Page:A Short History of the World.djvu/115

 Egypt, Babylon and Assyria 95 Great conquerors appear in the dim light of that distant time and pass, Tushratta, King of Mitanni who captured Nineveh, Tiglath Pileser I of Assyria who conquered Babylon. At last the Assyrians became the greatest military power of the time. Tiglath Pileser III conquered Babylon in 745 B.C. and founded what historians call the New Assyrian Empire. Iron had also come now into civilization TEMPLE AT ABU SIMBEL Showing statues of Rameses IT at entrance out of the north ; the Hittites, the precursors of the Armenians, had it first and communicated its use to the Assyrians, and an Assyrian usurper, Sargon II, armed his troops with it. Assyria became the first power to expound the doctrine of blood and iron. Sargon's son Sennacherib led an army to the borders of Egypt, and was defeated not by miUtary strength but by the plague. Sennacherib^s grandson Assurbanipal (who is also known in history by his Greek name of Sardanapalus) did actually conquer Egypt in 670 B.C. But Egypt was already a conquered country then under