The
Neo-Assyrian Empire begins with the accession of
Adad-nirari II in 911 BCE. He drove Arameans from Assyrian territory in Tur-Abdin, the Khabur Delta,
Jazira, the
Kashiari mountains,
Amid (modern
Diyarbakir) and
Mérida (modern
Mardin) thus securing the borders of Assyria proper. Large scale invasion began with the conquests of
Ashurnasirpal II (883–859 BCE) who secured large swathes of eastern and northern Aram for Assyria, then advanced to the Mediterranean, forcing tribute upon the Phoenician city states of the coast.
Shalmaneser III (859–824 BCE) continued the trend, conquering
Bit Adini in 856 BCE and driving the Neo-Hittites from
Carchemish. In attempt to halt Assyrian expansion, a huge coalition of nations united to oppose the Assyrian king, this alliance included not just the Aramean, Phoenician, Neo-Hittite and Sutean kingdoms and tribes of the region, but also the
Babylonians,
Egyptians,
Elamites,
Israelites and
Arabs (the first mention of Arabs in historical record). This array of nations confronted the Assyrian army the
Battle of Qarqar in 853 BCE, however they failed to defeat Shalmaneser III and the Assyrian king was then able to pick off his enemies individually over the next few years, and by the end of his reign most of the Levant was either under direct Assyrian rule or paying tribute. However, during the reign of
Shamshi-Adad V (823–811 BCE) and queen
Semiramis (811–806 BCE) further expansion in Aramea was largely suspended due to instability in Assyria itself. When
Adad-nirari III (811–783 BCE) ascended the throne, he resumed vigorous Assyrian expansion in all directions. In 796 BCE he conquered
Aram-Damascus, an event which it never truly recovered from.
Shalmaneser IV (783–773 BCE),
Ashur-dan III (772–755 BCE) and
Ashur-nirari V (754–745 BCE) maintained Assyrian possessions, but were unable to expand much further due to power struggles with their own nobles and generals. However, in 744 BCE
Tiglath-Pileser III (744–727 BCE) ascended the throne and conquered the entirety of the Levant, and in 732 BCE, he destroyed the kingdom of Aram-Damascus forever in the process.
Aram became part of the province of
Eber-Nari ('Beyond the River, i.e. the
Euphrates') and, as such, remained a part of the Neo-Assyrian Empire until the latter's collapse in 612 BCE, although some northern parts of the region remained under the control of the remnants of the Assyrian army and administration until 599 BCE. Subsequently much of the region fell to the short-lived
Neo-Babylonian Empire (612–539 BCE), and eventually became a satrapy of the
Achaemenid Empire (539–332 BCE). The
Seleucid Empire (312–150 BCE) would later succeed the Achaemenid Persians. The fact that Aram had long been ruled by Assyria led the
Greeks to label the land
Syria, which was originally an
apheretic form of
Assyria. Over time,
Syria came to denote the broader
Levant, while
Assyria referred to
Mesopotamia.
Herodotus (5th century BCE) was among the earliest Greek authors to consistently distinguish Syria and Assyria. After his time, some classical writers occasionally blurred the distinction. Nevertheless, educated writers and administrative usage gradually preserved the distinction, with
Syria referring to the Levant and
Assyria to Mesopotamia. ==See also==