Assyria: The Rise and Fall of the World's First Empire

A “sweeping, delightfully readable” (Wall Street Journal) new history of Assyria, the ancient civilization that set the model for future empires<br/><br/>At its height in 660 BCE, the kingdom of Assyria stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. It was the first empire the world had ever seen.<br/><br/>In Assyria, historian Eckart Frahm tells the epic story of the Assyrian empire and its formative role in global history. Assyria’s wide-ranging conquests have long been known from the Hebrew Bible and later Greek accounts. But nearly two centuries of research now permit a rich picture of the Assyrians and their empire beyond the battlefield: their vast libraries and monumental sculptures, their elaborate trade and information networks, and the crucial role played by royal women.<br/><br/>Although Assyria was crushed by rising powers in the late seventh century BCE, its legacy endured from the Babylonian and Persian empires to Rome and beyond. Assyria is a stunning and authoritative account of a civilization essential to understanding the ancient world and our own.