Assyria in the 7th century BC

Delivered by the most outstanding academics in the UK and beyond, the British Academy’s flagship Lecture programme showcases the very best scholarship in the humanities and social sciences. This event is part of the Schweich Lectures on Biblical Archaeology series.

Exploring Assyria's fortunes in the 7th century BC will take us on a white-knuckle ride. Only six decades separate the heady days of unprecedented power after the conquest of Egypt in 673 BC from the total loss of religious and political control caused by the destruction of the Ashur temple in 614 BC and the fall of Nineveh in 612 BC. In three lectures focusing on the history, archaeology and texts of the period, we will put ourselves in the place of an inhabitant of the city of Assur who lived through these eventful years.

Speaker: Professor Karen Radner, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU Munich)

Karen Radner holds the Alexander von Humboldt Chair of the Ancient History of the Near and Middle East at LMU Munich. A member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and of the German Archaeological Institute, she was awarded the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize in 2022. Her research focuses on the Assyrian Empire.

Free, booking required, tickets to be released prior to the event

This lecture series will take place over the course of three evenings from 4-6 November 2025. The series will include a reception for attendees, details to follow.

If you have any questions about this event, please email [email protected].

Image: View over the ruins of the city of Asher, the heart of the Assyrian Empire, as seen from the south. Drone image by Jens Rohde for the Assur Excavation Project.