The Romans considered the Assyrian Empire first "world Empire" and a remote predecessor of their own empires - Roman. But the Romans were prudent and careful: they conquered every piece of the world they had long inhabited and pririsovali to the body to his state. Assyrians also acted as if they truly tried to embrace the boundless. Their vast Empire that stretched from Egypt and the Mediterranean sea to the Caucasus and Iranian highlands and South to the Persian Gulf and Arabian deserts, was pulsing like an amoeba, blazing with riots and simultaneously in fear and trembling. In his time in the world was not the army stronger Assyrian. Assyria was living with war and war. In history there is no other example that the country maintained nearly continuous war for 700 years. And at the same time, the Pythagorean theorem here knew long before the Pythagorean. And it is in the capital of Assyria - Nineveh was collected famous library of the cuneiform tablets - a priceless collection of ancient texts, thanks to which, actually, we know so much about ancient history of Mesopotamia.

Historic landscape

When the warriors of the ancient throne in the XIV century before Christ during the reign of Tsar Ashuruballit moved into your first aggressive campaign to finally join in the big game of the then great powers, and to know they did not know that their March will last seven centuries. By this time in the interfluves of the Tigris and Euphrates ruled Babylon, in Asia Minor force took Hittite Kingdom. Assyria is still not lifted up, and the small city-state Ashur had to survive in a very difficult international situation. Peering into the dark well of history, we not only incredibly difficult to distinguish between the circumstances that created this situation, it is difficult even clearly remember, what, in fact, noted that age in some hypothetical list of the results of human civilizations. Cuneiform? Ancient astronomy? Giant ziggurats, where burn immolate long-forgotten gods? Or winged bulls - truby - the custodians of the Royal gates, who by a strange irony of history after many transformations became the cherubim, representing the highest category of angels angel diversity of the old Testament? It is even harder to imagine that much earlier, for 10 centuries to chronicle the beginning own Assyrian history, here, in Mesopotamia, history has already passed, were already in the city, advanced irrigation agriculture, trade and the slave trade, war, Palace intrigue - the whole complex of features that characterize civilization of antiquity up to Rome.

Before the beginning of the history of Assyria have passed almost a thousand years of the history of Mesopotamia. Rose and fell Ur, Lagash, Kish and Uruk, was unified system of weights and measures, rascalin annual calendar, promulgated laws of Uruinimgin, king of Lagash, with which, according to the logic of priorities, should begin to study law, and finally written the most durable world literature - "Epic of Gilgamesh".

The paradox of the history of ancient Mesopotamia is concluded that happened it the two peoples - by the Sumerians and Akkadians is absolutely not related to each other, but nevertheless regarded themselves as a single people, "black".

Akkadians were Semites, Sumerians - no, but they got along very well side by side, from childhood learning the languages of each other, and afterwards, when the civilization of Sumer fell, weakened by internal intrigues, Akkadians absorbed Sumerian culture, preserving including knowledge of Sumerian language as "language for dedicated".

Mesopotamia was broken into many kingdoms and city-States, among which after another troubles during the reign of Grand Hammurabi rose Babylon, whose power over himself was forced to admit and Assyria. The heart of the future of Assyrian power - the city of Ashur - at that time was still relatively small, although a strong center of a small state. Although the Assyrian merchants knew usury and had the experience of creating international trade "" at the strategically important trading crossroads, in the inner life of the city was a lot more to the practice of archaic art. Up to the XIV century BC, Assyria was called "alum Chine Ashur", "the community (God) of Ashur": in ancient Mesopotamia main sign of self-identification was not a nationality, belonging to a community and the state. Also community" was land ownership. Features "of community" traced in the organization of power. And although the people's Assembly "small and great" has already lost its importance, the highest body of power was still "house of the city ' - Council of the nobility. The Council elected for a period of one year, the city Treasurer, and the judge-administrator of the state. Although the Throne there was a hereditary position of Governor - Sakuma, before the era of large military campaigns nobody believed it "the king", and he played mostly priestly functions.

The habit of assuming the ancient rulers of Eastern despots, we are mistaken, for even in the later time of the kings of Assyria and Babylon nobody believed indisputable autocratic lords, free at its whim, to punish or forgive. The king, to a greater or lesser extent, still remained responsible before the people and "the community" - this is evidenced by the extant in the literature "excuses" at the glorification of the kings of Egypt, and the Hittites, and Mesopotamia, where the first case was noted that during the reign of this king, the people is hungry, and thanks to successful military campaigns only multiply their wealth.

Even more striking example of the accountability of the king to the people is the custom "updates forces of the king", popular and in Babylon, and in a gentle way and in Assyria. The sense is that one day in the year the king had to pass a special cleansing: he was subjected to humiliating rituals drove through the streets, poured water, ridiculed or cursed, spat in his face and did mocked. The king, without a murmur passed through it, was considered fully updated and cleaned and with honour returned to the throne. Sometimes the kings on this day the words refused from power and put in his place a replacement of the rulers of the people, and they passed through serious rite, but the force was considered to be updated in real king. The next day the Governor was returned to power with which actually never parted. This trick is, however, not always get away with it. One of the kings of Babylon did not want to be subjected to humiliation and instead sent to reproach the crowd of his gardener. But until that mocked and spat upon, hidden in the Palace of the king choked porridge and died, and the gardener and remained king and rules are not worse than his former master.

Of course, with the strengthening of the authority of the Governor this custom was a thing of the past - especially fast in Assyria, whose kings with the beginning of the era campaigns have become all-powerful commanders of the army, "joke" which has become unsafe. And yet "ideological" autocracy ancient Mesopotamia ever knew, though the Assyrian kings and approached him on the case. The concept of despotism and limited Royal power was in the story much later - along with the Achaemenid - kings of the Persians. The Persians at the end of the ancient history invaded Mesopotamia and won it, opened the curtain for the last act, entitled "the History of the Ancient world": in these ten centuries (from the VI century BC to the fifth century ad) are placed Greco-Persian war, the execution of Socrates, Greek colonization of the Mediterranean, the rise of Rome, the fall of Carthage, the revolt of Spartacus, the Union of Cleopatra and Mark Antony, excesses of Nero and the invasion of the Goths. However, we occupy the event of a much more distant and not so firmly rooted in European culture.

Gifts Akhenaten

Trying to escape from unfavorable historical circumstances of the actual vassalage and hostile environment, which is almost entirely strangled international trade, for centuries feeding Ashur, - Assyria in the XIV century BC made a bid for Egypt, which in its causes opposed to other great powers in the Middle East, threatening the Assyrians. When the Pharaoh Akhenaten in Egypt with honour was taken Assyrian Embassy, although a terrible voice of Babylon had, logically, to interrupt negotiations presumptuous vassals Babylonia with Egypt, this has not happened. On the contrary, ambassadors exchanged with Pharaoh generous gifts and obtained his support. Why did Egypt to spoil relations with the mighty Babylon because some of Ashur? But Akhenaten, apparently, just saw the messengers of Assyria bottom-up drive, which soon will be able to turn the whole historical order in the foreseeable space of the Universe.

Pharaoh was not mistaken. For the next hundred years, the country Assyrians, capturing the vast land that has evolved from a city-state Ashur in the Empire of Assyria and strengthened so that it had to reckon all its neighbors. The time of historic shoista passed. Moreover, already the founder of this great power Ashuruballit I establishes relationships with Babylon the king's house and all by hook or by crook brought to bear on the throne of Babylon set his grandson is now Assyria will never abandon dreams of control over Babylonia is the greatest country in the Mesopotamian culture common to Babylon and the Assyrians.

In the XIII century BC Assyria starts powerful military expansion, break a ridge of one of their old enemies - the Kingdom of Mittani - and when Timelinedirty I invades Syria. This was the beginning of endless list of bloody military victories and development, which in the end and turn it into a country with "war economies": in Syria was captured 30 000 prisoners, enslaved, towhich from now on will work on the greatness of the children of Ashur. Moreover, Timelinedirty first captures Babylon, deposed king of Babylon, and takes away from the city statue of the God Marduk - the patron Saint of Babylon; in the North it splits the coalition of 43 princes Nairi and, seizing some areas of Transcaucasia, again rises to Asia Minor. Striking only that all these victories befell the city-state. Radical Assyria was, again, very small in territory and population. It is enough to imagine that Russia was not going around the Grand Duchy of Moscow, and only around one of Moscow to imagine what warlike spirit had to have the Assyrians, wining over many times superior enemy.

The establishment of control over the mountainous edges of the North-West gave Assyria one unexpected treasure, who played in the history of its countless wars decisive role. This treasure was iron. Gradually Assyrians learned to handle it and immediately applied in military Affairs. It is clear that a warrior in the iron cuirass was virtually invulnerable to bronze weapons, and an arrow with an iron tip and iron sword is able to overwhelm the most powerful bronze armour.

Perhaps, the higher its heyday Assyria reached in the beginning of XI century B.C.E. when Tiglath-Pileser I. It was a time of powerful changes in the Ancient world: "old ancient" Kingdom could not withstand the onslaught "new ancient" and, as Mittani and the Hittite Kingdom, had simply vanished, giving them a place. Babylon experienced a prolonged political and ecological crisis (irrigated agriculture, for many centuries has led to salinization of soils, and fertile first field Babylonia turned in a rather poor barns), but Egypt once again sharpened and strife. In this situation Assyria steady hand picked up the role of a world leader.

When Pileser I warriors of Ashur make more than 30 trips to the West, captured the Northern Syria, Phoenicia, and some provinces of Asia Minor. The beam of trade routes connecting the West with the East, is again in the hands of Assyrian merchants. After his triumph after the conquest of Phoenicia Tiglath Pileser I satisfied with demonstrative exit to the Phoenician Navy ships in the Mediterranean sea. From Egypt, the triumphant immediately received rich gifts. Anticipation is not fooled by the great Pharaoh Akhenaten, who once Assyrian Embassy: a handful who knew no fear of passionaries, seizing the moment, really rocked the world.

With sword in hand and Babylon in the heart

The biggest problem of Assyria throughout its history was Babylon. However, he was not a problem only external, political or military - at a certain stage in the expansion of the Assyrian military power Babylon were not for the army of Ashur serious threat - it "took" numerous times, but the more he turned to the problem of the interior, in a deep, persistent neurosis, love-hate that cannot quench. With Babylon Assyrians links this site feelings that the unravelling it into effect is that some historical therapist. If the kings of Assyria powers just changed the Babylonia in one of its provinces, it may, would be solved easier. But no! They did not want to learn it by brute force. Each time after the next "get" Babylon had left the status of an independent vassal Kingdom, and if not the Kingdom, at least a free city. The Assyrians as demonstrated by the Babylonians his generosity, asking: "Oh, experienced children Marduk, like us, heroic sons of Ashur, live in harmony with us, and we save your magical city from any infringement from outside"In the requirement of this impossible love was, among other things, the insistence to recognize the relationship (ethnically Assyrians and Babylonians even closer to each other than Russians and Ukrainians: they only spoke different dialects of one language) and if not equality, but at least the proportionality of the force of Assyria captivating beauty of Babylon. But "love" and did not work. And when Babylon once again rebelled, calling the allies of the Chaldeans, and Elamites, the Assyrian king Sinakherib in 689 BC erased Babylon off the face of the earth, using its streets water from open gateways of the Euphrates. So desperate lover kills his beloved. But Assyria not forgive his king loss of Babylon. In turn Sinakherib was killed in his own Palace, and his successor Esarhaddon restored Babylon, restored him to his former privileges, introduced in favor of the Babylonian temples new taxes on their huge power - while at the same time he did not know of pity, was cut through friendly once Egypt until brought the boundaries of the Assyrian Empire before the first threshold of the Nile.

Being the closest relatives by blood, the children of Ashur was markedly different from the sons of Babylon. If the Babylonians, except for a small layer "righteous"were, in General, complete Hedonists, Assyrians chose life satisfactions Babylonians severe fun of a different kind: numerous bas-reliefs captured scenes of the Royal lion and other hunts where the muscles every warrior has stretched to the limit, bleeding, rushing of his chariots, catching up sacrifice hunters... the War is also, incidentally, was one of their favourite themes: the battle, the destruction of the city, the humiliation of prisoners, the pyramids of severed heads defeated enemies, enslaved... the Ultimate tension, feat, the battle - that's life ideal Assyrian. This has also had an impact on gender relations in society. If a Babylonian family was the "mink", which was implemented its hedonistic life ideal, the Assyrian was different. The family was only "launching pad" warrior, and although in Assyria was allowed polygamy, harem served the children of Ashur not for money, and to strengthen the strength and economy of a warrior. The attitude towards women in Assyria was pretty harsh, but sexual intercourse is far more brutal and deprived of that tenderness which was painted love in Babylon.

Therefore, although Assyria and Babylon ate juice of one culture, they are differently ordered them: some drew this juice in a pleasant wine, others made thereof and blinding fiery drink. A beautiful illustration of this situation can be found in "Epic of Gilgamesh". The work is enjoyed extraordinary popularity as in Assyria and Babylon. But the Assyrians rather seen its like a young Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk, ready to perform feats only in the name of exploits and indiscriminately to use the daughters and wives of his people. To become "Babylonian", Gilgamesh had to overcome your egocentrism in the feeling of warm friendship, experience grief and mortal fear after the death of the other, to desire immortality, to get it to immediately by a stupid accident, lose and eventually to abandon attempts to reach the unattainable and to live, enjoying life, not concerning what is not given to man. Assyrians same for centuries fought for unattainable - not in words but in deeds, not to immortality, but to world dominion.

War for war

The sudden end of Assyria was preceded by an unprecedented scale conquests and the maximum takeoff Assyrian military machine. Iron did the Assyrian military completely invincible army on the battlefields. Though the Assyrians, the indigenous people from Assyria was little, but find they wanted the whole world, they fought with exceptional cruelty. Therefore, some provinces and kingdoms preferred to Express submission, and to pay tribute with one single approach Assyrian troops, right in thinking that it is formally deprived of independence than to allow it to its territory. However, the Assyrian nation are so large that the situation could not remain unchanged. The country had to manage and keep him in obedience. For this needed a big army and Imperial administrative apparatus. A reformer in this area were made by Tiglath-Pileser III.

He was a usurper, the captain, so its main reforms concerned the military. He created in Assyria "Royal regiment" - huge regular army, which took conquered, isolated from their environment and earth people, who knew no other will, but the will of the king and the immediate commander. When Tiglath-Pileser III in the Assyrian army was 120 thousand people, and equal to him she knew not. It was not only in its monstrous size. Assyrians introduced in military Affairs a number of innovations, unknown in the Ancient world and preserved till the new time. For example, in addition chariots shock force in battle they did moving cavalry, creating cavalry as a kind of troops. They established a military intelligence and provided for auxiliary parts needed in any campaign: army gunsmiths repaired and re-made weapons, engineer troops were helping the army to build bridges, to the siege of fortresses. The Assyrian siege technology has reached such perfection that the city-fortress, which in the past century has withstood the siege lasting 15-20 years, the Assyrians took 20 days: poured siege walls, height equal to the walls of the besieged fortress, left the town without water to carry away towards the river, or, on the contrary, flooded his, building or destroying the dam. If not helped and that they had been destroying its fortress walls rams, which was a mobile mini-castle with turrets for archers on top and wooden roof that sheltered a detachment of soldiers, rocking upholstered iron giant logs, can undermine any masonry.

The Assyrians were at war for the sake of war. Probably, in the world's history had no such powers fighting. Robbery conquered territories, tribute and taxes from conquered lands became the motor of the whole Assyrian economy. Moreover, the war gave an inexhaustible source of labour. At this time the slaves in Assyria were so cheap that the soldiers were sometimes paid by them for lunch and a drink in the taverns.

In the VIII century BC a Assyria has finally cleared the way on the West, conquering Damascus and the Kingdom of Israel, has made a number of successful campaigns in Urartu and media, and once again "defeated" Babylon, where Pileser III even crowned Babylonian crown. To avoid uprisings and the falling away of the provinces, he introduced the mass deportation of the population from one part of the Empire to another. It is known, that at it from only one Syria were evicted 73 thousand people.

In the course of the century Assyria had never known defeat. She broke Israel, wipe it off the map, inflicted a mortal wound Urartu, tore several provinces in Mussels and quite successfully resisted the vortices of the most dangerous enemies of all "established" civilizations - in appearance weak, but in fact with enormous destructive power of the nomadic tribes in the time of the Cimmerians and the Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula. It seemed that the power of the Assyrian nation is not under threat.

A century of sunset

Stella with the image of Ashurbanipal in the crown of the Assyrian kings. He picks up the basket of land for ritual manufacture of the first brick. The cuneiform inscription around and on the body of the king shows that he has restored the sanctuary of the EA, the God of fresh water and wisdom, on the territory of the temple of Marduk - the Supreme God of Babylon

All the more surprising that within 100 years of Assyria not existed not only as a world Empire, but simply as an independent state: its cities were razed to the ground and buried in the sand. The end of Assyria, like any other Empire, was sudden, although the approach of his muffled felt by contemporaries. The prophets of the Jews foretold the destruction of Nineveh, "the city of blood", the kings with great difficulty fought against the enemies - and not for the first time for mining and for the life of his own country. Never before Assyria did not appeal to gods with prayers and requests about the signs with awe and fear. King Ashurbanipal made and sent many campaigns, but the further you go, the harder it were given him the victory, and the less durable they were - the uprising followed the uprising. The war seemed to have ceased to inspire Assyrians as before: portrait of the great king contrary to tradition is not on the battle chariot, and in the image of sacred Builder - with basket behind - the restorer of the temple of Marduk in Babylon. His capital Ashurbanipal after his grandfather and father chose the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh, where he founded unprecedented for the Ancient world, the enterprise library and ordered him to copy and save it all somewhat important cuneiform texts from the literature to medical prescriptions. This ancient library is sometimes called Babylon". Even Borges - perhaps deliberately not escaped this error visualize this primary library in the form of the Universe, which already contains all the characters and letters and, therefore, all the books that were and will be written. However, this protogalactic literature was created not in Babylon, namely in Nineveh. The Ashurbanipal was a Great Librarian, who knew perfectly forgotten the language of the Sumerians. In Nineveh was erected a Palace, able to compete with the most beautiful buildings of Babylon. Right in Babylon and in the Uruk - the home of the legendary Gilgamesh - they were rebuilt the magnificent temples.

Of course, Ashurbanipal fought much. Assyria, grown from a small city-States, and failed to make a conquered province complicit in the construction of Empire. And this circumstance was fatal. Another rebellion of Babylon, on the throne which sat brother Ashurbanipal, shook the whole country. Fell Egypt. Immediately in the most unexpected way affected the fruits of reform ever conducted by Tiglath-Pileser III created the great and invincible Assyrian army. Who knew no defeats for a century, it began to lose its former power. In the annals of VII century BC about military campaigns most often reported that the king so-and-so "came and destroyed" rebellious province or a distant land, but nowhere does it say that "planted Governor". This means that trips Assyrians no longer brought them world: the disobedient were, of course, ruined and humbled, but remained essentially uncontrollable and waiting only an hour for the next neocarta. The universe is created and passionate explosion Assyrians, began to rebel against the throne. And when at the end of VII century BC on the historical stage appeared the Scythians, flown from the depths of Asia, enormous Assyrian army, torn own "political" conflicts involved in the struggle for power and the result is completely lost its former military efficiency, could not withstand them. The Scythians decades calmly walked through the indigenous Assyrian, not to mention annexed the kingdoms. Performance against Assyria two largest of them - Mussels and Babylon has completed the picture of defeat. All major Assyrian towns - Ashur, Nineveh, Harrison, Karkamis - were simply erased from the face of the earth, the Assyrian know destroyed, and the population of Assyria fled to neighbouring lands, mingling with other people. Part of the Assyrians fled to the West and even tried to establish a new Kingdom, but to avert death could not nothing. The Babylonians did away with the Assyrians in 609 BC History of Assyria came true.