 Assyrian Education Network
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Assyrian Identity in Ancient Times and Today
by Dr. Simo Parpola — Director, Department of Assyriology at Helsinki
University, Finland.
The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project (State Archives of Assyria)
Posted: Friday, April 16, 2004 at 07:05 AM CT
 Editors'
Note |
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On March 27, 2004, the
Assyrian Youth
Federation in Sweden (AUF) organized a historical academic seminar as part of
Assyrians´ cultural and educational program. The following lecture
(article) by Dr. Simo Parpola was presented at the seminar. |
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“Disunited,
dispersed in exile, and as dwindling minorities without full civil
rights in their
homelands, the Assyrians of today are in grave danger of total
assimilation and extinction (Aprim
2003). In order to survive as a nation, they must now
unite under the Assyrian identity of their ancestors. It is
the only identity that can help them to transcend the differences
between them, speak with one voice again, catch the attention of
the world, and regain their place among the nations.” |
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—
Dr. Simo
Parpola
Director, Department of Assyriology
Helsinki University, Finland. |
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Introduction
The Neo-Assyrian Empire was a multi-ethnic state composed of
many peoples and tribes of different origins (cf. Postgate 1989). Its ethnic
diversity notwithstanding, it was a uniformly structured political entity with
well-defined and well-guarded borders,2
and the Assyrian kings certainly
regarded it as a unified whole, "the land of Aššur", whose territory they
constantly strove to expand (Tadmor 1999; see also below). To the outside
world, it likewise was a unified, monolithic whole, whose inhabitants were
unhesitatingly identified as Assyrians regardless of their ethnic backgrounds.3
However, just how far did the masses of the Empire's
population actually share the Assyrian identity? Did they consider themselves
as members of the Assyrian nation, identifying with the ideals and ways of
life of the Assyrian ruling class, or did they rather identify themselves in
terms of their diverse ethnic origins, loathing and resenting the Assyrian
rule and way of life? I shall try to answer these questions by first
considering the matter briefly from a theoretical perspective and then
reviewing the available evidence, both Assyrian and post-Assyrian, in detail.
CLICK ON THE LINK FOR THE COMPLETE
ARTICLE IN PDF FORMAT
 Assyrian Identity in Ancient Times and Today,
by Dr. Simo Parpola
CLICK ON THE LINK FOR THE VIDEO
SUMMARY OF THE SEMINAR
 Assyrian
Youth Federation seminar, March 27, 2004
Related Information
Assyrians
after Assyria
The
Assyrian Statehood: Yesterday’s Denial and Today’s Moral Obligation
1934:
ANNEMASSE: The Assyrian Tragedy
1935:
League of Nations — The Settlement of the Assyrians, a Work of Humanity and
Appeasement
1937:
The
Assyrians: A Debt of Honour
 Education Conference
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