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Mini-empires multiply. In the absence of an overarching military power in the Near East from 1200–900 B.C., regional empires flourished in the Levant and surrounding areas. On the Anatolian peninsula, Tabal arose from the remains of the dwindled Hittite empire; to its east in northern Syria, Carchemish blossomed. Aram-Zobah later extended from the Biqa Valley in modern Lebanon south to the Galilee and north to Damascus and the Euphrates. The mini-empire of David and Solomon at its height came to dominate the Aram-Zobah empire as far north as the Euphrates, as recorded in 2 Samuel 8 and 10, and controlled territory from the Mediterranean to Edom, Moab and Ammon east of the Jordan and south to the Gulf of Aqaba. With the consolidation of power in Assyria under Ashurnasirpal II (883–859 B.C.), however, the era of mini-empires in the ancient Near East came to an abrupt close.