What are the Assyrians best known for?

Alfred of Wessex

The Assyrians were best known for many things. They were known for its powerful and organized military. The Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III created a standing composed of professional soldiers and introduced a hierarchical command structure. The Assyrians utilized advanced siege weapons.

The Assyrians were also known for their magnificent art and architecture. They were famous for building their great places like at Nineveh.

The Assyrian King Ashurbanipal was known for his royal library which housed many cuneiform tablets. These tablets deal with science, mathematics, and tales such as the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Babylonian Epic of Creation.

Orem Frien

 

Unfortunately, when most people hear about my people, the Assyrians, they either think of the vicious ancient conquerors who slaughtered entire cities and were proud of their ruthlessness (see here) or they think of modern Assyrians and then the Assyrians are known for their genocides (see here and here). It is sad really.

Perhaps people could get to know a little more about us as an indigenous Mesopotamian nation; I’ll make it a little easier.

I discuss our history and our identity in broad strokes here:

• ‎Orem Frien (أوْرِم فْرِيَن ܐܘܪܡ ܦܪܝܢ)‎'s answer to Who were the Assyrians?

I discuss Assyrian holidays here:

• ‎Orem Frien (أوْرِم فْرِيَن ܐܘܪܡ ܦܪܝܢ)‎'s answer to What are some important Assyrian festivals and holidays?

But honestly, I wish we were best known for our food. Intrepid photographers have even gotten us pictures of our ancient Assyrian ancestors carrying a lion to the fire (see below). Can you imagine anything but the raw strength and culinary diversity of the Assyrian people if we were eating lions?

Admittedly, I am a bigger fan of Maqlouba and Lahmbaijin below than lions, but you can see a lot of different Assyrian dishes here: 15 Assyrian Foods You Must Try

Jason Almendra

 ·

The Neo Assyrian Empire (911BC to 612BC) was quite brutal. But it did one thing right. They decided to make Aramaic the lingua franca of their empire. There were only 22 letters in the Aramaic alphabet as opposed to thousands of Assyrian cuneiform characters. Papyrus was lighter than clay tablets. The Arameans had established caravan routes right after the Late Bronze Age Collapse c.1000BC.

Aramaic - Wikipedia

Aramaic ( Jewish Babylonian Aramaic : ארמית , romanized: ˀərāmiṯ ; Classical Syriac : ܐܪܡܐܝܬ , romanized: arāmāˀiṯ [ a ] ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia , the southern Levant , southeastern Anatolia , Eastern Arabia [ 3 ] [ 4 ] and the Sinai Peninsula , where it has been continually written and spoken in different varieties [ 5 ] for over three thousand years. Syriac alphabet Aramaic served as a language of public life and administration of ancient kingdoms and empires, particularly the Neo-Assyrian Empire , Neo-Babylonian Empire , and Achaemenid Empire , and also as a language of divine worship and religious study within Judaism , Christianity , and Gnosticism . Several modern varieties of Aramaic are still spoken. The modern eastern branch is spoken by Assyrians , Mandeans , and Mizrahi Jews . [ 6 ] [ 7 ] [ 8 ] [ 9 ] Western Aramaic is still spoken by the Muslim and Christian Arameans (Syriacs) in the towns of Maaloula , Bakh'a and nearby Jubb'adin in Syria . [ 10 ] Classical varieties are used as liturgical and literary languages in several West Asian churches, [ 11 ] [ 12 ] as well as in Judaism , [ 13 ] [ 14 ] Samaritanism , [ 15 ] and Mandaeism . [ 16 ] The Aramaic language is now considered endangered , with several varieties used mainly by the older generations. [ 17 ] Researchers are working to record and analyze all of the remaining varieties of Neo-Aramaic languages before or in case they become extinct. [ 18 ] [ 19 ] Aramaic belongs to the Northwest group of the Semitic language family , which also includes the mutually intelligible Canaanite languages such as Hebrew , Edomite , Moabite , Ekronite , Sutean , and Phoenician , as well as Amorite and Ugaritic . [ 20 ] [ 21 ] Aramaic varieties are written in the Aramaic alphabet , a descendant of the Phoenician alphabet . The most prominent variant of this alphabet is the Syriac alphabet , used in the ancient city of Edessa . [ 22 ] The Aramaic alphabet also became a base for the creation and adaptation of specific writing systems in some other Semitic languages of West Asia , such as the Hebrew alphabet and the Arabic alphabet . [ 23 ] Early Aramaic inscriptions date from 11th century BC, placing it among the earliest languages to be written down . [ 5 ] Aramaicist Holger Gzella [ de ] notes, "The linguistic history of Aramaic prior to the appearance of the first textual sources in the ninth century BC remains unknown." [ 24 ] Aramaic is also believed by most historians and scholars to have been the primary language spoken by Jesus of Nazareth both for preaching and in everyday life. [ 25 ] [ 26 ] This clay tablet represents a classroom experiment; a teacher imposed a challenging writing exercise on pupils who spoke both Babylonian-Akkadian and Aramaic. The pupils had to use traditional syllabic signs to express the sounds of the Aramaic alphabet. c. 500 BC . From Iraq Historically and originally, Old Aram

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aramaic

The Aramaic alphabet was also the basis for Brahmi, Kharoshti, Georgian, Armenian, Hebrew, Arabic, Tibetan and Mongolian scripts.

Aramaic alphabet - Wikipedia

The ancient Aramaic alphabet was used to write the Aramaic languages spoken by ancient Aramean pre-Christian peoples throughout the Fertile Crescent . It was also adopted by other peoples as their own alphabet when empires and their subjects underwent linguistic Aramaization during a language shift for governing purposes — a precursor to Arabization centuries later — including among the Assyrians and Babylonians who permanently replaced their Akkadian language and its cuneiform script with Aramaic and its script, and among Jews , but not Samaritans , who adopted the Aramaic language as their vernacular and started using the Aramaic alphabet, which they call " Square Script ", even for writing Hebrew , displacing the former Paleo-Hebrew alphabet . The modern Hebrew alphabet derives from the Aramaic alphabet, in contrast to the modern Samaritan alphabet , which derives from Paleo-Hebrew. The letters in the Aramaic alphabet all represent consonants , some of which are also used as matres lectionis to indicate long vowels . Writing systems, like the Aramaic, that indicate consonants but do not indicate most vowels other than by means of matres lectionis or added diacritical signs, have been called abjads by Peter T. Daniels to distinguish them from alphabets such as the Greek alphabet , that represent vowels more systematically. The term was coined to avoid the notion that a writing system that represents sounds must be either a syllabary or an alphabet, which would imply that a system like Aramaic must be either a syllabary, as argued by Ignace Gelb , or an incomplete or deficient alphabet , as most other writers had said before Daniels. Daniels put forward, this is a different type of writing system, intermediate between syllabaries and 'full' alphabets. The Aramaic alphabet is historically significant since virtually all modern Middle Eastern writing systems can be traced back to it. That is primarily due to the widespread usage of the Aramaic language after it was adopted as both a lingua franca and the official language of the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian Empires, and their successor, the Achaemenid Empire . Among the descendant scripts in modern use, the Jewish Hebrew alphabet bears the closest relation to the Imperial Aramaic script of the 5th century BC, with an identical letter inventory and, for the most part, nearly identical letter shapes. By contrast the Samaritan Hebrew script is directly descended from Proto-Hebrew/Phoenician script, which was the ancestor of the Aramaic alphabet. The Aramaic alphabet was also an ancestor to the Syriac alphabet and Mongolian script and Kharosthi [ 2 ] and Brahmi , [ 3 ] and Nabataean alphabet , which had the Arabic alphabet as a descendant. The Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription , a Greek and Aramaic inscription by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka at Kandahar , Afghanistan , 3rd century BC The earliest inscriptions in the Aramaic language use the Phoenician alphabet . [ 4 ] Over time, the alphabet develo

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aramaic_alphabet

Brian Gogarty

 

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Who were the Assyrians?

With their modern army and reputation for unparalleled ferocity, the Assyrians were one of the most feared peoples of ancient times. They built an empire that ruled over Mesopotamia and even beyond for centuries.

Little known origins

The Assyrians are best known for establishing their vast empire between the 10th and 7th centuries BC. On the other hand, we are less familiar with earlier periods.

We know that the Assyrians already existed around 2000 BC. They only reigned over a small city called "Assur" in current Iraq.

At the time, they were not at all a great geopolitical power. Besides, they didn't even have a strong army yet. It was a people turned more towards trade, much more than towards war.

Assur, a small trading town.

But from 1800 BC, the Assyrians fell under the successive yoke of foreign invaders : the kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia then that of Babylon and finally that of Mitanni.

Rise

Around 1300, the kingdom of Mitanni collapsed against its rival, the Hittite Empire. And yes, there were a lot of countries in Mesopotamia, it's not always easy to navigate.

The Assyrians therefore took advantage of the fall of the kingdom of Mitanni to emancipate themselves and even to try to become a great power. But now they were no longer a merchant and peaceful people, they were on the contrary driven by an imperialist and expansionist will.

The conquest could begin

They founded their own kingdom (Assyria) with a new, deeply militaristic society. An ambitious policy of foreign conquests was launched. They began by taking the Mitanni from the Hittites.

The Assyrian Empire

But the real turning point was made in 911 with the reign of the new king Adad-Nirari II who launched a new policy of the most important conquests.

The sprawling Assyrian territory then spread in all directions. It is estimated that it is from this time that we can really speak of "Assyrian Empire".

The new king Ashurnasirpal II in 883 BC continued the expansionist policy of his predecessor by invading Mount Lebanon and the shores of the Mediterranean. In 721 BC, King Sargon II also subjugated the kingdom of Judea (present-day Israel).

Over the centuries, the Assyrians have extended their empire. At their peak, they had conquered all of Mesopotamia, including the wealthy city of Babylon and even Egypt.

A relentless war machine

The key to the success of the Assyrians was their formidable and very modern army for the time, which is what allowed them to conquer so many territories.

Around 1000 BC, the Iron Age began. This mineral has become the most used material for making weapons and tools. But the Assyrians exploited it more than anyone. The use of iron favored them because their enemies still too often depended on bronze.

During the reign of King Tiglath-Pileser III (745-727), the Assyrian army became permanent. And any adult man could be mobilized for military service. Thanks to this conscription, the Assyrian kings could line up 100,000 men on the battlefield.

The army was structured. The soldiers were divided into groups of 10, a company was formed of 20 groups.

Assyrian tactics combined the thrust of heavy phalanxes of infantry supported by archers and slingshots with assaults led by chariots. The cavalry, made up of elite soldiers from the nobility, came in support.

The Assyrians practiced all-out war, the goal was to annihilate the enemy by all means. So it was better not to lose against them.

The siege of Lachish

The Assyrians were expert in art of leading sieges. To bring down the ramparts, they used huge iron-headed rams and movable wooden towers to dump troops on the walled towns.

In The Lord of the Rings, the army of Mordor besieges the city of Minas Tirith using the same tactics as the Assyrian army.

They could also destroy the foundations by digging mines at the base of the walls or construct a ramp with an uphill slope to allow troops to access the top of the ramparts.

In 701, Hezekiah, the king of Judea, rose up against the Assyrian yoke. In retaliation, the Assyrian king Sennacherib decided to raze the city of Lachish, the capital of Judea, in order to dissuade other peoples from revolting as well. It was then a question of making an example.

Thanks to their siege tactics, Sennacherib's troops succeeded in seizing the city. Much of the population was massacred, and the survivors were deported and enslaved. The city was destroyed.

Nineveh

During his reign, Sennacherib established the new capital of the Empire at Nineveh, on the banks of the Tigris, opposite present-day Mosul. The city was endowed with aqueducts, canals, grandiose temples, not to mention sumptuous royal palaces.

The walls of the palaces were adorned with violent representations. Scenes of hunting, war, and even the massacres of prisoners were carved on the walls. These ornaments were intended to intimidate foreigners coming to the king's court : they were therefore propaganda images of the time.

The Assyrians were not only warriors, they were also remarkable artists. These low relief sculptures (above) are typical of their art.

Fall

It was the Assyrians themselves who brought about the downfall of their empire. In 681, Sennacherib died, presumably murdered by his son, Assarhaddon, for power. Political murders of this kind have multiplied since this time. These power struggles plagued the Empire.

In addition, around the same time, the Empire was hit by a severe drought that had ravaged crops for decades. His subjects therefore took the opportunity to revolt against the severely weakened Empire.

Nabopolassar, the governor of Babylon, rose up against the Assyrian yoke by allying with the Medes, a people from Iran who were beginning to build their own empire. In 612 Nineveh fell to the coalition armies of the Babylonians and Medes, which led to the fall of the Assyrian Empire.

Assistant

The Assyrians are best known for several key contributions and characteristics:

1. Military Power: The Assyrian Empire, which flourished from the 10th century BCE to the 7th century BCE, was renowned for its powerful and highly organized military. They utilized advanced warfare techniques, including siege warfare and psychological tactics.
2. Architecture and Art: The Assyrians are famous for their monumental architecture, including palaces and temples, often adorned with intricate bas-reliefs depicting hunting scenes, battles, and religious rituals. The city of Nineveh, with its impressive walls and the famous Ishtar Gate, is a notable example.
3. Cuneiform Writing: The Assyrians used cuneiform script, one of the earliest systems of writing, which was developed by the Sumerians. They recorded administrative, literary, and scientific texts on clay tablets.
4. Administration and Governance: The Assyrian Empire is known for its sophisticated administrative system, which included a network of roads, provinces, and governors that facilitated trade and communication across the vast empire.
5. Libraries and Scholarship: The Assyrians established some of the earliest libraries, most famously the Library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh, which housed a vast collection of texts in various fields, including literature, science, and religion.
6. Cultural Influence: The Assyrians contributed significantly to the cultural and intellectual life of the ancient Near East, influencing subsequent civilizations, including the Babylonians and Persians.
7. Religious Practices: They practiced a polytheistic religion, with a pantheon of gods and goddesses, and built grand temples to honor them.

These elements combined to make the Assyrians a significant civilization in ancient history, with a lasting legacy that continues to be studied and appreciated today.

Jack Cheng

The Assyrians are best known for attacking the Judean people in the first millennium BCE. This is documented in the Old Testament of the Bible (verses cited here). If the Bible is the most popular book in the world, this must be what the Assyrians are known for.

Lord Byron, taking the verse from Kings 2, wrote a poem, The Destruction of Sennacherib, that is another pretty famous statement about Assyrians. The first verse of the poem goes:

The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,

And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;

And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,

When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.

That passage from Kings 2 describes the Assyrians attacking Lachish. What’s really cool is that when the Assyrian king Sennacherib’s palace was uncovered in the 19th century, they found this:

This is a depiction of a siege with the city labeled as Lachish. The fact that this relief corroborated historical accounts in the Bible had a tremendous impact and arguably kickstarted interest in archaeology in the region.

https://www.quora.com/