During the reign of Adad-nirari II (911-891 BC) the empire experienced a phase of re-expansion into what had been a mosaic of Aramaean states and other local communities.
It was during 8th century BC., the Assyrian pushed beyond the Euphrates River and incorporated a series of client states in western Syria and the Levant. The reign of king Ashurnasirpal II (r. 883–859 BCE) was instrumental in Assyria's rise to greatness.
He pursued the policy of restoration and conquest begun by his grandfather Adad-nirari II (r. 911–891 BCE), and Ashurnasirpal expanded it to a greater scale, his inscriptions record no fewer than 14 military campaigns during his 24 years on the throne.
By 720 BCE most of the southern Levant had been conquered by the empire. The more southern kingdoms of Judah, Ammon, Moab, Edom, and the Philistine cities (as well as Phoenicia) were subordinated to Assyria but maintained some autonomy.
The empire became the largest state in the ancient Near East and had direct influence on many cultural groups, but it also began a long process whereby empires and imperialism became the norm in the Near East as successive states and empires began to dominate even more territory.
Neo-Assyrian Empire was defeated at the hands of the Babylonians and the Medes in 610 BC.
The Neo-Assyrian Empire: Country of the city of god Aššur
