Circa 1243 - Circa 1207 B.C.E.
King Of Assyria

The Middle Assyrian Kingdom. In the century after Ashuruballit I (circa 1363 - circa 1328 B.C.E.) established the Middle Assyrian kingdom as a major international power on a par with the Egyptians, Hittites, Mittanians, and Babylonians, the Assyrians' need for imported raw materials grew dramatically. To secure access to supplies of copper, tin, lapis lazuli, and horses, the great warrior-king Tukulti-Ninurta I campaigned extensively in the mountains to the north and east, establishing control of access points to significant trade routes throughout the region.

Conflict with Babylon. Tukulti-Ninurta's success increased tensions between the Assyrians and their Kassite Babylonian neighbors to the south. The Babylonians, who needed access to the same raw materials, had once viewed Assyria as a breakaway vassal state. Thus, while Tukulti- Ninurta I was campaigning to his north, the Babylonian king Kashtiliash IV (circa...