This article 1. Society and Economy 2. Administration 3. Culture 4. Religion 5. History Kings Old Assyrian Middle Assyrian Eriba-Adad 1 ca. 1380-1353 Ashur-uballit 1 ca. 1353-1318 Enlil-nirari ca. 1317-1308 Arik-den-ili ca. 1307-1296 Adad-nirari 1 ca. 1295-1264 Shalmaneser 1 ca. 1263-1234 Tukulti-Ninarta 1 ca. 1233-1197 Ashur-nadin-apli ca. 1196-1194 Ashur-ninari 3 ca. 1193-1188 Enlil-kudurri-usur ca. 1187-1183 Ninurta-apal-Ekur ca. 1182-1180 Ashur-Dan 1 ca. 1179-1133 Ashur-resh-ishi 1 ca. 1133-1115 Tiglath-Pileser 1 ca. 1115-1076 Asharid-apal-Ekur ca. 1076-1074 Ashur-bel-kala ca. 1074-1056 Eriba-Adad 2 ca. 1056-1054 Shamsi-Adad 4 ca. 1054-1050 Ashur-nasir-pal 1 ca. 1050-1031 Shalmaneser 2 ca. 1031-1019 Ashur-nirari 4 ca. 1019-1013 Ashur-rabi 1 ca. 1013-972 Ashur-resh-ishi 2 ca. 972-967 Tiglath-Pileser 2 ca. 967-935 Ashur-Dan 2 ca. 935-912 Neo-Assyrian Adad-niari 2 912-891 Tukulti-Ninurta 2 891-884 Ashur-nasir-pal 2 884-859 Shalmaneser 3 859-824 Shamsi-Adad 5 822-811 Shammu-ramat 811-808 Adad-nirari 3 811-783 Shalmaneser 4 783-773 Ashur-Dan 3 773-755 Ashur-nirari 5 755-745 Tiglath-Pileser 3 745-727 Shalmaneser 5 727-722 (709) Sargon 2 722-705 Sennacherib 705-681 Esarhaddon 681-669 Ashurbanipal 669-ca. 631 Ashur-etil-ilani ca. 631-ca. 627 Sin-shumu-lishir 626 Sin-shar-ishkun ca. 627-612

Society and Economy
Basic to the central region of Assyria was farming, fed by both the Tigris river and water from the Armenian mountains in the north, and the Zagros mountains in the east. With the expansion of Assyria, more land brought other economies, like mining and forestry.
It is believed that Assyria's civilization resulted from the immigration of an unknown people into the area around 6000 BCE. This was followed by Semitic immigration about 3 millenia later.
Life was confined to small villages, and there was an intricate system of irrigation that fed the agriculture. There were few larger cities, and these served as trade and craft centres. Assyria had some slaves, but these played only a small part in the economy.
The Assyrians were noted for their vast knowledge in warfare and organization.

Administration
Assyria had a traditional form of monarchy, in which the king answered only to his court. The king's son would normally take over as the new ruler at the old king's death. Local administration was organized around area rulers who paid taxes to the king as well as provided men for the army.
As Assyria extended its territories through military campaigns, local rulers were allowed to continue to govern their old regions, as long as they fulfilled their duties to the Assyrian king.
Under Sargon 2, Assyria was divided into 70 provinces.

Culture
Among the finest cultural achievements of Assyria was literature, which initially used a cuneiform alphabet from the Babylonians written on clay tablets. Later an Aramaic script written on parchment predominated. The literature dealt with a number of subjects like legal issues, medicine and history.
Assyrian architecture used mud bricks, and occasionally stone. Houses and buildings never exceeded one storey and had flat roofs. While most houses were modest, palaces and temples could cover large areas inside the cities.
Sculptures and wall carvings were another central part of Assyrian culture, and showed high skill in craftsmanship. Document cylinder seals became an art form in itself, as intricate patterns and shapes were given to these.

History
Around 6500 BCE: First traces of agriculture in this region.
3rd millennium: Immigration of Semitic nomads, whose language becomes the leading one in the region.
Strong influence from the Sumerian civilization in southern Mesopotamia.
Around 2300: Assyria is part of the Sumer-Akkadian empire.
Around 2000: Heavy immigration of the Amorites, a Semitic people from Arabia.
Around 1850: Assyrian merchants colonize parts of central Anatolia.
Around 1810: The Assyrian king Shamshi-Adad gets control over the territory from the Zagros Mountains to the Mediterranean (from western modern Iran to Syria/Lebanon). He establishes an administrative system, dividing the kingdom into districts with couriers bringing information between the different parts.
1760: Shamshi-Adad's son, Ishme-Dagan, is defeated by King Hammurabi of Babylonia, and Assyria once again becomes a province of another Mesopotamian Empire.
Around 1500: Assyria comes under control of the kingdom of Mitanni.
Around 1350: Assyria regains its independence from Mitanni under the ruler Ashur-uballit 1. A period of territorial expansions that stretches over 2 centuries starts.
Around 910: King Adad-nirari 2 conquers the state Nisibis.
884-859: King Ashurnasirpal 2 conducts several campaigns that extend the territory of Assyria. The campaigns led to heavy destruction in the defeated regions. He also establishes Calah as the new capital.
Around 830: King Shalmaneser 3 gets control over the Mediterranean trade routes.
Around 820: Following a revolt in the royal court, a year long civil war starts. This civil war results in a decline of Assyrian power.
Around 745: King Tiglath-Pileser 3 conquers Syria and Israel, and he becomes king of Babylonia. Under him the power of the king grew stronger and an army was established. He conducted a policy of deporting peoples from their homelands in order to reduce their national identity.
722-705: Under Sargon 2, Assyrian territory is extended to southern Anatolia and the Persian Gulf. He also has the population of Israel deported. In order to get better control over his territory, he has Assyria divided into 70 provinces.
Around 705: King Sargon 2 has Dar Sharrukin built to become his new capital.
689: King Sennacherib destroys Babylon after several attacks. He later makes Nineveh capital of Assyria.
681-669: King Esarhaddon has Babylon rebuilt. He also captures Memphis, the capital of Egypt.
627: With the death of king Ashurbanipal, there is a court revolution, which results in heavy weakening of Assyria's power.
614: The Medes conquer Ashur.
612: The Medes and the Babylonians conquers Nineveh, and the Assyrian Empire comes to its final end.