Chronicon
Menu
Historical Period

Kassite Babylonia, the first Assyrian empire, and the Bronze Age collapse.

Use the timeline below to navigate through major events and milestones.

Kassite Babylon & Middle Assyria · 1595-911 BC
Ancient Mesopotamia

Kassite Babylon & Middle Assyria

For four centuries the Kassites ruled a settled, prosperous Babylonia, trading as equals with the pharaohs of Egypt, while in the north a new Assyrian kingdom rose to conquer even Babylon itself. Then the whole Bronze Age world convulsed: empires fell, the Aramaeans spread across the land, and Mesopotamia entered a dark age from which Assyria would emerge armed for conquest.

1570 BC
Kassite Dynasty
1 / 10

1570 BC

Kassite Dynasty
  • Political

    The Kassites take Babylon

    Kassite kings from the Zagros seize the leaderless city and found the longest dynasty Babylon would ever know.

10 milestones

Meanwhile

Around 1570 BC

Full Chronicle

Kassite Babylon & Middle Assyria

For four centuries the Kassites ruled a settled, prosperous Babylonia, trading as equals with the pharaohs of Egypt, while in the north a new Assyrian kingdom rose to conquer even Babylon itself. Then the whole Bronze Age world convulsed: empires fell, the Aramaeans spread across the land, and Mesopotamia entered a dark age from which Assyria would emerge armed for conquest.

  1. Kassite Dynasty

    • The Kassites take Babylon

      Kassite kings from the Zagros seize the leaderless city and found the longest dynasty Babylon would ever know.

  2. Kassite Dynasty

    • Babylon among the great powers

      The Amarna letters show Kassite kings writing to the pharaohs of Egypt as brothers, trading gold for lapis and marriage alliances.

  3. Middle Assyrian Kingdom

    • Assyria rises again

      Ashur-uballit I throws off the overlordship of Mitanni and makes Assyria an independent great power.

  4. Middle Assyrian Kingdom

    • Tukulti-Ninurta conquers Babylon

      The Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta I storms Babylon, captures its king, and carries the statue of Marduk north.

  5. End of the Kassites

    • Elam ends the Kassite dynasty

      Elamite armies sack Babylon, end four centuries of Kassite rule, and carry the Code of Hammurabi off to Susa.

  6. Second Dynasty of Isin

    • Nebuchadnezzar I avenges Babylon

      Nebuchadnezzar I of Isin invades Elam and brings the statue of Marduk home in triumph.

  7. Middle Assyrian Kingdom

    • Tiglath-Pileser I reaches the sea

      The warrior-king Tiglath-Pileser I campaigns from the mountains to the Mediterranean, extending Assyria's reach.

  8. Aramaean Age

    • The Aramaeans and the dark age

      Drought and Aramaean migrations shatter the old order; Assyria shrinks to its heartland and Babylon falls into disorder.

  9. Aramaean Age

    • Aramaic spreads across the land

      The Aramaic language and its simple alphabet begin to spread, destined to become the common tongue of the whole Near East.

  10. Assyrian Recovery

    • Assyria gathers its strength

      Ashur-dan II begins to reconquer the lost frontier, opening the recovery that will explode into the Neo-Assyrian Empire.