Does Assyria have a link to the conflict going on today? Take a look back in time and see where this ancient land fits into the puzzle.

Ancient Assyria was located north of Babylonia in the valley between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Various peoples have ruled the area down through the ages, among the most important being the Sumerians and the Babylonians. As far back as the thirteenth century B.C., the Assyrians began to have an influence on world history. The Assyrians were known for their organizational skill and military tactics. A series of brilliant Assyrian kings eventually created an army powerful enough to take over Mesopotamia. Around 900 B.C., Assyria turned its attention to the south and west, and made its power and influence felt in Syria and Israel.

All the peoples of the ancient world feared the cruelty of the Assyrians. They were known for piercing the jawbones of their captives in order to chain them together as they led them off to other parts of the empire. Often, the Assyrians repopulated a captured territory by bringing captives from other conquered lands.

Israel faced a severe threat from Assyria for many years. The words of the prophets Amos, Hosea, Micah, and Isaiah are filled with warnings that God sent Assyria in order to punish the people of Israel for their lack of faithfulness (Isa 10.5). Some of the Assyrian invasions of Israel are described in 2 Kings (15.29; 17.3, 6, 24; 18.9, 13-25; 19.35-37). One important battle, the one fought at Qarqar in north Syria in 835 B.C., is not mentioned in the Bible. This is surprising, since King Ahab of Israel was part of a coalition of kings who fought against Shalmaneser III and temporarily halted Assyrian expansion.

Ultimately, the northern kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians in 722 B.C. Its capital, Samaria, was destroyed and many of its people were led away as prisoners to live in other lands controlled by Assyria. Jerusalem, in the south, narrowly escaped destruction by Sennacherib in 701 B.C., though they paid heavy taxes to Assyria for years to avoid being overrun (2 Kgs 18.13-32; 19.1-36).

With Asshurbanipal's capture of Egypt in 651 B.C., the Assyrian Empire reached its greatest extent. But soon after, Assyria's empire began to crumble. In 612 B.C., the Babylonians destroyed Assyria's capital city, Nineveh. The prophet Nahum spoke about the day when Assyria would be no more.