The Egyptians under Necho II had invaded the Near East in 609 B.C. in a belated attempt to help their former Assyrian rulers....

Assurbanipal was one of the longest reigning kings of Assyria. He ruled over the empire for 42 years and, in that time, campaigned...

Upon his father's death, Assurbanipal (Ashurbanipal) held a great coronation festival for his brother's ascension to the throne of...

Esarhaddon took the throne and defeated his brothers' factions during a six-week civil war. The two brothers themselves, after the...

During the reign of Sargon II, Sennacherib had effectively maintained the administration of the empire while his father was away on...

When Tiglath-Pileser III died, Hoshea at first remained loyal to Assyria, but later on, possibly as part of a general rebellion, he...

In the first half of the eighth century, Assyria had lost its ability to campaign outside its borders, and internally local officials had...

Ashurnasirpal II’s son and successor, Shalmaneser III, had a 35-year reign that was filled with military campaigns, especially in the...

Ashurnasirpal II is most famous for his grand palace at Kalhu (also known as Nimrud in modern-day Iraq). Taking 15 years to build, he...

The Assyrian Political System Assyria was a militaristic society, and the army provided its basic structure and hierarchy. All men could...

A group of people created during this time that we should note before moving on, were the Sea Peoples. This confederacy of naval raiders...

The Late Bronze Age Collapse, often referred to as the Mycenaean Palatial Civilization Collapse, was a period of time – roughly between...

At the beginning of the Assyrian Middle Period, Assur was under the control of the Mitanni Empire, which had come to power after the...

The city of Assur (Ashur), together with a number of other Assyrian cities, seem to have been established by 2600 B.C. However, it is...

After the death of King Hammurabi, his ineffectual successors reduced his great empire after several military defeats with the Assyrians....

The road to recovery was led by a number of rulers whose histories are still vague, including two with the name Tudhaliya. They...

The Old Hittite Kingdom began when the Hittite King Anitta of the neighboring kingdom of Kussara sacked the city of Hattusas in roughly...

Little is known of the Hittites other than references from the Bible and fragmentary documentation from Egypt until the late 19th century...

The kings who came before Hammurabi had ruled a relatively minor city-state that was created in about 1854 B.C. Their kingdom controlled...

The end of Ur's rule over Sumer and Akkad did not lead to an immediate fragmentation of political power. Early in the reign of Ibbi-Sin,...