The Significance of Assyria?

Isaiah 19:
24 In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, 25 whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”

God has shown a special love for Assyria. He sent Jonah to preach to the people of Nineveh, who responded to his preaching and humbled themselves before God. And in the above Scripture, He blesses them along with Israel and Egypt.

I understand why God loves Egypt, which, early on, was Israel's protector til there were enough Israelis to take care of themselves. But I'm wondering what Assyria ever did to merit God's blessing them over many other nations & peoples. I know God used Assyria to punish several other nations, including Israel, but, aside from the repentance of Nineveh, including the king, because of Jonah's preaching, there's no record of any other king or prominent Assyrian ever worshipping God. In fact, in the great storehouse of records discovered in the remains of Nineveh, there's no mention of God.

The history of Assyria shows that, after their last great empire crumbled, in the 600s BC, Assyrian people continued to live in what's now northeast Syria, parts of what's now Turkey, and a little into what's now Iran. They were centered along the Tigris River.

There were several small states & dukedoms that called themselves Assyrians among those people. When the islamic Arabs conquered the area in 637 AD, they ended all those small states, but their peoples still called themselves Assyrians.

Its great city, Nineveh, was sacked & largely razed in 612 BC, and was eventually replaced with modern-day Mosul, part of which calls itself Nineveh.

Neo-Assyria was the site of the birth & development of the Syrian Christian movement and birthplace of the Church of the East. I do not know if that has anything to do with God's coming blessing upon Assyria or not, but for now I won't rule out that this has a bearing of His prophecy He gave to Isaiah.

Can anyone else supply any intel as to why God has chosen to bless Assyria, over many other peoples of the general area, such as the Medes, Persians, etc who had a few kings who worshipped Him?