"Kassite" redirects here. For the mineral, see Kassite (mineral).
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
class=notpageimage|
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]
^Brinkman, J. A.. "1. Babylonia under the Kassites: Some Aspects for Consideration". Volume 1 Karduniaš. Babylonia under the Kassites 1, edited by Alexa Bartelmus and Katja Sternitzke, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2017, pp. 1-44
^van Koppen, Frans. “THE OLD TO MIDDLE BABYLONIAN TRANSITION: HISTORY AND CHRONOLOGY OF THE MESOPOTAMIAN DARK AGE.” Ägypten Und Levante / Egypt and the Levant, vol. 20, 2010, pp. 453–63
^Koppen, Frans van. "2. The Early Kassite Period". Volume 1 Karduniaš. Babylonia under the Kassites 1, edited by Alexa Bartelmus and Katja Sternitzke, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2017, pp. 45-92
^Pinches, T. G. “The Question of the Kassite Language.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1907, pp. 685–685
^Malko, Helen. "The Kassites of Babylonia: A Re-examination of an Ethnic Identity". Babylonia under the Sealand and Kassite Dynasties, edited by Susanne Paulus and Tim Clayden, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2020, pp. 177-189
^Krebernik, M., and Seidl, U. (2012). "Šuqamuna und Šu/imalija." [in:] Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archäologie vol 13, p. 323-325
^Tenney, J. S. (2016). The elevation of Marduk revisited: Festivals and sacrifices at Nippur during the High Kassite period. Journal of Cuneiform Studies, 68(1), 153-180. Pg 154 note 4.
strength of the army / the troops of the Kassites"). As the Babylonian empire weakened in the following years the Kassites became a part of the landscape, even...
the Kassites were allied with the Hittites and supported their campaign to seize power. There are no mentions of the exact origin of the kassites in ancient...
Asia portal Kassite (also Cassite) was a language spoken by the Kassites in Mesopotamia from approximately the 18th to the 7th century BC. From the 16th...
the Kassite period, in southern Mesopotamia is dated from c. 1595 – c. 1155 BC and began after the Hittites sacked the city of Babylon. The Kassites, whose...
Kassite deities were the pantheon of the Kassites (Akkadian: Kaššû, from Kassite Galzu), a group inhabiting parts of modern Iraq (mostly historical Babylonia...
Kassites". "Year Abi-eszuh the king by the exalted command of An, Enlil and the great power of Marduk (subdued) the armies and troops of the Kassites"...
with the Kassites, and then a Kassite dynasty was established in Babylonia. The Kassite dynasty was founded by Gandash of Mari. The Kassites, like the...
(middle chronology) Kashtiliash II, King of the Kassites, r. 1650–1640 BC Urzigurumash, King of the Kassites, r. 1640–1630 BC Ishkibal, King of the Sealand...
Empire, r. c.1690–c.1655 BC. Agum I, King of the Kassites, r. 1705–1690 BC Kashtiliash I, King of the Kassites, r. 1690–1680 BC Itti-Ili-Nibi, King of the...
Neo-Sumerian Assyrian Middle Assyrian Neo-Assyrian Babylonian Old Babylonian Kassite Neo-Babylonian Chinese Qin Han Jin D'mt Egyptian Old Kingdom Middle Kingdom...
Neo-Sumerian Assyrian Middle Assyrian Neo-Assyrian Babylonian Old Babylonian Kassite Neo-Babylonian Chinese Qin Han Jin D'mt Egyptian Old Kingdom Middle Kingdom...
Neo-Sumerian Assyrian Middle Assyrian Neo-Assyrian Babylonian Old Babylonian Kassite Neo-Babylonian Chinese Qin Han Jin D'mt Egyptian Old Kingdom Middle Kingdom...
the Amorite lands, "despoiler of the Kassites," in the Šittti-Marduk kudurru, despite the beneficiary being a Kassite chieftain and ally, and having smitten...
Neo-Sumerian Assyrian Middle Assyrian Neo-Assyrian Babylonian Old Babylonian Kassite Neo-Babylonian Chinese Qin Han Jin D'mt Egyptian Old Kingdom Middle Kingdom...
Neo-Sumerian Assyrian Middle Assyrian Neo-Assyrian Babylonian Old Babylonian Kassite Neo-Babylonian Chinese Qin Han Jin D'mt Egyptian Old Kingdom Middle Kingdom...
of tin; or, as Roman Ghirshman (1954) suggests, from the region of the Kassites, an ancient people in west and central Iran. It may be primary used as...
again became a small city state. After the destruction of the city the Kassites rose to control the region. Texts from Old Babylon often include references...
dynasty of Hammurabi and allowed the Kassites to take power, and so might have arisen from an alliance with the Kassites or an attempt to curry favor with...
Neo-Sumerian Assyrian Middle Assyrian Neo-Assyrian Babylonian Old Babylonian Kassite Neo-Babylonian Chinese Qin Han Jin D'mt Egyptian Old Kingdom Middle Kingdom...
Period Old Babylonian Empire (1894–1595 BC) Kassite period (1729–1157 BC) Middle Babylonian period (1157–732 BC) Neo-Assyrian period (732–626 BC) Neo-Babylonian...
have become stereotyped as a result of increasing marginalisation of the Kassites. Alternatively Šugamuna (dšu-ga-mu-na) or Šuqamunu (dšu-qa-mu-nu), see...
period (16th to 11th century BC) Middle Assyrian period (c. 1365–1076 BC) Kassites in Babylon, (c. 1595–1155 BC) Late Bronze Age collapse (12th to 11th century...
thought by some to equate to Cossaea, a Greek name for the land of the Kassites. These lands lie north of Elam, immediately to the east of ancient Babylon...