Editing Tiglath-Pileser III (section)

== Reign ==

=== Reforms and policies ===
[[File:Tiglath-pileser III and submission of an enemy, 8th century BC, from Nimrud, Iraq. The British Museum.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|A relief from Nimrud depicting Tiglath-Pileser (right) trampling a defeated enemy]]
One of Tiglath-Pileser's important early reforms was reducing the influence of the magnates, thus increasing the king's authority. The division of the large provinces previously governed by the magnates into smaller units, placed under royally appointed provincial governors, reduced the wealth and power of the magnates. The right to commission inscriptions concerning military and building activities was withdrawn from officials and henceforth restricted to the king. Some historically prominent officials, such as the [[turtanu]] Shamshi-ilu, were subjected to ''[[damnatio memoriae]]'', with their names being deliberately erased from inscriptions and documents.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=177}} With these reforms, the power of the magnates to challenge the king was virtually eliminated.{{Sfn|Düring|2020|p=142}}

Tiglath-Pileser revitalized the Assyrian army, transforming it from a seasonally active army, only assembled in the summer months, consisting only of conscripts, into a professional army. Under Tiglath-Pileser, these conscripts were largely replaced with trained, specialized soldiers.{{Sfn|Radner|2012}} He introduced new and superior weapons, technologies and logistics. Among his major innovations were new forms of [[Siege engine|siege engines]].{{Sfn|Dubovský|2006|p=153}} The central standing army introduced under Tiglath-Pileser was dubbed the ''kiṣir šarri'' ("king's unit").{{Sfn|Dalley|2017|pp=526, 528}} 

The size of the army was further increased throughout Tiglath-Pileser's reign through the recruitment of soldiers from the various lands the Assyrians conquered and through the recruitment of mercenaries from [[Babylonia]], the [[Zagros Mountains]] and [[Anatolia]]. Though Tiglath-Pileser's conquests generated massive revenue, he appears to have invested little of it into the Assyrian heartland itself; the only known building work he conducted was a new palace in [[Nimrud]]. Instead, most of the money probably went into establishing the new army and into projects in the provinces.{{Sfn|Radner|2012}}

Tiglath-Pileser's conquests were marked by brutality to emphasize the king's strength and power.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Davenport |first=T.L. |date=August 1, 2014 |title=Situation and Organisation: The Empire Building of Tiglath-pileser III (745-728 BC) |journal=The University of Sydney |pages=126 |s2cid=159717852 }}</ref> [[Resettlement policy of the Neo-Assyrian Empire|Resettlements]] of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people were also a common practice. Though previous kings had resettled people, Tiglath-Pileser's reign saw the beginning of frequent mass deportations, a policy which continued under his successors. There were two intended goals of this policy: firstly to reduce the local identities in conquered regions, to counteract the risk of revolt, and secondly to recruit and move laborers to where the Assyrian kings needed them, such as underdeveloped and underutilized provinces.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=177}} Though the Assyrian resettlements were probably devastating both for the resettled people and the regions they came from,{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=|pp=177–178}}{{Sfn|Radner|2017|p=212}} resettled people were not harmed or killed.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=|pp=177–178}} Deportees were highly valued for their labor and abilities. Their journeys and new settlements were designed to be as safe and comfortable as possible.{{Sfn|Radner|2017|p=210}}

=== Wars and conquests ===

==== Early campaigns ====
[[File:Tiglath-Pileser III before the citadel of Turushpa.png|upright=1.35|thumb|20th-century illustration of Tiglath-Pileser in 743 BC outside [[Tushpa]], the capital of Urartu]]
In addition to his reforms, Tiglath-Pileser's reign is marked by a series of large-scale military campaigns in all directions.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=177}} Though Tiglath-Pileser recorded his military exploits in great detail in his "annals", written on sculpted stone slabs decorating his palace in Nimrud, these are poorly preserved,{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=176}} meaning that for several of his campaigns it is only possible to produce a broad outline.{{Sfn|Oded|1974|p=42}} Tiglath-Pileser's first campaign was conducted already in 744, when he assaulted Babylonian lands on the east side of the [[Tigris]] river.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=177}} This conflict was resolved swiftly, with the Assyro-Babylonian border shifted in Tiglath-Pileser's favor.{{Sfn|Radner|2012}} In 743, Tiglath-Pileser campaigned in the region around the Zagros Mountains, where he created the two new provinces Bit‐Ḫamban and Parsua.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=177}} The new Zagros provinces were founded along a highly important trade route, the predecessor of the later [[Silk Road]].{{Sfn|Radner|2012}}

The Assyrian successes in 744 and 743 demonstrated to the empire's neighbors that the time of Assyrian stagnation was over.{{Sfn|Radner|2012}} Tiglath-Pileser's success inspired [[Iranzu]], king of the [[Mannaeans]], a people who lived in northwestern Iran, to personally meet with Tiglath-Pileser in 744 and forge an alliance. Iranzu's predecessors had usually maintained their kingdom's independence through changing allegiance between Urartu and Assyria, but Iranzu made a firm choice to side with Assyria and Tiglath-Pileser eagerly accepted the alliance since Iranzu's realm was ideally placed to protect Assyria from Urartian raids.{{Sfn|Fuchs|2017b|p=262}}

These developments worried Sarduri II of Urartu, who intensified his efforts to oppose and overtake Assyrian hegemony. Later in 743, Sarduri arrived at the [[Euphrates]] river border of Assyria with his army,{{Sfn|Radner|2012}} his forces bolstered by troops sent by various kingdoms and states in Syria.{{Sfn|Bagg|2017|p=270}} In the same year, Tiglath-Pileser engaged Sarduri in battle near Arpad. Unlike the Assyrian defeat by Arpad eleven years earlier, Tiglath-Pileser won the battle,{{Sfn|Radner|2012}}{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=177}} one of the greatest triumphs of his reign.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=177}} Sarduri was forced to flee the battle and was pursued back to the Urartian capital of [[Tushpa]].{{Sfn|Radner|2012}}

==== Conquest of the Levant ====
[[File:Assyrian Relief Attack on Enemy Town from Kalhu (Nimrud) Central Palace reign of Tiglath-pileser III British Museum - 2.jpg|upright=1.35|thumb|A relief from Tiglath-Pileser's palace in Nimrud, depicting the Assyrians besieging a town]]
[[File:Assyrian Relief depicting Battle with Camel Rider from Kalhu (Nimrud) Central Palace Tiglath pileser III 728 BCE British Museum AG.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Relief from Tiglath-Pileser's palace in Nimrud depicting Assyrian riders pursuing a camel rider]]

In the period from 743 to 732, Tiglath-Pileser led several campaigns in the Levant, which led to a great annexation of territory and the loss of independence of numerous ancient states in the region.{{Sfn|Bagg|2017|p=270}} After defeating Sarduri, Tiglath-Pileser resolved to conquer Arpad itself, both because of the city's strategic value{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=177}} and in order to punish the city for providing Sarduri access to the Assyrian frontier.{{Sfn|Radner|2012}} After three campaigns over the course of three years and a lengthy siege, Arpad was captured in 740.{{Sfn|Radner|2012}}{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=177}} 

During the fighting, Arpad was assisted by both Urartian troops and by troops sent by other cities and minor states in Syria. After the city was captured, the Assyrian army did not simply plunder it and then leave, as they had dealt with cities in Syria in previous times. Instead, the lands controlled by Arpad were converted into two provinces and annexed into the Neo-Assyrian Empire.{{Sfn|Radner|2012}} After his victory at Arpad, Tiglath-Pileser received tribute from the [[Syro-Hittite states|Syro-Hittite]] kingdoms of [[Gurgum]] and [[Kummuh]], [[Carchemish]] and [[Quwê]], some of which had previously sent forces to aid Sarduri, as well as from the [[Phoenicia|Phoenician]] city of [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]] and the [[Arameans|Aramean]] kingdom of [[Aram-Damascus]].{{Sfn|Bagg|2017|p=270}}

The annexation of Arpad put rulers throughout the Levant on the alert.{{Sfn|Bagg|2017|p=270}} In the period of Assyrian stagnation, many of the Levantine states had aspired to expand and become large kingdoms in their own right, something the Assyrians might have perceived as an anti-Assyrian activity.{{Sfn|Dubovský|2006|p=|pp=154–155}} In 738, Tiglath-Pileser continued his efforts in Syria, conquering some lands to the south of Arpad and establishing the three new provinces of Kullania, Ḫatarikka, and Ṣimirra. These lands had been under the rule of the Syro-Hittite kingdom of [[Hama]], which he accused of plotting against him.{{Sfn|Bagg|2017|p=270}} 

The strategy employed by Tiglath-Pileser in his successful conquest of the Levant was carefully thought out and prepared. Instead of attacking the strongholds of the larger states, he first subdued smaller kingdoms through fast and wide-ranging attacks. The early conquests brought coastal and flat lands under his rule, which meant that Assyrian troops in the later campaigns could march through the region fast and efficiently.{{Sfn|Dubovský|2006|p=|pp=161–162}} During the campaign against Hama, Tiglath-Pileser conquered and annexed the Syro-Hittite kingdom of [[Pattin]].{{Sfn|Radner|2012}} Hama was spared full annexation, with the kingdom being allowed to remain somewhat independent as a vassal state. The victory inspired more states in the region to pay tribute to the Assyrians, including the Phoenician city of [[Byblos]], the [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel]] and various states in eastern [[Anatolia]] and some [[Arabs|Arab]] tribes.{{Sfn|Bagg|2017|p=270}} Israel and Damascus had sent aid to Hama during the conflict.{{Sfn|Radner|2012}}

The Anatolian realms who began paying tribute to Assyria, five kingdoms in total, probably did so not out of fear of Assyrian conquest but rather in the hope of Assyrian aid against the expansionist kingdom of [[Phrygia]], which threatened their existence. The Anatolians at times tried to play Assyria and Phrygia against each other, with disastrous consequences. In 730, Tiglath-Pileser attacked and removed king [[Wasusarma]] of [[Tabal (state)|Tabal]] from power after he stopped paying tribute, writing in his annals that Wasusarma "acted as if he were the equal of Assyria".{{Sfn|Fuchs|2017|p=254}}

Tiglath-Pileser marched on the Levant for the fifth time in 734, reaching as far south as the border of [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]].{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=177}}{{Sfn|Bagg|2017|p=270}} This campaign resulted in the conquest of [[Gaza City|Gaza]] and the submission of numerous states, effectively bringing the entire Levant under direct or indirect Assyrian rule;{{Sfn|Bagg|2017|pp=270–271}} Assyria and Egypt shared a border for the first time in history.{{Sfn|Elat|1978|p=20}} [[Ascalon|Asqaluna]], [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]], [[Edom]], [[Moab]] and [[Ammon]], and the Mu’na Arab tribe, all began paying tribute to Tiglath-Pileser.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=177}}{{Sfn|Bagg|2017|p=270}} By extending his control throughout the Levant, Tiglath-Pileser formed a semi-circle of control around Israel and Aram-Damascus and cut them off from Egypt, which had at times offered support to the Levantine states. The Assyrian efforts resulted in Aram-Damascus becoming both geopolitically isolated and without a large enough food supply to feed its people.{{Sfn|Dubovský|2006|p=|pp=162–163}}

[[File:Capture of Damascus by Tiglath-Pileser III.png|thumb|upright=1.35|A 20th-century illustration of Tiglath-Pileser's 732 BC capture of [[Damascus]]]]
In 733, Tiglath-Pileser resolved to cement his conquest. In this year, he again campaigned against Aram-Damascus, still the strongest remaining native state in the region, which was supported by the Assyrian tributaries [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]] and [[Ascalon|Asqaluna]], as well as Israel. In 732, [[Damascus]] fell and Tiglath-Pileser annexed the lands of Aram-Damascus.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=177}}{{Sfn|Bagg|2017|p=270}} In the same conflict, Tiglath-Pileser also captured Tyre{{Sfn|Dubovský|2006|p=163}} and defeated Israel, which he divided in half, annexing the northern portion of the kingdom as the province [[Megiddo, Israel|Megiddo]] and subjugating the southern portion as a vassal kingdom.{{Sfn|Radner|2012}} The weakening and enormous reduction in size of Israel was seen by the Israelites as vindicating predictions of impending doom made by the prophet [[Amos (prophet)|Amos]] a few decades prior.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=177}}

The massive western expansion of Assyria brought Tiglath-Pileser and his armies into direct contact with Arab tribes, several of whom began paying tribute. In 733, Tiglath-Pileser campaigned against the [[Qedarites]] to the south of Damascus, hoping to consolidate his control of southern Syria.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017b|p=|pp=300–301}} The surprise attack caught the Qedarite queen [[Šamši]] off-guard and the Qedarites were easily defeated.{{Sfn|Dubovský|2006|p=162}} Though Tiglath-Pileser was victorious, he realized that he would not be able to govern the territories ruled by the Qedarites effectively and thus allowed Šamši to remain in control of her domain, though under the supervision of an Assyrian official to guide her political actions.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017b|p=|pp=300–301}}

==== 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}}