Page 410 - Four Thousand Years Ago by Geoffrey Bibby

[1160-1090 B.C.] The Wolf on the Fold 347

with bloodthirsty inexperience of what they would do to the
Elamite if they once got loose within the walls of Susa.
In 1140, when they were just out of their teens, they heard
of a new king in Babylon, called Nebuchadnezzar, but the news
made little impression. They had their own dynastic troubles at
the time. The year before, the old king of Assyria, Assur-dan,
had died, and the throne had been taken by a man whose legiti­
macy was far from straightforward, a certain Ninurta-tukulti-
Assur. He had sufficient support within the royal family, the
army, and the priests of Assur and Ishtar, to enforce his rule
within the city; but outside, the legitimate successor, Mutakkil-
Nusku, was gathering his forces. The people of Assyria were un­
certain whom it was safest to support, and at the same time
apprehensive that the Elamites would take the opportunity of a
civil war to attack Assyria in force. It was therefore some relief
to hear that the new king of Babylon had opened his reign with
a campaign against the Elamite-occupied territories. The sub­
sequent news that the campaign had been unsuccessful oc­
casioned no surprise—everyone knew that the Babylonians were
decadent—but at least the Elamites had been distracted in the
crucial months that it had taken Muttakil-Nusku to overthrow
the usurper.
But as the months passed it became clear that Nebuchadnez­
zar was showing unusual spirit for a Babylonian. His army, re­
organized and strengthened, had definitely taken the initiative
in the ten-year-old war with Elam. Undeterred by lack of de­
cisive victory, he campaigned yearly against the Elamites oc­
cupying the lower Tigris valley, keeping them on the defensive,
and gradually wearing down their strength.
For some years an unaccustomed peace descended on As­
syria. Elam had no time to spare for campaigns in the north and,
while many voices in the Assyrian army urged that now was the
time to strike for the lost provinces, Mutakkil-Nusku preferred
the comforts of his palace to the hardships and dangers of the
field. The reservists were still called periodically for training or
for frontier patrols, but no longer every year. The young men of
this particular generation were by chance allowed to pass from
youth to manhood undisturbed by the usual constant warfare.