Source: The British Museum Site Visit.
The Hebrews historical events of their conquerors, provides a multifaceted insights of distinct nature of each empire’s governance, that significantly influenced the biblical narrative. In this post, I will critically evaluate the similarities and differences of the Assyrians, Babylonians and Persians perceptively.
Similarities of the Assyrians, Babylonians and Persians.
These empires conquered the Hebrews by military conquest and held them in captivity. They all had an ambition to expand their territories and dominate the conquered people. Their conquest was motivated by geopolitical and economic importance, hence imposed a labour and military service, and taxes. The Assyrian empire had a standard inscription Ashurnasirpal (865 BC), Ashurnasirpall II (883-859 BC)at their palace gates
to indicate his military might. 
They all controlled the movement of the Hebrews, either by forceful deportation or exilation and captivity. This military tactic was practiced to prevent unification or rebellion of the northern and southern tribes. However, the Persians were more lenient by allowing the Hebrews to go back and rebuild their country. These empires were all polytheistic and forcefully wanted to amalgamate the Hebrew God (Yahweh) into their culture. King Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian King had issued a decree that ordered that all people in Babylon must bow down and worship the golden statue that he had erected, hence the story of Shadrach (Hananiah), Meshach (Mishael) and Abednego (Azariah) were thrown into the fiery furnace after they refused to obey the decree. The Assyrians influenced the Hebrew culture and religion by forced resettlement and religious syncretism which annihilated the northern tribes. The Babylonians destroyed the temple of Solomon disrupting the Hebrew religious practices. The Persian empire allowed the Hebrews to return and restore their land.
Differences of the Assyrians, Babylonian and Persian Empires.
The Assyrians employed terror and military force to suppress any resistance from the Hebrews.
The Babylonians culturally assimilated the Hebrews, which led to some Hebrews adopting Babylonian names.
The Persians were tolerant to the Hebrews, by allowing them to return and rebuild their country.
These differences shaped the historical and theological development of the Hebrew people.
I like the way you are supporting your post with photos—good photos that remind us of our visit.
Looking at the conquerors that took over the Hebrews is exciting. I appreciate how you illustrated the similarities between their desires and power over the Hebrews. They all applied conquest and captivity as instruments, which is interesting to observe. These acts influenced the biblical story by making a more direct connection. Addition of photos adds a lot of weight to your post well done,
Great insights on here on the perspectives of the Babylonians, Assyrians and Persians. What about the Hebrews themselves? How were they interpreting these events?