Assyria was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC to the 7th century BC. Assyrian history spans from the early Bronze Age to the late Iron Age; modern historians typically divide ancient Assyrian history into the Early Assyrian, Old Assyrian, Middle Assyrian, Neo-Assyrian, and post-imperial periods, based on political events and gradual changes in… More at Wikipedia