Assyria is one of the most remarkable imperial states in global history, often celebrated as the first “world empire”. At its peak, during the reign of King Esarhaddon, the Assyrian Empire encompassed a large part of West Asia and Egypt, an extent that was unprecedented at that time in history. Assyria’s achievements were astounding, as manifested in the creation of capitals of unprecedented size and splendor, the construction of enormous irrigation infrastructures, and the complete makeover of the Assyrian heartland. There were no other competing polities of similar magnitude in the Iron Age, a situation that is markedly different from the preceding Late Bronze Age, in which Assyria was one of three great powers that balanced each other out: the Egyptians, the Hittites, and the Assyrians.

[www.asor.org]