ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA

for those eight years. Shamshi-Adad had to fight the Babylonian kings Bau-ah-iddina and Marduk-balatsu-ikbi. He warred in ChaldEea and advanced into Media as lar as Mt. Elvend to secure the Mannai and ParsQa against the rising power of Armenia. Adad-nirari v. penetrated Media right up to the Caspian Sea. Armenia had pushed W. and secured Hani-rabbat and Daieni, old conquests of Assyria. Adad-nirari v., however, fought several campaigns in the West. From the upper part of the Euphrates to the land of Hatti (N. Syria), Amurri (N. Palestine), Tyre, Sidon, the land of Omri (Israel), Udumu (Edom), and Palastu (Philistia), to the Mediterranean, he exacted tribute. He besieged Mari'a, king of Damascus, in his capital, captured it and carried off rich spoil. These expeditions may be placed in b.c. 804 and b.c. 797.

(i) Tiglath-pUeser III. — Armenia was steadily rising in power, and Assyria gradually lost all its northern conquests in Upper Mesopotamia; under Ashur-nirari v. the dynasty fell and a new line came to the throne in Tiglath-pileser in., b.c. 745. The world of small States had given way to a few strong kingdoms ; the Chaldseans were strongly forcing their way into lower Babylonia; in the north, Armenia was powerful and ready to threaten W. Syria; Egypt was awaking and anxious to interfere in Palestine. Assyria and Babylonia bade fair to fall a prey to stronger nations, when Tiglath-pileser III. roused the old energy. The Aramaeans were pouring into Babylonia, filled the Tigris basin from the lower Zab to the Uknu, and held some of the most celebrated cities of Akkad. Tiglath-pileser scourged them into subjection, and deported multitudes to the N.E. hills. The Medes were set in order, and then Tiglath-pileser turned to the west. The new kingdom of Arpad was strongly supported by Armenia, and Tiglath-pileser swept to the right into Kummuh, and took the Armenians in the rear. He crushed them, and for the time was left to deal with the West. Arpad took three years to reduce: then gradually all N. Syria came into Assyrian hands, b.c. 740. Hamath allied itself with Azrijahu of laudi (Azariah of Judah?) and Panammu of Samal. Tiglath-pileser broke up the coalition, devastated Hamath, and made the district an Assyrian province. The Southern States hastened to avoid invasion by paying tribute. Menahem of Israel, Zabibi of Arabia, Razunnu (Eezon) of Damascus, Hiram of Tyre are noteworthy; but Gebal, Carchemish, Hamath, Militia, Tabal, KuUani (Calno, Is 109) also submitted, b.c. 738. In b.c. 734 Hanno of Gaza was defeated. In b.c. 733-732 Damascus was besieged and taken, Israel was invaded, the whole of Naphtali taken, and Pekah had to pay heavy toll. In B.C.731 he was murdered, and Tiglath-pileser acknowl-edged Hosea as successor. Ammon, Moab, Ashkelon, Edom, and Ahaz of Judah paid tribute. Samsi, queen of the Arabians, was defeated, and the Sabeeans sent presents. This Tiglath-pileser is the Pul of 2 K 15"- ", who, after defeating the Chaldeean Ukln-zer, who had got himself made king of Babylon, in b.c. 728 was crowned king of Babylon, as Pulu.

(.1) Sargon. — Shalmaneser iv. seems to have been son of Tiglath-pileser. He was king of Babylonia as Ululai, and succeeded to Tiglath-pileser' s Empire. In B.C. 724 he began the siege of Samaria, which fell after three years. We have no Assyrian accounts of this reign. Sargon at once succeeded him, but we have no knowledge of his title to the throne. He never mentions his immediate ancestors, nor does Sennacherib, but the latter evidently wished to claim ancient royal descent, and Esarhaddon claimed descent from an early king. That Sargon is called arku, 'the later," in his own inscriptions may be meant to distinguish him from the great Sargon of Akkad, whose reign he so closely reproduced, orfrom some early Assyrian monarch, Shar-ken (Shar-kenkate-Ashir?). Samaria fell almost immediately (b.c. 722), and the flower of the nation, to the number of 27,290 persons, was deported and

ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA

settled about Halah on the Habor, in the province of Gozan and in Media (2 K n^), being replaced by Baby-lonians and Syrians. Merodach-baladan, a king of Bit lakin, a Chaldsan State in S. Babylonia, who had been tributary to Tiglath-pileser iii., had made himself master of Babylon, and was supported there by Elam. Sargon met the Elamites in a battle which he claimed as a victory, but he had to leave Merodach-baladan alone as king in Babylon for twelve years. This failure roused the West under laubidi of Hamath, who secured Arpad, Simirra, Damascus, and Samaria as allies, sup-ported by Hanno of Gaza and the N. Arabian Musri. Sargon in b.c. 720 set out to recover his power here. At Karkar, laubidi was defeated and captured, and the southern branch of the confederacy was crushed at Baphia. Hanno was carried to Assyria, 933 people deported, Shabi (Sibi, Sewe, So), the Tartan of Piru of Musri, fled, the Arabians submitted and paid tribute. Azuri of Ashdod, who began to intrigue with Egypt, was deposed and replaced by his brother, Ahimitl. A rebellion in Ashdod led to a pretender being installed, but Sargon sent his Tartan to Ashdod (Is 20'), the pre-tender fled, and Ashdod and Gath were reduced to Assyrian provinces. Judah, Edom, and Moab staved off vengeance by heavy toll. Sargon's heaviest task was the reduction of Armenia.. Rusa i. was able to enlist all Upper Meso-potamia, including Mita of Mushki, and it took ten years to subdue the foe. Sargon's efforts were clearly aided by the incursions of the Gimirri (Gomer) into N. Armenia. Having triumphed everywhere else, Sargon turned his veterans against Babylonia. The change of kings in Elam was a favourable opportunity for attacking Mero-dach-baladan, who was merely holding down the country by Chaldsean troops. Sargon marched down the Tigris, seized the chief posts on the east, screened off the Elamites and threatened Merodach-baladan's rear. He therefore abandoned Babylon and fell on Sargon's rear, but, meeting no support, retreated S. to his old kingdom and fortified it strongly. Sargon entered Babylon, welcomed as a deliverer, and in b.c. 709 became king of Babylon. The army stormed Bit lakin, but Merodach-baladan escaped over sea. Sargon then restored the ancient cities of Babylonia. His last years were crowned with the submission of far-off lands; seven kings of Cyprus sent presents, and Sargon set up a stele there in token of his supremacy. Dilmun, an island far down the Persian Gulf, did homage. Sargon founded a magnificent city, DUr Sargon, modern Khors-abad, to the N.E. of Nineveh. He died a violent death, but how or where Is now uncertain.

(m) Sennacherib. — Sennacherib soon had to put down rebellion in S.E. and N.W., but his Empire was very well held together, and his chief wars were to meet the Intrigues of his neighbours, Elam and Egypt. Baby-lonia was split up into semi-independent States, peopled by Aramaeans, Chaldseans, and kindred folk, all restless and ambitious. Merodacli-baladan seized the throne of Babylon from Marduk-zakir-shum, Sargon's viceroy, b.c. 704. The Aramseans and Elam supported him. Sennach-erib defeated him at Kish, b.c. 703, and drove him out of Babylon after nine months' reign. Sennacherib entered Babylon, spoiled the palace, swept out the Chaldaeans from the land, and carried off 208,000 people as captives. On the throne of Babylon he set Bel-ibnl, of the Babylonian seed royal, but educated at his court. Merodach-baladan had succeeded in stirring the W., where Tyre had widely extended its power, and Hezekiah of Judah had grown wealthy and ambitious, to revolt. Ammon, Moab, Edom, the Arabians joined the con-federacy, and Egypt encouraged. Padi, king of Ekron, a faithful vassal of Assyria, was overthrown by a rebellion in his city and sent in chains to Hezekiah. Sennach-erib, early in B.C. 701, appeared on the Mediterranean coast, received the submission of the Phoenician cities, isolated Tyre, and had tribute from Ammon, Moab, and Edom. Tyre he could not capture, so he made

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