Spies and propaganda were often used to win over rival cities. He allowed conquered territories to maintain some of their earlier practices. In Nineveh he used state resources to rebuild the Ishtar temple. The local rulers of the city Qattara maintained authority (but became vassals) when they were incorporated into the Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia. User of these Assyrian Eponym dating system was enforced throughout the Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia in cities such as: Mari, Tuttul, Terqa, and the capital city Šubat-Enlil. Fall Shamshi-Adad I continued to strengthen his kingdom throughout his life, but as he got older, the state became more vulnerable and the neighboring great powers Yamkhad and Eshnunna began attacking. The empire lacked cohesion and was in a vulnerable geographical position. Naturally, Shamshi-Adad I's rise to glory earned him the envy of neighboring kings and tribes, and throughout his reign, he and his sons faced several threats to their control. After the death of Shamshi-Adad I, Eshnunna captured cities around Assur. When the news of Shamshi-Adad I's death spread, his old rivals set out to topple his sons from the throne. Yasmah-Adad was soon expelled from Mari by Zimri-Lim (fl. c. 1775 BC – c. 1761 BC), and the rest of the empire was eventually lost during the reigns of Išme-Dagān I and Mut-Ashkur, first to a coalition of Mari, Andarig, and Eshnunna, then to another Amorite ruler, Hammurabi of Babylon (fl. c. 1792 BC – c. 1750 BC) See also Assyrian continuity List of Assyrian kings Timeline of the Assyrian Empire Chronology of the ancient Near East References Sources OBO (Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis) 160/4 P. Villard, "Shamshi-Adad and Sons: The Rise of an Upper Mesopotamian Kingdom", in J. M. Sasson (ed.), Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, vol. II, Scribner, New York, 1995, p. 873-883 19th-century BC Assyrian kings 18th-century BC Assyrian kings Amorite kings Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 18th-century BC deaths Kings of the Universe