Editing Assyria (section)

=== Assyrian Empire ===
{{main|Middle Assyrian Empire|Neo-Assyrian Empire}}{{Multiple image
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| image1 = Médio-assyrien.png
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| footer = Maps of the borders of the [[Middle Assyrian Empire]] (left) and the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] (right) at their respective heights in the 13th and 7th centuries BC
}}Ashur-uballit I was the first native Assyrian ruler to claim the royal title ''šar'' ("king").{{Sfn|Radner|2015|p=2}} Shortly after achieving independence, he further claimed the dignity of a great king on the level of the Egyptian [[pharaoh]]s and the [[Hittite kings]].{{Sfn|Düring|2020|p=43}} Assyria's rise was intertwined with the decline and fall of the Mitanni kingdom, its former suzerain, which allowed the early Middle Assyrian kings to expand and consolidate territories in northern Mesopotamia.{{sfn|Jakob|2017a|p=117}} Under the warrior-kings [[Adad-nirari I]] ({{reign}}{{circa}} 1305–1274&nbsp;BC), [[Shalmaneser I]] ({{reign}}{{circa}} 1273–1244&nbsp;BC) and [[Tukulti-Ninurta I]] ({{reign}}{{circa}} 1243–1207&nbsp;BC), Assyria began to realize its aspirations of becoming a significant regional power.{{sfn|Düring|2020|p=45}}

These kings campaigned in all directions and incorporated a significant amount of territory into the growing Assyrian Empire. Under Shalmaneser I, the last remnants of the Mitanni kingdom were formally annexed into Assyria.{{sfn|Düring|2020|p=45}} The most successful of the Middle Assyrian kings was Tukulti-Ninurta I, who brought the Middle Assyrian Empire to its greatest extent.{{sfn|Düring|2020|p=45}} His most notable military achievements were his victory at the [[Battle of Nihriya]] {{Circa}} 1237&nbsp;BC, which marked the beginning of the end of Hittite influence in northern Mesopotamia,{{sfn|Jakob|2017a|p=122}} and his temporary conquest of Babylonia, which became an Assyrian vassal {{circa}} 1225–1216&nbsp;BC.{{sfn|Jakob|2017a|pp=125, 129–130}}{{sfn|Chen|2020|pp=199, 203}} Tukulti-Ninurta was also the first Assyrian king to try to move the capital away from Assur, inaugurating the new city [[Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta]] as capital{{sfn|Düring|2020|p=57}} {{Circa}} 1233 BC.{{sfn|Gerster|2005|p=312}} The capital was returned to Assur after his death.{{sfn|Düring|2020|p=57}}

Tukulti-Ninurta I's assassination {{Circa}} 1207 BC was followed by inter-dynastic conflict and a significant drop in Assyrian power.{{sfn|Düring|2020|p=46}} Tukulti-Ninurta I's successors were unable to maintain Assyrian power and Assyria became increasingly restricted to just the Assyrian heartland,{{sfn|Düring|2020|p=46}} a period of decline broadly coinciding with the [[Late Bronze Age collapse]].{{sfn|Düring|2020|p=46}} Though some kings in this period of decline, such as [[Ashur-dan I]] ({{reign}}{{circa}} 1178–1133&nbsp;BC), [[Ashur-resh-ishi I]] ({{reign}}1132–1115&nbsp;BC) and [[Tiglath-Pileser I]] ({{reign}}1114–1076&nbsp;BC) worked to reverse the decline and made significant conquests,{{sfn|Jakob|2017a|p=|pp=133–135}} their conquests were ephemeral and shaky, quickly lost again.{{sfn|Jakob|2017a|pp=136–138}} From the time of [[Eriba-Adad II]] ({{reign}}1056–1054&nbsp;BC) onward, Assyrian decline intensified.{{sfn|Frahm|2017b|p=165}}

The Assyrian heartland remained safe due to its geographical remoteness.{{sfn|Frahm|2017b|pp=166–167}} Since Assyria was not the only state to undergo decline during these centuries, and the lands surrounding the Assyrian heartland were also significantly fragmented, it would ultimately be relatively easy for the reinvigorated Assyrian army to reconquer large parts of the empire. Under [[Ashur-dan II]] ({{reign}}934–912&nbsp;BC), who campaigned in the northeast and northwest, Assyrian decline was at last reversed, paving the way for grander efforts under his successors. The end of his reign conventionally marks the beginning of the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] (911–609 BC).{{sfn|Frahm|2017b|pp=165–168}}

[[File:Tilglath pileser iii.jpg|thumb|A partial relief of [[Tiglath-Pileser III]], {{reign}}745–727&nbsp;BC, under whom the Neo-Assyrian Empire was consolidated, centralized and significantly expanded]]
Through decades of conquests, the early Neo-Assyrian kings worked to retake the lands of the Middle Assyrian Empire.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017b|p=161}}{{Sfn|Düring|2020|p=136}} Since this ''reconquista'' had to begin nearly from scratch, its eventual success was an extraordinary achievement.{{Sfn|Düring|2020|p=144}} Under [[Ashurnasirpal II]] ({{reign}}883–859&nbsp;BC), the Neo-Assyrian Empire became the dominant political power in the Near East.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017b|pp=167, 169}} In his ninth campaign, Ashurnasirpal II marched to the coast of the [[Mediterranean Sea]], collecting tribute from various kingdoms on the way.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017b|p=169}} A significant development during Ashurnasirpal II's reign was the second attempt to transfer the Assyrian capital away from Assur. Ashurnasirpal restored the ancient and ruined town of [[Nimrud]], also located in the Assyrian heartland, and in 879 BC designated that city as the new capital of the empire.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017b|p=169}} Though no longer the political capital, Assur remained the ceremonial and religious center of Assyria.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017b|p=170}}

Ashurnasirpal II's son [[Shalmaneser III]] ({{reign}}859–824&nbsp;BC) also went on wide-ranging wars of conquest, expanding the empire in all directions.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017b|p=170}} After Shalmaneser III's death, the Neo-Assyrian Empire entered into a period of stagnation dubbed the "age of the magnates", when powerful officials and generals were the principal wielders of political power rather than the king.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017b|p=173}} This time of stagnation came to an end with the rise of [[Tiglath-Pileser III]] ({{reign}}745–727&nbsp;BC), who reduced the power of the magnates,{{Sfn|Frahm|2017b|p=177}} consolidated and centralized the holdings of the empire,{{Sfn|Frahm|2017b|p=161}}{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=2}} and through his military campaigns and conquests more than doubled the extent of Assyrian territory. The most significant conquests were the vassalization of the [[Levant]] all the way to the Egyptian border and the 729 BC conquest of [[Babylonia]].{{Sfn|Frahm|2017b|p=|pp=177–178}}

The Neo-Assyrian Empire reached the height of its extent and power under the [[Sargonid dynasty]],{{Sfn|Frahm|2017b|p=187}} founded by [[Sargon II]] ({{reign}}722–705&nbsp;BC). Under Sargon II and his son [[Sennacherib]] ({{reign}}705–681&nbsp;BC), the empire was further expanded and the gains were consolidated. Both kings founded new capitals. In 706 BC, Sargon II relocated the capital to the newly constructed city of [[Dur-Sharrukin]].{{Sfn|Frahm|2017b|p=183}} The following year, Sennacherib transferred the capital to [[Nineveh]], which he extensively expanded and renovated. He may even have been responsible for the construction of the [[Hanging Gardens of Babylon|Hanging Gardens]] there—one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017b|pp=183–184}}<ref>Dalley, Stephanie (2015). The Mystery of the Hanging Garden of Babylon.</ref> The 671 BC [[Assyrian conquest of Egypt|conquest of Egypt]] under [[Esarhaddon]] ({{reign}}681–669&nbsp;BC) brought Assyria to its greatest ever extent.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017b|p=187}}

After the death of [[Ashurbanipal]] ({{reign}}669–631&nbsp;BC), the Neo-Assyrian Empire swiftly collapsed. One of the primary reasons was the inability of the Neo-Assyrian kings to resolve the "Babylonian problem"; despite many attempts to appease Babylonia in the south, revolts were frequent all throughout the Sargonid period. The revolt of Babylon under [[Nabopolassar]] in 626 BC, in combination with an invasion by the [[Medes]] under [[Cyaxares]] in 615/614 BC, led to the [[Medo-Babylonian conquest of the Assyrian Empire]].{{Sfn|Na'aman|1991|p=266}} [[Fall of Assur|Assur was sacked]] in 614 BC and [[Battle of Nineveh (612 BC)|Nineveh fell]] in 612 BC.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017b|p=192}} The last Assyrian ruler, [[Ashur-uballit II]], tried to rally the Assyrian army at [[Harran]] in the west but he was defeated in 609 BC, marking the end of the ancient line of Assyrian kings and of Assyria as a state.{{Sfn|Radner|2019|p=141}}{{Sfn|Frahm|2017b|p=193}}