Ancient History - Part 27: The Hero Who Was Promised?

New Babylonia, referred to as Pashe, had a total of eleven kings spanning less than 150 years. Initially plagued by the rule of a number of petty kings, it wasn't until the throne had succeeded to its first great king, Nebuchadrezzer I (1146-1123) that this new Babylonia began its traction in the direction of regaining long lost prestige. Blood-hungry for vengeance, the Pashe king declared his intent to wage two wars against the very two kingdoms that wracked ruin upon his nation: Assyria and Elam.

In Babylon, the Kassites had fully embraced and were embraced by the temples, learnt of the native tongue, and practice-tablets were used to conduct their full integration into the nation's faith. In Isin, administrative tasks were taught to overseers that once mastered were sent to other areas of the kingdom to manage organized governmental policy of the king. Dresswear advanced as the Kassite culture fully blended with the Pashe and a new cultural identity was bred out of the pain this generation and its previous ones had endured.

Lastly, new weapons that included sharper metal carved arrows, longer ranged bows, stern maces, and daggers were fashioned for the soldiery that had been waiting for a strong leader to call upon them to strike back against their invaders.

At this time, Assyria faced hardships within her dominion, the Mushkai people (former Hittites that migrated within Assyria's borders) began to rebel, and overran two key outposts, Purukuzzi and Alzi, creating civil unrest. Elam on the other hand cooled on its encroachment of Babylonia, especially as defensive armed forces grew under new Pashe organization.

This powder keg readied explode as the leverage of the two oppressors waned, and a new Babylonian "hero" was born in Nebuchadrezzer. Elam did not approve. Shilhak-In-Shushinak, king of Elam, invaded further into Babylonia where he was met in battle by Nebuchadrezzer along the banks of the Ukni River, in the southeast. It was April when Nebuchadrezzer and his forces were soundly beaten and driven back, and whilst a valiant stand was made, the invading Elamite units were much too battle-tested by the comparison of Nebuchadrezzer's hot-blooded youths.

No choice than to consolidate his remaining forces in a grand retreat back to the capital, Babylon, with the Elamite army potentially on his trail, the bold young leader prayed before Marduk, seeking out an answer for his people.

[MARDUK - PATRON GOD OF BABYLON]

Ancient History - Part 26: New Babylonia

Elam soon began to encroach and conquer all of Babylonia's lands. Many small rebellions took place as Babylonia's bravest souls made attempts to reclaim their stolen birthrights, but many such instances failed to garner any significant victory. The Babylonia that remained was ruled by the Pashe Dynasty that hoped one day to stand up to Elam, but in practice instead chose to focus internally, on taming the conflict between the old guard and the new.

The first notable king of this New Babylonia, Nebuchadrezzar I, declared himself as the "spoiler of the Kassites", as evidenced that the kingdom would accept no redemption from the very people it deemed to collect an array of dooming failures.

Whilst the Kassites were ousted from possessing any governmental power under the Pashe Dynasty, many of its peoples still remained within Babylonia. This era of Babylonia that continued throughout the 12th century offered little in the way of the arts (literature, art, poetry, social innovation) and even less in the conquests of war. The lone exceptions were modifications made to their yearly dating calendars and utilization of the horse, but the change of regime was largely felt in a stunted development for this once booming super power of the Near East.

The first four kings of the Pashe Dynasty concerned themselves (perhaps, rightfully) with pleasing their citizens, granting large estates to those who'd given long-service to the kingdom, as well as offering smaller parcels of land to the working class, and tax benefits to those who were already land-owners. They were concerned with maintaining loyalty, and much like the Hittites, upon a collapse of its great armies, no longer held the hungry spirit to return to external battlefield conflicts.

Time heals all wounds, and eventually the Kassites openly began to worship the Pashe deity of Nippur, whose priests were provided land and a central place for its temple.

[PLAQUE OF THOSE DEVOTED TO NIPPUR]

Ancient History - Part 25: The End of Kassite Dominion

[ELAM HIGHLIGHTED IN ORANGE]

Well into the top half of the 12th century BC, the forever-war between Babylonia and Assyria continued to overshadow the reigns of many rulers. On the side of Babylonia, king Meli-Shipak II was succeeded by his sons, one upon the other, in Marduk-apal-iddin (1187-1175), and then Ilbaba-shum-iddin (1174). On the side of Assyria, Ninurta-apal-ekur was succeeded by Ashur-dan I (1175-1141).

One year into his reign, king Ashur-dan I pressed Assyria's armies into the borderlands of Babylonia, capturing many frontier towns. Upon victory, the young king pushed beyond the boundary between their nations to successfully lay siege to the city of Karduniash, where in the aftermath of its fall, looted all of its treasury, which was then transported back to Assyria. It's a wonder why the Assyrian king chose not to claim the city for himself, a risk in minimizing his victory to merely a glorified raid.

While Assyria appeared conservative in its military approach, the opposite could be said of Babylonia's eastern neighbor, Elam. Shortly after the success of Assyria's short military campaign, in that same year (1174), Elam's forces charged down from the mountaintops and into a monstrous attack upon Babylonia. Unlike their encroachments of the past, this was no ordinary raid.

Shutruk-Nakhkhunte, the king of Elam, invaded the heartland of Babylonia, where king Ilbaba-shum-iddin of Babylon was killed. The Elamite king along with his warrior-son, Kutir-nakhkunte, completely overwhelmed Sippar, despoiling the city of all its riches.

The attacks upon Babylonia by Assyria and then Elam were simply too much for the kingdom to endure. A century of occupation, war, chaos, and a looming threat of complete destruction to the cities and their people spelled out the fall of the Kassite dynasty that had ruled Babylonia for nearly six hundred years. A new ruling party, the Pashe dynasty, came to power and by 1169 began to take steps to shape the kingdom into a new Babylonia.

[SEAL OF THE KASSITES USED BETWEEN THE 16TH - 12TH CENTURIES BC]