Phoenicia under Assyrian rule facts for kids
During the time of the Middle Assyrian Empire (from 1392 to 1056 BC) and the Neo-Assyrian Empire (from 911 to 605 BC), the region known as Phoenicia often came under Assyrian rule. Today, this area is mostly Lebanon and the coast of Syria.
Southern Canaan, which includes modern-day Israel, the Palestinian Territories, and Jordan, was home to many Semitic groups. These included the kingdoms of Israel, Judah, Ammon, Edom, Moab, the Suteans, and Amalekites. Also, the Philistines, who were not Semitic and spoke an Indo-European language, moved into this area from the Aegean.
Northern Canaan, which is now Lebanon, the Syrian coast, and part of Turkey, was also home to Canaanite-speaking people. They formed important city-states like Tyre, Sidon, Berytus, and Arwad. The name Phoenicia was given to this region much later by the Greeks. It wasn't used during the Assyrian period.
To the east, in what is now central Syria, the Amorites lived. Later, a new group called the Arameans appeared around 1200 BC. This area became known as Aram. The name Syria actually came from the word Assyria and was later used by the Greeks for a larger area.
When the powerful Assyrian armies approached, these smaller states often became their vassals. This meant they had to obey Assyria and pay tribute. If Assyria was busy elsewhere, these states would often rebel, sometimes with help from Assyria's enemies. This led to many Assyrian kings launching campaigns to control these important regions. If a state rebelled after one king's attack, the next king would often launch a new, strong attack to punish them. For example, when Tyre stopped paying tribute, a rebellion started.
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Why Assyria Invaded the Levant?
Before the Neo-Assyrian Empire became very strong in the late 900s BC, much of Syria and Lebanon was made up of independent Canaanite city-states. These cities became very rich through trade with other Mediterranean cities.
During the Middle Assyrian Empire, Assyria grew powerful. They defeated empires like the Hittite Empire, Hurri-Mitanni, and Egyptian Empire. Then, they turned their attention to the eastern Mediterranean coast. King Tiglath-Pileser I (1115–1077 BC) invaded this region. He conquered Canaanite-Phoenician states such as Byblos, Tyre, Sidon, and Arwad.
However, Assyria became weaker after 1055 BC, and its lands shrank. Even though one Assyrian king campaigned there later, Phoenicia was mostly free from Assyrian control for a while.
King Adad-nirari II (911–891 BC) became king and quickly started making Assyria strong again. He punished states that had rebelled, beginning the Neo-Assyrian Empire. After him, Tukulti-Ninurta II (890–884 BC) expanded Assyria's power to the north and east. This expansion meant that the next king, Ashurnasirpal II (883–859 BC), could greatly increase Assyria's influence outside Mesopotamia. After defeating a revolt and an Aramaean king, Ashurnasirpal II looked west towards the Phoenician lands.
King Shalmaneser III's Campaigns (858–824 BC)
Shalmaneser III was the son of Ashurnasirpal II. Like his father, he spent much of his time fighting and expanding the Assyrian Empire. He campaigned for 31 of his 35 years as king. However, he died with some goals not achieved, and his death led to civil war and a short period of trouble for the empire.
The cities of Aram and Canaan rebelled again in 853 BC. Shalmaneser III led his army across the Euphrates River into northern Aram. After taking Aleppo, he met a large group of Aramaean and Canaanite states in central Syria. This group included forces from King Ahab of Israel. The Battle of Qarqar was likely a tie for Shalmaneser III. Some vassal states were brought back under control. He campaigned three more times against his enemies in 849, 845, and 838 BC, conquering much of the Levant. He couldn't capture Damascus but destroyed much of its land. Many Phoenician cities got a break from Assyrian attacks during the reigns of Shamshi-Adad V and Queen Semiramis.
Adad-nirari III was a strong king. He besieged Damascus in 796 BC, which weakened the Aramaean Kingdom of Damascus. This allowed Israel to recover under King Jehoash (who paid tribute to Assyria) and Jeroboam II.
King Tiglath Pileser III's Campaigns (745–727 BC)
Tiglath Pileser III brought the Assyrian Empire out of a period of weakness after Adad-nirari III died in 783 BC. This made Assyria's enemies very worried. He made many changes to the army and government. He created a standing army, which meant soldiers were always ready to fight. He also improved communication and supplies for the army. When he conquered a new area, an Assyrian official would be put in charge to make sure Assyria's interests were protected and tribute was paid.
With these changes and his strong campaigns, the Levant and many Phoenician cities were destined to lose their independence again to the powerful Assyrian armies.
After dealing with troublesome tribes in the south and making sure Babylon remained a vassal of Assyria, Tiglath campaigned against Urartu in the north. Urartu had been expanding its influence into the eastern Mediterranean. Tiglath's actions against Aram and Canaan helped him in his war against Urartu.
When the vassal states in northern Syria heard about the approaching Assyrian armies, they asked Urartu for help. Tiglath defeated Urartu's forces in the Upper Euphrates, ensuring no help would come. He then focused on the West. The Syrian city of Arpad was besieged in 747 BC. Most armies at that time couldn't besiege a city for more than half a year. Soldiers had to return to their farms. But Tiglath's standing army allowed him to capture the city in the third year of the siege.
In 738 BC, Tiglath accepted tribute from many cities in Canaan and Syria, just like Ashurnasirpal II had done. These conquests provided many raw materials for the Assyrian war machine. When Tiglath stopped Phoenician cedar wood from being exported to Egypt, rebellions broke out. These were supported by Egypt. But all were crushed, and the rebels were forced to accept Assyria's rule.
Shalmaneser V (726–722 BC) and Sargon II (721–705 BC)
Sargonid Dynasty
The way Sargon II became king after Tiglath is a bit mysterious. His campaigns against Babylon mention an earlier conquest of Jerusalem, the capital of Judah, and the forced movement of over 27,000 people to Media. It's likely that another king, Shalmaneser V, campaigned in Syria and Palestine before Sargon II overthrew him. Sargon II's rebellion might have encouraged others to rebel, including Babylon. So, Sargon II claimed the glory of his overthrown predecessor's conquest of Israel.
In any case, the Assyrians under Sargon II had to campaign close to home again. This led to rebellions in Syria, as they tried to take advantage of the Assyrian army being busy. After defeating his opponents, Sargon II decided to head west instead of fully defeating Elam.
The Syrian rebellion was supported by the Egyptians. The ruler of Hamath led it, and cities like Damascus, Samaria, and some Phoenician cities joined. They allied again to face Assyria. But the rebellion failed. The rebels didn't have the military strength to stop Sargon's fast advance. After taking Arpad, Sargon II crushed the rebel army at Qarqar. This avenged the tie that Shalmaneser III had faced there. Hamath fell, then Damascus, and then Samaria. Sargon then took Gaza, where he easily defeated an Egyptian army. Hanunu, the ruler of Gaza, was captured and killed.
Another attempt by the Egyptians in 712 BC to start a rebellion failed. Ashdod, the main city behind this rebellion, was defeated by Sargon's quick action. After this, Palestine and many Phoenician cities were secure. Sargon's military trips against Urartu and Phrygia helped him gain more control in northern Syria and Phoenicia.
Sennacherib (704–681 BC)
It's not fully known how much Tyre and other Phoenician cities rebelled during the reign of Sennacherib. However, we know that in 701 BC, Sennacherib marched south along the Mediterranean coast. He went to stop rebellions by his Philistine vassals, who were backed by the kingdom of Judah. After defeating another Egyptian army, the Philistine cities surrendered and offered tribute again. Records say he made many hostile "cities" (some were more like villages) "embrace his feet." This likely included some Phoenician cities in Lebanon. Still, the vassals in the region would keep rebelling as long as Babylon, Elam, or Urartu also rebelled against Assyria, and as long as Egypt kept helping the rebels.
Esarhaddon (680–669 BC)
Esarhaddon rebuilt Babylon and made a vassal treaty with the Persians and Medes. This allowed him to focus on the rebellious city of Tyre, which had rebelled with Egyptian help. In 671 BC, Esarhaddon went to war against Pharaoh Taharqa of Egypt. Part of his army stayed behind to deal with rebellions in Tyre and possibly Ashkelon. The rest went south, crossed the Sinai Desert, and entered Egypt. In the summer, he captured Memphis, and Taharqa fled back to Nubia. Esarhaddon then called himself "king of Egypt, Libya, and Kush." He returned with much treasure from the delta cities. He set up a victory stone showing Taharqa's son, Prince Ushankhuru, in chains.
Ashurbanipal (668–627 BC)
Ashurbanipal was the last Assyrian King strong enough to campaign in Phoenicia and much of Aram. He marched his army into Egypt to protect Syria. He defeated the rebellious groups there and put puppet princes on the throne. Egyptian attempts to take Memphis failed badly. Ashurbanipal marched south into Upper Egypt and took Thebes "like a floodstorm." His campaigns against Egypt happened at the same time as another attempt to stop Tyre and Arvad from rebelling without punishment.
After Ashurbanipal died in 627 BC, Aram and Phoenicia slowly broke away from Assyrian rule. Assyria was caught in a terrible civil war that led to its downfall by 605 BC. Interestingly, Assyria's former vassals, the Egyptians, tried to help the Assyrians as they moved their collapsing kingdom's capital to Harran.
The destruction of the Assyrian Empire meant that Babylon, and then Persia, would rule Phoenicia, Canaan, and Aram. This continued until Alexander the Great of Macedon began the Hellenistic period.
See also
- Military history of the Neo-Assyrian Empire
- Persian Empire
- Assyrians and Syriacs in Lebanon
