Asshur (Man living at the time of the Patriarchs)

Asshur was a son of Shem whose name became attached to the land and empire of Assyria, centered on the upper Tigris in what is now northern Iraq. Its earliest capital, also called Asshur, later gave way to Nineveh and Calah as royal cities. Assyria grew into the dominant Near Eastern power of the eighth and seventh centuries BC, deporting Israel's northern tribes after Samaria's fall and repeatedly threatening Judah. The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, which depicts Israelite king Jehu bowing before the Assyrian king, is one of several royal inscriptions that corroborate Assyria's dealings with Israel and Judah as the Bible records them.