anatolia, constant threat to Assyria on
the north-west.
•A conglomeration of groups, the Sea Peoples, infiltrated Syria and Palestine.
•To the west of Assyria a Semitic group of nomads, known as Aramaeans, was on the move.
•No natural barriers
•Due to its bitter struggle for existence the Assyrians became bloody war machines, they were used
to constant battle.
Advanced and constant
upgrade of army
•The core of Assyria was it’s army.
•Tiglath-pileser III (744-727 BC) abolished
militia organizations and built a standing,
regular army.
•The Assyrians were the first to truly recognize
iron over bronze.
•By 1000 BC their army was fully equipped with
iron.
•Well trained and well equipped soldiers.
•Tiglath-pileser III made sure the army was
constantly upgraded and improved.
High organization and
coordinated warfare
•The Assyrians had a high sense of organization
and this gave a clear advantage during battle.
• Cavalry, archers, spearmen and chariots were
highly coordinated and worked in unison.
•The soldiers were able to execute difficult,
tricky maneuvers and formations
• Records have shown that field armies
occasionally reached to numbers of 50,000
men.
Iron rule and
psychological warfare.
Recorded in detail, after conquering a city the Assyrians
would:
• Kill off every man
• Rape, kill or carry off the women
•Enslave the children.
•They would skin the people and toss their bodies in heaps.
•Brutality and rule helped demoralize enemies and prevent
rebellions.
•Invaluable factor which held the large and expanding
empire together.
•First example of organized psychological warfare.
Conclusion
In conclusion the rapid expansion should be credited to the
Assyrian’s devotion as a military society, it’s high organization and
advancement in warfare and it’s iron rule which controlled the huge
territories. The ferocity of it’s army had the Middle-East bend to it’s
knees. The dedication Tiglath-pilser and his successors put into
ensuring a dominant army pushed Assyria’s territory and his harsh
rule over the conquered maintained security.
Bibliography
•Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Deluxe 2000
1993-1999 Microsoft Corporation
All Rights Reserved
•The Ancient Near East Volume 1
Ronald Wallenfels, Jack M. Sassoon
Copyright 2000 Charles Scribner's Sons
•All Empires
http://www.allempires.com