Assyria (Assihrya) was a
nation in northern Mesopotamia in Old Testament times that became a
large empire during the period of the Israelite kings. Assyrian
expansion into the region of Palestine (about 855-625 B.C.) had
enormous impact on the Hebrew kingdoms of Israel and Judah.
History Assyria lay north of the region of Babylonia along the banks
of the Tigris River (Genesis 2:14) in northern Mesopotamia. The name
Assyria (in Hebrew, Ashshur) is from Asshur, its first capital,
founded about 2000 B.C. The foundation of other Assyrian cities,
notably Calah and Nineveh, appears in Genesis 10:11-12.
The history of Assyria is well documented in royal Assyrian annals,
building inscriptions, king lists, correspondence, and other
archaeological evidence. By 1900 B.C. these cities were vigorously
trading as far away as Cappadocia in eastern Asia Minor. An expanded
Assyria warred with the famous King Hammurabi of Babylon shortly
before breaking up into smaller city states about 1700 B.C.
Beginning about 1300 B.C., a reunited Assyria made rapid territorial
advances and soon became an international power. Expanding westward,
Tiglath-pileser I (1115-1077 B.C.) became the first Assyrian monarch
to march his army to the shores of the Mediterranean. With his murder,
however, Assyria entered a 166-year period of decline.
Assyria awoke from its dark ages under Adad-nirari II (911-891 B.C.),
who reestablished the nation as a power to be reckoned with in
Mesopotamia. His grandson, Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 B.C.) moved
Assyria toward the status of an empire. Ashurnasirpal II used a
well-deserved reputation for cruelty to extort tribute and taxes from
states within the reach of his army in predatory campaigns. He also
rebuilt the city of Calah as the new military and administrative
capital. Carved stone panels in Ashurnasirpal's palace there show
violent scenes of the king's vicious campaigns against unsubmissive
enemies.
Ashurnasirpal's son Shalmaneser III (858-824 B.C.) continued a policy
of Assyrian expansion through his annual campaigns in all directions.
These were no longer mere predatory raids. Rather they demonstrated a
systematic economic exploitation of subject states. As always, failure
to submit to Assyria brought vicious military action. The results,
however, were not always a complete victory for Assyria. In such a
context Assyria first encountered the Hebrew kingdoms of the Bible. In
853 B.C., at Qarqar in north Syria, Shalmaneser fought a coalition of
twelve kings including Hadad-ezer (Ben-Hadad, 1 Kings 20:26,1 Kings
20:34) of Aram-Damascus and Ahab of Israel. This confrontation is not
mentioned in the Bible, but it may have taken place during a
three-year period of peace between Israel and Aram-Damascus (1 Kings
22:1). In his official inscriptions Shalmaneser claims victory, but
the battle was inconclusive. In 841 B.C., he finally defeated Hazael
of Damascus and on Mt. Carmel received tribute from Tyre, Sidon, and
King Jehu of Israel. A scene carved in relief on the Black Obelisk of
Shalmaneser, unearthed at Calah, shows Jehu groveling before
Shalmaneser, the only known depiction of an Israelite king.
With the death of Shalmaneser, Assyria entered another period of
decline during which she was occupied with the nearby kingdom of
Urartu. For the next century only one Assyrian king seriously affected
affairs in Palestine. Adad-nirari III (810-783 B.C.) entered Damascus,
taking extensive tribute from Ben-hadad III. He is probably the
“savior” of 2 Kings 13:5, who allowed Israel to escape domination by
Aram-Damascus. Nevertheless, Adad-nirari also collected tribute from
Jehoash of Israel.
Assyrian preoccupation with Urartu ended with the reign of
Tiglath-pileser III (744-727 B.C.). The true founder of the Assyrian
Empire, he made changes in the administration of conquered
territories. Nations close to the Assyrian homeland were incorporated
as provinces. Others were left with native rule, but subject to an
Assyrian overseer. Tiglath-pileser also instituted a policy of mass
deportations to reduce local nationalistic feelings. He took conquered
people into exile to live in lands vacated by other conquered exiles.
Compare 2 Kings 17:24.
As Tiglath-pileser, also called Pul, arrived on the coast of
Phoenicia, Menahem of Israel (2 Kings 15:19) and Rezin of Aram-Damascus
brought tribute and became vassals of Assyria. An anti-Assyrian
alliance quickly formed. Israel and Aram-Damascus attacked Jerusalem
about 735 B.C. in an attempt to replace King Ahaz of Judah with a man
loyal to the anti-Assyrian alliance (2 Kings 16:2-6; Isaiah 7:1-6) and
thus force Judah's participation. Against the protests of Isaiah
(Isaiah 7:4,Isaiah 7:16-17; Isaiah 8:4-8), Ahaz appealed to
Tiglath-pileser for assistance (2 Kings 16:7-9). Tiglath-pileser, in
response, campaigned against Philistia (734 B.C.), reduced Israel to
the area immediately around Samaria (2 Kings 15:29; 733 B.C.), and
annexed Aram-Damascus (732 B.C.), deporting the population. Ahaz, for
his part, became an Assyrian vassal (2 Kings 16:10; 2 Chronicles
28:16,2 Chronicles 28:20-22).
Little is known of the reign of Tiglath-pileser's successor,
Shalmaneser V (726-722 B.C.), except that he besieged Samaria for
three years in response to Hoshea's failure to pay tribute (2 Kings
17:3-5). The city finally fell to Shalmaneser (2 Kings 17:6; 2 Kings
18:9-12), who apparently died in the same year. His successor, Sargon
II (722-705 B.C.), took credit in Assyrian royal inscriptions for
deporting 27,290 inhabitants of Samaria.
Sargon campaigned in the region to counter rebellions in Gaza in 720
B.C. and Ashdod in 712 (Isaiah 20:1). Hezekiah of Judah was tempted to
join in the Ashdod rebellion, but Isaiah warned against such action
(Isaiah 18:1). Meanwhile, unrest smoldered in other parts of the
empire. A rebellious king of Babylon, Merodach-baladan, found support
from Elam, Assyria's enemy to the east. Though forced to flee Babylon
in 710 B.C., Merodach-baladan returned some years later to reclaim the
throne. He sent emissaries to Hezekiah in Jerusalem (2 Kings 20:12-19;
Isaiah 39:1), apparently as part of preparations for a concerted
anti-Assyrian revolt.
News of Sargon's death in battle served as a signal to anti-Assyrian
forces. Sennacherib (704-681 B.C.) ascended the throne in the midst of
widespread revolt. Merodach-baladan of Babylon, supported by the
Elamites, had inspired the rebellion of all southern Mesopotamia. A
number of states in Phoenicia and Palestine were also in rebellion,
led by Hezekiah of Judah. After subduing Babylon, Sennacherib turned
his attentions westward. In 701 B.C., he reasserted control over the
city-states of Phoenicia, sacked Joppa and Ashkelon, and invaded Judah
where Hezekiah had made considerable military preparations (2 Kings
20:20; 2 Chronicles 32:1-8,2 Chronicles 32:30; Isaiah 22:8-11).
Sennacherib's own account of the invasion provides a remarkable
supplement to the biblical version (2 Kings 18:13-19:36). He claims to
have destroyed 46 walled cities (see 2 Kings 18:13) and to have taken
200,150 captives. Sennacherib's conquest of Lachish is shown in
graphic detail in carved panels from his palace at Nineveh. During the
siege of Lachish, an Assyrian army was sent against Jerusalem where
Hezekiah was “made a prisoner… like a bird in a cage.” Three of
Sennacherib's dignitaries attempted to negotiate the surrender of
Jerusalem (2 Kings 18:17-37), but Hezekiah continued to hold out with
the encouragement of Isaiah (2 Kings 19:1-7,2 Kings 19:20-35). In the
end, the Assyrian army withdrew, and Hezekiah paid an enormous tribute
(2 Kings 18:14-16). The Assyrian account claims a victory over the
Egyptian army and mentions Hezekiah's tribute but is rather vague
about the end of the campaign. The Bible mentions the approach of the
Egyptian army (2 Kings 19:9) and tells of a miraculous defeat of the
Assyrians by the angel of the Lord (2 Kings 19:35-36). The fifth
century B.C. Greek historian Herodotus relates that the Assyrians
suffered defeat because a plague of field mice destroyed their
equipment. It is not certain whether these accounts can be combined to
infer an outbreak of the plague. Certainly, Sennacherib suffered a
major setback, for Hezekiah was the only ruler of the revolt to keep
his throne.
On a more peaceful front, Sennacherib conducted some major building
projects in Assyria. The ancient city of Nineveh was rebuilt as the
new royal residence and Assyrian capital. War continued, however, with
Elam, which also influenced Babylon to rebel again. An enraged
Sennacherib razed the sacred city in 689 B.C. His murder, at the hands
of his own sons (2 Kings 19:37) in 681 B.C., was interpreted by
Babylonians as divine judgment for destroying their city.
Esarhaddon (681-669 B.C.) emerged as the new king and immediately
began the rebuilding of Babylon, an act which won the allegiance of
the local populace. He warred with nomadic tribes to the north and
quelled a rebellion in Phoenicia, while Manasseh of Judah remained a
loyal vassal. His greatest military adventure, however, was an
invasion of Egypt conducted in 671 B.C. The Pharaoh Taharqa fled south
as Memphis fell to the Assyrians, but returned and fomented rebellion
two years later. Esarhaddon died in 669 B.C. on his way back to
subjugate Egypt.
After conducting a brief expedition against eastern tribes,
Esarhaddon's son, Ashurbanipal (668-627 B.C.), set out to reconquer
Egypt. Assisted by 22 subject kings, including Manasseh of Judah, he
invaded in 667 B.C. He defeated Pharaoh Taharqa and took the ancient
capital of Thebes. Some 1,300 miles from home, Ashurbanipal had no
choice but to reinstall the local rulers his father had appointed in
Egypt and hope for the best. Plans for revolt began immediately; but
Assyrian officers got wind of the plot, captured the rebels, and sent
them to Nineveh. Egypt rebelled again in 665 B.C. This time
Ashurbanipal destroyed Thebes, also called No-Amon (Nahum 3:8, NAS).
Phoenician attempts at revolt were also crushed.
Ashurbanipal ruled at Assyria's zenith but also saw the beginning of
her swift collapse. Ten years after the destruction of Thebes, Egypt
rebelled yet again. Assyria could do nothing because of a war with
Elam. In 651 B.C., Ashurbanipal's brother, the king of Babylon,
organized a widespread revolt. After three years of continual battles
Babylon was subdued, but remained filled with seeds of hatred for
Assyria. Action against Arab tribes followed, and the war with Elam
continued until a final Assyrian victory in 639 B.C. That same year
the official annals of Ashurbanipal came to an abrupt end. With
Ashurbanipal's death in 627 B.C., unrest escalated. By 626, Babylon
had fallen into the hands of the Chaldean Nabopolassar. Outlying
states, such as Judah under Josiah, were free to rebel without fear.
War continued between Assyria and Babylon until, in 614 B.C., the old
Assyrian capital Asshur was sacked by the Medes. Then, in 612 B.C.,
Calah was destroyed. The combined armies of the Babylonians and the
Medes laid siege to Nineveh. After two months, the city fell. And all
who look on you will shrink from you and say, Wasted is Nineveh; who
will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for her?… There is no
assuaging your hurt, your wound is grievous. All who hear the news of
you clap their hands over you. For upon whom has not come your
unceasing evil? (Nahum 3:7,Nahum 3:19). An Assyrian general claimed
the throne and rallied what was left of the Assyrian army in Haran. An
alliance with Egypt brought a few troops to Assyria's aid; but in 610
B.C. the Babylonians approached, and Haran was abandoned. Assyria was
no more.
Religion Assyrian religion, like that of most Near Eastern nations,
was polytheistic. Essentially the same as Babylonian religion,
official Assyrian religion recognized thousands of gods; but only
about twenty were important in actual practice. The important part of
the pantheon can be divided into several broad categories: old gods,
astral deities, and young gods.
1. The old gods, Anu, Enlil, and Ea, were patron deities of the oldest
Sumerian cities and were each given a share of the universe as their
dominion. After the rise of Babylon, Marduk was also considered one of
the rulers of the cosmos. Anu, god of the heavens and patron god of
Uruk (biblical Erech; Genesis 10:10), did not play a very active role.
Enlil of Nippur was god of the earth. Ea, the god of Eridu, was lord
of the subterranean waters and the god of craftsmen.
2. Astral deities—gods associated with heavenly bodies—included the
sun-god Shamash, the moon-god Sin, and Ishtar, goddess of the morning
and evening star (the Greek Aphrodite and Roman Venus). Sin was the
patron god of Ur and Haran, both associated with Abraham's origins
(Genesis 11:31). Ishtar, the Canaanite Astarte/Ashtaroth (Judges 10:6;
1 Samuel 7:3-4; 1 Kings 11:5), was very popular as the “Queen of
Heaven” (Jeremiah 7:18; Jeremiah 44:17-19,Jeremiah 44:25) and served
as the patron goddess of Nineveh.
Younger gods were usually associated with a newer city or none at all.
Adad, the Canaanite Hadad, was the god of storms and thus both
beneficial and destructive. Ninurta, the god of war and hunting,
became a fitting patron for the Assyrian capital Calah. Most
important, however, is the unique figure of Asshur. As patron god and
namesake of the original Assyrian capital Asshur and the state itself,
Asshur rose in importance to be lord of the universe and the supreme
god. Since the god Asshur stood above all others, the Assyrian king
was duty-bound to show his corresponding dominance on earth. Most
Assyrian military campaigns were initiated “at the command of Asshur.”
See Babylon, History and Religion of.
Although a number of myths concerning the various Babylonian/Assyrian
gods are known, the religious function of but one can be determined.
The enuma elish, or Epic of Creation, originated in Babylon where it
was recited and reenacted at the New Year's Festival. In the Assyrian
version Asshur, not the Babylonian Marduk, is shown to be superior to
the other gods.
The various gods were thought of as residing in cosmic localities, but
also as present in their image, or idol, and living in the temple as a
king in his palace. The temples varied in size according to the god's
importance. The gilded wooden images were in human form, clothed in a
variety of ritual garments, and given three meals a day. On occasion,
especially at the New Year's Festival, the images were carried in
ceremonial processions or to visit one another in different
sanctuaries. It is difficult to know what meaning the images and
temples of the various gods had for the average person, and even more
difficult to ascertain what comfort or help he might expect through
worship of them. It seems clear, however, that beyond the expectations
of health and success in his earthly life, he was without eternal
hope.Daniel C. Browning, Jr. |
Copyright Statement
These dictionary topics are from the Holman Bible Dictionary,
published by Broadman & Holman, 1991. All rights reserved. Used by
permission of Broadman & Holman.
Bibliography Information
Butler, Trent C. Editor.. "Entry for 'ASSYRIA, HISTORY AND RELIGION
OF'". "Holman Bible Dictionary".
<http://www.studylight.org/dic/hbd/view.cgi?number=T539>. 1991. |
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