Changes

To keep cultural continuity in Babylon and no doubt to appear as legitimate rulers to non-Kassites, the Kassites continued the tradition of using the Sumerian and Akkadian languages in their inscriptions and religious rituals. <ref>Kuhrt, p. 338</ref> The Kassites, though, also offered an important linguistic innovation to Mesopotamia. The Kassites brought the dialect of Akkadian into Babylon which morphed into the “standard Babylonian” used by later groups such as the Assyrians and Neo-Babylonians. <ref> Mieroop, Marc van de. <i>A History of the Ancient Near East: ca. 3000-323 BC.</i> 2nd ed. (London: Blackwell, 2007), p. 177</ref>

[[File: Amarnamap.png|300px|thumbnail|left|Map of the Most Powerful Near East Kingdom in the Late Bronze Age]]

As the Kassites pursued a policy of cultural continuity in Babylon, they embarked on an aggressive campaign of conquest throughout the rest of Mesopotamia. The Kassites actively consolidated their control of Mesopotamia through a combination of alliances, threats, and outright conquest if the first two methods were ineffective. The conquest of the Babylonia region was complete by 1460 BC, but began sometime toward the end of Burnaburiash I’s rule (reigned ca. 1530-1500 BC) after the Kassite king concluded a treaty with Puzur-Ashur III of Assyria. The Kassites then went on to conquer the southernmost part of Mesopotamia, known as the Sealand, during the reigns of Kashtiliashu III (ca. 1490 BC) and Agum III (ca. 1465 BC), <ref>Brinkman, p. 274</ref> That left only the northernmost part of Mesopotamia – Assyria – out of their direct control. Once the Kassites had established control over most of Mesopotamia, they opened trade routes and diplomatic channels with the other great Near Eastern kingdoms.