Shamsi-Adad, an Amorite leader, conquered Ashur, declared himself king and reigned from 1813-1781BC. It was the start of the first Assyrian Empire in the period called “Old Assyria” (2,000-1,760 BC). He went on to conquer Mari carving out an empire in North Mesopotamia. After his death the empire weakened and became under the influence of Hammurabi’s Babylon. Some 150 years later the Kassites ruled Babylon and the Hurrians controlled the Ashur region. Excavations at Ashur revealed a long line of relatively independent Assyrian kings over this period together with architecture that had developed from ancient Babylon. Although Ashur was sometimes part of the Hurrian/Mitanni Empire, its fate was heavily tied to the often-greater power of Babylonia, which sometimes made Assyria into its vassal state. Assyria in turn played the Babylonians and Mitanni off against each other. For example Assyria signed a peace pact with Babylonia in 1,480 BC, and in 1,385 BC they received support from Egypt, thus asserting their independence from the Mitanni.

Cylinder seal Shamash, the sun god in
Akkadian - source Louvre Museum

The notable original art from this time was cylinder seals, predominantly with animal designs, and of very high quality. Also the areas controlled by Assyria were continuing to make interesting pottery such as the decorated Khabur ware in North Syria.

Middle Assyria

Middle Assyria is the name given to the period from 1,360 to 1200 BC. Led by Ashur-uballit (1,354-1,318 BC), the Assyrians began to engulf most of North Mesopotamia. He started about 1,340 BC by recovering Assyrian territory from the Mittani after the Hittites had overrun the Mitanni’s western lands.

Map of Middle East during Middle Assyrian
period - source Wikipedia briangotts
Amarnamap

By now the Pharaoh was Akhenaten, who was not prepared to intervene on behalf of the Mitanni. Then, around 1,320 BC, he took his revenge on the Kassites by destroying Babylon. Confrontation with the much weakened Mitanni, Babylonian Kassites and the Hittites continued for decades, until Shalmaneser I (1,263-1,234 BC) finally subjugated the Mitanni (or then known as Hittite Hanigalbat) making it an Assyrian Province, although much of the Hurrian/Mitanni culture was absorbed.

During the Assyrian Middle Period, beautiful cylinder seals were reintroduced, an example of which depicts a king or god hunting ostriches, now in a New York library.