Cryptic (geology)
The Cryptic era is an informal term for the earliest geologic evolution of the Earth and Moon. It is the oldest (informal) era of the Hadean eon, and it is commonly accepted to have begun close to 4533 million (about 4.533 billion) years ago when the Earth and Moon formed. No samples exist to date the transition between the Cryptic era and the following Basin Groups era for the Moon (see also Pre-Nectarian), though sometimes it is stated that this era ended 4150 million years ago for one or both of these bodies. Neither this time period, nor any other Hadean subdivision, has been officially recognized by the International Commission on Stratigraphy.
Achaemenid Assyria
Between the mid 14th centuries and late 11th century BC, and again between the late 10th and late 7th centuries BC, the respective Middle Assyrian Empire and Neo-Assyrian Empire dominated the Middle East militarily, culturally, economically and politically, and the Persians and their neighbours the Medes, Parthians, Elamites and Manneans were vassals of Assyria and paid tribute. In the late 7th century BC, however, the Assyrian empire descended into a period of civil war in 626 BC, which drastically weakened it, and eventually led to a number of its former subject peoples; the Babylonians, Chaldeans, Medes, Persians, Scythians and Cimmerians, forming an alliance and attacking the civil war ridden Assyrians in 616 BC. The Battle of Nineveh in 612 BC eventually left Assyria destroyed for years to come. The Assyrians continued to fight on, with the aid of another of their former vassals, Egypt who feared the rise of these new powers. A costly but victorious Battle at Megiddo against the forces of Judah allowed the Egyptians to advance to the rescue, only to be defeated by the Babylonian-Median-Scythian alliance. Harran, the new Assyrian capital, was eventually taken in 609 BC, thus ending the empire. Despite this, part of the remnants of the former Assyrian army continued to fight on, along with Egypt, until final defeat at Carchemish in 605 BC.