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SHALMANESER

(Heb. šalmanʾeser; Akk. šulmānu-ašarid)

1. Shalmaneser I, king of Assyria 1274-1245 b.c.e.; son of Adad-nirari I. He conquered Hanigalbat (the remnant of Mitanni), deporting its populace, and subdued the formative confederation of Urartu. Kalhu (biblical Calah) was founded during his reign.

2. Shalmaneser II (1031-1020), son of Asshurnasirpal I.

3. Shalmaneser III (858-824), son and successor of Assurnasirpal II, the first great king and founder of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. When Shalmaneser succeeded his father, he continued his father’s expansionistic policy, but concentrated his attention on the north and west. Written sources from his reign are numerous, including the eponym chronicle, annalistic texts, and reliefs with accompanying inscriptions.

Shalmaneser’s northern campaigns were focused on the kingdom of Urartu, penetrating the heartland of Urartu as early as 856. In the latter part of his reign he conducted a number of other Assyrian campaigns in the region, but these campaigns were led by by his turtanu, Dayyan-ashur, rather than the king himself.

Shalmaneser’s advance into the west began in his first regnal year. In a number of successive campaigns he was able to crush Bit-adini and annex it to the Assyrian Empire. His campaigns west of the Euphrates were presumably conducted to establish dominance over the trade routes and to set up trade colonies in the region. In several of these campaigns Shalmaneser was confronted by western coalitions, including the formidable Syro-Palestinian coalition of 12 states headed by Hadadezer of Aram-Damascus and Irḫuleni of Hamath. Ahab of Israel was also an important participant in the coalition. According to his annals, Shalmaneser fought this coalition in 853, 849, 848, and 845. The first of these confrontations was the battle of Qarqar in 853, recorded in detail in the Kurkh Monolith inscription (ANET, 278-79). With northern Syria firmly under his control, Shalmaneser turned his attention to central Syria, where he plundered and burned three of Irḫuleni’s cities. He then advanced against the royal city of Qarqar on the Orontes. Following that city’s destruction, the Assyrian army was confronted with the Syro-Palestinian coalition. According to the Assyrian inscription, Ahab of Israel is noted to have supplied 2000 chariots (more than any of the partners) and 10 thousand soldiers (figures intended to exaggerate the military size of Assyria’s enemy while also claiming their devastating defeat). Lack of any further movement of the Assyrian army beyond Qarqar calls into question this grandiose claim; more likely the coalition was able to thwart the Assyrian advance into the region. Accounts of the other campaigns (ANET, 279-80) report Shalmaneser’s confronting Hadadezer of Aram-Damascus, Irḫuleni of Hamath, and the 12 kings of the seacoast and accomplishing their defeat. This, however, is doubtful, since he never seems to have pushed farther westward than just beyond the Orontes.

Not until 841 was Shalmaneser able to establish a strong Assyrian presence in Syria-Palestine. On this campaign in his 18th year, he marched beyond the Orontes and encountered only the forces of Aram-Damascus. The account of this campaign mentions Hazael rather than Hadadezer as king of Aram-Damascus; Irḫuleni, in earlier texts a co-leader of the coalition, does not appear, nor do the “12 kings of the seacoast”; and now tribute is paid by Tyre, Sidon, and Jehu of Israel. From this one can infer the dissolution of the coalition, perhaps precipitated by the dynastic change in Aram-Damascus. In another text of Shalmaneser III, Hazael is referred to as “the son of a nobody,” not as a descendant of Hadadezer. Like other states, Tyre, Sidon, and Israel evidently altered their foreign policies and submitted to the Assyrians. Hamath may have done the same, thereby allowing the Assyrian army passage through its territory without any resistance. A final western campaign was conducted in 838, primarily to deal with Hazael of Aram-Damascus.

4. Shalmaneser IV (782-773), son of Adad-nirari III. Most of his reign was devoted to defense against the encroaching Urartians.

5. Shalmaneser V (726-722), son and successor of Tiglath-pileser III. 2 Kgs. 17:1-6; 18:9-12 remember him as the king who laid siege to Samaria, which according to the Babylonian Chronicle was his only achievement of any consequence. He is perhaps the Shalman mentioned in Hos. 10:14. According to 2 Kgs. 17:3 Shalmaneser led a campaign against Israel (probably in the beginning of his reign), and Hoshea submitted and paid tribute. However, Hoshea soon rebelled and sent representatives to Egypt to request assistance (2 Kgs. 17:4a). In response to the revolt, Shalmaneser launched another campaign against Samaria and arrested Hoshea. Eventually, the Assyrian invaded Israel and put Samaria under siege for three years (2 Kgs. 17:5; 18:9). The city finally fell to the Assyrians in 722-721 and segments of the population were taken into exile in Assyria (2 Kgs. 17:6; 18:10-11). Questions have arisen whether Shalmaneser V was responsible for the capture of Samaria and the deportation of Israelites, since 2 Kgs. 17:5-6 does not mention the Assyrian king by name. One view suggests that it was Shalmaneser who captured Samaria but that his successor Sargon II deported the Israelites. A second view suggests that Shalmaneser was only responsible for attacking Hoshea, arresting him, and deporting him; it was Sargon II (the Assyrian king mentioned in 2 Kgs. 17:5-6) who besieged Samaria and conquered it, and deported the Israelites. A third view, on the basis of a straightforward reading of 2 Kgs. 17:3-6, argues that only one Assyrian king, Shalmaneser V, is intended throughout.

Bibliography. M. Elat, “The Campaigns of Shalmaneser III against Aram and Israel,” IEJ 25 (1975): 25-35; G. Galil, “The Last Years of the Kingdom of Israel and the Fall of Samaria,” CBQ 57 (1995): 52-65; J. H. Hayes and J. K. Kuan, “The Final Years of Samaria (730-720 b.c.),” Bibl 72 (1991): 153-81.

Jeffrey K. Kuan

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

SHALMANESER

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)