The Battle of Kār Ištar was a battle fought between

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...

and the

Kassites The Kassites () 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 ...

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

sometime during the reign of Assyrian king

Adad-nirari I Adad-nārārī I, rendered in all but two inscriptions ideographically as md''adad-''ZAB+DAḪ, meaning “Adad (is) my helper,” (1305–1274 BC or 1295–1263 BC short chronology) was a king of Assyria during the Middle Assyrian Empire. He is th ...

. Under the reign of Assyrian King

Ashur-uballit I Ashur-uballit I ''(Aššur-uballiṭ I)'', who reigned between 1363 and 1328 BC, was the first king of the Middle Assyrian Empire. After his father Eriba-Adad I had broken Mitanni influence over Assyria, Ashur-uballit I's defeat of the Mitanni ...

, the Assyrians destroyed

Mitanni Mitanni (; Hittite cuneiform ; ''Mittani'' '), c. 1550–1260 BC, earlier called Ḫabigalbat in old Babylonian texts, c. 1600 BC; Hanigalbat or Hani-Rabbat (''Hanikalbat'', ''Khanigalbat'', cuneiform ') in Assyrian records, or ''Naharin'' in ...

, a kingdom in northern

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

that had dominated Assyria politically since the 1450s BCE. Ashur-uballit's victory allowed Assyria to become the

Middle Assyrian Empire The Middle Assyrian Empire was the third stage of Assyrian history, covering the history of Assyria from the accession of Ashur-uballit I 1363 BC and the rise of Assyria as a territorial kingdom to the death of Ashur-dan II in 912 BC. ...

, a major Mespotamian power. This put them on a crash course with the major city of southern Mesopotamia, Babylon, currently ruled by the Kassite Peoples. Ashur-Uballit waged war with the Babylonians, defeating them and taking much territory. However this dominance appears to have been lost as Adad-nirari I recalls how his father (

Arik-den-ili Arik-den-ili, inscribed mGÍD-DI-DINGIR, “long-lasting is the judgment of god,” was King of Assyria 1317–1306 BC, ruling the Middle Assyrian Empire. He succeeded Enlil-nirari, his father, and was to rule for twelve years and inaugurate the t ...

) "could not rectify the calamities inflicted by the king of the Kassite Lands". When Adad-nirari took the throne he inherited this war with Babylon. He met the Babylonian King

Nazi-Maruttash Nazi-Maruttaš, typically inscribed ''Na-zi-Ma-ru-ut-ta-aš'' or m''Na-zi-Múru-taš'', ''Maruttaš'' (a Kassite god synonymous with Ninurta) ''protects him'', was a Kassite king of Babylon c. 1307–1282 BC (short chronology) and self-proclaimed ...

in battle at Kār Ištar and the Assyrians gained a decisive victory. Adad-nirari I subsequently conquered Pilasqu, Arman and Lullumu. Nazi Maruttaš' successor

Kadashman-Turgu Kadašman-Turgu, inscribed ''Ka-da-aš-ma-an Túr-gu'' and meaning ''he believes in Turgu'', a Kassite deity, (1281–1264 BC short chronology) was the 24th king of the Kassite or 3rd dynasty of Babylon. He succeeded his father, Nazi-Maruttaš, ...

then signed a peace with Adad Nirari which would create a new Assyro-Babylonian border. After a while of peace the two states would go to war again, but Assyria now had the advantage, capturing Babylon on multiple occasions. The two states would remain at war on and off for the next 675 years, until the destruction of the last Assyrian army at the

Battle of Carchemish The Battle of Carchemish was fought about 605 BC between the armies of Egypt allied with the remnants of the army of the former Assyrian Empire against the armies of Babylonia, allied with the Medes, Persians, and Scythians. This was while Nebuc ...

by Neo-Babylonian king

Nebuchadnezzar II Nebuchadnezzar II (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Nabû-kudurri-uṣur'', meaning "Nabu, watch over my heir"; Biblical Hebrew: ''Nəḇūḵaḏneʾṣṣar''), also spelled Nebuchadrezzar II, was the second king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling ...

References

{{reflist 13th century BC Kār Ištar Middle Assyrian Empire Kassites Kār Ištar 2nd millennium BC in Assyria