Assur-dan II

Historians regard this king's reign as marking the beginning of the Neo-Assyrian period, for which it is most famous. In this last span of its history, Assyria expanded once again into northern Mesopotamia into territories previous held in the Middle Assyrian period, before engaging in a much larger expansionist project that eventually saw the domination of all of Mesopotamia and Egypt.

However as Amelie Kuhrt remarks (Kuhrt pg. 478), the early part of the Neo-Assyrian period was remarkably similar to the previous age in terms of its territorial growth. After the height of its power during the reign of Tiglath-pileser I (1114-1076), the Middle Assyrian state began to contract under pressure from the Aramaeans. By the time of Assur-nasir-pal I (1049-1031) the state had shrunk to its ancient core around Assur, Nineveh, Arbela, and Kilizi (Kuhrt pg. 362), and historical sources become scarce for about a hundred years.

Thus Assur-dan found himself fighting for land his predecessors had conquered more than a century ago, in the first of many campaigns which the Assyrian royal annals would consistently portray as a rightful reclaiming of ancestral territory (Kuhrt pg. 480).

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