Kind of a spinoff from the other thread. Would a Mesopotamian type army have had more success against the Greek hoplites than the Persians did? The Assyrian infantry was more heavily armored, their cavalry arm was probably less developed, but that was usually ineffective for the Persians due to much of Greece's terrain. Also the Assyrians seem to have had a more effective and flexible command structure, campaigning as far afield as Egypt and the Iranian plateau, often simultaneously. So, say the Assyrians had more strong kings after Ashurbanipal and decided to eventually attack Greece, how different would the result have been.
(Highly speculative) Assyrian soldier vs Nubian tribesman: