Aššur-uballiṭ II.

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Aššur-uballiṭ II was the last king of the Assyrian Empire from 611 BC. Until its complete destruction by 608 BC. Chr.

Aššur-uballiṭ II succeeded King Sîn-šarru-iškun . When on July 28, 612 BC A coalition of the Babylonians under their king Nabû-apla-uṣur , now also known as Nabopolassar , the Medes under King Kyaxares II and the Scythians took its capital Nineveh , Sîn-šarru-iškun died in the flames of his palace. His Turtānu , the Neo-Assyrian title for the supreme general, managed to leave with part of the garrison to Harran , where he was proclaimed king in autumn under the name of Aššur-uballi im II. It is disputed whether he was a member of the ruling family. Some historians believe that he was the brother of his predecessor.

It is certainly no coincidence that after the catastrophe of 612 BC he Took the name Aššur-uballiṭ II. After all, it was once Aššur-uballit I who freed Assyria from the yoke of the Mittani Empire. In the spring of 611 BC His first official year of reign began. But it was also the year of further attacks by Babylonian and Scythian raiders who were looking for prey.

In 610 BC The entire Medico-Babylonian force marched in front of Harran. In this already seemingly hopeless situation, Aššur-uballi erhielt II received support from Egyptian troops. He had already asked Pharaoh Psammetich I for help, who responded but died unexpectedly while he was preparing for a campaign. Despite the solar eclipse of September 30th, 610 BC. Chr. Only a month later, at the beginning of Amun-Re festival , which was unanimously interpreted as a bad omen, his son must Necho II. In a hurry with a portion immediately march ready troops on the way have made. Psammetich I was certainly not a great friend of the Assyrians, as he only had himself in 653 BC. Freed from their predominance. In view of the threat from the ever-growing new power from Babylonia, Egypt was very interested in keeping the remainder of the Assyrian Empire as a counterweight or at least a buffer state.

The city of Harran could no longer be held. Aššur-uballiṭ II and Pharaoh Necho II withdrew to the west side of the Euphrates . The abandoned Harran was occupied by a Babylonian garrison and sacked by the victorious coalition forces. Afterwards, their armies moved away again. Necho II used the break in combat to raise a much larger Egyptian force and lead it north. Joschija , the king of Judah , tried unsuccessfully to prevent the Egyptian army from marching through at Megiddo . It was obvious that the Pharaoh would not lead his army home after a victory against Babylonia without submitting the former Assyrian vassals in Syria and Palestine. But as the Bible reports in the 2nd Book of Kings , Joschiah failed and was killed in his attempt. When the army of the Egyptians had reunited with the Assyrians in the summer, they crossed the Euphrates and began to besiege Harran. However, in several attacks it was only possible to take the garrison, not the city proper.

Nabû-apla-uṣur returned to Harran with his army after a campaign through the neighboring regions of Izalla and Urartu , after which Aššur-uballiṭ II is no longer mentioned in the Babylonian Chronicle. Whether he was severely beaten, whether he was able to flee, or his whereabouts is not known, in any case there was no more Assyria from then on. Necho II moved back to Egypt. The subsequent revenge of the peoples so long oppressed by the Assyrian Empire was in no way inferior to the cruelty of its former rulers. No city in Assyria was left undestroyed; its inhabitants were exterminated in terrible slaughter, so that the region was turned into a desert for centuries.

literature

  • Dietz-Otto Edzard : History of Mesopotamia . 2nd improved edition. CH Beck, Munich 2009, ISBN 3-406-51664-5 .
  • Stefan Zawadski: The fall of Assyria and Median-Babylonian relations in light of the Nabopolassar chronicle . In: Seria Historia . No. 149 . Adam Mickiewicz University Press, Poznan 1988, ISBN 978-83-232-0122-9 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Hartmut Schmökel : Ur, Assur and Babylon . In: Great Cultures of the Early Period . tape 12 . Phaidon Verlag, Akademische / Athenaion, Kilpper Collection, Stuttgart 1985, ISBN 3-88851-091-0 , p. 112 .
  2. ↑ Herbert Donner : History of the people of Israel and its neighbors in outline: From the time of kings to Alexander the great . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1995, ISBN 978-3-525-51680-5 , pp. 388 .
predecessor Office successor
Sîn-šarru-iškun Assyrian king
611–609 BC Chr. 		End of the Assyrian Empire
personal data
SURNAME Aššur-uballiṭ II.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Assur-Uballit II.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of Assyria (611 BC-609 BC)
DATE OF BIRTH 7th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH after 609 BC Chr.