Nineveh

When the Assyrian capital Nineveh fell to the invading armies of the Babylonians, Medians and their allies in the year 612 BC, it signaled the end of the mighty Assyrian empire which dominated the ancient history of Mesopotamia for more than eight centuries. This book tries to review the last century of that empire which coincides with the Sargonid dynasty, starting from Sargon II and ends with the defeat of the last king Ashur-uballit who believed to be the youngest son of Ashurbanipal. That crucial period saw the retraction of Egypt as a dominating force. On the other hand, new powers emerged to constitute a real challenge to the Assyrians, among which the kingdom of Judea, the Elamites of eastern Persia, the Medians of northwest Iran, the Cimmerian tribes of the Caspian sea region and not to forget the ever revolting Babylonians who dominated the culture and religions of the whole Mesopotamia. The cruelty and severity of the Assyrian conquests triggered a non-ending reprisals and backlashes which turned the life of the Assyrians sour. Biblical and Oracle Prophesies were predicting the rebuilding of Babylon after being destroyed utterly by Sennacherib, God's commands to profit Jonah to get the people of Nineveh to repent and follow the path of righteousness, and later on that to profit Nahum proclaiming Judgment to Nineveh and its people. The writer has followed all available literature and kept all historical events, names and dates unchanged. Some dramatic fictional intervention were added to make dry ancient history more palatable to the reader without messing up with the real history. Finally, I hope that I succeeded in making this important period of time, where the clash between monotheism and multi deity beliefs was at its peak, worthwhile reading.