Kassite Babylonia

  General Description   The Kassites invaded Babylon from the north-west after the Hittites ended the First Empire. The Hittites did not establish their presence in Babylonia and, instead, the Kassites took the throne and ruled over Babylonia, although it was a smaller empire than the First Empire. ^[1] The Kassite Dynasty is notable for the unification of Sumer and Babylon to create the Empire. It was marked by large building projects, especially in old Sumerian cities such as Ur, Uruk and Eridu. ^[2] The Babylonian Empire was at this time secondary to the powerful surrounding states Egypt and Assyria. The Kassites had a reasonably good relationship with Egypt; there were several intermarriages and gifts were given and recieved. On the other side, they constantly fought with Assyria until the Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta I captured the Babylonian king, Kashtiliash IV and conquered Babylon. Assyrians ruled Babylon for seven years. Elam also started invading Babylonian territory in the latter Kassite Dynasty, eventually setting Kutir-Nahhunte on the throne in the north, leaving the Kassites surviving in power in the south. Not many years later Kuti-Nahhunte conquered the whole of Babylon, ended the rule of the Kassite Dynasty and took their god, Marduk, to Susa. ^[3]
The period was characterised by the overall population decline occurring across the Near East. Border towns and villages were abandoned and irrigation became less successful. Much of the administration was undertaken by or in the temples who effectively owned most of the land; however, another type of land ownership developed, which was the land gifted by the king to religious, military and administrative elites. The non-elites, on the other hand, suffered during this period, becoming markedly impoverished as they became unimportant in social government. ^[4]
In general, the Kassites made only limited changes to Babylonian culture, mostly assimilating into Babylonian society. As such, it can often be difficult to ascribe evidence to the Kassites specifically, as opposed to the ongoing Babylonian empire. ^[5]

[1]: Gill, A. 2008. Gateway of the Gods: The Rise and Fall of Babylon. London: Quercus. p.66

[2]: Stein, D. L. 1997. Kassites. In Meyers, E. (ed.) The Oxford Encylopedia of Archaeology in the Near East. Volume 3. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p.272

[3]: Liverani, M. 2014. The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy. London: Routledge. p.364-366

[4]: Liverani, M. 2014. The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy. London: Routledge. p.366-7

[5]: Gill, A. 2008. Gateway of the Gods: The Rise and Fall of Babylon. London: Quercus. p.68