It was not destined to long continue peaceful, however. By 1285 B.C. the Assyrian king felt himself powerful enough to invade Babylonia. Penetrating even to the capital itself, he carried away the statue of the god Marduk--a great indignity. He allowed the Babylonia king to become his vassal. This state of affairs continued for seven years, whereupon the Babylonians succeeded in driving the Assyrians north again, taking from them some of the territory they had seized. When next the Assyrians threatened, the Semites instituted a revolution, forced the Kassites from the throne, and established the dynasty of Isin. Now began the struggle for supremacy in the valley, waged by two great nations. The strength of Babylonia was waning, but their king, Nebuchadnezzar I., held the kingdom together with a strong hand. He only delayed the inevitable. The future belonged to the more vigorous kingdom to the north, and to her power Babylonia soon fell subservient. To follow the main thread of activity in the Euphrates valley, we must now turn to Assyria, while the life so characteristic of Babylon continued until it could be said: "No capital in the world has ever been the center of so much power, wealth, and culture for so vast a period of time." [Illustration: WINGED LION.] FOOTNOTES: [1] Quoted in Rogers: Hist. of Baby. and Assy., 391. [2] Rogers: Hist. of Baby. and Assy., Vol I., p. 418. CHAPTER VI. BEGINNINGS OF THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE. The beginnings of the Assyrian state are lost in obscurity. Nineveh was possibly founded before 3000 B.C., but like Babylon, its origin is not known. Asshur was long the important city of the country, overshadowing the later capital.