SPECIAL TOPIC: KINGS OF MESOPOTAMIA

SPECIAL TOPIC: KINGS OF ASSYRIA

Tentative list of rulers and approximate dates:

1354-1318 Asshur-Uballit I:
1. conquered the Hittite city of Carchemish
2. began to remove Hittite influence and allowed Assyria to develop
1297-1266 Adad-Nirari I (powerful king)
1265-1235 Shalmaneser I (powerful king)
1234-1197 Tukulti-Ninurta I
– first conquest of Babylonian empire to the south
1118-1078 Tiglath-Pileser I
– Assyria becomes a major power in Mesopotamia
1012- 972 Ashur-Rabi II
972- 967 Ashur-Resh-Isui II
966- 934 Tiglath-Pileser II
934- 912 Ashur-Dan II
912- 890 Adad-Nirari II
890- 884 Tukulti-Ninurta II
883- 859 Asshur-Nasir-Apal II
859- 824 Shalmaneser III
– Battle of Qarqar in 853
824-811 Shamashi-Adad V
811-783 Adad-Nirari III
781-772 Shalmaneser IV
772-754 Ashur-Dan III
754-745 Ashur-Nirari V
745-727 Tiglath-Pileser III
1. called by his Babylonian throne name, Pul, in 2 Kings 15:19
2. very powerful king
3. started the policy of deporting conquered peoples
4. In 735 B.C. there was the formation of the "Syro-Ephramatic League," which was an attempt to unify all the available military resources of the trans-Jordan nations from the head waters of the Euphrates to Egypt for the purpose of neutralizing the rising military power of Assyria. King Ahaz of Judah refused to join and was invaded by Israel and Syria. He wrote to Tiglath-Pileser III for help against the advise of Isaiah (cf. 2 Kings 16; Isaiah 7-12).
5. In 732 Tiglath-Pileser III invades and conquers Syria and Israel and places a vassal king on the throne of Israel, Hoshea (732-722). Thousands of Jews from the Northern Kingdom were exiled to Media (cf. 2 Kings 15).
727-722 Shalmaneser V
1. Hoshea forms an alliance with Egypt and is invaded by Assyria (cf. 2 Kings 17)
2. besieged Samaria in 724 B.C.
722-705 Sargon II:
1. After a three year siege started by Shalmaneser V, his successor Sargon II conquers the capital of Israel, Samaria. Over 27,000 are deported to Media.
2. The Hittite empire is also conquered.
3. In 714-711 another coalition of trans-Jordan nations and Egypt rebelled against Assyria. This coalition is known as "the Ashdad Rebellion." Even Hezekiah of Judah originally was involved. Assyria invaded and destroyed several Philistine cities.
705-681 Sennacherib:
1. In 705 another coalition of transJordan nations and Egypt rebelled after the death of Sargon II. Hezekiah fully supported this rebellion. Sennacherib invaded in 701. The rebellion was crushed but Jerusalem was spared by an act of God (cf. Isaiah 36-39 and 2 Kings 18-19).
2. Sennacherib also put down the rebellion in Elam and Babylon.
681-669 Esarhaddon:
1. first Assyrian ruler to attack and conquer Egypt
2. had great sympathy with Babylon and rebuilt its capital city
669-633 Ashurbanipal:
1. also called Osnappar in Ezra 4:10
2. His brother Shamash-shum-ukin was made king of Babylon. This brought several years of peace between Assyria and Babylon but there was an undercurrent of independence which broke out in 652 led by his brother.
3. fall of Thebes, 663 B.C.
4. defeated Elam, 653, 645 B.C.
633-629 Asshur-Etil-Ilani
629-612 Sin-Shar-Ishkun
612-609 Asshur-Uballit II:
– enthroned king in exile in Haran after the fall of Assher in 614 B.C. and Nineveh in 612 B.C.