| Ashur-dan III | |
|---|---|
| King of Assyria | |
| King of the Neo-Assyrian Empire | |
| Reign | 773–755 BC |
| Predecessor | Shalmaneser IV |
| Successor | Ashur-nirari V |
| Died | 755 BC |
| Father | Adad-nirari III |
Ashur-dan III was King of Assyria from 772 to 755 BC.[1]
Ashur-dan III was the son of Adad-nirari III, and succeeded his brother Shalmaneser IV in 773 BC. Ashur-dan's reign was a difficult age for the Assyrian monarchy.[2][3] The rulership was severely limited by the influence of court dignitaries, particularly that of Shamshi-ilu, who was the commander-in-chief of the army (turtanu) at that time. According to the eponym canon, in 765 BC, Assyria was hit by a plague, and in the following year, the king could not campaign (it was customary for the Assyrian king to lead a military expedition every year). In 763 BC, a revolt broke out, which lasted until 759 BC, when another plague struck the land.[4][5]
His reign and the reigns of preceding Assyrian kings have been astronomically dated based on the only verifiable reference to a solar eclipse in Assyrian chronicles, the eclipse of Bur Sagale.[6]
Ashur-dan was succeeded by another brother, Ashur-nirari V.
| Preceded by Shalmaneser IV | King of Assyria 772–755 BC | Succeeded by Ashur-nirari V |
See also
References
- ^ Boardman, John (1982). The Cambridge Ancient History Vol. III Part I: The Prehistory of the Balkans, the Middle East and the Aegean World, Tenth to Eighth Centuries BC. Cambridge University Press. p. 276. ISBN 978-0521224963. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ^ Rowton, M.B. (1970). The Cambridge Ancient History. 1.1. Cambridge University Press. pp. 202–204. ISBN 0521070511.
- ^ Ashur-Dan III Archived 2019-02-13 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Budge, Annals Of The Kings Of Assyria (Routledge, 2013) p154.
- ^ E. A. Wallis Budge, Annals Of The Kings Of Assyria: The Cuneiform Texts With Translations, Transliterations From The Original Documents (Routledge, 30 Apr. 2007) p94.
- ^ Rawlinson, Henry Creswicke, "The Assyrian Canon Verified by the Record of a Solar Eclipse, B.C. 763", The Athenaeum: Journal of Literature, Science and the Fine Arts, nr. 2064, 660-661 [18 May 1867].