Tiglath-Pileser I

Tiglath-Pileser I
Rock relief of Tiglath-Pileser I
King of the Middle Assyrian Empire
Reign1114–1076 BC
PredecessorAshur-resh-ishi I
SuccessorAsharid-apal-Ekur
Died1076 BC
IssueAsharid-apal-Ekur, Ashur-bel-kala, Shamshi-Adad IV
Akkadian𒆪𒋾𒀀𒂍𒈗𒊏
TUKUL.TI.A.É.ŠÁR.RA
Tukultī-apil-Ešarra
ReligionAncient Mesopotamian religion

Tiglath-Pileser I (/ˈtɪɡləθ paɪˈliːzər, -ˌlæθ, pɪ-/; from the Hebraic form[1] of Middle Assyrian Akkadian: 𒆪𒋾𒀀𒂍𒈗𒊏, romanized: Tukultī-apil-Ešarra, "my trust is in the son of Ešarra") was a king of Assyria during the Middle Assyrian period (1114–1076 BC). According to Georges Roux, Tiglath-Pileser was "one of the two or three great Assyrian monarchs since the days of Shamshi-Adad I".[2] He was known for his "wide-ranging military campaigns, his enthusiasm for building projects, and his interest in cuneiform tablet collections".[3] Under him, Assyria became the leading power of the Ancient Near East, a position the kingdom largely maintained for the next five hundred years. He expanded Assyrian control into Anatolia and Syria, and to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.[4] From his surviving inscriptions, he seems to have carefully cultivated a fear of himself in his subjects and in his enemies alike.

The beginning of Tiglath-Pileser's I reign, laid heavy involvement in military campaigns, as suggested from translated texts from the Middle Assyrian period. The texts were believed to be "justification of war."[5] Although little literary text is available from the time of Tiglath-Pileser I, there is evidence to show that the reign of Tiglath-Pileser I inspired the act of recording information, including that of his military campaigns. Toward the end of Tiglath-Pileser's reign literary texts took the form of "summary texts" which served as a vessel for as much information about his reign as possible, with the intent to be handed down to his successor.

  1. ^ Spelled as "תִּגְלַת פִּלְאֶסֶר" "Tiglath-Pileser" in the Book of Kings (2Kings 15:29) or as "תִּלְּגַת פִּלְנְאֶסֶר" "Tilgath-Pilneser" in the Book of Chronicles (2Chronicles 28:20).
  2. ^ Roux, Georges. Ancient Iraq. Third edition. Penguin Books, 1992 (paperback, ISBN 0-14-012523-X).
  3. ^ Leick 2010, p. 171.
  4. ^ 'The Collins Encyclopedia of Military History', Dupuy & Dupuy, 1993, p. 9
  5. ^ Odorico, Marco De. "Compositional and Editorial Processes of Annalistic and Summary Texts of Tiglath-pileser I". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)