Around 401 BCE, the Greek writer Xenophon fought a war in Persia. After a defeat, he & his men fled back to Greece across Mesopotamia.
As they were chased across the Tigris River, they came across an incredible sight: the walls of an enormous ruined city, crumbling into the sand
As they were chased across the Tigris River, they came across an incredible sight: the walls of an enormous ruined city, crumbling into the sand
The ruins were gigantic, sprawling across a vast area & surrounded by mighty walls more magnificent than anything Xenophon had seen back home.
But no one who lived there knew who had built these enormous walls.
But no one who lived there knew who had built these enormous walls.
The ruin was “a great stronghold, deserted… The foundation of its wall was made of polished stone full of shells, and was 50ft in breadth and 50 in height. Upon this foundation was built a wall of brick, 50ft in breadth and 100 in height.” (source: perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?do…)
Although Xenophon didn’t know it, this was the ruin of Nineveh, the capital of a land that had once ruled the known world for 1000 years: the Assyrian Empire.
When Xenophon marched past it, Nineveh had already been in ruins for 200 years.
But the legacy of Assyria had been so completely eradicated that even its name had been forgotten, its streets & districts devastated, its once-opulent palaces & gardens burned & buried in the sand.
But the legacy of Assyria had been so completely eradicated that even its name had been forgotten, its streets & districts devastated, its once-opulent palaces & gardens burned & buried in the sand.
Empires have fallen throughout history. But the Assyrian Empire is unusual because it didn't suffer a slow decline. It fell all at once, like a bubble bursting.
Between its golden age & the moment of its complete destruction, barely 15 years had passed.
Between its golden age & the moment of its complete destruction, barely 15 years had passed.
With its capital at Nineveh (now in Mosul, modern-day Iraq), the Assyrian Empire once covered a vast area that stretched from Egypt to the Mediterranean coast & into Syria, as well as stretching all the way to the Persian mountains.
Over the nearly 2000 years of its existence, it conquered half of the known world using advanced military tactics, new technologies, & a well-organised bureaucracy.
The Assyrians built a large number of heavily fortified cities, & operated an extensive trade network.
The Assyrians built a large number of heavily fortified cities, & operated an extensive trade network.
Assyria was a belligerent and aggressive neighbour, widely reviled by the lands & peoples that bordered it.
Its brutal reputation led the Hebrew prophet Nahum to call Nineveh “the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without victims!” (biblegateway.com/passage/?searc…)
Its brutal reputation led the Hebrew prophet Nahum to call Nineveh “the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without victims!” (biblegateway.com/passage/?searc…)
But brutal as they often were, the Assyrians were also responsible for a great flourishing of art & technological advancement.
They made great advancements in mathematics, astrology & engineering, & ran one of the most effective & literate societies history had thus far seen.
They made great advancements in mathematics, astrology & engineering, & ran one of the most effective & literate societies history had thus far seen.
The last great King of Assyria was Ashurbanipal. He ruled from 668-627 BCE, & oversaw the expansion of the Empire to its greatest extent, conquering Egypt, Persia & Babylon.
He is also known as a great lover of books, & for his capacious library in his palace at Nineveh.
He is also known as a great lover of books, & for his capacious library in his palace at Nineveh.
While a scholarly king, Ashurbanipal was also remarkably ruthless, even by the standards of an Iron-Age society.
He ruled with an iron fist, & rained down incredible devastation on the enemies of Assyria, such as the rival Elamite Empire in Persia.
He ruled with an iron fist, & rained down incredible devastation on the enemies of Assyria, such as the rival Elamite Empire in Persia.
“For a distance of a month and 25 days' journey I devastated the provinces of Elam,” Ashurbanipal boasts in one inscription. “Salt and sihlu I scattered over them... The dust of Susa, Madaktu, Haltemash and the rest of the cities I gathered together and took to Assyria..."
"The noise of people, the tread of cattle and sheep, the glad shouts of rejoicing, I banished from its fields. Wild asses, gazelles and all kinds of beasts of the plain I caused to lie down among them, as if at home.”
When a war concluded with the capture of a city, it was common for the statues of the enemy gods to be brought back & placed in a submissive position in temples back home.
This C8th BCE carving shows Assyrian soldiers carrying the statues of enemy gods home.
This C8th BCE carving shows Assyrian soldiers carrying the statues of enemy gods home.
While Ashurbanipal’s brutality seems to have brought a period of relative peace in the latter years of his reign, the devastation he wrought undermined the system upon which Assyria was built.
Slowly but surely, the foundations of the Empire began to crumble.
Slowly but surely, the foundations of the Empire began to crumble.
The last years of Ashurbanipal’s reign are a mystery, & the causes of his death are unknown.
What we do know is that when Ashurbanipal died in 627 BCE, the entire Assyrian Empire began to fall apart.
What we do know is that when Ashurbanipal died in 627 BCE, the entire Assyrian Empire began to fall apart.
A number of civil wars over who would succeed Ashurbanipal fatally weakened the armies of Assyria.
Within 10 years of his death, all of the enemies who hated Assyria so much banded together into a coalition & marched into Assyrian lands.
Within 10 years of his death, all of the enemies who hated Assyria so much banded together into a coalition & marched into Assyrian lands.
Ironically, Ashurbanipal’s vicious destruction of Elam allowed other rival states to ascend.
Assyria had relied on putting down its enemies one by one. Now the Persians, Parthian & Medes were able to ally with Scythians, Cimmerians & Babylonians into an unbeatable force.
Assyria had relied on putting down its enemies one by one. Now the Persians, Parthian & Medes were able to ally with Scythians, Cimmerians & Babylonians into an unbeatable force.
Despite being weakened by civil war, the Assyrian Empire was still a formidable foe, & fought on bitterly for many years, even striking back with a number of hard-fought victories.
But for the Empire of Assyria, time had run out.
But for the Empire of Assyria, time had run out.
Nahum, the Hebrew poet & prophet who despised the Assyrian Empire, gloated in delight that “All your [Assyria’s] fortresses are like fig trees with their first ripe fruit; when they are shaken, the figs fall into the mouth of the eater.”
Nineveh was finally besieged & taken in 612 BCE. The invading forces were as unforgiving to the Assyrian people as the Assyrians had been to their enemies.
When modern archaeologists uncovered the ruins of Nineveh, they found unburied skeletons still lying in its streets.
When modern archaeologists uncovered the ruins of Nineveh, they found unburied skeletons still lying in its streets.
The last word on the destruction of Nineveh comes from that poet & prophesier, Nahum.
“King of Assyria... Your people are scattered on the mountains...
Your wound is fatal.
All who hear the news about you
clap their hands at your fall,
for who has not felt your endless cruelty?”
“King of Assyria... Your people are scattered on the mountains...
Your wound is fatal.
All who hear the news about you
clap their hands at your fall,
for who has not felt your endless cruelty?”
(Oh, and if you were wondering what happened to Xenophon, he got back to Greece in the end & lived well into old age!)
Thanks for listening! If you’re interested in learning more about King Ashurbanipal & his famous library, I did a thread on it here:
Thanks for listening! If you’re interested in learning more about King Ashurbanipal & his famous library, I did a thread on it here:
If you enjoyed this, I’ve also gathered more of my research into ancient Mesopotamian history & its ruins together into this thread-of-threads.
