Assyrian Civilization PDF

# Civiltà dei fiumi ## L'organizzazione sociale The Assyrian Empire was ruled by a king who had absolute power. He had no limits and no control. He was the one who established the laws that regulated society, declared wars, chose the days for sowing in the fields and set the taxes to be paid. To c...

# Civiltà dei fiumi ## L'organizzazione sociale The Assyrian Empire was ruled by a king who had absolute power. He had no limits and no control. He was the one who established the laws that regulated society, declared wars, chose the days for sowing in the fields and set the taxes to be paid. To control the Empire, the king sent officials to the furthest regions, who governed in his name. The king usually wore long white robes embroidered in gold and wore finely decorated sandals or high boots. The Assyrian population was made up of two main groups. - One group consisted of warriors, priests and nobles who lived in the cities and owned a lot of land. - The other, much bigger, was made up of farmers, shepherds, breeders and craftsmen who fought as soldiers in time of war. In Assyrian society, *slaves* and *women* had no rights and no freedom. Assyrian women, in fact, were subject to men and had to obey their father first and then their husband. ## Le attività * **Farmers** grew cereals, olives, fruit trees and aromatic plants. They were among the first to cultivate cotton from which they made fabric. * **Shepherds** raised farm animals, camels which they used to transport goods, and horses for war. * **Craftsmen** were skilled in working iron. They used it to make tools, weapons like arrows and spears as well as helmets and armor for soldiers. They also knew how to create gold and silver jewelry. * **Trade** was a very common activity because Assyrian products were sought after by other populations of the time. ## La religione The Assyrians were **polytheistic**. The most venerated god was **Assur**, the god of war. The Assyrians believed that Assur went to battle alongside the king and protected the army. The king was considered Assur's servant and his high priest: every order given by the king came directly from the god and it had to be obeyed. Assur's wife was **Ninlil**, also called **Assira**. People also worshipped deities associated with weather phenomena such as **Ada**, the god of rain, lightning and storms. The Babylonians borrowed the goddesses **Ishtar** and the god **Shamash**. ## I *lamassu* erano divinità che proteggevano le città dai nemici e venivano poste alle porte d'ingresso.