Assyria

The Kingdom of Assyria is one of the most powerful kingdoms in the known world, in the past often considered to have been the most aggressive and militaristic of all civilized states. Assyria is now part of the Eastern Coalition, as a state still somewhat dependent on Elam. Having been a very conservative country, rather isolated politically and distant even from its allies, Assyria has been completely transformed over the last couple years by Ninsina and the Elamite king Shilhak-Inshushinak, becoming much more open politically, economically, and socially.

## **History**

### **Preparations for Conflict**

While the calamities which hit Mycenae and Hatti didn't fully reach Assyria, many in the kingdom sensed that a storm was brewing and conflicts between the major powers were inevitable. The king Enlil-kudurri-usur was seen to be weak and unprepared for the coming years and so in 2 AEE Ninurta-epal-Ekur, an influential noble who was popular with the people and the army, gathered a large force and stormed the palace of Ashur. The palace was taken and after a show trial for the army, Enlil-kudurri-usur was executed, with Ninurta-epal-Ekur taking the throne. The new king began stabilizing the country and calming the populace down while also planning possible military expeditions to reward his followers who granted him the throne. However, his reign was cut short by a deadly plague which was spreading around the country at the time and only in 5 AEE Ninurta-epal-Ekur died after contracting it. His young son Ashur-Dan, barely of age to rule, became the new king.

Ashur-Dan vowed to continue his father's work and immediately began preparing for an invasion of Hatti, which was suffering from various calamities and was in a precarious situation. However, Hatti was saved by Egyptian supplies in 6 AEE and its rulers surprisingly managed to stabilize the country, forcing the Assyrians to cancel their plans for the western campaign, as Hatti was now more powerful and might also even be defended by Egypt. For this action, in 7 AEE Ashur-Dan condemned the pharaoh of Egypt Ramesses III and threatened to leave the already fragile alliance with the country. The Egyptians didn't put too much effort into appeasing the Assyrians and instead pursued closer relations with Hatti, which left Assyria on its own. Ashur-Dan put aside plans for campaigns for the time being and instead focused on stabilizing the country, which was being ravaged by the plague. Despite efforts to curb it, the disease took a heavy toll on the population and ended only in 11 AEE. In 13 AEE there was an attempted coup which failed but Ashur-Dan was injured in the process and barely survived.

This instability undermined his rule and more revolts and insurrections took place over the coming years. In 16 AEE a Hurrian revolt began which was put down by 18 AEE, and resulted in most prominent Hurrians losing their positions in the army and administration of the country, being replaced by Assyrians. Another coup attempt happened in 19 AEE, though it failed just as the previous one. In 21 AEE Karduniash began supporting the Babylonians living in the western part of the Kingdom of Assyria in their attempt to gain independence, which began the Western Euphrates Revolt. The revolt continued in some form for over 5 years, with Karduniash supplying the rebels with weapons and even men at the later stages. Eventually however, the revolt was put down and the remaining leaders of it executed in Ashur in 27 AEE. At around the same time, Egypt asked Assyria for help against Hatti in the Second Hittite-Egyptian War, but Ashur-Dan refused every time. After a final coup attempt in 28 AEE and the suppression of Lullubi and Urartian raiders in 29-31 AEE, the situation in the country finally seemed to have stabilized and Ashur-Dan began making reforms to strengthen the country.

By now the king was respected by the army and most Assyrians, while being feared by rebels and foreigners, as he had successfully fended off every threat to his rule over the last 25 years. The king invested in the building of a new palace in Ashur, new fortifications along all the borders, and reorganized the army. Most Babylonians and Hurrians were kicked out and the non-Assyrian civilians were deprived of all weapons, while conscription quotas increased for the ethnically Assyrian population in order to replenish the ranks. The officer ranks and the administration of the country were also purged so that only loyalist Assyrians remained. Women were deprived of even more rights and often given freely to the Assyrian soldiers as rewards for service. Training time for the army recruits was increased as well and highly militaristic anti-Karduniash propaganda campaigns began all over the kingdom. Over the decade the country was fully transformed and in 41 AEE was nothing but a military state with all its resources committed to war. And in 42 AEE, Ashur-Dan officially declared war on Assyria's southern enemy Karduniash, being confident that he would easily conquer it and reunite all of Mesopotamia.

### **Assyrian-Kassite War**

The Kassite state was not caught unprepared, as they could see clearly what their northern neighbor was up to and so invested in defenses themselves, though that was not nearly enough. The Assyrians broke through and defeated the armies of Karduniash decisively multiple times. In just a few months, the capital of Karduniash Dur-Kurigalzu was reached and the Kassites once again were defeated there, with their king Marduk-apla-iddina I being killed. After a siege, the capital was captured in 43 AEE and much of it destroyed, and Babylon became the new seat of power for Karduniash. The throne in Babylon was usurped by Zababa-shuma-iddina, as many prominent members of the kingdom had been killed in the former capital. While the Assyrian advance had been slowed down somewhat, they still continued marching south and capturing city after city. In 45 AEE the major cities of Sippar and Kish fell and in 46 AEE Babylon itself was reached. By then, the army of Karduniash had been almost entirely annihilated and the country was close to collapse. Ashur-Dan began a siege of Babylon and was confident he could proclaim himself emperor of Mesopotamia in a matter of months, but such ambitions were soon cut short.

While Egypt and Hatti had been at war not too long ago, they both saw the threat of Assyria and feared that if it conquered Karduniash and its fertile farmlands, it would become unstoppable and might even attempt to conquer the rest of the known world. And so, in 46 AEE the two countries united in an international effort to stop Assyria, with the Mycenaean Confederation and Elam also joining the cause. The kings issued an ultimatum to Assyria so that it would stand down and accept peace with Karduniash or face war with everyone. Ashur-Dan immediately rejected this ultimatum, and, seeing no other option, the coalition declared war on Assyria. While some Assyrians still thought they could win, the kingdom was now effectively fighting the rest of the known world, and even many of the most loyal generals saw that this was a doomed cause. Hittite troops already started marching and occupying towns in northern and western Assyria, and Elamite ones were preparing to reinforce Kassite lines. Seeing that Assyria was about to be destroyed the generals asked the king to comply with the ultimatum, yet he wouldn't do it, and so, in a few weeks, Ashur-Dan was deposed and killed, with even his most loyal supporters participating in the act or at least not interrupting it. The king's son Mutakkil-Nusku was proclaimed to be the official new ruler, though at first the general junta was in charge of the country. They quickly accepted the ultimatum and signed the Treaty of Eshnunna with Karduniash, which allowed Assyria to retain some of the lands they had taken, but they had to return the rest and pay reparations for the damages for the next 10 years. The war was over and the intervention coalition disbanded, with the troops starting to return home.

### **Post-War Situation**

Even after such lengthy and extreme preparations, Assyria was humiliated in the war, and many people were furious, with anti peace protests starting almost immediately. By 50 AEE the junta had crushed them or calmed them down, but the populace was still not satisfied with the situation or trusting of the new government. Also, as the new king approached adulthood and the court regained some power, he became increasingly insistent on the generals handing him the control of the kingdom, which caused a lot of conflict between the two factions. In 51 AEE the 17 year old Mutakkil-Nusku was sent to represent Assyria in the First Conference of the Great Powers' Club in Knossos, where the new official border between Assyria and Karduniash was recognized, Hatti and Egypt agreed to fully withdraw their remaining troops from the country, and the reparation payment period was reduced to 8 years, to be over in 54 AEE. Mutakkil-Nusku had proved his worth in the conference and so was granted some more powers, but the general junta still remained the superior power until 54 AEE, when the king finally had enough influence to disband it and start ruling the kingdom fully himself. Some generals returned to their armies, though a few were executed after resisting the transfer of power.

In 56 AEE the Second Conference of the Great Powers' Club took place, where Assyria entered into an alliance with Egypt, forming the Triple Alliance, as Egypt was also allied to the Mycenaean Confederation, with which Assyria signed a separate treaty in 57 AEE. Despite this, Assyria remained quite isolated and there wasn't much trust between it and its western allies, but cooperation was needed to counter the formation of the Hattusa-Babylon Axis. In 59 AEE Assyria entered into an unofficial agreement with Elam on cooperation during a potential war with Karduniash and the splitting up of the country, though this was kept secret even from the Triple Alliance members. During the Third Conference in 61 AEE the Reduced Slavery Act was passed, though Assyria only partially follows it and in 71 AEE still had more slaves than the set goal of 5%. In 63 AEE the king Mutakkil-Nusku died of natural causes, despite still being quite young, but he had set a new Assyrian standard of international cooperation rather than isolation, even if in a limited capacity. He was succeeded by his son Ashur-resh-ishi, who attended the Fourth Conference in 66 AEE in the Assyrian city of Nineveh and began building a closer relationship with Egypt. In general, the new king focused more on the infrastructure of the country and new building projects, and also slightly lowered conscription quotas in order to return men to sectors where more workers were desperately needed. By 71 AEE Ashur-resh-ishi was quite respected by the general population and had the highest approval rating among women and ethnic minorities, as well as the merchant class, while his son Tiglath-Pileser was more liked by the military, and the regular ethnically Assyrian men, as he was seen as a warrior true to Assyrian traditions while some considered Ashur-resh-ishi to have been a weak ruler.

### Great Powers' War

**Spoiler warning: this section contains spoilers for the novel The Rise of Kemet.**

In 71 AEE, the Assyrian king Ashur-resh-ishi was assassinated during the Fifth Great Powers' Conference in Ugarit, along with the other three kings of the Great Powers' Club. News of this quickly reached Assyria and the king's son Tiglath-Pileser was enthroned as the new monarch of the country. Almost immediately he declared war on Karduniash, wanting to use this opportunity to attack his sworn enemies, even before Egypt called Assyria to join as its ally. And so the Great Powers' War began, with both members of the Triple Alliance and the Hattusa-Babylon Axis participating in it. Assyria 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, as almost 30 000 Assyrians were lost, including general Ennamun. 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.

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.

### End of Tiglath-Pileser's rule

**Spoiler warning: this section contains spoilers for the novel The Rise of Kemet.**

However, while Tiglath was campaigning in the north, 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. The casualties were massive and included such figures as general Mut-Ashkur, leaving general Shu-Kutum as the highest ranking general of Assyrians under Tiglath. 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.

The Disciples of Ishtar now in effect became the ruling faction in Assyria and assumed many important positions. Another important component of the rebellion was the merchant consortium led by Hanodeen, who declined the opportunity to officially rule the country but still became an even more important figure than before, as he was the main facilitator of trade between the new Elamite sphere and the richest man in Assyria, seizing the properties of many former Assyrian officials. His allies and companions were also given important positions in the government for their part in the rebellion. A new army was raised under Ninsina, which now included women, Hurrians, and Babylonians, and not only Assyrian men, and it was sent to join Shilhak's main force. Meanwhile Tiglath-Pileser retreated to the Levant with around 30 000 of his soldiers and their families and many others followed them.

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.

### OFK-EC War

**Spoiler warning: this section contains spoilers for the novel The March of Deshret.**

Thus the OFK-EC War began, though Assyria was not very active in it. It was far behind the front lines for most of the time, as the main fighting took place in Hatti and in the Levant. Assyrian soldiers served in many battles in the Levant under Elamite and Babylonian generals, but no native Assyrian generals. Meanwhile Tiglath's Assyrians served in the OFK armies, but their numbers kept diminishing and would not replenish. In 75 AEE, when Shilhak-Inshushinak was assassinated, the EC front collapsed and the armies retreated north after the disastrous defeat at Ashkelon, with the OFK forces quickly pursuing them. The front soon reached the Euphrates and fighting took place around the river, though the OFK forces were pushed back and could not cross the river, while most EC soldiers managed to cross it in time before being captured as prisoners of war.

The front stabilized and stood there for around a year and eventually in 76 AEE the OFK decided to seek peace and leave the Euphrates as the border with Assyria still within the EC. Tiglath protested this and wanted to reconquer Assyria but was ultimately shut down, which led to him leaving the faction. While the OFK and EC officially signed an armistice and eventually the Treaty of Euphrates which ended the war, Tiglath and his renegade band continued fighting around the border. They were denounced by both factions and the OFK even stopped recognizing Tiglath as the king of Assyria, now treating Ninsina as the true leader of the country, as part of the peace agreement. Seeing that this was the end of it, many Assyrians put down their arms and either returned to Assyria under Ninsina or settled in OFK territories, mostly the OFK Mandate of Amurru. A few thousand dedicated veterans however still stayed with Tiglath and continued the fight. Many were captured and tried as war criminals on both sides of the Euphrates for their actions at Dur-Kurigalzu, Babylon, and other places, with the trials in the Kingdom of Assyria usually ending in the death sentence, while the OFK courts were more lenient.

Tiglath was still a wanted man, and so the OFK, not wanting him to fall into the hands of the EC, greenlit a secret operation by general Shu-Kutum, who had risen in ranks in the previous years and still remains with the OFK, to kill Tiglath while also supplying the remaining renegades so they would cause more chaos in Assyria. This was carried out in 76 AEE, and Tiglath-Pileser was executed by Shu-Kutum himself near the Hittite-Assyrian border. Major Naram-Eil became the leader of the Assyrian rebel forces and, under OFK's secret blessing, crossed into Assyria, where his men began causing chaos in order to try to reclaim their kingdom. The OFK also started secretly supplying them, hoping that the Assyrian government would fall without any OFK soldiers or citizens dying or the EC suspecting anything.

## **Geography**

The Kingdom of Assyria is a landlocked country, the only of the major powers to have no access to a sea. It is surrounded by Babylonia from the south, Lullubum from the north and east, Hatti and the OFK Mandate of Amurru from the west, and the Arabian desert from the southwest. The kingdom is centered around northern Euphrates and northern Tigris rivers. Most of the area in the country has good soil and is suitable for farming, with only Egypt and Babylonia having more fertile farmlands, though a part of central Assyria contains some deserts.

While the kingdom is fully centralized, it is informally divided into three parts, along ethnic group divisions. The eastern lands around the Tigris are known as Upper Tigris or simply Assyria. This region, the core of the kingdom, contains almost two thirds of the population and is inhabited mostly by ethnic Assyrians. The central region of the country, around the eastern branch of the Euphrates, is known as Hanigalbat, formerly the core of the Kingdom of the Mitanni. It is inhabited mostly by Hurrians and is a less stable territory. The easternmost region, around the main branch of the Euphrates, is known as Upper Euphrates and is inhabited mostly by Babylonians, as it formerly belonged to Karduniash and various other Babylonian kingdoms. It had been a site of various uprisings sponsored by Karduniash. All regions are similarly fertile but neither contains the needed metals and so they have to be imported from foreign lands.

## **Administration**

### **Government**

The kingdom used to be ruled by a king who had absolute power over all matters, but this changed in 73 AEE after the overthrow of Tiglath-Pileser. Under the new government, the monarch - who can be of either gender - has more limited powers, and now has their powers checked by a council of advisors, which includes various nobles, merchants, and other influential people, The military is also much less influential in the government and is now controlled by the court and the council, as opposed to it being the other way around before 73 AEE. Meanwhile women are now more influential and can hold various offices everywhere up to and including the council and being the monarch.

Below the monarch are governors who administer their designated provinces, which are further divided into cities, ruled by mayors. Previously the region of Hanigalbat had been a puppet state, but due to the multitude of uprisings there, such a status was revoked and the region integrated into the kingdom fully and divided into regular provinces. The only difference between the provinces was that Hanigalbat and Upper Euphrates had been exempt from conscription, but had higher taxation rates, while in Upper Tigris the men had been aggressively conscripted, though the taxes were lower there, but all this was changed after 73 AEE, when the entire kingdom was equalized and tax rates and conscription polices became the same for all three regions.

### **Economy**

The Kingdom of Assyria has a GDP of 258 million Egyptian shematy, with a GDP per capita of 80.49 Egyptian shematy. The economy had been stagnant and often even in decline for many decades due to many uprisings and failed wars, with the economy geared almost exclusively for conflict. Ashur-resh-ishi's reforms before the Great Powers' War also did help somewhat and in 63 - 71 AEE the GDP started growing once again, at around 2.31% per year. The economy has been revitalized since 73 AEE under Ninsina and is now growing even more quickly and has almost completely recovered from the wars. Most in Assyria work in agriculture, though not much produce had been exported in previous times, with the kingdom instead having stockpiled the products as much as possible in order to be prepared for the most severe crises and still be able to be self-sufficient, but the markets have been more open since the change in government and much more trade has been done since then. The textile industry is also prominent, with the products being exported to Babylonia, Elam, and even Hatti. Assyria's main imports include copper and tin from the east, often through Elam or Lullubum. Assyria had the largest percentage of slaves in 71 AEE, even surpassing the limits set by the Reduced Slavery Act, though this fact was often hidden by administrators changing the numbers when dealing with other countries, but many of them had been freed since 73 AEE and this trend still continues. Most of the slaves work in agriculture, the textile industry, and construction. The country uses the sitan as its currency, along with most other EC countries.

### **Military**

Assyria has a small standing army of conscripts and volunteers in order to protect itself at all times, though during wars more men and women are raised to bolster the army. Despite Assyria having been known as the most formidable military power, the percentage of people serving in the army was never that high, due to the large slave population and men being conscripted only from Upper Tigris. The Hurrians and Babylonians, barring some exceptions, weren't allowed to serve there due to the government fearing that they would defect to Karduniash or Hatti or rebel again. This changed in 73 AEE and now everyone, including the Hurrians and Babylonians can join the army, and conscription quotas have been lowered as the pool of volunteers expanded. Women are now also allowed to serve in the army in most capacities, while also being available for conscription. Assyria was the first country to introduce female soldiers and continues being the most progressive country in this regard, a sharp contrast to what took place in the country just a few years ago. Assyria used to have intensive training and Assyrian soldiers were known to be among the best fighters in the known world, feared by everyone around the kingdom, and while this was not the case anymore in the OFK-EC War, Ninsina is working to restore such status and prestige of the Assyrian army.

Each governor of Assyria has a conscription quota which has to be fulfilled, and the soldiers are then sent directly to the command of the monarch. The king used to lead the army during campaigns, while the generals command the flanks or additional armies which are split off from the main force. If the king was incapacitated or otherwise unable to command the men, the highest ranking general took control of the forces. However, so far the Assyrian army has been mostly commanded by Shilhak and the Elamite and Babylonian generals, never having had their own leaders since 73 AEE, though the first new Assyrian generals are now being initiated and ready to assume control of the armed forces. The armies are divided into battalions of around 5 000 soldiers, each led by a commander who answer to their general, each usually having up to 6 battalions under them. The battalions are further divided into companies of 1 000 soldiers, led by majors, and those into platoons of 200 soldiers, led by captains.

The army has the mostly standard composition of chariots in the front, followed by heavy infantry, regular light infantry, archers, and auxiliaries, which might include some Hurrians and Babylonians, in the back. The Assyrians have no navy, though they do have some transport ships which during wars are requisitioned to help transport troops and goods to and from the front as quickly as possible. The kingdom currently has around 57 000 soldiers standing ready and in an event of a war could raise enough men to bolster the army to 80 000 men. Since 73 AEE, the Assyrian army has been focusing more on archers and supporting personnel, as it became integrated into the EC armed forces. The Assyrian army was also known to be quite extreme and brutal to its opponents and breaking the Knossos Conventions during conflicts, despite the former king having signed it, until 73 AEE, when the military structure was completely reorganized and the army is now considered much more civilized and in line with other current forces.

## **Demographics**

Assyria has a population of around 3.2 million, slightly lower than that of Hatti and almost two times smaller than that of Babylonia, losing a couple hundreds of thousands of people during the recent wars, due to battles and sieges but mostly due to the exodus of dozens of thousands of Assyrian soldiers and their families under Tiglath-Pileser. Around 157 000 people are slaves, which now actually mostly matches the official number, having been presented to foreign countries around 71 AEE. Around 1.8 million people (56.4%) are ethnic Assyrians, who live mostly in Upper Tigris, around 740 000 (23.1%) are Babylonians, living in Upper Euphrates, and around 540 000 (17%) are Hurrians, living in Hanigalbat. The remaining 110 000 or so (3.5%) include Urartians, Hittites, Lullubi, Arabs, Arameans, and others. Most of the population worships the Mesopotamian pantheon of gods, except the Hurrians, who mostly worship the Hittite pantheon. There had been attempts to eliminate the Hurrian culture, including banning the Hittite gods and the Hurrian language, though such programs had been unsuccessful and Hurrians are now treated mostly as equal citizens.

The kingdom has a literacy rate of 13.3% and an urbanization level of 19.8%, close to that of the Commonwealth, and still far surpassed by Babylonia. Urbanization had been rather stagnant for some time before 73 AEE due to the country promoting agriculturalism and militarism the most while somewhat ignoring the cities and its inhabitants, with some more radical militarists even having suggested programs to depopulate cities and force people into the countryside, hoping that it would strengthen the populace and that it would be more difficult to take over the country. However, since 73 AEE the focus has shifted over to the cities and both literacy rates and urbanization have been growing and more and more people are still moving into the cities for more opportunities under the new government.

## **International relations**

The kingdom has good relations with most EC countries. Elam, Dilmun, and Magan are considered as its best allies, though relations with Babylonia are improving as well and talks of unifications are also starting. The Kingdom of Lullubum is still viewed rather negatively by Assyria and its inhabitants, as it is considered a barbarian state and one which could threaten Assyria. The OFK countries are obviously viewed also negatively, though due to many Assyrian exiles living in the OFK Mandate of Amurru, the kingdom has a somewhat softer stance on the OFK and prefers diplomatic methods to deal with the faction. Assyria has the largest land border with the OFK and while some sections are heavily guarded, others are more open in order to let the inhabitants of border cities such as Emar and Carchemish to pass through and trade, work, or visit relatives over the Euphrates. The OFK has officially denounced Tiglath's renegade faction and their desire to reclaim Assyria, which made the current Assyrian government more appreciative of the OFK, but this group, which has now infiltrated Assyria and is responsible for some terrorist attacks, is funded unofficially by the OFK and this is starting to seriously strain the relationship, as Assyria is suspecting some OFK involvement, thus making Assyria much more wary of the Commonwealth and Hatti in particular.