Assyria (kingdom)
region · 2000 BC – 640 AD · location approximate
The long-lived, ancient region of Assyria, which originated with ancient Aššur and its empire in the early first millennium BCE. Understanding of its extent shifted with time and the perspectives of ancient writers. For Herodotus, Pliny, and Strabo (whose individual understanding seems to have differed), it was a broad region, centered on Mesopotamia. For the Assyrian kings and subsequent imperial powers of the region (as well as Biblical authors), it was confined to a more specific area along the Tigris, corresponding to what is now sometimes referred to as the "Assyrian Homeland". It seems likely that this tighter definition also applied to the ephemeral Roman province of Assyria that is reported to have been established during Trajan's short-lived incursion into Mesopotamia.
- Coordinates
- 36.20599, 43.27050
- Also known as
- Assyria, Māt-Aššur (akk), Subartu (akk), Subaru (akk), Syria, Šubartum (akk)
- Dating
- attested
Sources
- Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places · CC BY 3.0Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places (CC BY 3.0)
- Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places · CC BY 3.0Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places (CC BY 3.0)