ANCIENT ASSYRIA # What would be its future?

Ancient Assyria #What would be its future?

Ancient  Assyria  was the second World Power

according to Bible History.

I am writing to share with my readers some new informations the Bible provides on the

Assyrians in the near future.

The objective is to show that the Bible  is

Trustworthy and inspired of Jehovah God

and its nessage is one of hope for an end to

the suffering caused by man's cruel domination of his fellow man.

LOCATION

Ancient  Assyrians were inhabitants of one of the world's earliest civilizations, Mesopotamia

which began to emerge around 3500 B.C.

Assyria was an empire came to embrace a far

larger area  of Mesopotamia including Media,

Babylonia, Elam, Turkey  and its prominent

Cities like Nineveh, Calah, Khorsabad, Asshur.

It was situated at the northern part of Tigris

River and wish to enlarge her royal empire

toward east and south.  Egypt, Jerusalem,

Turkey, Babylonia, Syria and Samaria were

once conquered by them.

CAPITAL

The city of Asshur located west of the Tigris

River is considered  to have been the original

Capital of the region.  Thereafter Nineveh

became its most  prominent Capital, while

both Calah and Khorsabad were used at times by Assyrian  monarchies as Capital cities.

Nineveh the oldest most populous city of the

ancient  Assyrians empire situated at the

east bank of the Tigris  River and encircled

by the modern  city of Mosul, Iraq.

Now, I would  like  to discuss with you the

Assyrians Military  power,  their Culture,

Literature, Laws and Religion.

The most important thing is their good side of character and their restoration in time being.

MILITARY  POWER

The people were more energetic and aggressive  than the neighbourhood state 

Babylonians.

The Assyrians army was well organized and

had soldiers that specialized in certain

Weapons.

The Assyrians used a wide variety of weapons

Including Swords, Spears, Slings, Daggers, and

Bows and Arrows.

The Assyrians were  the first to use Iron to

make their weapons.   Iron was stronger than

the bronze used by their enemies and gave

them a distinct  advantage.

The Assyrians were most famous  for their

fearsome  army.   They were a warrior society

where  fighting  was a part  of life.

They were known throughout the land as

Cruel and ruthless warriors.

Once captured, the soldiers were burn its

Buildings and carry the peoples and goods

away.

They built pillars and hanged upon them

living captives.  Cut off limbs of the officers

and burned with fire, cut off their hands and fingers noses, ears, even put out the  eyes.

Assyrian  brutality as depicted on their palace

walls, captives being tortured, impaled, and

flayed alive.

Reliefs  often show  their captives being led by

cords attached to hooks that pierced the nose

or the  Lips.

Thus sadistic torture was a frequent feature of

Assyrian  warfare and the knowledge  of their

cruelty doubtless served them to an advantage militarily, striking  terror into the hearts of those in their  line of attack.

CULTURE AND ACHIEVENENTS

The Assyrians built impressive palaces, lining

the walls  with sculptured slabs portraying with

painting of war scenes.  They had a well planned drainage system and quite good sanitation.

Their kings built  aqueducts and developed

system of irrigation. They  produced royal

Botanical  gardens and zoological parks

containing  plants, trees, and animals from

many lands.

Lion hunting was a sport of Assyrian Kings.

The greatest  achievement credited  to the

Assyrians is the founding of the first

University  where theology, philosophy, and

medicine were taught.

Assyrians invented the world's first written

language  and the 360 degree circle,

established  Hammurabis Code of Law  and

are credited  with many other military

artistic.

RELIGION

Assyrians national god  was Asshur.  The

Assyrian  king served as the  high priest  of

Asshur.

The belief in triads of gods  as well as that of

Pentad, or five gods  was prominent in Assyrian  worship.  Their  pantheon, however

included  innumerable  other  minor deities,

many serving as patrons of towns.  Another

gods  name was Nisroch.

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.

Fish  god Dagan a creature part-man and

Part-fish an object of worship in early

Babylonians and Assyrians is clear  from

their monuments excavated by scientists.

Assyrians temples were large ziggurats

built of mud brick like those of their neighbours to the south.

BIBLE RECORDS THE ORIGIN

The first reference  to Assyria in the Bible

record is at Genesis  2: 14 where the

Hiddekel river (Tigris) is going to the east

of Assyria.

This is recorded  by Moses in 1513 BC.

The land derived its name from Shem's son

Asshur. It thus appears  to have been first

populated by semites shortly after the flood.

However, Ham's  grandson Nimrod entered

into Assyria and built, "Nineveh and Rehoboth

and Calah and Resen between Nineveh and

Calah, this  is the great  city.

Thereafter, many dynasties ruled Assyria

and conquered many other  neighbouring

Cities with cold  blood shed.

There is a king named Adad Nirari III, responded to warning message of Jonah's preaching for repentance and the whole Nineveh was saved from destruction by God.

I hope all man-made governments should follow that Assyrian  king as a model to do

right things in the eyes of God.

In the year 740 BC, Assyria conquered Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel,

and took its people into exile.

Eight years later Assyria invaded Judah.

The Assyrian  king Sennacherib  demanded

Of Judean King Hezekiah a tribute of 30

talents of gold and 300 talents of  silver.

The Bible record states that this tribute

was paid.

Note, though, that  Sennacherib does not

claim  to have conquered  Jerusalem.  In

fact, he says nothing about the  crushing

defeat his army suffered through divine

intervention.  According to the Bible,  God's

angel took the lives of 1,85,000 Assyrian

Soldiers in one night. (2Kings 19:35,36)

Sennacherib's representative Rabshakeh

tsunts Jehovah and demands Jerusalem's

capitulation  but nothing  can be done.

As Jehovah's  Prophets fotetold Assyria in

time became a desolute ruin  and Babylon

succeeded it on the world scene.

(Isaiah  23:13,  Zephaniah 2:13)

Battle of Nineveh  was in 632 BC, during the

14th year of Nebopolassar by the combined forces  of Babylon and Mede.

GOODNEWS FOR ASSYRIANS

Jehovah's Prophets  foretold the time when

peaceful relations  would exist between the

lands of Assyria and Egypt and they would be

united with Israel in God's  favour  and

constitute  "a blessing  in the  midst of the

earth"  (Isaiah 19:23-25)

The rulership of the "Prince of Peace", Jesus

Christ, will embrace the entire earth. Then

"In the  days the righteous  one will sprout,

and the abundance of Peace until the moon

is no more. And he will have subjects from

sea to sea and from the  River (Euphrates)

to the ends of the earth." (Psalms 72:7,8).

Yes, we can hopefully waiting for that next,

different kind of rulership for the entire earth.

You can trust that promise of the universal

sovereign of Jehovah  God.  We can also 

benefit from the  rulership to repent from our

bad ways and trust him.