The Assyrians
There are different periods of the Assyrian empire. The first was called the
Old Assyrian period which lasted from 2000-1550 BC. Then there was the Middle
Assyrian period which lasted from 1550-1200 BC. The last was the Neo-Assyrian period which lasted from 1200-600 BC. The final phase of the Neo-Assyrian period is called the Assyrian Empire.
The Old and Middle Assyrian periods ( 2000 - 1200 BC )
The name Ashur was used by the Assyrians to designate not only their country, but also their most ancient city and their national god. The cities of Ashur
(near modern al-Sharqat), Nineveh, and Irbil formed a triangle that defined the original territory of Assyria. Assyria's early history was marked by frequent episodes of foreign rule. Assyria finally gained its independence around 2000
BC. About this time the Assyrians established a number of trading colonies in
Cappadocia (central Anatolia), protected by treaties with local Hattic rulers.
The most important of these was at Kultepe (Kanesh), north of present-day
Kayseri, Turkey. Political developments Brought this enterprise to an end in
1750 BC. Assyria lost its independence to a dynasty of Amorite. Then Hammurabi of Babylon took over and established himself ruler of Assyria. The collapse of
Hammurabi's Old Babylonian dynasty gave Assyria only temporary relief. It soon fell under the control of the Mitanni, until that state was destroyed by the
Hittites c.1350 BC.
The Early Neo-Assyrian Period (c.1200-600 BC)
After the collapse of Mittanni, Assyria regained its independence and was able to hold it thanks to the weakness of its neighbors. The most important event in
Assyrian history during the 13 century BC, was the capture of Babylon by King
Tukulti-Ninurta (r.1244-1208 BC). Although the conquest was short-lived the memory of it remained strong. In the following centuries the chief adversaries of the Assyrians were the Aramaeans, who settled in Syria and along the upper
Tigris and the Euphrates rivers, where they founded a number of states. In the
9th century BC, under Ashurnasirpal II (r.883-859 BC) and Shalmaneser III (859-
824 BC), the Assyrians finally managed to conquer Bit-Adini (Beth-Eden), the most powerful Aramaen state on the upper Euphrates. Shalmaneser then tried to invade the Syrian heartland, where he met with serious resistance from a coalition of kings that included Ahab of Israel. They successfully opposed him at the battle karkar in 853 BC. Internal disagreements marked the end of
Shalmaneser's reign, and many of his conquests were lost.
Assyrian power began with Tiglath-Peleser III (r. 745-727 BC) taking over the throne. He began on administrative reforms aimed at strengthening royal authority over the provinces. Districts were reduced in size and placed under
During Mesopotamian times, wars were what divided ruling periods. There were many different peoples that dominated Ancient Mesopotamia and the Assyrians were one of them. The Assyrians prospered mainly because of their divine talent to defensively resist and offensively overwhelm their enemies. At no point of Assyrian rule was there ever a time without conflict of some sort.
them to. This example is significant to the topic because it shows that the geography of the
The ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt began to develop circa 3,000 B.C. Located near rivers, the lands offered fertile soil and an excess of crops that drew in many people. As more people arrived, the small settlements flourished into large, thriving civilizations. Many aspects of Mesopotamia and Egypt, such as their cities, their strongly organized government, and their religion, greatly contributed to the success of these two civilizations.
where they lived. They chose to dwell in cliffs faced to catch the winter sun
The Babylonians specialized in architecture and astronomy. The Babylonian astronomers believed that the position of the stars and planets reflected the mood of the gods and affected life on earth. Hammarabi wrote his code of laws around this time as well. Hammurabi united most of
The Etruscans The Etruscans were an enigmatic race that populated much of Italy between the rivers Po and Tiber. The Etruscans were seen as a strange, different people in antiquity and had little or no similarities in culture or traditions with their neighbours. Historians believe that the Etruscan civilization was established between the tenth and eleventh century BC. There has been evidence from archaeological digs that the Etruscans were living in Italy from at least the time of the Iron Age and it is also believed that the Etruscans ended up laying the foundation of Rome. However, most historians are still uncertain about the origin of the Etruscan development and culture.
The ancient cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt are a factor of the evolution of civilizations in present-day. Though, it wouldn’t occur if both of these ancient civilizations didn’t develop into successful ones. There are three similar components that led Ancient Egypt and Ancient Mesopotamia to become prosperous. These are the locations, their way of life, and their beliefs. All of these elements will be explored more thoroughly throughout this essay.
handle foreign nations. The fear of creating a government that was too powerful was the
The code of Hammurabi was one of the most important documents in Babylon history. It was adopted from many Sumerian customs that had been around for a while before the Babylonians. Though many of the Laws were adopted from Sumeria they were published by Hammurabi and thus known as the code of Hammurabi. This code had four main parts to it. They were: Civil Laws, Commercial Laws, Penal Laws, and the Law of procedures.
Millions of years ago the procreant low lands in the river basins of Euphrates and Tigris was probably the home of some animal life, but no great civilizations. However, things change over time, and just a few thousand years ago the same fertile low lands in the river basins of Euphrates and Tigris became the home of a very rich and complex society. This first high society of man was located in what some still call "Mesopotamia". The word "Mesopotamia" is in origin a Greek name meaning "land between the rivers." The name is used for the area watered by the Euphrates and Tigris and its tributaries, roughly comprising modern Iraq and part of Syria. South of modern Bagdad, this alluvial plain was called the land of Sumer and Akkad. Sumer is the most southern part, while the land of Akkad is the area around modern Bagdad, where the Euphrates and Tigris are closest to each other. This first high, Mesopotamian society arose as a combined result of various historical, institutional, and religious factors. The reality of these factors occurring at a specific place within the fabric of space / time indeed established the basis for this first high civilization. Items like irrigation, topography, and bronze-age technical innovations played a big part along with the advent of writing and the practice of social conditioning (through the use of organized religion) in this relatively early achievement of man.
protect themselves from foreign attack. This kind of territory could be used as kind of a cushion support. This way they have land around them to help them stay secure.
How and why did the Mongol Empire rise to power? One of historian’s prevalent hypothesis is that of environmental and climate change. In the thirteenth century, temperatures in the Steppe region and in the Russian plains dropped, crops failed, and masses of people were hungry. Under those circumstances, people were driven out of the steppes which were their comfortable homeland, and became nomadic in search of food. They sought with passion to become dominant over and exploit sedentary people (Fernandez-Armesto, 2011, p. 340).
At the time, there had been many competitions between other nations. Strong and developed nations like Europe, would have rivalries between other strong and developed nations. Also, there was a sort of theme going around where it was needed to present the power of one's nation. This was the theme for many developed nations.
A traditional interpretation of what has become known as the Assyrian Sacred Tree conceives of it as the date palm. Consisting of a series of nodes and interlacing vines, the depiction of the “tree” contradicts the morphological appearance of a date palm seems at best to be a highly abstracted consolidation of various botanical characteristics from separate distinct species. Despite recent proposals by several art historians and botanists to conclusively determine its proper classification, indubitable evidence unlocking the enigma behind this timeless symbol—a sacred fountainhead for many western religions originating in the Near East—has yet to uproot the deep seeded academic insistence on the date palm.
Civilizations is identified by institutions whether is it governmental or cultural institutions. Mesopotamia is just one of the civilizations arouse about 3500- 3000 BCE, and influenced Homer on his literature about Iliad and Odyssey, where in this era Sumerian writings has thousands of clay tablets inscribed with wedge- shaped symbols of Sumerian script indicating that form of writing is developed around 3000 BCE. Then religiosity among Sumerian as well as Akkadian and Babylonian shared many basic attitudes and concepts that became the foundation for other Near Eastern beliefs system. Mesopotamian religion held that gods had created human beings to serve powerless mortals had no choice but to obey and worship these deities. Mesopotamian are polytheistic they believed in many gods and goddesses existed and often competed with one another. Believing that their gods is in human form as well with a strengths and weaknesses of mortals, believed their deities lived in the same way as people did, and when it comes in approaching the supernatural powers they are so practical, deities are there gods and have their own duties and responsibilities, there’s a sky of god and earth gods like for instance Anu, the sky of god; Enlil, the air god; Utu, the sun god; Enki the god of earth and the freshwater god; Nanna, the moon goddess; Inanna (or Ishatar), the goddess of love and war; and Ninhursag, the mother goddess. When it comes in their literature, The Epic of Gilgamesh focuses on fundamental themes that concern warriors in an aristocratic society; the need to be brave in the face of danger, the choice of death before dishonor, the conflict between companionship and sexual pleasure, the power of the gods over weak mortals, and the finality ...