Neo-Assyrian Empire

Middle Assyrian Empire seal. 1400-1100 BCE.

Ashur-uballit extended Assyrian control over the rich farming lands of Nineveh and Arbela to the north.[23] Tiglath-Pileser controlled the lucrative caravan routes that crossed the fertile crescent from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf.[24] Much campaigning by Tiglath-Pileser and succeeding kings was directed against Aramaean pastoralist groups in Syria, some of whom were moving against Assyrian centers. By the end of the 2nd millennium BC, the Aramaean expansion had resulted in the loss of much Assyrian territory in Upper Mesopotamia.[23]

After the death of Tiglath-Pileser I in 1076 BC, Assyria was in comparative decline for the next 150 years. The period from 1200 BC to 900 BC was a Dark Age for the entire Near East, North Africa, Caucasus, Mediterranean and Balkan regions, with great upheavals and mass movements of people. Assyria was in a stronger position during this time than potential rivals such as Egypt, Babylonia, Elam, Phrygia, Urartu, Persia and Media.[25]

Assyrian ruler, possibly Ashurnasirpal II, accompanied by military attendants. Glazed Tile, Northwest Palace, Nimrud, 875-850 BC.[26]

Beginning with the campaigns of Adad-nirari II, Assyria again became a great power, ultimately overthrowing the Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt and conquering Elam, Urartu, Media, Persia, Mannea, Gutium, Phoenicia/Canaan, Arabia, Israel, Judah, Philistia, Edom, Moab, Samarra, Cilicia, Cyprus, Chaldea, Nabatea, Commagene, Dilmun, Shutu and Neo-Hittites; driving the Nubians, Kushites and Ethiopians from Egypt; defeating the Cimmerians and Scythians; and exacting tribute from Phrygia among others. Adad-nirari II and his successors campaigned on an annual basis for part of every year with an exceptionally well-organized army.[22] He subjugated the areas previously under only nominal Assyrian vassalage, conquering and deporting Aramean and Hurrian populations in the north to far-off places. Adad-nirari II then twice attacked and defeated Shamash-mudammiq of Babylonia, annexing a large area of land north of the Diyala river and the towns of Hit and Zanqu in mid Mesopotamia. He made further gains over Babylonia under Nabu-shuma-ukin I later in his reign. He was succeeded by Tukulti-Ninurta II in 891 BC, who further consolidated Assyria's position and expanded northwards into Asia Minor and the Zagros Mountains during his short reign.

The next king, Ashurnasirpal II (883–859 BC), 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.[23] Ashurnasirpal II also campaigned in the Zagros Mountains in modern Iran, repressing a revolt against Assyrian rule by the Lullubi and Gutians. The Assyrians began boasting in their ruthlessness around this time. Ashurnasirpal II also moved his capital to the city of Kalhu (Calah/Nimrud). The palaces, temples and other buildings raised by him bear witness to a considerable development of wealth and art. Ashurnasirpal II introduced a policy of mass deportation of conquered people, which continued on a greatly increased scale under his son, Shalmaneser III.[27]

Ashurnasirpal's son, Shalmaneser III (859–824 BC), had a long reign of 35 years, in which the capital was converted into an armed camp. Each year the Assyrian armies marched out to campaign. Babylon was occupied, and Babylonia reduced to vassalage. He fought against Urartu and marched an army against an alliance of Aramean states headed by Hadadezer of Damascus and including Ahab, king of Israel, at the Battle of Qarqar in 853 BC. Despite Shalmaneser's description of 'vanquishing the opposition', it seems that the battle ended in a deadlock, as the Assyrian forces were withdrawn soon afterwards.

Shalmaneser III receiving the tribute of "Jehu of the people of the land of Omri" (Akkadian: 𒅀𒌑𒀀 𒈥 𒄷𒌝𒊑𒄿), referring to Jehu, king of northern Israel, as depicted on the Black Obelisk, circa 840 BCE.

Shalmaneser took the neo Hittite state of Carchemish in 849 BC, and in 842 BC, marched an army against Hazael, King of Damascus, besieging the city and forcing tribute, but not taking it. In 841 BC, he also brought under tribute Jehu of Israel, and the Phoenician states of Tyre, and Sidon. His black obelisk, discovered at Kalhu, records many military exploits of his reign.[28]

The last four years of Shalmaneser's life were disturbed by the rebellion of his eldest son Ashur-nadin-aplu that nearly proved fatal to Assyria. Twenty seven cities, including Assur, Arbela, Arrapha (Kirkuk) and other places joined the pretender. The rebellion was not directed primarily against the king, but rather against the provisional governors such as Dayan-Ashur who had assumed disproportionate power. The revolt was quashed with difficulty by Shamshi-Adad V, Shalmaneser's second son, who succeeded him upon his death in 824 BC.

The long and bitter civil war had allowed the Babylonians to the south, the Medes, Manneans, the Persians to the north and east, the Arameans, and the Neo-Hittites in the west to largely shake off Assyrian rule, and Shamshi-Adad V spent the remainder of his reign reasserting control over those peoples. During this period, Urartu took the opportunity to reassert its influence on the region. As a result of all these events, Assyria did not expand further during the reign of Shamshi-Adad V. Adad-nirari III was a boy when succeeding his father in 811 BC, and for five years until 806 BC, his mother, Queen Sammuramat (also depicted as Semiramis) ruled as regent in his stead. Despite the numerous legends regarding this queen, she is mentioned little in Assyrian records of the time.

In 806 BC, Adad-nirari III took the reins of power. He invaded the Levant and subjugated the Arameans, Phoenicians, Philistines, Israelites, Neo-Hittites and Edomites. He entered Damascus and forced tribute upon its king Ben-Hadad III. He next turned to Iran, and subjugated the Persians, Medes and Manneans, penetrating as far as the Caspian Sea. His next targets were the Chaldean and Sutu tribes of southeastern Mesopotamia whom he conquered and reduced to vassalage.

Adad-nirari III died prematurely in 783 BC, and this led to a period of true stagnation. Shalmaneser IV (783–773 BC) seems to have wielded little authority, and a victory over Argishti I, king of Urartu at Til Barsip, is accredited to a general ('Turtanu') named Shamshi-ilu who does not even bother to mention his king. Shamshi-ilu also scored victories over the Arameans and Neo-Hittites, and again, takes personal credit at the expense of his king.

Ashur-dan III ascended the throne in 772 BC. He proved to be a largely ineffectual ruler who was beset by internal rebellions in the cities of Ashur, Arrapkha, and Guzana. He failed to make further gains in Babylonia and Aram (Syria). His reign was also marred by Plague and an ominous Solar Eclipse. Ashur-nirari V became king in 754 BC, but his reign seems to have been one of permanent revolution, and he appears to have barely left his palace in Nineveh before he was deposed by Tiglath-Pileser III in 745 BC, bringing a resurgence to Assyria.

Deportation of Israelites by the Assyrian Empire

When Tiglath-Pileser III ascended the throne, Assyria was in the throes of a revolution. Civil war and pestilence were devastating the country, and many of Assyria's most northerly colonies in Asia Minor had been wrested from it by Urartu. In 746 BC, the city of Kalhu joined the rebels, but on the 13th of Iyyar in the following year, an Assyrian general (Turtanu) named Pulu seized the crown under the name of Tiglath-Pileser III, and made sweeping changes to the Assyrian government, considerably improving its efficiency and security.

The conquered provinces were organized under an elaborate bureaucracy, with the king at the head—each district paying a fixed tribute and providing a military contingent. The Assyrian forces at this time became a professional standing army. Assyrian policy was henceforth directed toward reducing the whole civilized world into a single empire, throwing its trade and wealth into Assyrian hands. These changes are often identified as the beginning of the "Second Assyrian Empire".

When Tiglath-Pileser III had ascended the throne of Assyria, he invaded Babylonia, defeated its king Nabonassar, and abducted the gods of Šapazza; these events are recorded in the Assyrian-Babylonian Chronicle.[29]

After subjecting Babylon to tribute, defeating Urartu and conquering the Medes, Persians and Neo-Hittites, Tiglath-Pileser III directed his armies into Aramea, of which large swathes had regained independence, and the commercially successful Mediterranean seaports of Phoenicia. He took Arpad near Aleppo in 740 BC after a siege of three years, and razed Hamath. Azariah, king of Judah had been an ally of the king of Hamath, and thus was compelled by Tiglath-Pileser to do him homage and pay yearly tribute.

The capture of the city of Astartu (in the land of king Og of Bashan, east of the Jordan river), by the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III about 730–727 BCE, as depicted on a palace relief now kept on display at the British Museum.[30]

In 738 BC, during the reign of king Menahem of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser III occupied Philistia (modern-day southwestern Israel and the Gaza Strip) and invaded Israel, imposing on it a heavy tribute. Ahaz, king of Judah, engaged in a war against Israel and Aramea, appealed for help to the Assyrian king by means of presents of gold and silver; Tiglath-Pileser III accordingly "marched against Damascus, defeated and put king Rezin to death, and besieged the city itself". Leaving part of his army to continue the siege, he advanced, ravaging with fire and sword the provinces east of the Jordan (Nabatea, Moab and Edom), Philistia, and Samaria; and in 732 BC he took the chief Aramean state of Damascus, deporting many of its inhabitants and the Israelite inhabitants of Samaria to Assyria. He also forced tribute from the Arabs of the deserts in the Arabian peninsula.

In 729 BC, Tiglath-Pileser III went to Babylonia and captured Nabu-mukin-zeri, the king of Babylon.[31] He had himself crowned as King Pulu of Babylon. Tiglath-Pileser III died in 727 BC, and was succeeded by Shalmaneser V. However, King Hoshea of Israel suspended paying tribute, and allied himself with Egypt against Assyria in 725 BC. This led Shalmaneser to invade Syria and besiege Samaria (capital city of Israel) for three years.[32]

An Assyrian lamassu, from Sargon's palace at Dur-Sharrukin.

Shalmaneser V died suddenly in 722 BC, while laying siege to Samaria, and the throne was seized by Sargon II, the Turtanu (commander-in-chief of the army, which the Jewish sources record as Tartan), who then quickly took Samaria, effectively ending the northern Kingdom of Israel and carrying 27,000 people away into captivity into the Israelite diaspora.[33]

Sargon II waged war in his second year (721 BC) against the king of Elam, Humban-Nikash I, and his ally Marduk-apal-iddina II (the biblical Merodach-Baladan), the Chaldean ruler of Babylon, who had thrown off Assyrian rule,[34] but Sargon was unable to dislodge him on this occasion.[35] Sargon, able to contain the revolt but not actually retake Babylon on this occasion, turned his attention again to Urartu and Aramea, taking Carchemish in 717, as well as re-conquering the Medes, Persians and Manneans, penetrating the Iranian Plateau as far as Mount Bikni and building several fortresses. Urartu suffered a crushing defeat—its capital city was sacked and its king Rusas committed suicide in shame. The Neo-Hittite states of northern Syria were conquered, as well as Cilicia and Commagene.

Assyria was belligerent towards Babylonia for ten years while Marduk-apla-iddina ruled Babylon.[36] In 710 BC, Sargon attacked Babylonia and defeated Marduk-apla-iddina, who fled to his protectors in Elam.[37] As a result of this victory the Greek rulers of Cyprus gave allegiance to Assyria and king Midas of Phrygia, fearful of Assyrian power, offered his hand in friendship. Sargon also built a new capital at Dur Sharrukin ("Sargon's City") near Nineveh, with all the tribute Assyria had collected from various nations.

Assyrian Crown-Prince, ca. 704–681 BC. Nineveh, Mesopotamia. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In 705 BC, Sargon was killed in battle while driving out the Cimmerians, who had come down from their homeland on the shores of the Black Sea and attacked the Assyrian-ruled colonies and peoples in Iran, forcing its Persian subjects southwards from their original lands around Urmia. He was succeeded by his son Sennacherib.[38]

His first task was to affirm his control over Cilicia, which was attempting to rebel with Greek help. Sennacherib marched into Cilicia, defeating the rebels and their Greek allies. He also reasserted Assyria's mastery of Corduene in Asia Minor.

Sennacherib decided to move the capital from Sargon's Dur-Sharrukin to the city of Nineveh, and in Nineveh he built the famous "the Palace without a Rival", he made Nineveh a beautiful city and improved the city, planting orchards and gardens.[15]

Neo-Assyrian Empire, showing Judah in grey

The Egyptians had begun agitating peoples within the Assyrian empire in an attempt to gain a foothold in the region. As a result, in 701 BC, Hezekiah of Judah, Lule king of Sidon, Sidka, king of Ascalon and the king of Ekron formed an alliance with Egypt against Assyria. Sennacherib attacked the rebels, conquering Ascalon, Sidon and Ekron and defeating the Egyptians and driving them from the region. He marched toward Jerusalem, destroying 46 towns and villages (including the heavily defended city of Lachish) in his path. This is graphically described in Isaiah 10; exactly what happened next is unclear (the Bible says an angel of the Lord killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers at Jerusalem after Hezekiah prayed in the temple).[39] Sennacherib's account says Judah paid him tribute and he left.

The Hebrew Bible states that Hezekiah did pay tribute once, and the Assyrians left, but returned a second time when the soldiers were then killed; however what is certain is that Sennacherib failed to actually capture Jerusalem. Marduk-apla-iddina had returned to Babylonia during the reign of Sennacherib. The Assyrian king attacked him in 703 BC outside Kish and defeated him. Sennacherib plundered Babylonia and pursued Marduk-apla-iddina through the land. At his return to Assyria, Sennacherib installed a puppet ruler, Bel-ibni, as king of Babylon.[40] Bel-ibni, however, committed hostilities, so Sennacherib returned to Babylon in 700 BC and captured him and his officers. Sennacherib instead installed his own son Ashur-nadin-shumi on the throne of Babylon.[41]

Assyrian warship, a bireme with pointed bow, 700 BC.

Sennacherib launched a campaign against Elam in 694 BC and ravaged the land. In retaliation, the king of Elam attacked Babylonia. Ashur-nadin-shumi was captured and brought back to Elam and a new king called Nergal-ushezib was installed as ruler of Babylon.[42] The Assyrians returned the next year to Babylonia and plundered the gods of Uruk. Nergal-ušezib and his Elamite allies were defeated by Assyria, and he was taken prisoner and transported to Assyria.[43] Another native ruler, called Mushezib-Marduk, soon seized the throne of Babylon. He held on to it with help of his Elamite allies for four years until 689 BC, when the Assyrians retook the city.[44] Sennacherib responded swiftly by opening the canals around Babylon and flooding the outside of the city until it became a swamp, resulting in its destruction, and its inhabitants were scattered.

In 681 BC, Sennacherib was murdered while praying to the god Nisroch by one or more of his own sons (allegedly named Adremelech, Abimlech, and Sharezer), perhaps as retribution for his destruction of Babylon.[45][46]

The Victory stele of Esarhaddon was created following the king's victory in Egypt and depicts Esarhaddon in a majestic pose with a war mace in his hand and a vassal king before him. Also present is the son of Taharqa, the defeated pharaoh, kneeling and with a rope around his neck.

Sennacherib was succeeded by his son Esarhaddon (Ashur-ahhe-iddina), who had been governor of Babylonia; at the time of his father's murder he was campaigning in the Caucasus Mountains against Urartu, where he won a victory at Malatia (Milid). During the first year of Esarhaddon's rule, a rebellion broke out in the south of Babylonia. Nabu-zer-kitti-lišir, an ethnic Elamite governor of the mat Tamti, with the help of the Chaldeans, laid siege to Ur. The Elamite and his Chaldean allies were defeated and he fled to his kinsmen in Elam (Hal-Tamti); however, "the king of Elam took him prisoner and put him to the sword" (ABC 1 Col.3:39–42); also in (ABC 14:1–4).

In 679 BC the Cimmerians and Scythians (a horse-riding horde from what is now southern Russia) crossed the Taurus Mountains and harassed Assyrian colonies in Cilicia. Esarhaddon swiftly attacked and drove these marauders away.

As king of Assyria, Esarhaddon immediately had Babylon rebuilt. Defeating the Scythians, Cimmerians and Medes (again penetrating to Mt. Bikni), he then turned his attention westward to Phoenicia—now allying itself with the Nubian/Kushite rulers of Egypt against him—and sacked Sidon in 677 BC. He also captured King Manasseh of Judah and kept him prisoner for some time in Babylon (2 Chronicles 33:11). Having had enough of Egyptian meddling, Esarhaddon raided Egypt in 673 BC. Two years later he launched a full invasion and conquered Egypt, chasing the Pharaoh Taharqa back to Nubia, thus bringing to an end Nubian-Kushite rule in Egypt, and destroying the Kushite Empire which had begun in 760 BC.

The Babylonian Chronicles retells how Egypt "was sacked and its gods were abducted".[47] The pharaoh Tirhakah fled Egypt, and a stele commemorating the victory, was set up at Sinjerli in Asia Minor, north of the Gulf of Antioch; it is now in the Pergamon Museum, Berlin. The Bible graphically recounts Egypt's demise in Isaiah 20:4 "So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. 5 And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory."

Assyria defeated Urartu, annexed much of its territory and reduced it to vassalage, and expanded southwards as far as Dilmun (Bahrain) and into Arabia at this time. This was perhaps Assyria's greatest territorial extent.[15]

However, the Assyrian governors and local puppet rulers Esarhaddon had appointed over Egypt were obliged to flee the restive native populace who yearned for independence now that the Kushites and Nubians had been ejected.

A new campaign was launched by Esarhaddon in 669 BC. However, he became ill on the way and died. His elder son Shamash-shum-ukin became king of Babylon and his son Ashurbanipal became king of Assyria, with Ashurbanipal holding the senior position and Babylon subject to Nineveh.[48] Bel and the gods of Babylonia returned from their exile in Assur to Babylon in the first year of Shamash-shum-ukin's reign, and the akitu festival could be celebrated for the first time in twenty years.[49]

Part of the Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal, c. 645–635 BC

Ashurbanipal, or "Ashur-bani-apli" (Ashurbanapli, Asnapper), succeeded his father Esarhaddon to the throne. He continued to campaign in and to dominate Egypt, when not distracted by having to deal with pressures from the Medes to the east, and Cimmerians and Scythians to the north of Assyria. He installed a native Egyptian Pharaoh, Psammetichus, as a vassal king in 664 BC. However, after Gyges of Lydia's appeal for Assyrian help against the Cimmerians was rejected, Lydian mercenaries were sent to Psammetichus. By 652 BC, this vassal king was able to declare outright independence from Assyria with impunity, particularly as Ashurbanipal's older brother, Shamash-shum-ukin of Babylon, became infused with Babylonian nationalism, and began a major civil war in that year. However, the new dynasty in Egypt wisely maintained friendly relations with Assyria.

Shamash-shum-ukin attempted to raise a huge rebellion encompassing many vassal peoples against Ashurbanipal; however, this largely failed. This rebellion lasted until 648 BC, when Babylon was sacked, and Shamash-shum-ukin set fire to the palace, killing himself. Ashurbanipal then set about punishing the Chaldeans, Arabs and Nabateans who had supported the Babylonian revolt. He invaded the Arabian Peninsula and routed and subjugated the Arabs, including the powerful Qedar tribe, taking much booty back to Nineveh and killing the Arab kings, Abiate and Uate. The Nabateans who dwelt south of the Dead Sea and in northern Arabia, and the Chaldeans in the far south east of Mesopotamia were also defeated and subjugated. Elam was the next target; it was attacked in 646 and 640 BC, and its capital Susa sacked.

Babylonian prisoners under Assyrian guard, reign of Ashurbanipal 668-630 BCE, Nineveh, British Museum ME 124788

After the crushing of the Babylonian revolt Ashurbanipal appeared master of all he surveyed. To the east, Elam was devastated and prostrate before Assyria, the Manneans and the Iranian Persians and Medes were vassals. To the south, Babylonia was occupied, the Chaldeans, Arabs, Sutu and Nabateans subjugated, the Nubian empire destroyed, and Egypt paid tribute. To the north, the Scythians and Cimmerians had been vanquished and driven from Assyrian territory, Urartu, Phrygia, Corduene and the neo Hittites were in vassalage, and Lydia pleaded for Assyrian protection. To the west, Aramea (Syria), the Phoenicians, Israel, Judah, Samarra and Cyprus were subjugated, and the Hellenised inhabitants of Caria, Cilicia, Cappadocia and Commagene paid tribute to Assyria.

Assyria now appeared stronger than ever. However, his long struggle with Babylonia and Elam and their allies, and the constant campaigning to control and expand its vast empire in all directions, left Assyria exhausted. It had been drained of wealth and manpower; the devastated provinces could yield nothing to supply the needs of the imperial exchequer, and it was difficult to find sufficient troops to garrison the huge empire.

Assyria, therefore, was ill-prepared to face the renewed hordes of Scythians who now began to harass the frontiers to the north and north east. After the Assyrians destroyed Elam, the Medes had begun to grow powerful, becoming the dominant force among the Iranian peoples who had begun to settle the regions to the east of Mesopotamia circa 1000 BC at the expense of the Persians and the pre-Iranian Elamites and Manneans, and they were by the end of Ashurbanipal's reign only nominally under Assyrian vassalage. Asia Minor too was full of hostile Scythians and Cimmerians who had overrun Urartu, Lydia and Phrygia, before being driven back by the Assyrians. However, while Ashurbanipal lived, he was able to contain these potential threats.

In 605 BCE, an Egyptian force fought the Babylonians at Battle of Carchemish, helped by the remnants of the army of the former Assyria, but this too met with defeat.

The empire began to disintegrate rapidly after a series of bitter civil wars broke out involving a number of claimants to the throne. Ashur-etil-ilani succeeded Ashurbanipal, but his reign was short and he was succeeded in 627 BC by his brother Sinsharishkun. After dealing with the revolt of the general Sin-shumu-lishir, Sinsharishkun faced a much larger threat. His Babylonian vassal state had taken advantage of the upheavals in Assyria and rebelled under the previously unknown Nabopolassar, a member of the Chaldean tribe, in 625 BC. What followed was a long war fought in the Babylonian heartland. Nabopolassar tried to capture Nippur, the main Assyrian center of power in Babylonia, but was defeated by Sinsharishkun. However, Nabopolassar did take the actual city of Babylon after a popular uprising there, and was crowned king of the city in 625 BC.

Sinsharishkun then lost more ground, before he succeeded in recapturing Uruk in about 624 BC, only to quickly lose it again. When Sinsharishkun led a large army to Babylonia in 623 BC, in an attempt to finally crush the rebellion, yet another war broke out in the Assyrian homeland. A relief army was sent back from the Babylonian campaign but changed sides, thereby allowing the usurper to reach the capital, Nineveh, without interference, and claim the throne. Sinsharishkun was able to quell the homeland rebellion, but precious time was lost to solve the Babylonian problem, and Nabopolassar was able to consolidate his position.

In 620 BC, Nabopolassar finally captured Nippur, becoming master of Babylonia. While these events were unfolding, the Medes had also freed themselves from Assyrian domination and consolidated power in what was to become Persia. In 616 BC, Cyaxares, the Median king, made an alliance with Nabopolassar, and with the help of the Scythians and Cimmerians, attacked Assyria. Assyria now faced overwhelming odds, and after four years of bitter fighting, the coalition destroyed Nineveh in 612 BC, after a three-month siege, followed by house-to-house fighting. Sinsharishkun was killed in the process, and the Fall of Nineveh marked the beginning of the end of the Assyrian Empire.

A general called Ashur-uballit II was declared king of Assyria, and with belated military support from the Egyptian pharaoh Necho II, whose dynasty had been installed with the help of the Assyrians, held out at Harran until 609 BC.[50] Egyptian aid continued to the Assyrians, who desperately attempted to curb the increasing power of the Babylonians and Medes.

In 609 BC, at the Battle of Megiddo, an Egyptian force defeated a Judean force under king Josiah and managed to reach the last remnants of the Assyrian army. In a final battle at Harran in 609 BC, the Babylonians and Medes defeated the Assyrian-Egyptian alliance, after which Assyria ceased to exist as an independent state.[50] It is not known if Ashur-uballit II was killed at Harran or if he survived; anyway, he subsequently disappeared from the pages of history. In 605 BC, another Egyptian force fought the Babylonians (Battle of Carchemish), helped by the remnants of the army of the former Assyria, but this too met with defeat.

In the mid-6th century BC, Babylonia and Assyria became provinces of the Persian Empire. In 520 BC, Assyria made a final attempt to regain independence, with a large-scale rebellion against the Achaemenid Empire, which was suppressed by king Darius the Great.

Though the Assyrians during the reign of Ashurbanipal destroyed the Elamite civilization, the Assyrians' culture did influence the succeeding empires of the Medes and the Persians, Indo-Iranian peoples who had been dominated by Assyria.[51]

A.W. Schneider and S.F. Adah have suggested that increased population coupled with severe drought contributed to significant economic and political instability.[52][53] Conquered peoples were often deported great distances and resettled in Assyrian provinces to minimize the possibility of revolts.[22] The Assyrian heartland had undergone a population explosion during the late 8th and early 7th centuries, largely due to the forced resettlement of conquered peoples into the empire. However, a study on mineral deposits in two stalagmites taken from northern Iraq's Kuna Ba Cave, indicates to a shift from a wet climate to a dry one between 675 and 550 B.C., which might have contributed to the fall of Neo-Assyrian Empire.[54]

Eunuchs often filled roles as servants to the kings and accompanied him in almost all aspects of ruling, such as administrative duties and rituals.[67] Royal eunuchs were regularly promoted to being provincial governors and they could rule the lands as they saw fit; they could "erect their own steles, place their names before that of the king's, and grant zakatu (tax-free status) to their subjects."[67] As governors of their own lands, they had the right to declare war on other governances and collect any tribute that may have resulted from the battles.[67]