Transcript Geography of Assyria The geography of Assyria had a big impact on their resources, victories, defeats and culture.

Geography of Assyria
The geography of Assyria had a big impact on their resources, victories,
defeats and culture. The Assyrian Empire is a part of four countries. Its
abundant resources helped it to become a successful empire.
Location
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Assyria is located in the northern part
of Mesopotamia
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The heartland of the empire spans land
throughout four countries
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These countries include:
- Northern Iraq
-North western Iran
-South eastern Turkey
-North eastern Syria
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Assyria is located near the
Mediterranean Sea
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The Tigris and Euphrates River runs
through Assyria
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Nineveh is the capital of Assyria
Climate
-Assyrian winters were cold and wet
-Summers were warm
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Geography of Assyria
(Continued)
Geographic Features
• The land is flat and exposed, making it easy to be attacked
-This influenced the culture to develop a war like behavior
-They repelled invaders by setting up a strong army
• The Tigris and Euphrates rivers run through Assyria
• Important cities like Nineveh, Ashur, Arbel, Nimrod and Arrapkha are
located near the Tigris River
• The Taurus and Zagros mountains are to the north and east
• A limestone plateau is located south and west of the empire
• There is an adequate amount of rainfall by the foot of the Zagros
mountains, which contributes to their healthy soil.
Land and Resources
• The Assyrian land is very rich, fertile and was an essential part of
their agriculture
• Major crop producing areas include Arbel Plain and Nineveh Plain.
• Assyria was successful in agriculture for its abundant crops
• Figs, olives, pomegranates, almonds, mulberries and vines were also
grown. Cotton and grain were grown as well.
• The Tigris and Euphrates rivers provide benefits such as
transportation, fertile land, deposits of alluvium, irrigation, etc
The
Assyrian
Flag
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Assyrian Culture and Religion
Artifacts found by archaeologists acted as a window to the Assyrian way of life. The
Assyrians had a form of record keeping and a distinct culture. Detailed artwork,
pottery, carvings, and sculpture demonstrate the way they battled, their weapons, and
their values. Their cruel behavior earned them a bad reputation.
Worship
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In the Ancient Assyrian religion, the
king was paramount (highest in rank)
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Assur was the national god, who was
represented by the king. He was
depicted as a warrior god and leader in
war.
Customs
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Akitu is known as the Assyrian New
Year
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Ashur, Sargon, Shamiram, Nineveh,
Ninos, and Nimrod, are popular
Christian and Assyrian names given to
children
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Assyrian Culture and Religion
Assyrian Art
► The typical Assyrian art form was “narrative relief
sculpture”. Tools were used to carve into stone.
► Stone was an important resource to the Assyrians,
and there was an abundance of it.
► Assyrians excelled in working with bronze which
was also plentiful.
► Places like the Palace of Ashurbanipal were
decorated with shallow carved stone sculptures
► Scenes depicting lion hunts and winged bulls with
human faces (right) were incorporated into the
sculptures.
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Assyrian Culture and Religion: Art
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Assyrian Culture and Religion
(Continued)
The Assyrian Language
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Akkadian – Ancient language
of the Assyrians
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It was written in cuneiform
on clay tablets
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It was used up until 750 B.C.
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Arameans brought a new
writing system: Aramaic
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Aramaic was written on
parchment paper, leather or
papyrus
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Syriac is an Eastern
Aramaic language, and a
modern form of it is spoken
among most Assyrians.
Dialects include Chaldean,
Turoyo, and Assyrian.
These Neo-Aramaic languages
using Syriac Script
Syriac script is a modern form
of Aramaic script.
Below: The Assyrian Language
Right: Assyrian
Language
Background:
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Assyrian Culture and Religion
Assyrian Policies
•The Assyrians were a merciless people.
•Their policy was to dispatch conquered
peoples to other areas in the empire
•Also, their goals were to destroy the
enemy country’s sense of nationalism, or
pride.
•They were known for their cruelty
because they skinned and beheaded their
prisoners (see image to the right). This
tactic was a part of their culture and a
way to inflict terror.
•The picture to the right depicts the
Assyrian scribes recording the number of
people slain.
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Expansion
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Assyria expanded by their strong military forces and kept the territories
using force
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Assyrian soldiers
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Between 850 and 650 BC,
Assyria defeated Syria,
Palestine and Babylonia. They
conquered Egypt,
reachinBetween 850 and 650
BC, Assyria defeated Syria,
Palestine and Babylonia. They
conquered Egypt, reaching
beyond the Fertile Crescent
Assyria was very advanced
when it came to technology and
strategies for war.
Assyrians were very heroic
when it came to protecting their
nation. They were rumored to
come out on top when they
were out numbered five to one.
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Assyrian Military
the Assyrian army was the largest standing army
ever seen in the Middle east or Mediterranean
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Not only did the Assyria have
advanced technology, they also
had great tactics to capture
other kingdoms.
The army drew rams in to the
city walls to break them down.
The Assyrian troops threw
ladders against the walls of
cities and climbed into the city's
stronghold while the archers
launched arrows.
The Assyrian Army used
sappers (soldiers who dug
tunnels) to sap the origins of the
enemy's walls so they would
weaken and fall.
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Assyrian Military
cont.
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Assyrians attacking an Egyptian city
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If there were a river in
between the Assyrian army and
the city, the engineers would
build pontoons to bridge the
rivers. They tied inflated animal
skins together and connected
the pontoons to the shores with
beams. They elevated a raised
dirt roadway at both ends.
Soldiers then installed a support
structure of stones, brush and
clay.
The army was very organized,
with many types of specialized
units. There were the personal
security for the king, archers,
spearmen, rams and foot
soldiers.
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Controlling the Conquered
Kingdoms
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Assyria organized the conquered territories into an empire.
Assyria governed the territories closest to Assyria and made them
dependent territories.
The Assyrian kings picked the governor for the dependent territories
or supported the rulers that sided with Assyria.
Assyria protected the dependent territories from invasions.
Assyria was forceful ruling the empire. If a conquered territory
refused to pay taxes, Assyria would destroy the land and kill the
people.
If there were any signs of rebellion, entire populations could be wiped
out, and their territories annexed.
Hundreds of thousands of people were deported to work in Assyria as
slave laborers or conscripts into the army.
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Assyrian Technology
► The
Assyrians were crafty, looking always
onward and upward. Nineveh, Assyria’s capital
city, featured one of the ancient world’s largest
libraries. Ashurbanipal, one of Assyria’s many
kings, had the useful and desirable ability to
read in several languages. As their technology
advanced, their Empire did also. Assyrian
technology, in fact, is what helped them to be
so very powerful.
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Chariots
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One of the most useful
things that the Assyrians
used was the chariot. Also a
means of quick
transportation, the twowheeled horse-drawn
Chariots were used to smash
their way through the cities
and towns of their rivals.
Fun, yes?
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Iron
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The Assyrians were also
some of the first ancient
peoples to notice the quality
and efficiency of Iron over
bronze. Soon, they had
equipped all of their
warriors with weapons and
armor that were mostly (if
not completely) made of
heavy durable iron.
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Fall of the Assyrian Empire
►A
huge part of Assyria’s growth as an empire rode on
their ability to successfully take over and defeat other
towns, cities, empires, etc. Although, because of their
violent nature, the Assyrian’s earned themselves
more enemies than allies. Shortly after the death of
king Ashurbanipal, a united army made up of mostly
Medes and Chaldeans burned Nineveh to the ground.
Assyria fell quickly after that.
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Bibliography: slides 1 - 8
Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. "Entry for 'ASSYRIA'". "International
Standard Bible Encyclopedia". 1915.
http://www.biblehistory.com/assyria_archaeology/archaeology_of_ancient_assyria_international_stan
dard_bible_encyclopedia_asshur.html
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Hallsal, Paul. "Assyria (c.1350- 612 BCE)." Ancient History Source Book 04 08
1998 25 Nov 2008
<http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook03.html#Assyria>.
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Photos:
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The Ancient Near East Map (Background Slide 3)
http://rationalrevolution.net/images/mesopotamia-map.jpg
Assyrian Empire 650 BC (Map slide 2)
http://home.comcast.net/~DiazStudents/Mesopotamia%20AssyrianEmpire.jpg
Assyrian god photo (Image Slide 4)
http://www.smb.spk-berlin.de/vam/vg/img/vamb6g.jpg
Assyrian art
http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/_/viewer.aspx?path=hut&name=47112.jpg
Assyrian art
http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/_/viewer.aspx?path=hut&name=47090.jpg
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Bibliography: slides 9 - 12
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http://wsu.edu/~dee/MESO/ASSYRIA.HTM
http://www.crystalinks.com/assyria.html
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http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/westasia/history/assyrians.htm
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http://www.dignubia.org/maps/timeline/img/b0664-kushite-troops-prison.jpg
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http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/78/18878-004-0710560A.jpg
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www.dignubia.org/maps/timeline/img/b0664-kush...
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Bibliography: Slides 13 - 16
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Gordon, George . "Assyria Dominates the Fertile Crescent."World History. 2nd ed. 2001.
"The Assyrian Empire." Allempires.com. 24 Nov 2008
<http://www.allempires.com/empires/assyria/assyria1.htm#4>.
BetBasoo, Peter. "Timeline of Assyrian History." www.aina.org. 24 Nov 2008
<http://www.aina.org/aol/peter/timeline.htm>.
"Ancient Assyrian Armor." www.history-of-armor.com. 24 Nov 2008 <http://www.history-ofarmor.com/AssyrianArmor.html>.
Maspero, G.. "History of Egypt." www.gutenberg.com. 24 Nov 2008
<http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17327/17327-h/v7a.htm>.
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