Editing Tiglath-Pileser III (section)

==== Conquest of Babylonia ====
[[File:Tiglath-Pileser map.png|thumb|upright=1.35|A map of the Neo-Assyrian Empire before (purple) and after (purple and blue) Tiglath-Pileser's reign{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=179}}]]
In his late reign, Tiglath-Pileser increasingly focused on Babylonia in the south.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=178}} Babylonia had once been a large and hugely influential kingdom, competing with Assyria for centuries,{{Sfn|Frahm|2014|p=209}} but during the Neo-Assyrian period it was typically weaker than its northern neighbor.{{Sfn|Brinkman|1973|p=89}} Babylonia suffered from both the lack of a well-organized army and from internal ethno-cultural divisions. Babylonians governed most of the prominent southern cities, such as [[Babylon]], [[Kish (Sumer)|Kish]], [[Ur]], [[Uruk]], [[Borsippa]] and [[Nippur]], but were not the only prominent group in the region. [[Chaldea|Chaldean]] tribes, led by chieftains who often squabbled with each other, dominated most of the southernmost land. Arameans also lived on the fringes of settled land and were notorious for plundering surrounding territories.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=178}}{{Sfn|Brinkman|1973|p=|pp=89–90}} Through his agents, Tiglath-Pileser throughout his reign kept tabs on events in the south.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=178}}

In 731, the Chaldean chieftain [[Nabu-mukin-zeri]], of the [[Bit-Amukkani]] tribe, seized power in Babylon as king.{{Sfn|Radner|2012}}{{Sfn|Beaulieu|2018|p=196}} Tiglath-Pileser saw the accession of Nabu-mukin-zeri, who aspired to heal the divides in Babylonia,{{Sfn|Radner|2012}} as a provocation and threat to Assyrian interests and hegemony.{{Sfn|Radner|2012}}{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=178}} Tiglath-Pileser thus dedicated the next several years to defeating Nabu-mukin-zeri and his supporters. First, Assyrian armies blockaded Babylonia's eastern border to ensure that Nabu-mukin-zeri would not receive any support from [[Elam]], which was often opposed to Assyrian interests. Then, Tiglath-Pileser defeated and subdued a number of Aramean clans and Chaldean tribes, including the Bit-Shilani and the Bit-Sha'alli.{{Sfn|Beaulieu|2018|p=196}}

[[File:Britishmuseumassyrianreliefhorsemannimrud.jpg|thumb|Relief from Tiglath-Pileser's palace in Nimrud depicting an Assyrian horseman]]
The struggle for control of Babylonia began in earnest in 730. In this year, Assyrian envoys are recorded travelling to Babylon and urging the inhabitants to open their gates and surrender to Tiglath-Pileser, stating that the king would grant them amnesty and tax privileges. The Babylonians refused the offer. Nabu-mukin-zeri was not in Babylon at this time and was instead probably directing the Babylonian war effort from his ancestral home city of Sapia.{{Sfn|Beaulieu|2018|pp=196–197}} In 729, Tiglath-Pileser captured Babylon and proclaimed himself as both king of Assyria and [[king of Babylon]],{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=178}} the first Assyrian king to be recognized as such by the Babylonians.{{Sfn|Beaulieu|2018|p=197}} 

Nabu-mukin-zeri lost Sapia in the same year but appears to have continued to resist Tiglath-Pileser until 728 since there are some documents ascribed to his fourth regnal year. As the new king, Tiglath-Pileser received tribute from the most powerful Chaldean tribes, the Bit-Dakkuri and [[Bit Yakin|Bit-Yakin]]. The Bit-Yakin at this time was under the leadership of [[Marduk-apla-iddina II]], who in the years following Tiglath-Pileser's reign would emerge as a staunch adversary of Assyria.{{Sfn|Beaulieu|2018|p=197}}

Unlike many other Assyrian conquests, Babylonia was not divided into provinces but kept as a full kingdom, in [[personal union]] with Assyria. This was chiefly because the Assyrians greatly respected Babylonian culture and religion.{{Sfn|Beaulieu|2018|p=198}} Because of this respect and because Babylonia was showing signs of the beginning of an economic recovery, Tiglath-Pileser worked to conciliate the populace to the idea of Assyrian overlordship. He twice participated in the religiously important New Years' ''[[Akitu]]'' festival, which required the presence of the king, and also led campaigns against remaining Chaldean strongholds in the far south who resisted his rule.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=178}}