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Assyria originated in the 23rd century BC, its earliest king Tudiya being a contemporary of Ibrium of Ebla.〔Healy, ''The Ancient Assyrians'', p. 6〕 It evolved from the Akkadian Empire of the late 3rd millennium BC. Assyria was a strong nation under the rule of Ilushuma (1945–1906 BC), who founded colonies in Asia Minor and raided Isin and other Sumero-Akkadian states in southern Mesopotamia. Under Shamshi-Adad I (1813–1791 BC) and his successor Ishme-Dagan (1790–1754 BC), Assyria was the seat of a regional empire controlling northern Mesopotamia and regions in Asia Minor and northern Syria. From 1365 to 1076 BC, Assyria became a major empire and world power, rivalling Egypt. Kings such as Ashur-uballit I (1365 BC – 1330 BC), Enlil-nirari (1329 – 1308 BC), Arik-den-ili (c. 1307–1296 BC), Adad-nirari I (1295 – 1275 BC), Shalmaneser I (1274 – 1245 BC), Tukulti-Ninurta I (1244 BC – 1208 BC), Ashur-resh-ishi I (1133 – 1116 BC) and Tiglath-Pileser I (1115 – 1077 BC) forged an empire which at its peak stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Caspian Sea, and from the foothills of the Caucasus to Arabia.〔The encyclopædia britannica:a dictionary of arts, sciences, literature and general information, Volume 26, Edited by Hugh Chrisholm, 1911, p. 968〕 The 11th and 10th centuries BC were a dark age for the entire Near East, North Africa, Caucasus, Mediterranean and Balkan regions, with great upheavals and mass movements of people. Despite the apparent weakness of Assyria, at heart it in fact remained a solid, well defended nation whose warriors were the best in the world. Assyria, with its stable monarchy and secure borders, was in a stronger position during this time than potential rivals such as Egypt, Babylonia, Elam, Phrygia, Urartu, Persia and Media〔According to George Roux, ''Ancient Iraq'', p. 282–283.〕 Beginning with the campaigns of Adad-nirari II (911–892 BC), Assyria once more became a great power, growing to be the greatest empire the world had yet seen, although some historians do not regard it as a true empire in the modern sense until the reforms of Tiglath-Pileser III in the mid-8th century BC. The Assyrian empire has at times been described as the first military power in history. This article deals with the forces of the Assyrians in the above described times. Ashurnasirpal II is credited for utilizing sound strategy in his wars of conquest. While aiming to secure defensible frontiers, he would launch raids further inland against his opponents as a means of securing economic benefit,〔Healy, ''The Ancient Assyrians'', p. 7〕 as he did when campaigning in the Levant. The result meant that the economic prosperity of the region would fuel the Assyrian war machine.〔Healy, ''The Ancient Assyrians'', p. 10〕 Ashurnasirpal II was succeeded by Shalmaneser III. Although he campaigned for 31 years of his 35-year reign,〔 he failed to achieve or equal the conquests of his predecessor,〔Healy, ''The Ancient Assyrians'', p. 13〕 and his death led to another period of weakness in Assyrian rule.〔 Assyria would later recover under Tiglath Pileser III, whose reforms once again made Assyria the most powerful force in the Near East,〔Healy, ''The Ancient Assyrians'', p. 17〕 and transformed her into a fully fledged empire – the first of its kind. Later, under Shalmaneser V, Sargon II and Sennacherib, further Assyrian offensives occurred, although these were designed not only for conquest, but also to destroy the enemies ability to undermine Assyrian power. As such, costly battles raged taking tolls on Assyrian manpower. Esarhaddon succeeded in taking lower Egypt and his successor, Ashurbanipal, took the southern upper half of Egypt. However, by the end of the Ashurbanipal's reign it appears that the Assyrian Empire was falling into another period of weakness,〔Healy, ''The Ancient Assyrians'', p. 54〕 one from which she would not escape. It appears that years of costly battles followed by constant (and almost unstoppable) rebellions meant that it was a matter of time before Assyria ran out of troops. The loss of the outer regions meant that foreign troops were gone too. By 605 BC, independent political Assyrian records vanish from history and the Assyrians lost their independence forever. ==Background== Mesopotamia was the site of some of the earliest recorded battles in history. In fact, the first recorded battle was between the forces of Lagash and Umma c. 2450 BC.〔 Like many Mesopotamian records, it contains elements of fiction. The ruler of Lagash, Eanatum, was inspired by the god Ningirsu to attack the rival kingdom of Umma; the two were involved in minor skirmishes and raids along their respective borders.〔 Eanatum, although having triumphed, was struck in the eye by an arrow. After the battle, he proudly documented the behavior of the vultures. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Military history of the Neo-Assyrian Empire」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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