Before we follow Greece into its golden age, we must turn east
One more time and trace the Near East through the centuries
That followed the Bronze Age Collapse. Because while Israel
Was forming its monarchy and Persia was preparing to become an
Empire, the old Mesopotamian powers—Assyria and Babylon—were
Engaged in a long, alternating struggle for dominance that would
Reshape the Near East and profoundly affect the religious
Development of Israel and the wider world.
Begin with Assyria.
The Assyrian state, centered on the Tigris river in northern
Mesopotamia, had existed in various forms since the early second
Millennium BCE—the Gaiad has touched on the Old Assyrian and
Middle Assyrian periods. But Assyria reached its greatest
Extent and power in what is called the Neo-Assyrian Empire—
Flourishing roughly from nine-eleven BCE to six-oh-nine BCE, about
Three centuries of ruthless imperial power. The Neo-Assyrian kings
Built the first true empire of the Iron Age. Their method was
Militaristic, methodical, and brutally effective. They developed
Standing professional armies, siege engines, iron weapons in
Massive quantities, and a doctrine of terror: rebellious cities
Were not merely conquered but obliterated, their inhabitants flayed
Alive, impaled on stakes, or deported en masse to distant regions
Where they could not rebuild resistance. The Assyrian royal
Inscriptions boast of these atrocities in matter-of-fact detail:
"I flayed all the chief men, and I covered the walls of the city
With their skins." "I built a pillar over the city gate, and I
Flayed all the chief men... I stuck some on stakes... I cut off
The limbs of the officers... I cut off the hands and feet of
Some, and I cut off the ears and noses of others." The Gaiad does
Not dwell on these horrors gratuitously. But they are part of the
Historical record, and they affected everyone who lived in the
Near East during the Neo-Assyrian period. The threat of
Assyrian conquest was existential and total. Peoples prayed in
Genuine terror at the approach of Assyrian armies. Their fear
Is recorded in Hebrew scripture, in Egyptian inscriptions, in
Elamite and Babylonian records. Assyria was the boot on the
Near East's neck for three centuries.
And the Neo-Assyrian
Kings were builders as well as destroyers. They constructed new
Capitals—Nimrud, Dur-Sharrukin (near modern Khorsabad),
Eventually Nineveh—with massive palaces decorated by narrative
Bas-reliefs depicting royal lion hunts, military campaigns, and
Court ceremonies. Many of these reliefs are preserved in the
British Museum and elsewhere and are among the finest examples
Of ancient Near Eastern art. The Assyrian kings collected
Libraries: Ashurbanipal's library at Nineveh, with its tens of
Thousands of cuneiform tablets, preserved an enormous corpus of
Sumerian, Akkadian, and earlier Babylonian literature that
Would otherwise have been lost. It is thanks to this library that
We have the complete text of the Epic of Gilgamesh, recovered
From its ashes by nineteenth-century archaeologists. The
Neo-Assyrian kings conducted their terror campaigns with one
Hand and their cultural patronage with the other. The two
Activities were not, to them, contradictory.
The sequence of
Neo-Assyrian kings is worth marking. Ashurnasirpal II
(Eight-eighty-three to eight-fifty-nine BCE) consolidated the
Empire and moved the capital to Nimrud. Shalmaneser III
(Eight-fifty-nine to eight-twenty-four BCE) pushed Assyrian
Power westward and fought a major but indecisive battle at
Qarqar against a coalition including the Israelite king
Ahab—this is the first recorded Assyrian contact with
Israel. Tiglath-Pileser III (seven-forty-five to seven-twenty-seven
BCE) introduced military and administrative reforms that made
Assyria unstoppable: a permanent professional army, standardized
Provincial administration, systematic deportation of conquered
Peoples. Sargon II (seven-twenty-two to seven-oh-five BCE)
Completed the conquest of Israel (the northern kingdom), which
Fell in seven-twenty-two BCE. The ten tribes of the north were
Deported to various corners of the Assyrian empire and
Disappeared from history—becoming the "Lost Tribes of Israel"
About which so much later speculation has been generated. Foreign
Populations were imported into the former Israelite territory;
These settlers mixed with remaining Israelites to form the
Samaritans, who would play such an ambiguous role in later
Jewish history. Only the southern kingdom of Judah survived,
And even it survived only as a vassal of Assyria. Sennacherib
(Seven-oh-five to six-eighty-one BCE) invaded Judah in seven-oh-one
BCE, devastated forty-six cities, and besieged Jerusalem, where
King Hezekiah desperately held out. The Jerusalem siege was
Famously lifted, according to the Hebrew Bible, when an "angel of
Yahweh" killed a hundred and eighty-five thousand Assyrian
Soldiers in a single night—a miraculous deliverance celebrated
In Isaiah and 2 Kings. The Assyrian records, predictably, do not
Mention this disaster, but the fact that Sennacherib did indeed
Withdraw from Jerusalem without taking it is attested. What really
Happened—plague, political urgency at home, strategic recalculation—
Is unclear. But Jerusalem survived. Judah survived. And the
Memory of this deliverance shaped Judean religious imagination,
Reinforcing the belief that Yahweh protected his holy city, that
Even the mighty Assyrian army could not take what Yahweh had
Set apart. Esarhaddon (six-eighty-one to six-sixty-nine BCE)
Completed the unfinished business of his predecessors by conquering
Egypt itself—an astonishing Assyrian triumph, though Egyptian
Rule would be briefly restored after his death. Ashurbanipal
(Six-sixty-eight to six-twenty-seven BCE) was the last great
Assyrian king. He ruled the empire at its maximum extent, from
Egypt to the Zagros Mountains. He was intellectually cultivated,
Collected the great library at Nineveh, and conducted complex
Diplomatic and military operations across his vast realm. But
Even under Ashurbanipal the empire was strained. A civil war
Against his brother Shamash-shum-ukin (who ruled as Assyrian
Viceroy in Babylon but rebelled) exhausted Assyrian resources.
After Ashurbanipal's death, the empire collapsed with stunning
Speed. Within twenty years of his passing, every major Assyrian
City had been destroyed and the empire had ceased to exist.
The
Agents of Assyria's destruction were the Medes and the Neo-Babylonians.
The Medes, an Iranian people from the Zagros mountains (the
Predecessors of the Persians in Iranian political development),
Were the Assyrians' northern rivals. The Neo-Babylonians, under
Nabopolassar and then his son Nebuchadnezzar II, had rebelled
Against Assyrian control of Babylon and established an
Independent kingdom. In six-twelve BCE, a combined Mede-Babylonian
Army assaulted Nineveh and destroyed it. The city burned. Its
Population was massacred. The great library was buried in the
Ashes (where it would remain until its rediscovery in the nineteenth
Century CE). Sinsharishkun, the Assyrian king, perished in the
Flames. Assyrian imperial power ended abruptly. A few remnant
Assyrian forces tried to regroup at Harran, but they were defeated
In six-oh-nine BCE. The Neo-Assyrian Empire was finished. And
Consider what this meant. A state that had terrorized the Near East
For three centuries vanished within a single generation. The
Hebrew prophet Nahum celebrated the fall of Nineveh in ecstatic
Verse (Book of Nahum, probably composed very shortly after the
Event): "Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and
Robbery... Nineveh is laid waste; who will bemoan her?" Every
Subject people of the Assyrian empire shared this sentiment.
Assyria had been an entity that stood for imperial cruelty on
A cosmic scale, and its destruction was felt as a moral
Vindication by all who had suffered under it. Including the
Surviving Judeans who now watched their former oppressor fall.
And in Assyria's place rose Babylon. The Neo-Babylonian Empire,
Under Nebuchadnezzar II (six-oh-five to five-sixty-two BCE),
Inherited most of the former Assyrian territory, including the
Levant. Nebuchadnezzar was one of the great figures of the
Ancient Near East. He defeated the Egyptian pharaoh Necho II
At the Battle of Carchemish in six-oh-five BCE, establishing
Babylonian supremacy over Syria and Palestine. He rebuilt
Babylon into a wonder of the ancient world. The city's walls
Were legendarily massive—the Ishtar Gate, with its glazed
Blue tiles and gold-decorated animal reliefs, is now partially
Reconstructed in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin and remains
Visually stunning. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon—one of the
Seven wonders of the ancient world, though their historicity is
Disputed—were attributed to Nebuchadnezzar's construction for
His Median queen Amytis who missed her mountainous homeland.
Babylon was enormous: perhaps two hundred thousand inhabitants,
With monumental architecture on a scale matched at the time only
By certain Egyptian and Chinese centers. And Nebuchadnezzar
Inherited Babylon's ancient intellectual traditions. The
Neo-Babylonians refined Mesopotamian astronomy to an astonishing
Degree. They kept detailed records of celestial phenomena over
Centuries, developed mathematical models of planetary motion,
Invented the zodiac, and developed the first accurate lunar
Calendar. Babylonian astronomy would be inherited by the Greeks
(Particularly through Hipparchus and later Ptolemy) and become
The foundation of all Western astronomy until Copernicus. The
Names of the zodiac signs—Aries, Taurus, Gemini, and so on—
Are Babylonian in origin, translated through Greek and Latin.
The seven-day week with days named after the seven visible
Celestial bodies (Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter,
Venus, Saturn) originated in Babylonian astronomical religion.
The division of the circle into three hundred sixty degrees, of
The hour into sixty minutes, of the minute into sixty seconds—
All of this is the heritage of Babylonian mathematics. Every
Time we check the time, we are using a time-keeping system inherited
From Neo-Babylonian astronomer-priests working in the sixth
Century BCE. It is a remarkably persistent cultural gift.
But
For the Judean population, Nebuchadnezzar would be remembered
For another reason entirely. In five-ninety-seven BCE, Nebuchadnezzar
Besieged Jerusalem because its king Jehoiakim had rebelled
Against Babylonian suzerainty. The city surrendered. Nebuchadnezzar
Deported the Judean king (now Jehoiachin, Jehoiakim's successor),
The royal family, the nobility, and the skilled artisans to
Babylon. This is the first deportation. Ten years later, in
Five-eighty-seven BCE, Judah rebelled again under the new puppet
King Zedekiah. This time Nebuchadnezzar was less lenient. His
Army besieged Jerusalem for eighteen months. When the city fell,
It was sacked systematically. The temple of Solomon—the central
Religious institution of Judahite faith, built four centuries
Earlier by the third king of Israel—was destroyed. Its gold
And bronze fittings were carried back to Babylon as spoils.
The royal family was killed or blinded. Zedekiah's sons were
Slain before his eyes, then his eyes were put out, and he was
Led in chains to Babylon. The remaining population of Jerusalem
Was deported. This is the second deportation, the great Babylonian
Exile. Judah was ended as a political entity. Its royal dynasty
(The line of David) was broken. Its temple was gone. Its people
Were scattered—some in Babylon, some fleeing to Egypt, some
Remaining in the devastated homeland as peasants under Babylonian
Administration. By every conventional measure of ancient Near Eastern
History, this should have been the end of Judahite civilization.
It should have followed the pattern of the northern kingdom of
Israel a century and a half earlier: deported, scattered,
Assimilated, lost to history. But it did not. Judah—unlike most
Of the peoples Assyria and Babylon had deported—managed to
Preserve its religious and cultural identity through the exile.
This preservation is one of the most remarkable cultural
Phenomena in ancient history. How did it happen? Partly because
Nebuchadnezzar's deportation policies, unlike Assyria's, did not
Attempt to disperse deported populations. The Judean exiles
Were settled together in Babylonian territory, maintaining their
Community. Partly because they had, in their scripture, a religious
Foundation that did not depend on a specific temple or land. The
Torah—or the early sources that would become the Torah—taught
Them that they had a special covenant with Yahweh regardless of
Their political fortunes. Partly because the shock of exile
Prompted intense religious reflection. The prophets of the exile—
Ezekiel, Second Isaiah, Jeremiah (who had warned them of the
Exile before it happened)—reframed the disaster as divine
Discipline rather than divine abandonment. Yahweh had not been
Defeated by Marduk, the Babylonian god. Yahweh had allowed the
Exile because Judah had strayed from the covenant, and Yahweh
Would eventually restore them. This theological reframing kept
The community coherent. And partly because during the exile the
Judean religious scholars began the massive project of editing
And compiling their scriptures. Much of what we now call the
Hebrew Bible was edited into its enduring form during or shortly
After the Babylonian exile. The Pentateuch, the Deuteronomic
History, the prophetic books—all received their definitive
Editorial shape during this period. The exile was the furnace in
Which Judaism as a text-centered religion was forged. Rather
Than being destroyed by the exile, Judahite religion was
Transformed by it. When the opportunity to return came—after
Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered Babylon in five-thirty-nine
BCE and issued his decree permitting the exiles to return—what
Returned was no longer the old Judahite religion. It was something
New: Second Temple Judaism, a religion of text and law and
Synagogue as much as of temple and sacrifice, a religion that
Could survive anywhere its people happened to live, a religion
Equipped to weather further catastrophes (as it would need to
Do). The Babylonian exile was the crucible. It forged the
Template of diasporic religion that would shape Judaism for
Millennia and influence every subsequent religion of the Book.
And as for Nebuchadnezzar's own fate, he died in five-sixty-two
BCE. His successors were weak. The empire declined rapidly. In
Five-thirty-nine BCE, Cyrus the Great of Persia marched on
Babylon. The city fell, perhaps without a siege—some accounts
Suggest the Babylonian population welcomed Cyrus as a liberator
From the unpopular last king Nabonidus. Babylon became a
Persian province. And thus the two great Mesopotamian powers—
Assyria and Babylon—ended. First Assyria destroyed, then
Babylon conquered. The Near East entered a new phase: the
Age of the Persian empire, which would rule from the Indus
To the Aegean for the next two centuries.
Assyria.
Babylon. The three centuries of Neo-Assyrian terror. The deportation
Of the northern tribes. The destruction of Nineveh in six-twelve.
The brief Neo-Babylonian supremacy. Nebuchadnezzar rebuilding
Babylon with his blue-glazed gates and fabled gardens.
The Jerusalem exile of five-eighty-seven. The forging of
Diasporic Judaism in the furnace. Cyrus of Persia as liberator.
The Judean return and the building of the Second Temple.
The zodiac and the seven-day week, inheritances of Babylonian
Astronomer-priests. The library of Ashurbanipal, preserving
Gilgamesh in its ashes. The template of text-centered religion.
Assyria and Babylon. The Mesopotamian twilight. The catastrophe
That produced Judaism. Stand.