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His Research Paper Nineveh Assyria at The Time of Jonah
His Research Paper Nineveh Assyria at The Time of Jonah
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Assyria derives its name from its city of origin, Assur. Assur is located in
modern-day Iraq on the west bank of the Tigris River, in northern Mesopotamia.
To the north, working up the Tigris River, were two other important Assyrian
cities, Kalhu and Nineveh. Kalhu was constructed and then converted to the new
Assyrian capital during the reign of Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 BC),1 while Assur
remained the religious center of the Empire.2 Kalhu was built strategically, being
located near the convergence of the Tigris and Greater Zab Rivers and sandwiched
Nineveh was also geographically well situated, being near the convergence
of the Tigris and Khosr Rivers.4 The city was surrounded by fertile plains that
receive abundant rainfall, and alongside it ran an important trade route going from
the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean.5 Around 1000 BC, Nineveh was about
1850 acres, or 3 square miles.6 It was surrounded by a long wall with multiple
gates made of stone and mud brick.7 Outside the wall and surrounding the city
1
William H. Stiebing Jr. and Susan N. Helft, Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture, (New York: Routledge,
2018), 290.
2
L. P. Petit and D. Morandi Bonacossi, ed., Nineveh, the Great City, (Leiden: Sidestone Press, 2011), 128.
3
Petit, ed. City, 129.
4
Petit, ed. City, 170.
5
Petit, ed. City, 15.
6
Elaine A. Phillips, Obadiah, Jonah, & Micah, AOTC (London: Apollos, 2022), 94.
7
Petit, ed. City, 16.
were small farmsteads and villages. Many of these villagers probably worked in
the two nearby quarries, both situated alongside the Tigris River. Miners would
bring back gypsum-alabaster, which would be transformed into the palace and
province of Israel. His prophetic ministry overlapped with the reign of the Israelite
king Jeroboam II, who ruled from 786-746 BC. We can assume that the book of
Jonah does not take place after 744, as there is no mention of Tiglath-pileser III’s
(744-727 BC) aggressive campaigns towards Israel, and Jonah appears to have no
trouble entering the Assyrian heartland or the city of Nineveh. A reasonable date
for Jonah would be anywhere in the first half of the 8th century BC, particularly
from 786-746.
This happened to be a unique period for Assyria. The years 950 to 744 BC
are considered the first half of the Neo-Assyrian Empire; a desire for resources and
manpower, rather than territory, drove the Assyrians to invade those around them,9
and they did so ruthlessly. Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 BC) and his successor
Shalmaneser III (859-824 BC) invaded Syria, Palestine, and eastern Anatolia,
8
Petit, ed. City, 137, 141.
9
Peter Dubovsky, “Tiglath-pileser III’s Campaigns in 734-732 B.C.: Historical Background of Isa 7; 2 Kgs 15-16
and 2 Chr 27-28,” Biblica 87 (2006), 153.
repeatedly massacring whole cities. In the process they created several vassals, one
Around the end of Shalmaneser III’s rule, Assyria’s reign of terror began to
wane. The king’s eldest son began a rebellion that took over some leading
worsened Assyria’s relations with Babylon. In this new struggle with Babylon, he
10
Phillips, Jonah, AOTC, 57.
11
This chart was created by me; I got the dates for the king’s reigns from Stiebing Jr. and Helft, Ancient, 153, 278,
290, 291, 293, and 325.
ended up virtually losing control of several Assyrian provinces, which began to be
Despite recurrent struggles with disease, revolts, and the perpetual power
struggle with Babylon, King Adad-Nirari III (810-783) managed to conduct several
successful campaigns against Damascus, Israel, and the rebelling Syrian states,
died and was succeeded by the virtually unknown Shalmaneser IV. After a ten-year
reign, he was succeeded by Ashur-Dan III, who, during his reign, dealt with more
disease, more revolts, and, worst of all for a superstitious people, an ominous solar
control over his provinces, which were largely left in the hands of their
It is within this context that the book of Jonah occurs. Assyria in the early 8th
century was at an unusual low point. The empire was experiencing famine, disease,
were unable to take power back from smaller provincial governors.16 In light of the
weakened Assyrian threat, Israel had a brief period of prosperity and expanded its
12
Stiebing Jr. and Helft, Ancient, 293.
13
Phillips, Jonah, AOTC, 58.
14
Phillips, Jonah, AOTC, 57.
15
Phillips, Jonah, AOTC, 57.
16
Stiebing Jr. and Helft, Ancient, 324. Phillips, Jonah, AOTC, 58.
territory (2 Kings 14:25), but the memories of Assyrian terror, only recently
experienced in the campaigns not many years before by King Adad-Nirari, were
not far from Israel’s mind. It is no wonder that the last thing a prophet of Israel
would want to hear at that moment was a message of mercy for the Ninevites.
Assyrian Government
Despite the weakened structure Assyria experienced in the early 8th century,
the head of the Assyrian Empire and government was still the king. Like other
Mesopotamian nations, the king of Assyria was not perceived to be divine, but
divinely chosen. To represent this, in each city that the capital of the empire moved
to, the royal palace would be built directly beside and below the city’s temple,
which would be located geographically on the city’s highest point.17 The king was
chosen by the gods, and particularly, Ashur, to accomplish his will, which meant
completing rituals as high priest, building the gods’ temples, and conquering other
nations.18 The notorious Assyrian military was motivated by monetary gain, but it
was fueled further by a sense of divine mission, by which Assyria would turn
thus every monarch invested in the documented tracing of their lineage, including
usurpers of the throne, who would simply rewrite history and give themselves an
ancestry they did not have. These records, as well as records of the king’s military
legitimacy.20
Like other Mesopotamian kings, the king of Assyria’s power was not
decisions first by the gods through various divining means, and he had to please
the nobility, who generally held high positions within his court.21
throughout the Empire. Large provinces were run by provincial governors, and
necessary or requested building projects. They often even had their own military
force.22 Their impressive power, particularly during this period in the 8th century
when central power was so unstable, is probably why the book of Jonah describes a
20
Parker, “Kingship,” 366.
21
Stiebing Jr. and Helft, Ancient, 334.
22
Parker, “Kingship,” 369.
“King of Nineveh,” rather than the King of Assyria; likely, the book is referring to
delegates,’ would watch over all these proceedings, and report their findings
The most common language within the Empire was Akkadian, but Aramaic
was becoming a common second language.25 Daily life for most Assyrians
probably involved agriculture and pastoral farming on land owned by the upper-
class.26 For men, much of life was consumed by military service, which was
compulsory.27 Society was divided into three classes: the mar bini, landholding
free men; the ummanu, the literate, professional class, and the hubshu, the lower
classes.28 It was from the mar bini that advisors, chief priests, officers, and
governors would be chosen,29 including the king of Nineveh from Jonah’s time.
23
Parker, “Kingship,” 370-371.
24
Parker, “Kingship,” 360.
25
Parker, “Kingship,” 360.
26
Stiebing Jr. and Helft, Ancient, 336.
27
Parker, “Kingship,” 372.
28
Stiebing Jr. and Helft, Ancient, 336.
29
Stiebing Jr. and Helft, Ancient, 336.
The ummanu contained Assyria’s educated professionals, such as bankers,
consulted by the king regularly to discern the will of the gods’, as the scholars
The lower class, the hubshu, were the most common of the Assyrians, and
the ones who were the agricultural and pastoral farmers and the military force. At
the bottom of this class were the slaves. Slaves who had been sold to pay off their
debts could potentially work their way out of slavery, but foreign prisoners of war
wealthy, large homes in close proximity to smaller houses may indicate that
Assyrian Religion
Mesopotamia, but with a special focus on their national god Assur, the god of their
home city. They worshipped many gods, including Samas, the god of justice,
30
Stiebing Jr. and Helft, Ancient, 336.
31
Parker, “Kingship,” 368, 370.
32
Stiebing Jr. and Helft, Ancient, 336.
33
Petit, ed. City, 130.
Nergal, the god of death, and Ishtar, the goddess of love and warfare. Ishtar in
particular held a prominent place in the city of Nineveh, which had a large temple
dedicated to her. 34
The gods had to be tended to, which was the daily task of the priests and
priestesses. They would dress and clean the god’s images and feed them through
animal sacrifices. The chief priest of the land was the king, who would travel to
Assur, Kalhu, and Arbela to perform the necessary rituals for the religious
calendar.35
In addition to the good gods, the Assyrians also believed in evil, lesser gods,
or demons. These figures were responsible for the sickness and disaster that would
priests, who could conduct complicated rituals to deter the demons. Individuals
would also carry images of the gods, or wear jewelry containing images of the
Assyrian Military
The Assyrian military was a highly trained machine, in part because the
Assyrians felt they had a religious obligation to conquer their surrounding nations.
The Assyrian king set out on a campaign each year to fulfill this responsibility of
34
Petit, ed. City, 213.
35
Petit, ed. City, 216.
36
Petit, ed. City, 216.
expanding Assur’s realm.37 It was also a bonus that the army would return with
loot from realms that were more blessed in natural resources than they were.
warfare to intimidate their subjects, and potential subjects, into compliance. They
would treat their rebellious vassals with particular hostility. Some of their methods
were impalement, flaying alive, starvation, and mutilation. They would frequently
Usually, only the elite upper class, such as the royal household and nobility,
would be subjected to this treatment, because they were the ones who were
generally responsible for rebellions when they occurred. However, if cities were
and killed.39
The Assyrian army had three main divisions, with various subdivisions: the
chariotry, the infantry, and the cavalry. The infantry was divided into archers,
slingers, and spearmen. Accompanying the army always was a group of specialists
and engineers, who could mine tunnels underneath walls, build boats to cross
bodies of water, and construct battering rams and siege works.40 With the
37
Parker, “Kingship,” 365, 367.
38
Parker, “Kingship,” 372. Stiebing Jr. and Helft, Ancient, 339-340.
39
Stiebing Jr. and Helft, Ancient, 340.
40
Stiebing Jr. and Helft, Ancient, 338.
combined forces of ingenuity and viciousness, the Assyrian army was truly
Conclusion
The prophet Jonah lived during the early 8th century B.C. During this time,
he likely witnessed early in his life his home of Israel suffering attacks from the
Assyrian empire. The Assyrians, for their part, were beset by various internal and
struggles with Babylon and other kingdoms, which kept them from expanding their
territory. The Nineveh that Jonah arrived in would have been a city that was
weakened, and receptive to the idea that they had done something to displease his
God.
Bibliography
Petit, L. P. and D. Morandi Bonacossi, ed. Nineveh, the Great City. Leiden:
Sidestone Press, 2017.