Great Powers' War

Spoiler warning: this page contains spoilers for the novel The Rise of Kemet.
The Great Powers' War was the first conflict involving all the major powers in the known world. It was fought between the Triple Alliance, which included the Kingdom of Egypt, the Kingdom of Assyria, and the Mycenaean Confederation, and their puppet states, later joined by the Kingdom of Elam, with the four kingdoms forming the Pact of Civilizations, against the Hattusa-Babylon Axis, consisting of the Kingdom of Hatti and its puppets, as well as the Kingdom of Karduniash, and later the Kingdom of Kush. The war was orchestrated by the Elamite king Shilhak-Inshushinak, who wanted to pit the major powers against each other so that he could invade their weakened realms and conquer the known world.
== Name ==
The war's name is a result of two things: the fact that all four great powers participated in it (Egypt, Hatti, Assyria, and Karduniash), and that it began immediately after, and as a result of, the Fifth Great Powers' Conference in Ugarit. The Conference failed due to the attending kings Ramesses X, Suppiluliuma IV, Ashur-resh-ishi, and Marduk-apla-iddina II being assassinated by agents of Harharran, the king of Ugarit, in accordance with Shilhak-Inshushinak's plan.
== Progress of the war ==
=== Start of the war ===
The war began on 13 Peret II, 71 AEE, with the newly crowned king of Hatti Muwatalli III declaring war on Egypt. Egypt's new pharaoh Ramesses XI responded by calling on its allies in Mycenae and Ashur, though the latter proved to be rather unnecessary, as Tiglath-Pileser, the new ruler of Assyria, issued his own declaration of war against Karduniash, bringing the two Mesopotamian countries into the conflict as well. Kush also joined the war on the side of the Hattusa-Babylon Axis, though informally it had been fighting Egypt for years by supporting Kushite rebels. Finally, a few months into the war, Elam joined the war on the side of the Triple Alliance, now named the Pact of Civilizations to account for all four members, due to a request by the Egyptian royal envoy to every foreign land Amenemheb, which was later revealed to have been part of Shilhak's plan to invade Mesopotamia and extend his realm. 
The war took place mostly on six major fronts: in western Anatolia, the Levant, the Eastern Mediterranean and the islands within it, eastern Anatolia, Babylonia, and Kush. 
=== Levantine front ===
The Levantine front saw the most action in the whole war. Right at the start of the war, Hittite forces, under the combined command of Muwatalli III and generals Huhhaziti and Lihsuman, pushed south and in just a month overran the Egyptian puppet state of Amurru after the Second Battle of Kadesh, by way of their own puppet state of Ugarit, which was put under military rule after the disappearance of Harharran. The Hittite advance continued for a while, but it was soon stopped once more Egyptian troops arrived under the command of Egyptian general Nechtarhebi. In 72 AEE the frontline stabilized around the Byblos-Baalbek axis, as the Hittites could not advance past it. Baalbek was captured by Hatti in 72 AEE, but recovered by Egypt in 73 AEE, while the Siege of Byblos put the Phoenician city at risk of falling, but the Hittites never managed to capture it and abandoned the siege in 73 AEE. 
The campaign featured barbarians playing a part as well. The Hittites funded the Hebrew rebels in Egyptian Canaan, who in 72 AEE founded the Kingdom of Yahweh, led by the leader of the monotheist movement Zeror. The kingdom took over much of Canaan, due to Hittite supplies transferred over the Arabian Desert by the Arameans, but it was disestablished in the same year. The Egyptians hired the warring Edomite and Moabite mercenaries, the former of who defeated the followers of Zeror, while the latter harassed and disrupted Aramean supply lines. Later, Ramesses himself marched through the region with his army and defeated the remnant of the kingdom.
At the end of the war, in 73 AEE, the Egyptians managed to push the Hittites back, going as far north as Kadesh and reconquering most of the lost territories of Egypt and the former puppet state of Amurru. However, the campaign was cut short by Shilhak-Inshushinak, who invaded the region after defeating Assyria and inflicted significant damage to both Egyptian and Hittite forces. The war in the Levant would continue in the OFK-EC War, with the Egyptians now defending against Elamites and their eastern allies.
=== Western Anatolian front ===
Once the Mycenaean Confederation joined the war, it immediately began fighting against the Hittites and their puppet states in western Anatolia. The Hittites enjoyed some success at first - they won some battles before the Mycenaeans could organize and ship their troops over the Aegean Sea, and in 72 AEE took over the entire Kingdom of Wilusa, which was transferred to the puppet March of Masa. The combined force from Hatti and the Chiefdom of Lukka also occupied much of the Kingdom of Ahhiyawa, pushing as far as the capital Milawanda. 
However, as more Mycenaeans arrived on the peninsula, the advances were reversed. During the Battle of Milawanda, the Mycenaeans defeated the Luwian and Hittite forces decisively and drove them back, soon recapturing all of Ahhiyawa. Moreover, the Hittites had to transfer some troops to the Levant in 73 AEE, which allowed the Mycenaeans to advance even more. They continued east, occupying parts of Lukka, which was now leaderless as the chief died during the battle. Shilhak's invasions and the start of the OFK-EC war did not change the front much, as the Mycenaeans continued advancing and fighting the Hittites, except now Hatti, under Hakkarpili, was aligned with the EC and Mycenae with the OFK.
=== Eastern Mediterranean and the Liberation of Alashiya ===
Some naval battles took place in the Eastern Mediterranean at the start of the war in 71-72 AEE. They were mostly confined to the Aegean Sea, where the Mycenaean ships were battling Hittite ones, and the coastline of the Levant, where the Hittites fought the Egyptians on the sea alongside fighting on land. The Pact of Civilizations had more victories, as they had more and better quality ships and were more experienced in naval combat.
In 72 AEE, the king of Alashiya Huzaru, thinking that the Hattusa-Babylon Axis will lose the war, defected and aligned himself and his kingdom with the Pact. With the help of Egyptian navy and army led by general Horminuter, as well as loyal personal forces, he defeated all Hittite forces in the island and declared independence, joining the Pact as its fifth member. The loss of Alashiya hurt Hatti immensely, as they lost a large source of copper, wood, and most of their navy, either by ships being seized by Alashiya or destroyed by Egypt during the invasion of the island. After this, the Pact quickly secured control of most of Eastern Mediterranean and established naval supremacy over it, with the Hittites barely being only able to defend their coasts with their remaining ships. The same dynamic remained at the start of the OFK-EC War, though the EC would soon begin building and buying more ships once they took Ugarit.
=== Kushite Rebellions and the Kushite War ===
While the Kushite Rebellions had begun years ago, they intensified everywhere after the start of the war. They were funded by the ascendant Kingdom of Kush, led by Taharqa, who in turn was funded by Karduniash and, secretly, Elam. Kush was technically part of the Hattusa-Babylon Axis, but not officially part of the alliance due to lack of any treaties. As the rebellions disrupted Egyptian supply lines and bogged down the army of the Egyptian general Ranubkheper, Taharqa managed to advance with not much opposition and massive support from local population. This allowed him to win many battles early in the war and build a larger army. 
Already in 71 AEE the Kushites crossed the Fourth Cataract of the Nile, and by 73 AEE they reached the Third Cataract, after taking the major Kushite cities of Napata, Kawa, and Kerma, the last of which was made a new capital of the Kingdom of Kush. Taharqa's forces also secured most Egyptian held gold mines in the region, and the gold from them was used to repay Elam for its weapon shipments. The frontline stabilized in 73 AEE around the Third Cataract, as it had significant fortifications, yet Taharqa continued assaulting them, resulting in massive casualties on both sides. The war continued as it had after the start of the OFK-EC War, though the Kingdom of Kush did not align itself formally with the EC, even while clearly fighting on their side. 
=== Assyrian invasion of Hayasa-Azzi ===
While skirmishes had been taken place from the start of the war between Assyria and Hayasa-Azzi, the front remained mostly stable until 72 AEE. At the end of the year, Tiglath-Pileser invaded the region with most of his army, hoping to conquer it and attack Hatti from the east. However, due to mountainous terrain and fierce resistance from the locals, the campaign took many months and dozens of thousands of casualties on the Assyrian side. Tiglath's force managed to destroy most of Hayasa-Azzi, killing most soldiers and sacking the capitals of both Hayasa and Azzi - Kumaha and Tushpa respectively - however, this resulted in the Assyrian army losing almost half of its troops and also not being able to defend Assyria itself when Shilhak invaded it, due to being both severely wounded and exhausted and having to go back a long way through the mountains. The Elamite invasion of Assyria put an end to Tiglath's plans of attacking Hatti and ended the Assyrian occupation of Hayasa-Azzi. The region was left to anarchy, as the remaining inhabitants pledged themselves to local warlords who would begin fighting among themselves.
=== Mesopotamian front ===
Assyria invaded Karduniash at the very start of the war and began making quick advances and defeating Kassites in multiple battles. After the Battle of Dur-Kurigalzu, the Assyrians razed the captured city and killed or enslaved its entire population, making the event the largest infraction on the Knossos Conventions during the war. Elam joined the war soon as well and invaded Karduniash from the south, capturing major cities near the coast. During the Battle of Eshnunna the Elamites betrayed the Assyrians by failing to show up at the battle, which still resulted in an Assyrian victory, albeit a costly one. This strained the relations between the two countries and from then on they mostly acted independently without participating in many joint battles. 
In late 71 AEE, the Siege of Babylon began by Assyrian, Elamite, and mercenary Lullubi, hired by Shilhak, forces. The city fell in a few months in 72 AEE and the remaining royal family of Karduniash, including its king Kashtiliash V, was executed by Shilhak and his Elamite soldiers. The city, including everything south of it, was transferred to Elamite occupation, while the northern area remained occupied by Assyria. This effectively marked the end of the Kingdom of Karduniash, which was replaced by the Elamite puppet Kingdom of Babylonia, under king Nebuchadnezzar of Isin. 
Over the following year, Shilhak and Nebuchadnezzar continued building up forces and secretly preparing for the invasion of the now undefended Assyria. This plan was executed in the middle of 73 AEE, once the Elamite army was deemed strong enough and Tiglath's one too far away to be able to return on time. Assyria was invaded unexpectedly, and most of it, including its gains in former Karduniash, was occupied by Shilhak's army. Tiglath managed to return as the siege of Ashur was already underway, but was decisively defeated and forced to retreat east. Following that, Ashur itself and the rest of Assyria was taken by Elam in a matter of weeks, with the help of Lullubi mercenaries, Babylonian conscripts, and Assyrian rebels - mostly women, merchants, and Babylonian and Hurrian minorities. The Assyrian part of Karduniash was transferred to Babylonia, while Assyria itself was transformed into the Elamite puppet Kingdom of Assyria, under Ninsina, the leader of the Disciples of Ishtar. 
=== End of the war ===
With the fall of Assyria, the remaining western powers learned of Shilhak's betrayal and the war turned into a three way conflict for a short while. However, with Hakkarpili usurping the Hittite throne and aligning himself with Elam, the Hattusa-Babylon Axis was essentially disestablished, leaving only Egypt resisting Elamite advances. After the First OFK Conference in Men-nefer, taking place a few weeks after the fall of Assyria, Egypt, the Mycenaean Confederation, Alashiya, and the Assyrian and Hittite exiles, under Tiglath-Pileser and Muwatalli III respectively, formed the Organization of Free Kingdoms, replacing the Pact of Civilizations. The military alliance united the remnants of the two previous warring factions against a now much greater threat in the east. Meanwhile, Shilhak-Inshushinak also formalized his faction by creating the Eastern Coalition, which consisted of Elam, its puppet states of Babylonia, Assyria, and the newly founded Kingdom of the Levant in former Kingdom of Ugarit, Hakkarpili's Hatti, and some unofficial allies, such as the Lullubi under the chieftain Zubani and the Kingdom of Kush. While the exact date of the switch from the Great Powers' War to the OFK-EC War can be disputed, the start of the new war is most often cited as 10 Peret III, 73 AEE, the date of the founding of OFK. 
== Army sizes and casualties ==
Overview of the armies during the Great Powers' War
Name of the kingdom	Ruler 	Prominent generals 	Strength at the start of the war	Casualties	New recruits	Strength at the end of the war
Egypt1 	Ramesses XI 	Nechtarhebi, Ranubkheper, Horminuter	114 000 	36 000 	32 000 	110 000
Assyria 	Tiglath-Pileser 	Shu-Kutum, Mut-Ashkur †, Ennamun † 	91 000 	78 000 	11 000 	24 000 (Tiglath)
20 000 (Ninsina)
Mycenae1 	Eteweokles 	Cilix, Iphiclus, Harpalion 	65 000 	12 000 	7 000 	60 000
Hatti1 	Muwatalli III 	Huhhaziti, Lihsuman 	139 000 	57 000 	22 000 	61 000 (Muwatalli)
43 000 (Hakkarpili)
Karduniash 	Kashtiliash V † 	Enlil-nadil † 	68 000 	21 000 	3 000 (Karduniash)
25 000 (Babylonia)	0 (Karduniash)
75 000 (Babylonia)2
Kush 	Taharqa 	Harsiotef 	33 000 	9 000 	34 000 	58 000
Elam3 	Shilhak-Inshushinak	Eparti, Kindattu 	71 000 	8 000 	23 000 	86 000
1Includes all puppet states. 2Most remaining troops of Karduniash became soldiers of Babylonia. 3Includes Lullubi mercenaries.
Category:The Rise of Kemet
Category:Wars
Category:Great Powers' War
Category:Great Powers' Club
Category:Egypt
Category:Hatti
Category:Assyria
Category:Karduniash
Category:Mycenaean Confederation
Category:Elam
Category:Babylonia
Category:Mesopotamia