Ancient Assyrians

Assyrian Empire
2500 BC–612 BC
Overview map of the Ancient Near East in the 15th century BC (Middle Assyrian period), showing the core territory of Assyria with its two major cities Assur and Nineveh wedged between Babylonia downstream (to the south-east) and the states of Mitanni and Hatti upstream (to the north-west).
Capital		Aššur, Nineveh
Languages		Akkadian Sumerian Aramaic
Religion		Ancient Mesopotamian religion
Government		Monarchy
King
•	c. 1975 BC	Puzur-Ashur I (first)
•	1073–1056 BC	Ashur-bel-kala (last)
Historical era		Mesopotamia
•	Kikkiya overthrown	2500 BC
•	Decline of Assyria	612 BC
Succeeded by Median Empire Neo-Babylonian_Empire Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt
Today part of		Syria  Iraq  Turkey  Iran

Early Period
c. 2600 BC–c. 2025 BC
Capital		Aššur
Languages		Akkadian language
Religion		Ancient Mesopotamian religion
Government		Monarchy
King
•	c. 2450 BC	Tudiya (first)
•	c. 2025 BC	Ilu-shuma (last)
Historical era		Bronze Age
•	Established	c. 2600 BC
•	Disestablished	c. 2025 BC
Preceded by Succeeded by Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia) Old Assyrian Empire
Today part of		Iraq

Old Assyrian Empire
circa 2025 BC–circa 1750 BC
Capital		Aššur
Languages		Akkadian language
Religion		Ancient Mesopotamian religion
Government		Monarchy
King
•	circa 2025 BC	Erishum I (first)
•	circa 1393 BC	Ashur-nadin-ahhe II (last)
Historical era		Bronze Age
•	Established	circa 2025 BC
•	Disestablished	circa 1750 BC
Preceded by Succeeded by Early Assyrian kingdom Kingdom of Mitanni Middle Assyrian Empire
Today part of		Iraq  Syria  Turkey

Middle Assyrian Empire
Middle Assyrian Empire
1392 BC–934 BC
Map of the Ancient Near East during the Amarna Period (14th century BC), showing the great powers of the day: Egypt (orange), Hatti (blue), the Kassite kingdom of Babylon (black), Assyria (yellow), and Mitanni (brown). The extent of the Achaean/Mycenaean civilization is shown in purple.
Capital		Aššur
Languages		Akkadian
Religion		Ancient Mesopotamian religion
Government		Monarchy
King
•	1365–1330 BC	Ashur-uballit I (first)
•	967–934 BC	Tiglath-Pileser II (last)
Historical era		Mesopotamia
•	Independence from Mitanni	1392 BC
•	Reign of Ashur-dan II	934 BC
Preceded by Succeeded by Old Assyrian Empire Neo-Assyrian Empire

Neo-Assyrian Empire
Neo-Assyrian Empire
911 BC–605 BC
Map of the Neo-Assyrian Empire and its expansions.
Capital		Aššur 911 BC Kalhu 879 BC Dur-Sharrukin 706 BC Nineveh 705 BC Harran 612 BC
Languages		Akkadian, Aramaic, Sumerian
Religion		Ancient Mesopotamian religion
Government		Monarchy
King
•	911–891 BC	Adad-nirari II (first)
•	612–608 BC	Ashur-uballit II (last)
Historical era		Iron Age
•	Reign of Adad-nirari II	911 BC
•	Battle of Nineveh	612 BC
•	Fall of Harran	605 BC
Preceded by Succeeded by Middle Assyrian Empire Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt Kingdom of Israel (Samaria) Elam Median Empire Neo-Babylonian_Empire Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt
Today part of		Iraq  Syria  Turkey  Egypt  Saudi Arabia  Jordan  Iran  Kuwait  Lebanon  Palestine  Cyprus  Armenia  Israel

Assyria was a major Mesopotamian East Semitic-speaking kingdom and empire of the ancient Near East. It existed as a state from perhaps as early as the 25th century BC in the form of the Assur city-state, until its lapse between 612 BC and 599 BC, spanning the Early to Middle Bronze Age through to the late Iron Age.

From the end of the seventh century BC to the mid-seventh century AD, it survived as a geopolitical entity, for the most part ruled by foreign powers, although a number of Neo-Assyrian states arose at different times during the Parthian and early Sasanian Empires between the mid-second century BC and late third century AD, a period which also saw Assyria become a major centre of Syriac Christianity and the birthplace of the Assyrian Church of the East.

Centered on the Tigris in Upper Mesopotamia (modern northern Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and the northwestern fringes of Iran), the Assyrians came to rule powerful empires at several times. Making up a substantial part of the greater Mesopotamian "cradle of civilization", which included Sumer, the Akkadian Empire, and Babylonia, Assyria was at the height of technological, scientific and cultural achievements for its time. At its peak, the Assyrian empire stretched from Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea to Iran, and from what is now Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Caucasus, to the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt and eastern Libya.