Tiglath-Pileser III — stela from the walls of his palace (British Museum, London)

Tiglath-Pileser III (Akkadian: Tukultī-Apil-Ešarra) was a prominent king of Assyria in the 8th century BC (ruled 745–727 BC)^[1][2] and is widely regarded as the founder of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. He is considered to be one of the most successful military commanders in world history, conquering most of the world known to the ancient Assyrians before his death. Tiglath-Pileser III, stela from the British Museum, London This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Tiglath-Pileser III, stela from the British Museum, London This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Stele is also a concept in plant biology. ... The British Museum in London, England is one of the worlds greatest museums of human history and culture. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... In the Middle Bronze Age Assyria was a region on the Upper Tigris river, named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur (Akkadian: ; Hebrew: , Aramaic: ). Later, as a nation and empire that came to control all of the Fertile Crescent, Egypt and much of Anatolia, the term Assyria... (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) Ruins of the training grounds at Olympia, Greece. ... Centuries: 9th century BC - 8th century BC - 7th century BC Decades: 790s BC 780s BC 770s BC 760s BC 750s BC - 740s BC - 730s BC 720s BC 710s BC 700s BC 690s BC Events and Trends February 26 747 BC - Nabonassar becomes king of Assyria 747 BC - Meles becomes king... Centuries: 9th century BC - 8th century BC - 7th century BC Decades: 770s BC 760s BC 750s BC 740s BC 730s BC - 720s BC - 710s BC 700s BC 690s BC 680s BC 670s BC Events and Trends 728 BC - Piye invades Egypt, conquering Memphis and receives the submission of the rulers... Relief from Assyrian capital of Dur Sharrukin, showing transport of Lebanese cedar (8th c. ... It has been suggested that Assyrian people be merged into this article or section. ...

Etymology

The name Tiglath-Pileser was a throne-name — that is, one given to the king on his accession to the throne, rather than a name given at birth. In translation, it means "My Trust is the Heir of Ešarra". It is given in several different forms in historical records. The Bible records him as Tilgath-pilneser (2 Chronicles 28:20) and also as Pul (1 Chronicles 5:26 and 2 Kings 15:19,20). The latter resembles the name Pulu that some chronological sources give him as king of Babylonia. However, none of these sources are contemporary with Tiglath-Pileser's time, thus it remains uncertain if the name Pul was ever used during the king's life time.^[3] This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ... The Book of Chronicles is a book in the Hebrew Bible (also see Old Testament). ... The Books of Kings (Hebrew: Sefer Melachim ספר מלכים) is a part of Judaisms Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. ... Babylonia was a state in the south part of Mesopotamia (in modern Iraq), combining the territories of Sumer and Akkad. ...

Origins

Pulu was a general who took his Assyrian throne name from two more legitimate predecessors. He calls himself a son of Adad-nirari III in his inscriptions, but it is uncertain if this is truthful. He seized the throne in the midst of civil war on 13 Iyyar, 745 BC. Adad-nirari III was King of Assyria from 810 to 783 BC. For the first five years of his reign his mother Sammuramat acted as regent, which gave rise to the legend of Semiramis. ...

Reign

Tiglath-Pileser III besieging a town

Assyrian power in the Near East greatly increased as the result of Tiglath-Pileser's military reforms (see "Reforms" below) and his campaigns of conquest. Upon ascending the throne, he claimed (in Annal 9, which dates to 745 BC, his first regnal year) to have annexed Babylonia, from "Dur-(Kuri)galzu, Sippar of Shamash, ... the cities [of Ba]bylonia up to the Uqnu river [by the shore of the Lo]wer [Sea]"^[4] (which referred to the Persian Gulf), and subsequently placed his eunuch over them as governor. Also within the first of his regnal years, he defeated Urartu (in modern Armenia), whose hegemony under the rulership of Sarduri II had extended to northern Mesopotamia and Syria. He also defeated the Medes before proceeding against the Neo-Hittites, Syria and Phoenicia. He took Arpad in 740 BC after three years of siege, annexed it as a province (over which he placed one of his eunuchs as governors), and subjected Hamath to tribute. Assyrian inscriptions record, in the fifth year of his reign (739 BC), a victory over Azariah (Uzziah), king of Judah, whose achievements are described in 2 Chronicles 26. In 733 BC his armies conquered Philistia on the Mediterranean coast, destroyed Damascus (732) and occupied most of Israel (732), with its northern regions becoming Assyrian provinces. According to the royal inscriptions of Tiglath-Pileser, many of the inhabitants were deported to other parts of the Assyrian empire, a practice that was commonly enacted by his predecessors. The Near East is a term commonly used by archaeologists, geographers and historians, less commonly by journalists and commentators, to refer to the region encompassing Anatolia (the Asian portion of modern Turkey), the Levant (modern Israel/Palestine, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon), Georgia, Armenia, and... Regnal year: the year of the reign of a sovereign. ... Ceremonies during the annexation of Hawaii. ... Urartu at its greatest extent 743 BC Urartu (Biainili in Urartian) was an ancient kingdom in the mountainous plateau between Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, and Caucasus mountains, later known as the Armenian Highland, and it centered around Lake Van (present-day eastern Turkey). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Neo-Assyrian Empire in the 9th to 7th centuries BC The so-called Neo-Hittite or post-Hittite states were Luwian-speaking political entities of Iron Age Syria that arose after the collapse of the Hittite Empire around 1180 BC and lasted until roughly 700 BC, the time of... Phoenician sarcophagus found in Cadiz, Spain; now in Archaeological Museum of Cádiz. ... Arpad is the name of: Arpad, a city in ancient Syria. ... European illustration of a Eunuch (1749) A eunuch is a castrated man; the term usually refers to those castrated in order to perform a specific social function, as was common in many societies of the past. ... Hama is a province of Syria with currently approximately 350,000 inhabitants. ... Centuries: 9th century BC - 8th century BC - 7th century BC Decades: 780s BC 770s BC 760s BC 750s BC 740s BC - 730s BC - 720s BC 710s BC 700s BC 690s BC 680s BC Events and Trends 739 BC - Hiram II becomes king of Tyre 738 BC - King Tiglath-Pileser III... Uzziah of Judah (עוזיהו) (also known as Azariah), was the king of the ancient Kingdom of Judah, and one of Amaziahs sons, whom the people appointed to replace his father (2 Kings 14:21; 2 Chronicles 26:1). ... Kingdom of Judah (Hebrew מַלְכוּת יְהוּדָה, Standard Hebrew Malḫut YÉ™huda, Tiberian Hebrew Malḵûṯ YÉ™hûḏāh) in the times of the Hebrew Bible, was the nation formed from the territories of the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin after the Kingdom of Israel was divided, and was named after Judah... Centuries: 9th century BC - 8th century BC - 7th century BC Decades: 780s BC 770s BC 760s BC 750s BC 740s BC - 730s BC - 720s BC 710s BC 700s BC 690s BC 680s BC Events and Trends 739 BC - Hiram II becomes king of Tyre 738 BC - King Tiglath-Pileser III... The historic Philistines (see note Philistines below) were a people that inhabited the southern coast of Canaan around the time of the arrival of the Israelites, their territory being named Philistia in later contexts. ... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ... Nickname: The Seal of the Damascus Governorate Syria Syria Governorates Damascus Governorate Government  - Governor Bishr Al Sabban Area  - City 573 km²  (221. ...

In October 729 BC, Tiglath-Pileser assumed total control of Babylon, capturing the Babylonian king Nabu-mukin-zeri (ABC 1 Col.1:21) and having himself crowned as "King Pulu of Babylon".

Biblical records

Biblical records, corroborated by Assyrian ones, describe how Tiglath-Pileser III exacted 1000 talents of silver tribute from King Menahem of Israel (2 Kings 15:19) and defeated his successor Pekah (15:29). Pekah had allied with Rezin, king of the Arameans against Ahaz (known to the Assyrians as Yahu-khazi), king of Judah, who responded by appealing for the Assyrian monarch's help with the Temple gold and siver. Tiglath-Pileser complied by seizing Damascus, executing Rezin, and deporting the Aramaean inhabitants to Kir (16:9). He also seized the northern half of Israel, and deported the Reubenites, Gadites, and Manasseh to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the Gozan river (1 Chron. 5:26). Despite the alliance, he apparently caused some trouble for Ahaz as well (2 Chron 28:20). Look up talent in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Menahem (Hebrew מְנַחֵם comforting, Standard Hebrew Mənaḥem, Tiberian Hebrew Mənaḥēm) was king of Israel and the son of Gadi. ... Categories: People stubs | Kings of ancient Israel ... The Aramaeans, or Arameans, were a Semitic, seminomadic and pastoralist people who originated and had lived in upper Mesopotamia and Syria. ... This entry incorporates text from Eastons Bible Dictionary, 1897, with some modernisation. ... Kingdom of Judah (Hebrew מַלְכוּת יְהוּדָה, Standard Hebrew Malḫut YÉ™huda, Tiberian Hebrew Malḵûṯ YÉ™hûḏāh) in the times of the Hebrew Bible, was the nation formed from the territories of the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin after the Kingdom of Israel was divided, and was named after Judah... Nickname: The Seal of the Damascus Governorate Syria Syria Governorates Damascus Governorate Government  - Governor Bishr Al Sabban Area  - City 573 km²  (221. ... Kir Kir is a cocktail made with a measure of crème de cassis (blackcurrant liquor) topped up with white wine. ...

Reforms

Upon ascending the throne, Tiglath-Pileser instituted several reforms to different sectors of the Assyrian state, which arguably revived Assyria's hegemony over the Near East.

The first of such reforms entailed thwarting the powers of the high Assyrian officials, which during the reigns of his predecessors had become exceedingly high. Officials such as Šamši-ilu, who was turtanu and a prominent official since the time of Adad-Nirari III, often led their own campaigns and erected their own commemorative stelae, often without mentioning the king at all^[5]. Since his earliest inscriptions (and thus from the beginning of his reign), he gave regular mention of appointing eunuchs as governors of (newly conquered) provinces; this removed the threat of provincial rule becoming a dynastic matter. He also sought to reduce the power of his officials by reducing the size of the provinces (in some cases the northern provinces were increased to include newly conquered territories), thus decreasing their resources, should they have desired to incite a revolt. Subsequently, there were more provinces, more governors (most of which were eunuchs), and less power per governor. A Commander-in-Chief is the commander of a nations military forces or significant element of those forces. ... Ancient Egyptian funerary stele Suenos Stone in Forres Scotland A stele (or stela) is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected for funerary or commemorative purposes, most usually decorated with the names and titles of the deceased or living—inscribed, carved in relief (bas... European illustration of a Eunuch (1749) A eunuch is a castrated man; the term usually refers to those castrated in order to perform a specific social function, as was common in many societies of the past. ... // For other uses, see Dynasty (disambiguation). ...

The second reform targeted the army. In stead of a largely native Assyrian army which normally campaigned only in the summer time, Tiglath-Pileser incorporated large numbers of conquered people into the army, thus adding a substantial foreign element. This force mainly comprised the infantry, whereas the native Assyrians comprised the cavalry and chariotry. As a result of Tiglath-Pileser's military reforms, the Assyrian Empire was armed with a greatly expanded army which could campaign throughout the year.

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Campaigns

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Legacy

Map showing Tiglath's conquests (green) and deportation of Israelites

Tiglath-Pileser III's conquests and reforms lead to the establishment of the Neo-Assyrian Kingdom as a true empire. He built a royal palace in Nimrud (the so-called "central palace") later to be dismantled by Esarhaddon. On the sculptured slabs decorating his palace, across the bas-reliefs depicting his military achievements, he had engraved his royal annals. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... In the Middle Bronze Age Assyria was a region on the Upper Tigris river, named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur (Akkadian: ; Hebrew: , Aramaic: ). Later, as a nation and empire that came to control all of the Fertile Crescent, Egypt and much of Anatolia, the term Assyria... Nimrud is an ancient Assyrian city located south of Nineveh on the river Tigris. ... Esarhaddon (Greek and Biblical form; Akkadian Aššur-aha-iddina Ashur has given a brother to me), was a king of Assyria who reigned 681 BC-669 BC), the youngest son of Sennacherib and the Aramaic queen Naqia (Zakitu), Sennacheribs second wife. ...

On his death, he was succeeded by his son Ululayu, who took the name Shalmaneser V, who further campaigned in the Levant and captured Samaria. Shalmaneser V (Akkadian: Shulmanu-asharid) was King of Assyria from 727 to 722 BC. He first appears as governor of Zimirra in Phoenicia in the reign of his father, Tiglath-Pileser III. At all events, on the death of Tiglath-Pileser, he succeeded to the throne as the 25th king... It has been suggested that Sebastia, Middle East be merged into this article or section. ...

References