The Assyrian Empire was the first state to achieve durable domination of the Ancient Near East, enduring some seven centuries and, eventually, controlling most of the region. Yet, we know little about how this empire emerged from a relatively minor polity in the Tigris region and how it managed to consolidate its power over conquered territories. Textual sources, often biased, provide a relatively limited source of information. In this study, Bleda S. Düring examines the rich archaeological data of the early Assyrian Empire that have been obtained over the past decades, together with the textual evidence. The archaeological data enable us to reconstruct the remarkably heterogeneous and dynamic impact of the Assyrian Empire on dominated territories. They also facilitate the reconstruction of the various ways in which people participated in this empire, and what might have motivated them to do so. Finally, Düring's study shows how imperial repertoires first developed in the Middle Assyrian period were central to the success of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
Author(s): Bleda S During
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2020
Language: English
Pages: xviii+186
The Imperialisation of Assyria: An Archaeological Approach
Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
Acknowledgements
A Note on Chronology
Introduction
1 A Fragmented World
DEFINING EMPIRES
MODELLING EMPIRE
EVALUATING EARLY EMPIRES IN MESOPOTAMIA
An Uruk Empire?
Elusive Empires: From Akkad to the Mittani
GEOGRAPHY AND IMPERIALISM
THE MESOPOTAMIAN PARADOX
2 A City at the Fringe?
ECOLOGY AND SUBSISTENCE
THE EARLY HISTORY OF ASSUR
ASSUR AS A TRADING NEXUS
IMPERIALISM AND TRADE NETWORKS
3 The Rise of Assyria
THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT
The Assyrian State between ca. 1520–1430 BCE
Assur as a Mittani Vassal, ca. 1430–1360 BCE
Assyria as a Minor State, ca. 1360–1300 BCE
Assyria as a Minor Empire, ca. 1300–1200 BCE
Assyria in the ‘Dark Ages’, ca. 1200–930 BCE
The Emergence of Assyria
THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE EARLY ASSYRIAN CORE
Building Projects at Assur
The Assyrian ‘Stelenreihe’
Houses in Late Bronze Age Assur
Burials at Assur in the Late Bronze Age
The Hinterland of Assur
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ASSYRIAN CORE
4 A Patchwork Empire
A REGIONAL APPROACH
The Middle Assyrian Impact on the Assyrian Triangle
The Middle Assyrian Impact on the Upper Khabur
The Middle Assyrian Impact on the Lower Khabur
The Middle Assyrian Impact along the Middle Euphrates
The Middle Assyrian Impact on the Upper Tigris Region
The Middle Assyrian Impact on the Balikh/Jullab Valley
A Patchwork Empire
5 Practising Empire
IMPERIAL AGENTS
NON-IMPERIAL AGENTS
IMPERIAL MEANS
IMPERIAL INCENTIVES
ART AND APPEARANCE
CONSUMABLES
HYGIENE AND SEX
DOMESTIC ARRANGEMENTS
BURIAL TRADITIONS
AN ASSYRIAN CULTURE OF EMPIRE?
PRACTISING EMPIRE
6 Rulers of All the World
THE CRISIS CENTURIES
ASSYRIA BETWEEN 1200–900 BCE
COMPARING IMPERIAL REPERTOIRES IN THE MIDDLE AND NEO-ASSYRIAN PERIODS
RESILIENCE AND OPPORTUNITY: THE RISE OF ASSYRIAN SUPREMACY
THE ASSYRIAN LEGACY
Concnclusions
Bibliography
Index
