Center and Periphery

The Late Bronze Age witnessed the riseof Assyria from Mitannian subject to imperial overlord, during a timeof heightened international exchange. Exemplified through the Amarnaletters, Assyria's rise was coeval with its struggle for recognitionas a great power within the ancient Near Eastern political arena(Kuhrt 1995; Feldman 2006). Improvements to the Assyrian heartlandand the rise of dunnu settlements and regional centers speakto Assyrian internal development and expansion, much as interactionwith the international artistic koine speak to its relations with thegreater Near East; Tukulti-Ninurta's construction of his eponymouscapital masterfully incorporates these two important Middle Assyrianpostures.

After regaining sovereignty over Assurand its environs, Assyrian kings pushed to control the western steppewhich directly abutted the capital. Assyrian rule brought newlyrenovated agricultural settlements (dunnus)and protected watering areas to this marginal steppe land, in aneffort to control such an area and connect Assur to its westernprovincial centers (Kühne 2000). The dunnus, such as modernTell Sabi Abyad, were small fortified land holdings of Assyriannobility engaged in agricultural production, thereby enriching theirrespective patron and the capital to which they sent tribute(Wiggerman 2000; Akkermans 2006). Such settlements set the tone ofMiddle Assyrian expansion, enlarging the Assyrian heartland andproviding important economic benefits along the way. Additionally,the installation of Assyrian high officials over these settlementsechoes the later installation of Assyrian governors over newlyincorporated provinces (Postgate 1992), highlighting the importanceof the dunnu policy forfurther Assyrian expansion.

Examples of Middle Assyrian artprovide an important window through which we may view Assyria'sinteraction with the greater Near East. Although examples of MiddleAssyrian art are not as prolific as their Neo-Assyrian counterparts,Late Bronze Age artistic goods attest to Assyria's participation inthe robust regional trade. The subject matter depicted on pyxis,combs, and vases found in tomb 45 at Assur highlight Assyria'sadoption of the contemporary international artistic koine (Feldman2006); additionally, motifs and styles of elite portable goodsimitated those of Egypt or Hatti (Syria). But as Feldman points out,these objects also display local craftsmanship and technique, such asincision and narrative, betraying their local origin and outlining acomplex scenario of Assyrian participation in Near Eastern culture,while simultaneously emphasizing local ideas and production (Feldman2006).

The construction ofKar-Tukulti-Ninurta was the capstone of Assyria's dual posturing inthe Late Bronze Age, where it interacted with other major powers inthe ancient Near Eastern while improving and expanding Assyriaproper. From an archaeological perspective, it seems thatTukulti-Ninurta I must have begun building his new capital fairlyearly on in his reign. Conversely, the royal inscriptions clearlyassociate Tukulti-Ninurta's construction of Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta withhis conquest of Babylonia and defeat of Kashtiliashu (Gilibert 2008). Additionally, it is only in these inscriptions that Tukulti-Ninurtarecounts his deportation of 28,800 Hittites, which apparentlyoccurred at the beginning of his reign (but see Gilibert 2008). Byreordering the actions of Tukulti-Ninurta, the royal inscriptionsjuxtapose the construction of the capital with Assyria's hostileinteractions with two great powers in the ancient Near East.

Although many have argued that themovement of the capital away from Assur represented Tukulti-Ninurta'sattempt at a “disembedded capital,” Gilibert has clearydemonstrated that this was not the case; instead, the development ofAssyrian land vis-a-vis improved hydrology and expanded agriculturewas the main impetus for construction, as repeated in the royalinscriptions (Gilibert 2008). Additionally, the royal inscriptionsimplicitly connect the expansion of Assyria, especially its frontiersto the north and east, with the construction of Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta. Tukulti-Ninurta “traversed mighty mountains... the paths of whichno other king knew” and “cut into … mountains with copperpicks” in his campaigns to the north, just as he “cut … throughrocky terrain … through high difficult mountains with stonechisels,” in order to build his city “in uncultivated plains …where there was neither house nor dwelling...” Such conquestscaused erstwhile enemies to bring “the tribute of their land andthe produce of their mountains” to the capital, just asTukulti-Ninurta would arrange “offerings to the … great gods …from the produce of the water” of the Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta canal(Grayson 1987). Thus, the royal inscriptions clearly associate theexpansion and improvement of Assyria, as well as its interactionswith the great powers of the ancient Near East, with the constructionof Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta.

Works Cited:

Akkermans, Peter M.M.G.; 2006. "TheFortress of Ili-pada. Middle Assyrian Architecture at Tell Sabi Abyad, Syria" in Les espaces Syro-Mésopotamiens. Dimensions del’expérience humaine au Proche-Orient ancien. P. Butterlin, M.Lebeau, J.-Y. Monchambert, J. Montero & B. Muller (eds.).Turnhout: Brepols, 201-211.

Feldman, Marian H.; 2006. “Assur Tomb45 and the Birth of the Assyrian Empire,” Bulletin of the AmericanSchools of Oriental Research 343: 21-43.

Grayson, A. Kirk.; 1987. AssyrianRulers: 3^rd and 2^nd Millenia BC (to 1115 BC)(Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia: Assyrian Periods I). Universityof Toronto Press: Toronto, 271-274

Kühne, Hartmut; 2000. “Dūr-katlimmuand the Middle-Assyrian empire,” in La Djéziré et l’Euphrate Syriens de la Protohistoire à la fin du IIe Millénaire av. J.-C.Tendances dans l’interprétation historique des données nouvelles(Subartu VII). Olivier Rouault and Markus Wäfler (eds.), Brepols:271-277.

Kuhrt, Amélie; 1995. The Ancient NearEast: c. 3000-330 B.C. 2 Vols. Routledge: London and New York,348-365.

Postgate, J.N.; 1992.“The Land ofAssur and the Yoke of Assur.”World Archaeology 23: 247-263.

Gilibert, Alessandra; 2008. "OnKār Tukultī-Ninurta: chronology and politics of a Middle Assyrian ville neuve." In Fundstellen. Gesammelte Schriften zurArchäologie und Geschichte Altvorderasiens ad honorem HartmutKühne. D. Bonatz, R. M. Czichon, and F. J. Kreppner (eds).Wiesbaden: 177-188.