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Assyria Dominates
the Fertile Crescent
MAIN IDEA
Sennacherib
Nineveh
Ashurbanipal
Medes
Chaldeans
Nebuchadnezzar
SETTING THE STAGE For more than two centuries, the Assyrian army advanced
across Southwest Asia. It overwhelmed foes with its military strength. After the
Assyrians seized control of Egypt, the Assyrian king Esarhaddon proclaimed, I tore
up the root of Kush, and not one therein escaped to submit to me. The last Kushite
pharaoh retreated to Napata, Kushs capital city.
The Rise of a Warrior People The Assyrians came from the northern
A V O I C E A B O U T T H E PA S T
The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.
GEORGE GORDON, LORD BYRON, The Destruction of Sennacherib
This detail of a
sandstone relief
shows an Assyrian
soldier with a
shield and irontipped spear.
88 Chapter 4
Military Organization and Conquest Assyria was a society which glorified military
strength. Its soldiers were well equipped for conquering an empire. Making use of the
iron-working technology of the time, the soldiers covered themselves in stiff leather
and metal armor. They wore copper or iron helmets, padded loincloths, and leather
skirts layered with metal scales. Their weapons were iron swords and iron-pointed
spears. Infantry, archers, and spear throwers protected themselves with huge shields.
Advance planning and technical skill allowed the Assyrians to lay siege to enemy
cities. When deep water blocked their passage, engineers would bridge the rivers with
pontoons, or floating structures used to support a bridge. Tying inflated animal skins
Vocabulary
siege: a military
blockade to force a
city to surrender.
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Ladders
1
2
Weapons
3
Tactics
4
4
Tunnels
Background
Assyrian archers
served as a kind of
early form of artillery,
clearing the enemys
walls of defenders
so Assyrian troops
could storm them.
together, they connected these pontoons to the shore with beams. Then they erected
a raised dirt roadway at both ends. An armed guard protected the soldiers who
installed a support structure of stones, brush, and clay.
Before attacking, the Assyrians dug beneath the citys walls to weaken them. Then,
with disciplined organization, foot soldiers marched shoulder to shoulder. A trained
cavalry, or troops riding horses, galloped into battle, following their generals, who rode
in chariots. With courage and coordination, foot soldiers approached to within an
arrows shot of the city walls. At a signal from their commander, they stopped, strung
their bows, and released a shower of arrows. Wave upon wave of arrows hissed over the
walls of the besieged city. Meanwhile, another group of troops hammered the citys
gates with massive, iron-tipped battering rams. When at last the city gates splintered,
the Assyrians showed no mercy. They killed or enslaved their victims. Because soldiers
received a bounty for severed heads, many of the defeated were beheaded.
One Assyrian king bragged of burning 3,000 captives to death. Another told how
all the chiefs who had revolted I flayed, with their skins I covered the pillar, some in
the midst I walled up, others on stakes I impaled, still others I arranged around the
pillar on stakes. To prevent later rebellions, the Assyrians forced groups of captives to
leave their homelands. They were forced to settle far away as exiles in the empires
distant provinces and dependent states.
An Expanding Empire
Between 850 and 650 B.C., the kings of Assyria defeated Syria, Palestine, and
Babylonia. Reaching beyond the Fertile Crescent, Assyrian rule extended into Egypt
and Anatolia. With the conquest of Egypt, the Assyrian Empire had established itself
in North Africa.
First Age of Empires 89
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spi
an Sea
AN AT O L I A
TAUR
M
US
Nineveh
M edes
Ashur
SYRIA
E
hra
OS
P er sian s
M
TS
.
C haldeans
Pe
an
Red
rsi
DESERT
SAHARA
A SIA
BABYLONIA
ARABIAN
EGYPT
Babylon
Jerusalem
Memphis
tes
GR
Sidon
Tyre
.
sR
Mediterranean PHOENICIA
Sea PALESTINE
ZA
up
Tigri
CYPRUS
TS
Ca
40N
40E
Black Sea
Gu
Thebes
lf
Sea
1,000 Miles
Ri
ver
il e
2,000 Kilometers
G E O G R A P H Y S K I L L B U I L D E R : Interpreting Maps
1. Location What is the approximate distance between Nineveh
and Thebes?
2. Location What is the southernmost part of the Assyrian Empire
and to what other empire did it previously belong?
90 Chapter 4
B. Recognizing
Causes What methods enabled the
Assyrians to rule their
empire effectively?
B. Possible Answer
Efficient organization; military power;
taxes; tribute;
system of provinces
made dependent
territories.
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Many people in the region rejoiced at Ninevehs destruction. The Hebrew prophet
Nahum (NAY huhm) gave voice to the feelings of many:
THE BIBLE
And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and
say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? Whence shall I seek comforters for
thee? . . . Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust:
thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.
NAHUM 3:7,18
Rebirth of Babylon Under the Chaldeans After defeating the Assyrians, the
Chaldeans made Babylon their capital. Around 600 B.C., Babylon became the center of a
new empire, more than 1,000 years after Hammurabi had ruled there. A Chaldean king
named Nebuchadnezzar (nehb uh kuhd NEHZ uhr) restored Babylon. The most
impressive part of his palace may
have been the famous hanging
gardens. Greek scholars later listed
them as one of the Seven Wonders
of the World. According to legend,
one of Nebuchadnezzars wives
missed the flowering shrubs of her
mountain homeland. To please
her, the king had fragrant trees
and mountain shrubs planted on
terraces. They rose 75 feet above
Babylons flat, dry plain. Slaves
watered the plants from hidden
pumps.
Indeed, the entire city was a
wonder. Its walls were so thick that, according to one report, a four-horse chariot
could wheel around on top of them. To ensure that the world knew who ruled
Babylon, even the bricks were inscribed, I am Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon.
The highest building in Babylon was a great, seven-tiered ziggurat more than 300
feet high. It was visible for miles. At night, priests observed the stars from the top of
this tower and others in the city. They kept detailed records of how the stars and planets seemed to change position in the night sky. The Chaldeans observations formed
the basis for both astronomy and astrology.
Nebuchadnezzars empire fell shortly after his death. The Persians who next came to
power adopted many Assyrian military, political, and artistic inventions. The Persians
would use the organization the Assyrians had developed to stabilize the region.
Lions made
of glazed bricks
decorated walls
along the broad
road that passed
the Ishtar Gate of
Nebuchadnezzar
in Babylon.
Section 2 Assessment
1. TERMS & NAMES
2. TAKING NOTES
Identify
Assyria
Sennacherib
Nineveh
Ashurbanipal
Medes
Chaldeans
Nebuchadnezzar
Causes of
Increasing
Power
1.
2.
3.
Causes of
Declining
Power
1.
2.
3.
3. FORMING AND
SUPPORTING OPINIONS
4. THEME ACTIVITY
THINK ABOUT
the causes of Assyrian
military power
the stability of the empire
the methods that empires use
to become stronger