History › First civilizations › Sumer and Mesopotamia: the first cities
Assyrian Empire and Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon
Assyrian Empire 911–609 BC; Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar II 605–562 BC; fell to Persia 539 BC· Empire, kingdom or state· Middle East & Africa
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
Two Mesopotamian powers that in turn dominated the Near East from about 911 to 539 BC.
See it on the History map →What happened
From its heartland on the upper Tigris, the Neo-Assyrian Empire built the largest empire yet, using a professional army, siege engines, a royal road and messenger system, and mass deportations of conquered peoples. Its capital, Nineveh, fell in 612 BC to Babylonians and Medes. Babylon's Nebuchadnezzar II (605–562 BC) then took Jerusalem and rebuilt Babylon in glazed brick, including the blue Ishtar Gate. Persia's Cyrus the Great took Babylon in 539 BC.
Why it matters
They pioneered tools of large-scale rule, such as provinces, governors and deportations, that Persia and later empires copied, and their conquests shaped the Bible's story.
How we know
Palace reliefs and Ashurbanipal's library of about 30,000 clay tablets from Nineveh; the Ishtar Gate, reconstructed in Berlin; the Babylonian Chronicles; the Bible.
Still debated
Whether the Hanging Gardens of Babylon existed, and where, is debated; one theory places them at Nineveh instead.
Connections (3)
▸Akkadian Empire of Sargon set the model for later empires like Assyrian Empire and Nebuchadnezzar's BabylonMostly agreed
The connection
Sargon became a legendary model for later Mesopotamian kings. Assyrian rulers used his title 'king of the universe', and one, Sargon II (722–705 BC), took his name. Assyrian and Babylonian were themselves dialects of Akkadian, which served as the region's diplomatic language for over a thousand years. One king ruling many peoples through governors and armies became the norm.
When and how
Mesopotamia, from Sargon about 2334 BC to the Assyrian and Babylonian empires of about 911–539 BC.
How sure are we?
Assyrian royal inscriptions reuse Akkadian titles; Sargon legends were copied in Assyrian libraries; Babylon's last king, Nabonidus, dug up and honored Naram-Sin's inscriptions.
Debates and open questions
How much later kings knew of the real Akkadian Empire versus the legend is unclear; Sargon's later image was partly invented.
▸Assyrian Empire and Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon conquered Kingdoms of Israel and JudahWell documented
The connection
Assyria conquered the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC and deported much of its population, the origin of the 'ten lost tribes' tradition. Judah survived as a tribute-paying vassal, even through Sennacherib's siege of Jerusalem in 701 BC. Babylon's Nebuchadnezzar II then took Jerusalem in 597 BC, destroyed it and its temple in 586 BC, and deported its elite.
When and how
Samaria in 722 BC (Shalmaneser V and Sargon II); Jerusalem besieged in 701 BC (Sennacherib), captured in 597 and destroyed in 586 BC (Nebuchadnezzar II).
How we know
Sargon II claims 27,290 deportees from Samaria; Sennacherib's Prism boasts of shutting Hezekiah in Jerusalem 'like a bird in a cage'; the Babylonian Chronicles record 597 BC.
Debates and open questions
Why Jerusalem survived in 701 BC (tribute, disease or, as the Bible says, a miracle) is unresolved; the destruction date, 587 or 586 BC, is debated.
▸Persian (Achaemenid) Empire took over the lands of Assyrian Empire and Nebuchadnezzar's BabylonWell documented
The connection
Cyrus the Great took Babylon in 539 BC almost without a fight; its last king, Nabonidus, had alienated the city's priests. Persia inherited the whole Babylonian empire, from Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean, along with tax systems, scribes and administrative methods developed under Assyria. Babylon became one of Persia's capitals.
When and how
Babylon, October 539 BC, after Cyrus defeated the Babylonian army at Opis and Nabonidus was captured.
How we know
The Cyrus Cylinder and the Nabonidus Chronicle describe the takeover; Babylonian business archives continue without a break, showing daily life went on.
Debates and open questions
Whether Babylon really welcomed Cyrus, as his propaganda claims, or the story was spun afterward is debated.