Editing History of the ancient Levant (section)

====Under Assyrians====
[[File:Tiglath-Pileser map.png|thumb|Map of the Neo-Assyrian Empire before (purple) and after (purple and blue) Tiglath-Pileser's reign (745–727 BC)<ref name="Frahm">{{cite book|last=Frahm|first=Eckart|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nhsmDwAAQBAJ|title=A Companion to Assyria|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|year=2017|isbn=978-1118325247|editor=E. Frahm|location=Hoboken |chapter=The Neo-Assyrian Period (ca. 1000–609 BCE)|pages=161–208}}</ref>]]

In the [[Iron Age]], the Levant was characterized by patches of scattered kingdoms and tribal confederations which originated from the same cultural and linguistic milieu.<ref name="Porter">{{cite journal |last1=Porter |first1=Benjamin W. |title=Assembling the Iron Age Levant: The Archaeology of Communities, Polities, and Imperial Peripheries |journal=Journal of Archaeological Research |date=2016 |volume=24 |issue=4 |pages=373–420 |doi=10.1007/s10814-016-9093-8 |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10814-016-9093-8}}</ref> Occasionally, these peoples united against expansion from neighboring regions, notably in the [[Battle of Qarqar]] (853 BC) which saw an alliance of Aramaeans, [[Phoenicia]]ns, Israelites, Ammonites and Arabs united against the Assyrians under [[Shalmaneser III]] (859–824 BC).<ref>Shea, William H. "A Note on the Date of the Battle of Qarqar." ''Journal of Cuneiform Studies'', vol. 29, no. 4, 1977, pp. 240–242</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Gabriel|first=Richard A.|author-link=Richard A. Gabriel|title=The Great Armies of Antiquity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y1ngxn_xTOIC&pg=PA129|year=2002|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]]|isbn=978-0-275-97809-9|page=129}}</ref> The alliance, led by [[Hadadezer]] of [[Aram-Damascus]], succeeded in halting the Assyrian army boasting 120,000 soldiers active in Syria.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Healy |first1=Mark |title=The Ancient Assyrians: Empire and Army, 883–612 BC |date=2023 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=9781472848079 |url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/ancient-assyrians-9781472848079/}}</ref><ref name="Retso" />

By 843 BC the political situation in central and southern Syria changed radically, after [[Hazael]] succeeded Hadadzer as king of Aram-Damascus. The anti-Assyrian alliance dissolved, and former allies of Aram-Damascus turned into enemies.<ref name="Edward" /> In 842, Hazael invaded the northern parts of the [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel]] and reportedly penetrated into the coastal planes as far as [[Ashdod|Asdod]], seizing [[Gilead]] and [[eastern Jordan]] in the process.<ref name="Edward" /> Hazael survived Assyrian attempts to subjugate Aram-Damascus and also expanded his influence in northern Syria, where he reportedly crossed the [[Orontes River|Orontes river]] and seized territories as far as [[Aleppo]].<ref name="Edward" /><ref>{{Citation |last=Hasegawa |first=Shuichi |title=Aram and Israel during the Jehuite Dynasty |date=2012-07-04 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110283488/html |access-date=2023-11-30 |publisher=De Gruyter |language=en |doi=10.1515/9783110283488 |isbn=978-3-11-028348-8}}</ref><ref name="FreedmanMyers2000">{{cite book|author1=David Noel Freedman|author2=Allen C. Myers|title=Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qRtUqxkB7wkC&pg=PA84|date=31 December 2000|publisher=Amsterdam University Press|isbn=978-90-5356-503-2|page=84}}</ref><ref>[http://digital.library.stonybrook.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/amar/id/139862/rec/44 Arslan-Tash. v. 1] p.135: "Trois fragments d'une lamelle d'ivoire portant une ligne de texte en caractères araméens. Ces fragments ont été trouvés aux environs immédiats des cadres décrits plus haut p. 89 et suiv."</ref> These northern forays allowed Hazael to control much of Syria and Palestine, from [[Third Intermediate Period of Egypt|Egypt]] to the [[Euphrates]].<ref name="Ghantous">{{cite book |last1=Ghantous |first1=Hadi |title=The Elisha-Hazael Paradigm and the Kingdom of Israel: The Politics of God in Ancient Syria-Palestine |date=2014 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781317544357 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q_bOBAAAQBAJ}}</ref> Hazael's power far exceeded that of former Aramean kings, and some scholars consider his state to have been a nascent empire.<ref name="Ghantous" />

The Assyrians managed to subdue the Levantine states after multiple campaigns that were finalized by [[Tiglath-Pileser III]] (745–727 BC).<ref name="territories"/><ref name="Edward"/><ref>{{Cite book|last=Elayi|first=Josette|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wap5EAAAQBAJ|title=Tiglath-pileser III, Founder of the Assyrian Empire|publisher=SBL Press|year=2022|isbn=978-1628374308|location=Atlanta}}</ref><ref>{{Cite thesis|last=Davenport|first=T. L.|title=Situation and Organisation: The Empire Building of Tiglath-Pileser III (745-728 BC)|date=2016|degree=PhD|publisher=University of Sydney |url=https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/handle/2123/15464/2016_Tracy_Davenport_thesis.pdf?sequence=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Bagg|first=Ariel M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nhsmDwAAQBAJ|title=A Companion to Assyria|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|year=2017|isbn=978-1118325247|editor=E. Frahm|location=Hoboken |chapter=Assyria and the West: Syria and the Levant|pages=268–274}}</ref><ref name="Frahm" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Dubovský|first=Peter|date=2006|title=Tiglath-pileser III's Campaigns in 734-732 B.C.: Historical Background of Isa 7; 2 Kgs 15-16 and 2 Chr 27-28|journal=Biblica|volume=87|issue=2|pages=153–170 |jstor=42614666}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Radner|first=Karen|date=2012|title=Tiglath-pileser III, king of Assyria (744-727 BC)|url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sargon/essentials/kings/tiglatpileseriii/|access-date=9 February 2022|website=Assyrian empire builders}}</ref> Consolidation of Assyrian rule was followed by numerous revolts throughout the Levant, including division along pro- and anti-Assyrian axes, and intra-Levantine conflict in the [[Syro-Ephraimite War]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Niehr |first1=Herbert |title=The Aramaeans in Ancient Syria |date=2014 |publisher=Brill |isbn=9789004229433}}</ref> The anti-Assyrian axis included [[Aram-Damascus|Damascus]]–[[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]]–[[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Samaria]]–the Arabs; and a pro-Assyrian axis which included [[Arwad]], [[Ascalon|Ashqalon]] and [[Gaza City|Gaza]] joined by [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]], Ammon, Moab and Edom.<ref name="Retso" /> The anti-Assyrian forces were eventually crushed by 732 BC.<ref name="Retso" /> Aram-Damascus was annexed and its population was deported; [[Hama]]th was razed to the ground and Arameans were prohibited from rebuilding it;<ref name="Hawkins">Hawkins, J.D. "Hamath." ''Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie'', Vol. 4. Walter de Gruyter, 1975.</ref> the [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel]] based in [[Samaria]] was destroyed and, according to [[Bible|Biblical]] accounts, the city's population was deported into [[Assyrian captivity]].<ref>"Hamath Wrecked to Terrify Small Opponents of Assyria" ''The Science News-Letter''. 39:13 (29 March 1941:205–206.)</ref>

The fierce resistance and fighting capabilities of the Arameans convinced the Assyrian kings to incorporate them into the army, namely the tribes of Gurru and Itu'u.<ref>{{Cite thesis|last=Uotila|first=Repekka|title=Arameans in the Neo-Assyrian Empire: Approaching Ethnicity and Groupness with Social Network Analysis|date=2021|degree=Master's|publisher=University of Helsinki |url=https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstreams/e069cbac-52e9-4a8f-b7dd-79d0854b36b3/download}}</ref> By the time of [[Shalmaneser V]] (727–722 BC), these tribes were an essential part of the empire, and were given the task of securing the empire's peripheries. The Aramaean identity of these tribes probably contributed to the consolidation of [[Aramaic]]'s prestigious status as the empire's ''[[lingua franca]]''.<ref name="territories">{{cite book |last1=Dušek |first1=Jan |last2=Mynářová |first2=Jana |title=Aramaean Borders: Defining Aramaean Territories in the 10th – 8th Centuries B.C.E. |date=2019 |publisher=Brill |isbn=9789004398535}}</ref>