Ancient Israel and the Assyrian Empire
Shalmaneser III came to power in Assyria in 859, and in that same year marched across the Euphrates to Northern Syria all the way to the Mediterranean. The other kingdoms in the Middle East realized they could not defend themselves alone against Assyria and formed a coalition. The leaders of the coalition were Ben-Hadad II (Hadadezer) of Damascus, Irhuleni of Hamath and Ahab, son of Omri. Ahab’s involvement in this coalition is not mentioned in the Bible but is attested to in the Kurkh Stele of Shalmaneser III which states that Ahab contributed 2,000 chariots and 10,000 troops to the war effort. Shalmeneser’s stele declares that the Assyrian king won a complete victory, but this is likely an exaggeration since he faced the same coalition several more times. The Kurkh Stele is the earliest extra-biblical reference to the Kingdom of Israel.
Jehu ended the Omride dynasty by assassinating all possible heirs to the crown and established a new dynasty in the Kingdom of Israel which would last for five generations. He is depicted on Shalmaneser III’s Black Obelisk on his knees before the Assyrian king. The Annals of Shalmaneser report that the Assyrians collected tribute from Jehu “son of Omri” in the 18th year of the reign of Shalmaneser III.
Expansion of the Assyrian Empire reached its height under the rule of Tiglath-Pileser III (known in the Bible as Pul). Due to a series of military campaigns he embarked on, Assyria became the dominant power in the entire region from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf. Assyrian tribute lists from this period – the Iran Stele and an Annal Fragment – include Menahem of Samaria among the kings who paid tribute to Tiglath-Pileser III. 2 Kings 15:19-20 also reports that Menahem paid tribute to the Assyrian king.
In 729 BCE, Rezin of Damascus and Pekah of Israel formed a coalition against Assyria. They asked Ahaz, King of Judah, to join their coalition. When he refused, they attacked him and he appealed to Tiglath-Pileser, paying him a tribute in exchange for his aid. (This is reported in Summary Inscription No. 7 found at Nineveh and in 2 Kings 16:7 and Isaiah 7-8.) Tiglath-Pileser subdued the coalition and the Kingdom of Israel was almost completely destroyed. He conquered the Galilee and Transjordan, some of the population was deported and Megiddo and Hazor were destroyed. At this point, Hoshea ben Elah assassinated Pekah and paid tribute to the Assyrian king, thus saving the rest of the kingdom.
Hoshea later stopped paying tribute to Assyria and turned to Egypt for support against Assyria. At the time Egypt was weak and did not come to Israel’s aid. Sargon II (according to the Bible, Shalmaneser V) captured Samaria in 722 BCE and deported its citizens. The Kingdom of Israel ceased to exist and the Kingdom of Judah, as a result of the actions of Ahaz, became a vassal state of Assyria.
After the death of Sargon II and the accession to the throne of his son Sennacherib, revolt against Assyria spread through Palestine and Syria. Hezekiah, King of Judah, attempted to break free of Assyrian rule. He formally refused to pay tribute, with the encouragement of Merodach-baladan of Babylon, who had managed to establish himself as king despite Assyrian efforts to dislodge him. Despite Isaiah’s warnings (Isaiah 30-31) that revolt was a mistake, Hezekiah prepared for war by building the famous Siloam Tunnel so that water could reach Jerusalem even if it were under siege. This tunnel has been discovered in the City of David in Jerusalem, along with an inscription left behind by the workers who dug it.
Sennacherib set about subduing the revolt. He destroyed 46 cities in Judah, besieged Lachish and demanded that Hezekiah pay a high tribute. Hezekiah was forced to hand over treasures from the Temple. Rebellion in Babylonia broke out again and Hezekiah took the opportunity to rebel once more. When the Assyrians finally managed to subdue the Babylonians in 689, Sennacherib turned his attention to Judah. Hezekiah refused to surrender and Jerusalem was not taken.
The overextended Assyrian Empire was plagued by the Babylonians and the Medes. In 612, they captured Nineveh and destroyed it, thus bringing the period of the Assyrian Empire to an end and ushering in the era of the Neo-Babylonian Empire.
