Eckart Frahm

A "sweeping, delightfully readable" (Wall Street Journal) new history of Assyria, the ancient civilization that set the model for future empires At its height in 660 BCE, the kingdom of Assyria stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. It was the first empire the world had ever seen. In Assyria, historian Eckart Frahm tells the epic story of the Assyrian empire and its formative role in global history. Assyria's wide-ranging conquests have long been known from the Hebrew Bible and later Greek accounts. But nearly two centuries of research now permit a rich picture of the Assyrians and their empire beyond the battlefield: their vast libraries and monumental sculptures, their elaborate trade and information networks, and the crucial role played by royal women. Although Assyria was crushed by rising powers in the late seventh century BCE, its legacy endured from the Babylonian and Persian empires to Rome and beyond. Assyria is a stunning and authoritative account of a civilization essential to understanding the ancient world and our own.

The first comprehensive account of the rise and fall of what historians consider to be the world’s very first empire: Assyria'A work of remarkable synthesis. The range of its sources is truly extraordinary . . . Frahm punctures a fair share of myths too' Pratinav Anil, The TimesAt its height in 660 BCE, the kingdom of Assyria stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. It was the first empire the world had ever seen.Here, historian Eckart Frahm tells the epic story of Assyria and its formative role in global history. Assyria’s wide-ranging conquests have long been known from the Hebrew Bible and later Greek accounts. But nearly two centuries of research now permit a rich picture of the Assyrians and their empire beyond the battlefield: their vast libraries and monumental sculptures, their elaborate trade and information networks, and the crucial role played by royal women.Although Assyria was crushed by rising powers in the late seventh century BCE, its legacy endured from the Babylonian and Persian empires to Rome and beyond. Assyria is a stunning and authoritative account of a civilisation essential to understanding the ancient world and our own.

A new history of Assyria, the ancient civilization that set the model for future empires At its height in 660 BCE, the kingdom of Assyria stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. It was the first empire the world had ever seen. Here, historian Eckart Frahm tells the epic story of Assyria and its formative role in global history. Assyria's wide-ranging conquests have long been known from the Hebrew Bible and later Greek accounts. But nearly two centuries of research now permit a rich picture of the Assyrians and their empire beyond the battlefield: their vast libraries and monumental sculptures, their elaborate trade and information networks, and the crucial role played by royal women. Although Assyria was crushed by rising powers in the late seventh century BCE, its legacy endured from the Babylonian and Persian empires to Rome and beyond. Assyria is a stunning and authoritative account of a civilization essential to understanding the ancient world and our own.

Die Stadt Assur war die Keimzelle des assyrischen Staates, der im 1. Jahrtausend v. Chr. zum ersten wirklichen Imperium der Weltgeschichte aufstieg. Wie sich diese historisch so folgenreiche Transformation des assyrischen Staatswesens vollzog und welchen Wandlungen dabei die Identitat seiner Eliten unterworfen war, dokumentieren zahlreiche in Assur gefundene Konigs- und Weihinschriften, Chroniken, Dekrete, Vertrage und historisch-literarische Texte. Im Band werden 80 dieser Texte zum grossten Teil erstmalig in Form von Bearbeitungen und Keilschriftautographien vorgelegt. Die leider zumeist nur fragmentarisch erhaltenen Texte, die in die Zeit vom 13. bis zum 7. Jahrhundert v. Chr. datieren, umfassen bislang unbekannte konigliche Annalen- und Bauberichte, eine Chronik aus der Zeit Assurnasirpals I., einen neuen "Gottesbrief", Manuskripte der Loyalitatseide Sanheribs sowie eine Art Dialog zwischen Konig Ischme-Dagan I.(?) und dem Gott Assur-Enlil. Auch die fruheste Erwahnung Agyptens in einer assyrischen Konigsinschrift wird in dem Band prasentiert.