By the late 1100s B.C., people eventually began to understand that Assyria was the true last remaining superpower of the Near East. Despite any losses on the battlefield and the occasional rulership of a petty king, Assyrian population was on a boom, the military only increasing in strength, and the culture possessed a resilient spirit that made them a menacing enemy for any in her path.
And so Assyria's military units struck Commagene, whose defenders were no match for the greater forces of king Tiglath-pileser. Homes were set ablaze, citizenry executed, and the lands pillaged. This assault was a moment of great importance securing Tiglath-pileser's reputation as a ruthless king and Assyria's reputation as no-nonsense political entity.
Commagene, ruled by king Kili-Tesrub, sealed the fate of his kingdom upon the refusal to pay new taxes levied by Tiglath-pileser and the surviving populace fled across the Tigris River. This diaspora of Commagene people intermingled with the Kurti tribesmen and formed an alliance, well away from their abandoned homeland.
Only one stronghold remained manned within Commagene, a mountain fortress that refused to surrender, and was held by Kili-Tesrub's brethen, Shadi-Tesrub.
King Kili-Tesrub of the exiled Commagene gathered his new allies and recrossed the Tigris in an attempt to regain the lands Assyria had taken. A massive battle took place in a fight for the Commagene kingdom, but in the end, Kili-Tesrub was captured, along with his treasury, and when news spread Shadi-Tesrub surrendered the Commagene people's last redoubt, his fortress, to the Assyrian army.
While many leaders during this era preferred to secure the unity of their people and tout this as some great success, now there was an external threat which stole their attention. The display of power that Assyria enacted upon its own ally, the Commagene, after defeating their enemies for them (the Moschi), created a heavy contemplation for Assyria's future moves. Assyria held all of the cards. And now the world was watching.
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