During his reign over the Assyrian Empire, Shalmaneser continued to wage war against his neighbors, weakened since their defeat at the Battle of Qarqar. The Kingdom of Israel was greatly reduced but not annihilated. And in the Kingdom of Aram, King Hazael died in 846 BCE. As for the Kingdom of Judea, it was not immediately worried since Shalmaneser focused on campaigns against Aram and Israel, his immediate neighbors, and that, in 845 BCE, Amaziah succeeded his father on the throne and walked in the paths of God.
Let's look at the continuation of the historical and biblical chronologies (for earlier dates, refer to the previous articles since Adam):
year 2873 (887 BCE): end of the dynasty of Omri and Ahab; Jehu king of Israel
year 2900 (860 BCE): death of Jehu, king of Israel; Death of Elisha the prophet
(853 BCE): Battle of Qarqar, won by Salmanazar III, king of Assyria
year 2913 (847 BCE): death of Jehoahaz king of Israel; his son Jehoash succeeds him
year 2914 (846 BCE): Death of Hazael, king of Aram; his son Ben-Hadad II succeeds him
year 2915 (845 BCE): death of Joash, king of Judea; his son Amaziah succeeds him
year 2929 (831 BCE): death of Jehoash king of Israel; his son Jeroboam II succeeds him
(824 BCE): death of Shalmaneser III
year 2994 (766 BCE): end of Jehu’s dynasty
While conflicts continued in the northern Levant, Amaziah consolidated his borders in the south and successfully waged war against Edom. He took the region of the Dead Sea Valley and a city that would become famous:
He [Amaziah] slew ten thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt, and took Sela by war. (II Kings 14:7)
The Valley of Salt is the valley of the Dead Sea. As for Sela, the word means 'rock' in Hebrew: it is the future Petra (in present-day Jordan), which also means 'rock' in Greek. Following this success against Edom, Amaziah thought he could defeat the kingdom of Israel and addressed a challenge to its king, Jehoash. The latter’s mocking reply was not long in coming:
'The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying: Give your daughter for wife to my son; and there passed by the wild beasts that were in Lebanon, and trod down the thistle. You have indeed smitten Edom, and will your heart lift you up? Glory therein, and remain at home; for why should you meddle with evil, that you should fall, even you, and Judea with you? (II Kings 14:9-10)
Amaziah showed stubbornness and arrogance but lost the confrontation with the kingdom of Israel, well-seasoned from its harsh conflicts against Assyria. Amaziah was taken prisoner at the battle of Beth-Shemesh (a city in present-day the Judean Lowlands) and taken into captivity. He was not released until later, probably upon the death of Joash, king of Israel.
It was during this period of regional conflicts that Shalmaneser III had a black limestone obelisk made on which were inscribed the stories glorifying this reign. It is a high-quality archaeological piece that has been preserved over the centuries. It was found in 1846 during the excavations of Nineveh (present-day Mosul in northern Iraq), the ancient capital of the Assyrian Empire. It is on display at the British Museum in London. This piece is nearly 2 meters high and half a meter on each of its four sides.
One of the sides shows a king of Israel prostrating himself in submission before Shalmaneser. This is the only historical representation of a king of Israel! The text, in cuneiform characters, engraved on the obelisk is important because it mentions the kings and dynasties subjugated by Shalmaneser. In particular, Hazael of Damascus (capital of the kingdom of Aram) is mentioned twice and was a contemporary of Shalmaneser III. As for the king of Israel, some historians have wrongly assumed that the inscription mentioned Jehu son of Omri. Jehu was not the son of Omri and Jehu was not contemporary with Shalmaneser III. And the textual reference to Omri can also mean "the house or dynasty of Omri". Concerning the name Jehu, this is a misreading of the text rather mentioning Ya-u-a, which should have been transcribed as Joash instead of Jehu. The name Joash is also a bad transcription in English of the name of this king who was actually called Yehoash (יְהוֹאָשׁ in Hebrew). Of course, Yeho-a[sh] was the king of Israel contemporary with Shalmaneser III and therefore he is the one inscribed and depicted on the black obelisk. Joash (Yehoash) is the only biblical king proven to be pictured on an archaeological piece! If you have the opportunity to visit London, go see this very high-quality obelisk.
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Albert Benhamou
Private tour guide in Israel
February 2025
