Ancient Psy-Ops

Ron Cosman
History 134 / 142961
13 September 2014

Assyrians are arguably one of the greatest military forces in ancient history. But what did
they do to become known as such a great force? Was it the sheer size of their army or were there
other contributing factors that made them so intimidating? What is it that the Assyrians did so
differently than empires before them to become such a superpower? I will attempt to show in this
paper how the Assyrians used psychological warfare and the use of deportation as a means to
help grow their empire and become a superpower of ancient times.
Yes, it could have been the sheer size of the army that made them victorious. In Blanches
publication, "MESOPOTAMIA: A FERTILE HISTORY OF WARFARE," he states,
Shalmaneser III, with 120,000 men, defeated the Hittites in the Battle of Qarqar in 853. The
Assyrians fielded 1,100 chariots and 11,000 cavalrymen against the Hittites 700 chariots and
700 cavalry in a fast-moving forerunner of todays tank battles.1 So as we see, even against the
Hittites who were considered another superpower of that day, the Assyrian army was large and I
would say intimidating. However, a powerful strategy that the Assyrians used was fear.
According to Robert Grice PhD, a professor at Trident University, Although all wars are cruel,
the Assyrians were notorious for their widespread use of torture.2 He continues, the Assyrians
were among the most powerful and most feared nations in the Ancient Near East. So one
question we have to ask ourselves is, what was it that made them so feared? Grice goes on to tell
us that the Assyrians used a type of psychological warfare in an attempt to break the will of
enemies by developing a reputation for brutality against their enemies. Grice says that the
Assyrians prided themselves on developing a reputation for brutality even against civilians. They
would often make an example of captives through public mutilations and executions. Often, the
Assyrians would exterminate the entire population of cities or deport the civilians to some other

part of the empire. Grice further says that mutilation and torture were common tactics used
with enemy combatants and this could include civilians.
How do we know that the Assyrians were really as ruthless as portrayed? Well, Hafford tells
us that scribes documented the conquests both on clay tablets and on stone stelae. The period
was certainly a bloody one, as Assyrian texts and artwork vividly illustrate. Such depictions of
fierceness may have been meant to frighten Assyria's enemies, or perhaps even to keep their own
troops in line.3 So here we have one example of how Assyria has tried to use fear as a type of
psychological warfare to intimidate their enemies.
Salisbury tells us of another example of how fear was used by the Assyrians. The Assyrians
preferred psychological warfare whenever possible. When the Assyrians decided to conquer an
area, they first tried rhetoric to persuade or threaten people into submission without a fight.
When surrounding the capital city and shouting to the people inside failed, the Assyrians' next
tactic was to select one or more small cities to attack, usually ones that could be easily
conquered. Then the Assyrians committed extreme acts of cruelty to show how the entire region
would be treated if the inhabitants refused to surrender peacefully. Houses were looted and
burned to the ground, and the people were murdered, raped, mutilated, or enslavedacts all
vividly portrayed in the Assyrian stone reliefs and royal inscriptions in the palaces. The Assyrian
troops regarded looting and rape of a conquered city as partial compensation. The largest and
choicest share, of course, went to the king.4
Another method of psychological torture was starvation. The Assyrians were one of the first
groups to develop a standing army which is an army that is employed year round; whereas, other
armies were not employed year round. The soldiers were also farmers so they were only
available to fight at certain times of the year. When the Assyrians came to fight them they would

hide in their battle walls. But there would obviously come a point when they needed more food
and would also need to harvest the crops if it was farming season. So if they couldnt come out
of their city walls to get food then they would starve. And thats where the psychological torture
of starvation came into play. Kate Abbott mentions this type of psychological torture by the
Assyrians. Over the course of two years the Assyrians starved the Babylonian empire in 652BC5.
According to "Assyrian Army." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras Assyrian battle
tactics were sophisticated and versatile and anticipate classical Greek hoplite tactics. The
historical records describe a number of battles in detail. The Assyrians took advantage of
topographic positions, tactical superiority, guerrilla warfare, and psychological terror tactics. The
most enduring of their tactics was the policy of deportation, which caused as many as 5 million
people to be uprooted during a period of three centuries covering from about 900 to 612 BCE.6
Upon conquering a nation the Assyrians did not just simply kill all the inhabitants. They
would carefully evaluate which people could be useful and contribute to their own empire.
Skilled craftsman were usually selected to assimilate into their own society. Some of the people
that were conquered might be used in the Assyrian army as a foot soldier or shield bearer. These
assimilated skilled craftsmen and soldiers would help to grow their empire and hopefully these
new citizens would view the Assyrian empire as their own. This method of assimilation would
help reduce the possibility of a revolt. Hafford tells us that whatever the ease, the NeoAssyrians brutally quelled rebellions and deported entire populations, replacing them with people
who were pore loyal to Assyrian ideals.
People that were not assimilated might be killed or deported, sent off to a different area to
live. Deportation was a strategic and effective tactic by the Assyrian empire. In Joyce Salisbury
and Gregory Aldretes "Warfare in Mesopotamia: Ancient World" the Assyrian kings began

deportation in the thirteenth century BCE, but the practice became state policy during the ninth
century BCE, with numbers reaching half a million deportees. The Assyrians found mass
deportation beneficial; it provided labor colonies to work on the monumental building programs,
to cultivate new farmland, and to produce more food for the growing urban population. People
were also deported to curb nationalistic longings. Persistent rebellion was treated with harsh
retribution.
After learning of the psychological warfare and deportation strategies it is no surprise to
see how the Assyrians became one of the largest empires in ancient history. Obviously, their
tactics worked, and helped to maintain and also expand their current boundaries. These are two
strategies used by the Assyrians never before by others, which made them unique and successful.

End Notes
____________________________
1
Blanche, Ed. "MESOPOTAMIA: A FERTILE HISTORY OF WARFARE." Philadelphia Daily
News: 4. Jan 29 1991. ProQuest. Web. 14 Sep. 2014 .
2

Grice, R. (n.d.). An Overview of Assyrian Siege Tactics. Retrieved September 14, 2014, from
http://www.humanities360.com/index.php/an-overview-of-assyrian-siege-tactics-670/
3

Hafford, William B. "Who Were The Assyrians?" Calliope 15.1 (2004): 4. Primary Search.
Web. 14 Sept. 2014.
4

Salisbury, Joyce and Gregory Aldrete. "Warfare in Mesopotamia: Ancient World." Daily Life
through History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 14 Sept. 2014.
5

Abbott, Kate. "The Ancient World: Day Five: Mesopotamia: Assyrian Army Tactics." The
Guardian: 24. Nov 10 2010. ProQuest.Web. 14 Sep. 2014
6

"Assyrian Army." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 13
Sept. 2014.

Annotated Bibliography
Abbott, Kate. "The Ancient World: Day Five: Mesopotamia: Assyrian Army Tactics." The
Guardian: 24. Nov 10 2010. ProQuest.Web. 14 Sep. 2014
This article talks about how the Assyrians were Mesopotamias most impressive fighters and
how they constructed many warring machines such as rudimentary tanks.
"Assyrian Army." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 13 Sept.
2014.
This article explains how the Assyrian army was what really pushed the empire forward. First it
mentioned the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser I and his conquests. Next it mentions how mighty
their army forces were with chariots and cavalry and infantry.
Blanche, Ed. "MESOPOTAMIA: A FERTILE HISTORY OF WARFARE." Philadelphia Daily
News: 4. Jan 29 1991. ProQuest. Web. 14 Sep. 2014 .
This article talks about how Mesopotamia was the starting point in the Middle East where war
and weapons were made from. It mentions how the Assyrians had a massive army, talking about
many of the ancient weapons of that time and somewhat how they were used.
Grice, R. (n.d.). An Overview of Assyrian Siege Tactics. Retrieved September 14, 2014, from
http://www.humanities360.com/index.php/an-overview-of-assyrian-siege-tactics-670/
In this article, Robert Grice P.h.D. shares how the Assyrians used different types of siege
attacks. One of these types were psychological attacks and then he ends the article with their fall.
Hafford, William B. "Who Were The Assyrians?" Calliope 15.1 (2004): 4. Primary Search.
Web. 14 Sept. 2014.
Salisbury, Joyce and Gregory Aldrete. "Warfare in Mesopotamia: Ancient World." Daily Life
through History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 14 Sept. 2014.
This article is about how war was prominent even in early times. It mentions the Romans and
how great they were and how many empires were defeated by them. It even goes on to talk about
how much of the war was done face to face. It closes by explaining how especially brutal the
Assyrians were in their battles.