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EspañolASSYRIA (PERSIAN PROVINCE)
The Persian Empire of the Achaemenid Dynasty was at its height the most powerful force in the known world, incorporating a variety of cultures and peoples. It was a mighty state that could raise troops from many peoples, one of these being the Assyrians. The Persian policy of granting limited self-government to its subject peoples gave rise to the Persian province of 'Assyria'. The Persians did not call this province Assyria - rather, the lands were split East and West. The Eastern half was named Media (Māda),[1] whilst the Western half was known as Athura (AӨūra). This article concerns these two provinces as an "Assyrian Province" of Persia.
Background
Fall of Assyria
Assyria under its greatest extent. Many acquisitions lasted for at least a hundred years.[2]
Between the 9th and 7th centuries BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire dominated the Middle East militarily and politically[3] and at one point the Persians and their neighbours the Medes were vassals of Assyria and paid tribute. However, in the late 7th century BC the Assyrians suffered a number of calamities that led to the sacking the old capital Assur by the Medes who then combined forces with Babylon and sacked the new capital Nineveh in 612 BC. The Assyrians continued to fight on, with the aid of Egypt, who feared the rise of the Babylonians. Harran, the new Assyrian capital, was eventually taken in 608 BC. Despite this, the Egyptians later sent another force to assist the Assyrians in 605 BC.[4]
A costly but victorious battle at Megiddo against the forces of Judah allowed the Egyptians to advance to the rescue, only to be crushed by the Babylonian-Median alliance. Assyria was conquered by Babylonia.
Babylonian rule was unpopular, but did not last long. When the Babylonian King Nabonidus made war with Persia, he was defeated by an outnumbered Cyrus the Great at the Battle of Sardis in 546 BC. Cyrus's armies took Babylon and made it, along with Assyria, into provinces of the Persian Empire.
Sacking of Assyria
After the fall of Assyria, the most common assumption as to what happened to the Assyrian people is that a massive massacre of Assyrians occurred, with the result that the remaining few Assyrians were scattered and incorporated into other peoples. Sidney Smith in 1925 remarked:
The disappearance of the Assyrian people will always remain a unique and striking phenomenon in ancient history. Other, similar kingdoms and empires have indeed passed away but the people have lived on... No other land seems to have been sacked and pillaged so completely as was Assyria.[5]
Such claims, whilst strongly denied by modern-day Assyrians and disputed by an increasing yet small number of Assyriologists were founded on the accounts of the historian Xenophon - his travels into Mesopotamia reveal the two cities of Assyria, Ninevah and Assur in ruins and with no information available from the local villagers. The lack of a visible Assyrian presence in the region is clarified by the later client Kingdom of Osroene, which though Assyrian, was located in western Mesopotamia, with its capital at Edessa, far from the locations of the older capitals.
Assyrian survival
There is a a "600 year gap" in Assyrian history between 612 BC and later in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD when Trajan extended Imperial Roman authority on Mesopotamia, and made Osroene into a Roman province, but there is substantial evidence for cultural continuity.
The Assyrian Empire's initial success came from its vast population, which enabled her to utilize manpower. Wars would wear down this resource but the population remained high nonetheless. Therefore it is unlikely that so many people were killed, despite the violent sackings of the Assyrian Capitals.
Archives discovered in the region show Assyrians living first under Babylonian then Persian / Median rule.
Assyrian names have been found in at least a hundred historical personalities, some of which gained considerable power - the Persians were not so concerned with having Pan-Ashur-lumur (a name derived from the Assyrian deity Assur) as secretary of the Crown Prince Cambyses whilst Cyrus the Great ruled Persia.
Another point is the Assyrian language - over time, Akkadian became less used and replaced by Aramaic. Aramaic names and scripts with Assur-related names have been recorded, indicating that whilst the language may have changed, the customs continued on.
Assyria as a Persian Province
The Assyrians, like all other tributary peoples of the Persian Empire, were obliged to pay taxes to the King of Persia and, whenever the King campaigned, supply troops as well. Although the effectiveness of the Assyrian army was shown to be poor in its collapse, the soldiers of Assyria continued to be brave and fierce warriors. Most soldiers at the time would not wear heavy armor but rather than act as melee troops, would serve as skirmishers. The Assyrian troops were different however, since they fought as archers, cavalry and heavy infantry and were useful as front line troops. Herodotus remarks that Assyrian soldiers were employed in Xerxes' expedition to Greece.
Rise of Aramaic
The Assyrian Empire resorted to a policy of deporting conquered peoples into the lands of Mesopotamia and in turn settling Assyrian colonists in newly conquered lands. In this way it was hoped that a multi-cultural society would form. However, whilst this allowed some integration, it may have also led to the various rebellions within the Empire in the 7th century. By the 6th century, the many peoples in Mesopotamia spoke many languages, most of which were a derivative of Aramaic. Consequently during the Persian rule of Assyria, Aramaic gradually became the main language spoken by the Assyrians. Even before the Empire fell, many could speak Aramaic, and the ruling elite of Assyria would have needed to have been bilingual - capable of speaking both Akkadian and Aramaic. The conquest of Assyria and the violent destruction of the cities (no doubt the main residences of the elite) meant that these bilingual skilled individuals died with their language and the Aramaic script was incorporated into the Assyrian culture by ca. the late 6th century BC.
Revolt of Assyria, 520 BC
In 520 BC The two Assyrian Provinces of Mada and Athura revolted against the Persian Empire. The revolt was quickly suppressed. However, the rebellion illustrates a number of points - the rebellion of both states indicates close ties between them. Although separated they rebelled at the same time in the hope of regaining political independence. It also illustrates the obvious point of the people still recognizing their own distinct way of life since. The rebellion was suppressed but Assyrians continued to serve the Empire after.
Construction of the Palace at Susa, 500 - 490 BC
Assyrians of Athura were responsible for the glazing of the Palace and have influenced Persian art to some extent.
Persian King Darius was at his time the greatest ruler, often styling himself as "King of Kings" - indeed he ruled as a King over many other powerful subordinates and as such it was only fitting (at least in his mind and the minds of his subjects) that a great Palace be built at the Persian city of Susa. The Assyrians were employed in the construction of this building, albeit with many other tributary peoples as well as Persians themselves. The Western Assyrians of Athura were closer to Mount Lebanon, where fine trees could be found and timber processed for Darius' grand Palace. The Eastern Assyrians of Mada were charged with excavating gold.
==Assyria as a Seleucid province==
Campaigns of Alexander the Great, 334 BC - 323 BC
The Persian Empire's vast territory and numerous tributary peoples ensured that rebellion would be a constant problem. In the early 5th century BC, the Greek city states in Asia Minor (in particular along the Aegean Coast) rebelled against their Persian masters. The revolt led to the Greco-Persian Wars and eventually the Campaigns of Alexander the Great who overthrew Persian rule and replaced it with Greek rule.[6]
When Alexander the Great died, the Greek successor state of the Seleucid Empire retained control of much of the Persian Empire. This new Greek Empire relied upon the administrative system put in place by the Persians to govern these new lands; consequently, the Assyrian lands of Athura and Mada were administrated as such by their own Satraps.
Assyria under the Seleucids
Mesopotamia became the Heartland of the Seleucid Empire with a new capital, Seleucia on the Tigris be founded. As a result, much culture and knowledge was exchanged between the Greeks and the Assyrians the invasions of Alexander the Great consisted not only of soldiers but scientists and Historians.[6]
Assyria under Parthian rule 2nd century BC
Greek rule in the East did not last long even though the cultural impacts did - by the mid-3rd Century BC the Satraps, administrators of the various provinces in the Seleucid Empire began revolting against the Seleucid Empire in Persia and Bactria establishing their own domains. A temporary revival of Seleucid Power re-esetablished Imperial authority in these regions in the late 3rd and early 2nd Century BC but after which the Parthians soon came to incorporate the lands known as Assyria once again by the mid-2nd Century BC.
Parthian rule aimed to emulate that of their Persian predecessors, the Achaemenids with a similar system of administration involving Satraps and smaller provinces. Indeed the main rebel behind the rise of Parthia from Seleucia was a Satrap himself.[8] On top of this the Parthian Empire was more decentralized and power was shared amongst clan leaders. With this information, one can assume that the provinces of Assyria namely Mada and Athura continued to be governed as they were under the Achaemenids.
Roman Emperor Trajan founded Mesopotamia but his death robbed him the chance to consolidate this gain and his successor Hadrian ceded it to the Parthians.
==Roman-Persian Wars==
Beginning in the 1st century BC, the Romans began expanding their Empire at the cost of the Parthians. Initially the Nomadic military tactic of circling and shooting worked to deadly effect against the slow heavy moving infantry of the Romans. In time however, superior technology and strategy drove the Parthians out of the Mediterranean and most of Asia Minor. The Parthians continued to resist Roman rule, invading and in turn being invaded by the Romans many times, with their capital Ctesiphon being sacked three times. The consequence of these bloody and inconclusive wars meant that the Assyrian provinces bore the brunt of the fighting, with Assyrian troops fighting for one side and then, at the change of the governing of the lands of Mada and Athura, fighting for the other side. Naturally such events served to undermine the Assyrians.
By the 2nd Century AD under the Emperor Trajan, the Romans began to achieve the upper hand against the Parthians and established the Roman Province of Assyria along the Euphrates and Tigris.
The lands of Mesopotamia would continue to be fought over between the Persians and the Romans, with a detrimental effect on the local population and the lands.
The exact boundaries of the province would have been fluid at this point due to the nature of the fighting. The Persians would contune to covet Assyria until they achieved greater success between the 4th to early 7th centuries AD. In 628 the Romans defeated the Persians in their last conflict at Nineveh. Assyria remained in Persian hands but also came under Roman influence. Assyria ceased to exist in any form (as a province, vassal or sovereign empire) when the Arabs defeated a combined Persian, Ghassanid and Roman army and occupied Mesopotamia.
References
1. Assyrian Identity in Ancient Times and Today Parpola, Simo
2. Assyrian Identity in Ancient Times and Today
3. Healy, Mark. The Ancient Assyrians. New York: Osprey, 1991. (various pages)
4. Battle a Visual Journey Through 5000 Years of Combat R.G. Grant
5. Assyrians after Assyria
6. Parker, Geoffrey. Compact History of the World. 4th ed. London: Times Books, 2005 pg 33
7. Parker, Geoffrey. Compact History of the World. 4th ed. London: Times Books, 2005 pg 33
8. Traditions & Encounters a Global Prespective on the Past, , Jerry H., Bentley, McGraw-Hill, , .
See also
★ Asuristan
★ Assyria (Roman province)
★ History of the Assyrian people
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