Topic 12 of 33 - Your Place in the Learning Journey
Assyria
Assyria was one of the great empires of the ancient world. At its height in the 8th and 7th centuries BCE, the Assyrian Empire stretched from what is now Iran in the east to Egypt in the west, and from the Persian Gulf in the south to the mountains of Anatolia in the north. It was a military superpower, and its armies were among the most feared in the ancient Near East.
For biblical Israel, Assyria was not a distant fact of history. It was a direct and devastating presence. In 722 BCE, the Assyrian king Sargon II conquered Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, deported much of its population, and resettled the land with peoples from other parts of his empire. The ten tribes of the northern kingdom effectively disappeared from history. This event, one of the most consequential in the entire biblical narrative, is recorded in 2 Kings 17 and echoed throughout the prophetic books.
Assyria also threatened the southern kingdom of Judah. In 701 BCE, King Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem during the reign of Hezekiah. The Bible records a dramatic deliverance (2 Kings 18-19), and Sennacherib's own annals confirm the siege while telling the story differently. The two accounts together offer a vivid example of how biblical and non-biblical sources can be read alongside each other.
Assyria and Biblical Israel: Key Encounters
| Date (BCE) | Assyrian King | Event | Biblical Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| ~853 | Shalmaneser III | Battle of Qarqar; Israel's King Ahab joins a coalition against Assyria | Not directly mentioned in the Bible; confirmed by Assyrian records |
| ~841 | Shalmaneser III | King Jehu of Israel pays tribute; depicted on the Black Obelisk | 2 Kings 9-10 (Jehu's reign); tribute not mentioned in Bible |
| ~734-732 | Tiglath-Pileser III | Campaigns against Israel and Syria; Assyrian pressure leads to political crisis in Israel | 2 Kings 15-16; Isaiah 7 |
| 722 | Sargon II | Fall of Samaria; deportation of the northern kingdom of Israel | 2 Kings 17; the "lost ten tribes" disappear from history |
| 701 | Sennacherib | Invasion of Judah; siege of Jerusalem; Hezekiah pays tribute | 2 Kings 18-19; Isaiah 36-37; 2 Chronicles 32 |
| ~663 | Ashurbanipal | Assyria reaches its greatest extent; sacks Thebes in Egypt | Nahum 3:8 references the sack of Thebes |
| 612 | (none - fall of empire) | Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, destroyed by Babylon and the Medes | The book of Nahum celebrates Nineveh's destruction |
Explore Further
The Assyrian Empire
Who were the Assyrians, how did they build their empire, and what made their military so feared? An introduction to one of the ancient world's most powerful civilizations.
Read more →The Fall of Samaria
In 722 BCE, the Assyrian king Sargon II conquered the northern kingdom of Israel and deported its people. What happened, what does the Bible say, and what do Assyrian records add?
Read more →Sennacherib and Jerusalem
In 701 BCE Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem. Both the Bible and Assyrian records describe the event - and they tell somewhat different stories. What does each source say, and what can we conclude?
Read more →The Lost Ten Tribes
After the Assyrian conquest, the ten tribes of the northern kingdom effectively vanished from the biblical record. What happened to them, and why has their fate generated so much speculation over the centuries?
Read more →Assyria in the Prophets
Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, and others addressed Assyria directly. Some saw Assyria as God's instrument of judgment. Others celebrated its downfall. A look at how the prophets interpreted Assyrian power.
Read more →Jonah and Nineveh
The book of Jonah sends its reluctant prophet to Nineveh, the Assyrian capital. What is the book really about, and what does it say about how biblical authors understood God's relationship to foreign nations?
Read more →