1.
Kurkh Monoliths
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The Kurkh Monoliths are two Assyrian stelae that contain a description of the reigns of Ashurnasirpal II and his son Shalmaneser III. Both stelae were donated by Taylor to the British Museum in 1863, the Shalmaneser III monolith contains a description of the Battle of Qarqar at the end. It is also one of four known contemporary inscriptions containing the name of Israel, the others being the Merneptah Stele, the Tel Dan Stele, and this description is also the oldest document that mentions the Arabs. According to the inscription Ahab committed a force of 2,000 chariots and 10,000 foot soldiers to the Assyrian war coalition. The location of the discovery at the town called Kurkh was described as. about 14 miles from Diyarbakir. situated at the end of an elevated platform. On the right bank of the Tigris, and close to the angle formed by the junction of the Giuk Su with the former, then in the Ottoman Eyalet of Kurdistan in Al-Jazira. The location was known as Kerh or Kerh-i Dicle and is now known as Üçtepe, in the district of Bismil. Kurkh was initially identified by Henry Rawlinson as the ancient city of Tushhan and this identification was challenged by Karlheinz Kessler in 1980, who proposed ancient Tidu. Taylor described his find as follows, some little way below it, on the slope of the mound, and nearly entirely concealed by debris, I exhumed another perfect relic of the same description. The stela depicting Shalmaneser III is made of limestone with a round top and it is 221 centimeters tall,87 centimeters wide, and 23 centimeters deep. There is an inscription written across the face and base. The inscription describes the campaigns of his reign down to 853 BC. The stela depicting Ashurnasirpal II is made of limestone with a round top and it is 193 centimeters tall,93 centimeters wide, and 27 centimeters deep. The inscription on the Shalmaneser III Stela deals with campaigns Shalmaneser made in western Mesopotamia and Syria, fighting extensively with the countries of Bit Adini and Carchemish. At the end of the Monolith comes the account of the Battle of Qarqar and this alliance, comprising eleven kings, was led by Irhuleni of Hamath and Hadadezer of Damascus, describing also a large force led by King Ahab of Israel. The English translation of the end of the Shalmaneser III monolith is as follows, Year 6610. In the year of Dâian-Assur, in the month of Airu, the day, I departed from Nineveh, crossed the Tigris, and drew near to the cities of Giammu. At the fearfulness of my sovereignty, the terror of my frightful weapons, they became afraid, into Kitlala and Til-sha-mâr-ahi, I entered
2.
Tell Qarqur
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Tell Qarqur is a major archaeological site located in the Orontes River Valley of western Syria. Situated in an alluvial plain known as the Ghab valley. Tell Qarqur possesses a 10, 000-year history of continuous occupation. However, the settlement reached its greatest extent during the Early Bronze Age, the site is probably best known for its probable association with the ancient town of Qarqar, the location of a major battle that occurred in 853 BC. The Levantine alliance included Biblical figures such as King Hadadezer of Damascus, the tell has two mounds, a smaller one to the north and a larger one to the south. The high mound extends to 30 metres above the plain, Tell Qarqur was first subjected to scientific excavation in 1983 and 1984 by an expedition of the American Schools of Oriental Research and Brigham Young University, led John M. Lundquist of BYU. From 1993 to 1999 the site was excavated by an ASOR-sponsored expedition under the direction of Dr. Rudolph Dornemann, finds included several phases of stone-built fortification walls, numerous private houses, and a temple complex dating to the later third millennium BC. After a pause, excavations were resumed in 2005 when the University of Arkansas became a cosponsor of the project, work was conducted for three seasons, in 2005,2007 and 2008. Archeological team found out that Tell Qarqur not only survived 4.2 kiloyear event, a severe aridification event that brought collapse to nearby civilisations, several important artifacts from the site are currently on display at the Hama Museum in Hama, Syria. Cities of the ancient Near East Casana, Jesse, Herrmann, Jason T. Fogel, deep subsurface geophysical prospection at Tell Qarqur, Syria
3.
Syria
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Syrias capital and largest city is Damascus. Religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, Sunni Arabs make up the largest religious group in Syria. Its capital Damascus and largest city Aleppo are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, in the Islamic era, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The post-independence period was tumultuous, and a number of military coups. In 1958, Syria entered a union with Egypt called the United Arab Republic. Syria was under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011, effectively suspending most constitutional protections for citizens, Bashar al-Assad has been president since 2000 and was preceded by his father Hafez al-Assad, who was in office from 1970 to 2000. Mainstream modern academic opinion strongly favours the argument that the Greek word is related to the cognate Ἀσσυρία, Assyria, in the past, others believed that it was derived from Siryon, the name that the Sidonians gave to Mount Hermon. However, the discovery of the inscription in 2000 seems to support the theory that the term Syria derives from Assyria. The area designated by the word has changed over time, since approximately 10,000 BC, Syria was one of centers of Neolithic culture where agriculture and cattle breeding appeared for the first time in the world. The following Neolithic period is represented by houses of Mureybet culture. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, gyps, finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations. Cities of Hamoukar and Emar played an important role during the late Neolithic, archaeologists have demonstrated that civilization in Syria was one of the most ancient on earth, perhaps preceded by only those of Mesopotamia. The earliest recorded indigenous civilisation in the region was the Kingdom of Ebla near present-day Idlib, gifts from Pharaohs, found during excavations, confirm Eblas contact with Egypt. One of the earliest written texts from Syria is an agreement between Vizier Ibrium of Ebla and an ambiguous kingdom called Abarsal c.2300 BC. The Northwest Semitic language of the Amorites is the earliest attested of the Canaanite languages, Mari reemerged during this period, and saw renewed prosperity until conquered by Hammurabi of Babylon. Ugarit also arose during this time, circa 1800 BC, close to modern Latakia, Ugaritic was a Semitic language loosely related to the Canaanite languages, and developed the Ugaritic alphabet. The Ugarites kingdom survived until its destruction at the hands of the marauding Indo-European Sea Peoples in the 12th century BC, Yamhad was described in the tablets of Mari as the mightiest state in the near east and as having more vassals than Hammurabi of Babylon. Yamhad imposed its authority over Alalakh, Qatna, the Hurrians states, the army of Yamhad campaigned as far away as Dēr on the border of Elam
4.
Neo-Assyrian Empire
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The Neo-Assyrian Empire was an Iron Age Mesopotamian empire, in existence between 911 and 612 BC. The Assyrians perfected early techniques of imperial rule, many of which became standard in later empires, the Neo-Assyrian Empire succeeded the Old Assyrian Empire, and the Middle Assyrian Empire of the Late Bronze Age. During this period, Aramaic was also made a language of the empire. Upon the death of Ashurbanipal in 627 BC, the empire began to due to a brutal. In 616 BC, Cyaxares king of the Medes and Persians made alliances with Nabopolassar ruler of the Babylonians and Chaldeans, Assyria was originally an Akkadian kingdom which evolved in the 25th to 24th centuries BC. The urbanised Akkadian speaking nation of Assyria emerged in the mid 21st century BC, during the 20th century BC, it established colonies in Asia Minor, and under the 20th century BC King Ilushuma, Assyria conducted many successful raids against the states of the south. Ashur-uballit extended Assyrian control over the farming lands of Nineveh. Tiglath-Pileser controlled the caravan routes that crossed the fertile crescent from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf. Much campaigning by Tiglath-Pileser and succeeding kings was directed against Aramaean pastoralist groups in Syria, by the end of the 2nd millennium BC, the Aramaean expansion had resulted in the loss of much Assyrian territory in Upper Mesopotamia. After the death of Tiglath-Pileser I in 1076 BC, Assyria was in decline for the next 150 years. The period from 1200 BC to 900 BC was an age for the entire Near East, North Africa, Caucasus, Mediterranean and Balkan regions, with great upheavals. Adad-nirari II and his successors campaigned on a basis for part of every year with an exceptionally well-organized army. He subjugated the areas previously under only nominal Assyrian vassalage, conquering and deporting Aramean and Hurrian populations in the north to far-off places. Adadinirari II then twice attacked and defeated Shamash-mudammiq of Babylonia, annexing an area of land north of the Diyala river. He made further gains over Babylonia under Nabu-shuma-ukin I later in his reign and he was succeeded by Tukulti-Ninurta II in 891 BC, who further consolidated Assyrias position and expanded northwards into Asia Minor and the Zagros Mountains during his short reign. The next king, Ashurnasirpal II, embarked on a vast program of expansion, during his rule, Assyria recovered much of the territory that it had lost around 1100 BC at the end of the Middle Assyrian period. Ashurnasirpal II also campaigned in the Zagros Mountains in modern Iran, repressing a revolt against Assyrian rule by the Lullubi, the Assyrians began boasting in their ruthlessness around this time. Ashurnasirpal II also moved his capital to the city of Kalhu, the palaces, temples and other buildings raised by him bear witness to a considerable development of wealth and art
5.
Hamath
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Hama is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located 213 km north of Damascus and 46 kilometres north of Homs and it is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 854,000, Hama is the fourth-largest city in Syria after Aleppo, Damascus, the city is renowned for its seventeen norias used for watering the gardens, which are locally claimed to date back to 1100 BC. Though historically used for purpose of irrigation, the norias exist today as an almost entirely aesthetic traditional show, in the last decades, the city of Hama has become known as a center of the anti-Baath opposition in Syria, most notably the Muslim Brotherhood. The city was again the site of conflict between the Syrian military and opposition forces as one of the main arenas of the Syrian civil war during the 2011 siege of Hama. The ancient settlement of Hamath was occupied from the early Neolithic to the Iron Age, remains from the Chalcolithic have been uncovered by Danish archaeologists on the mount on which the former citadel once stood. The excavation took place between 1931 and 1938 under the direction of Harald Ingholt, the stratigraphy is very generalized, which makes detailed comparison to other sites difficult. Level M contained both white ware and true pottery and it may be contemporary with Ras Shamra V. The overlying level L dates to the Chalcolithic Halaf culture, mitanni was subsequently overthrown by the Hittites, who controlled all of northern Syria following the famous Battle of Kadesh against Ancient Egypt under Ramesses II near Homs in 1285. In early 19th century, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt was the first to discover Hittite or Luwian hieroglyphic script at Hama, the site also shows Assyrian and Aramaean settlement. When the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III conquered the north of Aramea reached Hamath in 835 BC, irhuleni of Hamath and Hadadezer of Aram-Damascus led a coalition of Aramean cities against the encroaching Assyrian armies. According to Assyrian sources, they were confronted by 4000 chariots,2000 horsemen,62, the Assyrian victory seems to have been more of a draw, although Shalmaneser III continued on to the shore and even took a ship to open sea. In the following years, Shalmaneser III failed to conquer Hamath or Aram-Damascus, after the death of Shalmaneser III, the former allies Hamath and Aram-Damascus fell out, and Aram-Damascus seems to have taken over some of Hamaths territory. An Aramaic inscription of Zakkur, dual king of Hamath and Luhuti, tells of an attack by a coalition including Samal under Ben-Hadad III, son of Hazael, zakir was besieged in his fortress of Hazrak, but saved by intervention of the God Baalshamin. Later on, the state of Samal came to rule both Hamath and Aram, in 738 BC, Hamath is listed among the cities again conquered by Assyrian troops. Over 30,000 natives were deported to Ullaba and replaced with captives from the Zagros Mountains, after the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel, Hamaths king Ilu-Bidi led a failed revolt of the newly organized Assyrian provinces of Arpad, Simirra, Damascus, and Samara. Styling himself the Destroyer of Hamath, Sargon II razed the city ca 720 BCE, recolonized it with 6,300 Assyrians and he also carried off to Nimrud the ivory-adorned furnishings of its kings. The few Biblical reports state that Hamath was the capital of a Canaanite kingdom, whose king congratulated King David on his victory over Hadadezer, king of Zobah
6.
Northern Kingdom
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According to the Hebrew Bible, the Kingdom of Israel was one of two successor states to the former United Kingdom of Israel and Judah. Historians often refer to the Kingdom of Israel as the Northern Kingdom or as the Kingdom of Samaria to differentiate it from the Southern Kingdom of Judah, the Kingdom of Israel existed roughly from 930 BCE until 720 BCE, when it was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The major cities of the kingdom were Shechem, Tirzah, in the Hebrew Bible, the Kingdom of Israel has been referred to as the House of Joseph. It is also referenced as Ephraim, the tribe whose territory housed the capital cities. It has also referred to as Israel in Samaria. According to the Hebrew Bible, the territory of the Kingdom of Israel comprised the territories of the tribes of Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, Dan, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben and its capital was Samaria according to the Book of Isaiah. The United Kingdom of Israel and Judah is said to have existed from about 1030 to about 930 BCE and it was a union of all the twelve Israelite tribes living in the area that presently approximates modern Israel and the Palestinian territories. After the death of Solomon in about 931 BCE, all the Israelite tribes except for Judah and Benjamin refused to accept Rehoboam, the rebellion against Rehoboam arose after he refused to lighten the burden of taxation and services that his father had imposed on his subjects. Jeroboam, who was not of the Davidic line, was sent for from Egypt by the malcontents, the Tribe of Ephraim and all Israel raised the old cry, Every man to his tents, O Israel. Rehoboam fled to Jerusalem, and in 930 BCE, Jeroboam was proclaimed king over all Israel at Shechem, after the revolt at Shechem at first only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David. But very soon after the tribe of Benjamin joined Judah, the northern kingdom continued to be called the Kingdom of Israel or Israel, while the southern kingdom was called the kingdom of Judah. 2 Chronicles 15,9 also says that members of the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, both Eusebius and Josephus place the division in 997 BCE – lunar dates of Venus can be mistaken as 64 years later. Shechem was the first capital of the Kingdom of Israel, King Omri built his capital in Samaria, which continued as such until the destruction of the Kingdom by the Assyrians. Thus, around 720 BCE, after two centuries, the kingdom of the ten tribes came to an end, for the first sixty years, the kings of Judah tried to re-establish their authority over the northern kingdom, and there was perpetual war between them. For the following eighty years, there was no war between them, and, for the most part, they were in friendly alliance, co-operating against their common enemies. The conflict between Israel and Judah was resolved when Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, allied himself with the house of Ahab through marriage, later, Jehosophats son and successor, Jehoram of Judah, married Ahabs daughter Athaliah, cementing the alliance. However, the sons of Ahab were slaughtered by Jehu following his coup détat around 840 BCE, in c.732 BCE, Pekah of Israel, while allied with Rezin, king of Aram, threatened Jerusalem. Ahaz, king of Judah, appealed to Tiglath-Pileser III, the king of Assyria, people from these tribes including the Reubenite leader, were taken captive and resettled in the region of the Khabur River system
7.
Aram-Damascus
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Aram-Damascus was an Aramaean state around Damascus in Syria, from the late 12th century BCE to 732 BCE. Sources for this state come from texts that can be divided into three categories, Assyrian annals, Aramaean texts, and the Hebrew Bible, the largest portion of the textual sources come from Assyria. There are, however, often several copies of the same texts, most of the texts are annals from the Assyrian kings Shalmaneser III, Adad-Nirari III, and Tiglath-Pileser III. The texts mention Aram-Damascus from an Assyrian perspective, but are in many ways informative of the strength of the state, Aramaean royal inscriptions are rare, and only one royal stele from Aram-Damascus proper has been identified — the Tel Dan Stele. Other sources in Aramaic that shed light on the history of Aram-Damascus include two booty inscriptions from Eretria and Samos, and the Zakkur stele of the king Zakkur, the Hebrew Bible gives more detailed accounts of Aram-Damascus history, mainly in its interaction with Israel. For instance, there are texts of the Bible mentioning Davids battles against Aramaeans in southern Syria in the 10th century BCE, in contrast, the sources for the early history of Aram-Damascus are almost nonexistent. In an annal dating to Tiglath-Pileser I, we learn that Aramaean people have begun settling in the half of Syria. The first reliable data can be found in the 9th century BCE when Aramaean, Assyrian, to the southwest, Aram-Damascus reached over most of Golan to the Sea of Galilee. In the 8th century BCE, Rezin had been a tributary of Tiglath-Pileser III, in c.732 BCE, he allied himself with Pekah, the king of Israel, to attack Ahaz, the king of Judah. However, Ahaz appealed to Tiglath-Pileser III for help and this the Assyrian king obliged, after Judah paid tribute to the Assyrian king. As a result, Tiglath-Pileser III sacked Damascus and annexed Aram, according to 2 Kings 16,9, the population was deported and Rezin executed. Tiglath-Pileser also records this act in one of his inscriptions, archaeological evidence of Aram-Damascus is close to nothing. Excavations in Damascus are hard to perform, owing to the settlement of the city. Other cities of Aram-Damascus have not been identified from textual sources. The material culture at sites farther south do not show many features distinguishing from the culture of ancient northern Israel. Hadadezer 880-842 BC Hazael 842-805 or 796 BC Ben-Hadad III796 to 792 BC Rezin Aram Aram Naharaim Aram Rehob
8.
Ammon
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Ammon was an Iron Age Semitic-speaking nation occupying the east of the Jordan River, between the torrent valleys of Arnon and Jabbok, in present-day Jordan. The chief city of the country was Rabbah or Rabbath Ammon, site of the city of Amman. Milcom and Molech are named in the Hebrew Bible as the gods of Ammon, the people of this kingdom are called Children of Ammon or Ammonites. The first mention of the Ammonites in the Bible is in Genesis 19 and it is stated there that they descended from Ben-Ammi, a son of Lot through incest with his younger daughter. Bénámmî, literally son of my people. After the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the daughters of Lot had sexual relations with their father, resulting in Ammon and his brother, Moab, being conceived. The Ammonites settled to the east of the Jordan, invading the Rephaim lands east of Jordan and their territory originally comprising all from the Jordan to the wilderness, and from the River Jabbok south to the River Arnon. It was accounted a land of giants, and that formerly dwelt in it. Shortly before the Israelite Exodus, the Amorites west of Jordan, under King Sihon, invaded and occupied a portion of the territory of Moab. The Ammonites were driven from the lands near the Jordan and retreated to the mountains. The invasion of the Amorites created a wedge and separated the two kingdoms of Ammon and Moab, throughout the Bible, the Ammonites and Israelites are portrayed as mutual antagonists. During the Exodus, the Israelites were prohibited by the Ammonites from passing through their lands, the Ammonites soon allied themselves with Eglon of Moab in attacking Israel. The Ammonites maintained their claim to part of Transjordan, after it was occupied by the Israelites who obtained it from Sihon, during the days of Jephthah, the Ammonites occupied the lands east of the River Jordan and started to invade Israelite lands west of the river. Jephthah became the leader in resisting these incursions, the constant harassment of the Israelite communities east of the Jordan by the Ammonites was the impetus behind the unification of the tribes under Saul. King Nahash of Ammon lay siege to Jabesh-Gilead, eventually this led to an alliance with Saul and The Israelites, led by Saul relieved the siege and defeated the Ammonite king, eventually resulting in the formation of the Israelite Kingdom. During the reign of King David, the Ammonites humiliated Davids messengers and this eventually ended in a war and a year-long siege of Rabbah, the capital of Ammon. The war ended all the Ammonite cities being conquered and plundered. The Ammonites, Moabites and Meunim formed a coalition against Jehoshaphat of Judah, the coalition later was thrown to confusion, with the armies slaughtering one another
9.
Arwad
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Arwad – formerly known as Arados, Arvad, Arpad, Arphad, and Antiochia in Pieria, also called Ruad Island – located in the Mediterranean Sea, is the only inhabited island in Syria. The town of Arwad covers the entire island and it is located 3 kilometres from Tartus, Syrias second largest port. Today, it is mainly a fishing town, plans have been unveiled in May 2016 to renovate the island to become a tourist attraction. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Arwad had a population of 4,403 in the 2004 census and it is the administrative center of the Arwad nahiyah of which it is the only locality. Its inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims, the name Arvad is noted in the Bible as the progenitor of the Arvadites, a Canaanite people. The island was settled in the early 2nd millennium BC by the Phoenicians, under Phoenician control, it became an independent kingdom called Arvad Aradus or Jazirat. The Phoenician name for the city was probably
10.
Arabs
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Arabs are an ethnic group inhabiting the Arab world. They primarily live in the Arab states in Western Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Arabs are first mentioned in the mid-ninth century BCE as a tribal people dwelling in the central Arabian Peninsula. The Arabs appear to have been under the vassalage of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, tradition holds that Arabs descend from Ishmael, the son of Abraham. The Arabian Desert is the birthplace of Arab, there are other Arab groups as well that spread in the land and existed for millennia. Before the expansion of the Caliphate, Arab referred to any of the largely nomadic Semitic people from the northern to the central Arabian Peninsula and Syrian Desert. Presently, Arab refers to a number of people whose native regions form the Arab world due to spread of Arabs throughout the region during the early Arab conquests of the 7th and 8th centuries. The Arabs forged the Rashidun, Umayyad and the Abbasid caliphates, whose borders reached southern France in the west, China in the east, Anatolia in the north, and this was one of the largest land empires in history. The Great Arab Revolt has had as big an impact on the modern Middle East as the World War I, the war signaled the end of the Ottoman Empire. They are modern states and became significant as distinct political entities after the fall and defeat, following adoption of the Alexandria Protocol in 1944, the Arab League was founded on 22 March 1945. The Charter of the Arab League endorsed the principle of an Arab homeland whilst respecting the sovereignty of its member states. Beyond the boundaries of the League of Arab States, Arabs can also be found in the global diaspora, the ties that bind Arabs are ethnic, linguistic, cultural, historical, identical, nationalist, geographical and political. The Arabs have their own customs, language, architecture, art, literature, music, dance, media, cuisine, dress, society, sports, the total number of Arabs are an estimated 450 million. This makes them the second largest ethnic group after the Han Chinese. Arabs are a group in terms of religious affiliations and practices. In the pre-Islamic era, most Arabs followed polytheistic religions, some tribes had adopted Christianity or Judaism, and a few individuals, the hanifs, apparently observed monotheism. Today, Arabs are mainly adherents of Islam, with sizable Christian minorities, Arab Muslims primarily belong to the Sunni, Shiite, Ibadi, Alawite, Druze and Ismaili denominations. Arab Christians generally follow one of the Eastern Christian Churches, such as the Maronite, Coptic Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic, or Chaldean churches. Listed among the booty captured by the army of king Shalmaneser III of Assyria in the Battle of Qarqar are 1000 camels of Gi-in-di-buu the ar-ba-a-a or Gindibu belonging to the Arab
11.
Ancient Egypt
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Ancient Egypt was a civilization of ancient Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. It is one of six civilizations to arise independently, Egyptian civilization followed prehistoric Egypt and coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh Narmer. In the aftermath of Alexander the Greats death, one of his generals, Ptolemy Soter and this Greek Ptolemaic Kingdom ruled Egypt until 30 BC, when, under Cleopatra, it fell to the Roman Empire and became a Roman province. The success of ancient Egyptian civilization came partly from its ability to adapt to the conditions of the Nile River valley for agriculture, the predictable flooding and controlled irrigation of the fertile valley produced surplus crops, which supported a more dense population, and social development and culture. Its art and architecture were widely copied, and its antiquities carried off to far corners of the world and its monumental ruins have inspired the imaginations of travelers and writers for centuries. The Nile has been the lifeline of its region for much of human history, nomadic modern human hunter-gatherers began living in the Nile valley through the end of the Middle Pleistocene some 120,000 years ago. By the late Paleolithic period, the climate of Northern Africa became increasingly hot and dry. In Predynastic and Early Dynastic times, the Egyptian climate was less arid than it is today. Large regions of Egypt were covered in treed savanna and traversed by herds of grazing ungulates, foliage and fauna were far more prolific in all environs and the Nile region supported large populations of waterfowl. Hunting would have been common for Egyptians, and this is also the period when many animals were first domesticated. The largest of these cultures in upper Egypt was the Badari, which probably originated in the Western Desert, it was known for its high quality ceramics, stone tools. The Badari was followed by the Amratian and Gerzeh cultures, which brought a number of technological improvements, as early as the Naqada I Period, predynastic Egyptians imported obsidian from Ethiopia, used to shape blades and other objects from flakes. In Naqada II times, early evidence exists of contact with the Near East, particularly Canaan, establishing a power center at Hierakonpolis, and later at Abydos, Naqada III leaders expanded their control of Egypt northwards along the Nile. They also traded with Nubia to the south, the oases of the desert to the west. Royal Nubian burials at Qustul produced artifacts bearing the oldest-known examples of Egyptian dynastic symbols, such as the crown of Egypt. They also developed a ceramic glaze known as faience, which was used well into the Roman Period to decorate cups, amulets, and figurines. During the last predynastic phase, the Naqada culture began using written symbols that eventually were developed into a system of hieroglyphs for writing the ancient Egyptian language. The Early Dynastic Period was approximately contemporary to the early Sumerian-Akkadian civilisation of Mesopotamia, the third-century BC Egyptian priest Manetho grouped the long line of pharaohs from Menes to his own time into 30 dynasties, a system still used today
12.
Shalmaneser III
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Shalmaneser III was king of Assyria, and son of the previous ruler, Ashurnasirpal II. His long reign was a constant series of campaigns against the tribes, the Babylonians. His armies penetrated to Lake Van and the Taurus Mountains, the Hittites of Carchemish were compelled to pay tribute, and it is in the annals of Shalmaneser III from the 850s BC that the Arabs and Chaldeans first appear in recorded history. In 842 BC, Shalmaneser campaigned against Hadadezers successor Hazael, forcing him to take refuge within the walls of his capital. While Shalmaneser was unable to capture Damascus, he devastated its territory, babylonia had already been conquered, including the areas occupied by migrant Chaldaean, Sutean and Aramean tribes, and the Babylonian king had been put to death. In 836 BC, Shalmaneser sent an expedition against the Tibareni which was followed by one against Cappadocia, civil war continued for two years, but the rebellion was at last crushed by Shamshi-Adad V, another son of Shalmaneser. His reign saw the first appearance in history of the camel-mounted Arabs and his reign is significant to Biblical studies because two of his monuments name rulers from Hebrew Bible. The Black Obelisk names Jehu son of Omri, and the Kurkh Monolith names king Ahab and he had built a palace at Kalhu, and left several editions of the royal annals recording his military campaigns, the last of which is engraved on the Black Obelisk from Calah. The Black Obelisk is a significant artifact from his reign and it is a black limestone, bas-relief sculpture from Nimrud, in northern Iraq. It is the most complete Assyrian obelisk yet discovered, and is significant because it displays the earliest ancient depiction of an Israelite. On the top and the bottom of the reliefs there is a cuneiform inscription recording the annals of Shalmaneser III. It lists the military campaigns which the king and his commander-in-chief headed every year, some features might suggest that the work had been commissioned by the commander-in-chief, Dayyan-Ashur. The second register from the top includes the earliest surviving picture of an Israelite, Jehu severed Israels alliances with Phoenicia and Judah, and became subject to Assyria. It describes how Jehu brought or sent his tribute in or around 841 BC and it was erected as a public monument in 825 BC at a time of civil war. It was discovered by archaeologist Sir Austen Henry Layard in 1846, bronze Reliefs from the Gates of Shalmaneser King of Assyria Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III Babylonian and Assyrian Literature
13.
Ahab
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Ahab was the seventh king of Israel since Jeroboam I, the son and successor of Omri, and the husband of Jezebel of Sidon, according to the Hebrew Scriptures. Ahab is considered a king in the Hebrew Bible. He is criticised for going after his wife Jezebel, killing Naboth, the existence of Ahab is historically supported outside of the Bible. Shalmaneser III documented 853 BC that he defeated an alliance of a dozen kings in the Battle of Qarqar, Ahab became king of Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa, king of Judah, and reigned for twenty-two years, according to 1 Kings. William F. Albright dated his reign to 869–850 BC, while E. R. Thiele offered the dates 874–853 BC, most recently, Michael D. Coogan has dated Ahabs reign to 871–852 BC. Omri seems to have been a military leader, he is reported in the text of the Moabite Mesha Stele to have oppressed Moab for many days. During Ahabs reign, Moab, which had been conquered by his father, Ahab was allied by marriage with Jehoshaphat, who was king of Judah. Only with Aram Damascus is he believed to have had strained relations, Ahab married Jezebel, the daughter of the King of Tyre. 1 Kings 16–22 tells the story of Ahab and Jezebel, and indicates that Jezebel was a dominant influence on Ahab, Ahab was succeeded by Ahaziah and Jehoram who reigned over Israel until Jehus revolt of 842 BC. Ahabs contribution was estimated at 2,000 chariots and 10,000 men, in reality, however, the number of chariots in Ahabs forces was probably closer to a number in the hundreds. If, however, the numbers are referring to allies it could possibly include forces from Tyre, Judah, Edom, a treaty was made whereby Ben-hadad restored the cities which his father had taken from Ahabs father, and trading facilities between Damascus and Samaria were granted. Jezreel has been identified as Ahabs fortified chariot and cavalry base, in the Biblical text, Ahab has five important encounters with prophets. The first encounter is with Elijah, whom Ahab refers to as the troubler of Israel and this encounter ends with Elijah victorious over the official Baal prophets of Israel in a contest held for the sake of the Israelites and their king, Ahab. The contest ends when Elijahs God consumes the offering which the Baal worshipers could not induce their god to touch, the second encounter is between Ahab and an unnamed prophet in 1 Kings 20,22. The third is again between Ahab and a prophet who condemns Ahab for his actions in a battle that had just taken place. The fourth is when Elijah confronts Ahab over Ahabs and Jezebels execution of Naboth, upon the prophets remonstration, Ahab displayed sincere remorse. Three years later, war broke out east of the Jordan River, during this battle Ahab disguised himself, but was mortally wounded by an unaimed arrow. The Hebrew Bible says that dogs licked his blood, according to the prophecy of Elijah, but the Septuagint adds that pigs also licked his blood, symbolically making him unclean to the Israelites, who abstained from pork
14.
Baasha of Ammon
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Baasha ben Ruhubi was the king of Ammon in 853 BCE
15.
Army
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An army or ground force is a fighting force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the military branch. It may also include other branches of the such as the air force via means of aviation corps. Within a national force, the word army may also mean a field army. They differ from army reserves who are activated only during such times as war or natural disasters, in several countries, the army is officially called the Land Army to differentiate it from an air force called the Air Army, notably France. In such countries, the army on its own retains its connotation of a land force in common usage. By convention, irregular military is understood in contrast to regular armies which grew slowly from personal bodyguards or elite militia, regular in this case refers to standardized doctrines, uniforms, organizations, etc. Regular military can also refer to full-time status, versus reserve or part-time personnel, other distinctions may separate statutory forces, from de facto non-statutory forces such as some guerrilla and revolutionary armies. Armies may also be expeditionary or fencible, india has had some of the earliest armies in the world. During the Indus Valley Civilization however, there was just a small force as they didnt fear invasion at the time. After the Aryan invasion, kingdoms and city-states started forming armies to protect their cities, one of the first known recorded battles, the Battle of the Ten Kings, happened when a Hindu king defeated an alliance of ten kings. During the Iron Age, the Maurya and Nanda Empires had large armies, in the Gupta age, large armies of longbowmen were recruited to fight off invading horse archer armies. Elephants, pikemen and cavalry were other featured troops, in Rajput times, the main piece of equipment was iron or chain-mail armour, a round shield, either a curved blade or a straight-sword, a chakra disc and a katar dagger. China has existed as a culture for thousands of years, the states of China raised armies for at least 1000 years before the Spring and Autumn Annals. By the Warring States period, the crossbow had been perfected enough to become a military secret, thus any political power of a state rested on the armies and their organization. China underwent political consolidation of the states of Han, Wei, Chu, Yan, Zhao and Qi, until by 221 BCE, Qin Shi Huang, sun Tzus The Art of War remains one of Chinas Seven Military Classics, even though it is two thousand years old. Since no political figure could exist without an army, measures were taken to only the most capable leaders could control the armies. Civil bureaucracies arose to control the power of the states
16.
Infantry
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Infantry is the general branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot. As the troops who engage with the enemy in close-ranged combat, infantry units bear the largest brunt of warfare, Infantry can enter and maneuver in terrain that is inaccessible to military vehicles and employ crew-served infantry weapons that provide greater and more sustained firepower. In English, the 16th-century term Infantry describes soldiers who walk to the battlefield, and there engage, fight, the term arose in Sixteenth-Century Spain, which boasted one of the first professional standing armies seen in Europe since the days of Rome. It was common to appoint royal princes to military commands, and the men under them became known as Infanteria. in the Canadian Army, the role of the infantry is to close with, and destroy the enemy. In the U. S. Army, the closes with the enemy, by means of fire and maneuver, in order to destroy or capture him, or to repel his assault by fire, close combat. In the U. S. Marine Corps, the role of the infantry is to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy fire and maneuver. Beginning with the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, artillery has become a dominant force on the battlefield. Since World War I, combat aircraft and armoured vehicles have become dominant. In 20th and 21st century warfare, infantry functions most effectively as part of a combined arms team including artillery, armour, Infantry relies on organized formations to be employed in battle. These have evolved over time, but remain a key element to effective infantry development and deployment, until the end of the 19th century, infantry units were for the most part employed in close formations up until contact with the enemy. This allowed commanders to control of the unit, especially while maneuvering. The development of guns and other weapons with increased firepower forced infantry units to disperse in order to make them less vulnerable to such weapons. This decentralization of command was made possible by improved communications equipment, among the various subtypes of infantry is Medium infantry. This refers to infantry which are heavily armed and armored than heavy infantry. In the early period, medium infantry were largely eliminated due to discontinued use of body armour up until the 20th century. In the United States Army, Stryker Infantry is considered Medium Infantry, since they are heavier than light infantry, Infantry doctrine is the concise expression of how infantry forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. It is a guide to action, not a set of hard, doctrine provides a very common frame of reference across the military forces, allowing the infantry to function cooperatively in what are now called combined arms operations. Doctrine helps standardise operations, facilitating readiness by establishing common ways of accomplishing infantry tasks, doctrine links theory, history, experimentation, and practice
17.
Cavalry
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Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the most mobile of the combat arms, an individual soldier in the cavalry is known by a number of designations such as cavalryman, horseman, dragoon or trooper. The designation of cavalry was not usually given to any military forces that used animals, such as camels. Cavalry had the advantage of improved mobility, and a man fighting from horseback also had the advantages of greater height, speed, another element of horse mounted warfare is the psychological impact a mounted soldier can inflict on an opponent. In Europe cavalry became increasingly armoured, and eventually became known for the mounted knights, in the period between the World Wars, many cavalry units were converted into motorized infantry and mechanized infantry units, or reformed as tank troops. Most cavalry units that are horse-mounted in modern armies serve in purely ceremonial roles, modern usage of the term generally refers to specialist units equipped with tanks or aircraft. The shock role, traditionally filled by heavy cavalry, is filled by units with the armored designation. Before the Iron Age, the role of cavalry on the battlefield was largely performed by light chariots, the chariot originated with the Sintashta-Petrovka culture in Central Asia and spread by nomadic or semi-nomadic Indo-Iranians. The power of mobility given by mounted units was recognized early on, Cavalry techniques were an innovation of equestrian nomads of the Central Asian and Iranian steppe and pastoralist tribes such as the Persian Parthians and Sarmatians. The photograph above left shows Assyrian cavalry from reliefs of 865–860 BC, at this time, the men had no spurs, saddles, saddle cloths, or stirrups. Fighting from the back of a horse was more difficult than mere riding. The cavalry acted in pairs, the reins of the archer were controlled by his neighbours hand. Even at this time, cavalry used swords, shields. The sculpture implies two types of cavalry, but this might be a simplification by the artist, Later images of Assyrian cavalry show saddle cloths as primitive saddles, allowing each archer to control his own horse. As early as 490 BC a breed of horses was bred in the Nisaean plain in Media to carry men with increasing amounts of armour. However, chariots remained in use for purposes such as carrying the victorious general in a Roman triumph. The southern Britons met Julius Caesar with chariots in 55 and 54 BC, the last mention of chariot use in battle was by the Caledonians at the Mons Graupius, in 84 AD. During the classical Greek period cavalry were usually limited to citizens who could afford expensive war-horses
18.
Chariot
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A chariot is a type of carriage driven by a charioteer using primarily horses to provide rapid motive power. Chariots were used by armies as transport or mobile platforms, for hunting or for racing. The word chariot comes from the Latin carrus, itself a loanword from Gaulish, a chariot of war or one used in military parades was called a car. In ancient Rome and some other ancient Mediterranean civilizations, a required two horses, a triga three, and a quadriga four. The critical invention that allowed the construction of light, horse-drawn chariots was the spoked wheel, the earliest spoke-wheeled chariots date to ca.2000 BCE. The use of chariots peaked around 1300 BCE, Chariots had lost their military importance by the 1st century CE, but chariot races continued to be popular in Constantinople until the 6th century. The domestication of the horse was an important step toward civilization, an increasing amount of evidence supports the hypothesis that horses were domesticated in the Eurasian Steppes approximately 4000-3500 BCE. The invention of the used in transportation most likely took place in Europe. Evidence of wheeled vehicles appears from the mid 4th millennium BCE near-simultaneously in the Northern Caucasus, the earliest vehicles may have been ox carts. Starokorsunskaya kurgan in the Kuban region of Russia contains a grave of the Maikop Culture. The two solid wooden wheels from this kurgan have been dated to the half of the fourth millennium. Soon thereafter the number of burials in this Northern Caucasus region multiplied. As David Anthony writes in his book The Horse, the Wheel and Language, in Eastern Europe and it is a clay pot excavated in a Funnelbeaker settlement in Swietokrzyskie Voivodeship in Poland. The oldest securely dated real wheel-axle combination in Eastern Europe is the Ljubljana Marshes Wheel, horses were introduced to Transcaucasia at the time of the Kura-Araxes culture, beginning about 3300 BCE. Prior to that, horse bones were not found, during the Kura-Araxes period, horses seem to become rather widespread, with signs of domestication. It is widely believed that wheeled transport was invented in Mesopotamia, nevertheless, recent archaeological evidence seems to indicate otherwise, pointing to Neolithic Europe. At the same time, in Mesopotamia, some intriguing early pictograms of a sled that rests on wooden rollers or wheels have been found and they date from about the same time as the early wheel discoveries in Europe and may indicate knowledge of the wheel. The earliest depiction of vehicles in the context of warfare is on the Standard of Ur in southern Mesopotamia, the hybrids were used by the Eblaite, early Sumerian, Akkadian and Ur III armies
19.
Camel cavalry
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Camel cavalry, or camelry, is a generic designation for armed forces using camels as a means of transportation. Sometimes warriors or soldiers of this type also fought from camel-back with spears, Camel cavalry were a common element in desert warfare throughout history, due in part to the animals high level of adaptability. They provided a mobile element better suited to work and survive in an arid, the smell of the camel, according to Herodotus, alarmed and disoriented horses, making camels an effective anti-cavalry weapon when employed by the Achaemenid Persians in the Battle of Thymbra. The first recorded use of the camel as an animal is by the Arab king Gindibu. A later instance occurred in the Battle of Thymbra in 547 BC, according to Xenophon, Cyrus cavalry were outnumbered by as much as six to one. Although not technically employed as cavalry, the smell and appearance of the camels was crucial in panicking the mounts of the Lydian lancers, Herodotus noted that the Arab camelry, including a massive force of Libyan charioteers, numbered as many as twenty thousand men in total strength. Romans introduced camels in some of their North African military units under the Emperor Hadrian, Camel troops or Dromedarii were used during the late Roman Empire. The camel was used in this way by many civilizations, especially in Arabia, both camel and rider were sometimes armored like the contemporary late Roman cataphracts. Extensive use was made of camels during the campaigns of Muhammad. Subsequently the Arabs used camels effectively against their horse-mounted Sassanid and Byzantine enemies during the Muslim conquests, napoleon employed a camel corps for his French campaign in Egypt and Syria. During the late 19th and much of the 20th centuries, camel troops were used for policing and patrol work in the British, French, German, Spanish. Descendants of such units still form part of the modern Indian, Moroccan and Egyptian armies, the Ottoman Army maintained camel companies as part of its Yemen and Hejaz Corps, both before and during World War I. The Italians used Dubat camel troops in their Somalia Italiana, mainly for frontier patrol during the 1920s and 1930s and these Dubats participated in the Italian conquest of the Ethiopian Ogaden in 1935-1936 during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. Camels are still used by the Jordanian Desert Patrol, the Bikaner Camel Corps of Indias para-military Border Security Force also retain camels. Bikaner Camel Corps Dromedarii Imperial Camel Corps Méhariste Somaliland Camel Corps Sudan Defence Force Tropas Nomadas United States Camel Corps Zaptié Dubats Zumbooruck
20.
Military history of the Neo-Assyrian Empire
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The Neo-Assyrian Empire arises in the 10th century BC. Ashurnasirpal II is credited for utilizing sound strategy in his wars of conquest, while aiming to secure defensible frontiers, he would launch raids further inland against his opponents as a means of securing economic benefit, as he did when campaigning in the Levant. The result meant that the prosperity of the region would fuel the Assyrian war machine. Ashurnasirpal II was succeeded by Shalmaneser III, although he campaigned for 31 years of his 35-year reign, he failed to achieve or equal the conquests of his predecessor, and his death led to another period of weakness in Assyrian rule. As such, costly battles raged taking tolls on Assyrian manpower, Esarhaddon succeeded in taking lower Egypt and his successor, Ashurbanipal, took the southern upper half of Egypt. However, by the end of the Ashurbanipals reign it appears that the Assyrian Empire was falling into another period of weakness and it appears that years of costly battles followed by constant rebellions meant that it was a matter of time before Assyria ran out of troops. The loss of the outer regions meant that troops were gone too. By 605 BC, independent political Assyrian records vanish from history, Mesopotamia was the site of some of the earliest recorded battles in history. In fact, the first recorded battle was between the forces of Lagash and Umma c.2450 BC, like many Mesopotamian records, it contains elements of fiction. The ruler of Lagash, Eanatum, was inspired by the god Ningirsu to attack the kingdom of Umma. Eanatum, although having triumphed, was struck in the eye by an arrow, after the battle, he proudly documented the behavior of the vultures. The Assyrian empire has at times described as the first military power in history. The earliest Old Assyrian king Tudiya was a contemporary of Ibrium of Ebla and it evolved from the Akkadian Empire of the late 3rd millennium BC. Assyria was a nation under the rule of Ilushuma, who founded colonies in Asia Minor and raided Isin. According to legend, Sargon, the first king of the Akkadian Kingdom, was discovered by a gardener in Mesopotamia in a basket. In time, he would found the city of Agade and raise an army of 5,400 men and his inscriptions boast of 34 victories and 5,400 men eating bread before Sargon, exemplifying both the vast manpower and the obedience of his troops. Though small by the standards of later kings, Sargons army was larger and more sophisticated than others of the time, utilizing a combination of spears and missile weapons. Bronze swords and four wheeled chariots brushed aside any resistance as he carved out his empire, which may well have included parts of the Mediterranean, Anatolia and western Iran
21.
Ashurnasirpal II
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Ashur-nasir-pal II was king of Assyria from 883 to 859 BC. Ashurnasirpal II succeeded his father, Tukulti-Ninurta II, in 883 BC and his harshness prompted a revolt that he crushed decisively in a pitched, two-day battle. According to his monument inscription, while recalling this massacre he says their men young and old I took prisoners. Of some I cut off their feet and hands, of others I cut off the noses and lips, of the young mens ears I made a heap. I exposed their heads as a trophy in front of their city, the male children and the female children I burned in flames, the city I destroyed, and consumed with fire. Following this victory, he advanced without opposition as far as the Mediterranean, on his return home, he moved his capital to the city of Kalhu. Ashurnasirpal IIs father was Tukulti-Ninurta II and his son and successor was Shalmaneser III. The palaces, temples and other buildings raised by him bear witness to a development of wealth. He was renowned for his brutality, using enslaved captives to build a new Assyrian capital at Kalhu in Mesopotamia where he built many impressive monuments. He was also an administrator, who realized that he could gain greater control over his empire by installing Assyrian governors. Like previous Assyrian monarchs Ashurnasirpal campaigned along the Euphrates against Aramaeans, Ashurnasirpal IIs brutal treatment of rebels ensured that even when his army was not present, there would not be further revolts. Further revolts would see the local monarch replaced with a governor loyal only to the Assyrian monarchy, leading his army, which was typically composed of infantry, heavy & light cavalry and chariots, Ashurnasirpal conquered the Hittites and Aramaean states of northern Syria. Ashurnasirpal II did not destroy the Phoenician/Canaanite cities he conquered and he was unsuccessful in his siege of Tyre, which under Ittobaal settled Kition in Cyprus and opened up trade routes throughout the Aegean, at Rhodes and Miletus. Through tribute they became sources for the raw materials of his armies, iron was needed for weapons, Lebanese cedar for construction and gold and silver for the payment of troops. Ashurnasirpal IIs palace was built and completed in 879 BC in Kalhu, the palace walls were lined with reliefs carved in alabaster. These reliefs bore elaborate carvings, many portraying the king surrounded by winged protective spirits, each also had text inscribed in it. This text was the same or very similar on each relief and is called the Standard Inscription. Ashurnasirpal II also built a gateway at Nimrud
22.
Shamshi-Adad V
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Shamshi-Adad V was the King of Assyria from 824 to 811 BC. He was named after the god Adad, who is known as Hadad. Shamshi-Adad was a son and successor of King Shalmaneser III, the husband of Queen Shammuramat, and the father of Adad-nirari III and he was also a grandfather of Shalmaneser IV. The first years of Shamshi-Adads reign saw a struggle for the succession of the aged Shalmaneser. The revolt was led by Shamshi-Adads brother Assur-danin-pal, and had broken out already by 826 BC, the rebellious brother, according to Shamshi-Adads own inscriptions, succeeded in bringing to his side 27 important cities, including Nineveh. The rebellion lasted until 820 BC, weakening the Assyrian empire and its ruler, later in his reign, Shamshi-Adad campaigned against Southern Mesopotamia, and stipulated a treaty with the Babylonian king Marduk-zakir-shumi I. In 814 BCE, he won the Battle of Dur-Papsukkal against the Babylonian king Marduk-balassu-iqbi, and a few Aramean tribes settled in Babylonia
23.
Tiglath-Pileser III
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Tiglath-Pileser III was a prominent king of Assyria in the eighth century BCE who introduced advanced civil, military, and political systems into the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Tiglath-Pileser III seized the Assyrian throne during a war and killed the royal family. He made sweeping changes to the Assyrian government, considerably improving its efficiency, the Assyrian army, already the greatest fighting force in the world since the time of Ashur-uballit I, now became Assyrias first professional standing army. In the south west, Israel, Judah, Philistia, Samarra, Moab, Edom, in the west, the Greeks of Cyprus and Aram, and the Mediterranean City States of Phoenicia/Caanan were subjugated. To the east he subjugated Persia, Media, Gutium, Mannea, Cissia and Elam, Tiglath-Pileser III discouraged revolts against Assyrian rule with the use of forced deportations of thousands of people all over the empire. He is one of the most successful commanders in world history. Formerly the governor of Kalhu and a general, the usurper Pulu assumed his Assyrian throne-name from two more-legitimate predecessors and he described himself as a son of Adad-nirari III in his inscriptions, but the accuracy of this claim remains uncertain. He seized the throne in the midst of war on 13 Ayaru,745 BCE. A mutilated brick inscription states that he is the son of Adad-nirari, however and this is quite a discrepancy for the King list places Adad-nirari III four monarchs before Tiglath-pilesers reign and depicts Ashur-nirari as both his father and immediate predecessor upon the throne. The list goes on to relate that Shalmaneser III, and Ashur-dan III were brothers, Ashur-nirari is also said to be a son of Adad-nirari, implying brotherhood with Shalmaneser III, and Ashur-dan III. The Assyrian records contain very little information concerning Adad-nirari and nothing about Shalmaneser III or Ashur-dan III, more so it was in Babylon that he was referred to as Pulu and his son as Ululayu. Pulu and both his sons taking up Assyrian names is another suggestion that they were foreigners who had usurped the crown of Assyria at the revolt of Kalhu, Assyrian power in the Near East greatly increased as the result of Tiglath-Pilesers military reforms and of his campaigns of conquest. Upon ascending the throne, he claimed to have annexed Babylonia, from Dur-galzu, the cities bylonia up to the Uqnu river wer, and subsequently placed his eunuch over them as governor. He also defeated the Medes before making war on and conquering the Neo-Hittites and he took Arpad in 740 BCE after three years of siege, annexed it as a province, and subjected Hamath to tribute. Assyrian inscriptions record in 740 BCE, the year of his reign. He also subjugated Damascus, the Arabs under Queen Zabibe, Menahem of Israel and Samals king Azriyau, in 737 and 736 BCE he turned his attention again to Iran, conquering the Medes and Persians and occupying a large part of Iran. According to the inscriptions of Tiglath-Pileser many of the inhabitants were enslaved and deported to other parts of the Assyrian empire. At sieges, captives were slaughtered, and their bodies raised on stakes, in October 729 BCE, Tiglath-Pileser assumed total control of Babylon, capturing the Babylonian king Nabu-mukin-zeri and having himself crowned as King Pulu of Babylon
24.
Siege of Gezer (c. 733 BC)
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Gezer, or Tel Gezer is an archaeological site in the foothills of the Judaean Mountains at the border of the Shfela region roughly midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. It is now an Israeli national park, in the Hebrew Bible, Gezer is associated with Joshua and Solomon. It became a major fortified Canaanite city-state in the first half of the 2nd millennium BCE and it was later destroyed by fire and rebuilt. The Amarna letters mention kings of Gezer swearing loyalty to the Egyptian Pharaoh, Gezer is listed in the Book of Jushua as a Levitical city, one of ten allotted to the Levite children of Kehoth - the Kohathites. Gezer was located on the fringe of the Shephelah region. It was strategically situated at the junction of the Via Maris, the coastal highway. These inscriptions from the 1st century BCE read boundary of Gezer, inhabitants of the first settlement at Gezer, toward the end of the 4th millennium BCE, lived in large rock-cut caves. In the Early Bronze Age, an unfortified settlement covered the tell and it was destroyed in the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE and abandoned for several hundred years. In the Middle Bronze Age, Gezer became a city, well fortified. The Canaanite city was destroyed in a fire, presumably in the wake of a campaign by the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III, the oldest known historical reference to the city is to be found on an inscription of conquered sites at Thutmoses temple at Karnak. The Tell Amarna letters, dating from the 14th century BCE, the city-state of Gezer was ruled by four leaders during the 20-year period covered by the Amarna letters. Fortifications The tell was surrounded by a stone wall and towers. The wooden city gate, near the corner of the wall, was fortified by two towers. The exact purpose of these megaliths is still debated, but they may have constituted a Canaanite high place from the Middle Bronze Age, in the Late Bronze Age a new fortification wall, four meters thick, was erected. In the 14th century BCE, a palace was constructed on the western part of the tell. Toward the end of the Bronze Age, the city declined, Gezer is mentioned in the victory stele of Merneptah, dating from the end of the 13th century BCE. In 12th-11th centuries BCE, a building with many rooms. Grinding stones and grains of wheat found among the sherds indicate that it was a granary, local and Philistine vessels attest to a mixed Canaanite/Philistine population
25.
Sargon II
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Sargon II was an Assyrian king. A son of Tiglath-Pileser III, he came to power relatively late in life, the Neo-Assyrian pronunciation of the name was presumably /sargi, n/ or /sarga, n/, the spelling Sargon is based on the Biblical form of the name, mentioned in Isaiah 20,1. The regnal number is modern, applied for disambiguation from the Old Assyrian king Sargon I, Sargon II was a son of Tiglath-Pileser III and appears to have seized the throne from his brother, Shalmaneser V in a violent coup. Sargon was already middle-aged when he came to the throne, and was assisted by his son, Sargons brother, Sinahusur, served as his grand vizier. Sargon was beset with rebellions by the beginning of his rule. Marduk-apla-iddina II, a chieftain of the Chaldean tribes in the marshes of the south, in 720 BC, Sargon and Marduk-apla-iddina met in battle on the plains east of Babylon. The Elamite troops were able to back the Assyrian army, and he retained control of the south. In 717 BC, the Syro-Hittite city of Carchemish on the Upper Euphrates rebelled, Carchemish was a small kingdom situated at an important Euphrates crossing. Sargon violated existing treaties in attacking the city, but with the wealth seized was able to continue to fund his army. In 716 BC he moved against the Mannaeans, where the ruler Aza, Sargon took the capital Izirtu, and stationed troops in Parsuash and Kar-Nergal. He built new bases in Media as well, the one being Harhar which he renamed Kar-Sharrukin. In 715 BC, others were to follow, Kar-Nabu, Kar-Sin and Kar-Ishtar — all named after Babylonian gods, the eighth campaign of Sargon against Urartu in 714 BC is well known from a letter from Sargon to the god Ashur and the bas-reliefs in the palace of Dur-Sharrukin. The reliefs show the difficulties of the terrain, the war-chariots had to be dismantled and carried by soldiers, the campaign was probably motivated by the fact that the Urartians had been weakened by incursions of the Cimmerians, a nomadic steppe tribe. One Urartian army had completely annihilated, and the general Qaqqadanu taken prisoner. After reaching Lake Urmia, he turned east and entered Zikirtu, the battle is described as the usual carnage, but King Rusas managed to escape. The horses of his chariot had been killed by Assyrian spears, forcing him to ride a mare in order to get away, Sargon plundered the fertile lands at the southern and western shore of Lake Urmia, felling orchards and burning the harvest. In the royal resort of Ulhu, the wine-cellar of the Urartian kings was plundered, Sargon claims to have destroyed 430 empty villages. After reaching Lake Van, Sargon left Urartu via Uaiaish, in Hubushkia he received the tribute of the Nairi lands
26.
Sennacherib
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Sennacherib was the king of Assyria from 705 BCE to 681 BCE. He is principally remembered for his campaigns against Babylon and Judah. He was assassinated in obscure circumstances in 681 BCE, apparently by his eldest son, the primary preoccupation of his reign was the so-called Babylonian problem, the refusal of the Babylonians to accept Assyrian rule, culminating in his destruction of the city in 689 BCE. Further campaigns were carried out in Syria in the mountains east of Assyria, against the kingdoms of Anatolia and his death was welcomed in Babylon as divine punishment for the destruction of that city. He was also a builder, it was under him that Assyrian art reached its peak. Assyria began as a Bronze Age city-state or small kingdom on the middle-Tigris, the empires rise aroused the fear and hatred of its neighbours, notably Babylon, Elam and Egypt, and the many smaller kingdoms of the region such as Judah. Any perceived weakness on the part of Assyria led inevitably to rebellion, solving the so-called Babylonian problem was Sennacheribs primary preoccupation. Sennacheribs grandfather Tiglath-pileser III had made himself king of Babylon, creating a monarchy in which the Babylonians retained a nominal independence. This arrangement was never accepted by local leaders, particularly an important tribal chief named Marduk-apla-iddina. Marduk-apla-iddina paid tribute to Tiglath-pileser, but when Tiglath-pilesers successor Shalmaneser V was overthrown by Sargon II he seized the opportunity to crown himself king of Babylon, the next thirty years saw a repeating pattern of Assyrian reconquest and renewed rebellion. His relations, instead, were military, and culminated in his complete destruction of Babylon in 689 BCE. He destroyed the temples and the images of the gods, except for that of Marduk, the creator-god and divine patron of Babylon and this caused consternation in Assyria itself, where Babylon and its gods were held in high esteem. Sennacherib attempted to justify his actions to his own countrymen through a campaign of religious propaganda, in Babylon itself, Sennachribs answer to the Babylonian problem sparked an intense hatred that would eventually lead to a war for independence and the destruction of Assyria. Sennacherib was probably not the son of Sargon II, but he was groomed for royal succession. Sargon died in battle, and ancient sources give three different years for Sennacheribs first reign-year—705 BCE,704 BCE, and 703 BCE—suggesting that the succession was not smooth, Sennacheribs first campaign began late in 703 BCE against Marduk-apla-iddina, who had once more taken the throne of Babylon. The rebellion was defeated, Marduk-apla-iddina fled, and Babylon was taken, a puppet king named Bel-ibni was placed on the throne and for the next two years Babylon was left in peace. In 701 BCE, Sennacherib turned from Babylonia to the part of the empire. Ekron called on Egypt for help but the Egyptians were defeated, Sennacherib then turned on Jerusalem, Hezekiahs capital
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Siege of Lachish
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The siege of Lachish is the name given to the Assyrian siege and conquest of the town of Lachish in 701 BC. After defeating the rebels of Ekron in Philistia he set out to subjugate Judah and in his way to Jerusalem he came across Lachish, the battlefield was the walled city of Lachish, situated on a hill. The northern part of the hill is steeper than the southern side, on top of the fact that the hill as of itself is quite high, the wall further makes the city hard to breach. Inside the city there was a castle with significant walls. The Assyrian Army was the most effective force of its time and was divided mostly into three different categories, Infantry, which included both close-combat troops using spears, and archers, there were also hired mercenaries throwing stones. The infantry was trained and worked alongside military engineers in order to breach sieges. Chariots, which were not used as much in sieges as in land engagements. The Jewish military force was insignificant compared to the professional and massive Assyrian army and mostly included local militias, there were barely any cavalrymen and chariots in the Jewish army which mostly included infantry, either for close combat or long range combat, they were also significantly less organized. Due to the steepness of the side of Lachish the Assyrian Army attacked from the south. The Jewish defenders threw stones and shot arrows at the advancing Assyrians, meanwhile the Assyrian military engineers built a ramp to the east of the main gate where Assyrian and Jewish troops began engaging in close combat. The city was captured by the Assyrians, its inhabitants led into captivity, the town was abandoned, but resettled after the return from Babylonia. Assyrian reliefs portraying the siege of Lachish clearly show battering rams attacking the vulnerable parts of the city, the British Museum has a superb set of relief carvings which depicted the siege in some detail. It shows the Assyrian soldiers firing arrows, and slingstones, the attackers shelter behind wicker shields, and deploy battering rams. The walls and towers of Lachish are shown crowded with defenders shooting arrows, throwing rocks, the reliefs continues showing the looting of the city, and defenders are shown being thrown over the ramparts, impaled, having their throats cut and asking for mercy. A birds eye plan of the city is shown with house interiors shown in section, after he captured the second most important city in Judah, Sennacherib encamped there and then sent his Rabshakeh to capture Jerusalem. The Siege of Lachish is the subject of a song by mediterranean metal band Melechesh
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Assyrian siege of Jerusalem
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In approximately 701 BCE, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, attacked the fortified cities of Judah, laying siege on Jerusalem, but failed to capture it. In 721 BCE, the Assyrian army captured the Israelite capital at Samaria, the virtual destruction of Israel left the southern kingdom, Judah, to fend for itself among warring Near Eastern kingdoms. At the time of Samarias fall, there existed two kings in Judah — Ahaz and his son Hezekiah — who ruled as co-regents. After the fall of the Northern Kingdom, the kings of Judah tried to extend their influence, although Judah was a vassal of Assyria during this time and paid an annual tribute to the powerful empire, it was the most important state between Assyria and Egypt. In 715 BCE, following the death of Ahaz, Hezekiah became the regent of Judah and initiated widespread religious changes. He re-captured Philistine-occupied lands in the Negev desert, formed alliances with Ashkelon and Egypt, in response, Sennacherib attacked Judah, laying siege to Jerusalem. Sources from both sides claimed victory, the Judahites in the Tanakh, and Sennacherib in his prism, Sennacherib claimed the siege and capture of many Judaean cities, but only siege—not capture—of Jerusalem. The story of the Assyrian siege is told in the Hebrew Bible books of Isaiah, Chronicles, as the Assyrians began their invasion, Hezekiah began preparations to protect Jerusalem. In an effort to deprive the Assyrians of water, springs outside the city were blocked, workers then dug a 533-meter tunnel to the Spring of Gihon, providing the city with fresh water. Additional siege preparations included fortification of the walls, construction of towers. Hezekiah gathered the citizens in the square and encouraged them by reminding them that the Assyrians possessed only an arm of flesh, according to Second Kings 18, while Sennacherib was besieging Lachish, he received a message from Hezekiah offering to pay tribute in exchange for Assyrian withdrawal. Nevertheless, Sennacherib marched on Jerusalem with a large army, when the Assyrian force arrived, its field commander brought a message from Sennacherib himself. He listed the gods of the thus far swept away by Sennacherib then asked. During the siege, Hezekiah clad himself in out of anguish from the psychological warfare that the Assyrians were waging. The prophet Isaiah took a part in the political life of Judah. When Jerusalem was threatened, he assured Hezekiah that the city would be delivered, the Hebrew Bible states that during the night, an angel of YHWH brought death to 185,000 Assyrians troops. Hezekiah had shut up all water outside the city so thirst and it is also a possibility that a disease spread throughout the camp and killed a large number of Sennacheribs men. When Sennacherib saw the destruction wreaked on his army, he withdrew to Nineveh, Sennacheribs Prism, which details the events of Sennacheribs campaign against Judah, was discovered in the ruins of Nineveh in 1830, and is now stored at the Oriental Institute in Chicago, Illinois
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Battle of Halule
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The Battle of Halule took place in 691 BC between the Assyrian empire and the rebelling forces of the Babylonians, Chaldeans, Persians, Medes, Elamites and Aramaic tribes. During the reign of King Sennacherib of Assyria, Babylonia was in a constant state of revolt, Mushezib-Marduk the Chaldean prince chosen as King of Babylon led the Babylonian populace in revolt against Assyria and King Sennacherib. Acheamenes recruited a new army to help the Babylonians against the Assyrians, as well as the Babylonians, the Aramaic tribes, the Chaldeans and King Khumban-umena III of the Elamites, and all the Zagros Iranians joined in rebellion against the Assyrians. The nucleus of the army consisted of Elamite, Median and Persian charioteers, infantry, the battle was indecisive, or at least both sides claimed the victory in their annals and all rulers remained on their thrones. The Persians and Medes were then subjugated, there was further fighting between Elam and Assyria over the next 40 years until Elam was destroyed by Ashurbanipal
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Esarhaddon
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Esarhaddon was a king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire who reigned 681 –669 BC. He was the youngest son of Sennacherib and the West Semitic queen Naqia, when, despite being the youngest son, Esarhaddon was named successor by his father, his elder brothers tried to discredit him. Oracles had named him as the person to free the exiles and rebuild Babylon, Esarhaddon remained crown prince, but was forced into exile at an unknown place beyond Hanilgalbat, that is, beyond the Euphrates, most likely somewhere in what is now southeastern Turkey. Sennacherib was murdered in 681 BC, the biblical account is that Esarhaddons brothers killed their father after the failed attempt to capture Jerusalem. Esarhaddon returned to the capital of Nineveh in forced marches and defeated his brothers in six weeks of civil war. He was formally declared king in the spring of 681 BC and his brothers fled to the land of Ararat and their followers and families were put to death. In the same year Esarhaddon began the rebuilding of Babylon, including the well-known Esagila, the statues of the Babylonian gods were restored and returned to the city. He also ordered the reconstruction of the Assyrian sanctuary of Esharra in Ashur as well, foreigners were forbidden to enter the temple. Both buildings were dedicated almost on the date, the second year of his reign. The first military campaigns of Esarhaddon were directed against nomadic tribes of southern Mesopotamia, the Dakkuri and Gambulu, in 679 BC, the Cimmerians, who had already killed his grandfather Sargon II, reappeared in Cilicia and Tabal under their new ruler Teushpa. Esarhaddon defeated them near Hubushna, and defeated the rebellious inhabitants of Hilakku as well, the Cimmerians withdrew to the west, where, with Scythian and Urartuan help, they were to destroy the kingdom of Phrygia in 676 BC. The Sidonian king Abdi-Milkutti, who had risen up against the Assyrian king, was defeated in 677 BC, the town of Sidon was destroyed and rebuilt as Kar-Ashur-aha-iddina, the Harbor of Esarhaddon. The population was deported to Assyria, a share of the plunder went to the loyal king of rival Tyre, Baal I, himself an Assyrian puppet. In 676 BC, Esarhaddon took the towns of Sissu and Kundu in the Taurus Mountains, the Mannaeans, the Scythians under their king Ishpakaia, and the Gutians of the Zagros proved to be a nuisance as well, as is attested by numerous oracle-texts. After the fall of Phrygia, a daughter of Esarhaddon was wedded to the Scythian prince Partatua of Sakasene in order to improve relations with the nomads, the Medes under Khshathrita had been the target of a campaign as well, the date of which is unclear. Later, Assyrian hosts reached the border of the salt-desert near the mountain Bikni, a number of fortresses secured the Zagros, Bit-Parnakki, Bit-kari and Harhar. A certain Mugallu had taken possession of parts of the Syro-Hittite state of Melid, the city of Melid was besieged in 675 BC, but without success. That same year, Humban-Haltash II of Elam began a campaign against Sippar, but was defeated by the Babylonians and his brother and successor Urtaki restored peace with Assyria
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Ashurbanipal
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Ashurbanipal, also spelled Assurbanipal or Ashshurbanipal, was an Assyrian king, the son of Esarhaddon and the last strong king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. He is famed for amassing a significant collection of documents for his royal palace at Nineveh. This collection, known as the Library of Ashurbanipal, is now housed at the British Museum, in the Hebrew Bible he is called Asenappar. Ashurbanipal was born toward the end of a 1500-year period of Assyrian ascendancy and his father, Esarhaddon, the youngest son of Sennacherib, had become heir when the crown prince, Ashur-nadin-shumi, was deposed by rebels from his position as vassal for Babylon. Esarhaddon was the son not of Sennacheribs queen, Tashmetum-sharrat, but of the palace woman Zakutu, there are some suggestions Zakutu may have been an Israelite or Aramean concubine, while others point to her family origins being in the northern Assyrian city of Harran. The only queen known for Esarhaddon was Ashur-hamat, who died in 672 BC, Ashurbanipal grew up in the small palace called Bit Reduti, built by his grandfather Sennacherib when he was crown prince in the northern quadrant of Nineveh. In 694 BC, Sennacherib had completed the Palace Without Rival at the southwest corner of the acropolis, the House of Succession had become the palace of Esarhaddon, the crown prince. In this house, Ashurbanipals grandfather was assassinated by uncles identified only from the account as Adrammelech, Abimlech. From this conspiracy, Esarhaddon emerged as king in 681 BC and he proceeded to rebuild as his residence the Bit Masharti. The House of Succession was left to his mother and the younger children, the names of five brothers and one sister are known. Sin-iddin-apli, the crown prince, died prior to 672 BC. According to legend, Ashurbanipal was the only Assyrian king who learned how to read, Ashurbanipal succeeded his father Esarhaddon 681-669 BC as king of Assyria and ruler of the Assyrian Empire in 668 BC. Esarhaddon had prepared for the accession of his son by imposing a treaty upon his Persian, Median and Parthian subjects. He had also rebuilt Babylon and set up another of his sons Shamash-shum-ukin to rule there, despite being a popular king among his subjects, he was also known for his cruelty to his enemies. Some pictures depict him putting a dog chain through the jaw of a defeated Arab king, Ashurbanipal inherited from Esarhaddon not only the throne of the empire but also the ongoing war in Egypt with Kush/Nubia. His father had ended Egyptian interference in the Near East, destroyed the Kushite Empire, driven the Kushites/Nubians from Egypt, however the Nubians still had ambitions to regain control of Egypt and resurrect their empire. Ashurbanipal sent an army against them in 667 BC that defeated the Nubian king Taharqa, near Memphis, at the same time some Egyptian vassals rebelled and were also defeated. All of the vanquished leaders save one were sent to Nineveh, only Necho I, the native Egyptian Prince of Sais, convinced the Assyrians of his loyalty and was sent back to become the Assyrian puppet Pharaoh of Egypt
