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Why did Ashurbanipal’s Assyrian army sack Thebes in 663 BCE?

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temple of Hatshepsut — Thebes Temple of Hatshepsut at Dayr al-Baḥrī, Thebes, Egypt.

The Assyrian king Ashurbanipal sacked Thebes in 663 BCE as a direct military response to the actions of the Kushite ruler Tanutamon.1

Following the Assyrian conquest of Memphis, Tanutamon had defeated a coalition of local delta princes who were loyal to the Assyrian Empire. In retaliation for this challenge to Assyrian authority and the continued resistance from the Kushite forces, Ashurbanipal’s army seized control of Memphis and proceeded to plunder and humiliate Thebes. This event marked a turning point that led to the eventual withdrawal of the Kushites from Egyptian politics by 656 BCE.12