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.