Tiglath-Pileser III

Tiglath-Pileser III was king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 745 BC until his death in 727 BC and is counted among the most significant Assyrian rulers. How he came to the throne is disputed: Assyrian sources give conflicting accounts of his parentage and a revolt is recorded at the capital Nimrud around 746 to 745 BC, so many historians regard him as a usurper, while others think he may have inherited the throne legitimately. He curbed the influence of powerful officials and generals, reformed the army and more than doubled the land under Assyrian control. After defeating the Urartian king Sarduri II near Arpad in 743 BC he conquered most of the Levant and ended the kingdom of Aram-Damascus, and in 729 BC he became the first king to rule as sovereign of both Assyria and Babylonia. His methods of control, including mass resettlement of peoples, shaped the policies of later empires.