Assyrian Sack of Thebes

Timeline

1. -663Memphis · Lower EgyptTaking advantage of Egyptian disorder and the failure of Kushite pharaoh Tanwetamun's counterattack, Ashurbanipal sent Assyrian forces south again, first seizing Memphis, gateway to Lower Egypt, then advancing into Upper Egypt.
2. -663Thebes · Upper EgyptAssyrian forces entered Thebes, plundering gold, silver, bronze statues, and ivory from the Temple of Amun and royal tombs, severely damaging the city; Assyrian inscriptions boasted of the spoils, and later Greek historians also mentioned the sack of Thebes.
3. -663–-656Napata · NubiaAfter the sack of Thebes, the Kushite pharaoh withdrew to Nubia, and Twenty-fifth Dynasty rule in Egypt became nominal; local princes backed by Assyria carved up the country until Psamtik I of Sais unified Egypt, ending the Third Intermediate Period.