Why did Ashurbanipal’s army capture Memphis and sack Thebes?

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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.

Ashurbanipal’s military actions in Egypt, including the capture of Memphis and the sacking of Thebes, were driven by the need to suppress ongoing rebellions against Assyrian authority.1

Following the initial expulsion of the Egyptian king Taharqa from the Nile Delta, Ashurbanipal had established a system of local princes supported by Assyrian garrisons to maintain control. However, these efforts were challenged by Taharqa’s successor, Tanutamon, who exerted further pressure on the region. In response to this renewed resistance, the Assyrian forces intervened between 664 and 663 BCE, seizing Memphis and sacking Thebes to reassert dominance over the territory.12