‘They Make a Desolation and They Call It Peace’

Chapter 9 (‘“They Make a Desolation and They Call It Peace”: Re-Examining the Nature of the Imperial Peace’) reviews the concept of Assyrian peace that became popular over the years to describe the prospering economy during the period of Assyrian control, when no internal wars or imperial campaigns are evident. The information provided in the previous chapters, however, casts some doubts on the applicability of the term for the period under discussion, since the provinces in the southwest were devastated, and only the regions outside the official boundaries of Assyria prospered. Subsequently, the chapter re-evaluates not only the pax Assyriaca, but also the general concept of ‘imperial peace’ which was ‘imported’ from Rome (the pax Romana) into almost all imperial contexts.

Under the Empire

Chapter 4 (‘Under the Empire: Settlement and Demography in the Southwestern Margins of the Assyrian Empire in the Seventh Century BCE’) describes the settlement and demography in the period of Assyrian control. Comparing the detailed information available from the region with that provided in Chapter 2 allows us to estimate what were the consequences of the imperial takeover. The evidence shows that the provinces in the north were mostly devastated, whereas the client kingdoms prospered and, moreover, for the first time in history the south flourished more than the north. The dramatic decline in the north is also exemplified by the large number of place names that were forgotten following the Assyrian conquests. The chapter ends with an appendix on the demographic significance of deportations.

Before the Empire

Chapter 2 (‘Before the Empire: the Southern Levant in the Eighth Century BCE’) lays the foundation for the research. In order to understand the impact of Assyrian imperial domination, one must reconstruct the reality on the ground before the arrival of the empire, and the chapter therefore describes the flourishing settlement of the mid-eighth century BCE, its distribution across the landscape, and the economic significance of the various regions. The information is presented geographically, outlining the situation in each of the kingdoms, and in many cases in each of the subregions within them, providing a detailed snapshot of the demography and economy of the region before the Assyrian armies arrived on the horizon.

Prosperity, Depression, and the Empire

Chapter 5 (‘Prosperity, Depression, and the Empire: Economic Developments in the Southwest during the Seventh Century BCE’) reconstructs the economy of the region during the period of Assyrian rule, and the economic specialization that typified this period. The evidence shows that while the southern clients (and Tyre) prospered, produced large amounts of surplus, and participated in international trade, the regions annexed by Assyria (the provinces) did not produce much surplus, and did not take part in any significant trade. The chapter is accompanied by two appendices, one on the importance of late seventh-century BCE Greek imports for understanding economic patterns in the period of Assyrian rule, and the second reviewing the development of the Iron Age olive oil industry in time and space, and its significance for understanding the economy of the period of Assyrian rule.

A Province Too Far?

The final chapter (‘A Province Too Far? The Assyrian Empire, Its Southwestern Margins, and the Dynamics of Imperial Expansion, Conquest, and Rule’) briefly reviews how imperial rule in the southwest unfolded and what the consequences of the conquests and the establishment of provinces in large parts of the area were, as well as the processes that took place during the century of Assyrian rule. The chapter reviews the main conclusions of the book concerning the imperial activity in the southwest, and the considerations that guided Assyrian policies in general, and discusses the implications of this research on the study of imperial strategies at large. Based on the differences in the ways the Neo-Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian, and Persian empires treated their remote provinces, the last part of the chapter discusses the historical development of empires, and the ‘Achaemenid revolution’, which transformed the imperial economy and the way provinces were perceived, and subsequently broke the limitations on the size of empires posed by earlier imperial mindsets.

The Empire in the Southwest

In light of the information provided in the previous chapters, Chapter 7 (‘The Empire in the Southwest: Reconstructing Assyrian Activity in the Provinces’) examines the way the empire operated in the southwestern provinces, including the activity of the local governors, the deportation of some of the population, and the settling of foreign deportees. The evidence shows that indications for Assyrian administration are lacking from most of the provinces’ areas, and that they were not of much significance for the imperial authorities, which concentrated their efforts on the frontiers facing the flourishing clients. It is only in these regions that we find evidence for significant imperial activity. Combining the archaeological and textual evidence also shed light on the status of Dor, which appears to have been managed by Tyre, and indicate that parts in the coastal plain (including the anchorages) were administered by the clients.

Assyrians in the Southwest?

Chapter 6 (‘Assyrians in the Southwest? The Evidence for Assyrian Administration and Presence’) reviews the relevant evidence for the actual presence of Assyrian administration or individuals in the region, for example in the form of Assyrian administrative documents, Assyrian buildings, and more. Once identified, the nature of the evidence and their distribution is assessed in order to learn how much administration was involved in the running of the Southern Levant, and where this administration operated. The evidence shows that administration was very limited, and that the limited data comes mostly from small subregions on the fringes of the devastated provinces. The marginality of the region is also indicated by the lack of, as of yet, of any evidence for the renaming of sites in the local provinces.

Local Responses to the Empire

Chapter 8 (‘Local Responses to the Empire: From Armed Resistance to Integration’) focuses on the local responses in the southwest to the Assyrian imperial rule. Such studies are somewhat rare regarding the Assyrian empire, but the present case study has a number of advantages, and in addition to the large archaeological database available, we have a unique textual source, reflecting the voice of (some of) the conquered, i.e. the Hebrew Bible. Notably, in most imperial settings, texts, if they exist at all, represent the imperial view, but the Hebrew Bible, as complex as it is as a historical source, provides insights into some local views of imperial rule. The evidence allows us to reconstruct the local responses to Assyrian rule in different political units, and by various groups within these units, from armed resistance, through more subtle forms of resistance, to cooperation, collaboration, and even integration. The evidence reveals, once again, profound differences between the provinces and the clients, as well as between the different clients.

‘Ah, Assyria, the Rod of My Anger’

Chapter 3 (‘Ah, Assyria, the Rod of my Anger’: The Assyrian Takeover of the Southwest) briefly outlines the interactions of the Neo-Assyrian empire with the southwest, from the first contacts in the ninth century BCE, to the conquests and annexations of the last third of the eighth. The region was incorporated within the empire quite quickly at the time of Tiglath-pileser III, and Assyrian control was solidified in later campaigns, mainly at the time of Sargon II and Sennacherib. By the end of this century, the entire area was, directly or indirectly, under Assyrian control. The north, with the exception of Tyre, was divided between Assyrian provinces, whereas the south was mostly comprised of semi-autonomous clients.

Introduction

Chapter 1 (Introduction) explains the basic concepts and supplies the background information for the study of the Assyrian empire and of empires at large. The chapter briefly discusses the concepts of empires and imperialism, provides some background to the study of empires, and defines the study area. This is followed by a discussion of the Assyrian empire, its development, structure, and policies, the way the empire administered and controlled its territories, both the provinces and the client kingdoms, and more specifically its control over the southwest. The chapter also briefly reviews the sources of information for the study, and provides a road map for the book.