Assyrian Egypt: Map & History
The Assyrian conquest of Egypt covered a relatively short period of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 673 to 663 BCE.
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The Assyrian conquest of Egypt covered a relatively short period of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 673 to 663 BCE. The conquest of Egypt not only placed a land of great cultural prestige under Assyrian rule but also brought the Neo-Assyrian Empire to its greatest extent.
Modern Countries Once Part of Assyrian Egypt
At its mapped extent, Assyrian Egypt covered territory in 10 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
- Jordan650–616 BCE · nearly all
- Iraq650–616 BCE · nearly all
- Lebanon650–616 BCE · most
- Egypt650–616 BCE · most
- Syria650–616 BCE · most
- Palestine650–616 BCE · most
- Israel650–616 BCE · most
- Armenia650–616 BCE · most
- Turkey650–616 BCE · a large part
- Iran650–616 BCE · a small part
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Assyrian Egypt's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Assyrian Egypt in Depth
Decline of the Neo-Assyrian Empire
The new Egyptian Dynasty, having been installed by the Assyrians, remained on friendly terms with them. But the Neo-Assyrian empire began to disintegrate rapidly after a series of bitter civil wars broke out involving a number of claimants to the throne. While the Neo-Assyrian Empire was preoccupied with revolts and civil war over control of the throne, Psamtik I threw off his ties to the Assyrians circa 655 BCE, and formed alliances with King Gyges of Lydia, and recruited mercenaries from Caria and ancient Greece to resist Assyrian attacks.
Assyria's vassal state of Babylonia took advantage of the upheavals in Assyria and rebelled under the previously unknown Nabopolassar, a member of the Chaldean tribe, in 625 BCE. What followed was a long war fought in the Babylonian heartland.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Assyrian conquest of Egypt (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Assyrian Egypt: Key Facts
Succeeded by
- Assyrian conquest of Persia
Facts from Wikidata Q97357417 (CC0).
Assyrian Egypt Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 1,435,218 km² in 623 BCE.
Assyrian Egypt: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Assyrian Egypt exist?
Assyrian Egypt is dated to 650 BCE – 616 BCE, in the Bronze & Iron Age Civilizations era.
How large was Assyrian Egypt at its peak?
At its peak in 623 BC Assyrian Egypt covered about 1,435,218 km².
Other Sovereign Realms
Classical Antiquity • Capital: Persepolis, Pasargadae, Susa, Babylon
Bronze Age Civilizations • Capital: Memphis
Classical Antiquity • Capital: Pataliputra
Classical Antiquity • Capital: Pella, Babylon