The rise and fall of the Assyrian Empire - Marian H Feldman

Before the sun never set on the British Empire, 00:09 before Genghis Khan swept the steppe, 00:12 before Rome extended its influence to encircle the Mediterranean Sea, 00:17 there was ancient Assyria. 00:20 Considered by historians to be the first true empire, 00:24 Assyria's innovations laid the groundwork for every superpower that's followed. 00:29 At its height, in the 7th century BCE, 00:31 the Assyrian Empire stretched across modern Iraq, 00:35 Syria, 00:36 Lebanon, 00:37 Israel, 00:38 and parts of Turkey, 00:40 Iran, 00:40 and Egypt. 00:42 Its wonders included a vast library and large botanical and zoological park. 00:47 But the story of Assyria's rise to dominance began many centuries earlier, 00:51 in the Late Bronze Age, in a city called Ashur. 00:55 Ashur was a tin and textiles trading center 00:59 located along the Tigris River in northern Iraq. 01:02 It shared its name with a god thought to be an embodiment of the city 01:06 and later of the entire empire. 01:08 For the administration-minded Assyrians, politics and religion were closely linked. 01:14 Around 1300 BCE, a high priest named Ashur-uballit I took the title of king 01:21 and initiated a tradition of military campaigns, 01:24 effectively transforming Assyria from a city-state to a territorial state. 01:30 This meant that a single administrative entity 01:33 oversaw many places, cultures, and peoples. 01:36 For the next 150 years, Assyria extended its reach and thrived. 01:44 In the 12th century BCE, 01:46 a mysterious catastrophe that still bewilders archaeologists 01:49 caused the Assyrians to lose much of their territory. 01:53 A few hundred years later, however, 01:55 Assyrian kings began a new round of conquests. 01:59 This time, they honed their administrative system 02:02 into an empire that would last generations. 02:05 Assyrians were military innovators and merciless conquerors. 02:09 During their conquests, 02:11 they used siege tactics and cruel punishments for those who opposed them, 02:15 including impalement and flaying. 02:19 The growth of their empire was due, in part, 02:22 to their strategy of deporting local populations, 02:25 then shifting them around the empire to fulfill different needs. 02:29 This broke peoples' bonds with their homelands 02:31 and severed loyalties among local groups. 02:34 Once the Assyrians conquered an area, 02:36 they built cities connected by well-maintained royal roads. 02:40 Often, when a new king came to power, he would build a new capital. 02:44 With each move, new palaces and temples were erected and lavishly decorated. 02:49 Although kings claimed absolute power, 02:51 we know that an extensive system of courtiers, 02:54 provincial officials, 02:55 and scholars influenced affairs. 02:58 At least one woman, Sammuramat, ruled the kingdom. 03:02 Assyrian rulers celebrated their military excursions 03:05 by having representations of their exploits 03:07 carved into the walls of their newly built palaces. 03:11 But despite the picture of a ruthless war state projected by these records, 03:15 the Assyrian kings were also interested in the cultural traditions of the region, 03:20 especially those of Babylonia, a separate state to the south. 03:24 Babylonia had been a cultural leader for millennia, 03:27 stretching back to the beginning of writing 03:29 at the end of the 4th millennium BCE. 03:32 Assyria saw itself as the inheritor and protector of this tradition. 03:37 Assyrian rulers supported scholars 03:39 in specialties ranging from medicine to magic, 03:42 and the capital cities, like Ninevah, 03:44 were home to elaborate parks and gardens 03:47 that housed plants and animals from around the empire. 03:51 One of Assyria's final rulers, Ashurbanipal, 03:55 sent scholars throughout Babylonia to gather up and copy ancient literary works. 04:00 Ashurbanipal's library took the form of clay tablets 04:05 inscribed with cuneiform in the languages of Akkadian and Sumerian. 04:09 The library was lost during the final sack of Ninevah in 612 BCE. 04:15 But thanks to a 19th century archaeological excavation, 04:19 many masterpieces of ancient literature, 04:21 including the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Babylonian Creation Epic, 04:25 survive today. 04:27 After centuries of rule, 04:30 the Assyrian Empire fell to the Babylonians and Medes 04:33 between 612 and 609 BCE. 04:37 Yet the innovations that the Assyrians pioneered live on. 04:41 Their emphasis on constant innovation, 04:43 efficient administration, 04:45 and excellent infrastructure 04:47 set the standard for every empire that's followed them in the region 04:50 and across the globe.