The Assyrians constantly fought and waged war to build their empire, and likewise their victories were attributed to their military and tactical genius. However, the cruelty of the Assyrians was just as widely acknowledged; their kings often waged war on distant states in order to conquer them entirely or terrorize them into becoming dependent states, and the subjects of Assyria were in constant fear of the system of royal terrorism and intolerance that was used to keep order. This changed once Babylon won its independence in 626 B.C.E. and joined forces with the Medes to take down and destroy the Assyrian empire, which they succeeded in doing in 612 B.C.E. With all of their power vanished and their own cruelty being their downfall, the Assyrians
