Hezekiah's Rebellion Against The Assyrians

1. What is Mesopotamia? Why was it so named, and which modern countries are included in the region?

Horrific violence, terrifying threats and public terrors strike fear into the hearts of thousands who oppose the Assyrian Empire. “An Assyrian Emperor’s Resume: Ferocious Conquests a Specialty” remains a paragon of these unspeakable tragedies transpiring around 875 B.C. Written by Ashur-Nasir-Pal II (or one of his subjects), this anecdote highlights his conquests as he claims ancient cities’ wealth, while brutally murdering foreign people and destroying their lands. Geographically, the story takes place in the Middle East, specifically North Mesopotamia. According to the author, he conquers places like Hudun, Zamua, Zamru, Iritu and Ammaru. The historical value behind this piece portrays prominent aspects of their society and depicts how Assyrians reigned, while hinting at the empire’s values; therefore, this historical account provides evidence, which exhibits the attributes of the Near East during Ashur-Nasir-Pal II’s reign.

In Israel and Judah warfare would be an integral part for the Jewish to reclaim their homelands. With warfare came several brutalities that would be illustrated in the book of Deuteronomy and Joshua. In the book of Deuteronomy, it describes the killings of entire populations in Gad after their capture, plunder the towns, and took whatever resources they had. This was all done with the support of God. In the book of Joshua, has the theme of rule and capture. It describes the brutalities that took place in capturing Jericho. Joshua would commit atrocities that involved exterminating everything in the city by sword. Both books, highlights the atrocities needed to reclaim their holy land. There is no evidence that there is any regulation on their warfare. Soon Israel would be taken over by the

There was other factors that greater the significance in developing the Assyrian empire as mentioned previously , King Tiglath Pileser others reforms such as military in particular, made it more accessible to conquer other cities. The increase of loyalty in troops and more advanced weapons was useful in campaigns the king undertook for example the “Southern Campaign” which Assyria created an alliance with Babylon against the Chaldeans.

By 704 BC, Hezekiah’s opportunity came. The assassination of Sargon II, lead to Sennacherib becoming the leader in Assyria. Under his leadership, he attempted to hold the Empire together. Due to Hezekiah wanting to relinquish his tides with Assyria, he withheld tribute. This was an open signal of rebellion. Other states in the area joined the rebellion and Hezekiah, in brokering an alliance with Egypt over the objections of Isaiah became the leader of the revolt. It took Sennacherib until 701 BC to quiet the other provinces sufficiently to turn his attention to Hezekiah. However, the Bible records an invasion of Sennacherib king of Assyria, in the 14th year of Hezekiah king of Judah. Assyrian records also give the account of the invasion of

The Siege of Jerusalem has been incongruously regarded as anything from a “chocolate covered tarantula” (Hanna 109) to “a work of moderation” (Narin Van Court 169). While these opinions greatly differ and are in immediate conflict with each other, there is no doubt from any critic that an important piece to the study of Siege is discussion of its treatment of Jews. Whether the poem is intended as an allegory for the crusades, or at its heart a piece of anti-Semitic literature as many suspect, there is a need to grapple with the portrayal of the Jews.

At its height, the ancient Assyrian Empire stretched from the north in the upper Tigris river valley, south to the northern tip of the Persian Gulf including Babylon, along the Mediterranean Sea from Tarsus to Jerusalem and all the way down into Egypt to the city of Thebes. This vast empire took several thousand years to build. Early settlements can be traced back to the northern city of Nineveh around 5000 B.C.

Starting from the Northern region of Mesopotamia, the Assyrians came to power in the 19th century. The Tigris River was the Assyrians starting point in building there empire through central Egypt. On the other hand, the Persians rose to power from the base by defeating the Assyrians with coalition of Babylon and an Indo-European people named Medes from Persia, modern day Iran, and build an even larger empire the world had yet seen. There empire started from Tigris goes to Greek cities to Anatolia and kingdom of Lydia. Both empires has used different military, government, artistic, and religious tactics to establish their empire.

This research paper is about one aspect of the ancient world that I have analyzed and the topic that I have done this research on is the Assyrian Army. I will give a detailed analysis with precise and concise information with well presented information with credible claims to support my paper and my thesis statement that “.The Assyrian Army was the most organized Army in the Ancient near east; they conquered the Dark Age era with their tactical and physical nature of militant system which makes them the best army of all time”. The Worldview connection is that the Assyrian was into terror and believed that they were immortal which shows how brutal they were. The Assyrians not only viewed themselves as a great army but had a worldview that was set as the foundation of western civilization which was more polytheistic.

The Middle Assyrian Laws are a selection of laws also known as the Code of the Assyrians. They are composed in the wedge shaped writing system of ancient Mesopotamia. There are only twenty-eight given in the source but the actual number of codes in the society is uncertain. The codes listed are out of order and many numbers are missing. The documents were written in Akkadian, one of the earliest Semitic languages, in the Middle Assyrian dialect. The particular author of these codes is unknown. The existing copies though were apparently edited during the reign of the Assyrian king Tiglath- pileser I. The texts were found during the excavation of the site of Qal’at Shergat (ancient Assur) in northern Iraq in the early twentieth century. The existing copies number about fifteen tablets, one of which is duplicated by a copy that dates to the Neo – Assyrian period, around 900-612 BCE. The relationship of the document to each other is unclear. The evidence as to why these were written and whom they directly affect is not clear. The laws primarily target the relationship between male and female. The significance of the source is ambiguous, but based off of the time in history and people targeted in the law codes, the people who lived here were men and woman in relationships with one another. The codes explain the consequences, rules, and way of life in this time period.

Nehemiah the Israelite leader displays numerous traits of a Servant Leader in the biblical book, Nehemiah. Nehemiah sets out on a quest to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and the wall that surrounds his beloved home. During this time, he encounters many obstacles and will overcome all roadblocks put in front of him. This paper will provide an analysis of two significant events, building the wall around Jerusalem and organizing Jerusalem’s people to rebuild the city.

As one moves southward, the mountains become progressively higher, pierced occasionally by valleys running west to east. This region is known as the hill country of Ephraim in much of biblical history (Tullock, H. 2012). Farther south, it becomes the hill country of Judah. This region actually has two parts: (1) the Shephelah, an area of low-lying hills, and (2) the plateau on which Jerusalem is located (Tullock, H. 2012). Separating the Shephelah and the Judean plateau is a north–south valley that made approaching the plateau from the coastal plain especially difficult (Tullock, H. 2012). There are basically four approaches: (1) the Valley of Aijalon, which is the easiest and most famous; (2) the Valley of Sorek; (3) the Valley of Azekah; and (4) the Valley of Elah (Tullock, H. 2012).

The Middle Assyrian Laws are a collection of laws that were put together for the people of Mesopotamia, although the author is unknown. These codes of law were originally written in Akkadian, one of the earliest Semitic languages. The excerpts are from the Code the Assyrians, which was made in 1075 BCE. According to the document, They were found during the twentieth century in ancient Assur (currently Northern Iraq) at the site of Qal’ at Shergart. These laws are significant because they implemented structure into their society by setting standards for what women and men can and cannot do. They are important to us today because they give us valuable ideas as to how ancient society was in Mesopotamia, particularly gender roles in 1075 BCE.

After Solomon died, the kingdom was divided into two: the Northern Kingdom, called Israel and the Southern Kingdom, called Judah. Common elements of two nations are that both the kings of Israel and Judah practiced idolatry. One of the most terrible king of Israel is king Ahab who ignores the God and spread idol worship of Baal. Although many of the kings served idols, a few kings of Judah served the God faithfully. One of the good kings of Judah is king Jehoshaphat who worshiped the God and educate his people do so too.

God warned Israel before they entered the Promised Land that they will forsake Him and go after other gods. As a result of this, He will scatter them among the nations. After the death of Solomon, the United Kingdom was split in two: The Northern ten tribes will form Israel and the remaining 2 tribes in the South will form Judah. Israel went into Assyrian captivity in 722 B.C. and they never returned to their land. Judah went into Babylonian