Kassites
People of the ancient Near East / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Kassites (/ˈkæsaɪts/) were people of the ancient Near East, who controlled Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire c. 1531 BC and until c. 1155 BC (short chronology).
Kassite Empire | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
c. 1531 BC – c. 1155 BC | |||||||||||||
Capital | Dur-Kurigalzu | ||||||||||||
Common languages | Kassite, Akkadian | ||||||||||||
Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||||
King | |||||||||||||
• c. 1531 BC | Agum II (first) | ||||||||||||
• c. 1157—1155 BC | Enlil-nadin-ahi (last) | ||||||||||||
Historical era | Bronze Age | ||||||||||||
• Established | c. 1531 BC | ||||||||||||
c. 1531 BC | |||||||||||||
• Invasions by Elam | c. 1155 BC | ||||||||||||
• Disestablished | c. 1155 BC | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Today part of | Iraq, Iran, Kuwait |
They gained control of Babylonia after the Hittite sack of Babylon in 1531 BC, and established a dynasty generally assumed to have been based first in that city, after a hiatus. Later rule shifted to the new city of Dur-Kurigalzu.[1] By the time of Babylon's fall, the Kassites had already been part of the region for a century and a half, acting sometimes with Babylon's interests and sometimes against.[2] There are records of Kassite and Babylonian interactions, in the context of military employment, during the reigns of Babylonian kings Samsu-iluna (1686 to 1648 BC), Abī-ešuh, and Ammī-ditāna.[3]
The origin and classification of the Kassite language, like the Sumerian language and Hurrian language, is uncertain, and, also like the two latter languages, has generated a wide array of speculation over the years, even to the point of linking it to Sanskrit.[4] The Kassite religion is also poorly known. The names of some Kassite deities are known.[5] The chief gods, titular gods of the kings, were Shuqamuna and Shumaliya.[6] As was typical in the region, there was some cross pollination with other religions. After Babylon came within the Kassite sphere of control its city-god, Marduk was absorbed into the Kassite pantheon.[7]