Assyr ian Empir e

I nt r oduct ion

Assyria was a major Semitic kingdom or empire

of the Ancient near East, existing in various
forms during a period of approximately nineteen
centuries from cicra 2500 ! to "05 !,
spanning the Early ron#e Age to the late $ron
Age% !entred on the &pper 'igris river,in
northern (esopotamia% Assyria was at the height
of technological, scientific and cultural
achievements for its time%
Assyr ian Per iods

'he history of Assyria is roughly divided

into three periods, known as )ld Assyrian,
(iddle Assyrian and *eo+Assyrian% 'hese
terms are in wide use in Assyrology and
roughly correspond to the (iddle ron#e
Age, ,ate ron#e Age and Early $ron Age,
respectively%
Old Assyr ia

$n the old Assyrian period, Assyria

esta-lished colonies in Asia (inor and 'he
,evant and, under king $lushuma, it
asserted itself over southern (esopotamia%
.rom the late /0th century !, Assyria
came into conflict with the newly created
state of a-ylonia, which eventually
eclipsed the older Sumero+Akkadian states
in the south%
Middle Assyr ia
Assyria expirienced fluctuating fortunes in the (iddle Assyrian
period% Assyria had a period of empire under Shamshi+Adad and
$shme+1agan in the /0th and /2th centuries !% 'he period of
great power occurred with the rise of the (iddle Assyrian
Empire3from /4"5 ! to /05" !5, which included the reigns of
great kings, such as Ashur+ u-allit, Arik+den+ili, 'ukulti+*inurta
and 'iglath+6ileser% 1uring this period, Assyrian overthrew the
(itanni and eclipsed -oth the 7ittite Empire and Egyptian Empire
in the *ear East%
Neo-Assyr ian Empir e
'he *eo+Assyrian Empire was an empire in
(esopotamian history which -agan in 048!
and ended in "00 !% 1uring this period,
Assyria assumed a position as the most
powerful state on Earth, successfully eclipsing
a-ylonia, Egypt, &rartu and elam for
dominance of the *ear East, Asia (inor,
!aucasus, *orth Africa and the
(editerranean%
Ar chit ect ur e
'he Architecture of Assyriya is the ancient
architecture of the region of the 'igris+Euphrates
river system encompassing several distinct cultures
and spanning a period from the /0th millenium
!, when the first permanent structures were
-uilt, to the "th century !% Among the
architectural accomplishments are the
development of ur-an planning, the courtyard
house and #iggurats%
Building Mat er ials
'he architecture -egun with erection of large
monoliths at the site of 9o-ekli 'epe% $t is
overwhelmingly one of clay masonry and of
complex forms of mud -ricks% :ed -rick was
used in small applications involving water,
decoration,and monumental construction% A
late innovation was gla#ed viterous -rick%
(asonry was usually mortar+less although
-itumin was sometimes used%
Br ick St yles

6at#en+ 20;80;/5 cm

:iemchen+ /";/" cm

6lano+convex+ /0;/0;48 cm
Since round -ricks are somewhat unsta-le,
the -ricklayers would lay a row of -ricks
perpendicular to the rest every few rows.
Ur ban Planning

The construction of cities was the end

product of trends which began in the
Neolithic Revolution. The growth of
cities was partly planned and partly
organic. Planning is evident in the
walls, high temple distinct, main canal
with harbour, and main street.
Plan of city

The typical city divided space into residential,

mixed use, commercial and civic spaces. The
residential areas were grouped by profession.
At the core of the city was a high temple
complex always sited slightly off the
geographical center. The city always included a
belt of irrigated agricultural land including small
hamlets. A network of roads and canals
connected the city of the land.
esign o! Assyr ian buildings .
'he 6lans of all the Assyrian -uildings are
rectangular% 'he Eastern architects used this
outline almost invaria-ly, they gathered over
the angles -y graceful curves and on the -asis
of an ordinary s<uare hall carry up a minaret
or dome, an octagon or a circle% 'he
resem-lance -etween the ancient form of the
dome and those still used in the Assyrian
villages is very striking%