The state structure of the Assyrian Empire briefly. Government of Babylon and Assyria

The Assyrian state developed, undoubtedly, following the example of the Kassite monarchy of Babylon.

In Assyria, the king was not considered, as in Egypt, a god either during life or after death. First of all, he was a military leader, and then a priest and judge.

The historical monuments of Nineveh and neighboring cities left no traces of the religious cult of the king, while the monuments of the pharaohs in Egypt were built, apparently, in order to glorify the personality of the ruler.

The power of the Assyrian kings grew gradually. At first, they did not yet use the title "king", but called themselves "rulers" (ishshaku). In fulfilling their powers, the ishshaku relied on the upper strata of the population of individual cities. As a rule, they were the richest people among the merchants.

Shamshiadad I for the first time appropriated the title of "king of multitudes" and the title of "warrior of Assur" for the first time. Since that time, the Assyrian rulers began to wear (although not immediately) the title of king.

Ashshuruballit I, in his correspondence with the Egyptian pharaoh, called himself "king of the country", as well as "king of multitudes". However, the power of the Assyrian kings was not unlimited, they were forced to reckon with the priestly elite, as well as with the military aristocracy.

Praying to the gods, the king took off the signs of power and turned to God as his master, to whom all ordinary people turn with their weaknesses. This is evidenced by the following lines of Ashurbanipal's prayer: “Let the caring gaze that shines on your eternal face dispel my sorrows; May the divine wrath and fury never come near me. May my shortcomings and sins be blotted out so that I can be reconciled with him, for I am a slave to his power, an admirer of the great gods. May your mighty face come to my aid...

However, huge power was concentrated in the hands of the “humble” king. Moreover, the king relied not so much on the priesthood, but on the troops and the bureaucracy as the main and decisive force in governing the country. In the hands of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal, for example, dual power was concentrated: both secular and spiritual.

In conditions of constant wars, the despotism of the kings of Assyria is intensifying. However, here it did not receive such a vivid expression as in Egypt.

Material monuments help us get acquainted with the life of the Nineveh court. The paintings on the walls of the royal chambers clearly and vividly reflect the military successes, celebrations and hunting of the kings.

The king surrounded himself with a numerous retinue of courtiers and nobles - people devoted to him. The first places were taken by: turtan- the commander-in-chief of the army, who often replaced the king in campaigns; palace herald; chief helmsman; abarakku- chief dignitary of the court; governor of the country.

This order testifies to the importance that the high dignitaries of Assyria occupied. All of them were directly connected with the king. Occupying responsible positions in government, dignitaries carried out royal orders and carried out orders.

In palaces, among all sorts of reports from chiefs, dignitaries and priests, many letters to kings from people of different classes with wishes of happiness to the king and gratitude, requests for the adoption of sons to serve in the palace, as well as petitions from prisoners of war and prisoners, have been preserved.

Despite the slavish humiliation that characterizes the content of these documents, they at the same time testify that the Assyrians had a privileged position in the kingdom, enjoyed some freedom in relation to the kings and often illuminated the true state of affairs. So, one priest asks the king to take his son into the service, complains about court intrigues and the absence of a friend at court who, having accepted a gift from him, could put in a good word for his son. One of the contractors complains that he does not have enough workers to build a canal, another reminds the king of the payment of remuneration for the manufacture of idols. An unpaid official begs the king not to let him starve to death. The king inquires about the health of his entourage and requires a detailed presentation of the course of the disease.

Assyrian officials followed with great attention all the events that took place not only within the state, but also in neighboring regions bordering on Assyria.

The king received a large number of letters from his observers, officials and intelligence officers, in which they reported a wide variety of economic and political data: about uprisings and unrest in Syria, the situation in Urartu, Elam, etc.

The vast Assyrian power was divided into more than fifty provinces, not counting the dependent states (Egypt, most of Babylonia, Tabala, Judea, etc.). Its territory, which was larger than all previous state associations, required very complex administration and a large apparatus. This administration was entrusted to the highest military leaders; they had at their disposal military garrisons to maintain internal order, guard the roads in the province and collect tribute. The provinces were directly led by the king's delegates, and the dependent regions, which occupied most of the conquered countries, were led by local kings or rulers. Moreover, in the dependent states their traditional organizations and legislation were preserved. However, all the activities of these rulers were under the control of royal officials from Nineveh.

The king considered it necessary to keep some of the conquered countries more strictly, in constant submission to the Assyrian administration.

Governors were appointed to the largest and most important cities and regions. The next person after the governor was the military leader. So, for example, in Nineveh and Arbela there were governors, and in the provinces and cities of Nasibin, Arrapha, Kalah - governors and commanders. At the disposal of the governors, dignitaries and other officials was a large army of scribes.

The duties of officials in the Assyrian state were not strictly delineated due to the underdevelopment of the bureaucratic apparatus. Governors, dignitaries and military leaders were always appointed by the king and were directly subordinate to him.

In the conquered regions included in Assyria, the same laws were in force, the observance of which was mandatory for everyone; their offenders were severely punished.

In the provinces, the Assyrian king kept the traditional laws of their organization. The dynasty of dependent kings retained the throne, but at the same time they recognized the Assyrian king as their sovereign, who was paid a large tribute every year and delivered a large contingent of soldiers.

As the Assyrian state developed, the need arose for more efficient and flexible management of both the Assyrian regions proper and the conquered countries. For these purposes, a central administration was created to conduct diplomatic relations between Assyria and: vassal countries.

In the state offices of Assyria, office work was conducted in two languages: the Assyrian dialect of Akkadian and Aramaic, which gradually became the international language of Asia Minor. In addition, the most educated scribes studied the two Babylonian dialects of the Akkadian (old and colloquial) language and even the now dead Sumerian language.

Representatives of the conquered peoples, at the will of the king, could hold responsible positions, the main court positions, which gave them the right, along with the Assyrians, to participate in the management of the vast Assyrian monarchy.

Somewhat later, Babylon followed this path. So, the prophet Daniel, according to the biblical tradition, became close to King Nebuchadnezzar II and received the Babylonian name - Belshazzar.

All the threads of governing the country converged to the royal palace, where responsible state officials constantly arrived. Even in the time of Esarhaddon, the surviving list of officials contained a list of 150 positions. In addition to the military department, there was also a financial one, which was in charge of collecting various taxes from the population, tribute from vassal countries. The nomads paid tribute in kind in the amount of one head from 20 head of livestock. The peasants paid with a tenth of the harvest, a quarter of the fodder, and a certain number of cattle.

A toll was levied on arriving merchant ships. The control post at the city gates also received a duty on goods imported into the city. Only representatives of the aristocracy and some cities were exempted from paying taxes, in which large priestly colleges enjoyed great influence. We already know from previous chapters that Babylon, Sippar, Borsshsha, Nippur, Ashur, and Haran were exempt from taxes in favor of the king. These trading cities were ruled by special city governors who were directly subordinate to the king.

The Assyrian state, like other states of the ancient East, relied not only on the priesthood and tribal nobility, but mainly on the army.

The Assyrian army, as already mentioned, was the most perfect in the ancient world and inspired fear in the enemy. The army was recruited primarily from the Assyrian regiments, which were its mainstay, and then from the soldiers of dependent states. Almost all Assyrians were recruited into the army.

Every year, based on the conditions prevailing in the country, the army was replenished with new contipgents, but this should not have been reflected in agricultural work in various regions of Assyria.

For dependent states, the central government of Assyria set a certain number of soldiers and a certain period of service.

During the period of military campaigns, the Assyrian king at the head of each major military unit put one of the main dignitaries of the royal court. This was done so that during the period of war it would be possible to elevate distinguished military leaders, to provide them with positions in the royal palace, since such a right was given to them mainly by military exploits.

social relations

Assyrian society went through a number of stages in its development and experienced a number of significant changes over the course of one and a half thousand plus years (from the time of the first rulers of Ashur to the death of the Assyrian state). Basically, as already mentioned, the history of the country is divided (except for the times of the primitive system, known to us from the monuments of material culture) into three periods: Old Assyrian, Middle Assyrian and New Assyrian. Already in the Old Assyrian period (the end of the 3rd millennium BC - the first half of the 2nd millennium BC), one can trace the gradual disappearance of the remnants of the tribal system, as well as the appearance of a small number of slaves. At this stage, the enslavement of foreigners was allowed, but by no means the native Assyrians. Property differentiation was already taking place among the free population of Ashur and its Asia Minor colonies. The slave-owning elite, separated from the milieu of the community, began to oppose itself to the community.

Significant shifts occurred in the Middle Assyrian period (XVI-XI centuries BC), when a powerful military-slave-owning Assyrian power began to take shape.

Property stratification at this stage becomes very intense. Some of the communal farmers are ruined and impoverished. Although the sale of a land allotment to an outsider who was not part of the rural community was strictly forbidden, they managed to bypass this law and seize the lands of the poor.

With the strengthening of private farms, the demand for forced labor increased, as is clearly shown by the data on a significant increase in the prices of slaves compared with the previous period.

The Assyrian kings-conquerors drove in a large number of captives, who were mostly turned into slavery. Enslaved warriors were sometimes maimed, fearing that they would not want to submit to the slave lot and would resist. So, Shalmaneser I blinded about 15 thousand Hittite captives. However, there were not enough slave prisoners of war (especially in the intervals between wars) and they began to turn fellow tribesmen into slavery. The lender received as collateral the members of the debtor's family. The head of a large patriarchal family sometimes undertook to deliver to the creditor during the harvest, when additional labor was especially needed, entire detachments of reapers from among his relatives (and possibly neighbors who agreed to bail him out). However, the matter was far from always limited to temporary bondage. In case of non-payment of the debt on time, the hostages given for a while to the lender's house fell into eternal slavery.

Unlike the laws of Hammurabi, Assyrian law did not restrict the usurer's rights to exploit an insolvent debtor. The latter was allowed to beat, pluck his hair, mutilate (for example, pierce the ears of slaves and thread a rope through the hole) and sell them to the side.

Along with direct and open enslavement, disguised forms of slavery were observed. During a crop failure, a rich man could “adopt” the starving children of a poor man. Such an act bore the loud name of "revival". In fact, the animated ones found themselves in the complete power of their "benefactor". True, they were not officially classified as slaves, but, falling under the authority of the adoptive parent, they could not leave him.

If a girl was “animated”, then the owner could give her in marriage upon reaching marriageable age, taking the appropriate ransom from the groom.

The wife and own children in the patriarchal family had to meekly obey their husband and father and do any work. The same was true for daughters-in-law, even if their husbands died. A widow became independent only if all the adult relatives of her husband died.

The life of the ruined community members, who lost their land allotments, was very difficult. True, they themselves retained their freedom by placing their children in bondage and thus obtaining a means of subsistence, but this was only a temporary respite. Some of them found a way out by entering the lowest rank of the army (Khushnu). In this case, they were supplied with allowances at the expense of the king and had a chance to receive plots of land from the royal land fund over time. Part of the soldiers went to special military settlements, to the borders of Assyria. But most of the poor lived on odd jobs, dependent on their rich neighbors.

Within the rural community, this increased inequality. Wealthy community members oppressed the impoverished, shifting state duties onto their shoulders. If an influential alayau (community member) did not want to serve in the army, he could send a ruined neighbor who was a member of the same community in his place. At the other pole of Assyrian society, the slave-owning nobility grew stronger. The noble families of the ancient capital, Ashur, enjoyed especially great privileges. There are indications that already in the Middle Assyrian period they were exempted from taxes and duties that were obligatory for the majority of free Assyrians.

In the Neo-Assyrian period (X-VII centuries BC), the early slave-owning society (it is sometimes called a patriarchal, primitive slave-owning society or an archaic formation) in Mesopotamia is already beginning to approach the level of the ancient, slave-owning society. Debt slavery is losing its former meaning. There is no longer any particular need to enslave compatriots, because endless wars of conquest ensure a continuous influx of prisoners of war. True, a significant part of them were ruthlessly destroyed (especially during the reign of Ashurnasirapala) or died out from cruel treatment. However, women and underage boys were generally spared; they could be more easily turned into obedient slaves.

After some, especially successful campaigns (for example, the victory over the Arab nomadic tribes), the captives were brought in such a huge number that every more or less wealthy Assyrian could buy them for next to nothing. There are many documents documenting the slave trade. Slaves and female slaves were sold both alone and in large groups.

Thanks to this, there were slaves in every wealthy family, and sometimes 20, 30 and 40 slaves were concentrated in one hand. Slave labor was used in agriculture and handicraft production, as well as in irrigation and construction work. Palaces, temples and fortresses were erected by the hands of slaves.

A slave in Assyria (as in other countries of the ancient world) became essentially the thing of his master. It could be sold, borrowed or pledged. State slaves were owned by the palace or temple and worked on the lands of the latter or in craft workshops belonging to them.

A slave was recognized by an external distinguishing feature: the shaved front of the head. Some slaves had their ears cut off or mutilated. Usually a slave had a tablet that he wore around his neck, or a slave brand - a tattoo.

During excavations, short inscriptions were sometimes found on pendants, which were supposed to testify to the identity of a slave or slave.

A slave could become a free leash. by the will of the master, who decided to let him go. The release of a slave was accompanied by a certain ritual: washing the head and turning the face to the east. Fetters or insignia were removed from the slave. There is a lot of information that the kings of Assyria sometimes released some of their slaves into the wild.

The forms of exploitation of slaves were not the same. To some of them the master granted a certain degree of independence. Not always a large landowner had a desire to farm on his lands, especially if his estates were far from his place of residence. Often, he preferred to plant his slaves on the ground, allowing them to start families and run their small farms with the obligation to give a significant part of the production to the master. Real estate and livestock provided to such slaves were the property of the slave owner, and they used them only with his permission. Unlike other slaves, these forced people could only be sold with their families and plots of land.

Thus, the participation of slaves in economic life in the Neo-Assyrian period was steadily increasing. However, even at this stage, slaves did not play such an exclusive and comprehensive role in the production process, as they did later in ancient Greece and Rome.

Enrichment from trade and the capture of booty strengthened the position of the slave-owning elite and contributed to the growth of large landownership. In ancient Assyria, as well as in a number of other ancient Eastern countries, the king himself was considered the supreme owner of all the land - the sovereign. At the same time, he was the actual owner of significant estates. A lot of land was also concentrated in the hands of temples and individual nobles.

As large-scale landownership and slaveholding grew, broad sections of the free settlement of Assyria were more and more ruined. Some kings (Tiglath-Pileser III and others) made attempts to somewhat improve their position by recruiting them into the army. However, taking a certain part in the division of military booty for some time, they later went bankrupt again.

There was also no agreement among the ruling class of Assyrian slave owners. There were two main rival factions of the privileged elite. The first is the old nobility, who settled mainly in the ancient center of the country - Ashur, and later also in the large city of Western Assyria - Harran. She sought to consolidate the ancient liberties and free Ashur and Haran (as well as the large Babylonian cities associated with them) from royal duties and taxes. It was with this group that Assyrian trading circles were associated.

The second is a new military service nobility, surrounding the king and relying on the army. She supported the active aggressive policy of the Assyrian kings and sought the abolition of the privileges of the ancient cities. It was with her assistance that Shalmaneser V made an unsuccessful attempt to eliminate the immunity rights of Ashur.

The ruling strata of Assyria did everything possible to overcome the socio-economic crisis, and several times averted the threat of the collapse of a powerful state. However, discontent in the conquered countries, the plight of the slaves and the ruined free population in Assyria itself, and strife among the ruling class of slave owners, who did not at all show unity, undermined the foundations of the Assyrian state and led it to collapse.

Legislation

The writers of antiquity, unfortunately, did not leave to posterity documents about the Assyrian laws, as detailed as, for example, about the Egyptian ones. But the authentic legislative monuments of Assyria have come down to us. From the Assyrian criminal proceedings we learn that the whole judicial procedure was brief. The laws themselves were distinguished by exceptional cruelty, provided for executions and torture in order to obtain a confession from the accused. Some criminals were beheaded, others were impaled, others were flayed. The corpses of the executed were thrown out to be eaten by wild animals. For relatively minor crimes, the perpetrators had their eyes gouged out and their hands cut off.

The most ancient legislative monument of Assyria was considered to be the “Commercial Charter”, which operated in the Asia Minor trading post of Assyrian merchants - Kanese, dating back to the 19th century. BC.

The "Commercial Charter" reflected trade contracts, the sale and hiring of landed property, the position of slaves, etc. It established the guarantees that protected landed property in Assyria.

It was possible to learn about Assyrian legislation mainly thanks to the find during the excavations of 1903-1914. in the ruins of Ashur, Central Assyrian laws in a fragmented form.

Based on these materials, one can judge what the Assyrian society was like in the 2nd millennium BC. and what kind of social shifts occurred in it as a result of constant wars, starting from the reign of King Ashshuruballit (XV century BC) and up to the XI century. BC. These documents are interesting in that they are not the law books of kings (as, for example, the law books of Hammurabi). Assyrian laws were considered the property of city councils or the Assyrian people, not the king.

The part of these laws that has come down to us is devoted mainly to the position of women in the family. She was literally in the "hands of her husband", lived, in essence, in the position of a slave and had no temper in the family property. This was evidenced by the following paragraph of the law: “If a slave or a slave took something from the hands of a man’s wife, (then) the slave and the slave should cut off the nose and ear (and) they should make up for what they have stolen; a man can cut off his wife's ear. And if he freed his wife and did not cut off her [u]ho, (then) the slave and the slave also should not be cut off (and) they are not obliged to make up for the stolen goods.

From this law it is clear that all property in the house belongs only to the husband. Therefore, the transfer of any property by the wife to anyone was equated with theft. All laws related to the position of a woman are directed against her. A man is punished only when he offends someone else's wife or commits adultery with her, in short, he is punished for violating the right of someone else's property.

All punishments for women were extremely cruel. For example, a woman who was rude to a man had to pay a large fine and, in addition, receive 25 blows with sticks. A free woman could only go outside under a veil. If a slave or a prostitute was found with their faces covered, they were punished with 50 blows with sticks. Any free man who met a prostitute or a slave with a covered face was obliged to immediately bring her to court. If he violated this law, then he himself was punished with 50 blows with sticks. The one who reported this fact received the offender's clothes.

The civil law defined the mutual rights and obligations of husband and wife, father and children. It follows from it that the Assyrian family was based on the unlimited marital power of the father, brought to the point of absurdity. It was enough for a husband who wanted to divorce his wife to pay her a certain sum in silver. The wife, who deceived her husband or wished to get rid of him, was thrown into the river.

Several marriage contracts from the Neo-Assyrian period have come down to us, from which it is clear that in some specific cases there was a deviation from the harsh patriarchal law. In one case, the wife retains the right to leave her husband and return to her father's house. In another, the wife is relieved of the obligation to work off her husband's debts.

The wealthy elite of the Assyrian society, using their poorest fellow citizens in the war, exploited them in a peaceful situation, using the norms of debt law.

Assyrian laws paid much attention to the rights and obligations of the rural community. Strictly distinguished were a large boundary separating the land of one community from another, and a small one separating the allotments of farmers within the community from each other. Each community member received his allotment by lot ( puru) and could pass it on by inheritance. But he had the right to inherit only to a relative or neighbor, but not to a stranger. True, over time, this law has learned to circumvent. The seller adopted the buyer and gave him the allotment as if he were his son. With the help of such an action, one could even give away one's land plot in payment of a debt, declaring the lender to be one's son. Thus, the old communal relations began to recede into the realm of the past. Land redistributions occurred less and less often, and the possessions of the community member gradually turned into private ownership of the land.

There were also illegal seizures of foreign land. According to Assyrian law, for violation of a large boundary, it was supposed to inflict 100 blows on the offender with a stick and cut off a finger, and for violation of a small boundary - only 50 blows with a stick. Of course, strong and influential people managed to bribe judges and round off their possessions at the expense of others, without fear of such severe punishments.

in the vast steppes and mountainous regions of northern Mesopotamia, people have long been engaged in cattle breeding. The camel is added to various types of domestic animals tamed in ancient times. Bactrian camels appear in Assyria under Tiglath-Pileser I and Shalmaneser III, but camels, in particular single-humped camels, were widely used only from the time of Tiglath-Pileser III.

Ashurbanipal captured so many camels during his campaign against the Arabs that their price in Assyria fell from 1.5 mines (841 g of silver) to 1/3 of a shekel (4.2 g of silver). Camels were used here as pack animals during military campaigns and trading expeditions, especially during large crossings through waterless, dry steppes and deserts. From Assyria, domestic camels spread across the Iranian plateau and Central Asia.

Along with cattle breeding, agriculture also developed. Not only grain, but also gardening has become quite widespread. The royal palace was in charge of large orchards, in which valuable varieties of fruits and vegetables were grown, exported from neighboring countries, from the mountainous regions of Aman and the coastal country of Chaldea. Attempts have been made to acclimate the myrrh tree and even the "wool-bearing tree", possibly cotton. Valuable varieties of grapevine were brought from mountainous countries.

In the ruins of Assur, the remains of a large garden, laid out by order of Sennacherib, were found. The garden occupied an area of 16,000 m 2 irrigated by canals, covered with an artificial embankment. Images of smaller privately owned gardens, usually surrounded by a clay wall, have also been preserved.

In the heyday of the material culture of ancient Assyria, artisans used the centuries-old experience of their predecessors - metallurgists, potters, stonemasons, stone carvers and other craftsmen who worked both in Mesopotamia and in a number of countries of Asia Minor, in Transcaucasia and even in Phoenicia.

The presence of stone made it possible to widely use it in construction, mainly in large cities, the ruins of which have been preserved and give a vivid idea of architecture, urban planning, and the technique of building fortresses. Near Nineveh, limestone was mined, which served to make monolithic statues depicting geniuses - the patrons of the king and the royal palace.

Other types of stone needed for buildings, as well as various precious stones, were brought by the Assyrians from neighboring, mainly northern and eastern countries. Lapis lazuli was delivered through Media, possibly from Badakhshan, and jasper was taken out of the country of Urartu.

Metallurgy reached especially wide development and technical perfection in Assyria. In the 8th century BC e. iron in technology and in everyday life displaces copper and bronze. In the ruins of the last capital of Assyria - Nineveh - iron objects were found. A whole warehouse of iron products was discovered during excavations of the palace of Sargon II (Dur-Sharrukin) - these are tools (hoes, plowshares, shovels, plows), nails, chains, and even ingots.

The extraction and processing of iron ore revolutionized technology and caused the growth and complexity of metallurgy. Special terms appeared for blacksmiths working in bronze or working in iron. The very wide distribution of iron is also indicated by a sharp drop in the price of this new and more affordable type of metal. Chasing and casting of metal stand out as special industries.

Equally specific to late Assyria is the wide distribution of opaque glass paste, vitreous faience, mainly tiles (tiles), covered with colorful, multi-color glaze. Walls and gates of large buildings, temples and palaces were usually decorated with these tiles. The gates of the palace of Sargon II in Khorsabad are sumptuously decorated with images of the "geniuses of fertility" and rosette ornaments, and the walls are no less luxurious images of a symbolic nature: a lion, a raven, a bull, a fig tree and a plow. The technique of multi-color wall ornamentation with glazed tiles was preserved in the Neo-Babylonian era, and then was borrowed by the neighboring peoples of Iran and Central Asia.

Trade exchange developed more and more in the large Assyrian state. Various goods were brought from foreign countries. Tiglath-Pileser III received incense from Damascus. Under Sennacherib, reeds, necessary for buildings, were brought from seaside Chaldea, and art products made of metal and ivory, the famous Syro-Phoenician bowls and artistic ornamentation for furniture, caskets and walls, carved from ivory, were brought from Phoenicia.

In the palace of Sennacherib, pieces of clay with impressions of Egyptian and Hittite seals were found, with the help of which parcels were sealed. A large number of documents makes it possible to judge the constant sale and purchase of land, buildings, livestock, slaves, etc. Not only large merchants, but also usurers made significant profits from trading operations.

Important trade routes crossed in Assyria, connecting various countries and regions of Western Asia. Rivers and canals were used to transport goods. Goods were floated mainly downstream. Herodotus describes the Assyrian ships, the frames of which were covered with leather. According to Herodotus, barrels of palm wine were brought on these ships from the northern regions. However, a similar design of light ships and rafts made of wood, sometimes impregnated with asphalt, sometimes covered with leather, was preserved in Iraq as early as the beginning of the 20th century.

The primitive shipbuilding technique made it possible to carry goods and people up the Tigris and Euphrates upstream only to Opis and Babylon. Caravan routes went from Assyria to the region of Armenia, to the region of large lakes - Van and Urmia. To Lake Urmia, they usually followed the valley of the Upper Zab through the Keleshinsky passage. Important roads led west from the Tigris to northern Syria and to the borders of Asia Minor through Nasibin and Harran to Carchemish and across the Euphrates to the Cilician Gates in the areas inhabited by the Hittites.

The great caravan route went from Assyria to Palmyra and further to Damascus. All these paths ultimately led to the great ports located on the Mediterranean coast. Particularly important was the long-known trade route from the western bend of the Euphrates to Syria, and from there by sea to the islands of the Mediterranean Sea and to Egypt.

In Assyria, in connection with trade, with the development of military affairs, paved roads appeared, necessary for the transport of goods and especially for the transfer of troops. One inscription says that when Esarhaddon rebuilt Babylon, he “opened its roads in all four directions, so that the Babylonians, using them, could communicate with all countries.” These roads were also of strategic importance. So, Tiglathpalasar I built in the country of Kummukh "a road for his carts and troops." The remains of such a road, connecting the fortress of King Sargon II with the Euphrates valley, have been preserved.

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ANCIENT ASSYRIA

Early Ashur. Geographic environment

Assyria in ancient times was the name of the region located in and the population of the middle part of the Tigris Valley, corresponding to the northeastern part of modern Iraq. The Tigris here receives two large tributaries from the east - the Big and Small Zab. From the northeast, the country is bounded by the spurs of the Zagra Mountains, from the southeast by the Small Zab River, from the west by the steppe. The waters of the Tigris River, along with wells, are used here for artificial irrigation. However, in terms of fertility, this part of present-day Iraq is significantly inferior to the lower reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates. Up the valleys of the Small and Big Zab, there are areas partially agricultural (with the use of rainwater collected in special reservoirs and used for artificial irrigation), but mainly cattle breeding. Although even snow can fall here in winter, in summer the sun burns out the grass cover, so cattle are driven to mountain meadows during this period. From agricultural products, Assyria produced the usual types of cereals for the entire Mesopotamia - first of all, barley and emmer (two-grain wheat), as well as grapes, which were not widely used in Babylonia.

During the Neolithic period, the culture of the region that later became known as Assyria still stood significantly above the culture of the countries located in the lower reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates, where conditions for agriculture were unfavorable, until artificial irrigation began to be used there. This is due to the fact that in the lower reaches the land was periodically flooded and swamped, or its grass cover was completely burned out by the sun, and excessive dryness did not allow the cultivation of cereals.

In addition, in the foothills there was material for the manufacture of tools (wood, stone, copper), but in the lower reaches it was not. Therefore, the tribes pushed back to the lower reaches could hardly find food there. In the hilly and foothill regions of Asia Minor at this time, a rather homogeneous culture was developing, which was characterized by sedentary settlements consisting of houses, either adobe or (later) made of mud brick, sometimes on a stone foundation; later, large public buildings also appeared in the form of round communal houses and rectangular sanctuaries. This culture is also characterized by the development of pottery, a monument of which is wonderful painted dishes.

It is most likely that at least part of the oldest population here belonged to the Hurrians, a group of tribes related in language to the Urartians of the Armenian Highlands. The language of the Hurrians also has in some respects a distant resemblance to the languages of the peoples of the Caucasus and Transcaucasia. Sumerian texts of the 3rd millennium BC called the areas we are considering “Subir”, Akkadian texts of the III and II millennia BC - “Subartu” or “Shubartu”, hence the name of the population - Subareans or Shubarans. Most researchers believe that these are the Sumerian-Akkadian designation of the same tribes that called themselves the Hurrians.

Development Features

In connection with the development of irrigation technology in Mesopotamia during the 4th millennium BC. there was a rapid development of productive forces and the rise of culture. When a class society was already taking shape in the south, the first states arose, writing was created and the foundations of the later Sumero-Akkadian culture were laid, in the north the development of society moved forward only slightly. Later, with the advent of bronze tools, using the achievements of the culture of the south of Mesopotamia, significant progress in social development became noticeable in the north.

To understand the history of Assyria's slave-owning society, it is necessary to take into account the economic significance of the area it occupies for supplying the leading agricultural region of Western Asia - Babylonia - with metal, which it did not have at all, and forest, which it was very poor in.

From the southeast, Assyria was adjoined by the valleys of the Adem and Diyala rivers - the crossing point of the paths leading from the Iranian Highlands to Akkad - the northern part of Mesopotamia. The most important route for Mesopotamia, connecting Elam and Akkad with Syria and further with Palestine and Egypt, passed through Assyria itself. It went up the Tigris and then through the cultural and populated parts of northern Mesopotamia to the crossings in the region of the great arc of the Euphrates, which separates Mesopotamia from Syria. Another route went from Babylonia to Syria along the Euphrates, passing no further than 200 km from the borders of Assyria. The path that ran straight through the Syrian steppe was unsuitable for regular communication, since there was a danger of attack by the steppes and it was difficult to supply water to slowly moving caravans, especially when the camel was not yet used as a vehicle, i.e. until the second half of the 2nd millennium BC. Finally, another important trade route, namely, the one going along the Tigris from Asia Minor and Armenia, also passed through Assyria, and within it connected with the eastern route from Babylonia to Syria. Thus, along the routes, either directly passing through Assyria, or lying in its immediate vicinity, were transported: copper, silver, lead, timber - going from Northern Syria, Asia Minor and Armenia to Babylonia, as well as gold imported from Egypt (and perhaps from Transcaucasia and India), a whole range of products from Iran, and through it - from Central Asia and India. On the other hand, agricultural products and handicrafts of Babylonia and Elam were sent along the same routes, going in exchange for Syrian, Asia Minor and other goods.

This circumstance left its mark on the development of the ancient Assyrian economy. Assyria played the role of a transmission point, an intermediate instance in the exchange between individual societies and states from the very beginning of the emergence of any kind of broad exchange between various regions of Western Asia. The significance that Assyria acquired in the history of the ancient world was largely due to its favorable position on the caravan routes and the special place that Assyria occupied as a result of this in the economy of Asia Minor.

Approximately from the middle of the III millennium BC. (the time to which the ancient layers of the settlement ascend to the site of the settlement of Ashur - the core of the future Assyrian state) in the regions of Mesopotamia to the north of Mesopotamia, people from Sumer and Akkad appear, which is undoubtedly connected with the need for raw materials experienced by Mesopotamia. According to documents from Mesopotamia, we know that in order to acquire stone, timber, and metal, the communities of Sumer and Akkad sent their trading agents, tamkars, on long journeys. A whole network of permanent trading posts and colonies was organized along the main trade routes.

The stronghold - moreover, the most important of them - on the Tigris was Ashur. The latter (now Kala "at-Sherkat) stood on the right bank of the river, slightly higher than the confluence of the Lesser Zab. By his name, the name Ashur, or, in Greek form, Assyria, was later established for the whole country.

Public relations

The circumstances of the emergence and formation of the state in Ashur are unknown to us. We only know that in the period that is illuminated by written monuments, i.e. at the turn of the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC, Ashur was already of great importance in the intercommunal and interstate exchange of Western Asia, and this largely determined it. development.

Among the most ancient, perhaps legendary names of the rulers of Assur, we meet, apparently, Hurrian ones. Although, judging by their own names, the Hurrian language, along with Akkadian, was widespread in Ashur and the surrounding villages for a long time (perhaps until the end of the 2nd millennium), the Akkadian language played a leading role. Already the viceroy of the III dynasty of Ur in Assur uses the Akkadian language for his inscription; later, in Ashur, official inscriptions and documents used exclusively the Akkadian language and cuneiform adapted to the Akkadian language.

Continuing the development of trade routes begun by Akkad, Ashur founded a number of subsidiary trading posts and colonies, of which the most important trading settlements in Asia Minor are known to us. The creation of these colonies is undoubtedly directly or indirectly connected with the conquests carried out during the second half of the 3rd millennium by the Akkadi dynasty, the 3rd dynasty of Ur. Both of these powers included, apparently, also Ashur and united large territories in Mesopotamia, in the foothills of Zagr and even in northern Syria. This created favorable conditions for the development of caravan routes and contributed to the development of Ashur and other small city-states on the territory of the future Assyria.

Land, apparently, was considered communal property at that time in Ashur. Along with temple land ownership, which, however, did not play such a large role as in Sumer, there were communal lands that were in the hands of free members of the communities - both large families and individuals. The redistribution of land plots was systematically carried out. The land was cultivated for the most part by the members of the community themselves with their families, partly together with slaves, and in rich farms - perhaps by slaves alone. Rarely hired labor was used. Slaves were the alienable property of their masters. Non-paying debtors became household slaves of the creditor, for a period or indefinitely - it is not known; Debt slavery has not yet acquired a mass character, despite the very strong inequality of property that is developing at this time between the top of the slave owners and the mass of the ordinary population.

Political system

The supreme body of power in Assur itself was the council of elders. Each year bore the name of a certain official limmu (probably one of the members of the council of elders), who changed annually. According to these limms, dating was carried out. Apparently, the same limmu was at the head of the city's treasury, concentrated in the "house of the city council", which not only directed the activities of tamkars (commercial agents), but also directly engaged in extensive usurious and commercial operations. Another important official was the ukullum, who was in charge of land issues and, possibly, headed the judicial and administrative activities of the urban community. The position of ukullum was usually, though not always, combined with the hereditary position of ishshakkum. Ishshakkum, or, in Sumerian terminology, ensi (patesi), had the right to convene a council, without which, but most likely, he could not make important decisions. Apparently, he was in charge of only religious and related matters (for example, some types of construction). Judicial, economic issues (for example, taxes, etc.) lay outside the jurisdiction of the ishshakkum, and the council of Ashur communicated with the colonies on these issues without his knowledge.

State structure

The Assyrian state developed, undoubtedly, following the example of the Kassite monarchy of Babylon.

In Assyria, the king was not considered, as in Egypt, a god either during life or after death. First of all, he was a military leader, and then a priest and judge.

“Let the caring look shining on your eternal face dispel my sorrows; May the divine wrath and fury never come near me. May my shortcomings and sins be blotted out so that I can be reconciled with him, for I am a slave to his power, an admirer of the great gods. May your mighty face come to my aid…”

In conditions of constant wars, the despotism of the kings of Assyria is intensifying. However, here it did not receive such a vivid expression as in Egypt.

The king surrounded himself with a large retinue of courtiers and nobles - people devoted to him. The first places were taken by: turtan- the commander-in-chief of the army, who often replaced the king on campaigns; palace herald; chief helmsman; abarakku- the chief dignitary of the court; governor of the country.

Assyrian officials followed with great attention all the events that took place not only within the state, but also in neighboring regions bordering on Assyria.

The king considered it necessary to keep some of the conquered countries more strictly, in constant submission to the Assyrian administration.

Governors were appointed to the largest and most important cities and regions. The next person after the governor was the military leader. So, for example, in Nineveh and Arbel there were governors, and in the provinces and cities of Nasibin, Arrapha, Kalah - governors and commanders. At the disposal of the governors, dignitaries and other officials was a large army of scribes.

In the conquered regions included in Assyria, the same laws were in force, the observance of which was mandatory for everyone; their offenders were severely punished.

Somewhat later, Babylon followed this path. So, the prophet Daniel, according to the biblical tradition, became close to King Nebuchadnezzar II and received the Babylonian name - Belshazzar.

A toll was levied on arriving merchant ships. The control post at the city gates also received a duty on goods imported into the city. Only representatives of the aristocracy and some cities were exempted from paying taxes, in which large priestly colleges enjoyed great influence. We already know from previous chapters that Babylon, Sippar, Borsippa, Nippur, Ashur, and Haran were exempt from taxes in favor of the king. These trading cities were ruled by special city governors who were directly subordinate to the king.

The Assyrian state, like other states of the ancient East, relied not only on the priesthood and tribal nobility, but mainly on the army.

Every year, based on the conditions prevailing in the country, the army was replenished with new contingents, but this should not have been reflected in agricultural work in various regions of Assyria.

For dependent states, the central government of Assyria set a certain number of soldiers and a certain period of service.

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