Table 1.1. Chronology of Selected Assyrian Kings {883-612 BC} Assyrian King Date (BC) Kings in Israel Kings in Judah Prophets Ashurnasirpal II 883-859 Elah, Zimri, Asa, Azariah, Hanani, Omri, Ahab Jehoshaphat Elijah, Elisha, Micaiah Jehoshaphat, Shalmaneser1 III 858-824 Ahab, Ahaziah, Jehoram, Elisha, Joel Joram, Jehu Ahaziah, Athaliah, Joash Shamshi-Adad2 V 824-812 Jehu, Jehoahaz Joash Elisha Adad-nirari III 811-783 Jehoahaz, Joash, Amaziah, Amos, Hosea, Micah, Jehoash Azariah, Isaiah Shalmaneser3 IV 782-772 Jeroboam II Amaziah, Hosea, Micah, Isaiah Azariah Assurdan4 III 771-754 Jeroboam II Amaziah, Jonah, Hosea, Micah, Azariah Isaiah Zechariah, Azariah Amos, Hosea, Ashur-nirari III 754-745 Shallum, Micah, Isaiah Menahem Menahem, Tiglath-pileser5 III 745-727 Azariah, Hosea, Pekahiah, Jotham, Ahaz Micah, Isaiah Pekah, Hoshea Shalmaneser6 V 726-722 Hoshea Ahaz Hosea, Micah, Isaiah 1 The famous Black Obelisk and Monolith Inscription, both now in the British Museum, came from Shalmaneser III’s reign. The king of Israel, Jehu, attempted to buy off the Assyrians by sending costly presents to Shalmaneser. On the Black Obelisk, Shalmaneser has left a picture of Jehu's ambassadors stooping to kiss his feet and bringing him presents. Accompanying the picture are the words "The tribute of Jehu, son of Omri: silver, gold, etc." Jehu was not the son of Omri, but would be so called by the Assyrians, who long spoke of Israel as the "land of Omri." 2 Also known as Shamshi-Ramman II. His wife was Sammu-ramat (Semiramis) and son was Adad-nirari III. 3 Fought against Uratu and successfully defended eastern Mesopotamia against Armenian attacks. 4 This somewhat obscure Assyrian king, was probably the ruler in Nineveh during the time of Jonah’s ministry there. Very little is known about him. However, this would make sense historically for if he was the king mentioned in Jonah 3:6-9 he became a believer in the LORD and would have become peace-like instead of war-like. The Assyrians prided themselves on their aggressive fighting spirit, so naturally, Assyrian records would not want to record a king perceived as “weak” and non-aggressive. 5 This Assyrian king is called “Pul” in 2 Kings 15:19; 1 Chronicles 5:26. He was probably an Assyrian army general and may have either started, participated (but definitely benefited from) the rebellion against Ashur- nirari III which began in 746 BC. Immediately upon his predecessor’s death, Tiglath-pileser III became the king of Assyria. 6 This is the Assyrian king mentioned in 2 Kings 17:3-6,24; 18:9-12 who marched against Hoshea, king of Israel in 724 BC. It was he who invaded and destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel-Samaria in 722 BC – the same year that he died! Sargon II, his son, actually claims the complete victory over Samaria in 721 BC. 1• Table 1.1. Chronology of Selected Assyrian Kings {883-612 BC} Assyrian King Date (BC) Kings in Israel Kings in Judah Prophets Sargon7 II 722-705 Hoshea Ahaz, Hezekiah Hosea, Micah, Isaiah Sennacherib8 705-681 None Hezekiah, Hosea, Micah, Manasseh Isaiah Esarhaddon9 681-669 None Manasseh Isaiah 7 This Assyrian king is mentioned in Isaiah 20:1. Abundant historical materials concerning his reign have come down to us. Remains of the walls that he built, colossal carved bulls covered with inscriptions, tools, palace utensils, and beautifully inscribed prisms have all been found in different parts of Assyria, and all bear their witness to his glory and success. He was probably the adopted son of Shalmaneser V. The first event in the reign of Sargon, according to his own inscription, was the fall of Samaria. He speaks of it in these words: "The city Samaria I besieged, and twenty-seven thousand two hundred and ninety people, inhabitants of it, I took away captive. Fifty chariots in it I seized, but the rest I allowed to retain their possessions. I appointed my governor over them, and the tribute of the late king I imposed upon them." In his Cylinder Inscription he calls himself "subjugator of the broad land of Beth-Omri," and again elsewhere "the conqueror of the city of Samaria and the whole land of Beth-Omri." In 709 BC, after fighting a twelve year rebellion of Babylon, Sargon became its acknowledged king. Tribute was sent to him from the island of Dilmun in the Persian Gulf and from Cyprus in the far-away Mediterranean. He was at the zenith of his power, and many lands paid him homage. Sargon was the greatest Assyrian conqueror and in both warfare and victory he surpassed all who preceded and all who followed him. 8 Sennacherib is referred to in 2 Kings 18:13-14 where his plan to attack Judah is described. Isaiah the prophet comes to Hezekiah, king of Judah, warns against making alliances with Egypt (Isaiah 30:1-4) and to give him advice {Isaiah 36-37}. Although a large portion of Judah was conquered and many towns taken captive, Jerusalem was spared. This Assyrian king is again mentioned in 2 Kings 19:37 and Isaiah 37:38 where it describes how his two sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, assassinated him while he was worshipping in the house of the Assyrian god Nisroch because of their jealousy of Esarhaddon, the emperor's favorite. Esarhaddon was away conducting a campaign and he immediately returned to Nineveh. The murderers escaped to Armenia where the rebellion was ultimately crushed by Esarhaddon. 9 Esarhaddon is mentioned in 2 Kings 19:39 and Isaiah 37:38 where we learn that he became king after Sennacherib was assassinated by his two jealous sons. The most important achievement of Esarhaddon was the restoration of the city of Babylon, destroyed by his father, Sennacherib. Esarhaddon continues his description of the rebuilding of Babylon. "I summoned all my artisans and the people of Babylon in their totality . Babylon I built anew, I enlarged, I raised aloft, I made magnificent". The narrative of {2 Chronicles 33:11-13} relates how the Assyrians (Esarhaddon) deported Manasseh to Babylon. (This is also referenced in Ezra 4:1-2). The kings of the West who became his vassals, among them being Manasseh of Judah, were required to furnish building materials for his operations in Babylonia. His work in that land explains why the Judaean king was incarcerated at Babylon instead of Assyria. The authenticity of this event is also supported by the fact that Assyrian kings of this period did spend part of their time in Babylon. Esarhaddon also defeated Taharka, the pharaoh of Egypt. The triumph over Taharka was commemorated by the victory stela set up at Senjirli in N Syria, recovered in 1888 by the Germans. Esarhaddon thus boasts of himself, "I am powerful, I am all powerful. I am a hero, I am gigantic, I am colossal," and for the first time an Assyrian monarch assumed the new title, "king of the kings of Egypt". The irony is that he died on his way back to Egypt, which he had previously conquered. 2• Table 1.1. Chronology of Selected Assyrian Kings {883-612 BC} Assyrian King Date (BC) Kings in Israel Kings in Judah Prophets Isaiah, Nahum, Ashurbanipal10 669-627 None Manasseh, Amon, Josiah Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Huldah Sin-shar-ishkun 626-612 None Josiah Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Huldah Ashur-Uballit11 II 612-609 None Josiah Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Huldah 10 Also known as “Osnappar or Asnappar and was the grandson of Sennacherib. He was the last great Assyrian king. He is renowned as a scholar and a protector of literature and art. His great library, excavated at Nineveh, has yielded a large quantity of cuneiform literature, numbering about 22,000 religious, literary, and scientific texts. This vast corpus of material furnishes one of the main sources of information extant for the reconstruction of the history and civilization of ancient Assyria. Texts giving the ancient Babylonian versions of the creation and the Flood found in the Nineveh beautified by this king have shed light on the account of these events recorded in Genesis. Ashurbanipal was on the throne of Assyria during a large part of Manasseh's long and wicked reign in Judah (696-642 BC). Ashurbanipal’s conquest and victory over Egypt (Thebes) is referred in Nahum 3:8-10. His other conquests are still mentioned much later in Ezra 4:10. There is much obscurity about the last years of Ashurbanipal's reign. The decadence of Assyria had begun, which resulted not only in the loss to the title of the surrounding countries, but also in its complete destruction by the Babylonians (Nebuchadnezzar) before the century was over. 11 Last king of Assyria. The death of Ashurbanipal in 627 BC was followed by a revolt in the court, and little is known about what took place in Assyria after that date. The Medes took the city of Ashur in 614 BC, and, aided by the Babylonians under the command of Nebopolassar, they captured and destroyed Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, in 612 BC. Ashur-Uballit II fled from the advancing Babylonians with his army and was ultimately defeated in 609 BC. 3• .