A collection of essays dealing with the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Essays include historical and literary studies using various textual and pictographic sources, as well as discussions of the philological or historiographical problems of royal inscriptions with some connection to archaeology.

The purpose of the papers read at the meeting held in Helsinki, Finland, in 2014, and of the relevant proceedings forming this volume, was to discuss and update the historical methodologies adopted in the past and present study of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The title of the meeting and of this proceedings volume, "Writing Neo-Assyrian History", clearly indicates the aim of the organizers and of the participants: to submit to both specialized scholars and educated readers a comprehensive outline of the various studies about Neo-Assyrian history, and to thoroughly comment on all possible problems so as to offer a basic "manual" for further innovative studies. All this was conceived in the framework of the scientific mission of the International Research Project which produces the series State Archives of Assyria, aimed at publishing all available Neo-Assyrian texts according to a modern and commonly shared editing system. The importance of the meeting and of this volume is relevant not only because of the innovative character of most articles, but also because of the prospective methodological spin-off in other historical sectors, from Greek and Roman history to medieval, modern or even Oriental (e.g., Chinese, Japanese, Indian) history. The importance of the spin-off in other sectors of the history of Ancient Mesopotamia, and in general of the Ancient Near East, is self-evident. The volume offers a distinctive contribution to knowledge in history and historiography in general, but also in demonstrating and applying a tight connection between history, philology, archaeology and history of art, extending to the fields of ideology, politics, sociology, religion, economy and law. The sources discussed in the various articles extend from cuneiform texts of various kinds to monumental relics and archaeological findings of all kinds, studied according to the most updated Assyriological methodologies and the most advanced historical approaches.

A Companion to Assyria is a collection of original essays on ancient Assyria written by key international scholars. These new scholarly contributions have substantially reshaped contemporary understanding of society and life in this ancient civilization. The only detailed up-to-date introduction providing a scholarly overview of ancient Assyria in English within the last fifty years Original essays written and edited by a team of respected Assyriology scholars from around the world An in-depth exploration of Assyrian society and life, including the latest thought on cities, art, religion, literature, economy, and technology, and political and military history

The ancient historians considered the Assyrian empire the crucial starting point of a new political system which was adopted by later empires. In modern historical research, this problem still needs to be investigated in a global perspective that studies the development of the imperial model through ages. Abundant epigraphical and archaeological sources can be used in investigating the expansionistic tacticts, the control structures, and the administrative procedures implemented by the Assyrians through a continuous effort of adaptation to evolving situations and changing needs. The book provides an updated outline of the history of the Assyrian empire and its neighbours, a detailed analysis of the technical and ideological aspects of the construction of the Assyrian empire, and of its long-lasting legacy in the Near East and in the West. For its broad theoretical framework, which includes the reference to studies of ancient and modern empires and imperialism, the book is intended not only for the specialists of Ancient Near Eastern history, but also for a wider public of Classical and Medieval historians and of historians interested in world and global history.

A new history of Assyria, the ancient civilization that set the model for future empires At its height in 660 BCE, the kingdom of Assyria stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. It was the first empire the world had ever seen. Here, historian Eckart Frahm tells the epic story of Assyria and its formative role in global history. Assyria’s wide-ranging conquests have long been known from the Hebrew Bible and later Greek accounts. But nearly two centuries of research now permit a rich picture of the Assyrians and their empire beyond the battlefield: their vast libraries and monumental sculptures, their elaborate trade and information networks, and the crucial role played by royal women. Although Assyria was crushed by rising powers in the late seventh century BCE, its legacy endured from the Babylonian and Persian empires to Rome and beyond. Assyria is a stunning and authoritative account of a civilization essential to understanding the ancient world and our own.

The title “Queen of the Arabs” is applied in Neo-Assyrian texts to five women from the Arabian Peninsula. These women led armies, offered tribute, and held religious roles in their communities from 738 to approximately 651 BCE. This book discusses what the title meant to the women who carried it and to the Assyrians who wrote about them. Whereas previous scholarship has considered the Queens of the Arabs in relation to the military and economic history of the Neo-Assyrian empire, Eleanor Bennett focuses on identity, using gender theory to locate points of the women’s alterity in Assyrian sources and to analyze how Assyrian cultural norms influenced the treatment of the “Queens of the Arabs.” This kind of analysis shows how Assyrian perceptions of the Queens of the Arabs, and of Arabian populations more generally, changed over time. As the Queens of the Arabs were located on the periphery of the Assyrian Empire, Bennett incorporates data from the Arabian Peninsula. The shift from an Assyrian lens to an Arabian one highlights inaccuracies in the Assyrian material, which brings into focus Assyrian misunderstandings of the region. The Arabian Peninsula also offers comparative models for the Queens of the Arabs based on Arabian cultures.

Throughout history, many states have attempted to harness the attention of their populations for their own ends. This study argues that the Assyrian Empire in the year 672 BC is such a case. In 672 BC, Esarhaddon, King of Assyria, imposed a succession covenant (adê) on his subjects, the inhabitants of the Assyrian Empire. This covenant required the empire's population to monitor one another, and themselves, for signs of disloyalty to the monarch and his chosen successor, Ashurbanipal. This study examines the aims and outcomes, desired and undesired, of imposing this duty of vigilance across the Assyrian Empire. To consider the presentation and implementation of this duty of vigilance, the study draws largely on evidence supplied by the covenant and other royally-commissioned texts. To examine the outcomes of the covenant's enactment, meanwhile, it explores cuneiform sources, such as letters to the crown, private legal documents, and literary compositions, as well as the Aramaic Story of Ahiqar and the biblical Book of Deuteronomy. By providing a sustained analysis of the real-world implications and outcomes of the covenant, this book sheds new light on a text that fundamentally altered the political makeup of the Assyrian Empire.