I remember reading that Neo-Assyrian Empire was unusualy brutal, even for the period. That they would revel in their brutality, with their art depicting scenes of violent subjugation.
I also remember hearing that this brutality was the ultimate reason for the fall of the empire, as they were despised enough by their neighbors that they united and took the Assyrians down.
Is it true, or is it the case of victors writing history and the coalition that destoyed the empire depicting them in negative light?
First of all, the question of propaganda versus actual historical fact is pretty difficult to answer. So understand that principle better I would suggest reading “memory, history, forgetting” by Paul Ricoeur. What we do know is that the Neo-Assyrian empire used a war tactic entitled “calculated frightfulness,” which involved stacking severed heads outside of conquered cities (this scene is shown in the gate of Ishtar). They would use this tactic against small villages and cities to intimidate the capital into surrendering. The siege of Lachish is a great example of this! However; whether a lot of these depictions were propaganda or true historical narrative is difficult to parse.