Shalmaneser II

“ Ashur-nasirpal’s successor, Shalmaneser III, 868-824 B. C., made, besides campaigns into Armenia and elsewhere, six campaigns against the lands of Syria and Palestine. On his first campaign in 854 he was met at Qarqar by a confederation of kings, among whom were Ahab of Israel and Ben-Hadad of Damascus. (See Part II, p. 360, ff.) On his fourth campaign in 842 B. C. Jehu, who had in that year usurped the throne of Israel, hastened to make his peace with Shalmaneser by giving him a heavy tribute. Thus Assyria gained a right to claim Israel as a vassal state. ”

“ Shalmaneser I., son of Hadad-nirari I., succeeded his father as king of Assyria about 1310 B.C. He carried on a series of campaigns against the Aramaeans in northern Mesopotamia, annexed a portion of Cilicia to the Assyrian empire, and established Assyrian colonies on the borders of Cappadocia. ”

“ The first princes whose figured monuments have come down to us belonged to those days. The oldest of all was Assurnizirpal; the bas-reliefs with which his palace was decorated are now in the British Museum and the Louvre; most of them in the former. His son Shalmaneser III, and later Shalmaneser IV, made many campaigns against the neighboring peoples, and Assyria became rapidly a great and powerful nation. The effeminate Sardanapalus was the last of the dynasty. The capital of Assyria was Nineveh, one of the most famous of cities. ”

“ Excavations have brought to light much evidence as to the houses, high places, and the mode of life of this time, [125] as well as evidence of how Shishak fought against Rehoboam, Shalmaneser III against Ahab and Jehu, Tiglath-pileser IV against Menahem and Pekah, Shalmaneser V and Sargon against Hoshea, and Sennacherib against Judah. It has also told us much about Nebuchadrezzar. [126]
10. The Exile and After.—The Babylonian Exile was brought by Cyrus to a possible end in 538 B. C. This is also illuminated by that which exploration has brought to light. ”

“ His successors imitate this example, though each one chooses his own combinations. Shalmaneser II.'s pantheon embraces Ashur, Anu, Bel, Ea, Sin, Shamash, Nin-ib, Nergal, Nusku, Belit, and Ishtar—eleven in all. Sargon's practice varies. The best list is furnished by his account of the eight gates of his palace and of two walls, which he names after the gods in the following order: [328]
Shamash, who grants victory. ”

“ SARDANAPALUS, or Sardanapallus, according to Greek fable, the last king of Assyria, the thirtieth in succession from Ninyas. The name is derived from that of Assur-danin-pal, the rebel son of Shalmaneser II., whose reign ended with the fall of Nineveh in 823 B.C. (or perhaps from that of Assur-dan III., the last king but one of the older Assyrian dynasty) ; his character is that ascribed to Assur-bani-pal. He was the most effeminate and corrupt of a line of effeminate princes; hence Arbaces, satrap of Media, rebelled and, with the help of Belesys, the Babylonian priest, besieged Nineveh. ”

“ In 836 Shalmaneser made an expedition against the Tibareni (Tabal) which was followed by one against Cappadocia, and in 832 came the campaign in Cilicia. In the following year the old king found it needful to hand over the command of his armies to the Tartan (commander-in-chief) , and six years later Nineveh and other cities revolted against him under his rebel son Assur-danin-pal. Civil war continued for two years; but the rebellion was at last crushed by Samas-Rimmon or Samsi-Hadad, another son of Shalmaneser. ”

“ Shalmaneser III. (860-825 B.C.) : the state of the empire at his accession—Urartu: its physical features, races, towns, temples, its deities—Shalmaneser’s first campaign in Urartu: he penetrates as far as Lake Van (860 B.C.) —The conquest of Bît-Adini and of Naîri (859-855 B.C.)
The attack on Damascus: the battle of Qarqar (854 B.C.) and the war against Babylon (852-851 B.C.) —The alliance between Judah and Israel, the death of Ahab (853 B.C.) ; Damascus successfully resists the attacks of Assyria (849-846 B.C.) —Moab delivered from Israel, Mesha ”

“ Aramê withdrew to Mount Adduri and awaited his attack in an almost impregnable position; he was nevertheless defeated: 3400 of his soldiers fell on the field of battle; his camp, his treasures, his chariots, and all his baggage passed into the hands of the conqueror, and he himself barely escaped with his life. Shalmaneser ravaged the country “as a savage bull ravages and tramples under his feet the fertile fields;” he burnt the villages and the crops, destroyed Arzashkun, and raised before its gates a pyramid of human heads, surrounded by a circle of prisoners impaled on stakes. ”

“ The natives were overpowered; the king “dyed the sea with their blood as if it had been wool,” and did not withdraw until he had forced them to appeal for mercy.
In five years Shalmaneser had destroyed Adini, laid low Urartu, and confirmed the tributary states of Syria in their allegiance; but Damascus and Babylon were as yet untouched, and the moment was at hand when he would have to choose between an arduous conflict with them, or such a repression of the warlike zeal of his opening years, that, like his father Assur-nazir-pal, he would have to repose on his laurels. ”

“ They prefer, as Tiglathpileser I. declares, to consider themselves 'nominated by the gods to rule over the land of Bel.' They want to be regarded as the favorites of Bel, and they ascribe to him the greatness of their rule. It is he who fulfills the wishes of the kings; and when the kings enter upon a campaign against Babylonia, as they frequently did to quell the uprisings that were constantly occurring in the one or the other of the southern districts, they emphasize, as Shalmaneser II. does, that he enters upon this course at the command of Marduk. ”

“ XV) wear a bracelet on either wrist and two armlets on their sinewy arms, while a necklace encircles their bull-like necks. Ashur-naṣir-pal, like all Assyrian kings, has a thick crop of hair and a very strong beard. Shalmaneser II, his son and successor, wears much the same dress as his father and the same conical head-gear (cf. Fig. 44) , but Sennacherib one hundred and twenty years later is no longer content with the simple yet dignified dress of Ashur-naṣir-pal and Shalmaneser, but assumes a far richer and costlier set of robes (cf. Fig. 31) . ”

“ His was the system of the first Assyrian conquerors, Shalmaneser III. and Assur-nazir-pal, substituted for that of Tiglath-pileser III. and Sargon. The assimilation of the conquered peoples to their conquerors was retarded, tribute was no longer paid regularly, and the loss of revenue under this head was not compensated by the uncertain increase in the spoils obtained by war; the recruiting of the army, rendered more difficult by the depopulation of revolted districts, weighed heavier still on those which remained faithful, and began, as in former times, to exhaust the nation. ”

“ These kings call themselves the sun of the world. The phrase, [264] indeed, has so distinctly an Egyptian flavor, that, in connection with other considerations, it seems quite plausible to assume that the influence of Egyptian reverence for Ra had much to do with the popularity of the sun-cult about this time. Shalmaneser bestows numerous epithets upon Shamash. He is the guide of everything, the messenger of the gods, the hero, the judge of the world who guides mankind aright, and, what is most significant, the lord of law. ”

“ Shalmaneser drove him from his camp into Damascus, where he 'shut him up,' taking from him 1,121 chariots and devastating the country as far as the Hauran. It was on this occasion that Jehu offered homage to the conqueror. Shalmaneser had already overrun Babylonia and sacrificed to the gods in Babylon, Borsippa, and Cutha. The Babylonian king was put to death, and the Assyrian troops penetrated into the salt-marshes of the Kaldâ in the extreme south. ”

“ Shalmaneser II. set out on several of his expeditions from Nineveh, but in the latter part of his reign resided at Calah, and when rebellion broke out under his son Assur-daninapli Nineveh sided with the rebel prince. Sennacherib records that several of his royal ancestors had been buried in Nineveh and they presumably had resided there. At the commencement of his reign Sennacherib found Nineveh a poor place. A storehouse, the ancient and renowned temple, an armoury or storehouse, were the chief buildings. ”

“ The more ancient of-the sacred books of the Jews, while distinctly noticing the nation of the Medes, contain no mention at all of Persia or the Persians. The Zendavesta, the sacred volume of the people themselves, is equally silent on the subject. The earliest appearance of the Persians in history is in the inscriptions of the Assyrian kings, which begin to notice them about the middle of the ninth century B.C. At this time Shalmaneser II. found them in south-western Armenia, where they were in close contact with the Medes, of whom, however, they seem to have been wholly independent. ”

“ As a solar deity, it is easy to see how he should have been regarded as a phase of the fire-god, and if the various other solar deities were not so regarded, it is because in the course of their development they were clothed with other attributes that, while obscuring their origin, saved them from the loss of their identity. Apart from the formal lists of gods drawn up by Sargon and his successors, Shalmaneser II. and Ashurbanabal are the only kings who make special mention of Nusku. The former calls him the bearer of the brilliant sceptre, just as Nabu is so called ”

“ Delattre places Andiu in the country of the classical Matiense, between the Mationian mountains and Lake Urumiah. The position of Misu on the confines of Araziash and Media, somewhere in the neighbourhood of Talvantu-Dagh, obliges us to place Andiu lower down to the south-east, near the district of Kurdasir.
This was perhaps the last foreign campaign of Shalmaneser III.‘s reign; it is at all events the last of which we possess any history. The record of his exploits ends, as it had begun more than thirty years previously, with a victory in Namri. ”

“ Hoshea offended Shalmaneser, who had succeeded Tiglath Pileser, by making friends with So, King of Egypt, and the Assyrian army came down upon Israel in the year 722, and killing Hoshea, carried off all the people as captives, settling them in the cities of the Medes, never more to dwell in their own land. Sargon seems to have dethroned Shalmaneser about this time, and to have completed the conquest of Israel, of which he boasted on the tablets of a great palace near Nineveh, which has been lately brought to light. ”

“ Under these circumstances a general discontent prevails; and the people, anxious for better times, are ready to welcome any pretender who will come forward, and, on any pretext whatever, declare the throne vacant, and claim to be its proper occupant. If Shalmaneser continued to direct in person the siege of Samaria during the three years of its continuance, we cannot be surprised that the patience of the Ninevites was exhausted, and that in the third year they accepted the rule of the usurper who boldly proclaimed himself king. ”

“ The Tyrian kingdom was not able to offer any resistance. On this occasion Shalmaneser directed his plans also against Samaria. Hoshea did not await his coming, but went to meet him, offering surrender and gifts of allegiance. But no sooner had the Assyrian king withdrawn than conspiracies were organised against him. Hoshea commenced the secession264 by withdrawing the yearly tribute, and Phœnicia followed suit.
Shalmaneser thereupon collected his troops, and crossing the Euphrates and Lebanon, proceeded first against the Phœnicians. At his approach, the nations lost all hope of liberty. ”

“ The effort to subdue them cost Shalmaneser dear, both in time and men; in the spring of each year he appeared at the fords of Tul-barsip and ravaged the environs of Carchemish, then marched upon the Orontes to accomplish the systematic devastation of some fresh district, or to inflict a defeat on such of his adversaries as dared to encounter him in the open field. ”

“ In fact, the stubborn resistance of Damascus prevented any further attempt on Assyria's part at this period to penetrate further into Southern Syria and Palestine. So Shalmaneser had to content himself with marching northwards across Mt. Amanus, subjugating Cilicia and exacting tribute from districts north of the Taurus. He also conducted a successful campaign in Armenia, from which quarter one of Assyria's most powerful enemies was about to arise. ”

“ In demanding Shalmaneser’s help, Marduk-nadîn-shumu had virtually thrown on him the responsibility of bringing these turbulent subjects to order, and the Assyrian monarch accepted the duties of his new position without demur. He marched to Babylon, entered the city and went direct to the temple of E-shaggîl: the people beheld him approach with reverence their deities Bel and Belît, and visit all the sanctuaries of the local gods, to whom he made endless propitiatory libations and pure offerings. ”

“ Or as there are some reasonable objections to this opinion, perhaps it may mean more generally that God has often saved his people at the expense of other nations, whom he had, as it were in their stead, given up to destruction. Vitringa explains this of Shalmaneser's designs upon the kingdom of Judea after he had destroyed that of Samaria, from which he was diverted by carrying the war against the Egyptians, Cusheans, and Sabeans ”

“ No king who was not actually master of the country would have been tolerated within the temple of the eponymous god, for the purpose of celebrating the rites which the sovereign alone was empowered to perform. Marduk-nadîn-shumu, in recognising Shalmaneser’s right to act thus, thereby acknowledged that he himself was not only the king’s ally, but his liegeman. This bond of supremacy doubtless did not weigh heavily upon him ”