Editing Tiglath-Pileser III (section)

=== Assyria before Tiglath-Pileser ===
{{See also|History of the Assyrians}}
Assyria first rose as a prominent state under the [[Middle Assyrian Empire]] in the 14th century BC, previously only having been a city-state centered on the city of [[Assur]].{{Sfn|Düring|2020|p=43}} From the 12th century BC onwards, the Middle Assyrian Empire entered into a period of decline, becoming increasingly restricted to just the Assyrian heartland itself.{{sfn|Düring|2020|p=46}} Though the decline was at times halted by energetic warrior-kings, reconquests were not lasting until the time of [[Ashur-dan II]] ({{reign}}934–912&nbsp;BC), who campaigned in the northeast and northwest.{{sfn|Frahm|2017|p=167}} The accession of Ashur-dan's son [[Adad-nirari II]] ({{reign}}911–891&nbsp;BC) traditionally marks the beginning of the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]].{{sfn|Merrill|Rooker|Grisanti|2011|p=30}} 

Under the early Neo-Assyrian kings, there was a gradual reconquest of former Assyrian lands.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=167}} The success of this project was an extraordinary achievement given that the kings essentially had to rebuild the Assyrian Empire from scratch.{{Sfn|Düring|2020|p=144}} Under [[Ashurnasirpal II]] ({{reign}}883–859&nbsp;BC) the Neo-Assyrian Empire rose to become the dominant political power in the [[ancient Near East]].{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|pp=167, 169}} Ashurnasirpal's son [[Shalmaneser III]] ({{reign}}859–824&nbsp;BC) further expanded Assyrian territory but his enlarged domain proved difficult to stabilize and his last few years initiated a renewed period of stagnation and decline, marked by both external and internal conflict.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=172}}

[[File:Sarduri II.jpg|thumb|[[Sarduri II]] of [[Urartu]], a prominent adversary of Assyria]]
The most important problems facing Shalmaneser late in his reign were the rise of the kingdom of [[Urartu]] in the north and the increasing political authority and influence of the "magnates", a set of influential Assyrian courtiers and officials.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=172}} The rise of Urartu threatened Assyrian hegemony since submission to Urartu was viewed by many vassal states as a realistic alternative to Assyria.{{Sfn|Radner|2012}} The Urartian administration, culture, writing system and religion closely followed those of Assyria. The Urartian kings were also autocrats highly similar to the Assyrian kings. The imperialist expansionism undertaken by the kings of both Urartu and Assyria led to frequent military clashes between the two, despite being separated by the [[Taurus Mountains]].{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|pp=170–171}} 

For a brief time, the Urartian army equalled that of Assyria;{{Sfn|Radner|2012}} though the Assyrians scored many victories against Urartu, notably plundering Urartu's heartland late in Shalmaneser's reign,{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=171}} the Urartians scored victories of their own. In 754, the Urartian king [[Sarduri II]] defeated the Assyrian army under Ashur-nirari V at [[Arpad, Syria|Arpad]], an event that may have led to the Assyrian army not campaigning for several years.{{Sfn|Radner|2012}} The Assyrian kings were unable to deal with external threats since the magnates had gradually become the dominant political actors and central authority had become very weak.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=173}} 

The reigns of Tiglath-Pileser's three predecessors [[Shalmaneser IV]] ({{reign}}783–773&nbsp;BC), [[Ashur-dan III]] ({{reign}}773–755&nbsp;BC) and Ashur-nirari V was the low point of Assyrian royal power. In Shalmaneser IV's reign, the ''[[turtanu]]'' (commander-in-chief) [[Shamshi-ilu]] was bold enough to credit military victories to himself rather than the king.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=175}} Ashur-nirari V appears to have been relatively idle as a ruler. He campaigned only three times, staying in Assyria throughout the majority of his reign, and he is not known to have conducted any building projects.{{Sfn|Grayson|1982|p=|pp=277–278}}