Assyria
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existed around 2000-612 BCE
lived in northern Mesopotamia on the Tigris River
middle bronze age
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Consisted of city-states
and Semetic kingdoms
Shamshi-Adad I was the
monarch after he
captured the city of
Ashur
Ashur was the base city
from which Assyria was
born
Middle Assyrian Period
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Most of the empire’s
expansion occurred in this
time period under TukultiNinurta I
The Assyrian law code was
created, giving women less
rights
Economics
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Assyrians had good farming systems with irrigation
had large cities for trade
few slaves, but didn’t play big part in the economy
made iron
Individuals
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Monarchs:
-Tiglat-Pileser(1116-1090 BCE)-extended authority to Syria and
Armenia
-Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 BCE)-conquered Mesopotamia and
modern day Lebanon
-Shalmaneser III (858-824 BCE)-conquered all of Syria,
Palestine, Armenia, Babylon, and Southern Mesopotamia
Culture
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literature was one of their finest achievements
first used cuneiform, later used Aramaic writing
wrote down medicine, legal issues, and history
had sculptures and wall carvings
Technology
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battering ram
excavation
concepts of engineering
made chariots popular
worked with metals like bronze and iron
Warfare
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had good weapons and a well trained army
conquered many cities and made them pay tribute
army consisted of foot soldiers, chariots, archers, and
cavalry
weapons made of iron
Art
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Their art depicted battle scenes and destruction of the
cities they conquered
Their sculptures were used to guard the king’s court
Fall of the Assyrian Empire
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In 612 BCE the Chaldeans captured the capital city of
Nineveh
The empire fell without the control of Nineveh
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Located in North Mesopotamia
Expands over 4 countries (Turkey, Iran, Syria,
& Iraq)
Goes to Euphrates
Tigris runs through it
The Taurus and Zagros Mts. To the north and
east
Southern limestone plateau
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Rich and fertile land
The Arbel and Nineveh plain make up the
middle of Assyria
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Wrote on clay tablets in cuneiform
Spoke Akkadian
750 BC they started using papyrus paper
Aramaic was the 2nd official language
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Monotheist’s
Ashurism was the first religion (until 256 AD)
1st to accept Christianity
1st Golden Age
1st Dark Age
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2400 BC to 612 BC
Fruitful time
Sargon of Akkad was the 1st ruler
Ended with the tragic fall of Nineveh
3 major cities: Ashur, Nineveh, Arbel
Successful warriors
One of the 1st empires
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612 BC – 33 AD
Empire collapsed in 612
Employed by Persians as troops
Failed attempt to reestablish in 350 BC
Persians killed 400 of the Assyrian leaders
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Kings were in charge of everything except
religion
Kings oldest son handled administrative
affairs.
Some low taxes and freedom to choose to not
join the military.
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150,000-200,000 men
First to use large Calvary squadrons
Had 3000 horses a month for use in battle
Had the most modern equipment
Consisted: helmet, body armor, boots, and
backpacks
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Weapons: composite bows, ands swords
Protection: helmet, body armor, shields.
Shields were so strong they could withstand a
firearm up to Napoleons time.
Bows were not matched until the Prussian
needle gun in 1871
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Kings and his advisors lived in luxury
Followed Hammurabi’s code
Citizens spent time working in their farms
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People became slaves one of two ways:
prisoner of war, owed debt.
Mostly people who owed debt.
Slaves worked for wages.
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Family was extremely important.
Men wore skirts to show their significance
(long=important, short=not).
Marriages were monogamous.
1st son received largest inheritance.
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Assyria was a beautiful and fertile land.
The people were to unsettled to be peaceful
Big on military and family.
Assyria was one of the most successful
empires in the ancient world.
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The Assyrians were
people who lived in
northern
Mesopotamia.
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The Assyrian
empire began as
the small city of
Ashur, located in
Northern
Mesopotamia.
Slowly, they began
to grow into an
empire.
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Nineveh was the
capital city of the
Assyrian empire.
It was located on
the bank of the
Tigris river, at a
very important
trading spot.
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Assyria covered
modern day Turkey,
Iraq, Syria and Iran.
The Tigris and
Euphrates rivers run
through the land,
creating fertile soil.
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The main religion
that they practiced
was Ashurism.
They practiced this
until they eventually
adopted
Christianity in 33
C.E.
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The Assyrians wrote
on clay tablets
using a style of
writing called
Cuneiform.
More recently, they
used modern ways
of writing, such as
parchment or
leather.
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Some famous
leaders wereSargon of Akkad
Ashur-uballit
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In the 24th and 23rd
centuries B.C.E.,
Sargon led the
Assyrian empire on
a conquering
rampage.
He is known as one
of the first people
to record a multiethnic empire ruled
by one government.
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Ashur-uballit ruled
the Assyrians from
1365-1330 B.C.E.
He began the
Assyrians reign of
power.
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The Assyrians were
known for their
beautifully crafted
stone sculptures.
The most famous
sculpture is the
Bull-Man, Lamassu.
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They made great
advances in
building.
One of their most
useful
accomplishments
was heating bricks
to harden them,
and make them
sturdier.
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They were
conquered by
Babylon who was
under the rule of
Hammurabi.
Eventually, they
regained power.
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The Assyrians were
a powerful empire.
Under the rule of
Sargon of Akkad,
they conquered
anybody who stood
in their way.
They advanced
things such as
building and
sculpting.
Bibliography
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Assyrians#Old_
Assyrian_city-states_and_kingdoms
http://www.aina.org/aol/peter/brief.htm
http://wsu.edu/~dee/MESO/ASSYRIA.HTM
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/westasia/history/
assyrians.htm
www. aina.org/aol/peter/brief.htm#Geography
http://www.bible-history.com/assyrian-socialstructure/index.html
World Book Encyclopedia A-1 pg. 822-823
Joshua Williams
Jake lindee
Sam Jones
Landon Johnson