(Also see Tiglath-Pilesar Relief )
A usurper came to the throne of Syria in 745 B.C. and ushered in a new era filled with famous rulers. The first monarch to rise during this time was Tiglath-pilesar III, also known as Pul in the Bible, and Pulu by the Babylonians. The
When Tiglath-pilesar III seized the throne it was only five months when he was ready to go to war. His first conquest was Babylon, the arch rival within the region. It wasn't long before the powerful Assyrians conquered Babylon and brought it under their control.
The Assyrians conquered many cities in the east and large numbers of people were imported into the region of the Assyrians. In fact the Assyrians took pleasure in deporting people away from their homeland, this would break people of their sense of national identity and consciousness and make it hard to resist.
Tiglath-pilesar III soon looked to the north, and as far west as possible. He needed to expand his wealth and noticed that the tributaries in Syria and Israel were withholding their annual payments. It was time to reinforce taxation, and his experience in this area was greatly developed. He organized the Assyrian army and began about 150 years of intense warfare.
See Map of the Fertile Crescent
Note: Assyrian achievements and warfare tactics have been admired by military strategists ever since their detail records were discovered in the 19th-century. Not even Rome and her legions were better trained.
After the conquest and annexation of the central Syrian state of Hamath in 738, the surrounding rulers were terrified and submitted to the Assyrian tyrant, including Menahem, the king of Israel.
Note: It was around this time period, a few years before Tiglath-pilesar III came to power, that the city of Rome was founded according to legend, by the twins Romulus and Remas, the sons of the god Mars. Rome was the city that would one day rule the Western world.