2 Kings 15:19-20
19 Pul[a] the king of Assyria came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents[b] of silver, that he might help him to confirm his hold on the royal power. 20 Menahem exacted the money from Israel, that is, from all the wealthy men, fifty shekels[c] of silver from every man, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back and did not stay there in the land.
Historical background
Tiglath-pileser III led the last and greatest phase of Assyrian expansion.
died 727 B.C., king of Assyria 745-727.
King of Assyria from 747 to 727 B.C.; designated by modern Oriental historians as Tiglath-pileser III. He first appears under the name "Pul" (II Kings xv. 19; comp. I Chron. v. 26), the proper form of which is "Pulu," as is seen in the list of Babylonian kings. When he assumed the crown over Assyria he seems to have called himself Tukulti-pal-Ešar-ra after the great ruler of the same name in the twelfth century.
On taking the throne, he immediately set about strengthening Assyria. He subdivided large provinces to quash independence movements, had officials report directly to him, and resettled tens of thousands of people to ensure loyalty. He defeated his northern neighbour, Urartu (743 BC), then subjugated Syria and Palestine (734) and took over the throne of Babylon.
Since the days of Adad-nirari III (reigned 810–783 BC) Assyria had been politically and militarily weak, for its northern neighbour, Urartu, dominated the states controlling its principal trade routes to the Mediterranean and to the Iranian plateau. Some portions of the empire had ceased to pay the tribute required by treaties. In the spring of 745 BC a rebellion against the weak king Ashur-nirari V, a son of Adad-nirari III, brought a new ruler, who was then governor of Calah, to power. This new ruler assumed the throne name of Tiglath-pileser (Tiglath-pileser I) in what may have been a deliberate reference to an illustrious forebear, Tiglath-pileser I (reigned c. 1115–c. 1077 BC).
As king, Tiglath-pileser III, an intelligent and vigorous man, acted swiftly. He rearranged territorial governorships (political system) by subdividing the larger provinces that had tended to strive for independence from the central power. Outside the immediate home territory he appointed Assyrian officials to be directly responsible to him as well as to support their local ruler. By 738 there were 80 such provinces. The Assyrians had to report directly to the king, who thus was able to check continuously on the loyalty and efficiency of all of his civil servants. They were responsible for local taxation, the storage of military supplies, and the calling up of local forces to support the new Assyrian army, now a skilled professional force compared with its predecessor, which had relied on somewhat haphazard conscription. A new intelligence system, using reports transmitted by staging posts, was also created.
Military campaigns.
Tiglath-pileser was thus prepared to break the stranglehold of the surrounding tribes. He first moved eastward against Zamua (modern Sulaymānīyah), then north against the Medes (Media). Both were brought back under control of the adjacent provincial governors. The tribal lands of Puqudu, northeast of Baghdad, were joined to the Arrapkha (Kirkūk) province, thereby holding the Aramaean tribes in check. This and contiguous operations strengthened the hands of Nabonassar, the native king of Babylonia, who maintained peace until his death in 734. All this was facilitated by Tiglath-pileser's policy of mass resettlement (human migration). Groups whose loyalty was assured, since they were now dependent on the king for protection in a foreign environment, were settled in troublesome border regions. In 742–741 alone, tens of thousands were thus resettled.
Tiglath-pileser next attacked the Urartian ruler Sarduri II and his neo-Hittite and Aramaean allies, whom he defeated in 743 BC. Advance westward was, however, barred by the capital of Arpad, which had to be besieged for three years—a technique now feasible to a standing army. The victory in 741 was far-reaching, as noted in the Bible (Isaiah 37:13), and was to stem the barbarian pressures from the north that, after Tiglath-pileser, were to threaten civilizations throughout the area. Tribute was brought to him at Arpad from Damascus, Tyre, Cilicia, and other cities and regions.
The Assyrian king's skill is best seen in his handling of affairs in Syria and Palestine. From an independent military headquarters he bypassed the rebels' ringleader at Damascus, won over most coastal cities, cut off supplies of timber from Egypt, and sent a force to Ashkelon and Gaza. In 734 the border with Egypt was sealed. The tribes of Ammon (Ammonite), Edom, and Moab (Moabite), who, with Israel, had attacked Ahaz of Judah (Judaea)—a vassal of Assyria—now had to pay tribute. Over the next two years Tiglath-pileser systematically broke the power of Damascus. Israel was made subject through the assassination of Pekah (Pakaha) and his replacement by a pro-Assyrian vassal Hoshea (Ausi). Galilee was made part of an adjacent province.
The Assyrian sensed that these rebels were encouraged by Ukin-zer, the Chaldean chief who, in 734, had seized the throne of Babylon. Using consummate diplomacy, Tiglath-pileser sowed discord among other Aramaean tribes, one of whose chiefs he won over. His strategy now paid off. He could move the Assyrian army through areas held by loyal governors or vassals east of the Tigris. One force seized Babylon and another the rebel stronghold of Sapia. It proved a fitting culmination that in 729–728 Tiglath-pileser himself took over the throne of Babylon using his personal (or perhaps Babylonian) name of Pulu (II Kings 15:19; I Chronicles 5:26). He died soon afterward, having set Assyria on the road it was to follow to its end.
Tiglath-pileser left several important inscriptions of his reign; but these were badly broken when discovered. Upon his accession he inaugurated a new policy for the government and administration of Assyria. Former kings had maintained by military force the union of the so-called empire; the new policy established a method of organization which more closely united the central and provincial sections of the government: systems of transportation and transplantation of strong but rebellious subjects minimized dangers that had wrecked other governments. This was the method pursued by Sargon at Samaria, by Sennacherib, and by other rulers down into Persian times.
Tiglath-pileser's first campaign into the west country took place in 743-742, when he entered northern Syria. While here he received tribute from Rezin of Damascus and Hiram of Tyre. A two-year siege was necessary to reduce to complete submission the plucky little city of Arpad, in 740 (comp. Isa. x. 9; II Kings xix. 13). The very next year he seems to have clashed with the interests of Azariah (Uzziah), King of Judah, far in the north (comp. II Kings xiv. 28) and to have established Assyrian sovereignty there. Either in this or in the following year Menahem (II Kings xv. 19, 20), king of northern Israel, purchased his throne of the Assyrian ruler.
Not until 734 was Tiglath-pileser's presence again required in the west. Pekah, who had secured by strategy and tragedy the throne of northern Israel, formed a league with Rezin of Damascus to withstand any further assumption of sovereignty over Israel and Syria by the power centered on the Tigris. Together they besieged Ahaz at Jerusalem, either to force him to join the anti-Assyrian coalition or to put a man of their own choice on the throne. Ahaz in desperation appealed to Tiglath-pileser for help. The Assyrian king made a dash for Damascus and laid siege to it. In the meantime he ravaged northern Israel (comp. II Kings xv. 29) and other territory all the way to Philistia. In 732 Damascus fell (comp. Isa. viii. 4; II Kings xvi. 9). At this time apparently Ahaz, among a number of petty kings, appeared within Damascus before the throne of the great conqueror and paid the price of submission. Soon after this event, probably, Tiglath-pileser incited or encouraged Hoshea to slay Pekah, the unyielding king of northern Israel. Hoshea was rewarded by being put in authority over this Assyrian province; and Tiglath-pileser retired to the east. In 728 he became master of Babylon, and died the following year.
Decline of Assyrian Empire
The Assyrians were a cruel and warlike people who were used
by God to punish his people and the surrounding nations who practiced idolatry.
The Assyrians were especially cruel in their tactics and methods of conquest.
Most Assyrian kings had a policy to transport the people from defeated kingdoms
into other territories. They also enslaved them, killed them in great numbers,
tortured humans as a means of entertainment, they praised false gods and they
shed innocent blood. The Assyrians were not a righteous and upstanding group of
people and in time God had to judge them for their sins. The kingdom of Assyria
is completely replaced by Babylon by 600 BC which is when this event appears on
the Bible Timeline.
Before God destroyed the Assyrians he sent them some of his
prophets to warn them to turn away from their sins. The book of Jonah is a
testimony to this truth. Jonah prophesized to the Assyrian city of Nineveh
about 100 years before it’s destruction. This event took place around 740 to
730 B.C. The prophet didn’t want the Assyrian people of Nineveh to escape God’s
judgment but God knew that they would repent and this is why he sent him to the
city. Even though the people of Nineveh repented when Johan came to them the
future generations of Assyrians did not have a change of mind about their cruel
acts and sins. The prophet Nahum speaks judgments against the city about the
same time as Jonah and his prophesies about the down fall of this city
eventually take place.
The Assyrians conquered many people in the Middle East
region of the world. The Medes, Scythians, Babylonians and Medes were some of
the major groups of people that were brought under the control of the
Assyrians. The Israelites were also dominated by the Assyrians but the people
of Judah were not. They would be conquered by the kingdom of Babylon at a later
date. The Assyrians broke their empire down into small and manageable
provinces. The Assyrian King Tiglath-Pilezer started this policy and as he
expanded the empire he continued to use it to make sure the people would not
rebel. Eventually, this policy failed because the Babylonians, Scythians and
Medes rose up against the Assyrians around 632 B.C.
The Babylonians led this federation and went to war against
the Assyrians. Their main objective was to take Nineveh and destroy this city
because it was the seat of power for the Assyrian empire. The Babylonians got
close to the city and almost destroyed it but the Assyrians managed to keep
them tied up before they could accomplish this objective. Some of the tribal
groups of Medes managed to sack Nineveh while the Assyrians were busy fighting
the Babylonian federation. Even though the Medes conquered the city the
Babylonians would go on to become the official rulers of Assyria. When the
Assyrians lost Nineveh they knew that their empire was going to fall into the hands
of their enemies. Babylon went on to conquer other Assyrian cities and by 600
B.C. Babylon had become the next dominant empire in the region.
The
Assyrians were a cruel and warlike people who were used by God to
punish his people and the surrounding nations who practiced idolatry.
The Assyrians were especially cruel in their tactics and methods of
conquest. Most Assyrian kings had a policy to transport the people from
defeated kingdoms into other territories. They also enslaved them,
killed them in great numbers, tortured humans as a means of
entertainment, they praised false gods and they shed innocent blood. The
Assyrians were not a righteous and upstanding group of people
and in time God had to judge them for their sins. The kingdom of
Assyria is completely replaced by Babylon by 600 BC which is when this
event appears on the Bible Timeline.
Before God destroyed the Assyrians he sent them some of his prophets to warn them to turn away from their sins. The book of Jonah is a testimony to this truth. Jonah prophesized to the Assyrian city of Nineveh about 100 years before it’s destruction. This event took place around 740 to 730 B.C. The prophet didn’t want the Assyrian people of Nineveh to escape God’s judgment but God knew that they would repent and this is why he sent him to the city. Even though the people of Nineveh repented when Johan came to them the future generations of Assyrians did not have a change of mind about their cruel acts and sins. The prophet Nahum speaks judgments against the city about the same time as Jonah and his prophesies about the down fall of this city eventually take place.
The Assyrians conquered many people in the Middle East region of the world. The Medes, Scythians, Babylonians and Medes were some of the major groups of people that were brought under the control of the Assyrians. The Israelites were also dominated by the Assyrians but the people of Judah were not. They would be conquered by the kingdom of Babylon at a later date. The Assyrians broke their empire down into small and manageable provinces. The Assyrian King Tiglath-Pilezer started this policy and as he expanded the empire he continued to use it to make sure the people would not rebel. Eventually, this policy failed because the Babylonians, Scythians and Medes rose up against the Assyrians around 632 B.C.
The Babylonians led this federation and went to war against the Assyrians. Their main objective was to take Nineveh and destroy this city because it was the seat of power for the Assyrian empire. The Babylonians got close to the city and almost destroyed it but the Assyrians managed to keep them tied up before they could accomplish this objective. Some of the tribal groups of Medes managed to sack Nineveh while the Assyrians were busy fighting the Babylonian federation. Even though the Medes conquered the city the Babylonians would go on to become the official rulers of Assyria. When the Assyrians lost Nineveh they knew that their empire was going to fall into the hands of their enemies. Babylon went on to conquer other Assyrian cities and by 600 B.C. Babylon had become the next dominant empire in the region.
- See more at: http://amazingbibletimeline.com/blog/end-of-assyrian-empire/#sthash.Tz4RKnXb.dpuf
Before God destroyed the Assyrians he sent them some of his prophets to warn them to turn away from their sins. The book of Jonah is a testimony to this truth. Jonah prophesized to the Assyrian city of Nineveh about 100 years before it’s destruction. This event took place around 740 to 730 B.C. The prophet didn’t want the Assyrian people of Nineveh to escape God’s judgment but God knew that they would repent and this is why he sent him to the city. Even though the people of Nineveh repented when Johan came to them the future generations of Assyrians did not have a change of mind about their cruel acts and sins. The prophet Nahum speaks judgments against the city about the same time as Jonah and his prophesies about the down fall of this city eventually take place.
The Assyrians conquered many people in the Middle East region of the world. The Medes, Scythians, Babylonians and Medes were some of the major groups of people that were brought under the control of the Assyrians. The Israelites were also dominated by the Assyrians but the people of Judah were not. They would be conquered by the kingdom of Babylon at a later date. The Assyrians broke their empire down into small and manageable provinces. The Assyrian King Tiglath-Pilezer started this policy and as he expanded the empire he continued to use it to make sure the people would not rebel. Eventually, this policy failed because the Babylonians, Scythians and Medes rose up against the Assyrians around 632 B.C.
The Babylonians led this federation and went to war against the Assyrians. Their main objective was to take Nineveh and destroy this city because it was the seat of power for the Assyrian empire. The Babylonians got close to the city and almost destroyed it but the Assyrians managed to keep them tied up before they could accomplish this objective. Some of the tribal groups of Medes managed to sack Nineveh while the Assyrians were busy fighting the Babylonian federation. Even though the Medes conquered the city the Babylonians would go on to become the official rulers of Assyria. When the Assyrians lost Nineveh they knew that their empire was going to fall into the hands of their enemies. Babylon went on to conquer other Assyrian cities and by 600 B.C. Babylon had become the next dominant empire in the region.
- See more at: http://amazingbibletimeline.com/blog/end-of-assyrian-empire/#sthash.Tz4RKnXb.dpuf
The
Assyrians were a cruel and warlike people who were used by God to
punish his people and the surrounding nations who practiced idolatry.
The Assyrians were especially cruel in their tactics and methods of
conquest. Most Assyrian kings had a policy to transport the people from
defeated kingdoms into other territories. They also enslaved them,
killed them in great numbers, tortured humans as a means of
entertainment, they praised false gods and they shed innocent blood. The
Assyrians were not a righteous and upstanding group of people
and in time God had to judge them for their sins. The kingdom of
Assyria is completely replaced by Babylon by 600 BC which is when this
event appears on the Bible Timeline.
Before God destroyed the Assyrians he sent them some of his prophets to warn them to turn away from their sins. The book of Jonah is a testimony to this truth. Jonah prophesized to the Assyrian city of Nineveh about 100 years before it’s destruction. This event took place around 740 to 730 B.C. The prophet didn’t want the Assyrian people of Nineveh to escape God’s judgment but God knew that they would repent and this is why he sent him to the city. Even though the people of Nineveh repented when Johan came to them the future generations of Assyrians did not have a change of mind about their cruel acts and sins. The prophet Nahum speaks judgments against the city about the same time as Jonah and his prophesies about the down fall of this city eventually take place.
The Assyrians conquered many people in the Middle East region of the world. The Medes, Scythians, Babylonians and Medes were some of the major groups of people that were brought under the control of the Assyrians. The Israelites were also dominated by the Assyrians but the people of Judah were not. They would be conquered by the kingdom of Babylon at a later date. The Assyrians broke their empire down into small and manageable provinces. The Assyrian King Tiglath-Pilezer started this policy and as he expanded the empire he continued to use it to make sure the people would not rebel. Eventually, this policy failed because the Babylonians, Scythians and Medes rose up against the Assyrians around 632 B.C.
The Babylonians led this federation and went to war against the Assyrians. Their main objective was to take Nineveh and destroy this city because it was the seat of power for the Assyrian empire. The Babylonians got close to the city and almost destroyed it but the Assyrians managed to keep them tied up before they could accomplish this objective. Some of the tribal groups of Medes managed to sack Nineveh while the Assyrians were busy fighting the Babylonian federation. Even though the Medes conquered the city the Babylonians would go on to become the official rulers of Assyria. When the Assyrians lost Nineveh they knew that their empire was going to fall into the hands of their enemies. Babylon went on to conquer other Assyrian cities and by 600 B.C. Babylon had become the next dominant empire in the region.
- See more at: http://amazingbibletimeline.com/blog/end-of-assyrian-empire/#sthash.Tz4RKnXb.dpuf
Before God destroyed the Assyrians he sent them some of his prophets to warn them to turn away from their sins. The book of Jonah is a testimony to this truth. Jonah prophesized to the Assyrian city of Nineveh about 100 years before it’s destruction. This event took place around 740 to 730 B.C. The prophet didn’t want the Assyrian people of Nineveh to escape God’s judgment but God knew that they would repent and this is why he sent him to the city. Even though the people of Nineveh repented when Johan came to them the future generations of Assyrians did not have a change of mind about their cruel acts and sins. The prophet Nahum speaks judgments against the city about the same time as Jonah and his prophesies about the down fall of this city eventually take place.
The Assyrians conquered many people in the Middle East region of the world. The Medes, Scythians, Babylonians and Medes were some of the major groups of people that were brought under the control of the Assyrians. The Israelites were also dominated by the Assyrians but the people of Judah were not. They would be conquered by the kingdom of Babylon at a later date. The Assyrians broke their empire down into small and manageable provinces. The Assyrian King Tiglath-Pilezer started this policy and as he expanded the empire he continued to use it to make sure the people would not rebel. Eventually, this policy failed because the Babylonians, Scythians and Medes rose up against the Assyrians around 632 B.C.
The Babylonians led this federation and went to war against the Assyrians. Their main objective was to take Nineveh and destroy this city because it was the seat of power for the Assyrian empire. The Babylonians got close to the city and almost destroyed it but the Assyrians managed to keep them tied up before they could accomplish this objective. Some of the tribal groups of Medes managed to sack Nineveh while the Assyrians were busy fighting the Babylonian federation. Even though the Medes conquered the city the Babylonians would go on to become the official rulers of Assyria. When the Assyrians lost Nineveh they knew that their empire was going to fall into the hands of their enemies. Babylon went on to conquer other Assyrian cities and by 600 B.C. Babylon had become the next dominant empire in the region.
- See more at: http://amazingbibletimeline.com/blog/end-of-assyrian-empire/#sthash.Tz4RKnXb.dpuf
The
Assyrians were a cruel and warlike people who were used by God to
punish his people and the surrounding nations who practiced idolatry.
The Assyrians were especially cruel in their tactics and methods of
conquest. Most Assyrian kings had a policy to transport the people from
defeated kingdoms into other territories. They also enslaved them,
killed them in great numbers, tortured humans as a means of
entertainment, they praised false gods and they shed innocent blood. The
Assyrians were not a righteous and upstanding group of people
and in time God had to judge them for their sins. The kingdom of
Assyria is completely replaced by Babylon by 600 BC which is when this
event appears on the Bible Timeline.
Before God destroyed the Assyrians he sent them some of his prophets to warn them to turn away from their sins. The book of Jonah is a testimony to this truth. Jonah prophesized to the Assyrian city of Nineveh about 100 years before it’s destruction. This event took place around 740 to 730 B.C. The prophet didn’t want the Assyrian people of Nineveh to escape God’s judgment but God knew that they would repent and this is why he sent him to the city. Even though the people of Nineveh repented when Johan came to them the future generations of Assyrians did not have a change of mind about their cruel acts and sins. The prophet Nahum speaks judgments against the city about the same time as Jonah and his prophesies about the down fall of this city eventually take place.
The Assyrians conquered many people in the Middle East region of the world. The Medes, Scythians, Babylonians and Medes were some of the major groups of people that were brought under the control of the Assyrians. The Israelites were also dominated by the Assyrians but the people of Judah were not. They would be conquered by the kingdom of Babylon at a later date. The Assyrians broke their empire down into small and manageable provinces. The Assyrian King Tiglath-Pilezer started this policy and as he expanded the empire he continued to use it to make sure the people would not rebel. Eventually, this policy failed because the Babylonians, Scythians and Medes rose up against the Assyrians around 632 B.C.
The Babylonians led this federation and went to war against the Assyrians. Their main objective was to take Nineveh and destroy this city because it was the seat of power for the Assyrian empire. The Babylonians got close to the city and almost destroyed it but the Assyrians managed to keep them tied up before they could accomplish this objective. Some of the tribal groups of Medes managed to sack Nineveh while the Assyrians were busy fighting the Babylonian federation. Even though the Medes conquered the city the Babylonians would go on to become the official rulers of Assyria. When the Assyrians lost Nineveh they knew that their empire was going to fall into the hands of their enemies. Babylon went on to conquer other Assyrian cities and by 600 B.C. Babylon had become the next dominant empire in the region.
- See more at: http://amazingbibletimeline.com/blog/end-of-assyrian-empire/#sthash.Tz4RKnXb.dpuf
Before God destroyed the Assyrians he sent them some of his prophets to warn them to turn away from their sins. The book of Jonah is a testimony to this truth. Jonah prophesized to the Assyrian city of Nineveh about 100 years before it’s destruction. This event took place around 740 to 730 B.C. The prophet didn’t want the Assyrian people of Nineveh to escape God’s judgment but God knew that they would repent and this is why he sent him to the city. Even though the people of Nineveh repented when Johan came to them the future generations of Assyrians did not have a change of mind about their cruel acts and sins. The prophet Nahum speaks judgments against the city about the same time as Jonah and his prophesies about the down fall of this city eventually take place.
The Assyrians conquered many people in the Middle East region of the world. The Medes, Scythians, Babylonians and Medes were some of the major groups of people that were brought under the control of the Assyrians. The Israelites were also dominated by the Assyrians but the people of Judah were not. They would be conquered by the kingdom of Babylon at a later date. The Assyrians broke their empire down into small and manageable provinces. The Assyrian King Tiglath-Pilezer started this policy and as he expanded the empire he continued to use it to make sure the people would not rebel. Eventually, this policy failed because the Babylonians, Scythians and Medes rose up against the Assyrians around 632 B.C.
The Babylonians led this federation and went to war against the Assyrians. Their main objective was to take Nineveh and destroy this city because it was the seat of power for the Assyrian empire. The Babylonians got close to the city and almost destroyed it but the Assyrians managed to keep them tied up before they could accomplish this objective. Some of the tribal groups of Medes managed to sack Nineveh while the Assyrians were busy fighting the Babylonian federation. Even though the Medes conquered the city the Babylonians would go on to become the official rulers of Assyria. When the Assyrians lost Nineveh they knew that their empire was going to fall into the hands of their enemies. Babylon went on to conquer other Assyrian cities and by 600 B.C. Babylon had become the next dominant empire in the region.
- See more at: http://amazingbibletimeline.com/blog/end-of-assyrian-empire/#sthash.Tz4RKnXb.dpuf
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