Tukulti-Ninurta I

Following on the campaigns his predecessor Adad-Nirari I to the west, Tukulti-Ninurta I undertook ambitious missions aimed at carving away land controlled by the Hittites and then from the staunch enemy to the south, Babylon. He is one of the better documented kings of the Middle Assyrian period. Among the sources dealing with him are remnants of an epic poem detailing his struggle with Babylonia, a number of royal inscriptions, and some alabaster tablets describing the construction of his new capital city. Yet despite his success in strengthening Assyria's position among the great powers, the king himself fell to an assassination plot by one of his sons, after which ensued a period of political turmoil and moderate territorial loss (Kuhrt pg. 358).

Tukulti-Ninurta ascended the throne in a time of great tension between Assyria and the Hittites. His father Shalmaneser I had defeated the kingdom of Mitanni (Hanigalbat), which since Suppiluliuma had served as a buffer state for the Hittites eastern flank. Now worried that the son would take after his father, Tudhaliya sent messages to the new Assyrian king seeking to maintain a peaceful status quo, and even to deflect his rival's energy south toward Babylon (See KUB III 73, 10'f, KUB XXIII 103 rev. 20f, and Singer pg. 102).

Yet despite initially friendly overtures from Tukulti-Ninurta, both sides gradually abandoned their pretense for peace and a confrontation appeared likely. Thus in a response to rebellions of the Qutu and Uqumeni to the north of Assur, Tukulti-Ninurta invaded an area called Shubari just north of modern Diyarbakir, attacking the lands of Katmuhi, Alzi, Amadani (Amedi) and Paphi (Papanhi) (Singer pg. 104). The Hittites retaliate, but attack seems to have ultimately favored Tukulti-Ninurta, as in two of this late inscriptions the Assyrian king boasts of capturing eight szar of Hittite soldiers from across the Euphrates (ibid). The Assyrian offensive now threatened the Hittites last eastern stronghold of Isuwa with its routes leading across the Euphrates and the all important copper mines at Ergani Maden (Singer, pg. 105). The first notable victory over the Hittites took place in the Upper Euphrates, over the small state of Nihriya (Kuhrt pg. 355). Knowledge of this battle comes from letters among the Assyrians, Hittites, and client-states of Syria regarding the aftermath of the event. In a letter some scholars ascribe to Tukulti-Ninurta I (see Bryce pg. 317) and others to Shalmaneser I (see Kuhrt pg. 355), the Assyrian king describes to the king of Ugarit his preparations for and ultimate success in battle with the Hittites over Nihriya:

I called my camp herald: "Put on your cuirasses and mount your chariots. The king of Hatti arrives in battle-order." I harnessed [ ] my chariot and made a charge, [shouting(?) 'the king(?) of Ha]tti comes ready to do battle!'…Certainly I won a great victory. (RS 34.165, translation from Bryce pg. 317).

See also Singer, 1985.

This set-back placed Tudhaliya, the Hittite king, in a politically unstable situation and left his kingdom open to further attack. However Tukulti-Ninurta I did not pursue this option, choosing instead to begin a campaign against the Babylonians, who in the mean time had taken advantage of Assyria's focus on the Hittites to grab some of their lost territories to the north and east (Kuhrt pg. 355). As described in a rare indigenous Assyrian epic (see Lambert AfO 18 (1957-8)), and supported by the fragmentary Chronicle P, Tukulti-Ninurta I defeated Kashtiliash IV, and took him prisoner to Assur along with other treasures from Babylon.

Tukulti-Ninurta I also undertook the construction of a new capital city a short distance from Assur, naming in Kar Tukulti-Ninurta ("Port Tukulti-Ninurta"). Despite the amount of resources put into the new project, however, the city did not last long beyond his reign (see Kuhrt pg. 357).