Assyria from Ashurbanipal to Aššur-uballiṭ II (668–609 BC)

Assyria continued to prosper when Ashurbanipal, a younger son of Esarhaddon, became king (668–ca. 631 BC). During the second half of his reign, however, the kingdom began to suffer serious problems, not unlike those of the late ninth and early eighth centuries BC. By the time Ashurbanipal died, Assyrian might was declining. Assyria's fortunes continued to suffer under its next two kings, Aššur-etel-ilāni (ca. 630–627 BC) and Sîn-šarra-iškun (ca. 626–612 BC). In 612, the Babylonian king Nabopolassar and the Medes besieged the Assyrian capital Nineveh. Within three months, they captured and destroyed that city. In the northwest, Aššur-uballiṭ II (ca. 611–609 BC) declared himself king of Assyria in the city Ḫarrān. Even with support from Egypt, Aššur-uballiṭ was unable to maintain power. Military and political supremacy passed to Babylon in the south, under the control of Nabopolassar and his successors. Although Assyria ceased to exist as a political entity, much of its cultural and religious heritage endured.

Jamie Novotny

Jamie Novotny, 'Assyria from Ashurbanipal to Aššur-uballiṭ II (668–609 BC)', The Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period, The RINAP Project, 2019 [http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/neoassyrianhistoryoverview/assyriafromashurbanipaltoauruballiii668609bc/]

 
Back to top ^^
 
© RINAP online, 2011–. The RINAP Project is based at the University of Pennsylvania and the contents of this website have been made possible in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor (2008–20), as well as funding provided by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (Historisches Seminar – Abteilung Alte Geschichte; 2015–23), through the establishment of the Alexander von Humboldt Chair for Ancient History of the Near and Middle East for Karen Radner, and by the Gerda Henkel Foundation (2019–22). Content released under a CC BY-SA 3.0 [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/] license, 2007-23.
Oracc uses cookies only to collect Google Analytics data. Read more here [http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/doc/about/cookies/index.html]; see the stats here [http://www.seethestats.com/site/oracc.museum.upenn.edu]; opt out here.
http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/neoassyrianhistoryoverview/assyriafromashurbanipaltoauruballiii668609bc/