The year when Assur fell

In Nabopolassar’s mid-reign, the fate of the Assyrian-Babylonian war was decided. It was then that the Medes appeared on the scene and military activities moved to Assyria’s heartland. The political history of this period has been reconstructed chiefly from ABC 3 (GRAYSON 1975: 90–96), known as the Fall of Nineveh Chronicle (GADD 1923, WISEMAN 1956: 54–64, www.livius.org) or Nabopolassar and the Fall of the Assyrian Empire (GLASSNER 2004: 218–24). In his eleventh year (615/614 BCE), Nabopolassar besieged Assur, but he was pushed back south to Takritain. In his twelfth year (614/613 BCE), Assur fell to the Medes, while the Babylonian army arrived conveniently late at the battle scene. Two years later, Nineveh was captured after a three-month siege.