Assyrian Empire and Military
The Assyrian Empire was created and maintained through military campaign and might. Assyrian soldiers were among the best equipped soldiers of the ancient world. They were armed with the most advanced battle gear. The army was composed of a highly skilled elite corps of guards together with conscripts from subject peoples.
Assyria and Babylon
Babylon increasingly came under Assyrian control when the Assyrian Empire expanded. Because of its special status as a cultural and holy city, the Assyrian kings tried to avoid Babylon. But in 689 BC, Sannacherib sacked Babylon after four years of Babylonian rebellion. The next Assyrian King, Esarhaddon rebuilt the city again. He appointed his son, Ashurbanipal as the king of the whole Assyria and another son, Shamash-shuma-ukin as the king of Babylon. This bring peace for a while but in 652 BC, Shamash turned against his brother and starting a devastating civil war. Ashurbanipal won but Babylon suffered two years famine and siege.
After the death of Ashurbanipal in 626 BC, a Babylonian known as Nabopolassar assumed the throne of Babylon. In 612 BC, Babylonian along with the Medes (ancient Kurds) from Western Iran destroyed the city of Nineveh. This marked the end of the Assyrian Empire and the new beginning of Babylon.
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