Prepare Ye the Way
900 - 800 BC, the Middle East
After Shishak's foray, Egypt withdrew to its own internal troubles. A renewed Assyria was still occupied well to the east. It was the high point of the Semitic kingdoms.
Syria had recovered from its defeat. A series of strong kings made it a powerful nation, capable of checking the Assyrian tide in 850 BC and withstanding repeated attacks over the next years as Assyria grew in power.
During the ninth century, Assyria fought its way to the shores of the Mediterranean. Under weaker rulers, it gradually lost much of this new territory, leaving room for Syria, Israel and Judah.