Shalmaneser III

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King Jehu of Israel bows before Shalmanezer III of Assyria.

Shalmaneser III (Šulmānu-ašarēdu, "the god Shulmanu is pre-eminent") was king of Assyria (859 BC-824 BC), and son of the previous ruler, Ashurnasirpal II.

His long reign was a constant series of campaigns against the eastern tribes, the Babylonians, the nations of Mesopotamia and Syria, as well as Kizzuwadna and Urartu. His armies penetrated to Lake Van and the Taurus Mountains; the Hittites of Carchemish were compelled to pay tribute, and the kingdoms of Hamath and Aram Damascus were subdued.

In 853 BC a coalition which was formed by the kingdoms of Egypt, Hamath, Arvad, the Ammonites, "Ahab of Israel" and other neighboring states, under the leadership of king Hadadezer of Damascus, inflicted a temporary defeat upon the Assyrian king at Battle of Qarqar. However, the Assyrian king perservered in his attempts to subjugate Israel and Syria. Other battles soon followed in 849 BC and 846 BC.

In 842 BC, Shalmaneser campaigned against Hadadezer's successor Hazael, forcing him to take refuge within the walls of his capital. While Shalmaneser was unable to capture Damascus, he devastated its territory, and Jehu of Israel (whose ambassadors are represented on the Black Obelisk now in the British Museum), together with the Phoenician cities, prudently sent tribute to him in 841 BC. Babylonia had already been conquered as far as the marshes of the Chaldaeans in the south, and the Babylonian king put to death.

In 836 BC, Shalmaneser sent an expedition against the Tibareni (Tabal) which was followed by one against Cappadocia, and in 832 BC came another campaign against Urartu. In the following year, age required the king to hand over the command of his armies to the Tartan (turtānu commander-in-chief) Dayyan-Assur, and six years later, Nineveh and other cities revolted against him under his rebel son Assur-danin-pal. Civil war continued for two years; but the rebellion was at last crushed by Shamshi-Adad V, another son of Shalmaneser. Shalmaneser died soon afterwards. He had built a palace at Calah, and left several editions of the royal annals recording his military campaigns, the last of which is engraved on the Black Obelisk from Calah.