outlook: aramaeans outside of syria 355
the anachronistic 1 kgs 12 confusing Jeroboam i and ii).74 the period of
relative rest for syria (though shalmaneser iV went to the lebanon
mountains in 775 B.C.; he and his turtānu Šamši-ilu brought a consider-
able tribute from hadyanu from damascus75 in 773 B.C.; and in 772, 765,
and 755 B.C. the assyrians led campaigns to hatarikka) and the palestinian
mini-states ended with the arrival of tiglath-pileser iii (745–727 B.C.): in
740 B.C., Bit agusi/arpad was annexed. in 738 B.C., an alliance led by
azriyau, king of hamath, was defeated. the reduced aramaean state of
hamath was entrusted to eni-ilu. in 738 B.C., tiglath-pileser iii received
tribute from menahem of israel (2 kgs 15: 18–20), from the phoenician
city-state kings, and from razyan/rezin of damascus, among others.76 But
after tiglath-pileser’s iii return to his battlefields in the north and east of
the empire, the western rulers used the following years to organize an
anti-assyrian alliance. the sequence of the events is not exactly clear and
does not harmonize with the Old testament: 2 kgs 16; isa 7: 1; hos 5 refer
to an anti-assyrian coalition (led by razyan/rezin of damascus, hiram ii
of tyre, and pekah of israel) that was not supported by Judah. this pro-
voked israel and aram-damascus to force the king in Jerusalem to join
them against tiglath-pileser iii, while Judah asked assyria for military
help.77 this is described as the basic conflict of the so-called syro-
ephraimite War, whose historicity and extent is debated. in any case,
from assyrian sources it is clear that in 734 B.C. tiglath-pileser iii at first
moved against the philistines (!) as far as Gaza (on the egyptian border)
and took tribute from ahas of Judah and from the kings of ammon, moab,
edom, and the arabs. any reference to military assistance for Judah is
lacking. the omission of the kings of damascus and samaria78 in the later
list of tribute-bearers could point to their refusal to pay, thus rebellion.
during tiglath-pileser iii’s campaign of 734 B.C., neither razyan/rezin of
aram-damascus nor pekah was a target of the assyrian activities. But the
events of 734 B.C. caused tiglath-pileser iii to attack aram-damascus in
733–732 B.C., assisted by some of his loyal vassals, like panamuwa ii of
samʾal,79 and probably by shalman of moab.80 damascus fell in 732 B.C.
and its territories were annexed to assyria. in the same year, Galilee, the
74 Berlejung 2009.
75 rima 3, a.0.105.1:1–10.
76 tadmor 1994: 68f: 10–12 (ann. 13), 89 (ann. 27), 106–109 (stele iiia), 233.
77 Based on the biblical accounts, dion 1997: 211f sketches the traditional picture.
78 for the variants in the lists of the tribute-bearers, see tadmor 1994: 268.
79 kai 215.
80 according to lipiński 2000a: 406f and id. 2006: 221, 357.