Though this threat was dealt with relatively quickly, the instability caused by the brief civil war may have made it possible for another official or general, Nabopolassar (r. c. 626 – 605 BC), to rise up and seize power in Babylonia.

He was succeeded as king only by Ashur-uballit II (r. 612–609 BC), possibly his son, who rallied what remained of the Assyrian army at the city of Harran and, bolstered by an alliance with Egypt, ruled for three years, in a last attempt to resist the Medo-Babylonian invasion of his realm.

In c.  628 BC, Josiah, an Assyrian vassal and the king of Judah in the Levant, extended his land so that it reached the coast, capturing the city of Ashdod and settling some of his own people there.

[n 1] In the aftermath of a failed Assyrian counterattack, Nabopolassar was formally crowned King of Babylon on November 22/23, 626 BC, restoring Babylonia as an independent kingdom.

Another Assyrian vassal, Elam, also stopped paying tribute to Assyria during this time and several Babylonian cities, such as Der, revolted and joined Nabopolassar.

[13] This general, whose name remains unknown, took advantage of the absence of Sinsharishkun's forces to march on Nineveh, met an army which surrendered without fighting and successfully seized the Assyrian throne.

The Egyptian Pharaoh had over the last few years campaigned in order to establish dominance over the small city-states of the Levant, and it was in his interests that Assyria survived as a buffer state between his own empire and those of the Babylonians and Medes in the east.

[16] A joint Egyptian-Assyrian campaign to capture the city of Gablinu was undertaken in October of 616 BC, but ended in defeat, after which the Egyptian allies kept to the west of the Euphrates, only offering limited support.

[17] In October or November 615 BC, the Medes, under King Cyaxares, invaded Assyria and conquered the region around the city of Arrapha in preparation for a great final campaign against the Assyrians.

Shortly after, Sinsharishkun made his last attempt at a counterattack, rushing to rescue the besieged city of Rahilu, but Nabopolassar's army had retreated before a battle could take place.

[33] After the Babylonians had ruled Harran for three months, Ashur-uballit, along with a large force of Egyptian soldiers attempted to retake the city, launching a siege in June or July of 609 BC.

[34] The eventual fate of Ashur-uballit is unknown and his siege of Harran in 609 BC is the last time he, or the Assyrians in general, are mentioned in Babylonian records.