Examining the Assyrian Empire through the Lens of Mann

Nearly 1,000 years after King Hammurabi’s death, history sees a new kingdom rise to power: the Assyrian empire! First beginning under the reign of Ashur-dan in 934 B.C. to the annexation of Assyria by the Babylonians in 610 B.C., the Assyrian empire triumphed as one of the strongest powers of the Near Eastern region for over 300 years. How this kingdom came to hold such power for a considerably long time period may be explained by sociologist Michael Mann’s four main sources of power; that is, of course: military, ideological, economic and political. The might of the military and an economic authority, as demonstrated by Assyria’s love of conquest and expansion, is most clearly depicted as potential sources of power in The Age of Empires by Francis Joannes.

The first attempt to expand the Assyria territory began in 911 B.C. by Adad-nerari II who wanted to “secure the eastern and northern frontiers against the mountain tribes” and “to regain possession of the plain of Upper Mesopotamia” (29). Seven campaigns and a treaty with Babylon later, the kingdom of Assyria had successfully established a means to access Iran and the western areas of Syria (29). These decisions made by earlier kings to expand the empire through military force (and diplomacy) most certainly influenced rulers like Ashurnasippal II to carry out a “policy of terror” and scorched earth to establish the empire’s rule. In addition, Ashurnasippal II also mandated that “adversaries who submitted were compelled to pay an annual tribute” known as maddattu to his empire. He further expanded this rule to neighboring kingdoms, promising them internal autonomy in return for their loyalty and alignment with the empire. These early policies of military takeovers (for more land) and economic taxes (for more loyalty) most certainly set up how future kings would run the empire and established early on the power of the Assyrian empire.