Assyria, 1365–609 b.c.

The ancient city of Ashur (Assur) was located on the west bank of the river Tigris in northern Mesopotamia. Although it had controlled an extensive trading network in the early second millennium B.C. and formed a core area of the empire of Shamshi-Adad I (r. 1813–1781 B.C.), the city had slipped into the shadows in the following centuries.

After several centuries of obscurity and even loss of independence from around 1400 B.C. under the powerful northern Mesopotamian state of Mitanni, Assyria's fortunes revived in the reign of Ashur-uballit I (1365–1330 B.C.). From his capital at Ashur, Ashur-uballit extended Assyrian control over the rich farming lands of Nineveh and Arbela to the north. The new conquests were consolidated by succeeding kings and under Adad-nirari I (r. 1307–1275 B.C.) the remnants of the state of Mitanni were conquered and Assyrian control stretched to the Euphrates and the borders of the Hittite empire. Assyria reached its greatest extent during this so-called Middle Assyrian period under the warrior king Tukulti-Ninurta I (r. 1244–1208 B.C.), who defeated the ruler of Babylonia to the south and installed puppet kings to govern the region for some thirty-two years. Tukulti-Ninurta established a new royal city on the opposite side of the Tigris from Ashur and named it Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta. However, struggles for the throne led to the king's assassination and a series of short-lived reigns. Nonetheless, apart from the loss of Babylonia, the Assyrian empire did not disintegrate. Under Tiglath-pileser I (r. 1114–1076 B.C.), campaigns were conducted north as far as Lake Van and the king even journeyed to the Mediterranean, where he received royal gifts. Much campaigning by Tiglath-pileser and succeeding kings was directed against Aramaean pastoralist groups in Syria, some of whom where moving against Assyrian centers. By the end of the second millennium B.C., the Aramaean expansion had resulted in the loss of much Assyrian territory in Upper Mesopotamia.

Despite the loss of territory for over a century (ca. 1050–940 B.C.), there was continuity in the line of Assyrian kings and institutions, and the Assyrian heartland of Ashur, Nineveh, and Arbela remained secure. A series of energetic kings beginning with Ashur-dan II (r. 934–912 B.C.) now waged war against the Aramaeans and reestablished control of Upper Mesopotamia. The foundations were thus laid for the campaigns of Ashurnasirpal II (r. 883–859 B.C.) and his son Shalmaneser III (r. 858–824 B.C.) that established Assyrian domination as far as the northern Levant. Booty and tribute poured into Assyria and this allowed Ashurnasirpal II to build a new royal capital at Kalhu (Nimrud), where his palace was decorated with carved stone reliefs. At the end of Shalmaneser III's reign, there were widespread revolts in Assyria, led perhaps by Assyrian nobles; Shamshi-Adad V (r. 823–811 B.C.) was able to claim the throne only with Babylonian assistance. The king's wife, Shammuramat (the legendary Semiramis), seems to have occupied a prominent position at court and probably ensured that the throne passed smoothly to their son Adad-nirari III (r. 810–783 B.C.). Following his death, Assyria suffered from a series of famines, revolts, and problems with royal succession for some forty years, but territory appears to have been maintained. In 745 B.C., Tiglath-pileser III came to the throne with the prestige of Assyria somewhat battered. However, under the new king, the system of provincial administration was extended and areas of Syria as far south as Damascus were ruled directly by the king through governors. To the north, the powerful kingdom of Urartu was contained while, in the south, Babylonia was invaded and ruled directly. Tiglath-pileser's son, Shalmaneser V (r. 726–722 B.C.), further extended Assyrian control in the west by taking Samaria, capital of the kingdom of Israel.

A rebellion at court may have brought Sargon II (r. 721–705 B.C.) to the throne. The instability at the center encouraged the Babylonians under Marduk-apla-iddina II (Merodach-baladan of the Hebrew Bible) to revolt and Sargon lost control of the region for ten years. Urartu also attempted to extend its influence, making common cause with Mita of Mushki (identified as Midas of Phrygia in central Anatolia). For most of his reign, Sargon waged war to reverse the situation. By the time of his death in 705 B.C., Sargon had defeated the Urartians (714 B.C.), established firm control over the provinces in the Levant as far as the borders of the kingdom of Judah, and defeated Marduk-apla-iddina II to reclaim the Babylonian throne (707 B.C.). Sargon's achievements resulted in Midas of Phrygia seeking friendship with Assyria in 709 B.C. The Assyrian king's power was reflected in his magnificent new royal city of Dur Sharrukin (Khorsabad), established to the north of Nimrud.

Sargon's son and successor, Sennacherib (r. 704–681 B.C.), spent much of his reign establishing firm control over Babylonia (ultimately laying siege to the city of Babylon, which fell in 689 B.C.). He established his capital at the ancient site of Nineveh, where he created one of the most splendid cities in the ancient world with a palace, called the "Palace Without Rival," decorated with miles of stone reliefs. Sennacherib is perhaps most famous for his campaigns in the southern Levant, where he reestablished control over rebellious Phoenician cities and received the tribute of Hezekiah of Judah following the sacking of the city of Lachish in 701 B.C. An Egyptian army supported the Levantine rebels and represented a threat that Sennacherib's son Esarhaddon (r. 680–669 B.C.) had to face. In 671 B.C., Assyrian forces marched into Egypt and captured Memphis. A second campaign to Egypt in 669 B.C. ended when Esarhaddon died en route.

Ashurbanipal completed his father's conquest of Egypt in two campaigns (667 and 664 B.C.), during which the Assyrian army marched down the Nile and sacked Thebes. Local subject rulers were installed in the Nile Delta. The next major challenge for Ashurbanipal was a revolt in Babylonia (652–648 B.C.) led by his brother, Shamash-shum-ukin, who was aided by the Elamites. The Assyrians crushed the rebellion and the Elamite city of Susa was devastated. At Nineveh, Ashurbanipal built himself a large palace (the so-called North Palace), which is justly famous for the quality of its wall reliefs, especially the scenes of the king hunting lions and other wild animals (now in the British Museum).

The lack of surviving records makes it difficult to accurately date the reigns of the last Assyrian kings. Ashurbanipal probably died in 631 B.C. (although 627 B.C. is also a possibility). After a number of years, his son, Ashur-etel-ilani, was overthrown by an official, Sin-shum-lishir, who briefly claimed the throne. The brother of Ashur-etel-ilani, Sin-shar-ishkun, was then crowned king and ruled until 612 B.C. These troubles at the Assyrian court took place as a certain Nabopolassar rose to prominence in Babylonia. He claimed the throne of Babylon in 625 B.C. and, after some ten years of establishing his position in Babylonia, was able to mount attacks on Assyria. As Assyria was being threatened from the south, an army of the Medes (from Iran) appeared in the east. In 614 B.C., the Medes unsuccessfully attacked Nineveh, but the ancient city of Ashur was sacked. Two years later, the Babylonian and Median armies joined forces and sacked Nineveh after a three-month siege. It is unknown what happened to Sin-shar-ishkun but the Assyrians regrouped around Ashur-uballit II, who was established as king at Harran (in modern southeastern Turkey). Ultimately, the Babylonians and Medes defeated the Assyrians when Harran was destroyed in 609 B.C. and the empire passed to Nabopolassar and his son Nebuchadnezzar II, with their capital city at Babylon.