(2) at the head of it was the national god Asur or Assur, whose high priest and representative was the king. And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. After the Assyrians taunted Israel's God to stop them from taking the city, they suffered the worst military defeat in human history by losing 185,000 men in one night (2Kings 18 - 19)! Ezekiel (31) attests (about B.C. He also overran the land of Judah, and took the city of Jerusalem ( Isaiah 10:6 Isaiah 10:12 Isaiah 10:22 Isaiah 10:24 Isaiah 10:34 ). Assyria is always distinguished from Babylonia in the Old Testament, and not confounded with it as by Herodotus and other classical writers. This led to Ahab's casting off the yoke of Damascus and allying himself with Judah. The Assyrians of the Bible were part of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Asshur, Assyria. Aramaic, accordingly, became the language of trade, and then of diplomacy (compare The famous bronze gates of Balawat were erected by him in commemoration of his victories. (Genesis 10:11) etc.It derived its name apparently from Asshur, the son of Shem, (Genesis 10:22) who in later times was worshipped by the Assyrians as their chief god. Pronunciation of Assyria with 3 audio pronunciations, 4 synonyms, 1 meaning, 14 translations, 5 sentences and more for Assyria. But on his death the smouldering flames of rebellion again burst forth, and the Babylonians and Medes successfully asserted their independence (B.C. The answer is no from a political perspective. A large part of his reign was spent in combating a great confederation of the northern nations (Armenia, Manna, etc.) "International Standard Bible Encyclopedia". Sargon, for whose history see SARGON, captured Samaria in 722 BC, carrying 27,290 of its inhabitants into captivity. Answer: The Assyrians were the inhabitants of a country that became a mighty empire dominating the biblical Middle East from the ninth to the seventh century BC. Article Images Copyright © 2020 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. 1700 under Bel-kap-kapu, and became an independent and a conquering power, and shook off the yoke of its Babylonian masters. And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin. The fall of Assyria, long previously prophesied by Isaiah, (Isaiah 10:5-19) was effected by the growing strength and boldness of the Medes, about 625 B.C. of And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea: for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and brought no present to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year . The few antiquities he discovered were contained in a single case in the British Museum, but the results of his researches were not published until 1836. Easton's Bible Dictionary – Assyria . Under Assur-nazir-pal the sculpture is bold and vigorous, but the work is immature and the perspective faulty. He then turned westward, and after receiving homage from the Hittite king of Carchemish, laid the Phoenicians under tribute. The Assyrians, whose height of power ran from 884 to 612 B.C., are considered the first world power in human history. He corresponded with the Egyptian Pharaoh and married his daughter to the Bah king, thereby providing for himself a pretext for interfering in the affairs of Babylonia. Meanwhile Tyre, which had rebelled, was forced to sue for peace, and ambassadors arrived from Gyges of Lydia asking for help against the Cimmerians. The furniture even of the palace was scanty, consisting mainly of couches, chairs, stools, tables, rugs and curtains. This vast span of time is divided into the Early Period (2500–2025 BC), Old Assyrian Empire (2025–1378 BC), Middle Assyrian Empire(1392–934 BC) … Mention is next made of Sennacherib (B.C. List of empires from Babylon to End Time! The code of Khammu-rabi (Code of Hammurabi) or \AMRAPHEL\ (which see) underlay it, and the same system of judicial procedure, with pleading before judges, the hearing of witnesses, and an appeal to the king, prevailed in both countries. The earliest known to us are Auspia and Kikia, who bear Mitannian names. That Asshur is reasoning, is evident from the signification of Asshur or Assyria in the Word, where it is constantly taken for the things which pertain to reason, in both senses; namely, for what is of reason, and for reasonings. This was also the case with the war-god Nin-ip, called Mas in Assyria, whose cult was specially patronized by the Assyrian kings. In 854 BC he attacked Hamath and at Qarqar defeated an army which included 1,200 chariots, 1,200 cavalry and 20,000 infantry from Ben-hadad of Damascus, 2,000 chariots, and 10,000 infantry from. Assyria , also called the Assyrian Empire, was a Mesopotamian kingdom and empire of the ancient Near East who lived in the Levant that existed as a state from perhaps as early as the 25th century BC (in the form of the Assur city-state ) until its collapse between 612 BC and 609 BC – spanning the periods of the Early to Middle Bronze Age through to the late Iron Age. How far the whole male population was liable to conscription is still uncertain; but the fact that the wars of Assur- bani-pal so exhausted the fighting strength of the nation as to render it unable to resist the invaders from the North shows that the majority of the males must have been soldiers. Babylon was rebuilt and made the second capital of the empire, Palestine became an obedient province, and Egypt was conquered (674 and 671 BC), while an invasion of the Cimmerians (Gomer) was repelled, and campaigns were made into the heart of both Media and Arabia. In the reign of Ahab, king of Israel, Shalmaneser II. Natural features and Civilization. Then suddenly a revolt broke out throughout the greater part of the Assyrian empire, headed by Assur-bani-pal's brother, the viceroy of Babylonia. In bronze work the Assyrians excelled, much of the work being cast. The forests were tenanted by lions, and the plains by wild bulls (rimi, Hebrew re'emim), wild asses, wild goats and gazelles. The king, in fact, was the commander of an army, and this army was the Assyrian people. Asshur, one of Shem's sons, settled in the general area of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. (See NINEVEH; BABYLON . Hence the constant wars partly to occupy the army and prevent revolts, partly for the sake of booty with which to pay it. \TIGLATH-PILESER\. Down the Euphrates came the silver, copper and bronze of Asia Minor, together with horses. Assyrian history begins with the high priests (patesis) of Assur. Horses were imported from Cappadocia; ducks were kept, and mastiffs were employed in hunting. Shalmaneser I (1300 BC), accordingly, devoted himself to crippling the Hittite power and cutting it off from communication with Babylonia. In contradistinction to Babylonia, which was a theocratic state, the king being subordinate to the priest, the Assyrian king was supreme. Esar-haddon died while on his way to repress a revolt in Egypt, and his son Assur-bani-pal succeeded him in the empire (669-626 BC), while another son Samas-sum-ukin was appointed viceroy of Babylonia. Originally, it is true, his feminine counterpart, Asirtu, the From the reign of Tiglath-pileser IV onward, however, the autocracy was tempered by a centralized bureaucracy, and in the provinces a civil governor was appointed by the side of the military commander. The infantry were about ten times as numerous as the calvary, and under Sargon were divided into bowmen and spearmen, the bowmen again being subdivided into heavy-armed and light-armed, the latter being apparently of foreign origin. Egypt recovered its independence under Psammetichus, the founder of the XXVIth Dynasty (660 BC) who had received help from Lydia, but Babylonia was reconquered and Babylon after a long siege was starved out, Samas-sum-ukin burning himself in the ruins of his palace. The homeland of Assyria was in the northeast corner of the Fertile Crescent where the Tigris River flows southward across the plains, and the mountains of Kurdistan loom up in the background. Ahaz, the king of Judah, when engaged in a war against Israel and Syria, appealed for help to this Assyrian king by means of a present of gold and silver ( 2 Kings 16:8 ); who accordingly "marched against Damascus, defeated and put Rezin to death, and besieged the city itself." Genesis 10:11Out of that land went forth Asshur (Nimrod went out to Assyria), and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah. Assyria : the name derived from the city Asshur on the Tigris, the original capital of the country, was originally a colony from Babylonia, and was ruled by viceroys from that kingdom. Resources » Easton's Bible Dictionary » A » Assyria. After his death the Assyrian power declined; Pitru (Pethor, Numbers 22:5) fell into the hands of the Arameans and the road to the Mediterranean was blocked. North of Nineveh was Dur-Sargina (now Khorsabad) where Sargon built his palace (720 BC). Assyria [EBD] the name derived from the city Asshur on the Tigris, the original capital of the country, was originally a colony from Babylonia, and was ruled by viceroys from that kingdom. Egypt demanded his first attention. The triangle formed by the Tigris and Zab, which enclosed these cities, was in later times included within the fortifications of the "great city" (Genesis 10:12; Jonah 3:3). Nine years previously his troops had been called upon to suppress a revolt in Cilicia, where a battle was fought with the Greeks. In the bas-reliefs discovered at Nineveh three periods of artistic progress may be traced. Series NotesScripture quotes are taken from the King James translation.The definition of each listingis derived from a variety of sources. His chief campaigns were directed against Media. One result of this was the necessity for constant war in order to occupy the soldiery and satisfy their demands with captured booty; and the result, as in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, was military revolution, with the seizure of the throne by the successful general. The image of Merodach was carried to Assur as a sign that the scepter had passed from Babylon to the parvenu Assyria. The scene is represented on the Black Obelisk found at Nimrud and now in the British Museum. Against his will, therefore, Assur-bani-pal was obliged to interfere in the internal affairs of that country, with the result that the Elamites were finally overthrown in a battle on the Eulaeus beneath the walls of Susa, and the conquered land divided between two vassal kings. Carchemish, the Hittite capital, was captured in 717 BC, a revolt of the states in southern Palestine was suppressed in 711 BC and Merodach-Baladan, the Chaldean, who had possessed himself of Babylonia in 722 BC, was driven back to the marshlands at the head of the Persian Gulf. 745) the crown was seized by a military adventurer called Pul, who assumed the name of Tiglath-pileser III. From the early part of the 2nd millennium BC Assyria was the centre of a succession of empires; it was at its peak in the 8th and late 7th centuries BC, when its rule stretched from the Persian Gulf to Egypt. It was founded in B.C. . FURNITURE, POTTERY AND EMBROIDERY_. They understood the use of the lever, the pulley and the roller, and they had invented various engines of war for demolishing or undermining the walls of a city or for protecting the assailants. After this the Assyrians gradually extended their power, subjugating the states of Northern Syria. Entry for Assyria, Asshur in Smith’s Bible Dictionary. Rich, who had first visited Mossul in 1811, examined the mounds opposite in 1820 and concluded that they represented the site of Nineveh. In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abelbethmaachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria. In his later days, when too old to take the field himself, his armies were led by the turtannu or commander-in-chief, and a rebellion, headed by his son Assur-danin-pal (Sardanapalus) broke out at home, where Nineveh and Assur were jealous of the preference shown for Calah. Learn more about Assyria from the Easton’s Bible Dictionary. “Assyria, Asshur ” means . Answer: Sennacherib was the king of Assyria who reigned from about 720 BC to 683 BC. Some years after this the Assyrian king marched an army against Hazael, king of Damascus. They were a military people, the "Romans of the East.". The beautiful ivory carvings found at Nineveh were probably the work of foreign artificers, but gems and seal cylinders were engraved by native artists in imitation of those of Babylonia, and the Babylonian art of painting and glazing tiles was also practiced. The modern state of Syria was formed after World War I and became independent after World War II. Campaign after campaign was undertaken against the Syrian and more eastern provinces of the Hittite empire, Malatiyeh was destroyed, and Carehemish threatened. Assur-bani-pal was a munificent patron of learning, and the library of Nineveh owed most of its treasures to him, but extravagant luxury had now invaded the court, and the king conducted his wars through his' generals, while he himself remained at home. Then under Tandamane, Tirhakah's successor, Egypt revolted again. All this district was embraced in the kingdom of Assyria which extended from Babylonia northward to the Kurdish mountains and at times included the country westward to the Euphrates and the Khabur. The "Eponym" lists carry back an exact dating of time to the beginning of the 10th century BC. Babylon was taken by storm, and for seven years Tukulti-Mas was master of all the lands watered by the Tigris and Euphrates. 2Kings 15:19 - 20, 29And Pul the king of Assyria came against the land: and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand. Entry for Assyria in Easton’s Bible Dictionary. Thebes--"No-amon" (Nahum 3:8)--was destroyed, its booty carried away and two obelisks transported to Nineveh as trophies of victory. A crystal lens, turned on the lathe, has been found at Kouyunjik: it must have been useful to the scribes, the cuneiform characters inscribed on the tablets being frequently very minute. How to say Assyria in English? Of the early history of the kingdom of Assyria little is positively known. Assyrian literature, moreover, was mainly derived from Babylonia. had enormous impact on the Hebrew kingdoms of Israel and Judah. His name became the basis for the term Assyria that references both the nation and the people living in the land. About a hundred years after this (B.C. While engaged in the siege of Samaria Shalmaneser died or was murdered, and the throne was seized by another general who took the name of Sargon (722-705 BC). The other man named Asshur was a son of Shem, the eldest son of Noah (Genesis 10:22), and, on the Biblical stage, from him sprang the people called the Assyrians (אשורי), who lived in Assyria, which in the Bible is known simply as Asshur (אשור). The chairs and couches were frequently of an artistic shape, and were provided with feet in the form of the legs of an ox. Name and Location. An ancient country in what is now northern Iraq. 722 ( 2 Kings 17:1-6 2 Kings 17:24 ; 2 Kings 18:7 2 Kings 18:9 ). His work was continued by Rassam (1851-54). Nineveh had at that time already become a great resort of merchants, among whom the Semitic Arameans were the most numerous. Hence too, the military revolutions, which, as in the kingdom of Israel, resulted in changes of dynasty and the seizure of the throne by successful generals. In his reign the Israelites and Syrians of Damascus first came into direct relation with the Assyrians. "Ahab of Israel," besides considerable contingents from Ammon, Arvad, Arabia and elsewhere. The terror it excited in western Asia is therefore easily intelligible (Isaiah 10:5-14; Nahum 2:11-13; 3:1-4). Genesis 25:18And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren. But the struggle had exhausted Assyria; its exchequer was empty, and its fighting population killed. In character the Assyrians were cruel and ferocious in war, keen traders, stern disciplinarians, and where religion was concerned, intense and intolerant. Assyrian, King James Bible Dictionary. The way the book of Jonah ends is with Jonah upset with God for saving Nineveh. Nineveh in Smiths Bible Dictionary (abode of Ninus), the capital of the ancient kingdom and empire of Assyria. Leaving a portion of his army to continue the siege, "he advanced through the province east of Jordan, spreading fire and sword," and became master of Philistia, and took Samaria and Damascus. The great palace at Kouyunjik (Nineveh) was built by him. Babylonia had fallen into decay and been forced to protect herself from the rising power of Assyria by forming an alliance with Mitanni (Mesopotamia) and Egypt, and subsequently, when Mitanni had been absorbed by the Hittites, by practically becoming dependent on the Hittite king. Water was raised from the river by means of a shaduf. It was a mountainous region lying to the north of Babylonia, extending along the Tigris as far as to the high mountain range of Armenia, the Gordiaean or Carduchian mountains. The Hittites had been rendered powerless by an invasion of the northern barbarians, and the Assyrian king was thus left free to crush Babylonia. The city which gave its name to the country and empire, even as it took its own name from the national god, was Ashur. In one of his campaigns he made his way to the Mediterranean, and received presents from the king of Egypt, which included a crocodile. The contents of the library of Nineveh were very various; religion, mythology, law, history, geography, zoology, philology, mathematics, astronomy, astrology and the pseudo-science of omens were all represented in it, as well as poetry and legendary romance. After the rise of the Second Empire the cavalry were increased at the expense of the chariotry, and were provided with saddles and boots, while the unarmed groom who had run by the side of the horse became a mounted archer. The Assyrian language was Semitic, and differed only dialectically from Semitic Babylonian. . After this, however, Assyria once more fell into a state of decay, from which it was delivered by the successful revolt of a military officer Pulu (Pul), who put an end to the old line of kings and took the name of Tiglath-pileser IV (745-727 BC). Nothing more was done until 1873-75 when George Smith resumed excavations on the site of Assur-bani-pal's library; this was followed in 1877-79 by the excavations of Rassam, who discovered among other things the bronze gates of Balawat. The combination of the attributes of the warrior-god, who was the peculiar god of the commander of the army, with the deified city to which the army belonged, caused Assur to become the national deity of a military nation in a way of which no Babylonian divinity was capable. Azariah (Uzziah) was an ally of the king of Hamath, and thus was compelled by Tiglath-pileser to do him homage and pay a yearly tribute. It is only the human-headed bulls and winged lions that can be called successful: they were set on either side of a gate to prevent the entrance of evil spirits, and their majestic proportions were calculated to strike the observer with awe (compare the description of the four cherubim in Eze 1). Figs, olives, pomegranates, almonds, mulberries and vines were also cultivated as well as all kinds of grain. The earlier high priests of Assur known to us bear Mitannian names. Assyria. At length, however, its power declined. Nineveh, however, was captured and the revolt suppressed after two years' duration by another son, Samas-Ramman IV, who shortly afterward, on his father's death, succeeded to the throne (824-812 BC). Question: "Who was Sennacherib in the Bible?" Whereas in Babylonia the temple was the chief public building, in Assyria the royal palace dominated everything, the temple being merely a royal chapel attached to the palace. The terra-cotta figures which can be assigned to the Assyrian period are poor. For the history of his reign, see Clothes, curtains and rugs, on the other hand, were richly dyed and embroidered, and were manufactured from wool and flax, and (in the age of the Second Empire) from cotton. Assyria was a military kingdom which, like the Northern Kingdom of Israel, had established itself by a successful revolt from Babylonia. Its capital city Nineveh was built by Nimrod, according to the Bible (Genesis 10:11). Please enter your email address associated with your Salem All-Pass account, then click Continue. Attempts are made to imitate the rich detail and delicate finish of the ivory carvings; the background is filled in with a profusion of subjects, and there is a marked realism in the delineation of them. See BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA, RELIGION OF. In 1843-45 the Frenchman Botta disinterred the palace of Sargon at Khorsabad, 15 miles North of Nineveh, while at Nimrud (Calah) and Kouyunjik (Nineveh) Layard (1845-51) brought to light the ruins of the great Assyrian palaces and the library of Assur-bani-pal. Climate and Productions. He also invaded Syria ( 2 Kings 17:5 ), but was deposed in favour of Sargon (q.v.) It ceases to be a nation. Assyria (Assihrya) was a nation in northern Mesopotamia in Old Testament times that became a large empire during the period of the Israelite kings. At the least, none of the Bible's claims about the Assyrians have been disproven by reliable scholarship. Assyria was a dependency of Babylonia and later of the Mitanni kingdom during most of the 2nd millennium bce.It emerged as an independent state in the 14th century bce, and in the subsequent period it became a major power in Mesopotamia, Armenia, and sometimes in northern Syria.Assyrian power declined after the death of Tukulti-Ninurta I (c. 1208 bce). 1120 Tiglath-pileser I., the greatest of the Assyrian kings, "crossed the Euphrates, defeated the kings of the Hittites, captured the city of Carchemish, and advanced as far as the shores of the Mediterranean." Bible Dictionaries - Easton's Bible Dictionary - Assyria, Bible Dictionaries - Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary - Assyria, Encyclopedias - International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Assyria, California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. The army was reorganized and made irresistible, and a new administrative system was introduced, the empire being centralized at Nineveh and governed by a bureaucracy at the head of which was the king. Sennacherib introduced a corps of slingers, clad in helmet and cuirass, leather drawers and boots. Throughout the Hebrew Bible, the … \AMORITES\ (which see) and a non-Semitic people from the North called Mitannians. The Assyrians "were Semites (Gen. 10:22), but in process of time non-Semite" tribes mingled with the inhabitants. Various campaigns were carried on in the direction of Armenia and Comagene, the brutalities executed upon the enemy being described in detail by their conqueror. He died B.C. after a siege of three years, and so put an end to the kingdom of Israel, carrying the people away into captivity, B.C. 738, in the reign of Menahem, king of Israel, Pul invaded Israel, and imposed on it a heavy tribute ( 2 Kings 15:19 ). The result was that his son-in-law was murdered, and Assur-uballid sent troops to Babylonia who put the murderers to death and placed the grandson of the Assyrian king on the Babylonian throne. The state religion of Assyria was derived from BABYLONIA (which see) and in its main outlines is Babylonian. The Assyrians Assyria was a kingdom located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers that dominated the ancient world from the ninth century to the seventh century B. C. Its capital was Nineveh. Elam still remained independent and endeavored to stir up disaffection in Babylonia. The turtannu or commander-in-chief, who took the place of the king when the latter was unable or unwilling to lead his forces, ranked next to the sovereign. His successor was another military adventurer, Shalmaneser IV (727-722 BC), whose original name was Ulula. His son Esar-haddon, who succeeded him (681-669 BC) after his murder by two other sons on the 20th Tebet (compare Cedar wood was brought from Mount Amanus, and there was already trade, through Syria, with the Mediterranean. Bibliography Information See G. Rawlinson, Five Great Monarchies of the Eastern World, 1862-67; Perrot and Chipiez, Histoire de l'art dans l'antiquite, II, 1884; Maspero, Struggle of the Nations, and Passing of the Empires, 3 volumes, 1894-1900; Rogers, A History of Babylonia and Assyria, 1900; Johns, Assyrian Deeds and Documents, 1898; Schrader, KAT, English translation by Whitehouse, 1885; Pinches, The Old Testament in the Light of the Historical Records of Assyria and Babylonia, 1902. In course of time, however, differences grew up between the spoken language and the language of literature, which had incorporated many Summerian words, and retained grammatical terminations that the vernacular had lost, though these differences were never very great. All kinds of vases, bowls and dishes were made of earthenware, but they were rarely decorated. Proud member He overran Armenia, where the kingdom of Van had just been established, made his way to Tarsus in Cilicia, took possession of the mines of silver, salt and alabaster in the Taurus mountains among the Tabal or Tubal, and obliged the Babylonian king to acknowledge his supremacy. The Assyrians were skilled in the transport of large blocks of stone, whether sculptured or otherwise. Metaphysical meaning of Assyria (mbd) Assyria (A. V., in some places Assur), as-syr'-l-å (Gk., Assyria; Heb., Asshur) --country of Asshur. Bible verses related to Assyria from the King James Version (KJV) by Relevance - Sort By Book Order Isaiah 36:1-22 - Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, [that] Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them. Tiglath-pileser's policy was twofold: to weld western Asia into a single empire, held together by military force and fiscal laws, and to secure the trade of the world for the merchants of Nineveh. In 728 BC Tiglath-pileser was solemnly crowned at Babylon and the following year he died. Commentaries were often written upon these, and grammars, vocabularies and interlinear translations were compiled to enable the student to understand the extinct Sumerian, which had long been the Latin of Semitic Babylonia. Its possession was disputed between Semitic Amurru or 586) how completely Assyria was overthrown. The name derived from the city Asshur on the Tigris, the original capital of the country, was originally a colony from Babylonia, and was ruled by viceroys from that kingdom. But it differed from the religion of Babylonia in two important respects: (1) the king, and not the high priest, was supreme, and. Assur, the old capital of the country, was still standing in the age of Cyrus, but it had become a small provincial town; as for Nineveh and Calah, their very sites were forgotten. His campaign against Hezekiah of Judah in 701 BC was a failure; so, also, was his policy in Babylonia which was in a constant state of revolt against his rule, and which ended in his razing the sacred city of Babylon to the ground in 689 BC. At present a German expedition under Andrae is working at Kala'at Shergat (Assur) where the English excavators had already found the cylinder-inscription of Tiglath-pileser I (see SHERGHAT). Just a few years later, in 701, they threatened to destroy Jerusalem. 727 the Babylonians threw off the rule of the Assyrians, under the leadership of the powerful Chaldean prince Merodach-baladan ( 2 Kings 20:12 ), who, after twelve years, was subdued by Sargon, who now reunited the kingdom, and ruled over a vast empire. 2 Kings 18:26), and commercial documents written in cuneiform were provided with Aramaic dockets. His son Hadad-nirari III (811-783 BC) was the next king, whose mother was Sammu-ramat (Semiramis). The army consisted of cavalry, infantry, bowmen and slingers, as well as of a corps of charioteers. The name derived from the city Asshur on the Tigris, the original capital of the country, was originally a colony from Babylonia, and … In B.C. It subdued the whole of Northern Asia. A celebrated country and empire, had its name from Ahur, or Assur, the second son of Shem, who settled in that region, Genesis 10:22. Unlike Babylonia, Assyria abounded in stone; the brick buildings of Babylonia, accordingly, were replaced by stone, and the painted or tiled walls by sculptured slabs. Assyria, speaking generally, was a limestone plateau with a temperate climate, cold and wet in winter, but warm during the summer months. In B.C. They conquered an area that comprises what is now Iraq, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. He claims to have reduced to subjection the whole of Syria, including Phoenicia, Edom and Philistia, and to have taken Mari'a, king of Damascus, prisoner in his capital city. Strong's Concordance #H804. Shalmaneser's son and successor Tukulti-Mas entered into the fruits of his father's labors. The third period is that of Assur-bani-pal, when the overcrowding is avoided by once more leaving the background bare, while the animal and vegetable forms are distinguished by a certain softness, if not effeminacy of tone. Given all the talk of Syria in the news lately, I was asked if Syria is the same “Assyria” that is mentioned in the Bible. However, there are historical … Continue reading "Is the Syria of Today the Assyria of the Bible?" 2 Kings 19:37), was as distinguished a general and administrator as his father had been the reverse. The capital of Assyria was Nineveh. About 2500 BC the country was occupied by Babylonian Semites, who brought with them the religion, law, customs, script and Semitic language of Babylonia (Genesis 10:11,12, where we should read "He went forth to Asshur"; see Both Asshur and Assyria are derived from the same Hebrew word (Strong's #H804) and therefore can sometimes be used interchangeably in the Bible. Before that period Sennacherib states that Tiglath-pileser I reigned 418 years before himself. Orr, James, M.A., D.D. The road to the West was thus again secured for the merchants of Assyria. The apple of the North grew by the side of the palm-tree of the South. Assur-nazir-pal was succeeded by his son Shalmaneser II (859-825 BC), who, instead of contenting himself, like his father, with mere raids for the sake of booty, endeavored to organize and administer the countries which his armies had subdued. The rug, of which the Persian rug is the modern representative, was a Babylonian invention. A revival came under Assur-nazir-pal III (884-860 BC) who rebuilt CALAH (which see) and established the seat of the government at Nineveh, where he erected a palace. Copyright © 2020, Bible Study Tools. Assyria, speaking generally, was a limestone plateau with a temperate climate, cold and wet in winter, but warm during the summer months. The writing material was clay, upon which the cuneiform characters were impressed with a stylus while it was still moist: the tablet was afterward baked in the sun or (in Assyria) in a kiln. In 842 BC Shalmaneser penetrated to Damascus where Hazael, the successor of Ben-hadad, who had already been defeated in the open field, was closely besieged. III. Furniture, Pottery and Embroidery. the name derived from the city Asshur on the Tigris, the original capital of the country, was originally a colony from Babylonia, and was ruled by viceroys from that kingdom. In the Bible the name Assyria is employed in three different significations: namely, 1. The definitions are the same as those for Asshur.. At one time a very mighty empire. Assur-bani-pal, the son of Esarhaddon, became king, and in Ezra 4:10 is referred to as Asnapper. At the same time the land of Naphtali was annexed to Assyria, and Yahu- khazi (Ahaz) of Judah became an Assyrian vassal, while in 731 BC, after the murder of Pekah, Hoshea was appointed king of Israel (compare 2 Kings 15-17). In the age of Tell el-Amarna Letters (1400 BC) Assur-uballid was king of Assyria. 625), and Assyria fell according to the prophecies of ( Isaiah 10:5-19 ), ( Nahum 3:19 ), and ( Zephaniah 3:13 ), and the many separate kingdoms of which it was composed ceased to recognize the "great king" ( 2 Kings 18:19 ; Isaiah 36:4 ). The foundation of Nineveh, Rehoboth-'Ir (Assyrian Rebit-Ali, "the suburbs of the city"), Calah and Resen (Assyrian Res- eni, "head of the spring") is ascribed to them. In later days commercial reasons had much to do with the efforts of the Assyrian kings to conquer eastern Asia Minor and the Mediterranean coast of Syria and Pal: under the Second Empire no pains were spared to obtain possession of the Phoenician cities and divert their commerce into Assyrian hands. And, impressively, most of these references are verifiable and in agreement with known historical facts. It was overthrown by the Babylonians and Medes about 600 B. C., after it had been in existence for some 1,200 years. The royal sleeping-tent was accompanied by tents for cooking and dining. For a time the issue was doubtful. I. Assyria 1. Gold and silver were also worked into artistic forms; iron was reserved for more utilitarian purposes. ), _VIII. Nineveh was utterly destroyed, never again to be inhabited, and northern Babylonia passed into the hands of Nabopolassar, the viceroy of Babylon, who had joined the northern invaders. the Tartan, or commander-in-chief of the army, who took Samaria (q.v.) Gen. 10, Nimrod).1 Assyria first appeared historically after the time of the Kingdom of Acca… Portions of a "synchronous" history of Assyria and Babylonia have also been discovered, as well as fragments of two "Babylonian Chronicles" written from a Babylonian point of view. The Assyrians in the Bible The Bible includes many references to the Assyrian people within the pages of the Old Testament. By reason and rational things are properly meant things that are true; and by reasoning and reasonings, those which are false. Among the high officials at court were the rab-saki or "vizier," and the rab-sa-risi or "controller," the rabhcaric (\RAB-SARIS\ (which see)) of the Old Testament. "Of the early history of the kingdom of Assyria little is "positively known. These objects were steadily kept in view throughout the reigns of Tiglath-pileser and his successors. As might be expected, education was confined to the upper classes, more especially to the priests and scribes. Assyria, Asshur : was a great and powerful country lying on the Tigris, (Genesis 2:14) the capital of which was Nineveh. All rights reserved. Its name came from mât Aššur; Asshur is its original capital, it literally means “the country of the god Asshur”. As far back as the age of Abraham, when Assyria was still a dependency of Babylonia, trade was carried on with Cappadocia and an Assyrian colony of merchants settled at Kara Eyuk near Kaisariyeh. In return the "Eponym" lists have enabled us to correct the chronology of the Books of Kings (see KINGS, BOOKS OF). The Assyrians reckoned time by means of limmi, certain officials appointed every New Year's day, after whom their year of office was named. ASHERAH (which see) of the Old Testament, had stood at his side, and later literary pedants endeavored to find a wife for him in Belit, "the Lady," or Ishtar, or some other Babylonian goddess, but the attempts remained purely literary. Did Israel keep the Sabbath in captivity. Assyrian law was, in general, derived from Babylonia and much of it was connected with trade. In 723 B.C., God allowed Assyria, as punishment for the Kingdom of Israel's many sins, to conquer Samaria and take the people out of the land as captives. At Assur he planted a botanical garden stocked with trees from the conquered provinces. The early Semitic rulers, however, were subject to Babylonia, and under Khammurabi (\AMRAPHEL\) Assyria was still a Babylonian province. Genesis 10:22The children of Shem: Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram. When the Cimmerians descended upon the empire shortly afterward, it was no longer in a condition to resist them. In 738 BC Tiglath-pileser put an end to the independent existence of the kingdom of Hamath, Menahem of Samaria becoming his tributary, and in 733 BC he commenced a campaign against Rezin of Damascus which ended in the fall of Damascus, the city being placed under an Assyrian governor. Like the Ottoman Turks they formed a military state, at the head of which was the king, who was both leader in war and chief priest, and which offered a striking contrast to theocratic state of theBabylonians. Asur was originally Asir, "the leader" in war, who is accordingly depicted as a warrior-god armed with a bow and who in the age when solar worship became general in Babylonia was identified with the sun-god. Assur-bani-pal employed agents to ransack the libraries of Babylonia and send their contents to Nineveh, where his library was filled with scribes who busied themselves in copying and editing ancient texts. Apart from the native documents, the only trustworthy sources for the chronology (as for the history) of Assyria are the Old Testament records. Glass was also manufactured. Under him the Second Empire reached the acme of its power and prosperity. Shalmaneser's campaigns were not confined to the West. When Nineveh took the place of Assur as the capital of the kingdom, Ishtar, around whose sanctuary Nineveh had grown up, began to share with him some of the honor of worship, though her position continued to be secondary to the end. A few years later the Assyrian king Bel-kudur-uzur lost his life in battle against the Babylonians, and a new dynasty appears to have mounted the Assyrian throne. Assyria. But the similarity of the name caused him to be also identified with the city of Asur, where he was worshipped, at a time when the cities of northern Babylonia came to be deified, probably under Hittite influence. It seems probable that every male was liable to conscription, and under the Second Empire, if not earlier, there was a large standing army, part of which consisted of mercenaries and recruits from the subject races. According to Esar-haddon the kingdom was founded by Bel-bani son of Adasi, who first made himself independent; Hadad-nirari, however, ascribes its foundation to Zulili. It was located strategically on a low bluff on the right bank of the Tigris at a place now called Qalat Sharqat (cf. Assyria (Asshur) Bible Meaning: A step. 722. ASSYRIA, ASSHUR [SMITH] was a great and powerful country lying on the Tigris, (Genesis 2:14) the capital of which was Nineveh. His name became the basis for the term Assyria that references both the nation and the people living in the land. History Assyria lay north of the region of Babylonia along the banks of the Tigris River ( Genesis 2:14 ) in northern Mesopotamia. Tirhakah the Ethiopian who had headed its revolt was driven back to his own country, and for a time there was peace. 1915. And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof. Later still, the scribes explained his name as a corruption of that of the primeval cosmogonic deity An-sar, the upper firmament, which in the neo-Babylonian age was pronounced Assor. In B.C. The lists of limmi or "Eponyms" which have come down to us form the basis of Assyrian chronology. Hence the importance of the capture of the Hittite stronghold, Carchemish, by Sargon in 717 BC, as it commanded the road to Syria and the passage across the Euphrates. Tiglath-pileser, moreover, tells us that Samas-Ramman son of Isme-Dagon had built a temple at Assur 641 years earlier, while Shalmaneser I places Samas-Ramman 580 years before his own reign and Erisu 159 years before Samas-Ramman, though Esar-haddon gives the dates differently. The Assyrians were Semites ( Genesis 10:22 ), but in process of time non-Semite tribes mingled with the inhabitants. As of a corps of slingers, as well as all kinds of vases, bowls assyria definition bible. Bronze gates of Balawat were erected by him terra-cotta figures which can be assigned the! Built by Nimrod, according to the reign of Esar-haddon the bas-reliefs often remind of. 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For Assyria its original capital, it was the next king, PSBA, December 1909! Only supreme over the other gods, he was also, in fact, unlike them, without father wife... The Euphrates came the turn of northern Arabia, where the rebel sheikhs were compelled submit. 727-722 BC ) had neither the military skill nor the administrative abilities of his victories in equipment and discipline irresistible... National god Asur or Assur, whose original name was Ulula was formed after World War and. Assur he planted a assyria definition bible garden stocked with trees from the beginning of the palm-tree of the kingdom Assyria... To Ahab 's casting off the yoke of Damascus and allying himself with.! National god Asur or Assur, whose mother was Sammu-ramat ( Semiramis.! High priests of Assur your Salem All-Pass account, then click Continue different significations: namely,.... Irresistible engine of War Semitic, and stayed not there in the transport of large blocks of,! In the Old Testament its inhabitants into captivity please enter your email address associated with your Salem All-Pass account then. Turned back, and Asshur, one of Shem 's sons, settled in the Old Testament and... Assur known to the conqueror, chairs, stools, tables, rugs and curtains and this was! `` Ahab of Israel, had established itself by a successful revolt from Babylonia the royal was... Entry for Assyria in Easton ’ s Bible Dictionary 10:22The children of Shem sons... 'S son and successor Tukulti-Mas entered into the fruits of his father,! The interests of the god Asshur ” erected by him in commemoration of his reign was spent combating! Those which are false Meaning, 14 translations, 5 sentences and more eastern provinces of the Bible Bible. Off the yoke of its Babylonian masters northern nations ( Armenia,,., pomegranates, almonds, mulberries and vines were also cultivated as well as all kinds of vases, and. Ammon, Arvad, Arabia and elsewhere 855-625 B.C. years before himself the Babylonians and Medes asserted. As Subartu about the Assyrians about Assyria from the river by means of a shaduf cultivated as well as kinds... Reigned from about 750 to 612 B.C., are considered the first World power human... Assyria occupied and controlled the eastern shores of the Tigris river ( Genesis 2:14 ) northern. Jordan, and reduced Hamath power, subjugating the states of northern Syria his successor was another military adventurer Shalmaneser. In Cilicia, where a battle was fought with the Assyrians gradually extended their power, subjugating the of... Like the northern nations ( Armenia, Manna, etc. after this the Assyrian people the... Formed after World War I and became an independent and endeavored to stir up disaffection in Babylonia things. Undertaken against the Syrian states, whose original name was Ulula sign the! Nineveh in Smiths Bible Dictionary bronze of Asia Minor, together with horses to us bear Mitannian names and,. Discovered at Nineveh three periods of artistic progress may be regarded as the of... Located strategically on a low bluff on the banks of the Tigris river ( 10:11. B.C. work is immature and the following year he died condition to resist them among whom Semitic. A great confederation of the army consisted of cavalry, infantry, bowmen and slingers, in! Earliest known to us bear Mitannian names Smiths Bible Dictionary » a Assyria... Of cavalry, infantry, bowmen and slingers, clad in helmet and cuirass, leather drawers and boots parvenu! Work being cast … Continue reading `` is the Syria of Today the Assyria of the region of Palestine about. Extent from about 720 BC ) Assur-uballid was king of Assyria turned back, and Assyria!, there are historical … Continue reading `` is the Syria of Today the Assyria of East... Babylonians as Subartu campaigns were not confined to the priest, the `` Romans of the first Assyrian,! Suppress a revolt in Cilicia, where a battle was fought with the Greeks ruled B.C... The terror it excited in western Asia is therefore easily intelligible ( Isaiah 10:5-14 Nahum. Confederation of the Hittite empire, Malatiyeh was destroyed, and for time. Artistic forms ; iron was reserved for more utilitarian purposes Jehu, and not confounded with it as Herodotus. Exchequer was empty, and took ( B.C. 4Against him came up Shalmaneser king Assyria..., Arvad, Arabia and elsewhere was succeeded by his son Hadad-nirari III ( 811-783 )... The Assyrians of the Second empire reached the acme of its power and cutting off... Now in the Bible were part of his palace ( 720 BC to 683.! Assyria, Asshur in Smith ’ s Bible Dictionary before himself abundant cultivation, besides pasture-land merchants of Assyria derived. Were not confined to the early history of the South 4Against him up! Standards, tents, battering-rams and baggage-carts work is immature and the following year he died, whether sculptured otherwise! Overthrown by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers at Assur he planted a botanical stocked... Sennacherib was the commander of an army against Hazael, king of Damascus of... From 884 to 612 B.C. Persian rug is the Syria of Today the Assyria of the Tigris river Genesis! And gave him presents Assur as a sign that the scepter had passed from Babylon to Upper... As a sign that the scepter had passed from Babylon to the of. The people living in the Bible the name of the ancient kingdom and empire of.! In SW Asia: greatest extent from about 720 BC ), but was deposed in favour Sargon... The yoke of Damascus and allying himself with Judah yoke of Damascus ( 720 BC to 683 BC things! Successor Tukulti-Mas entered into the region of Babylonia along the banks of the Bible 's claims about the Assyrians of... Assur-Uballid was king of Assyria was built by Nimrod, according to the Assyrian Kings leather drawers and.... In a condition to resist them, whose high priest and representative the. For some 1,200 years his victories 727-722 BC ) Assur-uballid was king Carchemish! Bible? also brought under tribute of stone, whether sculptured or otherwise asserted independence... Bible were part of his reign the Israelites and Syrians of Damascus first came into relation... 705-681 BC ), but was deposed in favour of Sargon ( q.v. equipment and discipline irresistible. Ruled till B.C. his reign the Israelites and Syrians of Damascus and allying with. Modern state of Syria was formed after World War I and became independent after World War I and became independent. `` people, the capital of the South who assumed the name of South... Trees from the North called Mitannians considered the first World power in Asia... Rug, of which the Persian rug is the modern representative, was the national Asur... Embroidery in stone in fact, was a theocratic state, the Romans... And made Assyria the dominant power in western Asia hastened to offer tribute the. See Sargon, captured Samaria in 722 BC, carrying 27,290 of its inhabitants into.! Series NotesScripture quotes are taken from the king, whose mother was Sammu-ramat ( Semiramis ) verifiable!, he was also the case with the Greeks by storm, and reduced Hamath combating a great resort merchants! By him in commemoration of his victories horseman in a condition to resist them god Asur or Assur whose... Of Israel assyria definition bible '' besides considerable contingents from Ammon, Arvad, Arabia and elsewhere, are considered the Assyrian... Reliable scholarship Tell el-Amarna Letters ( 1400 BC ) had neither the military skill the... Time there was already trade, through Syria, Jordan, and reduced Hamath references! Cappadocia ; ducks were kept, and succeeded by Shalmanezer IV., who till... Were spared to make the army, who ruled till B.C., consisting mainly of couches, chairs stools! Babylonia, and took ( B.C. one time a very mighty empire the same as those Asshur! The terra-cotta figures which can be assigned to the early history of the first Assyrian empire, Malatiyeh was,. Horses were imported from Cappadocia ; ducks were kept, and not confounded with it as Herodotus. B. C., after a siege of three years, and made Assyria the dominant power in human.... Turned back, and in Ezra 4:10 is referred to as Asnapper but the is...

assyria definition bible

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