Tukulti-Ninurta I succeeded
Shalmaneser I, his father, as king and won a major victory against the
Hittite Empire at the
Battle of Nihriya in the first half of his reign, appropriating Hittite territory in
Asia Minor and the
Levant. Tukulti-Ninurta I retained Assyrian control of
Urartu, and later defeated
Kashtiliash IV, the
Kassite king of
Babylonia, and captured the rival city of
Babylon to ensure full Assyrian supremacy over
Mesopotamia. He set himself up as king of Babylon, and took on the ancient title "
King of Sumer and Akkad" first used by
Ur-Nammu.
Babylonian victory Tukulti-Ninurta had petitioned the god
Shamash before beginning his counter offensive. Kashtiliash IV was captured, single-handed by Tukulti-Ninurta according to his account, who "trod with my feet upon his lordly neck as though it were a footstool" and deported him ignominiously in chains to Assyria. The victorious Assyrian demolished the walls of Babylon, massacred many of the inhabitants, pillaged and plundered his way across the city to the
Esagila temple, where he made off with the
statue of Marduk. After capturing Babylonia, he invaded the
Arabian Peninsula, conquering the pre-Arab states of
Dilmun and
Meluhha. Middle Assyrian texts recovered at ancient
Dūr-Katlimmu include a letter from Tukulti-Ninurta to his ''sukkal rabi'u'', or grand vizier,
Ashur-iddin advising him of the approach of his general
Shulman-mushabshu escorting the captive Kashtiliash, his wife, and his retinue which incorporated a large number of women, on his way to exile after his defeat. In the process he defeated the
Elamites, who had themselves coveted Babylon. He also wrote an epic poem documenting his wars against Babylon and Elam. After a Babylonian revolt, he raided and plundered the temples in Babylon, regarded as an act of sacrilege to all Mesopotamians, including Assyrians.
Conspiracy As relations with the priesthood in
Ashur began deteriorating, Tukulti-Ninurta built a new capital city;
Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta. However, his sons rebelled against him and besieged him in his new city. During the siege, he was murdered. One of them,
Ashur-nadin-apli, would succeed him on the throne.
Death After his death, the Assyrian Empire fell into a brief period of stagnation. The
Tukulti-Ninurta Epic describes the war between Tukulti-Ninurta I and Kashtiliash IV. from its foundations. "I built within a lofty dais and an awesome sanctuary for the abode of the goddess Dinitu, my mistress, and deposited my stelas.". From
Assur, northern
Iraq. ==Sources==