This account does an excellent job presenting the story of Ancient Assyria. Much of the history of Assyria is known by archeological excavations as well as Biblical era chronicles, and this book does an excellent job of presenting archeological evidence in the context of an "Indiana Jones" style account of the search for artifacts. It also presents stories and myths, and ties in Assyrian history with that of the Biblical chronicles. Assyria was a Mesopotamian empire that grew out of the city-state of Ashur. It was one of the greatest empires in Mesopotamia, together with the Akkadian Empire of Sargon the Great and the Babylonian Empire under Hammurabi. At its height, the Assyrian Empire extended from Anatolia in the west, to Armenia in the north, to Media in the east, and to Egypt in the south.