The territories of modern Turkey and Syria, as well as Egypt (which, however, was lost 15 years later). On the conquered lands, they formed provinces, imposing an annual tribute on them, and the most skilled artisans were resettled in Assyrian cities (this is probably why the influence of the cultures of the surrounding peoples is noticeable in the art of Assyria). The Assyrians ruled their empire very harshly, deporting or executing all rebels.

Assyria reached the pinnacle of its power in the third quarter of the 8th century BC. e. during the reign of Tiglath-Pileser III (745-727 BC). His son Sargon II defeated Urartu, captured the Northern Israel kingdom and pushed the boundaries of the kingdom to Egypt. His son Sennacherib after the rebellion in Babylon (689 BC) razed this city to the ground. He chose Nineveh as his capital, rebuilding it with the greatest pomp. The territory of the city was significantly enlarged and surrounded by powerful fortifications, a new palace was built, temples were renovated. To supply the city and the gardens around it with good water, an aqueduct 10 m high was built.

The state created by the Assyrians with its capital in the city of Nineveh (a suburb of the present city of Mosul) existed from the beginning of the 2nd millennium until about 612 BC. e., when Nineveh was destroyed by the combined forces of Media and Babylonia. Ashur, Kalah, and Dur-Sharrukin ("Sargon's Palace") were also major cities. The kings of Assyria concentrated almost all power in their hands - they simultaneously held the position of high priest and military leader, and for some time even treasurer. The royal advisers were privileged military leaders (managers of the provinces, who necessarily served in the army and paid tribute to the king). Farming was done by slaves and dependent workers.

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Chronology

There are three periods in the history of Assyria:

Old Assyrian[remove template](c. 2600-1392 BC), sometimes two periods are distinguished:
- early Assyrian (English) Russian (c. 2600-2000 BC) until the end of Ur's reign over Ashur;
- Old Assyrian(c. 2000-1392 BC) starting from the Puzur-Ashur I dynasty as a kingdom (empire), which is not true, Ashur was preserved as a nome state;
Middle Assyrian (English) Russian (1392-935 BC);
Neo-Assyrian(935-605 BC).

Old Assyrian period

XXIV-XXI centuries BC. e.

Ashur undoubtedly belonged to the kingdom of Akkad (XXIV-XXII centuries BC), although it had a very secondary importance within this state. After the fall of Akkad, a short period of independence probably began, for Assur was cut off from the centers of Mesopotamia conquered by the Gutians, although it was probably destroyed by them. Then, in the XXI century BC. e. was part of the power of the III dynasty Ur (“Kingdom of Sumer and Akkad”), the inscription of the governor of Zarikum, dated this century, has been preserved, “ servant of the king of Ur". Obviously it is Ashur who is mentioned as shashrum in the chronicles of this dynasty - " The Year Shulgi Destroyed the Shashrum», « Year in which King Amar-Suen destroyed Shashrum for the second time and Shurudhum”, for the first time under 2052 BC. e. in connection with the conquest, in the second under 2040 BC. e. because of the uprising. Around 2034 B.C. e. the invasion of the Amorites through the Middle Mesopotamia begins, Shu-Suen builds a wall against them along the edge of the "gypsum" desert from the Euphrates to the Tigris, the exact date of the loss of his control over Ashur is unknown (one of the dignitaries of Shu-Suen retains control over Arbela). Ashur, bypassed then by the Amorites, could be freed already under Ibbi-Suen. The city could have been occupied for some time by the Hurrians, the ruler of Ushpiya could refer to this time (the end of the 21st century BC) or earlier.

XX-XIX centuries BC. e.

Around 1970 B.C. e. power passes to the native Asshhurians. It was from this period that the inscription ishshiakkum Ilushuma came down to us, for the first time granting privileges to the Akkadian merchants, which was unthinkable in the practically “totalitarian” Kingdom of Sumer and Akkad, which had a state monopoly on foreign trade and credit operations. The inscription also refers to the restoration of the city wall, which clearly emphasizes the independence of Ashur. -XIX century BC. e. marked by rapid growth of trade and marketability of production. Using the proximity of their city to the most important trade routes, Ashur and Akkadian merchants rush to various neighboring countries as trading agents, initially as merchants of Ashur fabrics, later engaging in metal speculation and credit; There are no news about land deals. In Asia Minor, their most important trading colony ( karum) was the city of Kanish. Another well-known inscription was left by the son of Ilushuma - ishshiakkum Erishum I, in which he also confirms the duty-free trade, however, in addition to everything, the introductory part tells about the city meeting or council, the decision is not made by Erishum alone. Thus, the early Ashur seems to be returning to the past, to the 3rd millennium BC. e., to communal and collegial institutions of power.

eighteenth century BC e.

Religion

The religion of Assyria differed little from Babylonian beliefs. All Assyrian prayers, hymns, incantations, mythological tales, which the Assyrians inherited from the Akkadians, passed to Babylon. The sacred places of the Assyrians became the sacred places of the Babylonians.

Life and customs

Rulers of Assyria

The ruler of Assur bore the title ishshiakkum(Akkadization of the Sumerian word ensi). His power was practically hereditary, but not complete. He was in charge almost exclusively of the affairs of the religious cult and related construction. Ishshiakkum was also a high priest ( shanggu) and military leader. He usually held the position ukullu, that is, apparently, the supreme land surveyor and head of the council of elders. This council, called the "house of the city", enjoyed considerable influence in Ashur, it was in charge of deciding the most important state affairs. Council members called themselves "limmu". Each of them alternately performed management functions during the year (under the control of the entire council) and, apparently, headed the treasury. By the name of the next limmu, the year received its name. (Therefore, limma is often denoted in modern science by the Greek term eponym). But gradually the composition of the council was increasingly replaced by people close to the ruler. With the strengthening of the power of the ruler, the importance of communal self-government bodies fell. Although the procedure for nominating a limmu was preserved later, when ishshiakkum turned into a real monarch.

Statue of Ashurnasirpal. London. British museum

The activities of Ashshurnasirpal were continued by Shalmaneser III, who reigned in the second half of the 9th century. BC e. During his 35-year reign, he made 32 campaigns. Like all Assyrian kings, Shalmaneser III had to fight on all the borders of his state. In the west, Shalmaneser conquered Bit-Adin with the goal of complete subjugation of the entire Euphrates valley up to Babylon. Moving further north, Shalmaneser met the stubborn resistance of Damascus, which managed to rally around itself quite significant forces of the Syrian principalities. In the Battle of Karkara in 854, Shalmaneser won a major victory over the Syrian troops, but could not realize the fruits of his victory, since the Assyrians themselves suffered great losses during this battle. A little later, Shalmaneser again came out against Damascus with a huge, 120,000-strong army, but still could not achieve a decisive victory over Damascus. However, Assyria succeeded in largely weakening Damascus and splitting the forces of the Syrian coalition. Israel, Tire and Sidon submitted to the Assyrian king and sent him tribute. Even the Egyptian pharaoh recognized the power of Assyria by sending him a gift of two camels, a hippopotamus and other outlandish animals. Greater successes fell to the lot of Assyria in its struggle with Babylon. Shalmaneser III made a devastating campaign in Babylonia and even reached the swampy regions of the Maritime country off the coast of the Persian Gulf, conquering all of Babylonia. Assyria had to wage a stubborn struggle with the northern tribes of Urartu. Here the Assyrian king and his commanders had to fight in difficult mountainous conditions with the strong troops of the Urartian king Sardur. Although the Assyrian troops invaded Urartu, they still could not defeat this state, and Assyria itself was forced to restrain the onslaught of the Urartians. The external expression of the increased military power of the Assyrian state and its desire to carry out an aggressive policy is the famous black obelisk of Shalmaneser III, which depicts ambassadors of foreign countries from all four corners of the world, bringing tribute to the Assyrian king. The remains of the temple built by Shalmaneser III in the ancient capital of Ashur, as well as the remains of the fortifications of this city, testify to a significant increase in the technology of fortification during the era of the rise of Assyria, which claimed the leading role in Asia Minor. However, Assyria did not retain its dominant position for long. The strengthened Urartian state became a formidable rival of Assyria. The Assyrian kings failed to conquer Urartu. Moreover, the Urartian kings sometimes won victories over the Assyrians. Thanks to their victorious campaigns, the Urartian kings managed to cut off Assyria from Transcaucasia, Asia Minor and Northern Syria, which dealt a heavy blow and damage to Assyrian trade with these countries and had a heavy impact on the economic life of the country. All this led to the decline of the Assyrian state, which lasted for almost a whole century. Assyria was forced to cede its dominant position in the northern part of Western Asia to the state of Urartu.

Formation of the Assyrian Empire

In the middle of the VIII century. BC. Assyria is getting stronger again. Tiglath-Pileser III (745-727) again resumes the traditional conquest policy of his predecessors during the period of the first and second rise of Assyria. The new strengthening of Assyria led to the formation of the great Assyrian power, which claims to unite the entire ancient Eastern world within the framework of a single world despotism. This new flowering of Assyria's military power is explained by the development of the country's productive forces, which required the development of foreign trade, the capture of sources of raw materials, markets, the protection of trade routes, the capture of booty and, mainly, the main personnel of the labor force - slaves.

The economy and social structure of Assyria in the 9th-7th centuries

During this period, cattle breeding is still of great importance in the economic life of the Assyrians. The camel is added to those types of domestic animals that were tamed in the previous period. Bactrian camels appear in Assyria already under Tiglath-Pileser I and Shalmaneser III. But in large numbers, camels, in particular one-humped ones, appear only from the time of Tiglath-Pileser IV. Assyrian kings bring camels in large numbers from Arabia. Ashurbanipal captured such a large number of camels during his campaign in Arabia that their price fell in Assyria from 1 2/3 mina to 1/2 shekel (4 grams of silver). Camels in Assyria were widely used as pack animals during military campaigns and trading expeditions, especially when crossing waterless dry steppes and deserts. From Assyria, domestic camels spread to Iran and Central Asia.

Along with grain farming, gardening has been widely developed. The presence of large gardens, which were apparently under the jurisdiction of the royal palace, is indicated by the surviving images and inscriptions. So, near one royal palace, “a large garden was laid out, similar to the gardens of the Aman mountains, in which various varieties of vegetables and fruit trees grow, plants originating from the mountains and from Chaldea.” These gardens were cultivated not only by local fruit trees, but also rare varieties of imported plants, such as olives. Around Nineveh, gardens were laid out in which they tried to acclimatize foreign plants, in particular the myrrh tree. Valuable species were grown in special nurseries useful plants and trees. We know that the Assyrians tried to acclimatize the "wool-bearing tree", apparently cotton, which was taken from the south, maybe from India. Along with this, attempts were made to artificially acclimatize various valuable grape varieties from mountainous regions. Excavations discovered in the city of Ashur the remains of a large garden, laid out by order of Sennacherib. The garden was laid out on the territory of 16 thousand square meters. m. covered with artificial earth embankment. Holes were punched in the rock, which were connected by artificial channels. Images of smaller privately owned gardens, usually surrounded by a clay wall, have also been preserved.

Artificial irrigation was not of such great importance in Assyria as in Egypt or in the southern Mesopotamia. However, in Assyria, artificial irrigation was also used. Images of water scoops (shaduf) have been preserved, which were especially widespread under Sennacherib. Sennacherib and Esarhaddon built a number of large canals in order "to widely provide the country with grain and sesame."

Along with agriculture, handicrafts also achieved significant development. The production of opaque glass paste, vitreous faience and tiles, or tiles covered with colorful, multicolored enamel, has become widespread. Walls and gates of large buildings, palaces and temples were usually decorated with these tiles. With the help of these tiles in Assyria they created a beautiful multicolored ornamentation of buildings, the technique of which was subsequently borrowed by the Persians, and from Persia passed to Central Asia.< где и сохранилась до настоящего времени. Ворота дворца Саргона II роскошно украшены изображениями «гениев плодородия» и розеточным орнаментом, а стены - не менее роскошными изображениями символического характера: изображениями льва, ворона, быка, смоковницы и плуга. Наряду с техникой изготовления стеклянной пасты ассирийцам было известно прозрачное выдувное стекло, на что указывает найденная стеклянная ваза с именем Саргона II.

The presence of stone contributed to the development of stone-cutting and stone-cutting. Near Nineveh, limestone was mined in large quantities, 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 countries.

Metallurgy reached especially wide development and technical perfection in Assyria. Excavations in Nineveh showed that in the ninth century. BC e. iron was already used on a par with copper. In the palace of Sargon II in Dur-Sharrukin (modern Khorsabad) a huge warehouse was found with a large number of iron products: hammers, hoes, shovels, plowshares, plows, chains, bits, hooks, rings, etc. Obviously, in this era in technique, there was a transition from bronze to iron. Finely crafted weights in the form of lions, bronze pieces of artistic furniture and candelabra, as well as luxurious gold jewelry, indicate high technical perfection.

The growth of productive forces caused further development foreign and domestic trade. A wide variety of goods were brought to Assyria from a number of foreign countries. Tiglath-Pileser III received incense from Damascus. Under Sennacherib, from the seaside Chaldea, they received reeds necessary for buildings; lapis lazuli, which was highly valued in those days, was brought from Media; various precious stones were brought from Arabia, and from Egypt products from Ivory and other goods. 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.

In Assyria, the most important trade routes crossed, connecting various countries and areas of Western Asia. The Tigris was a major trade route, along which goods were transported from Asia Minor and Armenia to the Mesopotamia valley and further to the country of Elam. Caravan routes went from Assyria to the region of Armenia, to the region of large lakes - Van and Urmia. In particular, an important trade route to Lake Urmia went along the valley of the upper Zab, through the Kelishinsky passage. To the west of the Tigris, another caravan route led through Nassibin and Harran to Karchemish and across the Euphrates to the Cilician Gates, which opened the way to Asia Minor, inhabited by the Hittites. Finally, from Assyria there was a high road through the desert, leading to Palmyra and further to Damascus. Both this path and other paths led from Assyria to the west, to the large ports located on the Syrian coast. The most important was the trade route that went from the western bend of the Euphrates to Syria, from where the sea route to the islands of the Mediterranean Sea and to Egypt was opened.

Statue of a winged bull, a genius - the patron of the royal palace

In Assyria, for the first time, good, artificially made, stone-paved roads appeared. One inscription says that when Esarhaddon rebuilt Babylon, "he opened its roads on all four sides, so that the Babylonians, using them, could communicate with all countries." These roads were of great strategic importance. So, Tiglathpalasar I built in the country of Kummukh "a road for his carts and troops." The remains of these roads have survived to this day. This is the section of the high road that connected the fortress of King Sargon with the valley of the Euphrates. Technique road construction, which reached a high development in ancient Assyria, was subsequently borrowed and improved by the Persians, and from them, in turn, passed to the Romans. Assyrian roads were well maintained. Markers were usually placed at certain distances. Every hour, guards passed along these roads, using fire signals to convey important messages. The roads passing through the desert were guarded by special fortifications and supplied with wells. The Assyrians knew how to build strong bridges, most often wooden, but sometimes stone. Sennacherib built against the city gates, in the middle of the city, a bridge of limestone slabs, in order to pass over it in his royal chariot. The Greek historian Herodotus reports that the bridge in Babylon was built of unhewn stones, held together with iron and lead. In spite of the careful guarding of the roads, in distant regions, where Assyrian influence was comparatively weak, Assyrian caravans were at great risk. They were sometimes attacked by nomads and robbers. However, Assyrian officials carefully monitored the regular dispatch of caravans. One official in a special message reported to the king that one caravan that had left the country of the Nabataeans had been robbed and that the only surviving caravan driver had been sent to the king to make a personal report to him.

The presence of a whole network of roads made it possible to organize a public communications service. Special royal messengers carried the royal messages throughout the country. In the largest settlements there were special officials who were in charge of the delivery of royal letters. If these officials did not send letters and ambassadors for three or four days, then they immediately received complaints to the capital of Assyria, Nineveh.

An interesting document that vividly illustrates the widespread use of roads are the remains of ancient guidebooks, preserved among the inscriptions of this time. These guides usually indicate the distance between individual settlements in hours and days of travel.

Despite the extensive development of trade, the entire economic system as a whole retained a primitive natural character. So, taxes and tribute were usually collected in kind. At the royal palaces there were large warehouses where a wide variety of goods were stored.

social order Assyria still retained the features of the ancient tribal and communal system. So, for example, until the era of Ashurbanipal (7th century BC), remnants of blood feuds persisted. In one document of this time, it is said that instead of "blood" a slave should be given in order to "wash away the blood." If a person refused to give compensation for the murder, he should have been killed on the grave of the murdered. In another document, the murderer undertakes to give in compensation for the murdered his wife, his brother or his son.

Along with this, ancient forms of the patriarchal family and domestic slavery also survived. The documents of this time record the facts of the sale of a girl who is given in marriage, and the sale of a slave and a free girl who is given in marriage were formalized in exactly the same way. Just as in previous times, a father could sell his child into slavery. The eldest son still retained his privileged position in the family, receiving the largest and best part of the inheritance. The development of trade also contributed to the class stratification of Assyrian society. Often the poor lost their land allotments and went bankrupt, falling into economic dependence on the rich. Unable to pay the loan on time, they had to work off their debt by personal labor in the creditor's house as indentured slaves.

The number of slaves especially increased as a result of the large campaigns of conquest that the Assyrian kings made. The captives, who were brought to Assyria in great numbers, were usually enslaved. Many documents have been preserved that record the sale of slaves and female slaves. Sometimes whole families were sold, consisting of 10, 13, 18 and even 27 people. Many slaves worked in agriculture. Sometimes plots of land were sold along with those slaves who worked on this land. Significant development of slavery leads to the fact that slaves get the right to have some property and even a family, but the slave owner always retained full power over the slave and over his property.

A sharp stratification of property led not only to the division of society into two antagonistic classes, slave owners and slaves, but also caused the stratification of the free population into poor and rich. Wealthy slave owners owned large quantities of cattle, land, and slaves. In ancient Assyria, as in other countries of the East, the largest owner and landowner was the state represented by the king, who was considered the supreme owner of all the land. However, private land ownership is gradually being strengthened. Sargon, buying land for the construction of his capital Dur-Sharrukin, pays the land owners the cost of the land alienated from them. Along with the king, temples owned large estates. These estates had a number of privileges and, along with the possessions of the nobility, were sometimes exempted from paying taxes. A lot of land was in the hands of private owners, and along with small landowners there were also large ones who had land forty times more than the poor. A number of documents have been preserved that talk about the sale of fields, gardens, wells, houses and even entire land areas.

Long wars and cruel forms of exploitation of the laboring masses eventually led to a decrease in the free population of Assyria. But the Assyrian state needed a constant influx of soldiers to replenish the ranks of the army and therefore was forced to take a number of measures to preserve and strengthen the financial situation of this bulk of the population. The Assyrian kings, continuing the policy of the Babylonian kings, distributed plots of land to free people, placing on them the obligation to serve the royal troops. So, we know that Shalmaneser I settled the northern border of the state with colonists. 400 years later, the Assyrian king Ashurnazirpal used the descendants of these colonists to populate the new province of Tushkhana. Warrior colonists, who received land allotments from the king, settled in the border areas, so that in case of a military danger or a military campaign it would be possible to quickly gather troops in the border areas. As can be seen from the documents, the colonist warriors, like the Babylonian red and bair, were under the auspices of the king. Their land plots were inalienable. In the event that local officials forcibly seized from them land plots granted to them by the king, the colonists had the right to file a complaint directly with the king. This is confirmed by the following document: “The father of my lord-king granted me 10 arable land in the country of Halakh. For 14 years I have used this site, and no one challenged this character from me. Now the ruler of the Barhaltsi region has come, used force against me, plundered my house and took away my field from me. My lord-king knows that I am only a poor man who is guarding my lord and who is loyal to the palace. Since my field has now been taken from me, I ask the king for justice. May my king repay me according to my right, lest I starve to death." Of course, the colonists were small landowners. From the documents it can be seen that the only source of their income was the land granted to them by the king, which they cultivated with their own hands.

Organization of military affairs

Long wars; which for centuries the Assyrian kings fought with neighboring peoples in order to capture slaves and booty, led to a high development of military affairs. In the second half of the 8th century, under Tiglath-pileser III and Sargon II, who began a series of brilliant campaigns of conquest, various reforms were carried out that led to the reorganization and flourishing of military affairs in the Assyrian state. The Assyrian kings created a large, well-armed and strong army, placing the entire apparatus of state power at the service of military needs. The numerous Assyrian army consisted of military colonists, and also replenished thanks to military sets that were produced among the broad sections of the free population. The head of each region gathered troops on the territory under his jurisdiction and himself commanded these troops. The army also included contingents of allies, that is, those tribes that were conquered and annexed to Assyria. Thus, we know that Sennacherib, the son of Sargon (the end of the 8th century BC), included in the army 10 thousand archers and 10 thousand shield-bearers from the captives of the “Western Country”, and Ashurbanipal (7th century BC) e.) replenished his army with archers, shield-bearers, artisans and blacksmiths from the conquered regions of Elam. In Assyria, a permanent army is being created, which was called the "Knot of the Kingdom" and served to suppress the rebels. Finally, there was the tsar's life guard, which was supposed to protect the "sacred" person of the tsar. The development of military affairs required the establishment of certain combat formations. The inscriptions most often mention small formations consisting of 50 people (kisru). However, obviously, there were smaller and larger military formations. Ordinary military units included foot soldiers, horsemen and warriors who fought on chariots, and sometimes a proportional relationship was established between individual types of weapons. For every 200 foot soldiers, there were 10 horsemen and one chariot. The presence of chariots and cavalry, which first appeared under Ashurnazirpal (9th century BC), sharply increased the mobility of the Assyrian army and gave it the opportunity to make swift attacks and just as quickly pursue the retreating enemy. But still, the bulk of the troops remained infantry, consisting of archers, shield-bearers, spearmen and javelin throwers. Assyrian troops were distinguished by their good weapons. They were armed with armor, shields and helmets. The most common weapons were the bow, short sword and spear.

The Assyrian kings paid special attention to the good armament of their troops. Many weapons were found in the palace of Sargon II, and Sennacherib and Esarhaddon (7th century BC) built a real arsenal in Nineveh, “a palace in which everything is preserved” for “weapons of blackheads, for receiving horses, mules, donkeys, camels, chariots, freight carts, carts, quivers, bows, arrows, all kinds of utensils and harnesses for horses and mules.

In Assyria, for the first time, “engineering” military units appeared, which were used to lay roads in the mountains, to build simple and pontoon bridges, as well as camps. The surviving images indicate a high development of fortification art in ancient Assyria for that time. The Assyrians knew how to build large and well-protected by walls and towers, permanent fortress-type camps, to which they gave a rectangular or oval shape. The fortification technique was borrowed from the Assyrians by the Persians, and from them passed to the ancient Romans. The ruins of fortresses that have survived to this day, found in a number of places, such as, for example, in Zendshirli, speak of the high technology of fortification in ancient Assyria. The presence of well-defended fortresses required the use of siege weapons. Therefore, in Assyria, in connection with the development of fortification, the beginnings of the most ancient “artillery” business also appear. On the walls of the Assyrian palaces, images of the siege and storming of fortresses have been preserved. The besieged fortresses were usually surrounded by an earthen rampart and a moat. Plank pavements and scaffolds were built near their walls for the installation of siege weapons. The Assyrians used siege battering rams, a kind of rams on wheels. The shock part of these tools was a large log, upholstered in metal and suspended on chains. People who were under a canopy shook this log and broke the walls of fortresses with it. It is very possible that these first Assyrian siege weapons were borrowed from them by the Persians and subsequently formed the basis of more advanced weapons used by the ancient Romans.

The broad policy of conquest caused a significant growth in the art of war. The Assyrian commanders knew how to use frontal and flank attacks and the combination of these types of attacks when attacking with a wide front. Often the Assyrians used various "military tricks", such as a night attack on the enemy. Along with the tactics of crushing, the tactics of starvation were also used. To this end, military detachments occupied all mountain passes, water sources, wells, river crossings, in order to cut off all enemy communications, deprive him of water, supplies and the opportunity to receive reinforcements. However, the main strength of the Assyrian army was the rapid speed of the attack, the ability to deliver a lightning strike to the enemy before he gathered his forces. Ashurbanipal (VII century BC) conquered the entire mountainous and rugged country of Elam within one month. The unsurpassed masters of the military art of their time - the Assyrians were well aware of the importance of the complete destruction of the enemy's combat force. Therefore, the Assyrian troops especially swiftly and stubbornly pursued and destroyed the defeated enemy, using chariots and cavalry for this purpose.

The main military power of Assyria was a large, well-armed and combat-ready land army. Assyria had almost no fleet of its own and was forced to rely on the fleets of the conquered countries, mainly Phoenicia, as was the case, for example, during Sargon's campaign against Cyprus. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Assyrians depicted every sea expedition as a major event. Thus, the dispatch of a fleet to the Persian Gulf under King Sennacherib is described in great detail in Assyrian inscriptions. Ships for this purpose were built by Phoenician craftsmen at Nineveh, sailors from Tyre, Sidon and Ionia were put on them, then the ships were sent down the Tigris to Opis. After that, they were dragged overland to the Arakhtu canal. On the Euphrates, Assyrian soldiers were loaded onto them, after which this fleet was finally sent to the Persian Gulf.

The siege of the fortress by the Assyrian army. Relief on stone. London. British museum

The Assyrians fought their wars with neighboring peoples mainly to conquer neighboring countries, seize the most important trade routes, and also seize booty, primarily captives, who were usually enslaved. This is indicated by numerous inscriptions, in particular chronicles, which describe in detail the campaigns of the Assyrian kings. Thus, Sennacherib brought from Babylon 208,000 captives, 720 horses and mules, 11,073 donkeys, 5,230 camels, 80,100 bulls, etc. cows, 800 600 heads of small cattle. All booty captured during the war was usually divided by the king between temples, cities, city rulers, nobles and troops. Of course, the king kept the lion's share of the spoils for himself. The capture of prey often turned into an undisguised robbery of a conquered country. This is clearly indicated by the following inscription: “War chariots, carts, horses, mules that served as pack animals, weapons, everything related to the battle, everything that the hands of the king took between Susa and the Ulai River, was joyfully ordered by Ashur and the great gods. taken out of Elam and distributed as gifts among all the troops.

State administration

The entire system of state administration was placed at the service of military affairs and the aggressive policy of the Assyrian kings. The positions of Assyrian officials are closely intertwined with military posts. All the threads of the country's administration converge to the royal palace, where the most important state officials who are in charge of individual branches of government are permanently located.

The vast territory of the state, which was larger than all previous state associations, required a very complex and cumbersome apparatus of state administration. The surviving list of officials from the era of Esarhaddon (7th century BC) contains a list of 150 positions. Along with the military department, there was also a financial department that was in charge of collecting taxes from the population. The provinces annexed to the Assyrian state had to pay a certain tribute. The areas inhabited by nomads usually paid tribute in kind in the amount of one head from 20 heads of cattle. Cities and regions with a settled population paid tribute in gold and silver, as can be seen from the surviving tax lists. Taxes were collected from the peasants in kind. As a rule, one tenth of the crop, a fourth of the fodder, and a certain number of livestock were taken as a tax. A special duty was taken from arriving ships. The same duties were levied at the city gates on imported goods.

Only representatives of the aristocracy and some cities were exempted from such taxes, in which large priestly colleges enjoyed great influence. Thus, we know that Babylon, Borsshsha, Sippar, Nippur, Ashur, and Haran were exempt from tax in favor of the king. Usually, the Assyrian kings, after their accession to the throne, confirmed the rights of the largest cities to self-government by special decrees. So it was under Sargon and Esarhaddon. Therefore, after the accession of Ashurbanipal, the inhabitants of Babylon turned to him with a special petition, in which they reminded him that "only as soon as our sovereign kings ascended the throne, they immediately took measures to confirm our right to self-government and ensure our well-being." Deeds of gift given to aristocrats often contain annotations that freed this aristocrat from duties. These postscripts were usually formulated as follows: “You should not take taxes in grain. He does not carry duties in his city. If a land plot is mentioned, then it is usually written: “A free plot, freed from the supply of fodder and grain.” Taxes and duties were collected from the population on the basis of statistical lists that were compiled during periodic population and property censuses. The lists that have survived from the regions of Haran indicate the names of people, their family relationships, their property, in particular the amount of land they owned, and, finally, the name of the official to whom they were obliged to pay taxes.

A surviving code of laws dating back to the 14th century. BC e., speaks of the codification of ancient customary law, which has preserved a number of remnants of ancient times, such as the remnants of blood feuds or the trial of a person’s guilt with water (a kind of “ordeal”). However, the ancient forms of customary law and community court were increasingly giving way to regular royal jurisdiction, in the hands of judicial officials who decided cases on the basis of one-man command. The development of the court case is further indicated by the legal procedure established by law. The legal proceedings consisted of establishing the fact and corpus delicti, interrogating witnesses, whose testimony had to be supported by a special oath "divine bull, son of the solar god", trials and sentencing. There were also special judicial bodies, and the highest court usually sat in the royal palace. As can be seen from the surviving documents, the Assyrian courts, whose activity was aimed at strengthening the existing class system, usually imposed various punishments on the guilty, and in some cases these punishments were very cruel. Along with fines, forced labor, and corporal punishment, cruel mutilations of the guilty were also used. Guilty cut off lips, nose, ears, fingers. In some cases, the convict was impaled or poured over his head with hot asphalt. There were also prisons, which are described in documents that have survived to our time.

As the Assyrian state grew, the need arose for more careful management of both the Assyrian regions proper and the conquered countries. The mixing of the Subarean, Assyrian and Aramaic tribes into one Assyrian people led to a break in the old tribal and tribal ties, which required a new administrative division of the country. In distant countries, conquered by the power of Assyrian weapons, rebellions often arose. Therefore, under Tiglath-pileser III, the old large regions were replaced by new, smaller districts, headed by special officials (bel-pakhati). The name of these officials was borrowed from Babylonia. It is quite possible that the whole new system of small administrative districts was also borrowed from Babylonia, where population density always required the organization of small districts. Trade cities, which enjoyed privileges, were ruled by special mayors. However, the entire management system as a whole was largely centralized. To manage the vast state, the king used special “officials for assignments” (bel-pikitti), with the help of which all the threads of managing the vast state were concentrated in the hands of the despot, who was in the royal palace.

In the neo-Assyrian era, when the vast Assyrian state was finally formed, the management of the vast state required strict centralization. The conduct of constant wars of conquest, the suppression of uprisings among the conquered peoples and among the broad masses of cruelly exploited slaves and the poor required the concentration of supreme power in the hands of the despot and the consecration of his authority with the help of religion. The king was considered the supreme high priest and performed religious rites himself. Even noble persons admitted to the reception of the king had to fall at the feet of the king and "kiss the ground in front of him" or his feet. However, the principle of despotism did not receive such a clear expression in Assyria as in Egypt during the heyday of the Egyptian statehood, when the doctrine of the pharaoh's divinity was formulated. The Assyrian king, even in the era of the highest development of the state, sometimes had to resort to the advice of the priests. Before the start of a major campaign or when a high official was appointed to a responsible position, the Assyrian kings asked the will of the gods (oracle), which the priests conveyed to them, which made it possible for the ruling class of the slave-owning aristocracy to exert significant influence on government policy.

Conquests of the Assyrian kings

The true founder of the Assyrian state was Tiglath-pileser III (745–727 BC), who laid the foundation of Assyrian military power with his military campaigns. The first task that confronted the Assyrian king was the need to deliver a decisive blow to Urartu, Assyria's longtime rival in Asia Minor. Tiglath-Pileser III managed to make a successful trip to Urartu and inflict a number of defeats on the Urartians. Although Tiglathpalasar did not conquer the Urartian kingdom, he significantly weakened it, restoring the former "power of Assyria in the northwestern part of Asia Minor. We are proud to inform the Assyrian king about his campaigns to the northwest and west, which made it possible to finally conquer the Aramaean tribes and restore Assyrian rule in Syria, Phoenicia and Palestine.Tiglatdalacap, conquers Carchemish, Samal, Hamat, the regions of Lebanon and reaches the Mediterranean Sea.Tributes are brought to him by Hiram, the king of Tyre, the prince of Byblos and the king of Israel (Samaria).Even Judea, Edom and the Philistines Gaza recognize the power of the Assyrian conqueror. Hanno, the ruler of Gaza, flees to Egypt. However, the formidable Assyrian troops are approaching the borders of Egypt. Having dealt a strong blow to the Sabean tribes of Arabia, Tiglath-Pileser established contacts with Egypt, sending a special official there. Especially the great success of the Assyrians during of these western campaigns was the capture of Damascus in 732, which opened the Assyrians the most important trade and military route to Syria and Palestine.

An equally great success of Tiglath-Pileser was the complete subjugation of all of southern Mesopotamia up to the Persian Gulf. Tiglathpalasar writes about this in the chronicle in particular detail:

“I subjugated the vast country of Karduniash (Kassite Babylon) to the farthest border and began to dominate it ... Merodakh-Baladan, the son of Yakina, the king of Primorye, who did not appear before the kings, my ancestors and did not kiss their feet, was seized by horror before the formidable by the power of Ashur my lord, and he came to the city of Sapia and, standing before me, kissed my feet. Gold, mountain dust in large quantities, gold products, gold necklaces, precious stones ... colored clothes, various herbs, cattle and sheep I took as tribute.

Having captured Babylon in 729, Tiglathpalasar annexed Babylonia to his vast state, enlisting the support of the Babylonian priesthood. The king “brought pure sacrifices to Bel ... to the great gods, my lords ... and they loved (recognized. - V.A.) my priestly dignity.

Having reached the mountains of Aman in the north-west and penetrating in the east into the regions of the "powerful Medes", Tiglath-Pileser III created a huge and powerful military state. In order to saturate the inner regions with a sufficient amount of labor, the king brought in a large number of slaves from the conquered countries. Along with this, the Assyrian king moved entire tribes from one part of his state to another, which, at the same time, should have weakened the resistance of the conquered peoples and completely subordinated them to the power of the Assyrian king. This system of mass migrations of conquered tribes (nasahu) has since become one of the ways to suppress the conquered countries.

Tiglath-Pileser III was succeeded by his son Shalmaneser V. During his five-year reign (727-722 BC), Shalmaneser made a number of military campaigns and carried out an important reform. Babylon and Phoenicia and Palestine, located in the west, attracted Shalmaneser's special attention. In order to emphasize the presence, as it were, of a personal union with Babylon, the Assyrian king adopted the special name Ululai, by which he was called in Babylon. In order to suppress the uprising, which was being prepared by the ruler of the Phoenician city of Tire, Shalmaneser made two campaigns to the west against Tyre and his ally, the Israeli king O this. Assyrian troops defeated the Israelites and laid siege to the island fortress of Tire and the capital of Israel, Samaria. But the reform carried out by Shalmaneser was of particular importance. In an effort to somewhat mitigate the excessively aggravated class contradictions, Shalmaneser V abolished the financial and economic benefits and granted privileges of the ancient cities of Assyria and Babylonia - Ashur, Nippur, Sippar and Babylon. With this, he dealt a strong blow to the slave-owning aristocracy, rich merchants, priests and landowners, who enjoyed especially great economic influence in Babylonia. The reform of Shalmanasar, which sharply affected the interests of this segment of the population, aroused his dissatisfaction with the policy of the king. As a result, a conspiracy was organized and an uprising was raised. Shalmaneser V was overthrown, and his brother Sargon II was elevated to the throne.

The aggressive policy of Tiglath-pileser III was continued with great brilliance by Sargon II (722–705 BC), whose name (“sharru kenu” - “legal king”) suggests that he seized power by force, overthrowing his predecessor. Sargon II had to again make a campaign in Syria in order to suppress the uprising of the Syrian kings and princes, who, obviously, relied on the support of Egypt. As a result of this war, Sargon II defeated Israel, took Samaria and took over 25 thousand Israelis captive, resettling them in the interior regions and on the distant borders of Assyria. After a difficult siege of Tyre, Sargon II managed to get the king of Tyre to submit to him and pay tribute. Finally, at the Battle of Raphia, Sargon inflicted a complete defeat on Hanno, the prince of Gaza, and the Egyptian troops that the pharaoh had sent to help Gaza. In his chronicle, Sargon II reports that he "seized Hanno, king of Gaza, with his own hand" and accepted tribute from the pharaoh, "king of Egypt", and the queen of the Sabaean tribes of Arabia. Having finally conquered Carchemish, Sargon II took possession of all of Syria from the borders of Asia Minor to the borders of Arabia and Egypt.

Sargon II and his vizier. Relief on stone. 8th century BC e.

No less major victories were won by Sargon II over the Urartians in the 7th and 8th years of his reign. Having penetrated deep into the country of Urartu, Sargon defeated the Urartian troops, occupied and plundered Musasir. In this rich city, Sargon captured a huge amount of booty. “The treasures of the palace, everything that was in it, 20,170 people with their property, Khalda and Bagbartum, their gods with their rich attire, I counted as booty.” The defeat was so great that the Urartian king Rusa, having learned about the destruction of Musasir and the capture of the statues of the gods by the enemies, "with his own hand committed suicide with his dagger."

For Sargon II, the struggle with Babylon, which supported Elam, presented great difficulties. However, in this war, Sargon also defeated the enemies, using the dissatisfaction of the Chaldean cities and the priesthood with the policy of the Babylonian king Merodach-Baladan (Marduk-apal-iddin), whose stubborn but futile resistance to the Assyrian troops brought a loss to the trade operations of the Babylonian cities and the Babylonian priesthood. Having defeated the Babylonian troops, Sargon, in his own words, "entered Babylon in the midst of jubilation." People; led by priests, solemnly invited the Assyrian king to enter the ancient capital of Mesopotamia (710 BC). The victory over the Urartians made it possible for Sargon to strengthen his influence in the border regions inhabited by the Medes and Persians. The Assyrian kingdom reached a high power. The king built himself a new luxurious capital Dur-Sharrukin, the ruins of which give a vivid idea of the Assyrian culture and the flourishing of Assyria at that time. Even distant Cyprus recognized the power of the Assyrian king and sent him tribute.

However, the power of the huge Assyrian state was largely internally fragile. After the death of a powerful conqueror, the conquered tribes rebelled. New coalitions were formed that threatened the Assyrian king Sina-herib. The small kingdoms and principalities of Syria, Phoenicia and Palestine were united again. Tire and Judea, feeling the support of Egypt behind them, revolted against Assyria. Despite the large military forces, Sennacherib failed to quickly suppress the uprising. The Assyrian king was forced to use not only weapons, but also diplomacy, using the constant enmity between the two large cities of Phoenicia - Sidon and Tyre. Having besieged Jerusalem, Sennacherib ensured that the Jewish king paid off him with rich gifts. Egypt, ruled by the Ethiopian king Shabaka, could not provide sufficient support to Palestine and Syria. The Egyptian-Ethiopian troops were defeated by Sennacherib.

Great difficulties were created for Assyria and in southern Mesopotamia. The Babylonian king Merodach-Baladan was still supported by the Elamite king. In order to deliver a decisive blow to his enemies in the southern and southeastern countries, Sennacherib equipped big expedition to the seaside Chaldea and Elam, sending his army by land and at the same time on ships to the shores of the Persian Gulf. However, Sennacherib failed to immediately put an end to his enemies. After a stubborn struggle with the Elamites and the Babylonians, Sennacherib only in 689 occupied and devastated Babylon, inflicting decisive defeats on his opponents. The Elamite king, who previously helped Babylon, was no longer able to provide him with sufficient support.

Esarhaddon (681-668 BC) came to the throne after a palace coup, during which his father Sennacherib was killed. Feeling some fragility of his position, Esarhaddon at the beginning of his reign tried to rely on the Babylonian priesthood. He forced the head of the Babylonian rebels to flee, so that he "fled to Elam like a fox." Using mainly diplomatic methods of struggle, Esarhaddon ensured that his opponent "was killed by the sword of Elam" because he violated the oaths to the gods. As a subtle politician, Esarhaddon managed to win over his brother, entrusting him with the management of the Maritime country and completely subordinating him to his power. Esarhaddon set the task of defeating the main enemy of Assyria, the Ethiopian pharaoh Taharka, who supported the princes and kings of Palestine and Syria and the cities of Phenicia, who constantly rebelled against Assyria. In an effort to strengthen his dominance on the Syrian coast of the Mediterranean Sea, the Assyrian king had to deal a decisive blow to Egypt. Preparing a campaign against distant Egypt, Esarhaddon first strikes one of his stubborn enemies, Abdi-Milkutti, the king of Sidon, "who, according to Esarhaddon, fled from my weapons into the middle of the sea." But the king "caught him out of the sea like a fish." Sidon was taken and destroyed by the Assyrian troops. The Assyrians captured rich booty in this city. Obviously, Sidon was at the head of a coalition of Syrian principalities. Having captured Sidon, the king conquered all of Syria and resettled the rebellious population in a new, purpose-built city. Having consolidated his power over the Arabian tribes, Esarhaddon conquered Egypt, inflicting several defeats on the Egyptian-Ethiopian troops of Taharqa. In his inscription, Esarhaddon describes how he captured Memphis within half a day, destroying, devastating and sacking the ancient capital of the great Egyptian kingdom, "pulling the root of Ethiopia from Egypt." It is quite possible that Esarhaddon tried to rely on the support of the Egyptian population, portraying his campaign of conquest as the liberation of Egypt from the Ethiopian yoke. In the north and east, Esarhaddon continued to fight with the neighboring tribes of Transcaucasia and Iran. The inscriptions of Esarhaddon already mention the tribes of the Cimmerians, Scythians and Medes, who are gradually becoming a threat to Assyria.

Ashurbanipal, the last significant king of the Assyrian state, during his reign with great difficulty maintained the unity and military-political power of a vast state that absorbed almost all the countries of the ancient Eastern world from the western borders of Iran in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, from Transcaucasia in the north to Ethiopia in south. The peoples conquered by the Assyrians not only continued to fight against their enslavers, but already organized alliances to fight Assyria. The distant and hard-to-reach areas of the seaside Chaldea, with its impenetrable swamps, were an excellent refuge for the Babylonian rebels, who were always supported by the Elamite kings. In an effort to strengthen his power in Babylon, Ashurbanipal installed his brother Shamashshumukin as the Babylonian king. However, his protege joined his enemies. The "treacherous brother" of the Assyrian king "did not keep his oath" and raised an uprising against Assyria in Akkad, Chaldea, among the Arameans, in the Maritime country, in Elam, in Gutium and in other countries. Thus, a powerful coalition was formed against Assyria, to which Egypt joined. Taking advantage of the famine in Babylonia and internal unrest in Elam, Ashurbashshal defeated the Babylonians and Elamites and in 647 took Babylon. In order to finally defeat the Elamite troops, Ashur-banipal made two trips to this distant mountainous country and dealt a heavy blow to the Elamites. "14 royal cities and countless small cities and twelve districts of Elam - all this I conquered, destroyed, devastated, set on fire and burned." Assyrian troops captured and plundered the capital of Elam - Susa. Ashurbanipal proudly lists the names of all the Elamite gods whose statues he captured and brought to Assyria.

Significantly greater difficulties arose for Assyria in Egypt. Leading the fight against Ethiopia, Ashurbanipal made an attempt to rely on the Egyptian aristocracy, in particular on the semi-independent ruler of Sais named Necho. Despite the fact that Ashurbanipal supported his diplomatic game in Egypt with the help of weapons, sending troops to Egypt and making devastating campaigns there, Psamtik, the son of Necho, taking advantage of the internal difficulties of Assyria, fell away from Assyria and formed an independent Egyptian state. With great difficulty, Ashurbanipal managed to maintain his control over Phoenicia and Syria. A large number of letters from Assyrian officials, residents and intelligence officers, addressed directly to the king, in which a wide variety of political and economic information is reported, also testifies to the unrest and uprisings that took place in Syria. But with special attention the Assyrian government looked closely at what was happening in Urartu and Elam. Obviously, Assyria could no longer rely only on the strength of its weapons. With the help of subtle diplomacy, constantly maneuvering between various hostile forces, Assyria had to maintain its vast possessions, break hostile coalitions and defend its borders from the invasion of dangerous opponents. These were the emerging symptoms of the gradual weakening of the Assyrian state. A constant danger to Assyria was the numerous nomadic tribes living to the north and east of Assyria, in particular the Cimmerians, Scythians (Asgusai), Medes and Persians, whose names are mentioned in the Assyrian inscriptions of the 7th century. The Assyrian kings failed to completely subjugate Urartu and completely crush Elam. Finally, Babylon always hid the dream of restoring its independence and its ancient, not only commercial and cultural, but also political power. Thus, the Assyrian kings, who aspired to world domination and formed a huge power, conquered a number of countries, but could not completely suppress the resistance of all the conquered peoples. A finely developed system of espionage contributed to the fact that a variety of information about what was happening on the borders of the great state and in neighboring countries was constantly delivered to the capital of Assyria. It is known that the Assyrian king was informed about preparations for war, about the movements of troops, about the conclusion of secret alliances, about receiving and sending ambassadors, about conspiracies and uprisings, about building fortresses, about defectors, about cattle theft, about harvests and other affairs of neighboring states. .

The Assyrian empire, despite its vast size, was a colossus with feet of clay. Separate parts of this vast state were not firmly interconnected economically. Therefore, this whole huge building, built with the help of bloody conquests, constant suppression of the conquered peoples and exploitation of the broad masses of the population, could not be durable and soon collapsed. Shortly after the death of Ashurbanipal (626 BC), the combined forces of Media and Babylon attacked Babylon and defeated the Assyrian army. In 612, Nineveh fell. In 605 BC. e. the entire Assyrian state collapsed under the blows of its enemies. At the Battle of Carchemish, the last Assyrian detachments were defeated by the Babylonian troops.

culture

The historical significance of Assyria lies in the organization of the first major state that claimed to unite the entire known world at that time. In connection with this task, which was set by the Assyrian kings, there is the organization of a large and strong standing army and the high development of military technology. Assyrian culture, which reached a fairly significant development, was largely based on the cultural heritage of Babylon and ancient Sumer. The Assyrians borrowed from the ancient peoples of Mesopotamia a system of cuneiform writing, typical features of religion, literary works, characteristic elements of art and a whole range of scientific knowledge. From ancient Sumer, the Assyrians borrowed some of the names and cults of the gods, the architectural form of the temple, and even the typically Sumerian construction material- brick. The cultural influence of Babylon on Assyria intensified especially in the 13th century. BC e., after the capture of Babylon by the Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta I, the Assyrians borrowed widespread works of religious literature from the Babylonians, in particular the epic poem about the creation of the world and hymns to the ancient gods Ellil and Marduk. From Babylon, the Assyrians borrowed the measuring and monetary system, some features in the organization of state administration and many elements of the law so developed in the era of Hammurabi.

Assyrian deity near a date palm

The famous library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal, found in the ruins of his palace, testifies to the high development of Assyrian culture. In this library, a huge number of various religious inscriptions, literary works and scientific texts were found, among which inscriptions containing astronomical observations, medical texts, and finally grammar and lexical reference books, as well as prototypes of later dictionaries or encyclopedias, are of particular interest. Carefully collecting and copying according to special royal instructions, sometimes subjecting to some alterations the most diverse works of more ancient writing, Assyrian scribes collected in this library a huge treasury of cultural achievements of the peoples of the ancient East. Some literary works, such as, for example, penitential psalms or "mournful songs to calm the heart", testify to the high development of Assyrian literature. In these songs, the ancient poet with great artistic skill conveys the feeling of deep personal grief of a person who has experienced great grief, conscious of his guilt and his loneliness. The original and highly artistic works of Assyrian literature include the chronicles of the Assyrian kings, which mainly describe the campaigns of conquest, as well as the internal activities of the Assyrian kings.

The ruins of the palaces of Ashshurnazirpal in Kalakh and King Sargon II in Dur-Sharrukin (modern Khorsabad) give an excellent idea of the Assyrian architecture of its heyday. Sargon's palace was built, like the Sumerian buildings, on a large, artificially erected terrace. The huge palace consisted of 210 halls and 30 courtyards arranged asymmetrically. This palace, like other Assyrian palaces, is a typical example of Assyrian architecture combining architecture with monumental sculpture, artistic reliefs and decorative ornamentation. At the majestic entrance to the palace, there were huge statues of "lamassu", guardian geniuses of the royal palace, depicted as fantastic monsters, winged bulls or lions with a human head. The walls of the front halls of the Assyrian palace were usually decorated with relief images of various scenes of court life, war and hunting. All this luxurious and monumental architectural ornamentation was supposed to serve to exalt the king, who headed a huge military state, and testify to the power of the Assyrian weapons. These reliefs, especially the images of animals in hunting scenes, are top achievements Assyrian art. Assyrian sculptors were able to depict wild animals with great truthfulness and with great power of expression, which the Assyrian kings loved to hunt so much.

Thanks to the development of trade and the conquest of a number of neighboring countries, the Assyrians spread Sumero-Babylonian writing, religion, literature and the first rudiments of objective knowledge to all countries of the ancient Eastern world, thus making the cultural heritage of ancient Babylon the property of most peoples of the ancient East.

Tiglath-Pileser III on his chariot

Notes:

F. Engels, Anti-Dühring, Gospolitizdat, 1948, p. 151.

Some of these reliefs are kept in Leningrad, in the State Hermitage.

The social system of Assyria still retained the features of the ancient tribal and communal system. So, for example, until the era of Ashurbanipal (7th century BC), remnants of blood feuds persisted. In one document of this time, it is said that instead of "blood" a slave should be given in order to "wash away the blood." If a person refused to give compensation for the murder, he should have been killed on the grave of the murdered. In another document, the murderer undertakes to give in compensation for the murdered his wife, his brother or his son.

culture

The historical significance of Assyria lies in the organization of the first major state that claimed to unite the entire known world at that time. In connection with this task, which was set by the Assyrian kings, there is the organization of a large and strong standing army and the high development of military technology. Assyrian culture, which reached a fairly significant development, was largely based on the cultural heritage of Babylon and ancient Sumer. The Assyrians borrowed from the ancient peoples of Mesopotamia a system of cuneiform writing, typical features of religion, literary works, characteristic elements of art and a whole range of scientific knowledge. From ancient Sumer, the Assyrians borrowed some of the names and cults of the gods, the architectural form of the temple, and even the typical Sumerian building material - brick. The cultural influence of Babylon on Assyria intensified especially in the 13th century. BC e., after the capture of Babylon by the Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta I, the Assyrians borrowed widespread works of religious literature from the Babylonians, in particular the epic poem about the creation of the world and hymns to the ancient gods Ellil and Marduk. From Babylon, the Assyrians borrowed the measuring and monetary system, some features in the organization of state administration and many elements of the law so developed in the era of Hammurabi.

The ruins of the palaces of Ashshurnazirpal in Kalakh and King Sargon II in Dur-Sharrukin (modern Khorsabad) give an excellent idea of the Assyrian architecture of its heyday. Sargon's palace was built, like the Sumerian buildings, on a large, artificially erected terrace. The huge palace consisted of 210 halls and 30 courtyards arranged asymmetrically. This palace, like other Assyrian palaces, is a typical example of Assyrian architecture combining architecture with monumental sculpture, artistic reliefs and decorative ornamentation. At the majestic entrance to the palace, there were huge statues of "lamassu", guardian geniuses of the royal palace, depicted as fantastic monsters, winged bulls or lions with a human head. The walls of the front halls of the Assyrian palace were usually decorated with relief images of various scenes of court life, war and hunting. All this luxurious and monumental architectural ornamentation was supposed to serve to exalt the king, who headed a huge military state, and testify to the power of the Assyrian weapons. These reliefs, especially the images of animals in hunting scenes, are the highest achievements of Assyrian art. Assyrian sculptors were able to depict wild animals with great truthfulness and with great power of expression, which the Assyrian kings loved to hunt so much.

17th century Yihetuan uprising (1900-1901). China's war with eight powers

At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. The Qing dynasty also faced another form of opposition, represented by a mass popular movement, most clearly manifested during the uprising led by the secret society Yihetuan (Squads of justice and peace). The participants in this speech, which took the form of a people's anti-foreign struggle, which eventually developed into an uprising against the ruling dynasty, were inspired by patriotic feelings. However, unlike reformers and revolutionaries who sought to combine patriotism with the idea of modernization, they

The Tuani professed xenophobia, rejecting everything that came to China from the West. Their ideal was a return to the foundations of traditional Chinese life, and the most important slogan, especially at the initial stage of the uprising, was a call for the destruction and expulsion of foreigners from China. autumn 1898 in Shandong province. This is due to the fact that it was the provinces of Northern China, primarily Shandong and the capital province of Zhili, that were involved in the events of the Sino-Japanese war. North at the end of the 19th century missionaries were especially active, churches and railways were built, and garrisons of foreign troops were stationed on the territories of concessions.

In the perception of representatives of various social groups, it was foreigners who were to blame for the hardships that the population of Northern China had to face. The peasants suffered from the increase in tax collections, which was the result of the payment of an indemnity to Japan. The situation of those segments of the population that served the routes connecting the north of China with the central-southern provinces especially worsened. Masses of boatmen and transport workers lost their livelihoods due to the emergence of new modes of transport - railways and steamboats, which were mainly in the hands of foreigners. Meanwhile, it was these groups that were most receptive to calls to take part in the most radical actions, including armed struggle. It has always been difficult for the authorities to keep in obedience precisely this part of the population, which is least of all associated with the stabilizing role of community-clan structures. As a result of the invasion of the Chinese market of foreign factory products, the situation of the urban artisan population, which increasingly faced competition from foreign goods, worsened.

For the most part, the Shenysh were also far from sympathizing with the growing religious and cultural penetration from the West. The preaching of the missionaries was perceived as a threat to the Chinese tradition, which sanctified their dominant position in society. To the above, we must add crop failures and natural disasters that hit a number of regions of Northern China at that time. Initially, the Qing court treated the Yihetuan as outright rebels. According to the court, they were just bandits organized by secret societies that used traditional methods to attract new supporters to their ranks. In particular, martial art - wushu - played a special role in the propaganda and activities of the Yihetuan supporters. The leaders of the Yihetuan taught their followers the art of hand-to-hand combat, which was perceived by foreigners who witnessed what was happening as the study of boxing techniques. For this reason, the Europeans called the Yihetuan boxers, and the uprising itself - boxer.

Not without reason suspecting the local officials of sympathy for the insurgents, the Qing court appointed General Yuan Shikai, known for his closeness to foreigners, to the post of governor of Shandong Province. He was given the task of stopping by any means attacks on foreign missionaries, reprisals against the Chinese - followers of Christian doctrine, the destruction of Christian churches, railways, telegraph lines. It was against these signs of the presence of the West that the indignation of the Yihetuan was mainly directed, who soon showed themselves to be cruel and ruthless persecutors of everything foreign. The actions taken by Yuan Shikai were very effective. The troops, taking advantage of the advantage in organization and armament, quickly inflicted a series of defeats on the rebel detachments, which forced them to retreat to the territory of the capital province of Zhili. This created an immediate threat to the capital and other major cities in Northern China.

However, the determination of the Qing court to put an end to the rebels was shaken by the actions of foreigners. In response to the threat from the rebel detachments, they seized the port of Dagu, thus starting a war with China. In this situation, Empress Cixi decided to use the popular movement in the fight against foreign invasion. The adoption of this decision was facilitated by the fact that in the appeals of the rebels there were no slogans directed against the ruling dynasty. On June 20, 1900, the Peking government declared war on the powers, and detachments of the Yihetuan entered the capital and Tianjin, and together with the Qing troops began the siege of foreign missions and concessions. At first it seemed that the fearlessness of the Yihetuan, who rushed with cold weapons into battle against foreign troops, could lead them to victory. The detachment of the English Admiral Seymour, sent to Peking to remove the blockade of the foreign quarter, was defeated. However, as subsequent events showed, the rebels were powerless in the face of the power of modern troops.

Gathering a 40,000-strong army from units represented by eight powers (England, France, Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Russia, the USA, Japan), the foreigners overcame the courageous resistance of the Yihetuan and in August 1900 occupied Beijing. By order of Cixi, the court left the capital, moving first to the city of Taiyuan, and then to Xi'an. Guangxu, who continued to be under house arrest, was forced to accompany his royal aunt, who ordered to kill the emperor's favorite concubine before fleeing the imperial palace. Li Hongzhang was entrusted with negotiating peace with the powers. The negotiations, which dragged on for more than a year, took place in an atmosphere of continued foreign intervention. An additional detachment of the German army under the command of Field Marshal Waldersee, numbering more than 20 thousand people, was transferred to Northern China. Foreign armies consistently crushed the remaining pockets of resistance. In terms of the extent of the involvement of foreign troops, the "Eight Power Intervention" was an unprecedented military clash between the Chinese empire and the Western world. Its result was again a crushing defeat for China, recorded in the Final Protocol, which ended the negotiations between the powers and China.

In accordance with this document, the Qing government was obliged to pay a huge amount of 450 million yuan over 39 years. China had to withdraw its troops from the capital region, and was forbidden to buy modern weapons from abroad. The management of the embassy quarter of Beijing completely passed into the hands of foreigners, who relied on the garrisons of foreign troops. In addition, the Qing government undertook to promote foreign trade and shipping.

in China. Only in January 1902 did the government and court return to Beijing.

18vop. Eastern Zhou: reasons for the weakness of the dynasty, features of the period

From the very beginning of its existence, the Western Zhou state was faced with the need to repel the raids of the surrounding tribes, especially in the northwest and southeast, and for the time being coped with this task. With the growth of Zhuhou separatism, the military power of the Wangs weakened, and the authority of royal power fell. The Zhou rulers with great difficulty held back the onslaught of the tribes, which became especially strong in the northwest and southeast of the country. In the 8th century BC under the pressure of the incessant invasions of western nomadic tribes from the depths of Central Asia, the Chou people began to leave their ancestral lands in the basin of the river. Weihe. In 771, Yu-van's army was defeated by nomads, he himself was captured, after which his son Ping-van moved the capital to the east. With this event, traditional Chinese historiography begins the Eastern Zhou era (770-256 BC). Its initial stage, covering the period from the 7th to the 5th c. BC, according to the annalistic tradition, they call the period "Chunqiu" ("Springs and Autumns").

Traditionally, the Eastern Zhou era is divided into two periods.

First period(722-481 BC) is called Chunqiu (Spring and Autumn), Le Guo (Many Kingdoms) or Five Hegemons. It is characterized by the weakening of the power of the van and the strengthening of the territorial rulers. More than one and a half hundred principalities waged a fierce struggle for dominance, and during these internecine wars, a dozen of the most significant stand out, including Eastern Zhou. A single cultural and political complex was formed, which was called the middle states of Zhongguo. This term still serves as the official name of China. The basis of the civilizational unity of the middle states was the common Chou origin of these states and the glorious history of the Zhou dynasty. At the same time, the idea arose of the superiority of the middle states over the rest of the inhabited space of the worlds of the barbarians of the four countries of the world. In the minds of the ancient Chinese (huaxia), these ideas began to play a dominant role.

After gaining a foothold in the east of the country, Ping-wang formed a small state here with its capital in the city of Loi. By this time, according to traditional historiography, there were about 200 kingdoms on the territory of China, which a number of researchers, not without reason, refer to the category of city-states. And in general, the idea of early state formations in ancient China as despotisms of the eastern type has long been in need of revision and is subjected to thorough criticism. Early Zhou kingdoms ancient China(which indiscriminately cannot be classified as proto-Old Chinese, because various ethnic communities, and not just proto-Khans, were consolidated in them) were located from west to east from the river valley. Weihe to the Shandong Peninsula, including the Great Plain of China, in the south and southeast they captured the valley of the lower and middle reaches of the river. Yangtze, and in the north reached the area of \u200b\u200bmodern Beijing. They were surrounded by hostile tribes, known under generalized names: di (northern tribes), and (eastern tribes), man (southern tribes), jong (western tribes).

Among the kingdoms scattered at that time in the basin of the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River on the Great Plain of China, some considered themselves descendants of the Chou, others - the Shang. But all of them recognized the supreme power of the Zhou wang, proclaimed the Son of Heaven, over themselves, and considered themselves the "middle kingdoms" (zhongguo) of the world - the center of the universe. The ritual-magical concept of the Zhou wang as the Son of Heaven, which spread at that time, was associated with the cult of Heaven, the supreme deity, that originated in China along with the Zhou statehood. Compared to the Shan cults of ancestors and the forces of nature, the cult of Heaven and the Son of Heaven, as his earthly incarnation, was supra-tribal, inter-ethnic, compatible with local communal cults, but rising above them. Together with the doctrine of the Will (Mandate) of Heaven (Tianming - "Divine Investiture"), he served the idea of the charisma of the Wang's power and the legitimation of the Zhou Dynasty's right to rule in the Celestial Empire (Tianxia - the Country under Heaven). Although the Eastern Zhou kingdom at that time was by no means the largest and far from the strongest militarily, it was it that was a kind of binding unity of the "Chou world" due to the traditionally consecrated idea of the sacred nature of the power of its rulers. It played a large role in establishing diplomatic relations between the "middle kingdoms" throughout the Chunqiu period.

In addition to the "middle kingdoms", there were other states on the territory of the "Chou world" that were in no way inferior to them either in size or in terms of the level of cultural development. Among them stood out the southern kingdoms of Chu (in the middle reaches of the Yangtze), Wu (in the Yangtze delta) and to the south of them - Yue. Their population was related to the ancestors of the Vietnamese, Zhuang, Miao, Yao, Tai and other peoples of Southeast Asia. By the 7th century BC Chu turned out to be among the most powerful kingdoms, its rulers appropriated the title of Vanir and, heading the coalition of the southern kingdoms, actively joined the struggle of the ancient Chinese kingdoms for hegemony in the Celestial Empire.

The Zhou civilization adopted and developed the important achievements of the Shanin culture (first of all, hieroglyphic writing and the technique of bronze casting). "Chunqiu" was an advanced Bronze Age period in China. At this time, the technology of manufacturing bronze alloys is progressing. The production of bronze tools is expanding. There are new types of offensive weapons, primarily small arms. Thus, in Chu, a powerful crossbow with a bronze trigger mechanism was invented, the design of which required the use of bronze of the highest quality for its manufacture. The era of "Chunqiu" was the apogee of the power of the chariot army, driving a chariot is one of the six highest arts of the Zhou aristocracy. At this time, there is a growth of cities as cultural and political centers; they, as a rule, remain small, but there are also cities with a population of 5-15 thousand people.

The rulers of the kingdoms widely practiced the distribution of land for service, which, in particular, meant the assignment of rights to receive income from the communities. In connection with the disintegration of communal property, communal redistribution of land, which was hereditarily assigned to individual families, ceased in many kingdoms. This caused a change in the entire system of state withdrawal of surplus product from the bulk of producers. According to available data, first in the kingdom of Lu (in 594 BC), then in Chu (in 548 BC), and then in other states, the system of collective cultivation by the community of part of its fields in favor of king was replaced by a grain tax (usually one-tenth of the harvest) from the field of each family. In fact, this was the beginning of regular taxation of farmers, which influenced the nature of communal self-government bodies.

Of the representatives of community self-government bodies, we know: fuloo elders elected by the common people (shuzhen) in communities (li), a board of three chief elders (sonloo) and a headman, or mayor (lizheng). Self-government bodies, apparently, actively functioned in cities and community associations (s). Representatives of community self-government bodies were responsible for performing labor duties, for collecting taxes, for maintaining order in the community, and for performing intercommunal worship (in particular, sanlao). They could convene local militia, organize city defenses, judge the people of the community, and even sentence them to death. In a number of kingdoms, they could independently communicate with the outside world, with the help of local militia they could influence the outcome of the internecine struggle of contenders for the royal throne. In the socio-political life of the Chunqiu period, an active role was played by the guozhen layer - "free people", "full citizens of the city-state" who were obliged to military service, paying taxes and performing a number of duties. Sometimes they act on the side of the ruler in his struggle with the powerful nobility, their active interference in the affairs of the domestic and foreign policy of the kingdoms suggests the presence there of the remnants of the institution of the people's assembly. Information about guozhen in the kingdoms of Zheng, Wei, Jin, Qi, Song, Chen, Lu, Ju may be evidence that these states retained certain features of a democratic system. In a number of cases, the rulers of the kingdoms even entered into agreements on mutual support with the guozhen. However, the role of guozhen in the political life of the kingdoms by the middle of the 1st millennium BC. disappeared everywhere.

During this period, facts of the alienation of private estates and gardens appear, but there is still no noticeable distribution of land transactions. With the deepening of the process of stratification of the community, debt slavery develops, at first under the guise of "adoption", "pledge" of children. In order to keep a worker on the farm, zhuizi hostages were often married to the owner's daughter. Patriarchal slavery was widespread in the private households of the community members. For domestic work, nuchanzi were used - slaves who had taken root in the house from slaves. Slave labor was also used in agriculture. In some cases, private individuals accumulated many slaves. So, for example, according to narrative monuments, in 593 BC. the Jin commander received a thousand families from among the captured "barbarians" from the "red di" tribe. Even if this number is greatly exaggerated by the source, it is still very large. Such a large number of workers could hardly be used in the private economy at a time. Apparently, the calculation was for their implementation, which suggests the development of the slave trade. However, in general, private slavery during this period has not yet received noticeable development. The capture of prisoners of war and enslavement by court remained the sources of state slavery. Slaves were often called by profession (groom, lumberjack, porter, shepherd, cleaner, craftsman) or used in relation to them by common names, for example, "servant", "lad". Forced laborers used in production were also designated by the collective terms -li and pu - referring to persons who have lost the status that guarantees personal freedom. It is significant that during this period the "classical" term for the designation of a slave was approved - well, which then became standard for all subsequent periods of Chinese history. A characteristic feature of slaveholding in East Zhou society was the preservation by many categories of slaves of the signs of a subject of law.

On the territory of the "middle kingdoms" there was a process of formation of the ethno-cultural community of the Hua Xia, during which the idea of the exclusivity and cultural superiority of the Hua Xa over the rest of the world's periphery - the "barbarians of the four cardinal points" (si and) arises. Moreover, in this East Zhou ethnocentric model of the ecumene, not ethno-distinctive, but culturally distinctive features come to the fore. The idea of the absolute cultural priority of zhongguo ren ("people of the middle kingdoms") has since become the most important component of the ethnic self-awareness of the ancient Chinese. However, even then it was resolutely disputed by those ancient Chinese thinkers who were aware of its complete inconsistency with contemporary reality. As already mentioned, in addition to the "middle kingdoms" on the territory of China there were other large states, in some ways even ahead of them in social development. The high culture of the non-Huaxia kingdoms of Chu, Wu, and Yue has been known for a relatively long time from excavation materials, and archaeologists are receiving more and more new data confirming this. IN last years thanks to their efforts, monuments were discovered before this East Zhou kingdom of Zhuvshan, almost unknown from written sources, founded by the White Di tribes in Northern China (in Hebei), which had a high original culture; Zhongshan products are among the best artistic examples of the bronze art of ancient China in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. However, in chronicles the Zhongshan kingdom is mentioned only in passing, since it could not withstand the onslaught of the "middle kingdoms". It is also known that in addition to Zhuvshan, "white di" in the same region in the era of "Chunqiu" created two more kingdoms - Fei and Gu.

The opposition of the Huaxia kingdoms to all the "barbarians of the four corners of the world" is clearly manifested in the relations of the kingdoms during the "Chunqiu" period: mutually respectful - "brotherly, kindred" between the Huaxia, bound by special rules for conducting internecine wars - on the one hand, and full of contemptuous attitude of the Huaxia kingdoms towards "insignificant barbarians" - on the other. Meanwhile, from the end of the 7th - beginning of the 6th century. BC the outlying non-Huaxia kingdoms are brought to the forefront of the political situation as "hegemons" (ba), actually dictating their will to the Celestial Empire during the "Chunqiu" period. Among them, the ancient Chinese historical tradition names at least four rulers of the "barbarian" kingdoms: the northwestern Zhong kingdom of Qin, the already mentioned southern Man kingdoms of Chu and Wu, and the southernmost of all, the ethnically heterogeneous kingdom of Yue. Of these, only Qin nominally recognized the power of the East Zhou wang.

For centuries, the "middle kingdoms" were in constant and intense contact with these and other neighboring other ethnic peoples and tribal groups of East Asia, during which a complex process of assimilation and mutual influences took place. The formation of the Huasia community was significantly influenced by the settlement on the Central Kai Plain in the 7th-6th centuries. BC northern tribes di, belonging to the so-called "Scythian world". Borrowing the cultural achievements of "foreign" ethnic groups was of no small importance for the socio-political, economic, and ideological development of the "middle kingdoms". Since the end of the Chunqiu period, the territory of the Huaxia has noticeably expanded, although within the basin of the river. Huang He and the middle reaches of the river. Yangtze. The relationship between the "middle kingdoms" and the peripheral kingdoms of Qin, Yan and Chu, which, for their part, are directly involved in the sphere of cultural influence of the Huaxia, is becoming ever closer. All these processes take place against the backdrop of fierce wars between the kingdoms, which became extremely tense at the beginning of the second half of the 1st millennium BC. Militarily strong non-Huaxi kingdoms actively intervene in the internecine struggle of the "middle kingdoms", and it is their participation in this or that military coalition that often decides the outcome of conflicts. "States with ten thousand war chariots" ("Wan cheng guo") were presented to contemporaries as a mighty force that determined the fate of the Celestial Empire. The growing tension of the internecine struggle of the "middle kingdoms" was supplemented by clashes of political forces within them. The dominant position in the ancient Chinese kingdoms of the Chunqiu period belonged to the hereditary aristocracy, usually associated with kinship with the royal houses. She occupied the highest positions in state administration, owned bronze battle chariots, which constituted the main striking force of the army. In opposition to it, the rulers began to form armies from infantry units. Starting from the VI century. BC everywhere there is a fierce struggle of noble families for power in their kingdoms. In an effort to weaken the power of this clan hierarchical aristocracy, the rulers of the kingdoms are trying to rely on personally loyal people from humble families, introducing a new system of official remuneration - "salary", which began to be paid in grain, which served as the most important equivalent of value. These innovations in the field of political administration led to a change in the nature of the state structure. In large kingdoms, a centralized political and administrative system of government is gradually being established.

In the middle of the 1st millennium BC. The political map of ancient China, compared with the beginning of the Chunqiu period, is changing dramatically: less than thirty of the two hundred state formations remain, among which the "seven strongest" stand out - Qin, Yan and Chu, which are among the "peripheral", as well as Wei, Zhao , Han and Qi are the largest of the "middle kingdoms". The irreconcilable struggle between them for predominance and dominance in the Celestial Empire becomes the determining factor in the political history of ancient China in the subsequent period - the 5th-3rd centuries. BC, - included in the tradition called "Zhanguo" ("Struggle Kingdoms"), which ends in 221 BC.

Second period of the Eastern Zhou Era of Zhangguo or Pre-Imperial(480-221 BC) was accompanied by the ideological-mental and socio-political transformation of the Chinese civilization. 500 years later than other ancient civilizations, the Chinese approached the Iron Age, parting with the Bronze Age. The widespread mastery of iron processing techniques transformed the landscape, made possible the massive development of new lands, and led to serious shifts in the development of handicrafts and agriculture. With the development of casting techniques, a plow with an iron share appeared, which made it possible to do deeper plowing of the land. This greatly increased the yield.

The iron shovel facilitated the construction of large canals, dams and dikes. Starting from the 5th c. BC. large-scale drainage and irrigation works were launched. Large reservoirs were created. The capacity of waterways was regulated by locks. In the basin of the Yellow River and the upper Yangtze, the expansion of cultivated land and their more intensive use began. The development of a culture of irrigated agriculture has become the most important factor in the progress of Chinese civilization.

The main deposits of iron were located in the north, in the territory of the kingdoms of Zhao, Han, Yan and Qi. Its extraction and the ability to process stimulated the rapid rise of the crafts of silk weaving, ceramics, woodworking, lacquer, metallurgical, shipbuilding.

Craft and trade became extremely profitable occupations. In cities that were previously only administrative centers. Open markets have emerged. For the first time, metal coins were recognized as a universal equivalent in exchange. They had a different shape of a square, knives, swords and shovels. Round money with a square hole in the middle was also cast. Customs borders were established between the kingdoms. The appearance of money and monetary circulation led to the development of usury. In some kingdoms, the sale and purchase of land was already officially allowed and large private farms oriented to the market were created. It was during this period that the concept was formed that recognized the land as the only source of wealth.

In the course of these transformations, a new nobility began to form, which was mainly made up of upstarts from the bottom. This merchant people, who had neither tribal origin nor titles, gained more and more weight in society, crowding out the hereditary aristocracy. The new nobility bought positions of officials and, having gained access to the state apparatus, sought reforms to strengthen their position and develop private trade.

Zhangguo is almost two centuries old final stage the reign of the Zhou dynasty, filled with an active struggle between individual kingdoms for dominance in the Celestial Empire. Hence the other name for this period, the Warring States. In the course of fierce rivalry, less than three dozen of almost two hundred state formations remained, among which the seven most powerful Han, Wei, Zhao, Qi, Chu, Yan, Qin stood out. Centralized forms of government, professional bureaucracy, the system of taxes introduced by the state destroyed relations based on tribal ties, traditions and customs.

In the struggle for power and in search of a solution to the contradictions that had developed between the individual kingdoms, a new world was born, the mentality of the people of Chinese civilization was formed. The intense intellectual life of the Eastern Zhou, with a wide and open struggle of ideas, formed a system of social, ethical and spiritual values. Created a certain model of the state, claiming to be universal. In fact, in the era of rivalry of a hundred schools, the main trends in the internal transformation of Chinese civilization were outlined. They were looking for answers to questions: how to unite the country, how to maintain peace, what a state should be like, what qualities a person should have in order to strengthen and prosper the country. Confucianism, Taoism, legalism, followers of the teachings of yin and yang, the Five Principles, Mohists and representatives of other areas of social thought of the rational-pragmatic epochs of Chunqiu and Zhangguo gave their answers to these questions.

19 ch. States of the Korean peninsula (second half of XX)

The Second World War played a decisive role in the fate of Korea. The question of the post-war future of this state was repeatedly raised during negotiations between the countries participating in the anti-Hitler coalition. IN Cairo Declaration, signed by the United States, Great Britain and China on December 1, 1943, independence was promised to Korea (although this promise was made in a rather vague form). On Yalta Conference(February 1945) US President F. Roosevelt proposed joint custody of Korea by 4 powers - the USA, the USSR, Great Britain and China. Although this project was not developed in detail, I.V. Stalin agreed with him. Perhaps he was satisfied with the fact that the Americans had no intention of deploying their troops on the Korean Peninsula. Once again, the question of the future of Korea was raised at Potsdam conference(July-August 1945), during which representatives of the USSR rejected the proposal to take control of all military

operations in its territory. On August 14, 1945, Stalin approved without discussion the US proposal to temporarily divide the Korean Peninsula into two zones of responsibility with a border along the 38th parallel, after which the troops of the Soviet 25th Army, rapidly advancing to the south of Korea, were ordered to suspend their offensive on this conditional border

In May 1948, elections were held in South Korea to the National Assembly, which adopted the name of the state - the Republic of Korea (RK), the constitution and elected the president of the country, Lee Syngman. Seoul remained the capital of the republic. As a response step in the North, in August 1948,

boras to the Supreme People's Assembly (SPC) of Korea. They were betrayed by the all-Korean character through the participation of a number of representatives of the population of South Korea. The first session of the WPC proclaimed on September 9 of the same year the creation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Pyongyang became the capital of the new state. At the request of the newly created government of the DPRK, the Soviet Union withdrew its troops from its territory. The emergence of two Korean states, each of which proclaimed itself the only legal one and claimed the entire territory of Korea, objectively created the preconditions for a conflict between them. The 38th parallel became the site of constant armed clashes, of which there were 1836 in 1949 alone, large military contingents were drawn into it from both sides.

On conditions of growing confrontation June 25, 1950 began an armed conflict between the North and the South. The fighting took place with varying degrees of success. Large US landings entered the war on the side of the South. The USSR sent its military specialists and pilots to support the North Korean army. In October 1950, large detachments of Chinese people's volunteers also came to the aid of the DPRK. On July 27, 1953, an armistice agreement was concluded in Korea, completing

neck a three-year armed test of strength by two social camps. Chinese and American troops remained on the peninsula. The war ended almost at the same lines along the 38th parallel where it began. A two-kilometer demilitarized zone was created on each side of the border.

North Korea

The war took a huge toll on the North Korean economy. Gross industrial output decreased by 40% compared with the pre-war period. The leading industries were especially hard hit: energy, metallurgy, railway transport, etc. However, thanks to economic assistance and technical assistance from the USSR, the PRC and the countries of Eastern Europe, the consequences of military destruction were generally overcome by 1956. The high traditional culture undoubtedly contributed to the rapid recovery of the economy. the labor of the Koreans, combined with the strict barracks discipline established by the authorities.

In the economic sphere in the 50s, it was used Soviet model. Since 1954, the state began planning the development of the national economy. A course was taken to strengthen the positions of the state and cooperative sectors in the economy (already in 1956, state enterprises produced 98% of all industrial output, and state farms and cooperatives ─ about 75% of gross output Agriculture). In 1958 the cooperation of agriculture was completed. Great successes were achieved in industrial construction: in the period from 1953 to 1960, gross industrial output increased almost 10 times (75% of the volume of work in capital construction was financed by the socialist countries). As a result, by the end of the 1950s, the DPRK turned into an industrial-agrarian state: in 1960 specific gravity industry in the gross volume of industry and agriculture was 71%.

In the 1950s, a significant evolution of the North Korean regime took place, characterized by the strengthening of Kim Il Sung's personal power. A number of factors contributed to this:

─ Deeply rooted Eastern despotic traditions and the cult of social discipline among the population of Korea.

─ The virtual absence of opposition, since the previous policy of the Soviet occupation authorities, as well as the war, during which most of the territory of North Korea was under the occupation of “UN forces”, allowed all opponents of the emerging regime to leave the DPRK (i.e., in fact, the opposition sent itself to exile).

─ Unlike the countries of Eastern Europe, Korea did not attract much attention from the international community (with the exception of the war period of 1950-1953). Therefore, the leadership of the DPRK was not faced with the task of preserving the “democratic facade” in the form of a symbolic multi-party system.

As a result, after the end of the war, the North Korean “non-proletarian” parties (the Democratic Party, later renamed the Social Democratic Party, as well as the Cheongyudan Party), as a result of appropriate state policy, turned from real political groupings into fictitious central organizations-offices that performed purely representative functions. However, along with With the conditions that contributed to the strengthening of Kim Il Sung's regime of personal power, there were also certain factors that restrained him. In particular, for the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in the late 40s ─ the first half of the 50s was inherent factionalism, which had its own historical explanation. The fact is that under the conditions of Japanese colonial domination, the Communist Party of Korea actually ceased to exist (in 1928, the Executive Committee of the Comintern decided to terminate all ties with it). The re-establishment of the Communist Party took place after the liberation of Korea and on a qualitatively new basis. In the Soviet occupation zone, the struggle for leadership in the party unfolded between three groups: "internal", which included former underground workers, "yannan"(or “Chinese”), which united Korean emigrant communists who returned from China and "partisan"(Kim Il Sung himself belonged to it), which was formed by the participants partisan movement in Manchuria. Soon they were joined by the already mentioned influential "Soviet" a grouping created by Soviet Koreans who worked in the party and state apparatus of the DPRK. The presence of these factions and the rivalry between them limited the power of Kim Il Sung.

The fact that North Korea was under the strong influence of the USSR and China, whose policies were pursued by the respective factions in the country's party leadership, also prevented the establishment of a regime of sole power.

After the end of the war, Kim Il Sung embarked on a consistent struggle to strengthen his position in the party. The moment for these actions was chosen well, because after the death of I.V. Stalin, a struggle for power unfolded in the Soviet leadership, and attention to the DPRK from the outside Soviet Union weakened for a while. Taking advantage of this, Kim Il Sung began one by one the destruction of intra-party groups. In 1953, the “internal” faction was liquidated: its leadership (including the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK Pak Hyun Yong) was arrested on charges of spying for the United States and Japan and shot. After that, relying on the support of the “partisan”

groups, Kim Il Sung switched to fighting the “Soviet” and “Yannan” factions, which was officially motivated by the need to limit foreign influence, but in reality pursued a completely different political goal ─ the all-round strengthening of his personal power. Kim Il Sung's actions caused an acute internal political crisis, which peaked in 1956 (in this regard, it is noteworthy that Kim Il Sung and his entourage tried to hush up the decisions of the 20th Congress of the CPSU, which exposed Stalin's personality cult).

In August 1956, at the next plenum of the WPK Central Committee, the leaders of the "Yanan" faction made an attempt to remove Kim Il Sung from power. But it failed: the “conspirators” did not receive the expected support from the members of the Central Committee, were expelled from the party and put under house arrest (miraculously, they managed to escape to Beijing). After that, the Soviet Union and China decided to directly intervene in the internal political struggle in the DPRK. In September 1956, a joint Soviet-Chinese delegation headed by A.I. Mikoyan and Peng Dehuai. Under Soviet-Chinese pressure, Kim Il Sung promised to reinstate the participants in the August

speeches and continue not to undertake repressions against immigrants from the USSR and China. However, he never fulfilled his promise: soon mass “purges” began, which forever put an end to factionalism in the ranks of the WPK and finally cleared the way for Kim Il Sung to autocracy. The victims of these “purges” and the repressions that followed them were both high-ranking cadre workers and ordinary members of the party who belonged to opposition factions. In total, about 9,000 people suffered during the inner-party "purges" of 1958-1960: they were expelled from the party, put on trial and executed. As a result, by the end of the 1950s, all key posts in the party and the state were in the hands of Kim Il Sung's loyal associates.

The crisis of 1956 became a milestone in the evolution of the political system of the DPRK, since it marked the birth of the Kimirsen regime. The defeat of intra-party groups sharply limited foreign influence, prevented the penetration of the ideology and practice of combating the cult of personality into Korea, and thus created the ideological conditions for an unprecedented campaign to praise the country's leader and strengthen his unlimited power. If before that North Korea was a second-rate country of “people's democracy”, then after 1956 it began to acquire unique features.

The economic dependence of the DPRK on the Soviet Union and China forced Kim Il Sung to maneuver between Moscow and Beijing. This predetermined the frequent change in the subsequent foreign policy orientation of the country (from pro-Soviet to pro-Chinese and, ultimately, independent). At the turn of the 1950s and 1960s, Kim Il Sung abandoned the Soviet model of development and set a course for building socialism “on his own”. The “cultural revolution” that began in China forced the North Korean leadership to distance itself from the PRC (since the mid-1960s, the DPRK government began to pursue a policy of consistent neutrality in relation to the Soviet-Chinese conflict). In 1966, after a visit to Pyongyang by Soviet Prime Minister A.N. Kosygin, Kim Il Sung proclaimed the "independent line" of the WPK, based on the principles of "complete equality, sovereignty, mutual respect and non-interference of communist and workers' parties in each other's internal affairs." Subsequently, on the basis of this course, party theorists developed juche idea: “autonomy in ideology, independence in politics, independence in the economy, self-defense in defense.” The Juche idea was elevated to the rank of official party and state policy, which was enshrined constitution of 1972, and predetermined the originality of the subsequent development of the country.

North Korea's consistently independent course in foreign policy led to a sharp reduction in economic assistance from the USSR and China, but helped it avoid severe international isolation. In 1975, the DPRK became a member of the non-aligned movement. In the late 70s, she was a member of more than 150 international organizations and maintained diplomatic relations with 97 countries. The North Korean leadership based its national model on the idea of permanent revolution, which was interpreted as "a continuous, growing process that will continue until the complete victory of socialism." characteristic feature the emerging political system of the DPRK became a hypertrophied personification of power in the form of a cult of the leader. The praise of Kim Il Sung in the 1960s, and especially in the 1970s, acquired a scope unprecedented in the socialist countries.

In 1972, Kim Il Sung assumed the post of President of the DPRK, established in accordance with the new constitution. Official propaganda endowed him with numerous glorifying epithets (“Great Leader”, “Sun of the Nation”, “Pledge of the Liberation of Mankind”, etc.). In the environment of the creative intelligentsia, the so-called. “April 15 Group” (April 15 is Kim Il Sung’s birthday), which became the collective author of a large series of works of art glorifying Kim Il Sung and published in huge editions. His birthday has become one of the 9 national holidays in the DPRK. In 1980, at the VI Congress of the WPK, the son of Kim Il Sung ─ Kim Jong Il─ was officially proclaimed the political heir of his father, which immediately found a theoretical justification (“since the revolution continues from generation to generation, the leader must be replaced according to the same principle”). In 1992, Kim Il Sung, during the celebrations on the occasion of his 80th birthday, was awarded the title of Generalissimo. After the death of Kim Il Sung (1994), Kim Jong Il became the de facto leader of the country, and in 1997 he was elected General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea.

A characteristic feature of the socio-political system of the DPRK has become a strict regulation of the work and life of its citizens. To this end, in 1977, the Legal Committee of the Socialist Way of Life was established. In 1978, the Socialist Labor Code was adopted, clearly delimiting the time of North Korean workers: “8 hours ─ work, 8 hours ─ rest, 8 hours ─ study.” The entire population of the country is divided into so-called. “people's groups” (“inminbans”), created at the place of residence, which, along with distributive functions, also organize the participation of citizens in various public events and conduct educational work “at the family level.” The official policy of social modeling was aimed at consolidating the country's population at the basis of the classical scheme for a totalitarian society: the leader ─ the party ─ the masses. Dissent was severely persecuted. In the post-war years, about 10 mass “purges” were carried out in the DPRK, aimed at ensuring the “ideological purity” and solidity of North Korean society. In 1975, the National Censorship Committee was officially established (in fact, such a body had existed for a long time).

In the sphere of material production, the methods of ideological influence on the workers, which were substituted for economic methods of management, became widespread. So, in 1957, the Chollima Movement was initiated, named after the legendary winged horse that overtakes time (some researchers regard this movement as the North Korean version of the Great Leap Forward). Since the beginning of the 60s, the so-called. “Tean system” of production management (after the name of the Tean Electromechanical Plant, where it was first applied). In accordance with this system, the head of the enterprise is not the director, but the party committee, whose main functions are to influence the workforce of the enterprise ideologically and to strengthen the "revolutionary fervor" of the masses. The labor enthusiasm of the population was considered by the North Korean leadership an integral part of economic progress. It was supported by all sorts of ideological means, as well as the actual militarization of production. “Peaceful battles” (multi-day labor shifts) timed to coincide with significant dates and events have become widespread. For example, only in 1988-1989 two "200-day battles" were held to fulfill the tasks of the state plan.

Extensive development has made it possible to significantly increase the production potential of the DPRK, create a powerful mining industry, metallurgy, electric power industry and a number of other sectors of the economy. By the mid-1980s, North Korea had become one of the relatively developed countries of East Asia. Its industry provided more than 2/3 of the total social product of the country. However, in general, the economy of the DPRK had a closed character, characterized by hypertrophied industrial development, technical backwardness, and a low level of consumer goods production.

Nevertheless, foreign experience, primarily Chinese, apparently still contributed to some change in the economic policy of the DPRK government. Thus, in 1984, the "Law on joint ventures" was adopted, which allowed foreign entrepreneurs to invest their capital in the economy of North Korea. As a result, joint ventures were created with the participation of foreign citizens, mainly representatives of the Korean diaspora in Japan *. Thanks to this, a new sector functioning on market principles has actually emerged in the centralized, directive-controlled economic system of the DPRK. At the same time, the rights of heads of state enterprises were expanded, elements of material incentives for workers were gradually introduced, small business was allowed, production in the defense industry began to be redeveloped in accordance with the country's needs for household goods, etc. In order to attract foreign capital and encourage joint

Entrepreneurship, the government of the DPRK decided to create a free trade

economic zone in the northeast of the country.

In the 90s, North Korea faced great economic problems, which were due to both internal causes and the influence of external factors:

─ By this time, the development of the economy based on central planning and within the framework of the Juche doctrine had exhausted its possibilities. The weakness and growing backwardness of the technical and technological base of North Korean industry and agriculture had an increasingly noticeable effect.

─ The economic situation in the country (especially in the agricultural sector) was exacerbated by the unprecedented floods of 1995-1996, which affected approximately 75% of the country's territory and affected 5.2 million people. The total losses from natural disasters, according to the UN, amounted to 17 billion dollars. The volume of agricultural production decreased by almost 2.5 times, which sharply aggravated the food problem. Therefore, since 1995, the international community began to provide food aid to the DPRK.

- Changes in the external economic sphere also turned out to be negative for the country. The collapse of the USSR and the socialist camp led to a sharp reduction in economic assistance provided to North Korea, which dealt a tangible blow to its economy. The situation in the DPRK economy continues to deteriorate, which indicates the inefficiency of its current (“Juche”) model of development. According to the UN, the country's GNP decreased by one and a half times in the 90s. The population of North Korea is growing: in the 90s, by 2 million people (in 1999, 22.6 million people lived there). Correspondingly, per capita income is declining ─ from $1,005 in 1992 to $429 in 1998. This situation, as well as the ongoing growth of crisis phenomena in the DPRK economy, makes experts conclude that the future of this country is very difficult to predict. It can definitely be noted that in the economic competition with South Korea The north is definitely losing. According to experts, in the late 1990s, its GNP was no more than 5% of the corresponding indicator of the Republic of Korea, which clearly indicates a growing gap in the levels of development of the two countries of the Korean Peninsula, which started from approximately equal starting conditions.

Political system. The Urartian state may well be considered a typical despotic state of the Ancient East. The power of the Urartian rulers was unlimited. The Urartian king was both the supreme commander of the Urartian army and the high priest of the state. Unlike neighboring states such as Assyria and Babylonia, there are no traces of significant influence of religious norms or normative-legal regulators of public life in Urartu. In this sense, Urartian despotism was absolute, and the state culture was practically not developed.

For example, the Urartian temple farms were not as important as the temple farms, for example, of the states of Mesopotamia. The leading role belonged to the royal households, and entire cities and districts were considered royal property.

The political system of Urartu was aimed at the implementation of the main tasks facing the state. Circumstances such as the organization of a continuous influx of slave prisoners of war, the struggle for political hegemony in Asia Minor, the need to keep the exploited social groups of their country in obedience and humility demanded special attention to the army and military organization. It is known that the Urartian kings made a lot of efforts to equip and improve the armed forces. They were based on a professional army, which was completely under the tsar's guardianship. The skill of the Urartians in training horses intended for cavalry was noted even by the Assyrians. The inscriptions often report on the achievements of the Urartian rulers in horse jumping and archery. The army was considered the basis of the power and the very existence of Urartu.

Control system. The system of local government and the division of the kingdom into separate districts, headed by governors, was carried out in Urartu with great consistency, which was of exceptional importance for strengthening the Kingdom of Van. In an effort to centralize, the kings constantly sent numerous, sometimes petty prescriptions to the rulers of the regions and the bureaucracy. Uprisings and all sorts of troubles indicate that, in the end, the Urartian kings failed to create a strong centralized state. The fragility of the Urartian power on the periphery is evidenced by the repeated campaigns of the Urartians in those areas that were already considered part of the Kingdom of Van.

Forrer believed that the reform of the administration of Assyria, carried out by Tiglath-Pileser III, had the Urartian administration as a model. But in order to combat the excessive strengthening of the governors of the districts of Assyria, they were smaller in size. In Urartu, the administrative regions were larger, and the Urartian governors, who had become overly strong, tried to deliver a decisive blow to the royal power.

The core of Urartu was surrounded by numerous semi-dependent and allied possessions and kingdoms, whose loyalty to the central government was exclusively in direct proportion to the military and political successes of the Urartian kings. The Urartian state united regions that were very different in ethnic characteristics and in terms of economic development. The authorities' efforts to boost the economy were in vain and did not lead to the creation of a unified economic system. Two economic centers were formed - the Van and the Transcaucasian.

Foreign policy. Hiking in the northern regions. Stages of the struggle with Assyria. Movements of the Cimmerians and Scythians. The Urartian state at the height of its power was a great military power.

Consolidation of the first Urartian state formations in the middle of the 9th century. BC. was caused by the need to combine efforts in the fight against Assyrian aggression. Aramu (864-845 BC) became the first king of the united Urartu; the campaigns of the army of Shalmaneser III were directed against his possessions. However, these invasions did not prevent the further growth and strengthening of the new state.

Rice. Citadel of the Urartian kings on the Van rock in Tushpa, the capital of Urartu

http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Van_kalesi.jpg

The next Urartian ruler Sarduri I (835-825 BC) formalizes his great power claims. He assumes a pompous title, which was completely borrowed from the Assyrian kings. It was a direct call mighty power Ancient East.

A variety of inscriptions tells of numerous campaigns. Urartian troops penetrate into the kingdom of Manna, located south of Lake Urmia, from the flank they try to bypass the Assyrian state. The Urartians took away numerous herds from the occupied regions as prey, but unlike the Assyrian raids, they did not devastate the annexed territories.

King Menua (810-786 BC) is considered to be the acknowledged creator of Urartian power. He paid great attention to the organization of the army. The Urartian army is switching to the best Assyrian weapons and Assyrian military armor in Western Asia. Menua's military campaigns, with his personal participation, go in two directions - to the southwest, towards Syria, where his troops take possession of the left bank of the Euphrates, and to the north, towards Transcaucasia. Campaigns are characterized by the peculiarity of capturing without crashes in order to maintain the political hegemony of Urartu and pay tribute. Often, fortresses were built in the newly annexed regions, which became administrative and economic centers. For example, on the left bank of the Araks, the Menuahinili fortress was built, which became an important stronghold for further advancement in the Transcaucasus.

Under Argishti I (786-764 BC), the son and successor of Menua, the Urartian state entered into a decisive battle with Assyria for leadership in Western Asia, for dominance on the main trade routes that passed through the Eastern Mediterranean. The reign of Argishti is the zenith of the power of the Urartian state. A perfect army allowed him to successfully carry out all military undertakings. In the south, with a series of successive campaigns and the conclusion of alliances, the Urartian ruler carried out a systematic flank coverage of Assyria. His troops are infiltrating northern Syria. In the southeast, the Urartians, having included the Mannean kingdom in the orbit of their influence, descend through the mountain valleys to the Diyala basin, going beyond the borders of Babylon. As a result, Assyria is covered from three sides by the possessions of Urartu and its allies.

Argishti also attached great importance to the advance to the north, to the Transcaucasus. At this point, the Urartian troops reach the borders of Colchis (Colchi) in Western Georgia, cross the Araks and take possession of a vast territory on its right bank up to Lake Sevan. Here are built cities - fortresses Erebuni and Argishtikhinili. The military successes of the Urartian state were closely connected with the functioning of the entire socio-economic system of the Urartian society, which explains its heyday in the 7th century. BC.

At the same time, a decisive military battle for hegemony was brewing in Western Asia, and in these conditions Assyria strikes its first blow. In 743 BC renewed, thanks to Tiglath-Pileser III, the Assyrian army defeats the Urartu-led coalition in northern Syria near the city of Arpad in a decisive battle. In 735 BC Tiglath-Pileser III makes a trip to the center of the Urartian state, to the region of Lake Van. Assyrian texts enthusiastically describe the successes of their troops. But despite the siege of the Urartian capital Tushpa, the Assyrians were never able to capture its fortified citadel. In an open military confrontation with Assyria, Urartu nevertheless suffered its first defeat, but the struggle for leadership was not over.

Rice. Urartu during the period of the greatest territorial expansion in 743 BC. e.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Urartu_743-ru.svg?uselang=ru

Assyria is gathering strength for a second strike against its main rival, which is also a competitor.

Rice. Inscription on the foundation of the temple in the Erebuni fortress on the Arin-Berd hill near Yerevan.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Urartu_Cuneiform_Argishti_1.jpg?uselang=ru

This blow was carried out during the reign of the Urartian king Rusa I (735-714 BC). In foreign policy, Rusa I tried to avoid open struggle with Assyria, but at the same time he supported all kinds of anti-Assyrian sentiments and actions. The invasion of the nomadic Cimmerians into the northern regions of Urartu hindered an active policy in the south. However, at the same time, Rusa I continues to expand his possessions in Transcaucasia to the northeast of Lake Sevan. In this area, apparently, Rusa I created a strong military and economic base to support the kingdom of Manna, who feared the growth of Assyrian power. At the same time, a new fortress city Rusakhinili was being built, which probably became the new capital.

Rice. a fragment of a bronze helmet of the Sarduri II era, which depicts the “Tree of Life” motif, popular among ancient societies.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Urartu_Helmet_Fragment_2~.jpg?uselang=ru

Watching how Rusa I strengthens the Urartian state, Assyria still decides to inflict a military blow on its rival. In 714 B.C. the Assyrian army, led by Sargon II, headed to the region east of Lake Urmia against the local rulers, skillfully set against Assyria by the Urartian king. Rusa I considered the moment convenient for a decisive battle and tried to enter the rear of the Assyrian group with his troops. The battle took place in a mountainous area and ended in the defeat of the Urartians. Destroying everything in their path, the Assyrians ruined the economic complex created by Rusa I. On the way back, Sargon II, at the head of a thousand horsemen, made a swift transition through the mountains and captured the Urartian cult center Musasir with a sudden blow. Along the entire route of the campaign, the Assyrians consistently tried to inflict maximum damage on the enemy and undermine the economic power of Urartu.

Rice. Urartu during the reign of Arama

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Urartu_860_840-ru.svg?uselang=ru

Based on the point of view of international relations, the significance of the campaign of 714 is very great. The Urartian state suffered a final defeat in the struggle for political hegemony in Asia Minor, giving way to Assyria. Almost a century of Urartian-Assyrian rivalry ended with the victory of the Assyrian military power.

Fall of Urartu. After its military defeat, Urartu abandoned the struggle for leadership in Asia Minor, but the Urartian kings still continued to pursue an anti-Assyrian policy. However, the real threat to the Urartian state lay not in Assyria, but in the Scythian tribes who penetrated into Asia Minor after the Cimmerians. The blows of the Scythians were all the more dangerous because they affected the deep rear of Urartu, which remained almost inaccessible to the Assyrians. Deprived of large masses of prisoners of war, forced to pay special attention to defense, Urartu is gradually losing its positions in the international arena.

At the beginning of the VI century. BC. Urartu falls into dependence on Media, and by 590 BC. completely ceases to exist. Thanks to archaeological excavations in Teishebaini (Karmir Blur), a vivid picture of the death of the last strongholds of Urartu in Transcaucasia, taken by storm, plundered and burned by the triumphant winners, has been discovered. A huge part of the former Urartian possessions went to Media.

Rice. Urartu during the reign of Sarduri I

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Urartu_840_820-ru.svg?uselang=ru

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.

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 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…”

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 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.

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 the palaces, among all kinds 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 representatives, and the dependent regions, which occupied most of the conquered countries, were 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, by 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, 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.

The Assyrian army, as already mentioned, was the most perfect in ancient world and instilled 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 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.

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 wars 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.

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GOVERNMENT The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is an integral part of Ukraine. It has a government - the Council of Ministers and a parliament - the Verkhovna Rada. The ARC has its own Constitution and its own symbols - the Coat of Arms, the Flag and the Anthem. The capital of the ARC is the city

Ancient Assyrian power. Assyria from ancient times to the present day. Where is Assyria

Encyclopedic YouTube

Subtitles

Story

Chronology

Old Assyrian period

XXIV-XXI centuries BC. e.

XX-XIX centuries BC. e.

eighteenth century BC e.

Religion

Life and customs

Rulers of Assyria

Formation of the Assyrian Empire

The economy and social structure of Assyria in the 9th-7th centuries

Organization of military affairs

State administration

Conquests of the Assyrian kings

culture

Notes:

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But life in general is complicated.

Ancient Assyrian power. Assyria from ancient times to the present day. Where is Assyria

Encyclopedic YouTube

Subtitles

Story

Chronology

Old Assyrian period

XXIV-XXI centuries BC. e.

XX-XIX centuries BC. e.

eighteenth century BC e.

Religion

Life and customs

Rulers of Assyria

Formation of the Assyrian Empire

The economy and social structure of Assyria in the 9th-7th centuries

Organization of military affairs

State administration

Conquests of the Assyrian kings

culture

Notes:

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