Turtanu

There are two references to Tartans in the Hebrew Bible: the Assyrian king sends a Tartan with two other officials to deliver a threatening message to Jerusalem in , and Sargon II, the king of Assyria, sends a Tartan who takes Ashdod during the reign of King Hezekiah at the time of the prophet Isaiah. ==Examples==

Dayyan-Assur was turtanu under the reign of Shalmaneser III (859-824BC). Dayyan-Assur led campaigns in lieu of Shalmaneser III who gave him power over the Assyrian army. These campaigns took the Assyrian army and influence into the Zagros, where encounters with future opponents the Medes and Manneans. Another example of a turtanu was Shamshi-ilu. He was the Assyrian military commander under Adad-Nirari III (811-783BC) and later Shalmaneser IV (783-773) as well as others. He appears to have been of Bit-Adini descent, a province annexed by Assyria some time before. He led a campaign against the Argishti I of Urartu. ==Influence==

The position of turtanu led to a decline of centralized power in Assyria. Shamshi-ilu for example, who was turtanu during four kings reigns, and was one of if not the most powerful individual in Assyria at the time (8th century BC), began to lead out his own campaigns without the sanction of the king. Shamshi-ilu was based out of Kar-Shalmaneser and began campaigning for his own kingdom west of the Euphrates. These campaigns led to greater power held by Shamshi-ilu and a fragmentary Assyria. == See also ==