The Middle Assyrian empire, which reached its maximum extension under Tukulti-Ninurta I (1243—1207 bc), bordered with three different types of frontiers. To the north-east, in the northern Zagros and the Upper Tigris Valley, there were a series of mountain populations, organised into small states. On the one hand, these states could not oppose the mighty Assyrians and tended to gravitate around them. On the other hand, the nature of this territory was inaccessible for an army and full of hiding places. Therefore, it prevented a definite conquest and re-organisation of the area in the same fashion as Upper Mesopotamia.
To the west, the border was defined by the Euphrates, with the Assyrian settlements of the eastern riverbank facing the Hittite vassals of the western riverbank. This border was difficult to overcome, and gave a certain degree of security against the Assyrian expansion in that direction. Finally, there was the southern border with Babylonia, a kingdom with a similar political structure and equal military strength (Table 20.1). This border was not fixed, and constantly moved further north or further south, according to whoever was more powerful at the time.
Tukulti-Ninurta was active on all three fronts, though in different ways. The north-eastern border was the most crucial for the survival of Assyria, despite being the one whose conquest brought the least glory. The tribes and chiefdoms of the Zagros and Upper Tigris were dangerously close to the Assyrian countryside. They constantly harassed it with incursions and raids, the latter being the ultimate reason used by the Assyrian propaganda to justify its military interventions. However, Assyrian interventions in the mountains were far more damaging than the incursions of these mountain people in Assyria. Moreover, the Assyrians had further reasons to attack other than to simply defend themselves. The area was rich in timber, especially on the Mehru Mountain. Tukulti-Ninurta needed timber to support his intensive building programme,
Figure 20.1 The Middle Assyrian kingdom. Above: Reign of Ashur-uballit I; Centre: Reigns of Adad-nirari I and Shalmaneser I. Below: Reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I.
The Middle Assyrian kingdom
Which included temples as well as palaces and fortifications. The region was also rich in copper in the Diya-rbakir area, and in horses around lake Urmia, both fundamental resources for the Assyrian army.
Through this pretext of defending the Assyrian countryside, Tukulti-Ninurta’s army reached deep into the region. This was in order to ensure, through effective deterring interventions, free access to these strategic resources. The lands first affected by the Assyrian attacks (Alshe/Alzi, Paphi, Amadani and so on) became tributary states. Beyond the Upper Tigris, the land became almost inaccessible and military expeditions became less frequent. In this area, there were a variety of small states (the ‘forty kings’) belonging to the land defined by Shalmaneser as Uruatri, and by Tukulti-Ninurta as Nairi (Text 20.1). In order to face the Assyrian threat, these states began to establish some form of organisation, which was not yet politically unified, but far more coordinated than before.
World History
