VI.

Extension of Assyrian Rule

Ashurnasirpal II, the son of Tukulti-Ninurta II, ruled from 884 to 859 bc and extended Assyrian rule to the north and east. In campaign after campaign he devastated with fierce and deliberate cruelty the lands on the borders of his empire but was prudent enough not to attack his more powerful neighbors, Urartu to the north, Babylonia to the south, and Aram to the west. In one of his campaigns he even reached the Mediterranean Sea. On his return he felled the cedars on the slopes of the Nur Mountains (Amanos Mountains) to provide wood for the restoration of the city of Calah, which he made his capital, instead of Ashur, the old capital. Numerous inscribed monuments of Ashurnasirpal have been unearthed in the ruins of Calah, making him one of the best-known rulers of the ancient Middle East.

Shalmaneser III (reigned 859-824 bc), the son of Ashurnasirpal, conducted 32 campaigns in the 35 years of his reign. Many of the campaigns were directed against the lands west of the Euphrates, particularly against the powerful kingdom of Aram. Although he had some success and even received considerable tribute from the allies of Aram, including Israel, he failed to conquer Aram itself. Two of his monuments, now in the British Museum, are particularly noteworthy: the Black Obelisk on which Jehu, king of Israel, is depicted kissing Shalmaneser’s feet, and the plaques of hammered bronze known as the Gates of Balawat.