What made the world go round for the powers that were?
Modern camels
Moab's control and protection of the trade route running through the nation was clearly a key issue in Moabite-Assyrian relations. Thus in many ways the decision by the kings of Assyria to allow the eastern nations of the ancient Middle East to maintain self-rule was based on financial considerations. Moab and Edom were familiar with the ways of the Arabian trade along the eastern boundaries along the Arabian Desert fringe. The expense of supplying sufficient troops to maintain control of Moab and defend the trade route against desert dwellers was surely prohibitive. The Assyrian kings were more than willing to allow self-rule as long as the trade revenues continued to flow and the Moabite kings remained loyal.
As a case study, the evidence of Assyrian and Moabite relations is a microcosm of international relations in the ancient world of the Middle East. For the small nations in the region the old business adage of "location, location, location" determined the future for the inhabitants. Moab's isolated plateau and experience in the Arabian trade market combined to sway the Assyrians to allow Moab to maintain a national identity as a subject nation. Though Assyria is depicted often, correctly, as a brutal and heartless conqueror, Moab forged a long-lasting though probably uneasy relationship with Assyria. The nations east of the Jordan as well as Judah in the west served as buffer lands between Assyria and the trouble spots of the region: Egypt south of Judah and the desert dwellers east and south of Moab.