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Assyria

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Ancient History,
Classical History and Mythology

   Relief from Assyrian capital of Dur Sharrukin, showing transport of
   Lebanese cedar (8th c. BC)
   Enlarge
   Relief from Assyrian capital of Dur Sharrukin, showing transport of
   Lebanese cedar (8th c. BC)
     Ancient Mesopotamia
   Euphrates – Tigris
   Assyriology
       Cities / Empires
   Sumer: Uruk – Ur – Eridu
   Kish – Lagash – Nippur
   Akkadian Empire: Akkad
   Babylon – Isin – Susa
   Assyria: Assur – Nineveh
   Dur-Sharrukin – Nimrud
   Babylonia – Chaldea
   Elam – Amorites
   Hurrians – Mitanni
   Kassites – Urartu
          Chronology
   Kings of Sumer
   Kings of Assyria
   Kings of Babylon
           Language
   Cuneiform script
   Sumerian – Akkadian
   Elamite – Hurrian
          Mythology
   Enûma Elish
   Gilgamesh – Marduk

   In the earliest historical times, the term Assyria ( Syriac: ܐܬܘܖ̈)
   referred to a region on the Upper Tigris river, named for its original
   capital, the ancient city of Assur. Later, as a nation and Empire, it
   also came to include roughly the northern half of Mesopotamia (the
   southern half being Babylonia), with Nineveh as its capital.

   Assyria proper was located in a mountainous region, extending along the
   Tigris as far as the high Gordiaean or Carduchian mountain range of
   Armenia, known as the "Mountains of Ashur".

   The Assyrian kings controlled a large kingdom at three different times
   in history. These are called the Old, Middle, and Neo-Assyrian
   kingdoms, or periods. The most powerful and best-known nation of these
   periods is the Neo-Assyrian kingdom, 911-612 BC.

Early history

   The most important prehistoric ( Neolithic) site in Assyria is at Tell
   Hassuna, the centre of the Hassuna culture.

   Of the early history of the kingdom of Assyria, little is positively
   known. According to some Judeo-Christian traditions, the city of Ashur
   (also spelled Assur or Aššur) was founded by Ashur the son of Shem, who
   was deified by later generations as the city's patron god.

   The upper Tigris River valley seems to have been ruled by Sumer, Akkad,
   and northern Babylonia in its earliest stages; once a part of Sargon
   the Great's empire, it was destroyed by barbarians in the Gutian
   period, then rebuilt, and ended up being governed as part of the Empire
   of the 3rd dynasty of Ur.

Early Assyrian city-states and kingdoms

   The first inscriptions of Assyrian rulers appear after 2000 BC. Assyria
   then consisted of a number of city states and small Semitic kingdoms.
   The foundation of the Assyrian monarchy was traditionally ascribed to
   Zulilu, who is said to have lived after Bel-kap-kapu (Bel-kapkapi or
   Belkabi, ca. 1900 BC), the ancestor of Shalmaneser I.

City state of Ashur

   The city-state of Ashur had extensive contact with cities on the
   Anatolian plateau. The Assyrians established "merchant colonies" in
   Cappadocia, e.g., at Kanesh (modern Kültepe) circa 1920 BC– 1840 BC and
   1798 BC– 1740 BC. These colonies, called karum, the Akkadian word for
   'port', were attached to Anatolian cities, but physically separate, and
   had special tax status. They must have arisen from a long tradition of
   trade between Ashur and the Anatolian cities, but no archaeological or
   written records show this. The trade consisted of metal (perhaps lead
   or tin; the terminology here is not entirely clear) and textiles from
   Assyria, that were traded for precious metals in Anatolia.

Kingdom of Shamshi-Adad I

   The city of Ashur was conquered by Shamshi-Adad I ( 1813 BC– 1791 BC)
   in the expansion of Amorite tribes from the Khabur river delta. He put
   his son Ishme-Dagan on the throne of nearby city Ekallatum, and allowed
   the former Anatolian trade to continue. Shamshi-Adad I also conquered
   the kingdom of Mari on the Euphrates and put another of his sons,
   Yasmah-Adad on the throne there. Shamshi-Adad's kingdom now encompassed
   the whole of northern Mesopotamia. He himself resided in a new capital
   city founded in the Khabur valley, called Shubat-Enlil. Ishme-Dagan
   inherited the kingdom, but Yasmah-Adad was overthrown and Mari was
   lost. The new king of Mari allied himself with Hammurabi of Babylon.
   Assyria now faced the rising power of Babylon in the south. Ishme-Dagan
   responded by making an alliance with the enemies of Babylon, and the
   power struggle continued for decades.

Assyria reduced to vassal states

   Hammurabi eventually prevailed over Ishme-Dagan, and conquered Ashur
   for Babylon. With Hammurabi, the various karum in Anatolia ceased trade
   activity — probably because the goods of Assyria were now being traded
   with the Babylonians' partners.

   Assyria was ruled by vassal kings dependent on the Babylonians for a
   century. After Babylon fell to the Kassites, the Hurrians dominated the
   northern region, including Ashur.

Middle Assyrian period

   (Scholars variously date the beginning of the "Middle Assyrian period"
   to either the fall of the Old Assyrian kingdom of Shamshi-Adad I, or to
   when Ashur-uballit I ascended to the throne of Assyria.)

Ashur-uballit I

   In the 15th century BC, Saushtatar, king of "Hanilgalbat" (Hurrians of
   Mitanni), sacked Ashur and made Assyria a vassal. Assyria paid tribute
   to Hanilgalbat until Mitanni power collapsed from Hittite pressure,
   enabling Ashur-uballit I ( 1365 BC– 1330 BC), to again make Assyria an
   independent and conquering power at the expense of Babylonia; and a
   time came when the Kassite king in Babylon was glad to marry the
   daughter of Ashur-uballit, whose letters to Akhenaten of Egypt form
   part of the Amarna letters. This marriage led to disastrous results, as
   the Kassite faction at court murdered the Babylonian king and placed a
   pretender on the throne. Assur-uballit promptly marched into Babylonia
   and avenged his son-in-law, making Kurigalzu of the royal line king
   there.

Assyrian expansion

   Hanilgalbat was finally conquered under Adad-nirari I, who described
   himself as a "Great-King" (Sharru rabû) in letters to the Hittite
   rulers. Adad-nirari I's successor, Shalmaneser I (c. 1300 BC), threw
   off the pretense of Babylonian suzerainty, made Calah his capital, and
   followed up on expansion to the northwest, mainly at the expense of the
   Hittites, reaching as far as Carchemish and beyond.

   Shalmaneser's son and successor, Tukulti-Ninurta I, deposed
   Kadashman-Buriash of Babylon and ruled there himself as king for seven
   years, taking on the old title "king of Sumer and Akkad". Following
   this, Babylon revolted against Tukulti-Ninurta, and later even made
   Assyria tributary during the reigns of the Babylonian kings Melishipak
   II and Marduk-apal-iddin I, another weak period for Assyria.

Tiglath-Pileser I reaches the Mediterranean Sea

   As the Hittite empire collapsed from onslaught of the Phrygians (called
   Mushki in Assyrian annals), Babylon and Assyria began to vie for
   Amorite regions, formerly under firm Hittite control. The Assyrian king
   Ashur-resh-ishi I defeated Nebuchadnezzar I of Babylon in a battle,
   when their forces encountered one another in this region.

   Ashur-resh-ishi's son, Tiglath-Pileser I, may be regarded as the
   founder of the first Assyrian empire. In 1120 BC, he crossed the
   Euphrates, capturing Carchemish, defeated the Mushki and the remnants
   of the Hittites—even claiming to reach the Black Sea—and advanced to
   the Mediterranean, subjugating Phoenicia, where he hunted wild bulls.
   He also marched into Babylon twice, assuming the old title "King of
   Sumer and Akkad", although he was unable to depose the actual king in
   Babylonia, where the old Kassite dynasty had now succumbed to an
   Elamite one.

Society in the Middle Assyrian period

   Assyria had difficulties with keeping the trade routes open. Unlike the
   situation in the Old Assyrian period, the Anatolian metal trade was
   effectively dominated by the Hittites and the Hurrians. They also
   controlled the Mediterranean ports while the Kassites controlled the
   river route south to the Persian Gulf.

   The Middle Assyrian kingdom was well organized and in the firm control
   of the king. The king also functioned as the High Priest of Ashur, the
   state god. He had certain obligations to fulfill in the cult, and had
   to provide resources for the temples. The priesthood became a major
   power in Assyrian society. Conflicts with the priesthood were probably
   behind the murder of king Tukulti-Ninurta I.

   The population of Assyria was rather small, and the main cities were
   Ashur, Kalhu and Nineveh, all situated in the Tigris river valley. All
   free male citizens were obliged to serve in the army for a time; this
   system was called the ilku-service. The Assyrian law code was compiled
   during this period. They are notable for a repressive attitude towards
   women in their society.

Neo-Assyrian Empire

Assyrian empire-building

   After Tiglath-Pileser I, the Assyrians were in decline for nearly two
   centuries, a time of weak and ineffective rulers, wars with neighboring
   Urartu, and encroachments by Aramaean nomads. This long period of
   weakness ended with the accession in 911 BC of Adad-nirari II. He
   firmly subjugated the areas previously under nominal Assyrian
   vassalage, deporting populations in the north to far-off places. Apart
   from pushing the boundary with Babylonia slightly southward, he did not
   engage in actual expansion, and the borders of the empire he
   consolidated reached only as far west as the Khabur. He was succeeded
   by Tukulti-Ninurta II, who made some gains in the north during his
   short reign.

   The next king, Ashurnasirpal II ( 883 BC– 858 BC), embarked on a vast
   program of merciless expansion, first terrorizing the peoples to the
   north as far as Nairi, then conquering the Aramaeans between the Khabur
   and the Euphrates. His harshness prompted a revolt that was crushed
   decisively in a pitched, two-day battle. Following this victory, he
   advanced without opposition as far as the Mediterranean and exacted
   tribute from Phoenicia. Unlike any before, the Assyrians began boasting
   in their ruthlessness around this time. Ashurnasirpal II also moved his
   capital to the city of Kalhu ( Nimrud). The palaces, temples and other
   buildings raised by him bear witness to a considerable development of
   wealth and art.
   Assyrian Empire
   Enlarge
   Assyrian Empire

   Ashurnasirpal's son, Shalmaneser III (858 BC– 823 BC), had a long reign
   of 34 years, when the Assyrian capital was converted into an armed
   camp. Each year the Assyrian armies marched out of it to plunder and
   destroy. Babylon was occupied, and Babylonia reduced to vassalage. He
   fought against Urartu, and marched an army against an alliance of
   Syrian states headed by Benhadad of Damascus, and including Ahab, king
   of Israel, at the Battle of Qarqar in ( 854 BC). Despite Shalmaneser's
   description of 'vanquishing the opposition', it seems that the battle
   ended in a deadlock, as the Assyrian forces were withdrawn soon
   afterwards.

   Shalmaneser retook Carchemish in 849 BC, and in 841 BC marched an army
   against Hazael, King of Damascus, besieging and taking that city. He
   also brought under tribute Jehu of Israel, Tyre, and Sidon. His black
   obelisk, discovered at Kalhu, records many military exploits of his
   reign. The last few years of his life were disturbed by the rebellion
   of his eldest son that nearly proved fatal. Assur, Arbela and other
   places joined the pretender, and the revolt was quashed with difficulty
   by Shamshi-Adad V, Shalmaneser's second son, who soon afterwards
   succeeded him (824 BC).

   In the following century, Assyria again experienced a relative decline,
   owing to weaker rulers (including Queen Semiramis) and a resurgence in
   expansion by Urartu. The notable exception was Adad-nirari III ( 810
   BC– 782 BC), who captured Damascus in 804, bringing Syria under tribute
   as far south as Samaria and Edom, and who advanced against the Medes,
   perhaps even penetrating to the Caspian Sea.

Second Assyrian Empire

   When Nabonassar began the neo-Babylonian dynasty in 747 BC Assyria was
   in the throes of a revolution. Civil war and pestilence were
   devastating the country, and its northern provinces had been wrested
   from it by Urartu. In 746 BC Kalhu joined the rebels, and on the 13th
   of Iyyar in the following year, a general named Pulu, who took the name
   of Tiglath-pileser III, seized the crown, and made sweeping changes to
   the Assyrian government, considerably improving its efficiency and
   security.

   The conquered provinces were organized under an elaborate bureaucracy,
   with the king at the head — each district paying a fixed tribute and
   providing a military contingent. The Assyrian forces at this time
   became a standing army, that by successive improvements became an
   irresistible fighting machine; and Assyrian policy was henceforth
   directed toward reducing the whole civilized world into a single
   empire, throwing its trade and wealth into Assyrian hands. These
   changes are often identified as the beginning of the "Second Assyrian
   Empire".

   When Tiglath-Pileser III had ascended the throne of Assyria, he went
   down to Babylonia and abducted the gods of Šapazza; the
   Assyrian-Babylonian Chronicle informs us (ABC 1 Col.1:5). After
   subjecting Babylon to tribute, severely punishing Urartu, and defeating
   the Medes and Hittites, Tiglath-Pileser III directed his armies into
   Syria, which had regained its independence, and the commercially
   successful Mediterranean seaports of Phoenicia. He took Arpad near
   Aleppo in 740 BC after a siege of three years, and reduced Hamath.
   Azariah (Uzziah) had been an ally of the king of Hamath, and thus was
   compelled by Tiglath-Pileser to do him homage and pay yearly tribute.

   In 738 BC, in the reign of Menahem, king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser III
   occupied Philistia and invaded Israel, imposing on it a heavy tribute
   (2 Kings 15:19). Ahaz, king of Judah, engaged in a war against Israel
   and Syria, appealed for help to this Assyrian king by means of a
   present of gold and silver (2 Kings 16:8); he accordingly "marched
   against Damascus, defeated and put Rezin to death, and besieged the
   city itself." Leaving part of his army to continue the siege, he
   advanced, ravaging with fire and sword the province east of the Jordan,
   Philistia, and Samaria; and in 732 BC took Damascus, deporting its
   inhabitants to Assyria. In 729 BC, Tiglath-Pileser III, went to
   Babylonian and captured Nabu-mukin-zeri, the king of Babylon (ABC 1
   Col.1:21). He had himself crowned as "King Pul of Babylon".

   Tiglath-Pileser III died in 727 BC, and was succeeded by Shalmaneser V,
   who reorganized the Empire into provinces, replacing troublesome vassal
   kings with Assyrian governors. However, King Hoshea of Israel suspended
   paying tribute, and allied himself with Egypt against Assyria in 725
   BC. This led Shalmaneser to invade Syria (2 Kings 17:5) and besiege
   Samaria (capital city of Israel) for three years. Shalmaneser ravaged
   Samaria, the capital of Israel (ABC 1 Col.1:27).

Sargonid (dynasty)

   Deportation of Jews from Judah by the Assyrian Empire
   Enlarge
   Deportation of Jews from Judah by the Assyrian Empire

   Shalmaneser V died suddenly in 722 BC while laying siege to Samaria,
   and the throne was seized by Sargon, the Tartan (commander-in-chief of
   the army), who then quickly took Samaria, effectively ending the
   northern Kingdom of Israel and carrying 27,000 people away into
   captivity into the Israelite Diaspora. (2 Kings 17:1–6, 24; 18:7, 9).
   He also overran Judah, and besieged Jerusalem (Isa. 10:6, 12, 22, 24,
   34), but did not capture it. Sargon II waged war in his second year
   against the king of Elam, Humban-Nikaš, who allied himself with
   Marduk-apla-iddina of Babylon, but was defeated as told in ABC 1
   Col.1:31-37. In 721 BC, Babylon threw off the rule of the Assyrians,
   under the powerful Chaldean prince Merodach-baladan (2 Kings 20:12),
   and Sargon, unable to contain the revolt, turned his attention again to
   Urartu and Syria, taking Carchemish in 717, as well as the Medes,
   penetrating the Iranian Plateau as far as Mt. Bikni and building
   several fortresses. Assyria was belligerent towards Babylonia for ten
   years while Marduk-apla-iddina ruled Babylon (ABC 1 Col.1:41-42). In
   710 BC, Sargon attacked Babylonia and defeated Marduk-apla-iddina, who
   fled to his allies in Elam (ABC 1 Col.2:1-3). Sargon also built a new
   capital at Dur Sharrukin ("Sargon's City") near Nineveh, with all the
   tribute Assyria had collected from various nations.
   Assyrian warship, a bireme with pointed bow. 700 BC
   Enlarge
   Assyrian warship, a bireme with pointed bow. 700 BC

   In 705 BC, Sargon was slain while fighting the Cimmerians, and was
   succeeded by his son Sennacherib (2 Kings 18:13; 19:37; Isa. 7:17, 18),
   who moved the capital to Nineveh and made the deported peoples work on
   improving Nineveh's system of irrigation canals. In 701 BC, Hezekiah of
   Judah formed an alliance with Egypt against Assyria, so Sennacherib
   accordingly marched toward Jerusalem, destroying 46 villages in his
   path. This is graphically described in Isaiah 10; exactly what happened
   next is unclear (the Bible says an Angel of the Lord smote the Assyrian
   army at Jerusalem; Sennacherib's account says Judah paid him tribute
   and he left); however what is certain is that Sennacherib failed to
   capture Jerusalem. Marduk-apla-iddina had returned to Babylonia during
   the reign of Sennacherib. The Assyrian king made battle with him in 703
   BC outside Kish and defeated him. Sennacherib plundered Babylonia and
   pursued Marduk-apla-iddina through the land. At his return to Assyria
   Sennacherib installed Bel-ibni as king of Babylon (ABC 1 Col.2:12-23).
   Bel-ibni however committed hostilities, so Sennacherib returned to
   Babylon in 700 BC and captured him and his officers. Sennacherib
   instead installed his son Aššur-nadin-šumi on the throne of Babylon
   (ABC 1 Col.2:26-31).

   Sennacherib launched a campaign against Elam in 694 BC and ravaged the
   land. In retaliation the king of Elam ordered to attack Babylonia.
   Aššur-nadin-šumi was captured and brought back to Elam and a new king
   called Nergal-ušezib was installed as ruler of Babylon (ABC 1
   Col.2:36-45). The Assyrians returned the next year to Babylonia and
   plundered the gods of Uruk. Nergal-ušezib did battle against the army
   of Assyria, but was taken prisoner and transported to Assyria (ABC 1
   Col.2:46- Col.3:6). Another native ruler, called Mušezib-Marduk, soon
   seized the throne of Babylon. He held it with help of his Elamite
   allies for four years until 689 BC, when the Assyrians retook the city
   (ABC 1 Col.3:13-24). Sennacherib responded swiftly by opening the
   canals around Babylon and flooding the outside of the city until it
   became a swamp, resulting in its destruction, and its inhabitants were
   scattered. In 681 BC, Sennacherib was murdered, most likely by one of
   his sons (according to 2 Kings 19:37, while praying to the god Nisroch,
   he was killed by two of his sons, Adramalech and Sharezer, and both of
   these sons subsequently fled to Armenia; repeated in Isaiah 37:38 and
   alluded to in 2 Chronicles 32:21).

   Sennacherib was succeeded by his son Esarhaddon (Ashur-aha-iddina), who
   had been governor of Babylonia, and was campaigning in Urartu at the
   time of his father's murder, where he won a victory at Malatia (Milid).
   During the first year of Esarhaddon, a rebellion broke out in the south
   of Babylonia. Nabu-zer-kitti-lišir, a governor of the mat Tamti, laid
   siege to Ur. This governor did not capture the city, but fled to his
   kinsmen in Elam (Hal-Tamti); however, "the king of Elam took him
   prisoner and put him to the sword" (ABC 1 Col.3:39-42); also in (ABC 14
   vs.1-4).

   As king of Assyria, Esarhaddon immediately had Babylon rebuilt, and
   made it his capital. Defeating the Cimmerians and Medes (again
   penetrating to Mt. Bikni), but unable to maintain order in these areas,
   he turned his attention westward to Phoenicia—now allying itself with
   Egypt against him—and sacked Sidon in 677 BC. He also captured Manasseh
   of Judah and kept him prisoner for some time in Babylon (2 Chronicles
   33:11). Having had enough of Egyptian meddling, Esarhaddon attempted to
   conquer Egypt in 673 BC, but was defeated (ABC 1 Col.4:16). Two years
   later he made a new attempt and was successful. The Babylonian
   Chronicle retells how Egypt "was sacked and its gods were abducted"
   (ABC 1 Col.4:25); also in ABC 14 vs.28-29. The pharaoh Tirhakah fled
   Egypt, and a stele commemorating the victory, and representing Tirhakah
   with black African features, was set up at Sinjirli (north of the Gulf
   of Antioch), and is now in the Berlin Museum.

   Assyria was also at war with Urartu and Dilmun at this time. This was
   Assyria's greatest territorial extent. However, the Assyrian governors
   Esarhaddon had appointed over Egypt were obliged to flee the restive
   populace, so a new campaign was launched by Esarhaddon in 669 BC. He
   became ill on the way and died. His son Šamaš-šuma-ukin became king of
   Babylon and his son Aššur-bani-pal became king of Assyria; see ABC 1
   Col.4:30-33 and ABC 14 vs.31-32, 37. Bel and the gods of Babylonia
   returned from their exile in Assur to Babylon in the first year of
   Šamaš-šuma-ukin, and the akitu festival could be celebrated for the
   first time in twenty years; ABC 1 14 vs.34-39 and ABC 1 Col.4:34-36.

   Assur-bani-pal or Ashurbanipal (Ashurbanapli, Asnappar), the son of
   Esarhaddon, succeeded him. He continued to campaign in Egypt, when not
   distracted by pressures from the Medes to the east, and Cimmerians to
   the north of Assyria. Unable to contain Egypt, he installed
   Psammetichus as a vassal king in 663 BC. However, after Gyges of
   Lydia's appeal for Assyrian help against the Cimmerians was rejected,
   Lydian mercenaries were sent to Psammetichus. By 652 BC, this vassal
   king was strong enough to declare outright independence from Assyria
   with impunity, especially as Ashurbanipal's older brother,
   Shamash-shum-ukin, governor of Babylon, began a civil war in that year.
   This rebellion lasted until 648 BC, when Babylon was sacked, and
   Shamash-shum-ukin set fire to the palace, killing himself. Elam was
   completely devastated in 646 BC and 640 BC, and its capital Susa
   completely leveled.

Downfall and heritage

   Ashurbanipal had promoted art and culture, and had a vast library of
   cuneiform tablets at Nineveh. However, his long struggle with Babylonia
   and Elam left Assyria maimed and exhausted. It had been drained of
   wealth and fighting population; the devastated provinces could yield
   nothing to supply the needs of the imperial exchequer, and it was
   difficult to find sufficient troops to garrison the conquered
   populations. Assyria, therefore, was ill-prepared to face the hordes of
   Scythians and Medes who now began to harass the frontiers to the east;
   Asia Minor too was infested by the Cimmerians.

   Upon Ashurbanipal's death in 627 BC, the empire began to disintegrate
   rapidly. The Scythians, Cimmerians and Medes immediately penetrated the
   borders, marauding as far as Egypt, while Babylonia again became
   independent; Ashurbanipal's successor, Ashur-etil-ilani, seems to have
   exercised little real power. The Babylonian king Nabopolassar, along
   with Cyaxares the Mede, finally destroyed Nineveh in 612 BC, and
   Assyria fell. A general called Ashur-uballit II, with military support
   from the Egyptian Pharaoh Necho II, held out as a remnant of Assyrian
   power at Harran until 609 BC, after which Assyria ceased to exist as an
   independent nation.

Language

   The ancient people of Assyria spoke an Assyrian dialect of the Akkadian
   language, a branch of the Semitic languages. The first inscriptions,
   called Old Assyrian (OA), were made in the Old Assyrian period. In the
   Neo-Assyrian period the everyday language of Assyria was strongly
   influenced by the Aramaic language. The ancient Assyrians also used the
   Sumerian language in their literature.

Assyrian art

   An Assyrian winged bull.
   Enlarge
   An Assyrian winged bull.

   Assyrian art preserved to the present day predominantly dates to the
   Neo-Assyrian period. Art depicting battle scenes, and occasionally the
   impaling of whole villages in gory detail, was intended to show the
   power of the emperor, and was generally made for propaganda purposes.
   These stone reliefs lined the walls in the royal palaces where
   foreigners were received by the king. Other stone reliefs depict the
   king with different deities and conducting religious ceremonies. A lot
   of stone reliefs were discovered in the royal palaces at Nimrud (Kalhu)
   and Khorsabad (Dur-Sharrukin). A rare discovery of metal plates
   belonging to wooden doors was made at Balawat (Imgur-Enlil).

   Assyrian sculpture reached a high level of refinement in the
   Neo-Assyrian period. One prominent example is the winged bull Lamassi,
   or shedu that guard the entrances to the king's court. These were
   apotropaic meaning they were intended to ward off evil. C. W. Ceram
   states in The March of Archaeology that lamassi were typically sculpted
   with five legs so that four legs were always visible, whether the image
   were viewed frontally or in profile.

   Since works of precious gems and metals usually do not survive the
   ravages of time, we are lucky to have some fine pieces of Assyrian
   jewelry. These were found in royal tombs at Nimrud.

Astronomy

   There is ongoing discussion among academics over the nature of the
   Nimrud lens, a piece of rock crystal unearthed by Austen Henry Layard
   in 1850, in the Nimrud palace complex in northern Iraq. A small
   minority believe that it is evidence for the existence of ancient
   Assyrian telescopes, which could explain the great accuracy of Assyrian
   astronomy.

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