occupation adad-nirari ii
Aššur ( Akkadian ; ' shr ; : shr : shr , Kurdish Asûr ), also known as Ashur and Qal ' at Sherqat , was an Assyrian city , capital of the Old Assyrian Empire ( 2025  1750 BC ), Middle Assyrian Empire ( 1365  1050 BC ), and for a time , the Neo - Assyrian Empire ( 911  605 BC ). The remains of the city are situated on the western ___MASK66___ of the Tigris River , north of the confluence with the tributary Little Zab River , in modern - day Iraq , more precisely in the Al - Shirqat District in the Saladin Governorate . The Iron Age is an archaeological era , referring to a period of time in the prehistory and protohistory of the Old World ( Afro - Eurasia ) when the dominant toolmaking material was iron . It is commonly preceded by the Bronze Age in Europe and Asia with exceptions and the Stone Age in Africa . Meteoric iron has been used by humans since at least 3200 BC , but ancient iron production did not become widespread until the ability to smelt iron ore , remove impurities and regulate the amount of ___MASK37___ in the alloy were developed . The start of the Iron Age proper is considered by many to fall between around 1200 BC to 600 BC , depending on the region . In most parts of the world , its end is defined by the widespread adoption of writing , and therefore marks the transition from prehistory to history . An empire is defined as " an aggregate of nations or people ruled over by an ___MASK96___ or other powerful ___MASK80___ or government , usually a territory of greater extent than a kingdom , as the former British Empire , French Empire , Brazilian Empire , Russian Empire , Ottoman Empire , Byzantine Empire or Roman Empire ." An empire can be made solely of contiguous territories such as the Austro - Hungarian Empire , or of territories far remote from the homeland , such as a colonial empire . Near East is a geographical term that roughly encompasses Western Asia . Despite having varying definitions within different ___MASK83___ circles , the term was originally applied to the maximum extent of the Ottoman Empire . The term has fallen into disuse in English and has been replaced by the terms " Middle East " and " West Asia ". A city - state is a ___MASK80___ state that consists of a city and its dependent territories . Historically , this included cities such as Rome , Athens , Carthage , and the Italian city - states during the Renaissance  but today only a handful of ___MASK80___ city - states exist , with some disagreement as to which are city - states . A great deal of consensus exists that the term properly applies to Singapore , Monaco , and Vatican City . Assyria was a ___MASK38___ Mesopotamian East Semitic - speaking kingdom and empire of the ancient Near East . It existed as an independent state from perhaps as early as the 25th century BC in the form of the Assur city - state , until its lapse between 612 BC and 599 BC , spanning the Early to Middle Bronze Age through to the late Iron Age . Adad - nirari II is generally considered to be the first King of Assyria in the Neo - Assyrian period . Adad - nirari II ' s father was Ashur - dan II , whom he succeeded after a minor dynastic struggle . It is probable that the accession encouraged revolts amongst Assyria ' s nominal vassals . He firmly subjugated the areas previously under only nominal Assyrian vassalage , conquering and deporting troublesome Aramean following a battle at the junction of the Khabur and Euphrates in 910 BCE . After subduing Neo - Hittite and Hurrian populations in the north to far - off places . Adad - nirari II then twice attacked and defeated Shamash - mudammiq of Babylonia , annexing a large area of land north of the Diyala River and the towns of Ht and Zanqu in mid Mesopotamia in the same year . He made further gains over Babylonia under Nabu - shuma - ukin I later in his reign . He also campaigned to the west , subjugating the Aramean cities of Kadmuh and Nisibin . Along with vast amounts of treasure collected , he also secured the Kabur river region . His reign was a period of returning prosperity to the Middle East region following expansion of Phoenician and Aramaean trade routes , linking Anatolia , Egypt under the Libyan 22nd Dynasty , Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean .