Search Results - Neo-Assyrian Empire

The Neo-Assyrian Empire was a period of Mesopotamian history which began in 934 BC and ended in 608 BC.^[1] During this period, Assyria assumed a position as possibly the most powerful nation on earth, and vying with Babylonia and other lesser powers for dominance of the region, though not until the reforms of Tiglath-Pileser III in the 8th century BC,^[2][3] did it become a powerful and vast empire. In the Middle Assyrian period of the Late Bronze Age, Assyria had been a minor kingdom of northern Mesopotamia (modern-day northern Iraq), competing for dominance with its southern Mesopotamian rival Babylonia. Beginning with the campaign of Adad-nirari II, it became a great regional power, growing to be a serious threat to 25th dynasty Egypt.

The Neo-Assyrian Empire succeeded the Middle Assyrian period (14th to 10th century BC). Some scholars, such as Richard Nelson Frye, regard the Neo-Assyrian Empire to be the first real empire in human history.^[4] During this period, Aramaic was also made an official language of the empire, alongside the Akkadian language.^[4]

Assyria finally succumbed to a coalition of Babylonians, Medes, Scythians and others at the Fall of Nineveh in 612 BC,and the sacking of its last capital Harran in 608 BC. More than half a century later, the Babylonians and Assyrians both became provinces of the Persian Empire. Though the Assyrians during the reign of Ashurbanipal destroyed the Elamite civilization, the Assyrians' culture did influence the succeeding empires of the Indo-Iranian tribes of the Medes and the Persians.^[5]