The Pax Assyriaca: The Historical Evolution of Civilisations and the Archaeology of Empires

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'The Pax Assyriaca' provides a study of the evolutionary process of ancient civilisations, stressing the complementarity between theoretical principles and the relevant historical and archaeological evidence. Taking its approach from World Systems Theory, the study focuses on the origin, development and collapse of the first, ‘Near Eastern’, stage of the ‘Central Civilisation’. The volume seeks to better understand the evolution of this stage of the Central Civilization, exploring its origin in the fusion of the Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations resulting from the expansion of the so-called Neo-Assyrian Empire from 1000 BC to 600 BC – better known as the Pax Assyriaca. Alongside investigations into the structure and development of the Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilisations, the book presents a theoretical analysis of Neo-Assyrian imperialism and traces the characteristics of the incorporation of Egypt into the Pax Assyriaca, concluding that this integration was only fully completed by the successor empires of Assyria around 430 BC. Finally an explanation for the collapse of the Neo-Assyrian Empire is presented and its legacy in the context of the ‘Central Civilisation’ is assessed. Cover Title Page Copyright page Contents Page List of Figures Chapter 0 Figure 0.1: Different settlement attributes of city-states, small and large territorial states and the proportions of urbanised populations (Maisels 2010: 14-15). Figure 0.2: Distinguishing characteristics of an ancient city-state and two territorial states (Maisels 2010: 15). Figure 0.3: Example of historical evolution with phases of expansion (A) and contraction (B) in the Near East according to Chase-Dunn and Hall (1995: 130). Figure 0.4: An outline of the Central Civilisation and its later evolution, by Wilkinson (1995: 48). Figure 0.5: The historical evolution of Egypt before merging with Mesopotamia according to Taagapera (1978). Figure 0.6: Historical evolution of Mesopotamia before merging with Egypt according to Taagapera (1978). Figure 0.7: Comparative graph of the expansion/evolution of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia according to Taagapera (1978). Figure 0.8: Population of the largest cities in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia from 2000 BC until 650 BC, by Bosworth (1995: 212). Figure 0.9: Comparative graphic of the expansion/evolution of Egypt and Mesopotamia until 430 BC according to Taagapera (1978). Chapter 1 Figure 1.1: The Ancient Near East (http://www.bible-maps/ancient-near-east.html). Figure 1.2: The geography and major environmental zones of the Near East (Redman 1978: 26). Figure 1.3: Altitudinal cross section of the Near East from southeast to northwest (Redman 1978: 28-29). Figure 1.4: Altitudinal cross section of the Near East from southwest to northeast (Redman 1978: 38-39). Figure 1.5: Distribution of transhumant nomadic peoples (Maisels 1990: 189). Figure 1.6: Regional conditions during the late Pleistocene/Holocene (Maisels 1990: 291). Figure 1.7: Slopes and variation in the discharge of the Tigris and Euphrates (Potts 1997: 8; Maisel 1990: 296). Figure 1.8: Distribution and sites of domesticated animals in the Ancient Near East (Maisels 1990: 293). Figure 1.9: First sites of intensive human settlement in southern Mesopotamia (Pollock 1999: 55). Figure 1.10: Plans of the temple of Eridu in levels 16-15 (A) and level 8 (B) (Redman 1978: 251). Figure 1.11: Plan of the city-state of Uruk (Redman 1978: 255). Figure 1.12: The system of oikos and its distribution of work according to sex and age (Pollock 1999: 118-119). Figure 1.13: Cross section of topography near natural river courses in Mesopotamia (Redman 1978: 42). Figure 1.14: Outline of the Oriental Despotism or ‘Asiatic mode of production’ of Wittfogel (Maisels 1990: 267). Figure 1.15: The Uruk expansion (Lamberg-Karlovsky 1996: 89). Figure 1.16: Map of the Uruk and Egyptian expansions (Greenberg and Palumbi 2014: 113). Figure 1.17: Seal impressions from Uruk describing the emergence of a new order by the rule of powerful leaders in the spheres of economy (herds of animals), military (captives and prisoners) and ideology (cultic paraphernalia) (Matthews 2003: 113). Figure 1.18: Upper or northern Mesopotamia (https://uvamagazine.org/articles/the_trouble_with_civilization). Figure 1.19: Different representations of kings and lions from (a) Uruk, (b) Assyrian and (c) Achaemenid periods (https://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/photos/antiquities/). Figure 1.20: a) Kish excavations in 1923-1933 by P. R. S. Moorey (http://ancientneareast.tripod.com/Kish_Ukhaimir.html); b) The palace of Kish (Pollock 1999: 176). Figure 1.21: Palace and temples in the city-state of Ur during the 3rd Dynasty (Redman 1978: 316). Figure 1.22: The ‘empire’ of Sargon of Akkad and its principal trade (http://sitemaker.umich.edu/mladjov/files). Figure 1.23: Development of states through time in Mesopotamia (Matthews 2003: 101). Figure 1.24: Plan of the ancient city of Ashur (http://www.bet-davvid.com). Figure 1.25: The organisation of the Old Assyrian Kingdom (Yoffee 2010: 186). Figure 1.26: Assyria, its area of influence and principal trade routes (Yoffee 2010: 185). Figure 1.27: House of an Assyrian private merchant in Kaneš and its archaeological plan (Aubet 2007: 350). Figure 1.28: Assyria under Mitanni control (http://sitemaker.umich.edu/mladjov/files). Figure 1.29: The Middle Assyrian kingdom and its new social order (Yoffee 2010: 191). Figure 1.30: Assyria after the Tell el-Amarna period (http://sitemaker.umich.edu/mladjov/files). Figure 1.31: The ‘catastrophe’· at the end of the Bronze Age (http://sitemaker.umich.edu/mladjov/files). Figure 1.32: Egyptian representation of some of the ‘Sea People’ warriors: from left to right, two Sherden, two Philistines, three unidentified warriors –perhaps from Canaan or Asia- and four Libyans (Wise 1981: 32). Figure 1.33: Comparative architectural study between the houses of the Bronze Age and the Iron Age in the Mediterranean region (Moody 2009: 18). Figure 1.34: Egyptian infantry at the beginning of the Iron Age, based on a wall painting at Thebes. It is possible to distinguish in some of these soldiers the new concept of heavy infantry with armour, shields, spears, javelins and different varieties o Chapter 2 Figure 2.1: Chart of historical empires in the Near East and their respective territorial expansion. The maximum extent is calculated in square mega-metres (1 square mega-metre = 1,000,000 square kilometres (km2) or 386,000 square miles) (Matthews 2003: 1 Figure 2.2: The three periods of Assyrian expasnion from the Old Kingdom until the Neo-Assyrian Empire (http://www.allempires.com/empires/assyria/assyria1.htm). Figure 2.3: Typical Assyrian representations of the royal figure: a) Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal, shown twice, either side of a symbolic tree with the god Ashur on top, in a relief from Nimrud (865 BC); b) The king Ashurbanipal hunting lions, a very popul Figure 2.4: Principal festivals associated with the figure of the Neo-Assyrian king (Parpola 2010: 42). Figure 2.5: The idealised figure of the Assyrian king on the left during a siege (http://www.bible-history.com/ibh/Assyrian+Warfare/). Figure 2.6: Procession of statues of the divinities of defeated peoples to Assyria, in a relief from the palace of Tiglath-pileser III (British Museum, author’s collection). Figure 2.7: Concepts and doctrines of Neo-Assyrian kingship with mythological association and symbolic representation (Parpola 2010: 38). Figure 2.8: Neo-Assyrian siege engines (British Museum, author’s collection). Figure 2.9: The heavy Assyrian chariot (taḫlipi) used on the battlefield and in skirmishes (Postgate 2000: 94). Figure 2.10: Assyrian cavalry depicted in reliefs from Assyrian palaces: a) Assyrian Cavalryman with armour b) Assyrian infantry directed by a mounted officer (maybe a rab kiṣri) in the centre (Posgate 2000: 100 and 106). Figure 2.11: Representations of Neo-Assyrian soldiers from palace reliefs. All of them use heavy iron armour as a standard uniform inherited from the military reform after the collapse of the end of the Bronze Age (http://www.bible-history.com/ibh/Assyria Figure 2.12: Three different military contingents used as mercenaries by the Neo-Assyrian empire: a) Elamite archer b) Aramaean horseman c) Israelite auxiliary troops. (Wise 1981: 6; https://www.yu51a5.org/horsemen-on-rearing-horses-part-1/; https://www.w Figure 2.13: Chart elaborated by Postgate (1979: 195) showing the availability of source material for studying the administration of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Figure 2.14: Bas-relief of the Assyrian king with high officers displayed at the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad (https://english.alarabiya.net/life-style/art-and-culture/2015/02/28/Iraq-reopens-Baghdad-museum-). Figure 2.15: Outline of Neo-Assyrian control in its periphery (Parker 2001: 252). Figure 2.16: Three different approaches to the Neo-Assyrian Empire Figure 2.17: Deportations of captive families according to the Neo-Assyrian ‘resettlement program’, depicted in Assyrian reliefs (https://www.ancient.eu/image/5480/assyrian-deportation-of-people-from-southern-iraq/). Figure 2.18: Map of Ziyaret Tepe during the Neo-Assyrian occupation (Rosenzweig 2016: 318). Figure 2.19: (a) Plan of the Phase III Khabur Gate in Operation Q; (b) Plans of the four phases of the Khabur Gate in Operation Q with the locations of the soil samples taken (marked by dots); (c) Pie chart showing the presence of plant groups within the Figure 2.20: Topographic map of Tell Tayinat overlaid on a satellite image of the site showing the upper mound and principal excavations areas and a density distribution of surface pottery in the lower settlement (Harrison 2016: 257). Figure 2.21: Objects and samples found at Temple XVI of Tell Tayinat (https://tayinat.artsci.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/temple6.jpg). Figure 2.22: Map of temple XVI at Tell Tayinat with object materials. The arrow labelled T-1801 indicates where the Esarhaddon’s Succession Treaty tablet was found (Harrison and Osborne 2012: 138). Figure 2.23: The Esarhaddon Succession Treaty found at Tell Tayinat in situ and post conservation (https://tayinat.artsci.utoronto.ca/the-toronto-expedition/the-esarhaddon-succession-treaty/). Figure 2.24: Plan of the Nabû Temple in Nimrud with the treaty tablets (https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Tayinat’s-Building-XVI%3A-The-Religious-Dimensions-of Petrovich/84c1e87ac22ef882155b3a1a44b618ffacc87cb5). Figure 2.25: Reconstruction and plan of the Hittite capital of Hattusa (Boğazköy) (http://artehistoriaestudios.blogspot.co.uk). Figure 2.26: Archaeological plans of the Syrian cities of a) Carchemish and b) Tell Halaf (https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Topographic-map-of-ancient-Karkemish-drawn-by-P-L-O-Guy-in-1920-which-has-now-been_fig2_259748944; https://www.researchgate.net/ Figure 2.27 Plans of the Assyrian cities of: a) Nimrud (http://www.ancientlocations.net/Maps/nimrud_01.jpg); b) Nineveh (https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/cambridge-world-history/neoassyrian-capital-cities-from-imperial-headquarters-to-co Figure 2.28: a) Plan of Dur-Sharrukin; b) Detail of the palace of Dur-Sharrukin (Bunnens 1995: 115). Figure 2.29: a) The Assyrian castrum used as the basis of future Assyrian cities; b) The Neo-Assyrian cities built or rebuilt from old settlements (British Museum, author’s collection). Figure 2.30: a) Assyrian palaces at Megiddo (Palestine), stratum III (Kempinski and Reich 1992: 216); b) Assyrian fortress and temple at Sheikh Zuweid in northern Sinai (Kempinski and Reich 1992: 221). Figure 2.31: a) Representation of the ‘scene of the throne’ from the provincial palace of Til Barsip; b) From the Aramaean client king Bar-rakab in the city of Carchemish; c) From the apadana at Persepolis (Roaf 2003: 13). Figure 2.32: Private libraries, archives and collections found at Ashur (Livingstone 1997: 73). Chapter 3 Figure 3.1: The Nile River and the Delta region (http://www.mnh.si.edu/exhibits/eternal-life/). Figure 3.2: The Predynastic period in Ancient Egypt (http://xoomer.virgilio.it/francescoraf/hesyra/Egyptgallery074.html). Figure 3.3: The historical evolution of Ancient Egypt (http://www.viaarticles.ca/Kings-Queens.html). Figure 3.4: Ancient Egypt during the Third Intermediate Period (http://www.anthrogenica.com/showthread.php?714-Ancient-Egypt). Figure 3.5: The region of Nubia and Kush (http://westshore.hs.brevard.k12.fl.us/teachers/sarverr/world_cultures_maps.htm). Figure 3.6: Egyptian fortresses and towns during the Middle Kingdom. in the region of Nubia (https://brill.com/view/journals/jeh/9/1/article-p1_1.xml?language=en). Figure 3.7: The Egyptian fortresses of Semna and Kouma built in Nubia (https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:Semna-kouma.jpg). Figure 3.8: Temple of Amun (B500) at Gebel Barkal (http://www.learningsites.com/GebelBarkal-2/GB-hist2_CSS3-update.php). Figure 3.9: Northeast Africa during the 1st Millennium BC with the areas of Sahel and Savannah (Pope 2014: 144). Figure 3.10: Four different versions of King Taharqa: two as sphinxes, one as a shabti and a historical reconstruction by Winifried Brunton (Morkot 2000: 34). Figure 3.11: Prototypes of the Kushite crown (http://www.memphis.edu/hypostyle/entrance_passage.htm). Figure 3.12: Ancient Egyptian stelae celebrating the exceptionally large Nile flood in the year 6 of Pharaoh Taharqa (685-684 BC), found in the great temples of Kawa (Gozzoli 2009: 236). Figure 3.13: Temple of Taharqa at Karnak (https://studylib.net/doc/8876697/the-development-of-the-temple-of-karnak1). Figure 3.14: The kingdom of Kush (http://www.nairaland.com/1316015/somalis-ethiopians-eritreans-superior/2). Figure 3.15: Egyptian representation of Kushite people (https://wildfiregames.com/forum/index.php?/topic/21602-the-kingdom-of-kush-a-proper-introduction-illustrated/). Figure 3.16: Representation of Nubian soldiers found in the tomb of a provincial governor of the 11th Dynasty Mesehti in Asyut (http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/cairo%20museum/cm,%20models/pages/egpytian_museum_cairo_5010.htm). Figure 3.17: The 'clash of empires’ in the 8th century BC (https://wildfiregames.com/forum/index.php?/topic/21602-the-kingdom-of-kush-a-proper-introduction-illustrated/) Figure 3.18: Representations of Kushite archers, compared with an Assyrian infantry soldier in a historical illustration by Angus McBride (Wise 1981: Plate A). Figure 3.19: Detail of Kushite prisoners of the Assyrian troops from a scene from the war in 667 BCE referring to the capture of Memphis. It was sculpted in 645 – 635 BC, under Ashurbanipal. (British Museum, author’s collection) Figure 3.20: Battle scene on the second pylon of the Great Amun Temple in Napata during the 25th Dynasty, according to Wilkinson (Spalinger 1981: 48). Figure 3.21: Distribution of Egyptian nomoi in the country (http://egiptomaniacos.top-forum.net/t119p30-mapas-y-planos). Figure 3.22: Map of Egypt's natural resources (http://egiptomaniacos.top-forum.net/t119p30-mapas-y-planos). Figure 3.23: a) Exotic animals from Kush portrayed at Assyrian palaces (British Museum, author’s collection); b) and c) Pieces from the Nimrud Ivories, depicting an Kushite tribute bearer carrying a leopard pelt, antelope, and monkey and the execution of Figure 3.24: Map of the different Palestinian kingdoms transformed into vassal states or puppet monarchies by the Neo-Assyrian Empire during the 8th century BC (Van de Mieroop 2004: 249). Figure 3.25: The Mediterranean periphery of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (Gittin 1997: 78). Figure 3.26: Schematic map showing the four main circles of land use in Judah and Philistea (Faust and Weiss 2011: 191). Figure 3.27: Map of Mediterranean trade in the 7th century BC (Sherrat and Sherrat 1993: 373). Figure 3.28: Map of the Neo-Assyrian Empire extending as far as Egypt (http://faculty.catawba.edu/cmcallis/history/eww/eww1.htm9). Figure 3.29: Plan of the ruins of Kerma, with indications of communication routes and fortifications (Bonnet and Valbelle 2005: 18). Figure 3.30: Plan and sections of tumulus graves and pyramid tombs at el-Kurru (https://mitchtestone.blogspot.com/2008/10/nubian-pyramids.html). Figure 3.31 Complex of Kushite tombs at el-Kurru (https://www.worldhistory.biz/ancient-history/51895-9-5-el-kurru-and-nuri-the-kushite-royal-tombs.html). Figure 3.32: Complex of Kushite tombs at Nuri cemetery with the Taharqa Pyramid (https://www.worldhistory.biz/ancient-history/51895-9-5-el-kurru-and-nuri-the-kushite-royal-tombs.html) Figure 3.33: Plan of a late Kushite pyramid of the Meroitic period with offering chapel and passage descending to a rock cut tomb beneath the actual pyramid (https://wildfiregames.com/forum/index.php?/topic/21602-the-kingdom-of-kush-a-proper-introduction- Figure 3.34: The city of Napata at its apogee around the 1st century BC, in front of the holy mountain, Jebel Barkal. The Kushite kings and their sucessors made restorations and built new temples inside the city and were crowned here. This illustration st Figure 3.35: The Meroitic fort of Umm Ruweim (https://wildfiregames.com/forum/index.php?/topic/21602-the-kingdom-of-kush-a-proper-introduction-illustrated/). Figure 3.36: The III-VI cataracts of Nile and later Kushite military installations (https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-fortified-sites-dated-to-the-late-Meroitic-post-Meroitic-period_fig1_313659006). Figure 3.37: a) Stratum IVB of Megiddo before the Assyrian conquest; b) Stratum III of Megiddo during the Assyrian period (Kempinski and Reich 1992: 254 and 256). Figure 3.38: Maiherperi ‘Lion of the Battlefield’ was an ancient Egyptian noble of Nubian origin who received the honour of a burial in the Valley of the Kings, the royal necropolis of the New Kingdom. The left image is an excerpt from the Book of the Dea Figure 3.39: Neo-Assyrian culture material found in Palestine: a)Lamashtu from the region of Lachish; b) Royal Assyrian bulla from Samaria; c) Stele of Sargon II from Ashdod and Samaria; d) Assyrian style bronze and clay bowls from Samaria (Stern 2001: 15 Figure 3.40: a) Esarhaddon relief in Nahr el-Kelb; b) 3D rendering of the Stelae to Esarhaddon 688 - 699 BC in Nahr El Kelb recorded and processed with photogrammetry (http://www.factum-arte.com/pag/701/3D-Scanning-for-Cultural-Heritage-Conservation); c) Figure 3.41: Comparative study of the Battle of Kadesh (1274 BC) from the Second Pylon of the Ramesseum; and Battle of Til-Tuba (652 BC) from orthostat 3, Room XXXIII, Southwest Palace, Niniveh (Feldman 2004: 146-147; https://www.britishmuseum.org/collect Figure 3.42: Ramses II at the besieged city of Dapur (Karlsson 2016a: 2) and Ashurnasirpal II in his chariot at a besieged enemy city (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1847-0623-8). Figure 3.43: Statues of Taharqa found at the arsenal of Nebi Yunus (al-Asil 1955: 130). Chapter 4 Figure 4.1: Assyrian representations of Medes (http://realhistoryww.com/world_history/ancient/Elam_Iran_2.htm). Figure 4.2: Degree of Neo-Assyrian control according to Parker (2001: 15). Figure 4.3: The Neo-Assyrian imperial social structure (Yoffee 2010: 191). Figure 4.4: Hypothetical reconstruction of Assyria after the collapse of its empire (Yoffee 2010: 193) Introduction The concept of civilisation The historical evolution of civilisations a) The origin of civilisations b) The development of civilisations c) The decline and collapse of civilisations First aim of this study: the Central Civilisation and the Mesopotamian / Egyptian merger Second aim of this study: the methodological approach to the archaeological knowledge of the Ancient Near East Third aim of this study: an approach to World Systems Theory and archaeology The Historical Evolution of the Ancient Near East and the Rise of the Assyrian Phenomenon The Ancient Near East as geopolitical entity The Land of Mesopotamia as the Cradle of Civilisation a) Southern Mesopotamia and the first socio-economic development b) Northern Mesopotamia and the Origin of Kingship The Mesopotamian symbiosis The Assyrian phenomenon The Ancient Near East and the ‘catastrophe’ at the end of the Bronze Age a) Old theories and new approaches b) The Survival of the Assyrian World and the beginning of a New Era The Neo-Assyrian Empire and the Pax Assyriaca The archaeology of empires: theories, approaches and problems The meaning of ‘empire’ and its principal dimensions The Neo-Assyrian expansion and the peripheral polities under its domination a) The royal ideology of the Neo-Assyrian monarchy b) The Neo-Assyrian military reform during the Iron Age The Neo-Assyrian hierarchy of its imperial core. a) The Land of Assyria (Aššur mat) b) The Largest Assyria The Neo-Assyrian order and its global context a) Infrastructure of the Neo-Assyrian Empire b) The superstructure of the Neo-Assyrian Empire Ancient Egypt and the Pax Assyriaca General introduction to the Egyptian civilisation a) Ancient Egypt and its geographical and human characteristics b) Ancient Egypt and its historical evolution c) Ancient Egypt during the time of the Neo-Assyrian Empire Ancient Egypt, the Neo-Assyrian expansion and its peripheral polities of domination a) The royal ideology of the Egyptian monarchy and its confrontation with the Neo-Assyrian model b) The Egyptian legacy during the Third Intermediate Period and the Neo-Assyrian Empire c) Egyptian militarism and the confrontation with Neo-Assyrian power Ancient Egypt and the Neo-Assyrian imperial core a) The Egyptian order and its personal global context b) Egypt and the Neo-Assyrian Empire in the Syro-Palestine region c) The Neo-Assyrian Empire and the administration of Egypt Ancient Egypt and the Neo-Assyrian order in its global context a) Neo-Assyrian infrastructure in Egypt b) Neo-Assyrian superstructure in Egypt The Collapse of the Pax Assyriaca The collapse of the Neo-Assyrian Empire a) The hierarchical crisis of the imperial core b) The collapse of the Assyrian periphery c) The collapse of the Assyrian order Ancient Egypt and the collapse of the Neo-Assyrian Empire Conclusion Bibliography