Neo-Babylonian rule The fall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire after its
final war with the
Neo-Babylonian and
Median empires dramatically changed the geopolitics of the
Ancient Near East;
Babylonia experienced an unprecedented time of prosperity and growth, trade routes were redrawn and the economical organization and political power of the entire region was restructured. It has long been disputed whether Assyria, or at least its northernmost portions along the
Taurus Mountains, fell under the control of the Medes or the Babylonians, but sources are not unanimous and the situation is difficult to reconstruct. Archaeological surveys of northern Mesopotamia have consistently shown that there was a dramatic decrease in the size and number of inhabited sites in Assyria during the Neo-Babylonian period, suggesting a significant societal breakdown in the region. Archaeological evidence suggests that the former Assyrian capital cities, such as
Assur,
Nimrud and
Nineveh, were nearly completely abandoned. Some cities had been completely destroyed by the Medes and Babylonians in the war; the level of destruction and the sacking of Assyria's temples is described with horror and remorse in some of the contemporary
Babylonian chronicles. The breakdown in society does not necessarily reflect an enormous drop in population; it is clear that the region became less rich and less densely populated, but it is also clear that Assyria was not entirely uninhabited, nor poor in any real sense. Many smaller settlements were probably abandoned due to the local agricultural organization being destroyed over the decades of war and unrest. Many Assyrians are likely to have died in the war with the Medes and Babylonians or due to its indirect consequences (i.e. dying of disease or starvation) and many probably moved from the region, or where forcefully deported, to Babylonia or elsewhere. Large portions of the remaining Assyrian populace might have turned to
nomadism due to the collapse of the local settlements and economy. Although the Neo-Babylonian kings largely kept the administration of the Assyrian Empire and at times drew on Assyrian rhetoric and symbols for legitimacy, particularly in the reign of
Nabonidus (556–539 BC, the last Neo-Babylonian king), they also at times worked to distance themselves from the Assyrian kings that had preceded them and never assumed the title 'king of Assyria'. Throughout the time of the Neo-Babylonian and Achaemenid empires, Assyria was a marginal and sparsely populated region, perhaps chiefly due to the limited interest of the Neo-Babylonian kings to invest resources into its economic and societal development. Individuals with Assyrian names are attested at multiple sites in Babylonia during the Neo-Babylonian Empire, including Babylon,
Nippur,
Uruk,
Sippar,
Dilbat and
Borsippa. The Assyrians in Uruk apparently continued to exist as a community until the reign of the Achaemenid king
Cambyses II (530–522 BC) and were closely linked to a local cult dedicated to the Assyrian national deity
Ashur. of the
Neo-Babylonian king
Nabonidus (556–539 BC), found at
Harran Though it is clear that recovery was slow and the evidence is scant, there was at least some continuity in administrative and governmental structures even within the former Assyrian heartland itself. At some point after the fall of
Nineveh in 612 BC some of the faces in the reliefs of its palaces were destroyed, but there is no evidence for longer Babylonian or Median occupation of the site. At
Dur-Katlimmu, one of the largest settlements along the
Khabur river, a large Assyrian palace, dubbed the "Red House" by archaeologists, continued to be used in Neo-Babylonian times, with cuneiform records there being written by people with Assyrian names, in Assyrian style, though dated to the reigns of the early Neo-Babylonian kings. Two Neo-Babylonian texts discovered at the city of
Sippar in Babylonia attest to there being royally appointed governors at both
Assur and
Guzana, another Assyrian site in the north. The cult statue of Ashur, stolen from Assur during its sack in 614, was however never returned by the Babylonians and was instead kept in the
Esagila temple in Babylon. At some other sites, work was slower.
Arbela is attested as a thriving city, but only very late in the Neo-Babylonian period, and there were no attempts to revive the city of
Arrapha until the reign of
Neriglissar (560–556 BC), who returned a cult statue to the site.
Harran was revitalized, with its great temple dedicated to the lunar god
Sîn being rebuilt under Nabonidus. Nabonidus's fascination with Harran and Sîn have led modern researchers to speculate that he himself, a usurper genealogically unconnected to earlier Babylonian kings, was of Assyrian ancestry and originated from Harran. Nabonidus did go to some length to revive Assyrian symbols, such as wearing a wrapped cloak in his depictions, absent in those of other Babylonian kings but present in Assyrian art. Some
Assyriologists, such as
Stephen Herbert Langdon and
Stephanie Dalley, have also gone as far as to suggest that he was a descendant of the
Sargonid dynasty, Assyria's final ruling dynasty, as a grandson of either
Esarhaddon (681–669 BC) or
Ashurbanipal (669–631 BC), though this is disputed given the lack of strong evidence.
Achaemenid rule under
Xerxes I 480 BC, including the province of
Assyria (Athura) The Persians first entered Assyrian territory in 547 BC, when the founder of the
Achaemenid Empire,
Cyrus the Great, crossed the
Tigris river and marched south of Arbela while campaigning against the Medes. Assyria probably came under Achaemenid control in late 539, shortly after Cyrus conquered Babylon in October. Under the Achaemenids, most of Assyria was organized into the province
Athura (
Aθūrā), but some was incorporated into the satrapy of Media (
Mada). The organization of most of Assyria into the single administrative unit Athura effectively kept the region on the map as a distinct political entity throughout the time of Achaemenid rule. In Achaemenid inscriptions on the royal tombs of the kings, Athura is consistently mentioned as one of the empire's provinces, next to, but distinct from, Babylonia. Some of the Achaemenid tombs depict the Assyrians as one of the ethnic groups of the empire, alongside the others. The Achaemenid kings interfered little with the internal affairs of their individual provinces as long as tribute and taxes were continuously provided, which allowed Assyrian culture and customs to survive under Persian rule. After the Achaemenid conquest, the inhabitants of Assur even received the permission of
Cyrus the Great to at last rebuild the city's ancient temple dedicated to Ashur and Cyrus even returned Ashur's cult statue from Babylon. Cult statues might also have been returned to Nineveh, though the relevant inscription is damaged and could refer to another city. Just as during the Neo-Assyrian Empire, the
lingua franca of the Achaemenid Empire was
Aramaic. By this time, the
Aramaic script was often referred to as the "Assyrian script". It is not known how Athura was organized internally. An Aramaic letter sent by the governor of Egypt in the late 5th century BC attests to the presence of Achaemenid officials at the cities of Arbela, Lair, Arzuhin and Matalubaš, which suggests that there was a certain level of administrative organization in the region. At
Tell ed-Daim, located on the
Little Zab northeast of
Kirkuk, an Achaemenid administrative building of substantial size (), probably a palace of a local governor or official, has been excavated. A few years after the Egyptian governor's letter,
Xenophon, a Greek military leader and historian, marched with the
Ten Thousand through much of the northwestern Achaemenid Empire, including Assyria, in 401 BC. In his later writings, Xenophon provided an eye-witness account of the region. Xenophon described Assyria, which he thought was a part of Media, as largely uninhabited south of the
Great Zab, but dotted with many small and prosperous villages close to the Little Zab and north of Nineveh, especially in the foothills of the Taurus Mountains. Xenophon mentioned three Assyrian cities along the Tigris by name, though the names he gave for them appear to be invented by himself; the cities
Larissa (Nimrud) and
Mespila (Nineveh) are described as ruined and deserted, but
Kainai (Assur) is described as both large and prosperous, something that is not apparent from the archaeological record of the site during this time. The use of the strange names is perplexing given that later Greek and
Roman authors were aware of the locations of the ancient Assyrian cities and their names; in the writings of figures such as
Strabo,
Tacitus and
Ptolemy, Nineveh is called
Ninos and is known to have been a great Assyrian capital and the region around Nimrud is dubbed
Kalakēne (after the city's alternate name
Kalhu). Arbela is known to have remained an important administrative center under the Achaemenid Empire, as historical accounts of the campaigns of
Alexander the Great describe that city as the local base of operations of
Darius III, the empire's final king. Individuals with clearly Assyrian names are known from Achaemenid times, just as they are from Neo-Babylonian times, and they sometimes reached high positions in government. For instance, the secretary of Cyrus the Great's son
Cambyses II, before Cambyses became king, was named Pan-Ashur-lumur (a name clearly incorporating Ashur). In terms of geopolitics, the Assyrians are mentioned most prominently in the reign of
Darius the Great (522–486 BC). In 520 BC, Assyrians of both Athura and Media joined forces in an unsuccessful revolt against Darius, alongside other peoples of the Achaemenid Empire (including the Medes,
Elamites and Babylonians). The Assyrians are then mentioned in the writings of the near-contemporary Greek historian
Herodotus as contributing to the construction of the royal palace of Darius at
Susa from 500 to 490, with Assyrians from Media contributing gold works and
glazing and Assyrians from Athura contributing timber.
Seleucid rule at the
Partition of Babylon in 323 BC, after the death of
Alexander the Great. The majority of these lands eventually came under the rule of the
Seleucid Empire. In the aftermath of the Achaemenid Empire's conquest by
Alexander the Great, Assyria and much of the rest of the former Achaemenid lands came under the control of the
Seleucid Empire, founded by
Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander's generals. Though Assyria was centrally located within this empire, and must have been a significant base of power, the region is mentioned very rarely in textual sources from the period. This might perhaps be explained by the political and economic centers of the Seleucid Empire being in heavily urbanized Babylonia in the south, particularly in Babylon itself and the new city
Seleucia, and in Syria in the west, particularly the empire's western capital
Antioch. Though the Seleucids adopted a policy of
hellenization and often emphasized their Hellenic origin, they also at times took on or played into the cultures of the people they ruled. Perhaps as a result of this, and of the Seleucid Empire governing virtually all of the Assyrian Empire's old lands (other than Egypt, which was only briefly under Assyrian control), a handful of ancient documents correlate the Seleucid Empire to "Assyria". Though the Seleucids kept the eastern satrapies of their empire largely the same as under the Achaemenid Empire, the surviving evidence suggests that the territories in northern Mesopotamia (i.e. Assyria) were politically reorganized. The historian
Diodorus Siculus mentioned in his writings that a satrapy of Mesopotamia (consisting of only the northern part of that region as the southern part formed the satrapy of Babylonia) was created in 323 BC, and mentions both the satrapies Mesopotamia and Arbelitis (i.e. the region around Arbela) in 320. Though Assyria remained in the shadow of Babylonia, the region was far from wholly neglected. Nimrud was occupied throughout the Seleucid period, as the site preserves several levels from this time, and the presence of Seleucid coins and pottery at Assur demonstrates that the ancient Assyrian capital experienced the beginnings of a period of regrowth as well. It is possible that the deserted Nineveh was resettled under the Seleucids as well, given that there are sculptures of Greek mythological figures such as the god
Hermes and the
demigod Heracles known from the site, as well as inscriptions written by people with Greek names, though much of this evidence dates to the succeeding period of
Parthian rule. Because of the distinctive appearance of Seleucid pottery, sites occupied during the Seleucid period are easily identifiable in the archaeological record. Archaeological surveys in northern Mesopotamia have been able to demonstrate that there was a widespread, though not necessarily very dense, resettlement of villages in Assyria under the Seleucids. The Seleucid Empire fell apart due to internal strife, dynastic conflict and wars with foreign enemies. As the empire collapsed, virtually all of its eastern territories were conquered by
Mithridates I of the Parthian Empire between 148 and 141 BC. The exact time when Assyria came under Parthian control is not known, but it was either during these conquests or at some point before 96, when it is securely known that the region was under Parthian rule due to records of border agreements between the Parthians and the
Roman Republic.
Parthian suzerainty Organization and revival ,
Adiabene and
Hatra, and the semi-autonomous Assur city-state, in AD 200. Osroene was a vassal of the
Roman Empire, whereas the others were
Parthian vassals. Also marked on the map are important sites and cities in the former Assyrian heartland that were occupied during this time. Under Parthian suzerainty, several small and semi-independent kingdoms with Assyrian character and large populations cropped up in northern Mesopotamia, including
Osroene,
Adiabene and the
Kingdom of Hatra. These kingdoms lasted until the 3rd or 4th centuries AD, though they were mostly ruled by dynasties of Iranian or Arab descent and culture. This is not to say that aspects of old Assyrian culture did not live on in these new kingdoms or that the rulers of their rulers were not influenced by the local populace; for instance, the main god worshipped at Hatra was the old Mesopotamian sun-god
Shamash. A few exceptions to the sequences of non-native rulers also existed; the name of the earliest known
king of Adiabene,
Abdissares, is clearly of Aramaic origin and means "servant of
Ishtar". Some portions of former Assyria were placed under direct Parthian control;
Beth Nuhadra (modern
Duhok) was for instance not ruled by a local dynasty but converted into a military province governed by a royally appointed
Nohodar military official. Because of scarcity of documentation and the region often being politically unstable, the precise boundaries and political status of many locations is not entirely clear throughout the Parthian period; minor Armenian principalities in the highlands and mountains in far northern Mesopotamia established in the Seleucid period, such as
Sophene,
Zabdicene,
Corduene, may have also preserved some independence or autonomy in Parthian times. Whereas Osroene fell under Roman influence and control, most of Assyria was under Parthian control, though divided between Adiabene, which was based in Arbela, and Hatra. The region remained an integral part of the Parthian Empire until its fall in the 3rd century AD. Though some Roman authors, such as
Pliny the Elder, equated Adiabene with Assyria (referring to Assyria as an older synonym of Adiabene), most contemporaries saw Adiabene as only controlling the central part of Assyria. The equation of Adiabene with Assyria would also sometimes be made in the later
Sasanian period, when the Sasanian province Adiabene in some cases was called "Athuria". The slow resettlement and recovery of Assyria under the Seleucid Empire continued under Parthian rule. Helped by favorable climate conditions and political stability, this age of recovery culminated in an unprecedented return to prosperity and a remarkable revival under the last two centuries or so of Parthian rule. Archaeological surveys of sites of the Parthian period in Assyria demonstrate an enormous density of settlements that is only comparable to what the region was like under the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Under the Parthians, intense settlement took place throughout Assyria, with new villages being constructed and old villages being expanded and rebuilt. The Seleucid and Parthian resettlement of Nineveh involved the construction of both residential houses and new sanctuaries and temples, with archaeological evidence having survived of both. Among the temples restored were the "Ezida" temple on the
Kuyunjik mound in the city, rebuilt in its original place and dedicated to the same god it was dedicated to in ancient times,
Nabu. An inscription is preserved from this temple, dated to Parthian rule in 32/31 BC, by a Greek worshipper named Apollophanes, who dedicated it to the
strategos of Nineveh, Apollonios. Archaeological evidence shows that the throne room of the former
Southwest Palace, built by the Assyrian king
Sennacherib, was converted into a religious sanctuary dedicated to
Heracles. Called
Ninos in Greek, Nineveh was for most of the Parthian period under the control of Adiabene and though not a great political center, the city retained its local importance as a market-settlement along the Tigris river throughout this time. Nineveh was relatively Hellenized, with its population worshipping
syncretistic Greco-Mesopotamian deities and many being able to speak
Greek, but the predominant language in the city and in the surrounding countryside likely remained Aramaic.
Parthian Assur rule) by the local ruler
Rʻuth-Assor Assur, perhaps now known under the name
Labbana (derived from
Libbali, "heart of the city", the ancient Assyrian name for the city's temple quarter) flourished under Parthian rule, with many buildings being either repaired or constructed from scratch. Per the historian Peter Haider, "after the Parthian conquest of Mesopotamia, Assur came to life again". From around or shortly after the end of the 2nd century BC, the city may have become the capital of its own small semi-autonomous realm, either under the suzerainty of Hatra, or under direct Parthian suzerainty. Among the buildings constructed was a new local palace, dubbed the "Parthian Palace" by historians. All in all, the buildings built under the Parthian period cover about two thirds of the area of the city as it was in Neo-Assyrian times. Stelae erected by the local rulers of Assur in this time resemble the stelae erected by the Neo-Assyrian kings, though the rulers are depicted in Parthian-style trouser-suits rather than ancient garb. The rulers used the title
maryo of Assur ("master of Assur") and appear to have viewed themselves as continuing the old Assyrian royal tradition. These stelae retain the shape, framing and placement (often in city gates) of stelae erected under the ancient kings and also depict the central figure in reverence of the moon and sun, an ever-present motif in the ancient royal stelae. . The rebuilt Ashur temple at Assur was likely similar to this building in appearance and size. The ancient temple dedicated to Ashur was restored for a second time in the 2nd century AD. Though the adornment of the buildings reflect a certain Hellenistic character, their design is also reminiscent of old Assyrian and Babylonian buildings, with some Parthian influences. Personal names in Assur at this time greatly resemble personal names from the Neo-Assyrian period, with individuals like
Qib-Assor ("command of Ashur"),
Assor-tares ("Ashur judges") and even
Assor-heden ("Ashur has given a brother", a late version of the name
Aššur-aḫu-iddina, i.e.
Esarhaddon). Later Syriac Christian
hagiographic sources demonstrate that the Assyrian populace of the Parthian period took great pride in their Assyrian ancestry, with some among the local nobility claiming descent from the Assyrian kings of old. In 220,
Ardashir I of the Sasanians, the
king of Persis, rebelled against the Parthians and in 226, he succeeded in capturing the imperial capital of
Ctesiphon. The Parthian vassal states lingered on only for a time in Assyria and Armenia. The king of Hatra,
Sanatruq II, fended off a Sasanian attack in 228/229, but Hatra was defeated and conquered by Ardashir in 240/241, after a two-year long siege. Ardashir had Hatra destroyed, and the wars also caused a depopulation of the surrounding region. Assyria's last golden age came to an end with the Sasanian sack of Assur, which took place either during Ardashir's first campaign against Hatra in 228/229, or in the later campaign 240. During the sack, Ashur's temple was destroyed again and the city's population was dispersed. Having been firmly tied to Assur and Ashur since the foundation of their civilization, the final destruction of Ashur's temple, more than 800 years after the fall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, represented the definitive end to the once mighty ancient Assyrian civilization. The
Assyrian people survived this final end and remain an ethnic minority in the region and elsewhere to this day. == Archaeological evidence ==