TIG'LATH-PILE'SER. The Old Testa ment form of the name borne by several Assyrian kings, the Assyrian form of which is TuInthi apal-csharra, 'My trust is the son of Esharra:' since son of Esharra (lit., the good house) is a designation of the god Ninib—a solar deity—the name is equivalent to trust is Ninib.' Of the Assyrian kings bearing this name, the most im portant is Tiglath-pileser 1., who began to rule about B.C. 1120. Under him the dominion of Assyria was considerably enlarged by conquests in districts embracing Northern Syria, Cappa docia, Armenia, Kurdistan, and Persia. He claimed to have conquered no less than forty-two countries, and in his days Babylonia was forced to acknowledge Assyrian supremacy. Twice he invaded the south and entered the city of Baby lon itself. His activity in rearing temples and palaces was no less remarkable, and he devoted himself specially to the embellishment of the old city of Asshur on the Tigris, which he once more made the seat of government in place of Calah. Although he was able to hand over the succession to his son Asshur-bel-kela, his great empire was not maintained, and shortly after wards a period of decay set in which appears to have lasted almost up to the clays of the second Tiglath-pileser, whose reign may be placed about B.C. 95Q. is known of him beyond his name and titles. third Tiglath-pileser, rul ing from B.C. 745 to 727, was in some respects more remarkable than Tiglath-pileser I. from obscurity, he either set on foot a rebellion against Asshur-Nirari III., or availed himself of an opposition that had sprung up against this King to seize the throne for himself. Ile as sumed the name of Tiglath-pileser as King, his original name having been Pulu or Pill. by which he continued to be known in Babylonia and which is given to him likewise in the Old Testa ment (11. Kings xv. 19). To reinforce his position he proceeded to the south and brought to sub mission the Arannvan tribes, who had been caus ing. the Babylonians considerable trouble. Se curing in this way the good-will of the Baby lonians, by whom he was bailed as a deliverer, he could devote himself to the troublesome neigh bors in Media to the east of Assyria. Two ex peditions were required before the pacification of the country was secured. Tiglath-pilcser HI. appears to have introduced the policy of planting Assyrian colonies in hostile districts with a view of thus making Assyrian influence a more perma nent factor than could be accomplished merely by military invasions. Successful also in break ing up a combination that had been formed against him in Ararat under the leadership of Sarduris II_ aided by a group of allies in Asia Minor, he secured a large booty in a battle in which he claims to have captured no fewer than 72,950 soldiers of the enemy. He encountered
more difficulty in quelling a revolt in Northern Syria in B.C. 742-740. As early as B.C. 739 there was a conflict between the Assyrians and a certain Aza chili of Jaudi, and until recently it was supposed that this was none other than King Azariah of Judah, but chronological as well as other difficulties stand in the way of this identification, and it is more probable that the laud Jamli referred to is not .Judah, but a district in Northern Syria. The King overthrew Azariah and his allies and again showed his ad ministrative abilities by placing the hostile dis trict, divided into small principalities, under As syrian Governors. He enumerates in his inscrip tions a long list of rulers of petty States in Asia Minor and Syria who brought him tribute, and among these we find .Menahem of Samaria, the notice thus confirming the statement in f f. Kings xr. 19-21.
In B.C. 734 Tiglath-pileser again proceeded to the West, being appealed to by Ahaz, King of Judah ([I. Kings xvi. 7), to assist him against the combination formed by Pekah, King of tsrael, and Rezin of Damascus. Rezin was de feated and fled to his capital, and while a por tion of the Assyrian army laid siege to it, an other section was sent to ravage and plunder the Syrian, lsraelitish, and Philistine towns. In B.C. 732 Damascus fell and an Assyrian official was appointed Governor. Among, those who hastened to pay homage to Tiglath-pileser, we find his vassal King ,Ahaz (or Jehoahaz as he is called in the Assyrian inscriptions) of Judah. This visit is the one referred to in 11. Kings xvi. 10. Tiglath-pileser also claims to have deposed Pchnh of Israel and to have put Hoshea in his place. Ac cording to the biblical statement (II. Kings xv. 30) Pekah was nmrdered in the course of a revolt instigated by Hoshea, who no doubt was abetted by the Assyrian King. Shortly after his suc cessful campaign in Syria and Palestine, Tiglath pileser was obliged to proceed once more against Babylonia, where trouble had broken out. Two years elapsed before he could take the decisite step of having himself crowned King of Baby lonia. The ceremony took place on the Baby lonian New Year's festival of the year B.C. 72S. As King of Babylonia he assumed his original name of Pulu (identical with Pants in the Ptolemaic canon). Not long afterwards, in B.C. 727, he died, leaving his policy of political cen tralization to be carried on by his son Shal maneser IV. Consult the Babylonian-Assyrian histories of Rogers, Winekler, Tide, and Rom mel.