The Collapse e of the Assyrian Empire

The Assyrian empire reached its peak under the reign of Ashurbanipal (668–631), who sent his generals to subdue the two rival kingdoms that were still independent: Elam in the far East, and Egypt in the far West. The magnificence of the enormous metropolis of Nineveh, enriched by palaces and works of art, and the famous library where all the Babylonian literary works were collected (included the canonical series of omens and the lexical lists) show a power that had now reached its final maturity. By the mid-century, however, complacency and stagnation and inactivity mark the beginning of the decline of an empire that could only maintain its strength through continued expansion. Assyria lost de facto control of the most distant provinces (from Egypt to Anatolia), the inflow of booty and tribute noticeably decreased, and the administrative and ceremonial apparatus had expanded too much, becoming a burden that could no longer be met. The last years of Ashurbanipal, moreover, witnessed the beginning of a war of succession that would last for 20 years and take its toll of the ruling class, the state finances and the army.

In 625 a Chaldaean chief, Nabopolassar, became king of Babylon and, with renewed energy, took charge of the armed opposition that had always caused problems to Assyrian control over Lower Mesopotamia. Year by year, the scene altered as the Assyrians were progressively expelled from the cities of Lower Mesopotamia, and the Babylonians began to move up the Tigris and Euphrates, taking the conflict to the middle of the empire itself. During this phase the Medes people proved a useful ally of the Babylonians: they were important horse-breeders, and occupied the central Zagros mountains and the commercial route that led from Babylonia to central Asia (the so-called Khorasan road).