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Akkad

Definition
by Joshua J. Mark
published on 28 April 2011

The language of the city, Akkadian, was already in use before the
rise of the Akkadian Empire (notably in the wealthy city of Mari
where vast cuneiform tablets have helped to define events for
later historians) and it is possible that Sargon restored Akkad,
rather than built it. It should also be noted that Sargon was not the
first ruler to unite the disparate cities and tribes under one rule.

No one knows where the city of Akkad was located, how it rose to

The King of Uruk, Lugalzagesi, had already accomplished this,

prominence, or how, precisely, it fell; yet once it was the seat of

though on a much smaller scale, under his own rule. He was

the Akkadian Empire which ruled over a vast expanse of the

defeated by Sargon who, improving on the model given him by

region of ancient Mesopotamia. It is known that Akkad (also

Uruk, made his own dynasty larger and stronger. The historian

given as Agade) was a city located along the western bank of the

Gwendolyn Leick writes, "According to his own inscriptions, he

Euphrates River possibly between the cities of Sippar and Kish (or,

[Sargon] campaigned widely beyond Mesopotamia and secured

perhaps, between Mari and Babylon or, even, elsewhere along the

access to all the majortrade routes, by sea and by land" (The A-Z

Euphrates). According to legend, it was built by the kingSargon

of Mesopotamia, 8). While Lugalzagesi had succeeded in

the Great (who ruled 2334-2279 BCE) who unified Mesopotamia

subjugating the cities of Sumer, Sargon was intent on conquering

under the rule of his Akkadian Empire and set the standard for

the known world. The historian Durant writes, "East and west,

future forms of government in Mesopotamia. Sargon (or his

north and south, the mighty warrior marched, conquering Elam,

scribes) claimed that the Akkadian Empire stretched from the

washing his weapons in symbolic triumph in the Persian Gulf,

Persian Gulf through modern-day Kuwait, Iraq,

crossing western Asia, reaching the Mediterranean, and

Jordan, Syria (possibly Lebanon) through the lower part of Asia

establishing the first great empire in history" (121-122). This

Minor to theMediterranean Sea and Cyprus (there is also a

empire stabilized the region of Mesopotamia and allowed for the

claim it stretched as far as Crete in the Aegean). While the size

development of art, literature,science, agricultural advances,

and scope of the empire based in Akkad is disputed, there is no

and religion.

doubt that Sargon the Great created the first multi-national empire
in the world.

THERE WERE FIVE RULERS OF AKKAD: SARGON, RIMUSH,

MANISHTUSU,NARAM-SIN AND SHAR-KALI-SHARRI.

THE KING OF URUK & THE RISE OF SARGON

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According to the Sumerian King List, there were five rulers of

power in the various cities. The "Citizens of Akkad", as a later

Akkad: Sargon, Rimush, Manishtusu, Naram-Sin (also known as

Babylonian text calls them, were the governors and administrators

Naram-Suen) and Shar-Kali-Sharri who maintained the dynasty for

in over 65 different cities. Sargon also cleverly placed his

142 years before it collapsed. In this time Akkadian came to

daughter, Enheduanna, as High Priestess of Inanna at Ur and,

replace Sumerian as the lingua franca except in sacred services

through her, seems to have able to manipulate religious/cultural

and Akkadian dress, writing, and religious practices infiltrated the

affairs from afar. Enheduanna is recognized today as the world's

customs of the conquered in the region. A thorough understanding

first writer known by name and, from what is known of her life, she

of the rise and fall of Akkad (relatively speaking) is best gained

seems to have been a very able and powerful priestess in addition

through an examination of the rulers of the city and the empire

to creating her impressive Hymns to Inanna.

they maintained.
SARGON'S SUCCESSORS: RIMUSH & MANISHTUSU
SARGON'S RULE
Sargon reigned for fifty-six years and after his death was
Sargon the Great either founded or restored the city of Akkad and

succeeded by his son Rimush (reigned 2279-2271 BCE) who

ruled from 2334-2279 BCE. He conquered what he called "the four

maintained his father's policies closely. The cities rebelled after

corners of the universe" and maintained order in his empire

Sargon's death and Rimush spent the early years of his reign

through repeated military campaigns. The stability provided by this

restoring order. He campaigned against Elam, whom he defeated,

empire gave rise to the construction of roads, improved irrigation,

and claimed in an inscription to bring great wealth back to Akkad.

a wider sphere of influence in trade, as well as the above

He ruled for only nine years before he died and was succeeded by

mentioned developments in arts and sciences. The Akkadian

his brother Manishtusu (reigned 2271-2261 BCE). There is some

Empire created the first postal system where clay tablets inscribed

speculation that Manishtusu brought about his brother's death to

in cuneiform Akkadian script were wrapped in outer clay envelopes

gain the throne.

marked with the name and address of the recipient and the seal of
the sender. These letters could not be opened except by the person

History repeated itself after the death of Rimush and Manishtusu

they were intended for because there was no way to open the clay

had to quell widespread revolts across the empire before engaging

envelope save by breaking it.

in the business of governing his lands. He increased trade and,

according to his inscriptions, engaged in long-distance trade with

In order to maintain his presence throughout his empire, Sargon

Magan and Meluhha (thought to be upper Egypt and the Sudan).

strategically placed his best and most trusted men in positions of

He also undertook great projects in construction throughout the

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empire and is thought to have ordered the construction of

name with a sign designating himself a god on equal footing with

the Ishtar Temple at Nineveh which was considered a very

any in the Mesopotamian pantheon.

impressive piece of architecture. Further, he undertook land reform

and, from what is known, improved upon the empire of his father

In spite of his spectacular reign, considered the height of the

and brother. Manishtusu's obelisk, describing the distribution of

Akkadian Empire, later generations would associate him with The

parcels of land, may be viewed today in the Louvre Museum,Paris.

Curse of Agade, a literary text ascribed to the Third Dynasty of Ur

His death is somewhat of a mystery but, according to some

but which could have been written earlier. It tells the fascinating

scholars, Leick among them, "Manishtusu was killed by his

story of one man's attempt to wrest an answer from the gods by

courtiers with their cylinder seals" though no definite motive has

force; and that man is Naram-Sin. According to the text, the great

been offered for the killing( The A-Zof Mesopotamia, 111).

Sumerian god Enlil withdrew his pleasure from the city of Akkad
and, in so doing, prohibited the other gods from entering the city

NARAM-SIN: GREATEST OF THE AKKADIAN KINGS

and blessing it any longer with their presence. Naram-Sin does not
know what he could have done to incur this displeasure and so

Manishtusu was succeeded by his son Naram-Sin (also Naram-

prays, asks for signs and omens, and falls into a seven-year

Suen) who reigned from 2261-2224 BCE. Like his father and uncle

depression as he waits for an answer from the god. Finally, tired of

before him, Naram-Sin had to suppress rebellions across the

waiting, he draws up his army and marches on Enlil's temple at the

empire before he could begin to govern but, once he began, the

Ekur in the city of Nippur which he destroys. He "sets his spades

empire flourished under his reign. In the thirty-six years he ruled,

against its roots, his axes against the foundations until the temple,

he expanded the boundaries of the empire, kept order within,

like a dead soldier, falls prostrate" (Leick, The Invention of the City,

increased trade, and personally campaigned with his army beyond

106). This attack, of course, provokes the wrath not only of Enlil

the Persian Gulf and, possibly, even to Egypt. The Victory Stele of

but of the other gods who send the Gutium "a people who know no

Naram-Sin (presently housed in the Louvre) celebrates the victory

inhibition, with human instincts but canine intelligence and with

of the Akkadian monarch over Satuni, king of the Lullubi (a tribe in

monkey features" (106) to invade Akkad and lay it waste. There is

the Zagros Mountains) and depicts Naram-Sin ascending the

widespread famine after the invasion of the Gutians, the dead

mountain, trampling on the bodies of his enemies, in the image of

remain rotting in the streets and houses, and the city is in ruin and

a god. Like his grandfather, he claimed himself "king of the four

so, according to the tale, ends the city of Akkad and the Akkadian

quarters of the universe" but, in a bolder move, began writing his

Empire, a victim of one king's arrogance in the face of the gods.

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There is, however, no historical record of Naram-Sin ever reducing

been most commonly credited with the collapse of the Akkadian

the Ekur at Nippur by force nor destroying the temple of Enlil and it

Empire and the Mesopotamian dark age which ensued. Recent

is thought that "The Curse of Agade" was a much later piece

studies, however, claim that it was most likely climate change

written to express "an ideological concern for the right relationship

which caused a famine and, perhaps, disruption in trade,

between the gods and the absolute monarch" (Leick, 107) whose

weakening the empire to the point where the type of invasions and

author chose Akkad and Naram-Sin as subjects because of their, by

rebellions which, in the past, were crushed, could no longer be

then, legendary status. According to historical record, Naram-Sin

dealt with so easily. The last two kings of Akkad following the death

honored the gods, had his own image placed beside theirs in the

of Shar-Kali-Sharri, Dudu and his son Shu-Turul, ruled only the

temples, and was succeeded by his son, Shar-Kali-Sharri who

area around the city and are rarely mentioned in association with

reigned from 2223-2198 BCE.

the empire. As with the rise of the city of Akkad, its fall is a
mystery and all that is known today is that, once, such a city

THE DECLINE OF AKKAD

existed whose kings ruled a vast empire, the first empire in the
world, and then passed on into memory and legend.

Shar-Kali-Sharri's reign was difficult from the beginning in that he,

too, had to expend a great deal of effort in putting down revolts
after his father's death but, unlike his predecessors, seemed to

Babylon

lack the ability to maintain order and was unable to prevent further
attacks on the empire from without. Leick writes, "Despite his
efforts and successful military campaigns, he was not able to
protect his state from disintegration and, after his death, written

Definition
by Joshua J. Mark
published on 28 April 2011

sources dried up in a time of increased anarchy and confusion"

(The A-Z of Mesopotamia, 159). Interestingly, it is known that "his

Babylon is the most famous city from

most important building project was the reconstruction of the

ancient Mesopotamiawhose ruins lie in modern-day Iraq 59 miles

Temple of Enlil at Nippur" and perhaps this event, coupled with the

(94 kilometres) southwest of Baghdad. The name is thought to

invasion of the Gutians and a widespread famine, gave rise to the

derive from bav-ilor bav-ilim which, in the Akkadian language of

later legend which grew into The Curse of Agade. Shar-Kali-Sarri

the time, meant Gate of God or `Gate of the Gods and `Babylon

waged almost continual war against the Elamites, the Ammorites

coming fromGreek. The city owes its fame (or infamy) to the many

and the invading Gutians but it is the Gutian Invasion which has

references the Bible makes to it; all of which are unfavourable. In

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the Book of Genesis, chapter 11, Babylon is featured in the story of

city played in the ancient world is lost to modern-day scholars

The Tower of Babel and the Hebrews claimed the city was named

because the water level in the region has risen steadily over the

for the confusion which ensued after God caused the people to

centuries and the ruins of Old Babylon have become inaccessible.

begin speaking in different languages so they would not be able to

The ruins which were excavated by Koldewey, and are visible today,

complete their great tower to the heavens (the Hebrew

date only to well over one thousand years after the city was

word bavel means `confusion).

founded. The historian Paul Kriwaczek, among other scholars,

claims it was established by the Amorites following the collapse of

Babylon also appears prominently in the biblical books of Daniel,

the Third Dynasty of Ur. This information, and any other pertaining

Jeremiah, and Isaiah, among others, and, most notably, The Book

to Old Babylon, comes to us today through artifacts which were

of Revelation. It was these biblical references which sparked

carried away from the city after the Persian invasion or those which

interest in Mesopotamianarchaeology and the expedition by the

were created elsewhere.

German archaeologist Robert Koldewey who first excavated the

ruins of Babylon in 1899 CE. Outside of the sinful reputation given
it by the Bible, the city is known for its impressive walls and

EVERY ANCIENT WRITER MENTIONS BABYLON WITH A

TONE OF AWE AND REVERENCE.

buildings, its reputation as a great seat of learning and culture, the

formation of a code of law which pre-dates the Mosaic Law, and

The known history of Babylon, then, begins with its most famous

for the Hanging Gardens of Babylon which were man-made

king: Hammurabi (1792-1750 BCE). This obscureAmorite prince

terraces of flora and fauna, watered by machinery, which were

ascended to the throne upon the abdication of his father, King Sin-

cited by Herodotus as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Muballit, and fairly quickly transformed the city into one of the
most powerful and influential in all of Mesopotamia. Hammurabis

THE OLD CITY & HAMMURABI

law codes are well known but are only one example of the policies
he implemented to maintain peace and encourage prosperity. He

Babylon was founded at some point prior to the reign of Sargon of

enlarged and heightened the walls of the city, engaged in great

Akkad (also known as Sargon the Great) who ruled from 2334-

public works which included opulent temples and canals, and made

2279 BCE and claimed to have built temples at Babylon (other

diplomacy an integral part of his administration. So successful was

ancient sources seem to indicate that Sargon himself founded the

he in both diplomacy and war that, by 1755 BCE, he had united all

city). At that time, Babylon seems to have been a minor city or

of Mesopotamia under the rule of Babylon which, at this time, was

perhaps a large port town on the Euphrates River at the point

the largest city in the world, and named his realm Babylonia.

where it runs closest to the river Tigris. Whatever early role the

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THE ASSYRIANS, CHALDEANS, & NEBUCHADNEZZAR II

outside of those responsible for the stories in the Bible, does so

with a tone of awe and reverence. Herodotus, for example, writes:

Following Hammurabis death, his empire fell apart and Babylonia

dwindled in size and scope until Babylon was easily sacked by

The city stands on a broad plain, and is an exact square, a hundred and

the Hittites in 1595 BCE. The Kassites followed the Hittites and re-

twenty stadia in length each way, so that the entire circuit is four hundred

named the city Karanduniash. The meaning of this name is not

and eighty stadia. While such is its size, in magnificence there is no other city

clear. The Assyrians then followed the Kassites in dominating the

that approaches to it. It is surrounded, in the first place, by a broad and deep

region and, under the reign of the Assyrian

ruler Sennacherib (reigned 705-681 BCE), Babylon revolted.
Sennacherib had the city sacked, razed, and the ruins scattered as
a lesson to others. His extreme measures were considered impious
by the people generally and Sennacheribs court specifically and he
was soon after assassinated by his sons. His
successor, Esarhaddon, re-built Babylon and returned it to its
former glory. The city later rose in revolt
againstAshurbanipal of Nineveh who besieged and defeated the
city but did not damage it to any great extent and, in fact,
personally purified Babylon of the evil spirits which were thought to
have led to the trouble. The reputation of the city as a center of
learning and culture was already well established by this time.

moat, full of water, behind which rises a wall fifty royal cubits in width and
two hundred in height.
Although it is generally believed that Herodotus greatly
exaggerated the dimensions of the city (and may never have
actually visited the place himself) his description echoes the
admiration of other writers of the time who recorded the
magnificence of Babylon, and especially the great walls, as a
wonder of the world. It was under Nebuchadnezzar IIs reign that
the Hanging Gardens of Babylon are said to have been constructed
and the famousIshtar Gate built. The Hanging gardens are most
explicitly described in a passage from Diodorus Siculus (90-30
BCE) in his work Bibliotheca Historica Book II.10:
There was also, because the acropolis, the Hanging Garden, as it is called,

After the fall of the Assyrian Empire, a Chaldean named

Nabopolassar took the throne of Babylon and, through careful

which was built, not by Semiramis, but by a later Syrian king to please one
of his concubines; for she, they say, being a Persian by race and longing for

alliances, created the Neo-Babylonian Empire. His son,

the meadows of her mountains, asked the king to imitate, through the artifice

Nebuchadnezzar II (604-561 BCE), renovated the city so that it

of a planted garden, the distinctive landscape of Persia. The park extended

covered 900 hectares (2,200 acres) of land and boasted some the

four plethra on each side, and since the approach to the garden sloped like a

most beautiful and impressive structures in all of Mesopotamia.

hillside and the several parts of the structure rose from one another tier on

Every ancient writer to make mention of the city of Babylon,

tier, the appearance of the whole resembled that of a theatre. When the

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ascending terraces had been built, there had been constructed beneath them

but were instead the creation Sennacherib at his capital of

galleries which carried the entire weight of the planted garden and rose little

Nineveh. The historian Christopher Scarre writes:

by little one above the other along the approach; and the uppermost gallery,
which was fifty cubits high, bore the highest surface of the park, which was

Sennacheribs palace [at Nineveh] had all the usual accoutrements of a major

made level with the circuit wall of the battlements of the city. Furthermore,

Assyrian residence: colossal guardian figures and impressively carved stone

the walls, which had been constructed at great expense, were twenty-two feet

reliefs (over 2,000 sculptured slabs in 71 rooms). Its gardens, too, were

thick, while the passage-way between each two walls was ten feet wide. The

exceptional. Recent research by British Assyriologist Stephanie Dalley has

roofs of the galleries were covered over with beams of stone sixteen feet long,

suggested that these were the famous Hanging Gardens, one of the Seven

inclusive of the overlap, and four feet wide. The roof above these beams had

Wonders of the Ancient World. Later writers placed the Hanging Gardens

first a layer of reeds laid in great quantities of bitumen, over this two courses

at Babylon, but extensive research has failed to find any trace of them.

of baked brick bonded by cement, and as a third layer a covering of lead, to

Sennacheribs proud account of the palace gardens he created at Nineveh fits

the end that the moisture from the soil might not penetrate beneath. On all

that of the Hanging Gardens in several significant details (231).

this again earth had been piled to a depth sufficient for the roots of the
largest trees; and the ground, which was levelled off, was thickly planted with
trees of every kind that, by their great size or any other charm, could give

This period in which the Hanging Gardens were allegedly built was
also the time of the Babylonian Exile of the Jews and the period in

pleasure to beholder. And since the galleries, each projecting beyond

which the Babylonian Talmud was written. The Euphrates River

another, all received the light, they contained many royal lodgings of every

divided the city in two between an `old and a `new city with

description; and there was one gallery which contained openings leading

the Temple of Marduk and the great towering ziggurat in the

from the topmost surface and machines for supplying the garden with water,

center. Streets and avenues were widened to better accommodate

the machines raising the water in great abundance from the river, although

the yearly processional of the statue of the great god Marduk in the

no one outside could see it being done. Now this park, as I have said, was a

journey from his home temple in the city to the New Year Festival

later construction.

Temple outside the Ishtar Gate.

This part of Diodorus' work concerns the semi-mythical queen

THE PERSIAN CONQUEST & BABYLON'S DECLINE

Semiramis (most probably based on the actual Assyrian

queen Sammu-Ramat who reigned 811-806 BCE). His reference

The Neo-Babylonian Empire continued after the death of

to "a later Syrian king" follows Herodotus' tendency of referring to

Nebuchadnezzar II and Babylon continued to play an important

Mesopotamia as `Assyria'. Recent scholarship on the subject

role in the region under the rule of Nabonidus and his successor

argues that the Hanging Gardens were never located at Babylon

Belshazzar (featured in the biblical Book of Daniel). In 539 BCE the

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empire fell to the Persians under Cyrus the Great at the Battle of

completion. Over the centuries, its scattered bricks have been

Opis. Babylons walls were impregnable and so the Persians

cannibalized by peasants to fulfill humbler dreams. All that is left of

cleverly devised a plan whereby they diverted the course of the

the fabled Tower of Babel is the bed of a swampy pond.

Euphrates River so that it fell to a manageable depth. While the

residents of the city were distracted by one of their great religious

After Alexanders death at Babylon, his successors (known as `The

feast days, the Persian army waded the river and marched under

Diadochi, Greek for `successors) fought over his empire generally

the walls of Babylon unnoticed. It was claimed the city was taken

and the city specifically to the point where the residents fled for

without a fight although documents of the time indicate that

their safety (or, according to one ancient report, were re-located).

repairs had to be made to the walls and some sections of the city

By the time the Parthian Empire ruled the region in 141 BCE

and so perhaps the action was not as effortless as the Persian

Babylon was deserted and forgotten. The city steadily fell into ruin

account maintained.

and, even during a brief revival under the Sassanid Persians,

never approached its former greatness. In the Muslim conquest of

Under Persian rule, Babylon flourished as a center of art and

the land in 650 CE whatever remained of Babylon was swept away

education. Cyrus and his successors held the city in great regard

and, in time, was buried beneath the sands. In the 17th and 18th

and made it the administrative capital of their empire (although at

centuries CE European travelers began to explore the area and

one point the Persian emperorXerxes felt obliged to lay siege to

return home with various artifacts. These cuneiform blocks and

the city after another revolt). Babylonian mathematics, cosmology,

statues led to an increased interest in the region and, by the 19th

and astronomy were highly respected and it is thought that Thales

century CE, an interest in biblical archaeology drew men like

of Miletus (known as the first western philosopher) may have

Robert Koldewey who uncovered the ruins of the once great city of

studied there and that Pythagoras developed his famous

the Gate of the Gods.

mathematical theorem based upon a Babylonian model. When,

Brief History of Assyrians

Peter BetBasoo
Revised on November 1, 2013

after two hundred years, the Persian Empire fell to Alexander the
Great in 331 BCE, he also gave great reverence to the city,
ordering his men not to damage the buildings nor molest the
inhabitants. The historian Stephen Bertman writes, Before his
death, Alexander the Great ordered the superstructure of
Babylons ziggurat pulled down in order that it might be rebuilt with
greater splendor. But he never lived to bring his project to

Geography
Assyria is located in north Mesopotamia and spans four countries: In Syria it
extends west to the Euphrates river; in Turkey it extends north to Harran,
Edessa, Diyarbakir, and Lake Van; in Iran it extends east to Lake Urmi, and
in Iraq it extends to about 100 miles south of Kirkuk. This is the Assyrian
heartland, from which so much of the ancient Near East came to be
controlled.

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Two great rivers run through Assyria, the Tigris and the Euhprates, and many
lesser ones, the most important of which being the Upper Zab and Lower
Zab, both tributaries to the Tigris. Strategically surrounding the Tigris and the
two Zabs are the Assyrian cities of Nineveh, Ashur, Arbel, Nimrod and
Arrapkha.
To the north and east of Assyria lie the Taurus and Zagros mountains. To the
west and south lies a great, low limestone plateau. At the southern end of
Assyria the gravel plains give way to alluvium deposited by the Tigris, and
farther south there is insufficient rainfall for agriculture without irrigation.
These two features create a geogrpahical boundary between Assyria and the
neighboring land to the south.
To the south of Baghdad lies Babylon. There is a stark geographical
distinction between Babylonia and Assyria. To quote Saggs,
A journey in spring from Baghdad, the capital of modern Iraq and within the
Area of Ancient Babylonia, to Mosul [Nineveh], which is near several old
Assyrian capitals, takes the traveller into what is manifestly a different
country. In the region of Baghdad and southwards the predominant
vegetation is palm trees. . .The terrain is flat to the horizon, and for most of
the year its sun-parched earth is arid and dead wherever irrigation ditches do
not reach. Approaching Mosul [Nineveh] the traveller finds a striking change.
The flat terrrain gives way to undulating plains, in spring green with
pasturage or cereal crop and gay and scented with flowers and clover. The
rolling plains are cut with wadis, aflow after spring rains, with higher ranges
of hills on the horizon. The traveller has reached Assyria. [Might that was
Assyria, page 5]

Assyrians have used two languages throughout their history: ancient

Assyrian (Akkadian), and Modern Assyrian (neo-syriac). Akkadian was
written with the cuneiform writing system, on clay tablets, and was in use
from the beginning to about 750 B.C.. By 750 B.C., a new way of writing, on
parchment, leather, or papyrus, was developed, and the people who brought
this method of writing with them, the Arameans, would eventually see their
language, Aramaic, supplant Ancient Assyrian because of the technological
breakthrough in writing. Aramaic was made the second official language of
the Assyrian empire in 752 B.C. Although Assyrians switched to Aramaic, it
was not wholesale transplantation. The brand of Aramaic that Assyrians
spoke was, and is, heavily infused with Akkadian words, so much so that
scholars refer to it as Assyrian Aramaic.
Religion
Assyrians have practiced two religions throughout their history: Ashurism and
Christianity. Ashurism was, of course, the first religion of the Assyrians. The
very word Assyrian, in its Latin form, derives from the name of Ashur, the
Assyrian god. Assyrians continued to practice Ashurism until 256 A.D,
although by that time, most Assyrians had accepted Christianity. Indeed,
Assyrians were the first nation to accept Christianity, and the Assyrian
Church was founded in 33 A.D. by Thomas, Bortholemew and Thaddeus.
History of Assyrians
It is convenient to divide Assyrian history into six periods:
1. Emergence: Beginnings To 2400 B.C.

The Assyrian land is rich and fertile, with growing fields found in every region.
Two large areas comprise the Assyrian breadbasket: the Arbel plain and the
Nineveh plain. To this day these areas remain critical crop producers. This is
from where Assyria derived her strength, as it could feed a large population
of professionals and craftsman, which allowed it to expand and advance the
art of civilization.

2. First Golden Age: 2400 B.C. to 612 B.C.

Racial Type

5. Second Dark Age: 1300 A.D. to 1918 A.D.

Assyrians are a Semitic peoples indigenous to Mesopotamia. They are

Mediterranean Caucasoids, and are ethnically distinct from Arabs and Jews.

6. Diaspora: 1918 A.D. To The Present

3. First Dark Age: 612 B.C. to 33 A.D.

4. Second Golden Age: 33 A.D. to 1300 A.D.

Emergence: Beginnings To 2400 B.C.

Language
In 1932, Sir Max Mallowan, the eminent British archaeologist, dug a deep
sounding which reached virgin soil ninety feet below the top of the mound of

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Nineveh; this gave a pottery sequence back to prehistoric times and showed
that the site was already inhabited by 5000 B.C.. Very soon after that, the two
other great Assyrian cities were settled, Ashur and Arbel, although an exact
date has yet to be determined. Arbel is the oldest extant city, and remains
largely unexcavated, its archaeological treasures waiting to be discovered.
The same holds for Ashur. It is clear that by 2500 B.C., these three cities
were well established and were thriving metropoli.

This period of history saw the development of the fundamentals of our

civilization: animal domestication, agriculture, pottery, controllable fire (kilns),
smelting, to name but a few. As regards Assyrians, because of it rich corn
fields, Arbel was one of the very earliest permanent agricultural settlements.
Between 4500 and 2400 B.C., complex societies appear in the form of cities,
with craft specialization and writing. These features were associated with the
Sumerians, but they quickly spread to other parts of Mesopotamia, including
Assyria. In Assyria, settlements had become large and guarded by
fortifications walls, which implies the risk of attack from outside, and hence
the need for defense and warfare.

In 1472 B.C. or there about, a Mittanian king annexed Assyria, and this
lasted for about 70 years. Mittanian control was decisively thrown off by
about 1365 B.C. by Ashuruballit, who laid the foundation of the first Assyrian
empire. Invaders from the Taurus mountains, north of Assyria, posed a
significant threat to Assyria, and occupied Arik-den-ili for a number of years,
but were successfully repelled, paving the way for Adad-narari (1307 B.C.) to
establish the first Assyrian empire, which lasted until approximately 1248
B.C.

A new power from south-west Iran, the Elamites, would assert control over
Babylon for 30 years. This affected Assyria slightly. The death of Ashurdan in
1135 B.C. brough instability as his two sons vyed for the crown. Their terms
only lasted one year, and Ashur-resh-ishi I ascended to the thrown in 1133
B.C.

First Golden Age: 2400 B.C. to 612 B.C.

The Middle Assyrian empire began in 1307 B.C. with Tiglath-Pileser, who
greatly expanded Assyrian territory. It is also during his reign that a significant
development occurs, that of the Aramean migrations into Assyria. This would
have a profound impact on Assyria and Assyrians, as we shall see. TiglathPileser states "I crossed the Euphrates twenty eight times...in pursuit of the
Arameans." This would ultimately prove unsuccessful.

We enter into an extremely fruitful period in Assyrian History. This period

would see 1800 years of Assyrian hegemony over Mesopotamia, beginning
with Sargon of Akkad in 2371 B.C. and ending with the tragic fall of Nineveh
in 612 B.C.

Tiglath-Pileser was not only a military man, but also a sportsman. Upon
reaching the Mediterranean, he took the time, he tells us, to go dolphin
hunting. He also established several zoos in Assyria, as he had a fascination
with foreign animals.

Sargon of Akkad established his kingdom in 2371 B.C., becoming the first
king to assert control outside of his city-state. His model would be followed
by all succeeding empires, down to our times. From his base at Akkad, south
of Baghdad, Sargon would come to control territories stretching north to
Ashur and west to the Mediterranean.

The Aramean problem persisted during the reign of Tiglath-Pileser's

successor and son, Ashur-bel-kala 1074-1057), who tells us that the
Arameans were penetrating deep into Assyrian territory, including Tur Abdin,
Harran and Khabur. For the next century Assyria declined, the Aramean
disruptions being the principal cause. It was not until 934 B.C., by which time
the Arameans had settled into stable kingdoms in Mesopotamia, that Assyria
would reemerge.

Shamshi-Adad I would establish his kingdom in 1813 B.C. Shamshi-Adad

forever united the three cities of Ashur, Nineveh and Arbel into one cohesive
unit, and brought Arrapkha firmly into the Assyrian sphere, so that henceforth
these four cities, and Nimrod, would constitute the very core of Assyria.
Under Shamshi-Adad I, the long established Assyrian merchant colonies of
Cappadocia saw renewed activity. Shamshi-Adad accomplished this through
his administrative efficiency and political skill.

Ashur-dan II would concentrate on rebuilding Assyria within its natural

borders, from Tur Abdin to the foothills beyond Arbel. He built government
offices in all provinces, and as an economic boost, provided ploughs
throughout the land, which yielded record grain production. He was followed

11 | P a g e
by four able kings, who used the foundation which he had laid to make
Assyria the major world power of its time.
The four Kings that followed Ashur-dan II were Adad-nerari II (his son),
Tukulti-Ninurta II, Ashur-nasir-pal II, and Shalmaneser III. Adad-nerari would
provide the final solution to the Aramean problem. He defeated the
paramount Aramean chief at Nisibin and, marching up and down the Khabur,
he obtained formal submissions from a series of Aramean controlled cities.
Ashur-nasir-pal II would bring under Assyrian control the area from south
Lebanon to the Zagros mountains, with loose control over the Taurus region.
Diyarbekr was under direct Assyrian control.

Skipping ahead to Shamsi-Adad V, and I mention him because his wife was
none other than Sammurammat, or Shamiram, whom so many Assyrian
woman are named after today. There is a stele about her, it says:
Stele
Queen
King
of
mother
King
of
Daughter-in-law
King of the four regions

of
of
all,

king
of

all,
[kalta]

king
of

Sammurammat
Shamshi-Adad
of
Ashur
Adad-nerari
of
Ashur
Shalmaneser

We come now to the beginning of greatest expansion of the Assyian empire

with Tiglath-Pileser III (745-727); through a series of able kings, Sargon II,
Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, Ashurbnaipal, Assyria would extend its rule over a
vast area, from Egypt up to cyprus to the west, through Anatolia, to the
Caspian in the east.
The Assyrian empires, particularly the third one, had a profound and lasting
impact on the Near East. Before Assyrian hegemony would come to an end,
the Assyrians would bring the highest civilization to the then known world.
From the Caspian to Cyprus, from Anatolia to Egypt, Assyrian imperial
expansion would bring into the Assyrian sphere nomadic and barbaric
communities, and would bestow the gift of civilization upon them.
And though today we are far removed from that time, some of our most basic
and fundamental devices of daily survival, to which we have become so
accustomed that we cannot conceive of life without them, originated in
Assyria. One cannot imagine leaving his home without locking the door; it is

in Assyria where locks and keys were first used. One cannot survive in this
world without knowing the time; it is in Assyria that the sexagesimal system
of keeping time was developed. One cannot imagine driving without paved
roads; it is in Assyria where paved roads were first used. And the list goes
on, including the first postal system, the first use of iron, the first magnifying
glasses, the first libraries, the first plumbing and flush toilets, the first electric
batteries, the first guitars, the first aqueducts, the first arch, and on and on.

But it is not only things that originated in Assyria, it is also ideas, ideas that
would shape the world to come. It is the idea, for example, of imperial
administration, of dividing the land into territories administered by local
governors who report to the central authority, the King of Assyria. This
fundamental model of administration has survived to this day, as can be seen
in America's federal-state system.
It is in Assyria where the mythological foundation of the old and new
testament is found. It is here that the story of the flood originates, 2000 years
before the old testament is written. It is here that the first epic is written, the
Epic of Gilgamesh, with its universal and timeless theme of the struggle and
purpose of humanity. It is here that civilization itself is developed and handed
down to future generations. It is here where the first steps in the cultural
unification of the Middle East are taken by bringing under Assyrian rule the
diverse groups in the area, from Iran to Egypt, breaking down ethnic and
national barriers and preparing the way for the cultural unification which
facilitated the subsequent spread of Hellenism, Judaism, Christianity and
Islam.
First Dark Age: 612 B.C. to 33 A.D.
The Assyrian empire collapsed in 612 B.C. The Assyrian people survived the
loss of their state, and they remained mostly inconspicuous for the next 600
years. The Persians mention employing Assyrians as troops, and there is the
failed attempt at reestablishing an Assyrian Kingdom in 350 B.C.; the
Persians squelched this attempt and castrated 400 Assyrian leaders as
punishment.
Second Golden Age: 33 A.D. to 1300 A.D.
Assyrians continued living in their homeland throughout this dark age, until
that momentous moment in human history, when the Lord Son of God gave
himself for the salvation of mankind. Very soon after the crucifixion, the bulk
of the Assyrian population converted to Christianity, although there remained

12 | P a g e
to be Ashurites, until 256 A.D. It was the Apostle Thomas, with Thaddeus and
Bartholomew who came to the Assyrian city of Edessa and founded the
Assyrian Church of the East, the first and oldest church in the world.
Armed with the word of God, and after 600 years of dormancy, the Assyrians
once again set out to build an empire, not a military empire, but a religious
empire founded on divine revelation and Christian brotherhood. So
successful was the Assyrian missionary enterprise, by the end of the twelfth
century the Assyrian Church was larger than the Greek Orthodox and Roman
Catholic churches combined, and it spanned the Asian continent, from Syria
to Mongolia, Korea, China, Japan and the Philippines.
When Marco Polo visited China in the thirteenth century, he was astonished
to find Assyrian priests in the Chinese royal court, and tens of thousands of
Chinese Christians. The Assyrian missionaries had reached China in the
sixth century. With only the bible, a cross, and a loaf of bread in hand, these
messengers had walked thousands of miles along the old silk road to deliver
the word of God. So successful were the missionaries, when Genghis Khan
swept through Asia, he brought with him an army over half of which belonged
to the Assyrian Church of the East. So successful were the missionaries, the
first Mongolian system of writing used the Assyrian alphabet.
Armed with the word of God, Assyrians once again transformed the face of
the Middle East. In the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries they began
a systematic translation of the Greek body of knowledge into Assyrian. At first
they concentrated on the religious works but then quickly moved to science,
philosophy and medicine. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Galen, and many others
were translated into Assyrian, and from Assyrian into Arabic. It is these Arabic
translations which the Moors brought with them into Spain, and which the
Spaniards translated into Latin and spread throughout Europe, thus igniting
the European renaissance.
By the sixth century A.D., Assyrians had begun exporting back to Byzantia
their own works on science, philosophy and medicine. In the field of
medicine, the Bakhteesho Assyrian family produced nine generations of
physicians, and founded the great medical school at Gundeshapur. Also in
the area of medicine, Hunayn ibn-Ishaq*s textbook on ophthalmology, written
in 950 A.D., remained the authoritative source on the subject until 1800 A.D.
In the area of philosophy, the Assyrian philosopher Job of Edessa developed
a physical theory of the universe, in the Assyrian language, that rivaled
Aristotle*s theory, and that sought to replace matter with forces.
One of the greatest Assyrian achievements of the fourth century was the
founding of the first university in the world. The School of Nisibis had three

departments: theology, philosophy and medicine, and became a magnet and

center of intellectual development in the Middle East. The statutes of the
School of Nisibis, which have been preserved, later became the model upon
which the first Italian university was based.
When Arabs and Islam swept through the Middle East in 630 A.D., they
encountered 600 years of Assyrian Christian civilization, with a rich heritage,
a highly developed culture, and advanced learning institutions. It is this
civilization which became the foundation of the Arab civilization.
But this great Assyrian Christian civilization would come to an end in 1300
A.D. The tax which the Arabs levied on Christians, simply for just being
Christian, forced many Assyrians to convert to Islam to avoid the tax; this
inexorably drained the community, so that by the time Timurlane the Mongol
delivered the final blow in 1300 A.D., by violently destroying most cities in the
Middle East, the Assyrian Christian community had dwindled to its core in
Assyria, and henceforth the Assyrian Church of the East would not regain its
former glory, and the Assyrian language, which had been the lingua franca of
the Middle East until 900 A.D., was completely supplanted by Arabic (except
amongst the Assyrians). This, from 1300 A.D. until World War One, became
the second Assyrian dark age.
Second Dark Age: 1300 A.D. to 1918 A.D.
The Assyrian missionary enterprise, which had been so successful
throughout the Asian continent, came to an abrupt end with the coming of
Timurlane the Mongol. The indiscriminate destruction leveled by Timurlane
against the civilizations he encountered put to a permanent end the Assyrian
missionary enterprise. A large segment of the Assyrian population escaped
the ravages of Timurlane by fleeing into the Hakkary mountains (present day
eastern Turkey); the remaining Assyrians continued to live in their homelands
(presently North Iraq and Syria), and Urmi. The four Assyrian communities,
over time, begin defining themselves in terms of their church affiliation. The
western Assyrians, all of whom belonging to the Syrian Orthodox Church,
began identifying themselves as "Jacobites". The remaining communities
belonged to the Assyrian Church of the East. After the division of the Church
of the East in 1550 A.D., the Chaldean Church of Babylon, a Roman Catholic
Uniate, was created, and members of this church began to call themselves
Chaldean. By the end of the nineteenth century, these three communities no
longer saw themselves as one and the same.
Diaspora: 1918 A.D. To The Present
In this century, Assyrians have suffered massive genocide, have lost control
of their ancestral lands, and are in a struggle for survival. The Assyrian nation

13 | P a g e
today stands at a crossroad. One third of is in a diaspora, while the
remaining two-thirds lives perilously in its native lands. These are some of
the dangers facing the Assyrians:
Denominationalism and fragmentation Islamic fundamentalism Arabization
Cultural immersion and absorption into Arab societies Mass emigration to the
West, and absorption into Western societies

World Assyrian Population

Country

Population

click on a column name to sort

Brazil

10000

For over 6600 years Assyrians lived in their ancestral homeland, but
beginning with the Turkish genocide of Assyrians in World War One, which
began on April 24, 1915 and claimed 750,000 Assyrian lives (75%) by 1918,
Assyrians began moving to the West. Today there are more Assyrians living
in the West than in their ancestral homeland, and this exodus has
accelerated sharply in the 21st century.

Canada

23000

World Assyrian Population

Denmark

10000

France

20000

Georgia

15000

Germany

70000

Greece

8000

Iran

50000

Population

Country

Population

click on a column name to sort

Armenia

Australia

Austria

Belgium

15000

30000

7000

15000

14 | P a g e
World Assyrian Population
Country

World Assyrian Population

Population

click on a column name to sort

Iraq

Italy

Jordan

Lebanon

Mexico

Netherlands

New Zealand

Country

Population

click on a column name to sort

Russian Federation

70000

Sweden

120000

Switzerland

10000

Syrian Arab Republic

700000

Turkey

24000

United Kingdom/Great Britain

8000

United States

400000

-Other-

100000

1500000

3000

44000

100000

2000

20000

3000

15 | P a g e
World Assyrian Population
Country

Greatwas declared king (ruled 522-486 BCE).

Population

click on a column name to sort

Darius' first capital was at Susa, and he started the building

programme at Persepolis. It is during his reign that mention is
first made of the Royal Road, a great highway stretching all the
way from Susa to Sardis with posting stations at regular intervals.
The Old Persian language appears in royal inscriptions, written in a
specially adapted version of cuneiform. Under Cyrus the Great
and Darius the Great, the Persian Empire eventually became the

Ancient Persia

largest empire in human history up until that point, ruling and

administrating over most of the then known world.

Definition
by Wikipedia
published on 28 April 2011
After his father's death in 559 BCE, Cyrus the Great became king
of Anshan but like his predecessors, Cyrus had to recognize Mede
overlordship. In 552 BCE Cyrus led his armies against the Medes
and captured Ecbatana in 549 BCE, effectively conquering the
Median Empire and also inheriting Assyria. Cyrus later
conquered Lydia and Babylon. Cyrus the Great created the Cyrus
Cylinder, considered to be the first declaration of human rights and
was the first king whose name has the suffix "Great". After Cyrus'
death, his son Cambyses II ruled for seven years (531-522 BCE)
and continued his father's work of conquest, making significant
gains in Egypt. A power struggle followed Cambyses' death and,
despite his tenuous connection to the royal line, Darius the

In 499 BCE Athens lent support to a revolt in Miletus which

resulted in the sacking of Sardis. This led to
anAchaemenid campaign against Greece known as the GrecoPersian Wars which lasted the first half of the 5th century BCE.
During the Greco-Persian wars Persia made some major
advantages and razed Athens in 480 BCE. But after a string
of Greek victories the Persians were forced to withdraw. Fighting
ended with the peace of Callias in 449 BCE. In 404 BCE, following
the death of Darius II, Egypt rebelled under Amyrtaeus. Later
Egyptian Pharaohs successfully resisted Persian attempts to
reconquer Egypt until 343 BC when Egypt was reconquered by
Artaxerxes III of Persia.

In 334 BC-331 BCE Alexander the Great defeated Darius III in

the battles of Granicus, Issus and Gaugamela, swiftly
conquering the Persian Empire by 331 BCE. Alexander's empire

16 | P a g e
broke up shortly after his death, and Alexander's general, Seleucus
I Nicator, took control of Persia, Mesopotamia, and

Discover how to make glass

Discover astronomy

Use a writing system

Invent the yearly calendar, composed of 360 days and 12 months

Use weights and measures, which were standardized in Babylon

later Syria and Asia Minor. His ruling family is known as

the Seleucid Dynasty. Greek language, philosophy, and art came
with the colonists. During the Seleucid Dynasty throughout
Alexander's former empire, Greek became the common tongue of
diplomacy and literature.

around 2,500 B.C.

The Seleucid empire was far from stable, as it was difficult to

Chaldeans are synonymous with Babylonians and are also referred to as

Assyrians and or Syriacs. They are historically known for major contributions
to civilization, such as:

assert control over the vast eastern domains of the Seleucids.

Diodotus, governor for the Bactrian territory, asserted
independence in around 245 BCE, although the exact date is far
from certain, to form the Greco-Bactrian kingdom. The Seleucid

Hammurabis Code, which was a revolutionary step in the

development of fairness and equality under the law.

satrap of Parthia, named Andragoras, first claimed independence,

in a parallel to the secession of his Bactrian neighbour. Soon after,

In 600 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar built the Hanging Gardens of

Babylon (one of the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) to
console his queen who missed the mountains and greenery of her native
Media.

however, a Parthian tribal chief called Arsaces took over the

Parthian territory around 238 BCE to form the Arsacid Dynasty
the starting point of the powerful Parthian Empire.

Chaldeans are Eastern Rite Catholics, converted by St. Thomas the Apostle
in 45 A.D. They are unified with the Roman Catholic Church but have
separate Bishops and a Patriarch (Patriarch of Babylon for the Chaldeans)
whom resides in Iraq. Chaldeans speak Aramaic, the language spoken by
Christ, which is the oldest continuously spoken language in the world. They
are faith-oriented with the majority living within a ten mile radius of their
Chaldean Parish. There are eight Chaldean parishes, a Syriac Church and
an Assyrian Church in the Metro Detroit area:

The Chaldean people of today are descendants of the ancient Assyrian and
Babylonian civilizations and the Aramean legacy of Mesopotamia.
Historically, Chaldeans are Iraqs indigenous people, and mainly resided in
Northern Iraq as mountain dwellers and farmers in villages dating back to
before Christ. They have a 5,500-year history dating back to Mesopotamia
the cradle of civilizationwhich is present day Iraq. According to the Old
Testament (Gen. 11:31), Abraham was from the city of Urwhich is identified
as Ur of the Chaldeans, the city of his ancestors.

Sacred Heart Chaldean Catholic Church Detroit

Mar Addai Chaldean Catholic Church Oak Park

Ancient Babylonians were the first civilization to:

Invent the wheel

17 | P a g e

Saint George Chaldean Catholic Church Shelby Township

Mother of God Chaldean Catholic Church Southfield

Saint Joseph Chaldean Catholic Church Troy

Holy Martyrs Chaldean Catholic Church Sterling Heights

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chaldean Mission Warren

Saint Thomas Chaldean Catholic Church West Bloomfield

Other Faith-based organizations include:

Eastern Catholic Re-Evangelization Center (E.C.R.C.) Bloomfield

Hills

Chaldean Sisters Daughters of Mary Immaculate Conception

Farmington Hills
Due to their religious beliefs, Chaldeans have faced numerous genocides at
the hands of Ottoman, Arab and other empires and now represent a 5%
minority of Iraq. The tragedies of the First World War, and the successive

massacres of the Chaldean Assyrian people in the Ottoman Empire, Iran,

and Iraq, caused population and geographic losses of epic proportions,
resulting in the forced transfer of inhabitants of thousands of villages districts
to other parts of the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. In one
area, however, the Chaldeans remain, clinging to their cultural traditions and
ancestral land: the Nineveh Plain. The villages dating the plain of Nineveh,
just north of the ancient city, contain churches, monasteries, and villages that
are thousands of years old. Here, one can hear Aramaic being spoken and
written, just as it was centuries ago.
The current persecution of Chaldeans in Iraq today is evidence of history
repeating itself. The 2003 U.S. led invasion of Iraq and the subsequent fall of
Saddam Hussein led groups to perceive the Christians as allies of the United
States. According to the U.S. Commission on International and Religious
Freedom, since the invasion in 2003 80 churches have been bombed, forcing
two-thirds of the population to flee to neighboring countries, Europe and the
United States. The recent war has threatened the permanent removal of
Chaldeans from their ancestral homeland and for the first time in history,
more live outside of their ancestral homeland.