Ancient Babylonia - Shalmaneser I
Shalmaneser I Died in 1290 B.C., king of Assyria. He restored the temple at
Assur, established a royal residence at Nineveh, and removed the capital from
Assur to Calah, c.18 mi (29 km) S of Nineveh. Shalmaneser III, 859-824 B.C., son
of Ashurnasirpal, claimed to have defeated (c.854 B.C.) Benhadad and Ahab, king
of Israel, at Karkar (Kirharaseth) on the Orontes. His victory was probably
indecisive, since he failed to reach Damascus or fight his other enemies. He
received presents from Jehu of Judah. The black obelisk of Shalmaneser III, found at
Calah and now in the British Museum, pictures Jehu prostrate before the king
and is believed to be the only surviving picture of an Israelite king.
Shalmaneser was defeated by the Chaldaeans in Armenia. In Calah he built an enormous
ziggurat. Shalmaneser V, d. 722 B.C., succeeded Tiglath-pileser IV (728 B.C.).
According to the Book of Second Kings, he attacked Hosea, king of Israel, and
besieged Israel's capital, Samaria, but died during the siege. Sargon II finally
destroyed Samaria.
Ancient Babylonia
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