Finally, the city of Assur wakes up and shakes off the dust of its centuries long obscurity, rising from minor Mitanni vassal to major world player in a single generation, thanks to the personal skill of king Assur-Uballit I. This is an episode of glorious conquest, and also one where we get to take a look at the bitter personal costs of those conquests. All this conquest is augmented expertly by some fascinating, though not always successful, diplomacy. Also, a door gets stolen, which apparently upset the Assyrians for generations to come. Online at oldeststories.net.