Page 35 - Bible Geography and Near East Studies

wanted to control traffic through narrow Israel. When we read the Bible, therefore, it’s not surprising to
read of Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and Roman forces inside the Promised Land.

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The Assyrian Empire

Assyria, a kingdom of northern Mesopotamia, became the center of one of the greatest empires of the
ancient Middle East. It was in what is now northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey.

The Neo-Assyrian Empire was an Iron Age Mesopotamian empire, in existence between 911 BC and 609
BC, and became the largest empire of the world up till that time.

The Assyrian empire became extremely great and powerful, with
Nineveh as its center, all the way until its final destruction by the
Chaldeans and the Medes. Nineveh was in a very desirable place,
east of the Tigris River in a very fertile plain. Today, the ancient ruins
are located just opposite the present-day city of Mosul. The size of
Nineveh is revealed in the Bible, in Jonah 3:3 and 4:11 (A 3-days
journey in breadth with over 120,000 people). The classical writers
describe Nineveh as being over 60 miles around the city walls. The
city of Nineveh is described in Genesis 10:11 as having been
founded by Nimrod, the hunter who built the tower of Babel and led
the world into a rebellion against God. The Old Testament also
mentions Nineveh in relation to the prophet Jonah, who preached
judgment against Nineveh, and afterward the city repented.

Nineveh took its turn as
one of three cities to be
the capital of Assyria,
whose rule over
Mesopotamia dates to
2400 BC and was an
incredible civilization that
rose from humble
beginnings into a
fearsome empire that ruled much of the known world until its
fall in 612 BC. Because we read of the judgments upon
Assyria, we might tend to look upon them as some demon-
possessed frothing people of whom nothing comes but evil.
But the truth for Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire is true of
every nation on earth. They had many kinds of people, subject
to the cultural norms of the time, and doing the best they
could to raise their children, survive, and prosper. God,
through Jonah, showed great mercy on His people because
they repented of hearing the word of God. (8th Century
BCEE.) The Assyrians brought many scientific, philosophical,
and practical advances to humanity, including many inventions that we take for granted today. Everyday

4 Information from this section was taken from https://www.bible-history.com/biblestudy/nineveh.html
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