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Why did Ashurbanipal send an army to Egypt early in his reign?

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Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal — Ashurbanipal Ashurbanipal depicted in a lion hunt in an Assyrian relief from his northern palace in Nineveh; now in the British Museum.

Early in his reign, Ashurbanipal sent an army to Egypt to quell a revolution led by the Ethiopian king Taharqa.1

Taharqa had invaded the Nile Delta and successfully gained support from local factions, challenging the Assyrian influence established by Ashurbanipal's father, Esarhaddon. Ashurbanipal’s swift military intervention forced Taharqa to withdraw to Thebes. Following this, Ashurbanipal sought to stabilize the region by appointing local princes to govern under the support of Assyrian garrisons.12