What amazes me about Assyrians and other ancient empires

ASHOOR

Administrator
Staff member
If you read the history of the Assyrian empire and other powerful empires in the ancient world, you will notice something amazing about them: the ease with which they would send their army to quash and oppress revolts in other parts of the empire, no matter where and how far they were.


Sennacerib.jpg


Think about it, we didn't have tanks, armored vehicles, aircraft carriers at that time. They relied on horses and chariots, that is about it. Yet that didn't stop them from being able to mobilize the army at any moment to put down any rebellions in any part of the empire.

"The Pharaoh king is rebelling against the Assyrian empire in Egypt? No problem, we will send our army to Egypt. A chaldean prince is rebelling in Babylon? Not a problem, an Assyrian army unit will be in Babylon in 3 days and put an end to this rogue element. Arab tribes in the south are acting against Assyrian interests? An elite Assyrian force will be sent to pacify them...

And on and on..."


Such examples as Egypt, Israel and Urartu, all of which shared no boarders with the Assyrian land-although were under the influence of the Assyrian empire for long stretches-yet the Assyrian empire never hesitated to send its army to defeat any attempts to rebel against the empire. That is thousands of miles away, but distance doesn't seem to be a problem.

Obviously, it would take weeks and months for the army to get to its destination, but it is still remarkable. Even in today's world, with all the advancement in technology, transportation and warfare techniques, it is hard to send an army across two different boarders, to invade and take over another country with ease.

The Assyrian kings and generals rarely hesitated to issue commands to invade and attack other states that were either rebelling or being a threat to the Assyrian nation and empire. When there was hesitation, it was a political and social one, often giving the state or vassal state in question some time to rethink their decision and declare their loyalty to the Assyrian empire without having to shed any blood.

And when the revolting or rogue state was one with close proximity, like Babylon, the decision was even easier, sending army re-enforcement within days.

Tells you just how advanced Assyrians were, not just in fighting but more importantly in logistics and mobilization.

Other notable examples from ancient history include Ancient Greece under 'Alexander the Great' and how easily he was able to sweep across Europe into Asia and all the way to India, and basically defeat anyone that came in his way. And of course, who can forget the Mongol Empire and how they swept almost half the known world there and conquered and destroyed everything in their path.

Let us compare and contrast that with a country like Syria today and their civil war. Its land size it not even quarter the size of what the Assyrian empire controlled in its height. And with all its (Syria) huge army size and weaponry, they are unable to put an end to the civil war within its boarders. When the army sends re-enforcements to one area of the country (say Aleppo) , another area rises up and seizes lands and territory from the army, and by the time the army gets to them, another area will have rebelled and fallen under the control of the rebels.  This was almost no issue for the Assyrian empire, and for hundreds of years. Syria has barely been in this for two years or so and they are almost ready to collapse as a government and army.

What do you guys think? do you find this as amazing as I do? The Assyrian empire's amazing ability to quickly and efficiently mobilize its army to send it on missions thousands of miles away, complete the job, restore order and peace and come back home victorious. 


ASHOOR
 
I can pretty much say, our empire was the precursor to Rome.
Everything that happened to Rome or everything that Rome did, we already did it before.
 
Back
Top