TIGLATH-PILESER III

(reigned 744–727 B.C.)

   Assyrian king who succeeded Ashur-nirari V, probably in the course of a palace coup at Kalhu. He repressed all resistance to his rule and set about regaining Assyrian influence in the Near East. He was a tireless campaigner, leading his powerful army for every year but one of his 17year reign. He began by subduing Aramean tribes in Babylonia, where he garnered general support on a grand tour of the major sanctuaries. He spent the next few years campaigning in Anatolia, where he punished a disloyal vassal of Arpad and strengthened his position in the Taurus region by building fortresses. Most important was a direct attack on the powerful kingdom of Urartu, which left Assyria without its interference.

   After these successes in the north, he directed his attention to the west, marching down the Syrian coast to capture Gaza. Most Syrian rulers were made to pay tribute, but they formed a strong opposition to Tiglath-pileser under the leadership of Rakhianu of Damascus, which took several years and many armed confrontations to subdue. In the east, Tiglath-pileser stabilized his borders along the Zagros, forcing the Mannaeans to pay tribute. When a rebellion broke out in Babylonia after the death of Nabonassar, he intervened directly by capturing the pretender to the Babylonian throne and declared himself the rightful king of Babylon, and he took part in the ceremonies of the Babylonian New Year festival.