Identify the cause of the collapse of the Hittites and the Assyrians by comparing and contrasting the weakness of their military and political structures
Ancient civilizations have formed the basis from which we take our own heritage; despite their age, they can be considered exceptionally complex in terms of their economies with progressive technologies, delicate political structures and organizing military on a large scale. It comes naturally that civilizations’ embrace these in different ways and become more successful than others, with some changing throughout the ages whilst retaining some societal identity such as Egypt, whilst others including the rival Assyrians and Hittites dynasties vanished, being replaced by others over time. It is from here we begin to question as to why certain civilizations over others were more successful than others in retaining their autonomy and statehood; conclusions are mostly drawn in their abilities to embrace change in terms of the political, social and military landscapes of their time. Here, the collapse of the Hittites and Assyrians will be examined in light of these changes.
Whilst occupying a shared history to some degree the Hittites and Assyrians became victims of the changing political landscape. Whilst retaining a degree of success on their own, they both made poor diplomatic relations with their neighbours that would eventually lead to their demise. Firstly, in the case of the Hittites their biggest political failings were underestimation of their opponents. The Treaty of Kadesh worked to fix boundaries in the area known as Caanan through a diplomatic marriage of the Hittite princess to the Egyptian pharaoh in order to prevent further complications between their people and the Egyptian civilization. Whilst no doubt beneficial to some degree, their failure to relate to the larger threat of Assyria and their inability to secure relations with tribes such as the Kaskas, Phrygians and Bryges, to whom they eventually succumbed over time, lead to their collapse. Similarly, the Assyrian Empire’s failings can be found within their inability to secure lasting diplomatic relations and their reliance on military prowess. In attempting to maintain a widespread empire, Assyria can be seen to fail in their ability to successfully install governance and support within the provinces they conquered, leading to revolts and the eventual rise of Babylon and the Medes towards their eastern borders unchecked .
In terms of military structure, both dynasties can be seen to be victims of circumstance to a large degree, however, twinned with their inabilities to maintain successful political and social engagements. In the case of the Hittites, their initial decline can be attributed to providing their support to the Mitanni kingdom against Assyria which no doubt functioned as a catalyst towards the invasion of Hittites by the Assyrians later on, which would have hindered chances to instigate political affiliations. Secondly, their inability to prevent the ‘Sea people’ from descending down the Aeagean and effectively cutting them off in terms of trade, combined with the unchecked enemy tribes surrounding them led to their inevitable isolation from all sides . In contrast, issues for the Assyrian dynasty can be considered in terms of their quick occupation of lands and their inability to maintain. The empire became overstretched without maintaining any form of support near their capital, Nivneh, as a result, the Babylonians and Medes coalition were able to rise in power and effectively defeat the Assyrian empire, which had been occupied in their relations with Egypt at the time, proving to be of no avail .
References
CENTCOM. (2016, Jan 1st). Neo-Assyria, Neo-Babylonia, collapse (1114-538BC). Retrieved July 8th, 2016, from Cultural Property Training Resource : https://www.cemml.colostate.edu/cultural/09476/iraq02-05enl.html
Guisepi, R. A. (2003, Jan 1st). The Hittites: A history of the Hittites including their cities, kings, art and contributions to civilization. Retrieved July 8th, 2016, from History World International : http://history-world.org/hittites.htm
Reshafim, K. (2016, Jan 1st ). The Fall of Assyria . Retrieved July 8th , 2016, from reshafim.org: http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/fall_of_assyria.htm
