Why have historians called the Assyrian Empire of the first millennium B.C.E. the first true empire? ?

Question

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Answer 1

The cities Ashur, Arbela, Nimrud (or Calah) and Nineveh created the city state known as the Assyrian Empire. Little is known of the earliest kings listed on the King List, other than a few recorded contacts with other kingdoms. No regnal lengths are given for kings before Erishum I. About 1810 BC an Assyrian king, Shamshi-Adad I (reigned 1813-1780 BC), succeeded in extending the territory of Assyria from the Zagros Mountains to the Mediterranean Sea. Shamshi-Adad may have been the first ruler to establish a centrally organized empire in the ancient Middle East. He divided his kingdom into districts under specially appointed administrators and councils, instituted a system of couriers, and took a census of the population at regular intervals. It is believed that the Assyrian empire was the first to accomplish this.  

Answer 2

I must disagree with such a bold promulgation. The first 'true' empires were the Sargonic Empire of the Akkadians from 2350-2230 BCE, the Gutian Empire of the Sumerians consisting of the 2nd Dynasty of Lagash, the period of the Gutian Empire: 2218-2047 BCE and the 5th Dynasty of Uruk, and the Third Dynasty of Ur of the Sumerians: 2047-1940 BCE.

The Akkadian Civilization consisted of the reign of Sargon I 'the Great' from 2270-2215 BCE. The porphyrogene dynasty commenced with Naram-Suen from 2190-2154 BCE and then Shar-Kali-Sharri around ca. 2100 BCE. The great Akkadian empire fell into dilapidation and was sown its utter abjuration through its internal dissolution, heterochthonous tribe incursions such as from the Elamites and the Hurrians as well as Urartu. The empire fell due to over-extension of manpower, military expenditure and economic exhaustion. The Akkadian Empire was the first 'true' empire because it held other states in suzerainty (hegemony) and imposed its will upon other 'autarchies' (realpolitik). (See Hugo Grotius and Immanuel Wallenstein for political philosophy)

The Sumerian Civilization consisted of the Early Dynastic Period of the 1st Dynasty of Kish, 1st Dynasty of Uruk and the 1st Dynasty of Ur; the next period was the Empire Period of Lugal-zage-si followed by the Gutian Period.  

Answer 3

The reason is that before, powerful states left subordinate rulers in place and just extracted tribute from them, but the Assyrians often got rid of the local rulers and replaced them with their own provincial governors.