“Neo-Assyrian Urban and Regional Development and Governance on the Frontiers of the Empire”

Abstract

<p>The Neo-Assyrian state is well-known for its ambitious and aggressive expansion in West Asia and the wider regions. Starting from the latter half of the 10^th century bc to the heyday of the Assyrian Empire in latter half of the 7^th century bc, the Assyrian state managed to more than quadruple its territory. To a large extent, what decisively contributed to the fulfilment of its imperial vision had to do with its approaches to urban and regional development and governance on the frontiers which tremendously enhanced the state’s capacity to expand quickly while allowing it to exercise varying degrees of order and control in the newly conquered and impacted regions. Standardization and variation in these approaches are key aspects of the development of the Assyrian state’s imperial vision and practice. This study is devoted to exploring the standardisation and variation during the reigns of three Assyrian kings, Ashurnaṣirpal II (883–859 bc), Tiglath-pileser III (744–727 bc), and Sargon II (721–705 bc), during which the Assyrian state emerged not only as a dominant regional power in West Asia but also as an empire. By systematically combing through the relevant royal inscriptions of these three Assyrian kings, while also consulting other relevant written sources (e.g., royal correspondence, imperial administrative records), pictographic sources, and archaeological excavation and survey findings, this study endeavours to explore the historical and historiographical trajectory of the standardised and coordinated approaches to urban and regional development and governance during the reigns of the Assyrian kings. The exploration will uncover some of the political and economic circumstances and rationales behind the formulation and change of these approaches. The study also attempts to demonstrate how Neo-Assyrian urban and regional development and governance on the frontiers and in the heartland of Assyria were closely linked in the process of the Assyrian state forging and unfolding its imperial vision, as epitomised by the grand national building and social engineering projects of (re)making the imperial capitals, especially Sargon II’s new capital Dūr-Šarrukīn. </p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong> the Neo-Assyrian Empire, the imperial vision, urban and regional development and governance, the state economy, standardisation, coordination, variation, planning</p>