An ancient country in what is now northern Iraq. It was originally centred on Ashur, a city‐state on the west bank of the Tigris, which first became prominent and expanded its borders in the 14th century bc. From the 8th to the late 7th century bc Assyria was the dominant Near‐Eastern power and created an empire which stretched from the Persian Gulf to Egypt. Its capital city was Nineveh near modern Mosul, Iraq. The state fell in 612 bc, defeated by a coalition of Medes and Chaldeans.