The Assyrians — the Masters of War
By: Peter Preskar
Tags: War, Military, Military History, World, History

The Assyrians — the Masters of War

The notorious Assyrian war chariot (Illustration by Angus McBride)

The Assyrian army was the most technologically advanced army of its time. The Assyrian war machine created one of the biggest empires in history. The Neo-Assyrian Empire (911 BC — 605 BC) revolutionized warfare.

The Assyrians were one of the firsts to use weapons made of iron. They were one of the earliest adaptors of cavalry forces and one of the firsts to use battering rams for a siege of the cities.

The Assyrian war machine

A map of the enormous Assyrian Empire (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

A powerful army was key for the survival of the Assyrians.

Since Mesopotamia offered few natural defenses, the attack was the best defense.

Initially, the Assyrian army relied on the levy of the Assyrian farmers. So, the military campaigns happened only in autumn, after the farming was done. Wars had to be short because in spring soldier-farmers had to return to their fields.

The empire required military reforms to fuel its further expansion. Consequently, Tiglath-Pileser III founded a standing army in the eighth century BC.

Army service was compulsory for every single man, no matter the social class.

The service was comprised of a three-year cycle. During the first year, soldiers built imperial roads and buildings. During the second year, they took part in military campaigns. They dedicated the third year to spending time with their families. Afterwards, the cycle repeated itself.

The organization of the Assyrian army was superb. The soldiers wore uniforms to get a sense of unity. Every soldier was part of the unit with the appointed commander. The Assyrians built roads for the fast movement of the men and their supplies.

From war chariots, archers, and cavalry to battering rams

Assyrian cavalry and infantry around 650 BC (Illustration by Angus McBride)

The Assyrian army used war chariots. These large chariots carried four soldiers and were drawn by four horses. They served as mobile artillery and as an ultimate shock weapon.

Their army was one of the first to use cavalry. Cavalrymen fought in pairs. Usually one would hold the reins of his partner’s horse while the second rider would shoot with his bow.

The weapons made of iron gave the Assyrians a tremendous advantage over their opponents.

They made swords, spears, and armor from iron. Arrows with iron tips could penetrate the enemy’s armor with ease.

Assyrian archer (Illustration by Johny Shumate)

Besides the elite cavalry and fearsome war chariots, the Assyrians also used archers. The archers, too, fought in pairs. One man would use a bow, while another would protect them with a long spear and a huge shield.

The Assyrian archers had a higher firing rate than their opponents because of a revolutionary innovation — a quiver. They needed less time to grab the next arrow.

The Assyrians invented a battering ram — the first proper siege equipment in recorded history. The ram had a head made of iron, wheels, and roof protection.

Their engineers built siege towers on wheels, underground tunnels, and made incendiary arrows.

The Assyrians mastered psychological warfare

Assyrian relief depicting the torture of the defeated enemy soldiers (Image: faculty.uml.edu)

The Assyrians discovered that instilling fear in the hearts of enemies could win them a battle without a fight.

Another reason for psychological warfare was the independent mindset of the Mesopotamian cities. Even though these cities were conquered, they rebelled again and again. Only extreme brutality kept them under the Assyrian control.

The Assyrians depicted all the horrors in great detail on the walls of the imperial palaces. Every visitor to the palaces would think twice before fighting them.

They also created clay tablets with depictions of all their terror. The blinded and amputated opponents served as a reminder of the Assyrian cruelty.

Such was the fear of the Assyrians that the cities surrendered at the sight of the Assyrian army.

A relief depicting the Assyrians flaying their prisoners alive (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

The Assyrians would flay people alive, chop off their noses and ears, blind them, and impale them on stakes. They decorated trees and city walls with the severed heads or even built pyramids with them.

They were ruthless towards the rebellious cities, literally destroying every single brick.

The cruelty didn’t leave scars only on the conquered nations. The Assyrian soldiers were seeing and hearing the ghosts of the killed enemies. These were the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Besides extreme brutality, the Assyrians employed another effective method of psychological warfare — deportations. They resettled entire nations all over their empire. Even the Bible writes about the Israelis being deported by the Assyrians.

Conclusion

The Assyrians created a vast empire, that eventually collapsed in 605 BC. Yet, the Assyrian military innovations and tactics outlasted them.

The Roman Empire also had a strong professional army. The Mongol Empire employed brutal psychological warfare. Count Dracula impaled the Ottoman Turks on stakes to scare them away. Hannibal effectively used cavalry to defeat the Romans.

The list of those who successfully copied the Assyrian approach to war is very long. Unfortunately.