Tiglath-pileser III

Tiglath-Pileser III ruled from 745 to 727 B.C. and was one of the greatest kings of the Assyrian Empire.

Ruling as did all Assyrian kings, by fear, he was in constant combat and with his Assyrian horse archers he spread the Assyrian borders to their largest height first restoring internal order and then re-establishing Assyria's borders up through Armenia, then conquering the Aramaeans of Syria as well as conquering Palestine and the lands east of the Jordan. Israel lost its northern cities and paid tribute, but was still a nation, although a shell of their former selves that would be conquered and deported a scant five years after Tiglath-Pileser III's death.

In his later years, he campaigned repeatedly along the new borders he had established, maintaining order by inspiring fear. His last major operation was to invade Babylonia and reasserting vigorously the hitherto nominal Assyrian sovereignty.

Sources

• Encyclopedia of Military History, Dupuy & Dupuy, 1979
• Hayim Tadmor. Jerusalem: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1994. The Inscriptions of Tiglath-Pileser III, King of Assyria: Critical Edition, with Introductions, Translations, and Commentary.