OS 154 - Assyrian Civil War: Magnate Edition

Oldest Stories

The final years of Shalmaneser III's reign over the Neo-Assyrian Empire, was a pivotal period marked by civil war, political intrigue, and shifting power dynamics. As Shalmaneser aged and relied more on his top general, Dayan-Assur, did his appointment of his younger son, Shamshi-Adad, as successor trigger a bitter seven-year conflict (827–820 BCE) with his elder son, Assur-Danin-Apli? This poorly documented Assyrian civil war pitted the royal family against a rising class of powerful governors, or magnates, signaling a transition into what historians call the Assyrian Feudal Era or the Age of the Magnates. Key figures like Dayan-Assur and the Babylonian king Marduk-Zakir-Shumi played critical roles in this dramatic succession crisis, which reshaped Assyrian politics. As the war culminated with Shamshi-Adad V's victory and Babylon’s intervention, the episode examines the shift from centralized royal rule to a more feudal structure that would define Assyria’s future. Join us as we explore ancient Assyrian politics, Shalmaneser's Black Obelisk, and the transition from monarchy to magnate governance in this pivotal moment in Mesopotamian history.

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