Three years later, a revolt against Assyrian rule broke out in Babylonia. It was led by the Chaldean leader Nabopolassar. In his later inscriptions, he emphasized that he had previously been “a little man, unknown to the people.” At first, Nabopolassar was able to establish his power only in the north of Babylonia.

Having restored the traditional alliance of the Chaldean tribes with Elam, Nabopolassar besieged Nippur. However, pro-Assyrian sentiments were strong in the city, and it was not possible to take it. In October 626 BC. e. The Assyrians defeated the army of Nabopolassar and broke the siege of Nippur. But by this time, Babylon had gone over to the side of Nabopolassar, and already on November 25, the latter solemnly reigned in it, founding a new, Chaldean (or Neo-Babylonian) dynasty. However, a long and fierce struggle with the Assyrians still lay ahead.

Only ten years later did the Babylonians manage to capture Uruk, and the next year Nippur also fell, which, at the cost of great hardships and suffering, remained faithful to the Assyrian king for so long. Now the entire territory of Babylonia was cleared of Assyrians. In the same year, Nabopolassar's army besieged Ashur, the capital of Assyria. However, the siege was unsuccessful and the Babylonians retreated, suffering heavy losses. But soon a crushing blow fell on Assyria from the east. In 614 BC. e. The Medes surrounded the largest Assyrian city, Nineveh. When they failed to take it, they besieged and captured Ashur and massacred its inhabitants. Nabopolassar, true to the traditional policy of his Chaldean ancestors, came with an army when the battle was over and Ashur was reduced to ruins. The Medes and Babylonians entered into an alliance between themselves, consolidating it with a dynastic marriage between Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Nabopolassar, and Amytis, the daughter of the Median king Cyaxares.

Although the fall of Ashur weakened the position of the Assyrian power, while the victors were busy dividing the spoils, the Assyrians, under the leadership of their king Sin-shairshkun, resumed military operations in the Euphrates Valley. But in the meantime, the Medes and Babylonians jointly besieged Nineveh, and three months later, in August 612 BC. e., the city fell. After this, brutal reprisals followed: Nineveh was plundered and destroyed, its inhabitants slaughtered.

Part of the Assyrian army managed to make its way to the city of Harran in northern Mesopotamia and there, under the leadership of its new king Ashur-uballit II, continued the war. However, in 610 BC. e. The Assyrians were forced to leave Harran, mainly under the blows of the Median army. A Babylonian garrison was left in the city. But egyptian pharaoh Necho II, fearing the excessive strengthening of Babylonia, sent strong reinforcements to the Assyrians a year later. Ashur-uballit again managed to capture Harran, killing the Babylonians stationed there. However, Nabopolassar soon arrived with the main forces and inflicted a final defeat on the Assyrians.

As a result of the collapse of the Assyrian power, the Medes captured the indigenous territory of this country and Harran. The Babylonians gained a foothold in Mesopotamia and were preparing to establish their control over Syria and Palestine. But the Egyptian pharaoh also laid claim to dominance in these countries. Thus, in the entire Middle East there were only three powerful states left: Media, Babylonia and Egypt. In addition, there were two smaller but independent kingdoms in Asia Minor: Lydia and Cilicia.

In the spring of 607 BC. e. Nabopolassar transferred command of the army to his son Nebuchadnezzar, concentrating control in his hands internal affairs states. The heir to the throne was faced with the task of capturing Syria and Palestine. But first it was necessary to capture the city of Karkemish on the Euphrates, where there was a strong Egyptian garrison and Greek mercenaries. In the spring of 605 BC. e. The Babylonian army crossed the Euphrates and attacked Karkemish simultaneously from the south and north. A fierce battle began outside the city walls, as a result of which the Egyptian garrison was destroyed. After this, Syria and Palestine submitted to the Babylonians. Somewhat later, the Phoenician cities were also conquered.

While in conquered Syria, Nebuchadnezzar in August 605 BC. e. received news of his father's death in Babylon. He hurriedly went there and on September 7 was officially recognized as king. At the beginning of 598 BC. e. he made a trip to Northern Arabia, trying to establish his control over the caravan routes there. By this time, the king of Judah, Jehoiakim, prompted by the persuasion of Necho, fell away from Babylonia. Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem and on March 16, 597 BC. e. took it. More than 3 thousand Jews were taken captive to Babylonia, and Nebuchadnezzar installed Zedekiah as king in Judah.

In December 595 - January 594. BC e. unrest began in Babylonia, probably coming from the army. The leaders of the rebellion were executed and order was restored in the country.

Soon, the new Egyptian pharaoh Apries decided to try to establish his power in Phenicia and captured the cities of Gaza, Tire and Sidon, and also persuaded King Zedekiah to revolt against the Babylonians. Nebuchadnezzar, with decisive actions, pushed the Egyptian army back to the previous border and in 587 BC. e. After an 18-month siege, he captured Jerusalem. Now the kingdom of Judah was liquidated and annexed to the Neo-Babylonian power as an ordinary province, thousands of residents of Jerusalem (all the Jerusalem nobility and part of the artisans), led by Zedekiah, were taken into captivity.

Under Nebuchadnezzar II, Babylonia became a prosperous country. This was the time of its revival, economic and cultural upsurge. Babylon became a center of international trade. Much attention was paid to the irrigation system. In particular, a large basin was built near the city of Sippar, from where many canals originated, with the help of which the distribution of water during drought and flood was regulated. Old churches were restored and new ones were built. A new royal palace was built in Babylon, the construction of the seven-story ziggurat Etemenanki, called the Tower of Babel in the Bible, was completed, and the famous hanging gardens were laid out. In addition, powerful fortifications were erected around Babylon to protect the capital from possible enemy attacks.

In 562 BC. e. Nebuchadnezzar II died, and after this the Babylonian nobility and priesthood began to actively interfere in the policies pursued by his successors and eliminate kings they disliked. Over the next twelve years, there were three kings on the throne. In 556 BC. e. the throne went to Nabonidus, who was an Aramean, unlike the Neo-Babylonian kings of Chaldean origin who preceded him.

Nabonidus began to carry out religious reform, putting in first place the cult of the moon god Sin to the detriment of the cult of the supreme Babylonian god Marduk. Thus, he apparently sought to create a powerful power, uniting around himself numerous Aramaic tribes, among whom the cult of Sin was very popular. However, religious reform brought Nabonidus into conflict with the priesthood of the ancient temples in Babylon, Borsippa, and Uruk.

In 553 BC. e. A war began between Media and Persia. Taking advantage of the fact that the Median king Astyages recalled his garrison from Harran, in the same year Nabonidus captured this city and ordered the restoration of what was destroyed there during the war with the Assyrians in 609 BC. e. temple of the god Sin. Nabonidus also conquered the Tema region in north-central Arabia and established control of the desert caravan routes through the Tema oasis to Egypt. This path had great value for Babylonia, since by the middle of the 6th century. BC e. The Euphrates changed its course, and therefore maritime trade across the Persian Gulf from the harbors in the city of Ur became impossible. Nabonidus moved his residence to Teima, entrusting the rule in Babylon to his son Bel-shar-utsur.

While Nabonidus was busy active foreign policy in the west, at the eastern borders of Babylon, a powerful and determined enemy appeared. The Persian king Cyrus II, who had already conquered Media, Lydia and many other countries up to the borders with India and had at his disposal a huge and well armed army, was preparing for a campaign against Babylonia. Nabonidus returned to Babylon and began organizing the defense of his country. However, the position of Babylonia had already become hopeless. Since Nabonidus sought to break the power and influence of the priests of the god Marduk and neglected religious holidays Associated with his cult, influential priestly circles, dissatisfied with their king, were ready to help any of his opponents. The Babylonian army, exhausted in many years of wars in the Arabian desert, was unable to repel the onslaught of the many times superior forces of the Persian army. In October 539 BC. e. Babylonia was captured by the Persians and lost its independence forever.

The fall of Assyria was extremely rapid. Moreover, back in 660 BC. it was at the peak of its development, and was the largest state in all of Western Asia, occupying practically all of it. However, from this moment on, the empire gradually began to be torn apart by internal contradictions and external enemies. Given the nature of the Assyrian conquests, there were always many cities on its lands wishing to get rid of Assyrian rule. Many peoples living in Mesopotamia perceived the Assyrian nobility and priesthood as enemies. At that time, merchants also concentrated great power in their hands, exploiting the inhabitants of Assyrian cities. In fact, then all the peoples of Mesopotamia wanted the death of Assyria; it, as an invading empire, became their sworn enemy. Assyria was called the lion's den, and the capital of those times, Nineveh, was called the city of blood. Both internal and external enemies thought so, which ultimately resulted in the collapse of Assyria.
In the period from 657 to 655 BC. the ruler of one of the Egyptian regions of Egypt entered into an agreement with the king of Lydia. He, in turn, managed to repel the raids of the Cimmerians, and hoped to get rid of the influence of Assyria. Psammetichus led Egypt out of submission to Assyria and became the new pharaoh. At the same time, the Assyrian ruler did not have the opportunity to send an army there to resubordinate Egypt, so the uprising was almost bloodless. In 655 BC. Assyria began a war with Elam, defeating its forces and the Chaldeans and Arameans who came to the aid.
However, the collapse of Assyria still became increasingly likely. While the Assyrians were awaiting the Cimmerian invasion, a revolt began in Babylon. After a long siege, Babylon was taken, after which unrest began again in Elam. Although the Assyrians ultimately succeeded in destroying Elam, the empire was irrevocably weakened.
The last powerful ruler was Ashurbanipal, whose reign was marked by significant achievements in the field of science. After his death in 626, Ashuratellani began to rule, about whom very little information has been preserved. At this moment, the governor of the Assyrian ruling dynasty in Babylon he was deposed by Nabopolassar. The people of the Chaldeans followed him, and Assyria had to once again enter into open confrontation with its long-time enemy - Babylon.
What happened before 616 is unknown, since there are no records left from those times. This year, the brother of Ashurbanipal's successor, Sarak, came to power. It is also unknown whether he usurped power, or whether the former ruler died in battle. By this time, many lands that were part of the Assyrian Empire had already broken away, sensing the weakness of the center. Assyria even entered into an alliance with Egypt, although before that the Assyrians treated this state with extreme contempt. The northern regions of Assyria suffered from Scythian raids, and only in the central part did strong power remain.
The fall of Assyria was inevitable when Media, out of control, came to the aid of Babylon. Before this, the situation was far from critical - the Assyrian troops fought on equal terms with the Babylonian ones, but the Median attack on the very heart of the country - the holy city of Ashur - was crushing and irreversible. The Medes invaded in 615 BC; there was practically no one to resist them, since most of the Assyrian troops were in the east. Ashur was destroyed in 614, at the same time the morale of the Assyrian troops finally fell, and the Babylonians defeated the Assyrians in the confrontation. Nabopasalar did not help the Medes in the plunder of Ashur, so as not to go against his own religion, which was abhorrent to plunder the temples of the Mesopotamian gods.
In 613 BC. Sarak managed, with the help of the Aramaic tribes, to defeat the Babylonians, but the Medes, who at that time united with the northern barbarians and the remnants of the Babylonian army, moved to Nineveh and took it during the siege. All power of the Assyrians was cut out. The chronicles say that Sarak, unable to bear the bitterness of defeat, rushed into his burning palace. Part of the Assyrian army managed to escape to Harran, where, despite the support of the Egyptians, it was finally defeated in 605 BC.

In the last years of the reign of Ashurbanipal, the collapse of the Assyrian state began. its individual centers began to compete with each other. B 629 BC e. Ashur-banapal died, and Sinshar-ishkun became king.

Three years later, a revolt against Assyrian rule broke out in Babylonia. It was headed by the Chaldean leader Nabopolassar. In his later inscriptions, he emphasized that he had previously been “a little man, unknown to the people.” At first, Nabopolassar was able to establish his power only in the north of Babylonia.

Having restored the traditional alliance of the Chaldean tribes with Elam, Nabopolassar besieged Nippur. However, pro-Assyrian sentiments were strong in the city, and it was not possible to take it. In October 626 BC. e. The Assyrians defeated the army of Nabopolassar and broke the siege of Nippur. But by this time, Babylon had gone over to the side of Nabopolassar, and already on November 25, the latter solemnly reigned in it, founding a new, Chaldean (or neo-Babylonian) dynasty. However, a long and fierce war with the Assyrians still lay ahead.

Only ten years later did the Babylonians manage to capture Uruk, and the next year Nippur also fell, which, at the cost of great hardships and suffering, remained faithful to the Assyrian king for so long. Now the entire territory of Babylonia was cleared of Assyrians. In the same year, Nabopolassar's army besieged Ashur, the capital of Assyria. However, the siege was unsuccessful and the Babylonians retreated, suffering heavy losses. But soon Assyria suffered a crushing blow from the east. B 614 BC e. The Medes surrounded the largest Assyrian city, Nineveh. When they failed to take it, they besieged and captured Ashur and massacred its inhabitants. Nabopolassar, true to the traditional policy of his Chaldean ancestors, came with an army when the battle was already over and Ashur was reduced to ruins. The Medes and Babylonians entered into an alliance between themselves, cementing it with a dynastic marriage between Nauvoo Chodonosor, the son of Nabopalas pa, and Amytis, the daughter of the Median king Cyaxares.

Although the fall of Ashur weakened the position of the Assyrian power, while the victors were busy dividing the spoils, the Assyrians, under the leadership of their king Sin-sharishkun, resumed military operations in the Euphrates Valley. But in the meantime, the Medes and Babylonians jointly besieged Nineveh, and three months later, in August 612 BC. e., the city fell. This was followed by brutal reprisals: Nineveh was plundered and destroyed, its inhabitants slaughtered.

Part of the Assyrian army managed to make its way to the city of Harran in the north of Upper Mesopotamia and there, under the leadership of its new king Ashur-uballit II, continued the war. However, in 610 BC. e. The Assyrians were forced to abandon the Babylonians stationed there. However, Nabopolassar soon arrived with the main forces and inflicted a final defeat on the Assyrians.

As a result of the collapse of the Assyrian power, the Medes captured the indigenous territory of this country and Harran. The Babylonians gained a foothold in Mesopotamia and were preparing to establish their control over Syria and Palestine. But the Egyptian pharaoh also laid claim to dominance in these countries. Thus, throughout the Middle East

civilization

Mesopotamia

Man with a kid.

From the palace of Sargon II in Dur-Sharruknn. Dyed plaster. End of the VIP century. BC e.

nut and Harran, mainly under the blows of the Median army. A Babylonian garrison was left in the city. But the Egyptian pharaoh Hexo II, fearing the excessive strengthening of Babylonia, a year later sent strong reinforcements to help the Assyrians. Ashur-uballit II again managed to capture Harran, leaving only three powerful states: Media, Babylonia and Egypt. In addition, there were two smaller but independent kingdoms in Asia Minor: Lydia and Cilicia.

In the spring of 607 BC. e. Nabopala- cap transferred command of the army to his son Nebuchadnezzar, coc-

A kneeling figure from the palace in Kalhu. 9th century

concentrating in his own hands the management of the internal affairs of the state. The heir to the throne was faced with the task of capturing Syria and Palestine. But first it was necessary to capture the city of Karchemish on the Euphrates, where there was a strong Egyptian garrison, which included Greek mercenaries. In the spring of 605 BC. e. The Babylonian army crossed the Euphrates and attacked Karkemish simultaneously from the south and north. Even outside the city walls, a fierce battle began, as a result of which

The swarm of Egyptian garrison was destroyed. After this, Syria and Palestine submitted to the Babylonians. Somewhat later, the Phoenician cities were also conquered.

While in conquered Syria, Nebuchadnezzar in August 605 BC. e. received news of his father's death in Babylon. He hurriedly went there and on September 7 was officially recognized as king. At the beginning of 598 BC. e. he made a trip to Northern Arabia, trying to establish his control over the caravan routes there. By this time, King Jehoiakim of Judah, prompted by Hexo's persuasion, had fallen away

from Babylonia. Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem and on March 16, 597 BC. e. took it. More than 3 thousand Jews were taken captive to Babylonia, and Nebuchadnezzar installed Zedekiah as king in Judea.

In December 595 - January 594 BC. e. unrest began in Babylonia, probably coming from the army. The leaders of the rebellion were executed and order was restored in the country.

Soon, the new Egyptian pharaoh Apries decided to try to establish his power in Phenicia and captured the cities of Gaza, Tire and Sidon, and also persuaded King Zedekiah to revolt against the Babylonians. Nebuchadnezzar, with decisive actions, pushed the Egyptian army back to the previous border and in 587 BC. e. After an 18-month siege, he captured Jerusalem. Now the kingdom of Judah was liquidated and annexed to the Neo-Babylonian power as an ordinary province, thousands of residents of Jerusalem (all the Jerusalem nobility and part of the artisans), led by Zedekiah, were taken into captivity.

Under Nebuchadnezzar II, Babylonia became a prosperous country. This was the time of its revival, economic and cultural upsurge. Babylon became a center of international trade. Much attention was paid to the irrigation system. In particular, a large basin was built near the city of Sippar, from where many canals originated, with the help of which the distribution of water during drought and flood was regulated. Old churches were restored and new ones were built. A new royal palace was built in Babylon, the construction of the seven-story ziggurat of Etemenanki, called the Tower of Babel in the Bible, was completed, and the famous hanging gardens were laid out. In addition, powerful fortifications were erected around Babylon to protect the capital from possible enemy attacks.

B 562 BC e. Nebuchadnezzar II died, and after this the Babylonian nobility and priesthood began

actively intervene in the policies pursued by his successors and eliminate kings they dislike. Over the next twelve years, three kings replaced the throne. B 556 BC e. the throne went to Nabonidus, who was an Aramean, unlike the Neo-Babylonian kings of Chaldean origin who preceded him.

Nabonidus began to carry out religious reform, putting in first place the cult of the moon god Sin to the detriment of the cult of the supreme Babylonian god Marduk. Thus, he apparently sought to create a powerful power, uniting around himself numerous Aramaic tribes, among whom the cult of Sin was very popular. However, religious reform brought Nabonidus into conflict with the priesthood of the ancient temples in Babylon, Borsippa, and Uruk.

B 553 BC e. A war began between Media and Persia. Taking advantage of the fact that the Median king Astyages recalled his garrison from Harran, in the same year Nabonidus captured this city and ordered the restoration of what had been destroyed there during the war with the Assyrians in 609 BC. e. temple of the god Sin. Nabonidus also conquered the Tema region in northern central Arabia and established control over the caravan routes through the desert through the Tema oasis to Egypt. This path was of great importance for Babylonia, since by the middle of the 5th century. BC e. The Euphrates changed its course, and therefore maritime trade across the Persian Gulf from the harbors in the city of Ur became impossible. Nabonidus moved his residence to Teima, entrusting the rule in Babylon to his son Bel-shar-utsur.

While Nabonidus was busy with an active foreign policy in the west, a powerful and determined enemy appeared on the eastern borders of Babylon. The Persian king Cyrus II, who had already conquered Media, Lydia and many other countries up to the Indian borders and had at his disposal a huge and well-armed army, was preparing for a campaign against Babylonia. Nabonidus returned to Babylon and began organizing the defense of his country. However, the situation in Babylonia had already become hopeless. Since Nabonidus sought to break the power and influence of the priests of the god Marduk and neglected the religious holidays associated with his cult,

active priestly circles, dissatisfied with their king, were ready to help any of his opponents. The Babylonian army, exhausted in many years of wars in the Arabian desert, was unable to resist the onslaught of the many times superior forces of the Persian army. In October 539 BC. e. Babylonia was captured by the Persians and lost its independence forever.

civilization

Mesopotamia

The Persian conquest and the loss of villization. For the Babylonians themselves, Babylonia’s independence did not mean the arrival of the Persians; perhaps, it seemed that the end of the Mesopotamian civilization was still in sight - at first, just another change

Early Assyria. 3000-727

Around 3000 THE ARISE OF ASSYRIA. The Assyrian people appeared on the plateaus in Northeastern Mesopotamia, along the upper reaches of the Tigris River. Plain Assyria, which has no natural boundaries, was constantly under threat of invasion by its neighbors, especially the Hittites, in the northwest and Sumero-Babylonia in the southeast.

Around 2000-1200 MILITARY DEVELOPMENT. Engaged in an endless struggle to maintain independence, the Assyrians became the most warlike people in the Middle East (around 1400). They initially relied on an irregular militia system, although constant campaigning gave these half-soldiers exceptional military skill. But due to the long absence of militias in the fields and workshops, the Assyrian economy was under serious strain. Having reached great size and considerable power, Assyria simultaneously fell into decline (1230-1116).

In the middle of the 13th century. BC e. The Assyrian armies even invaded the Hittite state - one of the strongest at that time; they regularly made campaigns - not so much for the sake of increasing territory, but for the sake of robbery - to the north, into the lands of the Nairi tribes; to the south, passing more than once through the streets of Babylon; to the west - to the flourishing cities of Syria and Phenicia.

1116-1093 REIGN OF TIGLAT-PALASSER I. Assyria became the leading power in the Middle East, a position it held almost continuously for five centuries. Tiglath-pileser expanded Assyrian power into the heart of Anatolia and - through Northern Syria - to the Mediterranean Sea.
In honor of his triumph after the conquest of Phenicia, Tiglath-pileser I made a demonstrative exit on Phoenician warships into the Mediterranean Sea, showing the still formidable rival Egypt who really was a great power.

Around 1050 PERIOD OF REDUCTION. Another wave of migration poured through Mesopotamia - this time the Aramaic nomads. Eventually the Assyrians repulsed or absorbed these migrating nomadic tribes and regained control of all the major roads of the Middle East.

883-824 REIGNS OF ASSHURNASIRPAL II AND SALMAHACAPA III. They marched with fire and sword through Mesopotamia into the Kurdish mountains and into Syria. There was then a short break in Assyrian expansion as the weak rulers were unable to retain the fruits of their predecessors' northern conquests. The Aramaic tribes inhabiting Mesopotamia also became restless and uncontrollable.

745-727 REIGN OF TIGLAT-PALASSER III. With a firm hand he restored throughout Mesopotamia internal order, and then undertook a series of systematic military expeditions, restoring the borders of Assyria in the Armenian highlands north of Lake Van and Mount Ararat, and then conquering Syria, Palestine and the lands lying east of the Jordan. In later years he carried out repeated campaigns along these borders he had established, maintaining order by instilling fear and effectively asserting Assyrian dominance. His last important operation was the capture of Babylon.

DURING the reign of Tiglath-pileser III, the Assyrian army, which previously consisted of warriors who had land plots, was reorganized. From then on, the army began to be recruited mainly from impoverished farmers, arming them at the expense of the state. This is how a permanent army arose, called the “royal detachment,” which included prisoners. In addition, there was a special detachment of warriors guarding the king. The number of standing troops increased so much that Tiglath-pileser carried out some campaigns without resorting to tribal militias.

Assyria. 722-612 BC

722-705 REIGN OF SARGON II. He was faced with a powerful alliance of the rebellious northern provinces and neighboring tribes and nationalities of Armenia, the Caucasus and Media. In a series of campaigns, he reconquered the rebel provinces and extended his rule further north, as well as into central and southern Anatolia. He then returned to Mesopotamia and brutally suppressed another uprising in Babylon. Sargon was crowned king of Babylonia.

705-681 REIGN OF SENNACHERIB. He faced similar uprisings in Syria, Babylon and Palestine (in the latter he suffered his famous defeat at Jerusalem in 701, or perhaps during a later campaign in 684; see 2 Samuel, ch. XVIII and XIX. This defeat was perhaps a consequence of the epidemic that struck his army). But ultimately he recaptured the lost provinces, and his military successes ended with another defeat of Babylon in 689.

681-668 REIGN OF ASARHADDON. He was able to maintain better internal order than his predecessors. After repelling the attacks of the Cimmerians, an Indo-European people who lived in southern Russia and the Caucasus, Esarhaddon conquered Egypt (671). Three years later he died while suppressing an uprising in this country.

688-625 REIGN OF ASSHURBANAPAL (SON OF ASARHADDON). He suppressed Egyptian revolts (in 668 and 661) and launched several successful campaigns along the northern borders. Babylon rebelled again - in 698 - under the leadership of his half-brother Shamashumukin. After a difficult four-year struggle, Ashurbanipal suppressed the uprising with typical Assyrian barbarism. Meanwhile, Egypt rebelled again and expelled the Assyrian garisons, while the Arabs and Elamites took advantage of the Assyrian difficulties to attack from the north, west and east. Ashurbanipal defeated the Arabs, then turned east to crush and virtually exterminate the Elamites. Despite his successes, the desperate struggle exhausted the country, almost destroying the resilient Assyrian peasantry - the main backbone of the army. Having reached the zenith of its power and splendor, Assyria was now forced to rely on mercenaries, mostly from the wild Scythian tribes that had replaced the Cimmerians along its northern borders. After the death of Ashurbanipal, their hordes poured across the eastern borders, roaming the crumbling empire almost unhindered.

IN ADDITION, the ruling elite, in order to strengthen their power, gradually freed the ruling class from the “blood tax.” All this led to an increase in the proportion of mercenaries in the Assyrian army. The number of warriors recruited from the conquered tribes increased sharply, and they soon began to make up the majority of the Assyrian army. The combat effectiveness of such an army in a situation victorious wars was high. But when Assyria was weakened by internal uprisings of slaves and enslaved tribes and began to suffer defeats, the Assyrian army quickly began to lose its combat effectiveness.

645 DEFEAT OF ELAM.Ashurbanipal devastated and brutally plundered Elam, achieving the defeat of the age-old enemy of Assyria. But Assyria itself was already on the brink of destruction.

626 BABYLON REVOLUTION. The leader of the rebels, the satrap Nabupalasar, entered into an alliance with the Median king Cyaxares, who also rebelled against Assyria.

616-610 GG. THE FALL OF ASSYRIA. Median and Babylonian allies (their armies included many Scythians) invaded Assyria.

In 615 BC. e. FIRST ATTACKS. The Medes appeared at the walls of the capital of the state - Nineveh. In the same year, Nabopolassar besieged the ancient center of the country - Ashur.

In 614 BC. e. THE CAPTURE OF ASSHUR. The Medes invaded Assyria again and also approached Ashur. Nabopolassar immediately moved his troops to join them. Ashur fell before the arrival of the Babylonians, and at its ruins the kings of Media and Babylon entered into an alliance, sealed by a dynastic marriage.

612 FALL OF NINEVEH. Allied forces They besieged Nineveh and took it just three months later. The city was destroyed and plundered, the Medes returned to their lands with a share of the spoils, and the Babylonians continued their conquest of the Assyrian inheritance.

610 BC DEFEAT OF THE LAST ASSYRIAN TROOPS. The remnants of the Assyrian army, reinforced by Egyptian reinforcements, were defeated and driven back beyond the Euphrates. Five years later, the last Assyrian troops were defeated. This is how the first “world” power in the history of mankind ended its existence.

World history. Volume 3 Age of Iron Badak Alexander Nikolaevich

Death of the Assyrian Empire

Death of the Assyrian Empire

We know very little about the reign of Ashurbanipal's successor, Ashuretelilani. Throne of Babylonia in 626 BC. e. captured Nabopolassar (Nabuapalusur), who was a Chaldean leader. Until that moment, this place was occupied by the Assyrian protege Kandalanu.

Nabopolassar began his career as a governor in the Assyrian service.

Ashuratellani made a very tentative attempt to win over the Chaldeans to his side. By this time, the process of merging the Chaldean and Babylonian nobility had gone too far, therefore, despite the fact that it had been possible to do this before, now all attempts to pit the Chaldean and Babylonian nobility against each other were unsuccessful.

Babylonia remained in the hands of Nabopolassar.

Apparently as a result palace coup What happened soon in the Assyrian state, Ashuratellani was overthrown from the throne.

About events before 616 BC. e. we can only guess, since they are unknown to us, and starting from this year, another son of Ashurbanipal - Sarak (Sinsharrishkun) was on the Assyrian throne.

The Assyrian power, obviously, by this time was already powerless to keep most of the regions remote from it, and not only them, but also the Syrian regions, under administrative control; also in this regard, it was forced to enter into an alliance with Egypt and even with the kingdom of Mana near Lake Urmia, which the Assyrians did not previously consider an equal power.

There is an assumption that in many Assyrian territories at that time the Scythians felt quite confident. However, the central regions of the state were held by Sarak's troops.

Endless and stubborn wars exhausted the strength of the Assyrian power. Ashurbanipal's successors had to think about saving the country.

The position of Assyria and its allies deteriorated sharply after a powerful coalition was formed against it, consisting of Babylonia (led by Nabopolassar) and Media (led by Cyaxares). It should be noted that Media managed to become the main and most dangerous enemy, which in the 7th century. BC e. united the fragmented tribes of Iran and, using the death of Elam, became the most powerful power east of Mesopotamia.

True, Media also suffered some damage from the invasion of the Scythians, but, as Herodotus reports, the Medes managed to subdue the warlike nomads and even attract their troops, famous for their cavalry and infantry. military tactics, to your side.

It should be said that we were never able to find out whether this alliance was concluded from the very beginning or whether it was formed during the war. Around 615 BC e. A decisive offensive against Assyria began on both sides.

Hostilities between the Assyrians and Babylonians during 616–615. BC e. went with varying degrees of success. In November 615 BC. e. The Medes broke through the passes of the Zagra mountains and penetrated into Arrapkha, adjacent to the indigenous region of Assyria. They succeeded in this due to the fact that at that time the main forces of the Assyrians fought against Babylonia.

The Kingdom of Mana, obviously, by this time was already under the rule of the Medes, and the Medes, without much effort, in July 614 penetrated into Assyria proper. The Assyrians could not withstand such an onslaught and began to retreat in panic. The Medes, constantly pursuing them, reached Ashur. The city was stormed and then plundered.

Nabopolassar went with his army to help the Medes, but was late for the assault, apparently deliberately, not wanting his name to be mentioned in the desecration of Ashur shrines.

An alliance was concluded (or renewed) between Nabopolassar and Cyaxares on the ruins of Ashur. Cyaxares, in order to strengthen these relations, perhaps at the same time married his daughter (or granddaughter) to Nebuchadnezzar, who was the heir of the elderly king Nabopolassar.

Even after the fall of Ashur, Sarak remained hopeful. He managed to raise the tribes of the Euphrates Arameans against Babylonia, which for some time made it possible to divert the attention of Nabopolassar from the Assyrian power, and in 613 BC. e. defeat him.

But even after such success, it became obvious that the Assyrian power would not be able to hold out for long, since its death was inevitable.

In the spring of 612, the king of Media Cyaxares, whom from that moment the Babylonian chronicle calls not the “king of Media”, but the “king of Ummanmanda,” which means the king of the northern “barbarians” in general, and Nabopolassar met at the Tigris, after which, having united their troops, they headed to Nineveh, which since the time of Sennacherib had been the capital of the Assyrian state.

The siege of the city lasted for a long time: from May to the end of July. The combined army faced fierce resistance from the Assyrians. Despite this, Nineveh was taken and the palace of the Assyrian kings was burned.

Having fallen into the hands of the victors, the Assyrian nobility endured all the horrors that preceded death. Sarak himself, obviously, did the same as his uncle Shamashshumukin, throwing himself into the fire of his burning palace.

The library of King Ashurbanipal, however, survived, buried under a pile of ruins. The fire did not damage the clay books, although many of them broke into pieces when they fell from the shelves. They lay in the ground for two and a half thousand years, until in the middle of the 19th century. n. e. English archaeologists did not find them.

The remnants of the Assyrian army, led by Ashuruballit (apparently the brother of Ashurbanipal), retreated west to Harran, where Ashuruballit declared himself king of Assyria, and then to Karchemish on the Euphrates, where he managed to hold out for several more years.

They had an unexpected ally - the Egyptian pharaoh Necho. Fear of new great powers united former rivals: the dying Assyria and Ancient Egypt, which was trying to resume its policy of conquest.

In 605 BC. e. In the Battle of Karchemish, the Babylonian prince Nebuchadnezzar, son of Nabopolassar (the future famous king), with the support of the Medes, defeated the united Egyptian-Assyrian army. After this blow, the Assyrian resistance ceased. Deprived of their political and cultural centers, they could no longer regain independence and assimilated with other tribes, mainly the Arameans, adopting their language (close to Assyro-Babylonian).

Thus ended the existence of the Assyrian state. From that moment on, Assyria never again played the same political role.

As for the Assyrian people, their fate changed, but in an insignificant way, since during the destruction of the Assyrian state they were not exterminated. The descendants of the Assyrians continued to live in the same places, however, without having a native language.