Neo-Assyrian Empire

  General Description   The Assyrian Empire (911-612 BCE) was a powerful polity that expanded from its heartland in northern Iraq, using the most advanced military technologies of the era: two wheeled chariots, cavalry and an infantry fully converted to iron weapons. ^{[1] [2]}
The most important early ruler was Assurnasirpall II (883-859 BCE) who built the capital Kalhu on the east bank of the Tigris. ^[2] The Assyrian king maintained his presence by establishing “royal cities” with palaces throughout the realm, which he appears to have used on a regular basis. ^[3] The Assyrian capital also changed frequently: the first capital was Ashur (911-859 BCE) and the last was at Ninevah (681-612 BCE). Sharrukin was important between 707-705 BCE.
Despite the constantly moving king and capital the Assyrian government put down literary roots in a state archives ^[4] and perhaps the world’s first organized library was built at Nineveh under Asurbanipal (668-627 BCE). Here scribes copied texts from a 1,000 year old Babylonian literary tradition. These included medical works, mythologies, religious guides and astrology. ^[5] The high level of sophistication the Assyrian civilization achieved is reflected in ruins of water reservoirs and sewerage systems ^[6] , an aqueduct built in Nineveh ^[7] and "traditional Mesopotamian mud-brick architecture ... monumental stone sculptures and wall reliefs." ^[8]
The Assyrian government was the personal project of the king who appointed all officials at the state, regional and local levels as well as the priesthood. ^[9] He was advised by officials called Magnates. ^[9] The king’s provincial governors also lived in palaces ^[3] and were initially direct relations of the king until the reign of Shalmaneser III (r.859-824 BC) who instead made governors directly appointed eunuchs. ^[3] Historians believe governors had a lot of freedom over the day-to-day running of the regions since letters that have been recovered sent from governors to the king primarily concern unforeseeable problems. ^[3]
In the 7th Century population of Mesopotamia reached its height of about 2 million. ^[10] At its height, after Egypt was conquered in 671 CE, combined with south-eastern Anatolia, the Levant region and western Iran, the total population of the tribute-paying empire may have reached 7 million people. ^[11]

[1]: (Dupuy and Dupuy 2007, 10) R Dupuy. Dupuy. 2007. The Collins Encyclopedia of Military History, 4th Edition, BCA.

[2]: (Chadwick 2005, 77) R Chadwick. 2005. First Civilizations: Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, 2nd Edition, Equinox, London.

[3]: (Radler 2014) K Radler. 2014. The Assyrian Empire, c. 900-612 BC. The Emergence of European State Forms in Comparative Perspective - Panel "Imperial States in Time".

[4]: (Westbrook et al. 2003, 887) R Westbrook. G Beckman. R Jasnow. B Levine. M Roth. 2003. A History of Ancient Near Eastern Law. Volume: 2. Brill. Leiden, Netherlands.

[5]: (Davidson 2012, 28) P Davidson. 2012. Atlas of Empires, New Holland, London.

[6]: (Mahmoudian and Mahmoudian 2012, 97) A N Angelakis. L W Mays. D Koutsoyiannis. 2012.Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.

[7]: (Chadwick 2005, 83) R Chadwick. 2005. First Civilizations: Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, 2nd Edition, Equinox, London.

[8]: (Stearns 2001, 27) P Stearns. 2001. The Encyclopedia of World History. 6th Edition. James Clarke & Co Ltd. Cambridge.

[9]: (Westbrook et al. 2003, 886-888) R Westbrook. G Beckman. R Jasnow. B Levine. M Roth. 2003. A History of Ancient Near Eastern Law. Volume: 2. Brill. Leiden, Netherlands.

[10]: (Stearns 2001, 28) P Stearns. 2001. The Encyclopedia of World History. 6th Edition. James Clarke & Co Ltd. Cambridge.

[11]: (McEvedy and Jones 1978, 226) Colin McEvedy. Richard Jones. 1978. Atlas of World Population History, Allen Lane, London.