Assyrian military power and death briefly. Weakening and decline of the Assyrian power

Early Assyria. 3000-727

Around 3000 THE ARISE OF ASSYRIA. The Assyrian people appeared on the plateaus in Northeastern Mesopotamia, along the upper reaches of the Tigris River. Plain Assyria, which has no natural boundaries, was constantly under threat of invasion by its neighbors, especially the Hittites, in the northwest and Sumero-Babylonia in the southeast.

Around 2000-1200 MILITARY DEVELOPMENT. Engaged in an endless struggle to maintain independence, the Assyrians became the most warlike people in the Middle East (around 1400). They initially relied on an irregular militia system, although constant campaigning gave these half-soldiers exceptional military skill. But due to the long absence of militias in the fields and workshops, the Assyrian economy was under serious strain. Having reached great size and considerable power, Assyria simultaneously fell into decline (1230-1116).

In the middle of the 13th century. BC e. The Assyrian armies even invaded the Hittite state - one of the strongest at that time, and regularly made campaigns - not so much for the sake of increasing territory, but for the sake of robbery - to the north, into the lands of the Nairi tribes; to the south, passing more than once through the streets of Babylon; to the west - to the flourishing cities of Syria and Phenicia.

1116-1093 REIGN OF TIGLAT-PALASSER I. Assyria became the leading power in the Middle East, a position it held almost continuously for five centuries. Tiglath-pileser expanded Assyrian power into the heart of Anatolia and - through Northern Syria - to the Mediterranean Sea.
In honor of his triumph after the conquest of Phenicia, Tiglath-pileser I made a demonstrative exit on Phoenician warships into the Mediterranean Sea, showing the still formidable rival Egypt who really was a great power.

Around 1050 PERIOD OF REDUCTION. Another wave of migration poured through Mesopotamia - this time the Aramaic nomads. Eventually the Assyrians repulsed or absorbed these migrating nomadic tribes and regained control of all the major roads of the Middle East.

883-824 REIGNS OF ASSHURNASIRPAL II AND SALMAHACAPA III. They marched with fire and sword through Mesopotamia into the Kurdish mountains and into Syria. There was then a short break in Assyrian expansion as the weak rulers were unable to retain the fruits of their predecessors' northern conquests. The Aramaic tribes inhabiting Mesopotamia also became restless and uncontrollable.

745-727 REIGN OF TIGLAT-PALASSER III. With a firm hand he restored internal order throughout Mesopotamia, and then launched a series of systematic military expeditions, restoring the borders of Assyria in the Armenian highlands north of Lake Van and Mount Ararat, and then conquering Syria, Palestine and the lands lying east of the Jordan. In later years he carried out repeated campaigns along these borders he had established, maintaining order by instilling fear and effectively asserting Assyrian dominance. His last important operation was the capture of Babylon.

DURING the reign of Tiglath-pileser III, the Assyrian army, which previously consisted of warriors who had land plots, was reorganized. From then on, the army began to be recruited mainly from impoverished farmers, arming them at the expense of the state. This is how a permanent army arose, called the “royal detachment,” which included prisoners. In addition, there was a special detachment of warriors guarding the king. The number of standing troops increased so much that Tiglath-pileser carried out some campaigns without resorting to tribal militias.

Assyria. 722-612 BC

722-705 REIGN OF SARGON II. He was faced with a powerful alliance of the rebellious northern provinces and neighboring tribes and nationalities of Armenia, the Caucasus and Media. In a series of campaigns, he reconquered the rebel provinces and extended his rule further north, as well as into central and southern Anatolia. He then returned to Mesopotamia and brutally suppressed another uprising in Babylon. Sargon was crowned king of Babylonia.

705-681 REIGN OF SENNACHERIB. He faced similar uprisings in Syria, Babylon and Palestine (in the latter he suffered his famous defeat at Jerusalem in 701, or perhaps during a later campaign in 684; see 2 Samuel, ch. XVIII and XIX. This defeat was perhaps a consequence of the epidemic that struck his army). But ultimately he recaptured the lost provinces, and his military successes ended with another defeat of Babylon in 689.

681-668 REIGN OF ASARHADDON. He was able to maintain better internal order than his predecessors. After repelling the attacks of the Cimmerians, an Indo-European people who lived in southern Russia and the Caucasus, Esarhaddon conquered Egypt (671). Three years later he died while suppressing an uprising in this country.

688-625 REIGN OF ASSHURBANAPAL (SON OF ASARHADDON). He suppressed Egyptian revolts (in 668 and 661) and launched several successful campaigns along the northern borders. Babylon rebelled again - in 698 - under the leadership of his half-brother Shamashumukin. After a difficult four-year struggle, Ashurbanipal suppressed the uprising with typical Assyrian barbarism. Meanwhile, Egypt rebelled again and expelled the Assyrian garisons, while the Arabs and Elamites took advantage of the Assyrian difficulties to attack from the north, west and east. Ashurbanipal defeated the Arabs, then turned east to crush and virtually exterminate the Elamites. Despite his successes, the desperate struggle exhausted the country, almost destroying the resilient Assyrian peasantry - the main backbone of the army. Having reached the zenith of its power and splendor, Assyria was now forced to rely on mercenaries, mostly from the wild Scythian tribes that had replaced the Cimmerians along its northern borders. After Ashurbanipal's death, their hordes poured across the eastern borders, roaming the crumbling empire almost unhindered.

IN ADDITION, the ruling elite, in order to strengthen their power, gradually freed the ruling class from the “blood tax.” All this led to an increase in the proportion of mercenaries in the Assyrian army. The number of warriors recruited from the conquered tribes increased sharply, and they soon began to make up the majority of the Assyrian army. The combat effectiveness of such an army in the context of victorious wars was high. But when Assyria was weakened by internal uprisings of slaves and enslaved tribes and began to suffer defeats, the Assyrian army quickly began to lose its combat effectiveness.

645 DEFEAT OF ELAM.Ashurbanipal devastated and brutally plundered Elam, achieving the defeat of the age-old enemy of Assyria. But Assyria itself was already on the brink of destruction.

626 BABYLON REVOLUTION. The leader of the rebels, the satrap Nabupalasar, entered into an alliance with the Median king Cyaxares, who also rebelled against Assyria.

616-610 GG. THE FALL OF ASSYRIA. Median and Babylonian allies (their armies included many Scythians) invaded Assyria.

In 615 BC. e. FIRST ATTACKS. The Medes appeared at the walls of the capital of the state - Nineveh. In the same year, Nabopolassar besieged the ancient center of the country - Ashur.

In 614 BC. e. THE CAPTURE OF ASSHUR. The Medes invaded Assyria again and also approached Ashur. Nabopolassar immediately moved his troops to join them. Ashur fell before the arrival of the Babylonians, and at its ruins the kings of Media and Babylon entered into an alliance, sealed by a dynastic marriage.

612 FALL OF NINEVEH. Allied forces laid siege to Nineveh and took it just three months later. The city was destroyed and plundered, the Medes returned to their lands with a share of the spoils, and the Babylonians continued their conquest of the Assyrian inheritance.

610 BC DEFEAT OF THE LAST ASSYRIAN TROOPS. The remnants of the Assyrian army, reinforced by Egyptian reinforcements, were defeated and driven back beyond the Euphrates. Five years later, the last Assyrian troops were defeated. This is how the first “world” power in the history of mankind ended its existence.

In the last years of the reign of Ashurbanipal, the collapse of the Assyrian state began. its individual centers began to compete with each other. B 629 BC e. Ashur-banapal died, and Sinshar-ishkun became king.

Three years later, a rebellion broke out in Babylonia against Assyrian rule. It was headed by the Chaldean leader Nabopolassar. In his later inscriptions, he emphasized that he had previously been “a little man, unknown to the people.” At first, Nabopolassar was able to establish his power only in the north of Babylonia.

Having restored the traditional alliance of the Chaldean tribes with Elam, Nabopolassar besieged Nippur. However, pro-Assyrian sentiments were strong in the city, and it was not possible to take it. In October 626 BC. e. The Assyrians defeated the army of Nabopolassar and broke the siege of Nippur. But by this time, Babylon had gone over to the side of Nabopolassar, and already on November 25, the latter solemnly reigned in it, founding a new, Chaldean (or neo-Babylonian) dynasty. However, a long and fierce war with the Assyrians still lay ahead.

Only ten years later did the Babylonians manage to capture Uruk, and the next year Nippur also fell, which, at the cost of great hardships and suffering, remained faithful to the Assyrian king for so long. Now the entire territory of Babylonia was cleared of Assyrians. In the same year, Nabopolassar's army besieged Ashur, the capital of Assyria. However, the siege was unsuccessful and the Babylonians retreated, suffering heavy losses. But soon Assyria suffered a crushing blow from the east. B 614 BC e. The Medes surrounded the largest Assyrian city, Nineveh. When they failed to take it, they besieged and captured Ashur and massacred its inhabitants. Nabopolassar, true to the traditional policy of his Chaldean ancestors, came with an army when the battle was already over and Ashur was reduced to ruins. The Medes and Babylonians entered into an alliance between themselves, cementing it with a dynastic marriage between Nauvoo Chodonezor, the son of Nabopalas pa, and Amytis, the daughter of the Median king Cyaxares.

Although the fall of Ashur weakened the position of the Assyrian power, while the victors were busy dividing the spoils, the Assyrians, under the leadership of their king Sin-sharishkun, resumed military operations in the Euphrates Valley. But in the meantime, the Medes and Babylonians jointly besieged Nineveh, and three months later, in August 612 BC. e., the city fell. After this, brutal reprisals followed: Nineveh was plundered and destroyed, its inhabitants slaughtered.

Part of the Assyrian army managed to make its way to the city of Harran in the north of Upper Mesopotamia and there, under the leadership of its new king Ashur-uballit II, continued the war. However, in 610 BC. e. The Assyrians were forced to abandon the Babylonians stationed there. However, Nabopolassar soon arrived with the main forces and inflicted a final defeat on the Assyrians.

As a result of the collapse of the Assyrian power, the Medes captured the indigenous territory of this country and Harran. The Babylonians gained a foothold in Mesopotamia and were preparing to establish their control over Syria and Palestine. But the Egyptian pharaoh also laid claim to dominance in these countries. Thus, throughout the Middle East

civilization

Mesopotamia

Man with a kid.

From the palace of Sargon II in Dur-Sharruknn. Dyed plaster. End of the VIP century. BC e.

nut and Harran, mainly under the blows of the Median army. A Babylonian garrison was left in the city. But the Egyptian pharaoh Hexo II, fearing the excessive strengthening of Babylonia, a year later sent strong reinforcements to help the Assyrians. Ashur-uballit II again managed to capture Harran, leaving only three powerful states: Media, Babylonia and Egypt. In addition, there were two smaller but independent kingdoms in Asia Minor: Lydia and Cilicia.

In the spring of 607 BC. e. Nabopala- cap transferred command of the army to his son Nebuchadnezzar, coc-

A kneeling figure from the palace in Kalhu. 9th century

concentrating in his own hands the management of the internal affairs of the state. The heir to the throne was faced with the task of capturing Syria and Palestine. But first it was necessary to capture the city of Karchemish on the Euphrates, where there was a strong Egyptian garrison, which included Greek mercenaries. In the spring of 605 BC. e. The Babylonian army crossed the Euphrates and attacked Karkemish simultaneously from the south and north. A fierce battle began outside the city walls, as a result of which

The swarm of Egyptian garrison was destroyed. After this, Syria and Palestine submitted to the Babylonians. Somewhat later, the Phoenician cities were also conquered.

While in conquered Syria, Nebuchadnezzar in August 605 BC. e. received news of his father's death in Babylon. He hurriedly went there and on September 7 was officially recognized as king. At the beginning of 598 BC. e. he made a trip to Northern Arabia, trying to establish his control over the caravan routes there. By this time, King Jehoiakim of Judah, prompted by Hexo's persuasion, had fallen away

from Babylonia. Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem and on March 16, 597 BC. e. took him. More than 3 thousand Jews were taken captive to Babylonia, and Nebuchadnezzar installed Zedekiah as king in Judea.

In December 595 - January 594 BC. e. unrest began in Babylonia, probably coming from the army. The leaders of the rebellion were executed and order was restored in the country.

Soon, the new Egyptian pharaoh Apries decided to try to establish his power in Phenicia and captured the cities of Gaza, Tire and Sidon, and also persuaded King Zedekiah to revolt against the Babylonians. Nebuchadnezzar, with decisive actions, pushed the Egyptian army back to the previous border and in 587 BC. e. After an 18-month siege, he captured Jerusalem. Now the kingdom of Judah was liquidated and annexed to the Neo-Babylonian power as an ordinary province, thousands of residents of Jerusalem (all the Jerusalem nobility and part of the artisans), led by Zedekiah, were taken into captivity.

Under Nebuchadnezzar II, Babylonia became a prosperous country. This was the time of its revival, economic and cultural upsurge. Babylon became a center of international trade. Much attention was paid to the irrigation system. In particular, a large basin was built near the city of Sippar, from where many canals originated, with the help of which the distribution of water during drought and flood was regulated. Old churches were restored and new ones were built. A new royal palace was built in Babylon, the construction of the seven-story ziggurat of Etemenanki, called the Tower of Babel in the Bible, was completed, and the famous hanging gardens were laid out. In addition, powerful fortifications were erected around Babylon to protect the capital from possible enemy attacks.

B 562 BC e. Nebuchadnezzar II died, and after this the Babylonian nobility and priesthood began

actively intervene in the policies pursued by his successors and eliminate kings they dislike. Over the next twelve years, three kings replaced the throne. B 556 BC e. the throne went to Nabonidus, who was an Aramean, unlike the Neo-Babylonian kings of Chaldean origin who preceded him.

Nabonidus began to carry out religious reform, putting in first place the cult of the moon god Sin to the detriment of the cult of the supreme Babylonian god Marduk. Thus, he apparently sought to create a powerful power, uniting around himself numerous Aramaic tribes, among whom the cult of Sin was very popular. However, religious reform brought Nabonidus into conflict with the priesthood of the ancient temples in Babylon, Borsippa, and Uruk.

B 553 BC e. A war began between Media and Persia. Taking advantage of the fact that the Median king Astyages recalled his garrison from Harran, in the same year Nabonidus captured this city and ordered the restoration of what had been destroyed there during the war with the Assyrians in 609 BC. e. temple of the god Sin. Nabonidus also conquered the Tema region in northern central Arabia and established control over the caravan routes through the desert through the Tema oasis to Egypt. This path was of great importance for Babylonia, since by the middle of the 5th century. BC e. The Euphrates changed its course, and therefore maritime trade across the Persian Gulf from the harbors in the city of Ur became impossible. Nabonidus moved his residence to Teima, entrusting the rule in Babylon to his son Bel-shar-utsur.

While Nabonidus was busy with an active foreign policy in the west, a powerful and determined enemy appeared on the eastern borders of Babylon. The Persian king Cyrus II, who had already conquered Media, Lydia and many other countries up to the Indian borders and had at his disposal a huge and well-armed army, was preparing for a campaign against Babylonia. Nabonidus returned to Babylon and began organizing the defense of his country. However, the situation in Babylonia had already become hopeless. Since Nabonidus sought to break the power and influence of the priests of the god Marduk and neglected the religious holidays associated with his cult,

active priestly circles, dissatisfied with their king, were ready to help any of his opponents. The Babylonian army, exhausted in many years of wars in the Arabian desert, was unable to resist the onslaught of the many times superior forces of the Persian army. In October 539 BC. e. Babylonia was captured by the Persians and lost its independence forever.

civilization

Mesopotamia

The Persian conquest and the loss of villization. For the Babylonians themselves, Babylonia’s independence did not mean the arrival of the Persians, perhaps it seemed that the end of the Mesopotamian civilization was still nearing - at first, just another change

Death of the Assyrian Empire

3. Weakening and death of the Assyrian power

Aggravation of the internal political situation

Around 660, the Assyrian state was strong and powerful. Even the fact that some areas previously owned by Tiglath-pileser and Sargon were lost by her could not convince her otherwise, because she made a major acquisition - Egypt.

However, it was from this moment that events unfolded that then pushed the Assyrian state to destruction.

The Assyrian state was inhabited by many people who were one way or another interested in the destruction of this state. The peoples of Western Asia considered their main enemies to be the Assyrian nobility (which included administration officials and the high priesthood), the military and city merchants - a small group of people who made countless fortunes by the scale of that time and exploited the rest of the population of the Middle East in their own interests.

Thus, the entire East was interested in the death of Assyria, calling Assyria a “den of lions,” wanting the fall of Nineveh, the “city of blood.”

Representatives of outlying, not yet conquered tribes, captives resettled to new lands, exploited community members, and representatives of slave-owning circles located outside Assyria proper - all supported this idea.

Within the privileged elite of slave owners at the same time, as mentioned above, between the military and service nobility on the one hand, and the slave-owning nobility of temples and cities, in particular Babylonian, on the other hand, the internal struggle did not stop.

Farmers, artisans and slaves showed their dissatisfaction by fleeing from their owners and by killing individual slave owners. Thus, the broad masses of the people did not yet represent a real independent political force, ready to wage a class struggle for their interests. But still, these masses were that hidden force and already quite enormous in size, which in the event of a military defeat or weakening of state power could quickly come into motion.

Under such conditions, the discussion will be not so much about why the Assyrian power perished, but about what contributed to the fact that its existence dragged on for such a relatively long period.

As for the reason for this, it is that the opponents of the Assyrian power did not have strong unity, and also lacked the necessary military forces.

The constant military successes of Assyria contributed to the fact that the ruling class began to underestimate the external danger, while disagreements between its individual factions began to clearly manifest themselves.

Things were not going well in the Assyrian army. No information has reached us that would clearly indicate that Assyria resorted to mercenary troops (the only exception is the mention of the commander of the Cimmerian regiment under Esarhaddon), but this army consisted of a large number of foreign elements recruited from among various conquered peoples. They were attracted by the opportunity to make money during military campaigns, especially when success accompanied the Assyrian army, and they became an obedient tool of the Assyrian slave owners.

One way or another, the attitude of the population towards the army was hostile, which gradually undermined its combat effectiveness.

But on the other hand, the opponents of Assyria accumulated considerable combat experience during the long struggle. The perfection of military organization and weapons, high siege technology could not for a long time be the monopoly of the Assyrians alone. Assyrian tactics and military technology were adopted by the Babylonians, Urartians, Medes, and Elamites.

It was also of no small importance that cavalry infantry detachments of the Cimmerians and Scythians, who had special tactics, appeared in Western Asia. Apparently, local residents from the outskirts of the Assyrian possessions adjoined the Cimmerians and Scythians.

Thus, in the current conditions, to destroy Assyria it was only necessary to create a sufficiently powerful military alliance of its opponents. At one time, Mardukapaliddin tried to create such an association. Since the 50s VII b. BC e. Various coalitions begin to take shape again against the Assyrian power. Now the only question was which of these coalitions would be strong enough to overthrow the Assyrian yoke.

We know very little about the reign of Ashurbanipal's successor, Ashuretelilani. Throne of Babylonia in 626 BC. e. captured Nabopolassar (Nabuapalusur), who was a Chaldean leader. Until that time, this place was occupied by the Assyrian protege Kandalanu. Nabopolassar began his career as a governor in the Assyrian service. Ashuratellani made a very faltering attempt to win over the Chaldeans. By this time, the process of merging the Chaldean and Babylonian nobility had gone too far, therefore, despite the fact that this had previously been possible, now all attempts to pit the Chaldean and Babylonian nobility against each other were unsuccessful. Babylonia remained in the hands of Nabopolassar. Apparently, as a result In the palace coup that soon took place in the Assyrian state, Ashuratellani was overthrown from the throne. About the events before 616 BC. e. we can only guess, since they are unknown to us, and starting from this year, another son of Ashurbanipal - Sarak (Sinsharrishkun) was on the Assyrian throne. The Assyrian state, obviously, by this time was already powerless to keep most of the regions remote from it under administrative control and not only them, but also the Syrian regions, and in this regard, she was forced to enter into an alliance with Egypt and even with the kingdom of Mana near Lake Urmia, which the Assyrians had not previously considered an equal power. There is an assumption that in many Assyrian territories at that time the Scythians felt feeling pretty confident. However, the central regions of the state were held by the troops of Sarak. Endless and stubborn wars exhausted the strength of the Assyrian state. The successors of Ashurbanipal had to think about saving the country. The situation of Assyria and its allies deteriorated sharply after a powerful coalition was formed against it, consisting of Babylonia (led by Nabopolassar) and Media (led by Cyaxares). It should be noted that Media managed to become the main and most dangerous enemy, which in the 7th century. BC e. united the fragmented tribes of Iran and, using the death of Elam, became the most powerful power east of Mesopotamia. True, Media suffered some damage from the invasion of the Scythians, but, as Herodotus reports, the Medes managed to humble the warlike nomads and even attract their troops, famous for their cavalry -shooting military tactics, on our side. It should be said that we were never able to find out whether this alliance was concluded from the very beginning or whether it was formed during the war. Around 615 BC e. A decisive offensive against Assyria began on both sides. Hostilities between the Assyrians and Babylonians during 616-615. BC e. went with varying degrees of success. In November 615 BC. e. The Medes broke through the passes of the Zagra mountains and penetrated into Arrapkha, adjacent to the indigenous region of Assyria. They succeeded in this due to the fact that at that time the main forces of the Assyrians were fighting against Babylonia. The Kingdom of Mana, obviously, by this time was already under the rule of the Medes, and the Medes, without much effort, in July 614 penetrated into Assyria proper. The Assyrians could not withstand such an onslaught and began to retreat in panic. The Medes, constantly pursuing them, reached Ashur. The city was taken by storm and then plundered. Nabopolassar went with his army to help the Medes, but was late for the assault, apparently deliberately, not wanting his name to be mentioned in the desecration of Ashur shrines. An alliance was concluded (or renewed) between Nabopolassar and Cyaxares on the ruins of Ashur. Cyaxares, in order to strengthen this relationship, perhaps at the same time married his daughter (or granddaughter) to Nebuchadnezzar, who was the heir of the elderly king Nabopolassar. Sorry but this is the shortest