Prepare Ye the Way

1400 - 1300 BC, the Middle East

By 1400 Mitanni, fearing the growing threat of the Hittites, had concluded an alliance with the Egyptians.

After 1380, the Pharaoh Akhnaten of Egypt attempted to establish a new monotheistic religion in the country. This proved indigestible to preisthood and common man alike and the resulting turmoil drew Egypt's attention away from Asia and back upon itself. A new wave of Semitic nomads, the Aramaeans, began to move in from the northern desert to fill the power vacuum.

The day of the Hittites was at hand. Armed with iron weapons, the New Kingdom began to expand its borders. It burst out of Anatolia at the beginning of the 14th century, overrunning Syria and driving the Mitanni back from the Euphrates around 1350, replacing the Mitanni as the rivals of Egypt. With such an enemy to face, the Mitanni lost control of the Assyrian cities at their back. Nineveh and Assur reasserted their ancient identity, forming an Assyrian kingdom.

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