Contributor: Suzanne Riordan. Lesson ID: 13077
Flower gardens, zoos, networks of roads, indoor plumbing, paved streets, a library, a large army, and an efficient government — sounds like a modern state, but this place existed nearly 3,000 years ago!
Embark on an exciting exploration of the Assyrians, who built the world's first real empire.
An empire is a vast and powerful state that conquers and rules over other lands and peoples. Delve into the rise and achievements of the Assyrian Empire, discovering the key factors that contributed to their success and exploring the lasting legacy of this ancient civilization.
Prepare to journey through time and witness the birth of a remarkable empire as you unravel the captivating story of the Assyrians and their enduring impact on the world stage.
Starting with some small farming communities near the Tigris River, the Assyrians built a great empire that covered a large portion of northern Mesopotamia.
For a long time, the Assyrian people were ruled by different neighbors: the Sumerian, Babylonian, Hittite, and Mittani kingdoms. But, by 1100 BC, they grew stronger and expanded their control, creating the world's first real empire.
An empire is a group of peoples or nations that one ruler governs. The Assyrian Empire covered modern Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and parts of Iran, Turkey, and Egypt.
Write down the following questions, and answer them as you watch the video below.
Making an Empire
One of the most important parts of making an empire is having a strong army.
As the video suggests, the Assyrians became expert warriors and were probably very cruel and savage warriors. They had thousands of well-trained soldiers that formed a standing army. (A standing army is always on duty and ready to fight, not just gathered together in times of war.)
Sometimes, they used charioteers and had troops on camels, horse cavalry, and expert archers.
They had a series of strong warrior-kings as rulers, whose main goal was to conquer other kingdoms and expand the empire. They attacked large cities, took their property and enslaved people back home, and then made the conquered people pay heavy taxes.
They kept control of these conquered cities by dividing the land into provinces and appointing a governor for each province. They also had soldiers stationed at different locations in the kingdom to keep order.
This was one of the keys to their success because it does no good to conquer a people if you can't control them. The Assyrians proved very good at governing the lands they conquered.
They also created a road network connecting all the cities. This was important because they could send messages back and forth quickly to resolve any problems that came up. They even paved some roads with stones to make the trip easier.
Building Projects and Art
The Assyrians didn't have a lot of experience in building, so they hired experts from other lands to build new cities for them.
They built temples, palaces, city walls, and irrigation systems. They had an aqueduct system to carry water to their cities long before the Romans, and some rich citizens also had running water and indoor toilets.
They built massive gateways and giant stone carvings.
They are also strongly interested in making beautiful outdoor spaces, with large parks and gardens near their palaces.
Some historians now believe the famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon — one of the Wonders of the Ancient World — were Assyrian gardens at Nineveh.
Because archaeologists have found evidence of large garden areas in Assyria but have found none in Babylon!
King Ashurnasirpal loved to collect animals from foreign lands and add them to the palace gardens and parks!
The Assyrians were also great artists, especially in jewelry-making. Archaeologists have discovered artifacts that show they were experts in working with gold, jewels, ivory, and glass.
One of the best things the Assyrians built was a massive library of ancient documents. King Ashurbanipal ordered his people to collect all the written texts in the kingdom so that he could save them in his library. There were histories, records of medicine and astronomy, literature, and religious texts such as hymns and prayers.
Kings and Capitals
The Assyrian kings, besides expanding their empire, seemed to love to build new capital cities!
As you saw in the video, their first capital was Ashru. Under King Ashurnasirpal II, Kalhu (modern-day Nimrud) became the capital. Then Sargon II built a capital at Dur-Sharrukin (which means Sargon's fortress).
His son, Sennacherib, built another palace at Nineveh. Finally, Ashur-ubillit II established the last capital at Harran.
End of the Assyrian Empire
Although the Assyrians were close relatives of the Babylonians and made themselves the guardians of Babylonian culture, the Babylonians were not happy being a conquered people. They rebelled and conquered the Assyrians in 612 BC.
Now, head over to the Got It? section, where you'll make a map of the Assyrian Empire and write a news article about the Assyrian library!