Militarism. Assyria was essentially a military power, and the historical picture left of its exploits is one of great cruelty and rapaciousness. (PICTURES, Vol. 1, p. 958) One of their warrior monarchs, Ashurnasirpal, describes his punishment of several rebellious cities in this way:

“I built a pillar over against his city gate, and I flayed all the chief men who had revolted, and I covered the pillar with their skins; some I walled up within the pillar, some I impaled upon the pillar on stakes, . . . and I cut off the limbs of the officers, of the royal officers who had rebelled. . . . Many captives from among them I burned with fire, and many I took as living captives. From some I cut off their hands and their fingers, and from others I cut off their noses, their ears, and their fingers(?), of many I put out the eyes. I made one pillar of the living, and another of heads, and I bound their heads to posts (tree trunks) round about the city. Their young men and maidens I burned in the fire . . . Twenty men I captured alive and I immured them in the wall of his palace. . . . The rest of them [their warriors] I consumed with thirst in the desert of the Euphrates.”​—Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, by D. D. Luckenbill, 1926, Vol. I, pp. 145, 147, 153, 162.

Reliefs often show their captives being led by cords attached to hooks that pierced the nose or the lips, or having their eyes put out at the point of a spear. Thus, sadistic torture was a frequent feature of Assyrian warfare, about which they shamelessly boasted and which they carefully recorded. The knowledge of their cruelty doubtless served them to an advantage militarily, striking terror into the hearts of those in their line of attack and often causing resistance to crumble. Assyria’s capital, Nineveh, was aptly described by the prophet Nahum as a “lair of lions” and as “the city of bloodshed.”​—Na 2:11, 12; 3:1.

What sort of religion did the Assyrians practice?

Assyria’s religion was largely inherited from Babylon, and although their own national god Asshur was viewed as supreme by the Assyrians, Babylon continued to be viewed by them as the chief religious center. The Assyrian king served as the high priest of Asshur. One seal, found by A. H. Layard in the ruins of an Assyrian palace and now preserved in the British Museum, represents the god Asshur with three heads. The belief in triads of gods as well as that of a pentad, or five gods, was prominent in Assyrian worship. The chief triad was formed of Anu, representing heaven; Bel, representing the region inhabited by man, animals, and birds; and Ea, representing the terrestrial and subterranean waters. A second triad was composed of Sin, the moon-god; Shamash, the sun-god; and Ramman, god of storm, although his place was often filled by Ishtar, queen of the stars. (Compare 2Ki 23:5, 11.) Then followed the five gods representing five planets. Commenting on the gods forming the trinitarian groups, Unger’s Bible Dictionary (1965, p. 102) states: “These gods are invoked at times severally in phrases which seem to raise each in turn to a position of supremacy over the others.” Their pantheon, however, included innumerable other minor deities, many serving as patrons of towns. Nisroch is mentioned as being worshiped by Sennacherib at the time of his assassination.​—Isa 37:37, 38.

The religion practiced in connection with these gods was animistic, that is, the Assyrians believed every object and natural phenomenon to be animated by a spirit. It was somewhat distinguished from other nature worship prevalent in surrounding nations in that war was the truest expression of the national religion. (PICTURE, Vol. 1, p. 956) Thus, Tiglath-pileser I said of his fighting: “My Lord ASHUR urged me on.” In his annals, Ashurbanipal says: “By command of ASSUR, SIN, and SHAMAS, the great gods my lords who protected me, into Minni I entered and marched victoriously.” (Records of the Past: Assyrian and Egyptian Monuments, London, 1875, Vol. V, p. 18; 1877, Vol. IX, p. 43) Sargon regularly invoked Ishtar’s help before going to war. The armies marched behind the standards of the gods, apparently wooden or metal symbols on poles. Great importance was attached to omens, ascertained by examination of livers of sacrificed animals, by the flight of birds, or by the position of the planets. The book Ancient Cities, by W. B. Wright (1886, p. 25) states: “Fighting was the business of the nation, and the priests were incessant fomenters of war. They were supported largely from the spoils of conquest, of which a fixed percentage was invariably assigned them before others shared, for this race of plunderers was excessively religious.”

Culture, Literature, and Laws. The Assyrians built impressive palaces, lining the walls with sculptured slabs portraying with quite powerful realism scenes of war and peace. Human-headed, winged bulls, carved from a single block of limestone weighing as much as 36 metric tons, adorned the entranceways. Their cylinder seals show intricate engraving. (See ARCHAEOLOGY.) Their metal casting indicated considerable knowledge of metallurgy. Their kings built aqueducts and developed systems of irrigation; they produced royal botanical and zoological parks containing plants, trees, and animals from many lands. Their palace buildings often gave evidence of a well-planned drainage system and quite good sanitation.

Of particular interest have been the great libraries built up by certain Assyrian monarchs, containing tens of thousands of cuneiform inscribed clay tablets, prisms, and cylinders setting out major historical events, religious data, and legal and commercial matters. Certain laws dating from one period of Assyrian history, however, illustrate again the harshness so frequently characterizing the nation. Mutilation is provided as punishment for certain crimes. Thus, a slave girl was not allowed to go veiled in public, and for violating such ordinance her ears were to be cut off. The lack of legal protection available for a married woman is evidenced by one law stating: “Leaving aside the penalties relating to a married woman which are inscribed on the tablet, a man may flog his wife, pull out her hair, split and injure her ears. There is no legal guilt (involved) in it.”​—Everyday Life in Babylonia and Assyria, by H. W. F. Saggs, 1965, p. 152.

Ashurnasirpal II and Shalmaneser III. Assyrian aggression began drawing close to Israel during the rule of Ashurnasirpal II, who was noted for his ruthless warring campaigns and cruelty, already mentioned. Inscriptions show him crossing the Euphrates and overrunning northern Syria and exacting tribute from the cities of Phoenicia. His successor, Shalmaneser III, is the first king who records direct contact with the northern kingdom of Israel. Assyrian records show Shalmaneser advancing to Karkar on the Orontes River, where, he claims, he fought against a coalition of kings. The result of the battle was indecisive. Shalmaneser’s Black Obelisk at Nimrud lists Jehu (c. 904-877 B.C.E.) as paying tribute to him and carries a carving in relief possibly depicting Jehu’s emissary delivering the tribute to the Assyrian monarch.​—See SHALMANESER No. 1.

Adad-nirari III and his successors. After Shamshi-Adad V, the successor of Shalmaneser III, Adad-nirari III came to the Assyrian throne. Inscriptions report his attacking Damascus and receiving tribute from Jehoash of Samaria. Perhaps sometime around the middle of the ninth century B.C.E. (c. 844), the prophet Jonah was sent on a mission to Assyria’s capital Nineveh, and as a result of his warning of coming destruction, the entire city, including its king, responded with repentance. (Jon 3:2-6) It may be that the Assyrian king at that time was Adad-nirari III, but this is not certain.

History records that the kings following Adad-nirari III included Shalmaneser IV, Ashur-dan III, and Ashur-nirari V, all sons of Adad-nirari III. This period was one of decline as far as Assyrian aggressiveness is concerned.

Tiglath-pileser III. The first Assyrian king to be mentioned by name in the Bible is Tiglath-pileser III (2Ki 15:29; 16:7, 10), also called “Pul” at 2 Kings 15:19. At 1 Chronicles 5:26 both names are used, and this caused some in the past to view them as separate kings. However, Babylonian and Assyrian King Lists give both names to the same individual. The suggestion is made by some that this king was originally known as Pul and that he assumed the name Tiglath-pileser upon ascending to the Assyrian throne.​—See PUL No. 1.

Sargon II. Sargon’s records speak of the deportation of 27,290 Israelites to locations in the Upper Euphrates and Media. Description is also given of his campaign in Philistia in which he conquered Gath, Ashdod, and Asdudimmu.

These events, with the exception of the destruction of the Assyrian troops, are also recorded on a prism of Sennacherib and one of Esar-haddon.​—PICTURES, Vol. 1, p. 957.

At any rate, Menasi (Manasseh) of Judah is named in inscriptions as one of those paying tribute to Esar-haddon.

The fall of the empire. The Babylonian Chronicle B.M. (British Museum) 21901 recounts the fall of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, following a siege carried out by the combined forces of Nabopolassar, the king of Babylon, and of Cyaxares the Mede during the 14th year of Nabopolassar (632 B.C.E.): “The city [they turned] into ruin-hills and hea[ps (of debris)].” (Ancient Near Eastern Texts, edited by J. B. Pritchard, 1974, p. 305; brackets and parentheses theirs.) Thus the fierce Assyrian Empire came to an ignominious end.​—Isa 10:12, 24-26; 23:13; 30:30-33; 31:8, 9; Na 3:1-19; Zep 2:13.

According to the same chronicle, in the 14th year of Nabopolassar (632 B.C.E.), Ashur-uballit II attempted to continue Assyrian rule from Haran as his capital city. This chronicle states, under the 17th year of Nabopolassar (629 B.C.E.): “In the month Duʼuzu, Ashur-uballit, king of Assyria, (and) a large [army of] E[gy]pt [who had come to his aid] crossed the river (Euphrates) and [marched on] to conquer Harran.” (Ancient Near Eastern Texts, p. 305; brackets and parentheses theirs.) Actually, Ashur-uballit was trying to reconquer it after having been driven out.