I ended on a cliffhanger with a promise to continue today, so here we go!
(Here's yesterday's thread: )
Ancient historians sometimes call this period “the Crisis of the Eighth Century.”
He and his son Sargon II carried out far-reaching reforms to blunt the power of the aristocrats.
Guess who doesn’t get to be a limmu? Actually powerful people, like his brother Sin-ahu-uṣur.
It’s easier to keep everyone in line and prevent a repeat of the Crisis of the Eighth Century when they’re fighting each other.
It drops from 7 to 5.
People are less open in communicating information they hear from other people.
Anonymous denunciations were common. Here’s one from the city of Guzana (Source: oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/P313461/h…)
Here are some excerpts. Read the whole thing here oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/Q009186/h…
“The eleventh year: In Assyria the king executed many of his leading officials.”
This creates even more opportunities to do away with someone you don’t like.
(You can read the letter here: oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/P452649/h…)
But when civil war split the empire in 652, Nabû-bel-šumate joined the rebels and fought a four year guerrilla war against Assyria.
And this piranha tank was created by the system set up by Tiglath-Pileser III and Sargon II in a bid to re-assert royal power in the late 8th century.