Assyrian Empire (jan 1, 900 BC – jan 1, 612 BC)

Description:

First empire to unite Mesopotamia and Egypt under one ruler

Their conquest technique involved moving entire city populations to a different location in the hopes that they would be less likely to rebel

"The Assyrian Empire originated in northern Mesopotamia, from where it expanded to encompass much of the Near East in the tenth through the seventh centuries B.C.E. After building up their military, the Assyrians conquered many of their neighbors, including Babylonia, and took over much of Syria all the way to the Mediterranean. They then moved into Anatolia, where the pressure they put on the Hittite Empire was one factor in its collapse. Assyria’s success allowed it to become the leading power in the Near East, with an army that at times numbered many tens of thousands. Internal strife and civil war led to its decline, allowing the Neo-Babylonians to build a somewhat smaller empire."

"Small states like those of the Phoenicians and the Hebrews could exist only in the absence of a major power, and the beginning of the ninth century B.C.E. saw the rise of such a power: the Assyrians of northern Mesopotamia. They conquered the kingdom of Israel, the Phoenician cities, and eventually many other states as well."

"The Assyrians had inhabited northern Mesopotamia since the third millennium B.C.E., forming a kingdom that grew and shrank in size and power over the centuries. During the time of Sargon of Akkad (r. ca. 2334–2279 B.C.E.), they were part of the Akkadian empire, then independent, then part of the Babylonian empire under Hammurabi, then independent again"

"Under the leadership of King Adad-nirari II (r. 911–892 B.C.E.), Assyria began a campaign of expansion and domination, creating what scholars have termed the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The next several turbulent centuries were marked by Assyrian military campaigns, constant efforts by smaller states to maintain or recover their independence, and eventual further Assyrian conquest."

"Assyrian methods were certainly harsh, but in practical terms Assyria’s success was actually due primarily to the size of its army and the army’s sophisticated and effective military organization. By Sargon II’s time, the Assyrians had invented the mightiest military machine the ancient Near East had ever seen, with perhaps seventy thousand men in the field, armed with iron spears and swords, in an era that typically saw armies of under ten thousand. Assyrian military genius was remarkable for the development of a wide variety of siege machinery and techniques, including excavation to undermine city walls and battering rams to knock down walls and gates. Never before in the Near East had anyone applied such technical knowledge to warfare. The Assyrians even invented the concept of a corps of engineers, who bridged rivers with pontoons or provided soldiers with inflatable skins for swimming. And the Assyrians knew how to coordinate their efforts, both in open battle and in siege warfare."

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