Final answer:
The Assyrians employed severe consequences like public torture and forced deportations if their tributes were not paid. These brutal tactics, termed 'calculated frightfulness,' ensured resistance to their control was minimal and served as a warning to other vassal states. Similar severe penalties were faced by the Judeans during the 'Babylonian Captivity' when they rebelled against the Neo-Babylonians.
Step-by-step explanation:
If the Assyrians did not get their tribute, they would resort to harsh punishments, including public torture and mutilation, as a form of calculated frightfulness to deter and demonstrate the consequences of rebellion. Their military might was both respected and feared, and they used brutal tactics to maintain control over their empire, which demanded constant tribute and taxation from conquered peoples. These actions ingrained hatred of the Assyrians among those they conquered. When their empire was expanded, those who resisted faced devastating consequences, and regions were subject to forced deportations, and uprisings were brutally quashed.
The account of the Judeans being attacked by the Neo-Babylonians and the destruction of Jerusalem, including Solomon's Temple, and the enslavement of tens of thousands of Jews during the "Babylonian Captivity", illustrates the severity of the penalties for not adhering to the demands of dominant empires during that era.