The Assyrian empire emerged as one of the most formidable powers of the ancient world. Yet, despite their dominance, the Assyrians faced challenges that would eventually lead to their downfall. We’ll explore how Assyria rose to greatness, the turning points that marked its peak, and the events that led to its ultimate collapse.

Foundations of Assyria

The word “Assyria” originates from the word “Assur” an Assyrian polytheistic deity. Assyria first gained independence in around 2025 BC during the collapse of the third dynasty of Ur, under the leadership of Puzur-Ashur the first, considered as the founder of Assyria.

The Rise of Assyria

Initially, Assyria, under the Puzur.Ashur dynasty, was home to less than 10,000 people and held very limited military power, and the city state did not have any political influence either, however it was still influential in other ways. During the rule of Erishum I (1974-1934 BC), Assyria engaged in free trade, the earliest recorded free trade in world history.

Assyria’s rise as a proper state was facilitated by a series of failed invasions by the Hittites, which crippled the powerful kingdom and allowed smaller kingdoms rise from it, and later, these same small kingdoms, such as the Mitanni Kingdom collapsed, which ended its influence over Assyria and allowed it to engage in conquest of neighboring territory.

The Empire at its Height of Power

At the height of its power, the Assyrian Empire continued its aggressive military politics under the rule of Shalmaneser III (859-824 BC). Under his rule, the territories surrounding the Euphrates river were consolidated under Assyrian control.

Now at this point, the only threatening enemy of the Assyrians was the Kingdom of Urartu, located in the north. The Urartian kings were autocrats just like their Assyrian counterparts. The Assyrians took inspiration from Urartu with their irrigation technology and cavalry units. These two states were sperated by the Taurus mountains. In 856 BC, Shalmaneser III conducted one of the most ambitious military campaigns in Assyrian history, marching through the mountainous territory to the source of the Euphrates river and then attacking Urartu from the west. The Urartuan king Arame was forced to flee as the Assyrians sacked the Urartian capital, which devestated the Urartian heartland and then marched into what today is western Iran before returning to Assyria.

After centuries of ups and downs, Esarhaddon ascended the throne, succeeding his father Sennacherib (705-681 BC) who is known for his campaigns in the Levant and one of the most famous Assyrian kings mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Esarhaddon himself is famous for his conquest of Egypt in 671 BC, and for his reconstruction of Babylon, which had been previously destroyed by his father.

Through logistic support from various Arab tribes, the invasion of Egypt took a difficult route through central Sinai and took the Egyptian army by surprise. After series of battles against Pharaoh Taharqa (690-664 BC), Esarhaddon captured Memphis, the Egyptian capital. The conquest of Egypt brought the Assyrian Empire to its greatest extent.

Esarhaddon later died of an illness while on a military campaign in Egypt in 669 BC, and by the decree that he came up with in 672 BC, he granted Ashurbanipal the throne. Ashubanipal is regarded to have been the last great king of Assyria. His reign saw the last time Assyrian troops marched in all directions of the Near East. After 656 BC the empire lost control of Egypt, which instead fell into the hands of the Pharaoh Psamtik I.

Collapse and Fall of the Empire

After Ashurbanipal’s death in 631 BC, the throne was inherited by his son Ashur-etil-ilani. His ascension to the throne was met fierce with opposition and was only able to inherit the throne thanks to the efforts of chief eunuch Sin-sumu-lishir.

After only 4 years, he suddenly died of mysterious conditions, and his brother, Sinsharishkun became his successor, and his ascension to the throne was challenged too, mainly by Sin-shumu-lishir. Sin-shumu-lishir successfully seized several prominent cities in Babylonia, including Babylon itself, but was defeated by Sinsharishkun after only 3 months.

The Babylonian vassal king Kandalanu also died in 627 BC. The swift changes and the internal unrest encouraged Babylon to put an end to Assyrian rule and regain independence, a movement which proclaimed Nabopolassar as its leader. Some months after Sin-shumu-lishir’s defeat, Nabopolassar captured Babylon, In the aftermath, Nabopolassar was formally proclaimed as king of Babylon on November 22-23 626 BC, restoring Babylonia as an independent kingdom.

In 614 BC, the Medes mounted attacks on both Nimrud and Ninveh and captured the city of Assur, leading to the massacre of its inhabitants. Just 2 years later in 612 BC, after a siege lasting 2 months, the Medes and and Babylonians finally captured Ninveh, with Sinsharishkun dying in the city’s defense. The capture of the city was followed by extensive destruction and effectively meant the end of the Assyrian Empire.