was taken prisoner, and did not secure
release until he had ceded a portion of his territory and consented to
pay annual tribute to Babylonia.

Flushed with his success, the Kassite king invaded Assyria when
Adad-nirari I died and his son Arik-den-ilu came to the throne. He
found, however, that the Assyrians were more powerful than the
Elamites, and suffered defeat. His son, Na'zi-mar-ut'tash[409], also
made an unsuccessful attempt to curb the growing power of the northern
Power.

These recurring conflicts were intimately associated with the
Mesopotamian question. Assyria was gradually expanding westward and
shattering the dreams of the Babylonian statesmen and traders who
hoped to recover control of the caravan routes and restore the
prestige of their nation in the west.

Like his father, Adad-nirari I of Assyria had attacked the Aramaean
"Suti" who were settling about Haran. He also acquired a further
portion of the ancient kingdom of Mitanni, with the result that he
exercised sway over part of northern Mesopotamia. After defeating
Na'zi-mar-ut'tash, he fixed the boundaries of the Assyrian and
Babylonian spheres of influence much to the advantage of his own
country.

At home Adad-nirari conducted a vigorous policy. He developed the
resources of the city state of Asshur by constructing a great dam and
quay wall, while he contributed to the prosperity of the priesthood
and the growth of Assyrian culture by extending the temple of the god
Ashur. Ere he died, he assumed the proud title of "Shar Kishshate",
"king of the world", which was also used by his son Shalmaneser I. His
reign extended over a period of thirty years and terminated about 1300
B.C.

Soon after Shalmaneser came to the throne his country suffered greatly
from an earthquake, which threw down Ishtar's temple at Nineveh and
Ashur's temple at Asshur. Fire broke out in the latter building and
destroyed it completely.

These disasters did not dismay the young monarch. Indeed, they appear
to have stimulated him to set out on a career of conquest, to secure
treasure and slaves, so as to carry out the work of reconstructing the
temples without delay. He became as great a builder, and as tireless a
campaigner as Thothmes III of Egypt, and under his guidance Assyria
became the most powerful nation in Western Asia. Ere he died his
armies were so greatly dreaded that the Egyptians and Assyrians drew
their long struggle for supremacy in Syria to a close, and