The Unification of the Syro-Hittite States
Tiglath-Pileser I was an ambitious king, desiring to turn his kingdom of Assyria into an empire. He prepared a large invasion of the Hittite city-states, remnants of the once large and proud Hittite empire. But in this timeline his plans would not come to be, instead he shall be remembered as the last king of Assyria.
1125 B.C. in Babylon, a native led a rebellion against the ruling Elamite dynasty. Nebuchadnezzar I wanted the Elamite invaders out of his homeland, so he took up the sword against the foreigners, but his rebellion failed.
He was able to regain control over most of Babylonia, but instead of solidifying rule over the country he marched his armies to the home of the Elamites. There his army was massacred, and Nebuchadnezzar fled to another nation - Assyria. Believing they would give him refuge, Assyria was always at odds with the Elamite empire but the Hittite states were seen as a bigger threat than Elam.
The then king of Assyria, Ashur-resh-ishi I, offered Nebuchadnezzar refuge but it was a trap. Ashur planned to kill Nebuchadnezzar, and give his head to the Elamites as tribute. But he was unaware that his son Tiglath-Pileser became friends with Nebuchadnezzar, and was sympathetic to the Babylonian rebellion. Tiglath warned Nebuchadnezzar of his father’s plan, and the two decided to make their own plan.
As ambitious princes and exiled kings stirred up trouble in Assyria, the Hittite kingdom of Quwe, centered around the city of Adana, started expanding its influence over the other Hittite city-states. The kings of Quwe dreamed of recreating the former Hittite empire. Expansion first started in the east and southeast, with Quwe annexing the Aramaean-Hittite states.
The city-states to the south were recently taken over by a group of foreigners known as the Aramaeans. Attacking these cities made the rulers of Quwe be seen as liberators. The annexation of the Aramaean-Hittite states officially ended in the year 1092 B.C. The 30 years campaign was not the end of the Aramaean states, many still lived along the fringes of the Assyrian kingdom and Elamite Babylon, there was also the Aramaean-Damascus kingdom under Egyptian protection.
Also at the end of the Aramaean campaign, Assyria had greatly changed. The prince Tiglath rebelled against his father with assistance of Nebuchadnezzar and several displeased nobles. His army took over the palace and forced his father to give up power. His father would then spend the rest of his life as a prisoner, while his son would bring destruction to the kingdom of Assur.
Tiglath-Pileser I was, unfortunately, an awful king. The spoiled prince was an easily influenced idiot. Luckily his advisors were able to take care of domestic policies, but the military was still under his control. Tiglath was set on helping Nebuchadnezzar regain his Babylonian kingdom. He declared war on the Elamites sometime around 1100 B.C., a war that would last over a decade. The king of the Assyrians used all the troops his father had prepared for the invasion of the Hittites, a massive army but not trained to fight in the Mesopotamia. Not only was the army ill-trained, but Tiglath was also an amateur at war. Nebuchadnezzar was much more experienced and gifted, so while Tiglath
officially led the army it was actually Nebuchadnezzar that gave the commands.
Nebuchadnezzar was, sadly, not immortal, and he died during the siege of Babylon. After that fate turned against Assyria, the Elamites fought them back into Assyrian territory. Tiglath was forced to accept a humiliating peace treaty in 1087 B.C. At the same time, the Hittite kingdom Quwe had finally taken control over the last of the Hittite cities in the Tabal region. The next king of Quwe took the throne as Suppiluliuma III to show the restoration of the Hittite empire.
Suppiluliuma III took advantage of the crumbling Assyria and declared war. Their iron weapons gave Quwe an advantage, and the years of war before the Hittite invasion ruined any hope of an Assyrian defense. Suppiluliuma was not interested in gaining more land, instead he wanted the world to know that the Hittites were now a great power in the world.
The city of Assur was razed and burned in the year 1077 B.C., treasury looted and women captured. Some of the former Assyrian lands was annexed by the Hittites, but razed the rest of the land. The Elamites seeking to gain more rule in Mesopotamia annexed and rebuilt it. Urartu eventually became a Hittite vassal state.
Differences between Our Timeline and Servant to the Pharaoh-
- Nebuchadnezzar's rebellion was successful in OTL, while in this one it wasn't.
- Assyria in OTL conquered the Hittite city-states instead of fighting a war with the Elamites.
- The Hittite states never united, but were instead conquered and assimilated into other cultures.