Assyria
Assyria is a region mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Mesopotamia in modern-day Iraq. Known today as Nineveh. It appears across 141 verses in Scripture.
Biblical History
Assyria was one of the most powerful empires of the ancient Near East and looms large across the pages of the Old Testament. Emerging from the city of Asshur on the Tigris River, Assyria is first mentioned in Genesis 2:14 and 10:11, where Nimrod is associated with building its great cities. From the ninth century BCE onward, Assyria became a dominant and feared force that repeatedly threatened and invaded the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The prophet Jonah was sent to warn Nineveh, its capital. Under Tiglath-Pileser III, Israel began paying tribute (2 Kings 15:19-20). Shalmaneser V and Sargon II completed the conquest and deportation of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 BCE (2 Kings 17), fulfilling prophetic warnings. Sennacherib threatened Jerusalem under Hezekiah but was miraculously turned back (2 Kings 18-19; Isaiah 36-37). The prophets Isaiah, Nahum, Micah, Hosea, and Zephaniah all address Assyria, variously depicting it as God's instrument of judgment and as a proud empire destined for divine destruction. Assyria fell to the Babylonians in 612 BCE.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Assyria's heartland in northern Iraq has been extensively excavated since the nineteenth century. Henry Layard's mid-1800s excavations at Nineveh (Kuyunjik) and Nimrud (ancient Calah) uncovered monumental palace complexes with massive sculptured reliefs depicting Assyrian military campaigns and royal hunts, along with Sennacherib's famous prism recording his siege of Jerusalem. Ashurbanipal's library at Nineveh preserved over 30,000 cuneiform tablets including the Epic of Gilgamesh. Sargon II's capital at Khorsabad yielded a remarkably intact palatial city. Recent conflicts in Iraq caused severe damage to Nimrud and other sites, though international archaeological efforts continue preservation work.
Verse Appearances (141)
2Kgs
2Chr
Neh
Isa
Lam
Zeph
Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →