Kassites

Kassite Empire
c. 1531 BC – c. 1155 BC
The Babylonian Empire under the Kassites, c. 13th century 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
• Sack of Babylon	c. 1531 BC
• Invasions by Elam	c. 1155 BC
• Disestablished	c. 1155 BC
Preceded by Succeeded by First Babylonian dynasty First Sealand dynasty Middle Assyrian Empire Elamite Empire
Today part of	Iraq, Iran, Kuwait

Babylon

Isin

Kish

Nippur

Sippar

Ur

Uruk

Dur-Kurigalzu

Girsu

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Map of Iraq showing important sites that were occupied by the Kassite dynasty (clickable map)

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).

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]