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
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.
where they lived. They chose to dwell in cliffs faced to catch the winter sun
I am here today to talk to you about the Persian Empire. One of the reasons I chose this topic is that I am Persian myself. Another reason for me choosing this topic is that there is a large Persian community in Lower Mainland.
When the Spanish began to arrive in Mexico and in Central America in the early 15th century, one of the many civilizations they found was the Maya. The Maya, building upon the Olmec culture, were located in present-day Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, southern Mexico, and the Yucatan Peninsula. Even though they had many similarities, the Maya were separated by language differences. Because of that they were organized into city-states. Since there wasn’t a single city-state powerful enough to impose a political structure, the period from 200 A.D. to the arrival of the Spanish was characterized by the struggle of rival kingdoms for dominance.
Geography plays an important role in the development of a civilization. The impact of geography can either make or break a civilization. Early civilizations inhabited features such as river valleys, deserts, rainforests, plateaus and other geographical structures. One important geographically defining structure are river valleys . River valleys had a significant impact on one particular civilization, Mesopotamia.
From watching the video “Engineering an Empire: The Persians” I learned about the Persian Empire. Persia is today the country of known as Iran. Led by Cyrus II the Great (576 – 530 BC) Persia became one of the largest and most successful empires of all time. The reign of Cyrus the Great is said to have lasted from twenty eight to thirty one years. In that time he stretched his empire over much land, including; parts of the Balkans and Thrace-Macedonia in the west, to the Indus Valley in the east. Because he was a just and benevolent leader who refused to enslave his conquered subjects he was given many titles including; The Great King, King of Media, King of Babylon, King of Sumer among many others. In 539 BC Cyrus conquered Babylon, but instead of presenting himself as a conquer he presented himself as a liberator, freeing those people from their cruel leader.
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.
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).
Native Americans were the first people to live in America before any other man came. It is believed that the Native Americans came from Asia way back during the Ice Age through a land bridge of the Bering Strait. When the Europeans first set foot on America, there were about 10 million Native Americans living in America, North of Mexico (“American”). Native Americans had all separated and made their own tribes. Some of the many Native American tribes that still exist are those of the Iroquoian tribes, consisting of five, now six, different tribes. The six tribes, Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk, and Tuscarora, became known as the Iroquois Confederacy (“Iroquois”).
Civilizations began specializing with ceramic pottery, metallurgy, and textiles. These crafts help discover new ways for communicating with the creation of cylindrical stone seals. The seals were engraved with images and rolled over wet clay to be reproduced. A more specific civilization existing within the Mesopotamian were the Sumerians. For several centuries’ Sumerian law, literature, art, science, and religion were the Mesopotamians primary practices. Cuneiform the Sumerian language was the more important advancement made by the civilization. During the Neopalatial period, Minoan trade networks extended across the eastern Mediterranean, and Minoan influence was widespread, especially in the Aegean Sea. This influence seems to have come
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.
Growing up in a life that is different from a traditional American life subsequently adds to my perspective on life. My family is Assyrian and they are proud of it. They basically have created their own Assyrian country within California and other various states. I have been introduced to both the American lifestyle and the Assyrian lifestyle. Both lifestyles differ from each other greatly. Experiencing both has greatly changed who I am and what I do. However, my life as an Assyrian has had its great times but it has had some very terrible ones.
The land of Mesopotamia sprouted many ideas for modern day technology. Mesopotamia was located in between two rivers. The Tigris and the Euphrates. The name Mesopotamia literally means between the rivers. Ancient Mesopotamia had many hard working rulers, great culture, and a polytheistic religion. All in all Mesopotamia accomplished loads of amazing things.
The Roman Empire was one of the most mighty and powerful empires ever to exist. Some people wonder what could have possibly cause such a strong empire to just fall one day. Well that is where they are mistaken. Some people believe that the Roman Empire fall apart all at once, but in reality it was many events over a long period of time that caused this well known empire to one day collapse.
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.