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With an army second to none, an effective cavalry, and a sophisticated administration, the Assyrian Empire held sway over the entire Near East in the mid-7th century BC. It was the largest, best-organized state the ancient world had ever seen, appearing unattainable and invincible to its enemies. But how did it become such a dominant power? Arguably, four major factors gave the Assyrian army an edge over the other city-states of Mesopotamia: An unmatched propaganda of terror, expertise in siege warfare, adept administration, and, finally being the first major power in history to utilize a regular cavalry. Now, to understand all this properly, let’s quickly backtrack and have a brief look at how Assyria rose to power. Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/sandrhomanhistory Paypal (thank you: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/SandRhomanhistory Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sandrhoman Some must read mlitary history books: Ambrose, S. E., Band of Brothers: E Company, 2001. https://amzn.to/438ltvZ Baime, A. J., The Accidental President: Harry S. Truman, 2017. https://amzn.to/3TcDGUj Beard, M., Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World, 2023. https://amzn.to/49L2olR Bevoor, A., Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943, 1999. https://amzn.to/4a4rqwe Beevor, A., The Second World War, 2013. https://amzn.to/3wNFITu Brennan, P+D., Gettysburg in Color, 2022. https://amzn.to/48LGldG Clausewitz, C., On War, 2010. https://amzn.to/3Vblf5 Kaushik, R., A Global History of Pre-Modern Warfare: 10,000 BCE–1500 CE, 2021. https://amzn.to/49Mtqt7 McPherson, J., Battle Cry of Freedom, The Civil War Era, 2021. https://amzn.to/3TseYAW Tsu, S., The Art of War, 2007, https://amzn.to/3TuknHA Sledge. E. B., With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa, 2008. https://amzn.to/439olIK Pomerantsev, P., How to Win an Information War, 2024. https://amzn.to/3Ts0YqQ Bibliography Archer, Christon I./Ferris, John R./Herwig, Holger H./Travers, Timothy H. E., World History of Warfare, Lincoln 2002. https://amzn.to/3yJn5kF Archer, Robin, Chariotry to Cavalry: Developments in the Early First Millennium, in: Fagan, Garret / Trundle, Matthew (eds.), New Perspectives on Ancient Warfare, Leiden/Boston 2010, pp. 57-72. Dalley, Stephanie, Assyrian Warfare, in: Frahm, Eckart (ed.), A Companion to Assyria, Hoboken 2017, pp. 522-533. De Backer, Fabrice, Some Basic Tactics of Neo-Assyrian Warfare: Siege Battles, in: State Archives of Assyria Bulletin 18 (2009-2010), p.265–286. Drews, Robert, Early Riders. The Beginnings of Mounted Warfare in Asia and Europe, London / New York 2004. Ferrill, Arther, The Origins of War. From the Stone Age to Alexander the Great, Boulder 1997. Frahm, Eckart (ed.), A Companion to Assyria, Hoboken 2017. Luckenbill, D. D., Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia vol. 1, Chicago 1926. Melville, Sarah C., The Last Campaign: The Assyrian Way of War and the Collapse of the Empire, in: Lee, Wayne E., Warfare and Culture in World History, New York 2020, pp. 13-33. Owen, David I., The ‘First’ Equestrian: an Ur III Glyptic Scene, in: Acta Sumerologica 13 (1991), p. 259-274. Roy, Kauschik, A GLOBAL HISTORY OF PRE-MODERN WARFARE. Before the Rise of the West, 10,000 BCE-1500 CE, London/New York 2022. Siddall, Luis, The Nature of Siege Warfare in the Neo-Assyrian Period, in: Armstrong, Jeremy / Trundle, Matthew (eds.), Brill's Companion to Sieges in the Ancient Mediterranean, Leiden 2019, pp. 35-52.