Assyrian 'Control Points' in the Domination of the Southern Levant in the Reign of Tiglath-Pileser III

Assyria took control of the Levant under its king Tiglath-pileser III in the years 744-732 B.C.E. During this initial period of Assyrian governance, Assyrian administrators established a ramified network of influence, extending Assyrian control over nominally independent states in the southern Levant. A key player in this process was Qurdi-Aššur-lāmur. My article shows how this figure established points of political and economic control over states far from Assyrian centers, such as Moab and Ashdod. In so doing, he used his base in Phoenicia to spread Assyrian influence further into the territory the Assyrians were seeking to dominate. [Adapted from published abstract: Christopher T. Begg]