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Administration

The Assyrian empire expanded through establishing provinces and vassal states. These territories outside of Assyria proper were managed by officials of the king’s court. Most of these offices had names that were titular, but holders of these offices may have enacted their namesakes in ceremonial manners.

The provinces were a form of territorial control and were made up of the capital city, farming villages, road stations, outposts, and garrisons. The province itself was managed by the provincial governor, who also had militaristic duties like gathering and reporting military intelligence, or leading Assyrian armies in battle. As governors, they only answered to the king, and certain officials of the king's high court. Those directly beneath the governors were their deputy governors, and they oversaw a number of auxiliary officials like bureaucrats, scribes, and accountants. The lowest rank in the provincial government were the village managers who mostly supervised local farming efforts and projects.

The vassal states were under hegemonic control and these were territories gained through a show of military dominance - by either forcing their way through or proving that they could. Those who submitted peacefully remained relatively autonomous and their ruling elites were permitted to stay in power. Those who resisted were overthrown and had their rulers replaced with puppet officials loyal to Assyria. The terms for vassalage were that the vassal state was to pay Assyria tribute in the form of goods, labor, and soldiers in exchange for military protection. The protection provided by Assyria seemed to suit the needs of Assyria more than the needs of the vassal states, as Assyria have used a perceived threat toward a vassal state as an excuse to invade nearby settlements, and the vassal states have also been left to fend for themselves.

Turtanu

The office of turtanu, Assyrian “commander-in-chief”, was the head of the Assyrian empire’s armies; this includes the kișir šarri or standing army, and the provincial ilku troops. In 708 BCE, the office of turtanu, previously held by one person, was split by Sargon II to make the left and right turtanus.

Masennu

The masennu was the Assyrian treasurer, and his signature duties were to oversee the transport and use of cultic objects and precious materials, and to organize large construction projects. The masennu controlled lands that bordered Urartu, likely for strategic reasons. The masennu also carried some military authority, mostly through gathering intelligence on things like Urartian troop movements and sending the information back to the main empire, but also, on occasion, leading military campaigns.