THE WARLIKE ASSYRIANS

The kings of Assyria spent much of their time going to war. Almost every year, the king would set out on a campaign with his army. The soldiers were so good that the Assyrians conquered all the countries around and came to rule the greatest empire the world had ever seen.

It was fine to be a soldier in the Assyrian army, for it usually won, and the soldiers could plunder the cities which they destroyed. Many Assyrians made the army their career.

A feeling of terror swept through the people of foreign towns and villages if it was whispered that the Assyrian army was coming, for they knew the soldiers were fierce and cruel as well as being very brave.

Usually, however, the peasants and townsfolk were not badly treated. They were left to get on with their work once the area had been conquered.

It was the leaders of the city or state, the king, noblemen, and city officials who were killed or ill-treated. Sometimes, if the people seemed likely to be troublesome, they were forcibly moved from one part of the empire to another, so that it was less easy for them to rebel.

Many of the soldiers were archers, and they were famous for their skill at shooting. The archers were protected by the spearmen, who carried big shields. You can see an archer on the next page. At his side stands a spearman. With one hand, he holds his long spear, and with the other, he holds his shield to cover the archer. There were men with slings too. They could hurl stones long distances.

When roads or bridges were needed, it was the job of the engineers to build them. They made their roads so that the army could move around more easily, but the traders found these good roads useful, too.

When the army reached the city it wanted to attack, the engineers were very busy. They had to do their best to destroy the city’s defenses. Some of them dug long tunnels under the walls to weaken them. Others built ramps made of timber frames and filled with earth and stones. The battering rams were pushed up these, so that they could batter down the top part of the walls, which were the weakest part.

There were also several wooden platforms on the battering ram, built one above the other. Archers stood on these. When the battering ram had been rolled up the ramps, the archers were about the same height as the defenders of the city, and they could shoot their arrows over the city walls.

At the rear came all the things the army needed to keep going. There were wagons and pack-asses carrying corn and oil for the soldiers and horses to eat, interpreters and scribes who kept the accounts and wrote a record of the battles.

When they had conquered an area, the Assyrians brought peace to it. Traders and their caravans could travel in safety, for they were protected by garrisons of soldiers stationed here and there. The people could live in peace, too, for they knew that with Assyrian soldiers near, they were not likely to be attacked.