00:00 The Neo-Assyrian Empire was a powerful force that struck fear into the hearts of its enemies, sacking cities and dominating the ancient Near East for centuries.

04:18 The Neo-Assyrian Empire was the first empire that laid the groundwork for all succeeding empires, stretching from the Caspian Sea to the cataracts of the Nile, and its brutal rule and techniques were adopted by its successors.

08:28 Oshur, a city in northern Iraq, was founded in the early 3rd millennium BC and became a major trading hub, eventually becoming independent and establishing trading colonies in Anatolia, with the Assyrian merchants at Kanesh being one of the earliest examples of a merchant network operating on credit and trust; Oshur was periodically integrated into larger empires before becoming the center of its own empire, marking the transition to Assyria.

12:47 Assyria slowly chipped away at the Hittite kingdom to the northwest and periodically fought with and interfered in the affairs of Kassite Babylonia to the south, while still retaining its position as a key node on the east-west trade routes; despite facing challenges, Assyria became the dominant power in the region by 1114 BC and maintained control over a core territory in northern Iraq even during its weakest period.

17:56 During the Neo-Assyrian period, Assyria went through two phases of expansion, liberating Assyrian lands and people from oppressors and using brutal tactics to crush resistance, gradually increasing their geographic scope and control over territories and transforming into a powerful imperial state under the reign of Ashur Nasserpal II.

22:13 Ashur Nasserpal II expanded Assyria's control to the Mediterranean coast, where Phoenician cities paid tributes, but he also brutally crushed revolts and built the grand city of Kaliu (Nimrud) as the capital of the empire, which would serve as the political heart of Assyria for 150 years.

26:27 During the Age of the Magnates, power shifted away from the king and towards the elite, leading to a decline in royal authority and a lack of inscriptions on monuments, but Tiglath Pylissar III's ascension to the throne marked the beginning of a new era of royal power and successful military campaigns.

30:49 Tiglath Pylissar III's conquests included becoming the king of Babylonia, crushing Urartu and its allies, capturing Gaza and reaching the Egyptian border, doubling the size of Assyria, implementing direct control through taxation and provinces, and using deportations as a tool of imperial policy to create a homogenous imperial citizenry.

34:52 Under the rule of Sargon II, Assyria expanded its frontiers, campaigned in Syria and Babylonia, faced a rebellion in southern Syria and the Levant, marched to the border of Egypt, fought against Erartu and the Mushku, and ultimately met his end in Anatolia; his successor, Sennacherib, rebuilt Nineveh, conquered Judah and Elam, sacked and destroyed Babylon, and was eventually murdered by one of his sons.

39:01 Under the rule of Esarhaddon and his son Ashurbanipal, Assyria successfully invaded and sacked Egypt, including the capital of Memphis, and later conquered Babylonia and Elam, expanding their empire to its greatest extent before facing internal conflicts and the eventual downfall of Assyrian control.

43:21 By 640 BC, Assyria had reached its peak of power, having destroyed three great cities, including Susa, and defeated all of its enemies, but the end was approaching rapidly.