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Introduction. The article examines one of the topical issues for the history of the Ancient world - the characteristics of the features of the institutions of the family and marriage of the Ancient East. The modern development of historical knowledge reveals not only the reception of the specificity of legal relations that developed in antiquity, but also their transformation, as well as the search for the most universal and acceptable variants of marriage relations, some kind of standards of relations between the subjects of these institutions. Addressing the issue of the formation of the institutions of family and marriage relations through the study of available historical and legal sources is justified and relevant. There are separate scientific studies on this problem, but there are no systematic, fundamental developments. As a rule, the historical and legal sources of Asia Minor (Old Babylonian laws, Assyrian, Hittite and New Babylonian legal acts) are characterized in general terms. The role of the woman of Western Asia, her place in the patriarchal family, is assessed ambiguously. Materials and methods. The material of the research is presented directly through the systematization of theoretical developments on the named family legal relations, as well as the analysis of the legislative monuments of Southwest Asia. Within the framework of the study, the author uses a system-structural method that allows us to consider family-legal relations as an integral system of interrelationships between phenomena and events, to determine the main content of this research topic. The institutional approach used by the author presupposes a systematic study of the legal institutions of family law that have developed in the East during the antiquity. Results, discussion. Analysis of the historical and legal documents of the Ancient East, as well as a comprehensive study of the conceptual provisions of scientific research, allowed the author to highlight the main characteristics and foundations of building a family of the countries of Southwest Asia. Conclusion. The institutions of family and marriage of the ancient Eastern states are built on the norms of patriarchal law. In the subject composition of the family, a woman acts as an equal participant in legal relations. However, in some cases it acts as an object of law («thing», «property»). The author singles out two categories of women: relatively free and completely deprived of legal and legal capacity.

According to the Assyrian sources, Sennacherib, King of Assyria (704–681 BCE) went on campaign to the West to quell a rebellion in 701 BCE. During his campaign he conducted a pitched battle against the forces of Egypt and Kush and won the war. However, according to the Biblical narrative the Assyrians suffered an enormous defeat by the angel of God. Furthermore, the Kushite ruler who came to the aid of the Judean forces was Tirhakah (=Taharqa), King of Kush, who ascended the throne of Egypt-and-Kush only eleven years later, in 690 BCE.How then, can we explain the mentioning of Taharqa in the biblical account? Is the information that he was present in the events of 701 BCE an anachronism or is it historically reliable? Can his role in the events be determined? Who won the war – Sennacherib, King of Assyria or Taharqa, King of Kush (and his ally, Hezekiah, King of Judah)? Did Sennacherib conduct two campaigns against the Levant, as some have suggested? The purpose of this article is to address these questions.

In 701 BCE Sennacherib, King of Assyria (704–681 BCE), conducted a campaign against the Levant to subdue the kingdoms that had rebelled against Assyria upon the death of his father, Sargon II (721–705 BCE) in battle. Sennacherib's written and pictorial sources describe the subjugation of the Levantine kingdoms voluntarily or after a siege, while a pitched battle against the Egyptian and Kushite forces is presented as a great victory. The Biblical account in 2 Kings 18: 13-16 matches the description, while the Prophetic sources describe the defeat of the Assyrian host by the Angel of the Lord. Herodotus II 141 preserves a different version of the Assyrian defeat, where the Egyptian ruler petitioned his God, Hephaistos (i.e., Ptah), and was unexpectedly delivered by mice, who gnawed the weapons of the Assyrians and caused their hasty retreat. In this article, I intend to reassess the story, clarify some passages, and illuminate it from different directions. Finally, I will evaluate the question of relationship of Herodotus II 141 to the Bibiical narrative, the Greek influences, and the date of the described event.

This inquiry focuses on one life stage in the life cycle of ancient Babylonia and Assyria of the first millennium B.C., specifically, the age at first marriage for men and women. I will suggest some implications to be drawn for the household and family patterns resulting from probable age at marriage, and identify native terminology employed in reference to the life stage common for first marriage.

Few areas of the world have had such a profound effect upon history as that of the Near East. Egypt, Babylonia, Assyria, the Hittite Empire, Phoenicia, Syria, ancient Israel and Judah, and the smaller kingdoms and states of the area interacted through three thousand years until Rome occupied almost the entire area. The Fertile Crescent is not a vast area, so the various civilizations and cultures were in frequent contact.

AbstractA succinct but comprehensive survey is given on what we know on women in ancient Sumer, Babylonia, and Assyria (with an occasional remark on Syria), covering the time span of roughly 3000-300 B.C. Thanks to the rich archival material we are well informed about her social position, in particular the status of a married or widowed wife. Marriage is the most important topic in this article. Attention is also paid to women at work and in religion. Differences in region and time are pointed out.