Torture is the Key to Success?

Ritik Malhotra

Near Eastern Studies R1B Lecture 4

Response Paper: The Age of Empires (Ch2, Ch3)

Torture is the Key to Success?

In his depiction of the Assyrian empire in ancient Mesopotamia, presented in chapters two and three of The Age of Empires, Francis Joannes details multiple aspects that made the empire so famous and powerful during its time. In his tale, Joannes describes the absolute power of the Assyrian army, able to gain imperial control of territories across the land. I find it highly interesting that it was the brutality and methodology that the army utilized when at war with other armies, described as the “policy of terror” (59), that made them so powerful and feared. Such a tactic, which is looked down upon today, proved to be highly effective for the Assyrian empire and its conquest in ancient times.

Joannes describes the Assyrian army as one that tried to “set an example” (59) by making their presence well known wherever they conquered a territory. For example, the Assyrian army was known to “impale or flay” prisoners, “cut the hands and heads from [their] corpses to make into trophies,” and publically humiliate defeated kings (59) all to show the public that they were capable of such feats, which only instilled fear in others. This goes hand in hand with the army’s policy of trying not only to “defeat foes, but also to weaken them as much as possible” and essentially make their lives as miserable and torturous as possible (58-59)

The Assyrian army was effective in using this notion of fear to instill themselves as a powerhouse in the ancient times and “gain permanent superiority over its adversaries from the moral standpoint as well” (57). This was one of the empire’s driving strategies of success as it used imperialism and publicizing its victories to generate a form of propaganda to bring together the people and unify them in a way.