The assyrian empire was ruled by
a. a powerful monarch.
b. the governors of city-states.
c. medes and chaldeans.
d. government bureaucrats.

The Assyrians were one of the main peoples of the ancient Mesopotamia, mostly living in the northern Mesopotamia, and their empire grew and fell several times throughout history, mainly fighting the Babylonians for dominance. They first came to power after the fall of the Akkadian Empire, one of the strongest rulers of that period being Shamshi-Adad. After the death of this ruler the Assyrians have weakened and fall under the power of the Babylonians.

The strongest Assyrian empires ruled from 744 to 612 BC, when they had a number of mighty rulers, Tiglath-Pileser III, Sargon II, Sennacherib, and Ashurbanipal. One of the last Assyrian kings, Ashurbanipal, known for building a large library in the city of Nineveh, which has inherited ancient clay inscriptions from Mesopotamia, tells of Gilgamesh, the Hammurabi Code, etc.

The answer is: a.