Assyria

Assyria designates a major political and cultural power of the ancient Near East that developed in northern Mesopotamia along the Tigris River near modern day Turkey, Iraq, and Iran. Over several centuries, Assyria grew from a regional kingdom into a vast empire controlling much of the ancient Near East. Assyrian rule was marked by centralized authority, military organization, provincial administration, and large-scale building projects. Its scribal culture produced royal inscriptions, historical annals, legal texts, and literature that provide detailed insight into imperial ideology, governance, and interaction with subject peoples.