Shalmaneser III | |
---|---|
![]() Shalmaneser III, on the Throne Dais of Shalmaneser III at the Iraq Museum. | |
King of the Neo-Assyrian Empire | |
Reign | 859–824 BC |
Predecessor | Ashurnasirpal II |
Successor | Shamshi-Adad V |
Born | 893-891 BC |
Died | c. 824 BC |
Father | Ashurnasirpal II |
Mother | Mullissu-mukannishat-Ninua (?) |
Shalmaneser III (Šulmānu-ašarēdu, "the god Shulmanu is pre-eminent") was king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from the death of his father Ashurnasirpal II in 859 BC to his own death in 824 BC.[1]
His long reign was a constant series of campaigns against the eastern tribes, the Babylonians, the nations of Mesopotamia, Syria, as well as Kizzuwadna and Urartu. His armies penetrated to Lake Van and the Taurus Mountains; the Neo-Hittites of Carchemish were compelled to pay tribute, and the kingdoms of Hamath and Aram Damascus were subdued. It is in the annals of Shalmaneser III from the 850s BC that the Arabs and Chaldeans first appear in recorded history.