Tablet in Ashurbanipal's northern palace in Nineveh
A tablet found by the British mission in 1853 in the northern palace of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh (Tel Qoynaq) consisting of three fields. The middle field depicts the Assyrian army parading in front of Ashurbanipal after its return from the invasion of Babylon in 648 BC. In the upper field is the capture of an Elamite city around The year 647 BC, and in the lower field, the surrender of the Elamite king and the march of Ashurbanipal (669 - 629 BC):
Ashurbanipal was fond of literature and fine arts, and he collected many books. He ordered the translation of clay tablets written in Sumerian, Akkadian, or Babylonian, and placed them in his large library that he found in Nineveh.
Ashurbanipal ordered the commander of the Assyrian army (Shanyushu) to continue marching with the army that his father had prepared to suppress the strife in Egypt. He advanced to the Delta, fought Taharqa and the other Egyptian princes, and conquered Memphis. Then he followed Taharqa to Upper Egypt and conquered Thebes as well. Thus, all of Egypt was subjected to Assyrian rule. Ashurbanipal appointed Egyptian governors, including Bismathek, and contracted with them to pay tribute to the Assyrian state and provide loyalty to it. After the withdrawal of the Assyrian armies, Psmanek annexed the Egyptian provinces under his banner and established the twenty-sixth dynasty, which was loyal to the Assyrian state.
As for Babylonia, we mentioned previously that Asser Haddon had appointed one of his sons called (Shamash-sham-okin) as ruler of Babylon. When Ashurbanipal assumed power in Nineveh, His brother (Shamash Shem or Kun) submitted to obedience and recognized the supreme authority of the King of Nineveh
At the same time, Ashurbanipal recognized his brother's kingship over Babylon, and thus the two brothers cooperated to rule Mesopotamia for twenty years, but after that it happened that the brother Shamash-Sham or Kan was swept up in the trend of rebellion that overwhelmed Babylon against Ashurbanipal, so he split the stick of obedience to his brother. Ashurbanipal launched a disciplinary campaign against Babylon, besieged his brother there, and conquered it by force in the year (648 BC), destroyed it, and burned Shamash-sham-ukun in the flames of his palace. Then the king of Nineveh marched south to remove the Aramaic and Arab tribes that had helped the revolution, subjugated them all, attacked the Elamites in their homeland, conquered their capital Sus, destroyed it, and exhumed the graves of its kings. Thus, he condemned the Middle East to Assyrian rule.
According to a late Assyrian text, Ashurbanipal ruled for 42 years, so the time of his rule was from 669 to 627 BC. However, the historical events at the end of his reign were unclear and confusing. His name was not mentioned in recorded reports during the last two years of his rule, which led historians to place the end of his rule in the year (629 BC).
Ashurtililani (629 - 627 BC):
After the death of Ashurbanipal, disputes occurred over the Assyrian throne, after which his son (Ashurtililani) was able to win power. He was not as assertive as his predecessors, the kings of the Assyrian Empire. In suppressing internal strife and in external war, he relied on his leader, “enacting evil for evil.” Due to the weakness of the Assyrian kingdom, many of its elements left it. Distant provinces, such as Egypt, which became independent and remained loyal to the Assyrian state. Likewise, many coastal cities in Palestine and Syria, as well as cities in Armenia, seceded. One of the Madhi kings even dared to attack Assyria, but the Assyrian army repelled him, killed the Madhi king, and defeated his army. Elamite captives / on display in the British Museum
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