Assyria

What Happened to the Ancient Assyrians?

Until recently, history texts, and encyclopedias have failed to provide information about what happened to the ancient Assyrians after the fall of Nineveh. This was caused by the fact that Greek historians who wrote about them corrupted their name to Syrian by dropping the starting A in their name. Furthermore they gave the name Syria to the land west of the Euphrates, because for as long as they could remember it had been part of the Assyrian Empire. Consequently, all references to Syrians were wrongly assumed to mean citizens of Syria by the later historians. Despite attempts by the 5th century BC Herodotus, and the first century AD Strabo to distinguish between citizens of Syria and Assyrians the confusion continued into the later centuries.

In describing the Assyrian troops who served in the Persian military of king Xeroxes (486--465 BC) Herodotus wrote:

"The Assyrians went to war with helmets upon their head, made of brass, and plated in strange fashion, which is not easy to describe. .... This people, whom Greeks call Syrian, are called Assyrian by the barbarians." Herodotus Barbarians meant Persians, who were in a better position to know the exact nationality of the troops serving in their army. Assyrians and Babylonians together formed the fifth infantry and were led by Otaspes son of Artchaies. (Andrew Robert Burn, Persia and the Greeks, the Defense of the west 546-478 B.C., Minerva Press 1962 p. 336.)

Strabo also attested to the fact that by Syrian, Greeks and Romans [often] meant Assyrians who lived east of Euphrates. He wrote: "When those who have written histories about the Syrian empire, say that the Medes were overthrown by the Persians and the Syrians by the Medes, by Syrian, they mean no other people than those who built the royal palaces in Babylon, and Ninus; and of these Syrians, Ninus was the man who founded Ninus [Nineveh], in Aturia. [Assyria]." (H.L. Jones Translation of "Geography of Strabo", New York 1916, Vol. VIII p.195)

While Western historians believed that the city of Nineveh was never inhabited after its destruction, historical evidences prove otherwise. When Arab Geographer Al Mas-udi visited Nineveh in 943 A.D. He described it as a complex of ruins in the middle of which there are several villages and farms." He also wrote: "It was to these settlements that God sent Jonah." (Brian M. Fagan, Return to Babylon, Little, Brown & Co., Canada p.18.)

Nineveh became an important center of the Assyrian Christianity. It was presided over by a long list of bishops from 554 AD to the late ninth century. Later its bishopric was transferred to Mosul. Mar Emmeh, the Bishop of Nineveh was elected Patriarch of the Church of the East and served in that position between A.D. 644 to 647. Ishu-Yahav was the bishop of Nineveh between 627to 637 AD. When the byzantine forces under the command of Hercules defeated the Persians near Nineveh he fled to his estate in the mountain, because he feared that he might be taken prisoner by the Byzantine. ((William G. Young, "Patriarch, Shah and Caliph", Christian Study Center, Rawalpindi, Pakistan 1974, p. 87)

Since the early centuries of Christianity, Assyrians have observed a three days Fast, they call Baoota d' Ninevaye, or the Wish of the Ninevite, which is based on the Old testament book of Jonah who was sent by God to Nineveh to warn its inhabitant that unless they repented, Nineveh will be destroyed. According to the Book of Jonah, inhabitant of Nineveh fasted for 40 days and pleaded with God to forgive their sins and not destroy their city. This fast is still observed by the Christian Assyrians.

In a recently published book, titled: "Assyrians Beyond the Fall of Nineveh, William M Warda traces the survival of the ancient Assyrians, and the advancement of their descendants into Christianity. Warda also describes the Christian Assyrians' struggle for survival during the last 2000 years as subjects of foreign conquerors that ruled their homeland.

He also presents irrefutable historical and archaeological evidences to prove that those who have questioned the Assyrian identity of the Christian Assyrians do so because they are uninformed about their history.

Assyrian beyond the Fall of Nineveh is available at Amazon.com.

When tracing the long history of Assyria it is clear that the kingdom which initially began around the region on the Upper Tigris River in the Middle Bronze Age, grew to become a powerful empire later, spanning from 2400 BC to 612 BC. Assyrian history could be divided into six periods, such as Emergence - beginning: 2400 BC, the first Golden Age: 2400 BC - 612 BC, the first Dark Age: 612 BC - 33 AD, the Second Golden Age: 33 AD - 1300 AD, the Second Dark Age: 1300 AD to 1918 AD and finally Diaspora: 1918 AD to the present.During the long history of Assyria, they were subjugated (conquered) most of the time by more powerful kingdoms and people of the southern region. The Assyrians are a semetic people indegenous to Mesopotamia; they are Mediterranean Caucasoids and are ethnically distinct from Arabs and Jews. They are known as a race of warriors who were cruel and brutal than any other race. Assyrians were fierce warriors and used swords, slings, bows and shields in war. They also used war chariots drawn by horses. Archers fired at the enemy from them. The common language and art of Assyria originated from Sumeria, but was modified over the years. In fact, the Assyrians spoke two languages. The Neo-Assyrian Period (911-612 BC) which succeeded the Middle Assyrian period (14th-10th BC), is the last, but the most popular and best documented period in the duration of the Assyrian Empire. Assyrians established merchant colonies known as Karum (the Akkadian word for port) in 1920 BC-1840 BC and 1796 BC - 1740 BC. Even though Assyria was a minor kingdom in the Middle Assyrian period, it competed for dominion with their southern Mesopotamian rival, Babylon. It reached peak power with reforms of Tiglath-Pileser III who ruled Assyria from 745-727 BC. During the 25th dynasty of Egypt, Assyria became a serious threat to Egypt. Even though not much information has been gathered about life in the early periods, it is recorded that the Assyrians practised Ashurism and Christianity as their religions. The first religion was derived from the name of God Ashur and was practised until 256 AD, with some of the people taking to Christianity. Assyria is considered as the first nation to embrace Christianity. In fact, records state that the first Assyrian church was founded in 33 AD by Thomas, Bartholemew and Thaddeus. Inventions It is the Assyrians who first used battering rams to knock holes in the city walls during battle. They were skilled at seige warfare to defeat their enemies. They also used excavation as a means to undermine the strength of city walls in enemy territory. The concept of corps of engineers who bridged rivers with pontoons (flat bottomed boats or metal drums) or provided soldiers with inflatable skins for swimming is believed to have been introduced by the Assyrians. Assyrians had invented many devises that are still used in our present days as locks and keys that were first used in Assyria. in Assyria the sexagesimal system of keeping time was developed. One cannot imagine driving without paved roads; it is in Assyria where paved roads were first used. And the list goes on, including the first postal system, the first use of iron, the first magnifying glasses, the first libraries, the first plumbing and flush toilets, the first electric batteries, the first guitars, the first aqueducts, the first arch, and on and on.

The most important thing that originated from Assyria is ideas, ideas that would shape the world to come. It is the idea, for example, of imperial administration, of dividing the land into territories administered by local governors who report to the central authority, the King of Assyria. This fundamental model of administration has survived to this day, as can be seen in America's federal-state system.