The study uses two kind of sources (bas-reliefs and texts) to show the position of civilians within the Assyrian empire: the representation of long rows of people being escorted by Assyrian soldiers after their cities have been conquered and plundered shows the systematic regularity of the Assyrian policy of capturing and deporting people. Written sources, in particular the letters of state chancellery, indicate not only the Assyrian system of deportation (recording numbers of civilians moved from their native places) but also the efforts of the Assyrian governors and officials to deal with high numbers of people: foreigners were exploited as labour in Assyria but during their transfer from the conquered regions to Assyria they also needed attention, shelter and enough food to survive. Civilians might indeed have been an economic resource for the Assyrian Empire (some of them were also employed in the army), but they also represented a cost to the Assyrian economic system.