which the Assyrians
had established in Babylon, was not content to remain very long in a
subject position. In the time of Bel-kudur-uzur, Vul-baladan, the
Babylonian vassal monarch, revolted; and a war followed between him and
his Assyrian suzerain, which terminated in the defeat and death of the
latter, who fell in a great battle, about B.C. 1210.

Nin-pala-zira succeeded. It is uncertain whether he was any relation to
his predecessor, but clear that he avenged him. He is called "the king
who organized the country of Assyria, and established the troops of
Assyria in authority." It appears that shortly after his accession,
Vul-baladan of Babylon, elated by his previous successes, made an
expedition against the Assyrian capital, and a battle was fought under
the walls of Asshur in which Nin-pala-zira was completely successful.
The Babylonians fled, and left Assyria in peace during the remainder of
the reign of this monarch.

Asshur-dayan, the third king of the series, had a long and prosperous
reign. He made a successful inroad into Babylonia, and returned into his
own land with a rich and valuable booty. He likewise took down the
temple which Shamas-Vul, the son of Ismi-Dagon, had erected to the gods
Asshur and Vul at Asshur, the Assyrian capital, because it was in a
ruinous condition, and required to be destroyed or rebuilt. Asshur-dayan
seems to have shrunk from the task of restoring so great a work, and
therefore demolished the structure which was not rebuilt for the space
of sixty years from its demolition. He was succeeded upon the throne by
his son Mutaggil-Nebo.

Mutaggil-Nebo reigned probably from about B.C. 1170 to B.C. 1150. We are
informed that "Asshur, the great Lord, aided him according to the wishes
of his heart, and established him in strength in the government of
Assyria." Perhaps these expressions allude to internal troubles at the
commencement of his reign, over which he was so fortunate as to triumph.
We have no further particulars of this monarch.

Asshur-ris-ilim, the fourth king of the series, the son and successor of
Mutaggil-Nebo, whose reign may be placed between B.C. 1150 and B.C.
1130, is a monarch of greater pretensions than most of his predecessors.
In his son's Inscription he is called "the powerful king, the subduer of
rebellious countries, he who has reduced all the accursed." These
expressions are so broad, that we must conclude from them, not merely
that Asshur-ris-ilim, unlike the