You've Gotta Love Those Assyrians! Quiz

Answer: Tigris

The first capital of Assyria was Assur. Ninevah became the capital during the reign of Sennacherib. Subsequent kings, using the vast amount of tribute money they collected, made Ninevah the showcase of the ancient world. Archaeologists have found a seventy-one room palace, walls that might have been eight miles in circumference, and many fine examples of art and culture.

Answer: Assur, the god of war

It makes sense that the very war-like Assyrians would make Assur (Ashur), the god of war, the most important deity in their pantheon. Many Assyrian kings (Ashurnasirpal, Ashurbanipal) had names that included the god's name. Assur's symbols included a winged disc with horns and a circle or wheel suspended from wings.

Answer: Hittites

The Hittites lived in Anatolia, or Asia Minor, and came into contact with the Assyrians sometime before their empire fell in approximately 1200 B.C. With weapons of better quality, and the two-wheeled chariot, which they also learned about through the Hittites, the Assyrians had the best of ancient mechanized warfare.

The Assyrians also used what is commonly called a "Scythed Chariot", with iron blades attached to the wheels, so the chariot was not only a vehicle, but also a weapon.

Answer: False

The Persians built the Royal Road, while the Assyrians built the King's Road. As the Assyrian empire expanded, it became necessary to improve communication. Assyrian governors were expected to maintain roads in their part of the empire. It is estimated that by using mules and traveling approximately sixteen hours a day using a pony express-type system, the couriers could travel approximately 430 miles in three days.

Not only did the king need to receive information quickly about the various provinces in the empire, he also needed to be able to move troops in case of rebellion.

Answer: Phoenicia

The problem with being a vassal to Assyria was that large amounts of tribute were expected. Because the Assyrians could show up at any time making demands, it was difficult to know what to expect. If there was any hint of rebellion, punishment was fast and harsh.

There are descriptions of kings being brought back to Nineveh and being publicly roasted alive or flayed alive. By 701 B.C., Phoenicia (who probably taught the Assyrians the art of shipbuilding) had been crushed, and met the same fate as other rebellious regions.

Answer: Deportation

The Assyrians employed three main policies in dealing with conquered people. The first, deportation, was devised in order to remove people from their homes and the protection of their gods, since they believed that was where their gods held power. Without their god, and hope of his protection, the people would be less likely to revolt. Mass deportation destroyed the peoples' confidence and will to fight.

In addition, of course, these displaced people provided slave labor where needed. Second, rebellion was also crushed quickly and brutally; finally, only native Assyrians were allowed to administer laws, collect taxes, and conscript soldiers for the army. Pretty soon, it was beyond the capability of the Assyrians to administer the vast empire, which stretched from the Mediterranean Sea (including part of Egypt) to Iran.

Answer: Samaria

At one time the Hebrews had been vassals of the Assyrians, but rebellions put them at odds with the great empire. The Kingdom of Israel consisted of ten of the twelve tribes, which split from the other two tribes, the Kingdom of Judah, after Solomon's death.

The Bible says that the Kingdom of Israel did not always stay faithful to God, and insinuates that the wrath of the Assyrians was their punishment. It is believed that over 200,000 Hebrews were deported, and to this day, no one is completely sure of their fate.

They became known as the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Samaria was then populated by Assyrians, who inter-married with some of the remaining Hebrews and became known as Samaritans. The story of the Good Samaritan is even more compelling when one considers the fact that the remaining Hebrews despised and even hated Samaritans.

Answer: To ensure peaceful succession to the throne

The possibility of rebellion occurring when the king died, led to the selection of an heir apparent sometime during the king's reign. Nobles and officials were expected to recognize the power of the heir in taking over the government with no disruption or rebellion when the king died. The Persians, and eventually the Romans, adopted this feature of the Assyrian administration.

Answer: True

In 1849 Austen Henry Layard found The Library of Sennacherib while digging at the site of Nineveh; his assistant, Harmuz Rassam, uncovered The Library of Assurbanipal in 1852. Many of the tablets were taken to England, and are housed in the British Museum today.

In fact, the data base at the museum boasts 30,943 tablets in the Nineveh library collection. The texts on the tablets contains all sorts of information from how to make perfume to a copy of the Sumerian account of the Gilgamesh Epic.

Answer: Chaldeans

The Assyrians were destined to downfall due to their policy of conquest. Their brutal treatment of the conquered people not only gave reason for rebellion, but their policy of only allowing native born Assyrians to serve in the government and army spread them way too thinly.

Many historians believe today that there has never been a nation as completely destroyed as the Assyrians; their great cities were burned to the ground and never rebuilt. The Chaldeans, who rebuilt the great city of Babylon, defeated the Assyrians in approximately 612 b.c.