People > Ashur-Dan III

Ashur-Dan III

Background

Ashur-dan III was the king of Assyria between 772 BC and 755 BC and presided over a period of internal social and political strife. Ashur-dan III was the son of Adad-Nirari III and the brother of Shalmaneser IV. He succeeded his brother as king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire in 773 BC however, he was never able to gain de-facto power of Assyria due to certain royal members of the palace court.

His leadership was limited by the influence of the commander of the military known as a turtanu named Shamshi-ilu who held considerable power within Assyria. Within a few years of his reign the civilization of Assyria was wrought with a deadly plague in 765 BC and this caused Ashur-dan III to forgo the annual military campaign as per ancient custom and tradition. In 763 BC following the strife a revolution broke out among the populace and this would last until 759 BC when another deadly plague would strike Assyria.

Following all this political and social strife Ashur-Dan III was succeeded by his brother named Ashur-Nirari V in 755 BC. One of the most important legacies of Ashur-Dan III is not his contributions towards Assyrian culture, architecture or customs but rather to our knowledge of the civilization as a whole. It is possible to astronomically date all of the reigns of the Assyrian kings that came before based on the recording of the Bur-Sagale eclipse during the reign of Ashur-Dan III. This is an extremely important find for archaeologists and lends a much better understanding to Assyrian history and its context in the global timeline.

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. 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. 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. Ashur-dan was succeeded by another brother, Ashur-nirari V.Preceded byShalmaneser IVKing of Assyria772–755 BCSucceeded byAshur-nirari VSee also[edit]Assyrian eclipseReferences[edit]Jump up ^ 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.

Assyrian King List

King NameYears of RuleKingdom
Eriba-Adad I1380–1353 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Ashur-uballit I1353–1318 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Enlil-nirari1317–1308 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Arik-den-ili1307–1296 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Adad-nirari I1295–1264 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Shalmaneser I1263–1234 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Tukulti-Ninurta I1233–1197 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Ashur-nadin-apli1196–1194 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Ashur-nirari III1193–1188 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Enlil-kudurri-usur1187–1183 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Ninurta-apal-Ekur1182–1180 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Ashur-Dan I1179-1133 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Ninurta-tukulti-Ashur1333 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Mutakkil-nusku1333 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Ashur-resh-ishi I1133-1115 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Tiglath-Pileser I1115-1076 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Asharid-apal-Ekur1076-1074 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Ashur-bel-kala1074-1056 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Eriba-Adad II1056-1054 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Shamshi-Adad IV1054-1050 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Ashur-nasir-pal I1050-1031 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Shalmaneser II1031-1019 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Ashur-nirari IV1019-1013 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Ashur-rabi II1013-972 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Ashur-resh-ishi II972-967 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Tiglath-Pileser II967-935 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Ashur-Dan II935-912 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Adad-nirari II912-891 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Tukulti-Ninurta II891-884 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Ashur-nasir-pal II884-859 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Shalmaneser III859-824 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Shamshi-adad V824-811 BCMiddle Assyrian Empire
Shammu-ramat811-808 BCNeo-Assyrian Empire
Adad-nirari III811-783 BCNeo-Assyrian Empire
Shalmeneser IV783-773 BCNeo-Assyrian Empire
Ashur-dan III773-755 BCNeo-Assyrian Empire
Ashur-nirari V755-745 BCNeo-Assyrian Empire
Tiglath-Pileser III745-727 BCNeo-Assyrian Empire
Shalmaneser V727-722 BCNeo-Assyrian Empire
Sargon II722–705 BCNeo-Assyrian Empire
Sennacherib705–681 BCNeo-Assyrian Empire
Esarhaddon681–669 BCNeo-Assyrian Empire
Ashurbanipal669–631 BCNeo-Assyrian Empire
Ashur-etli-ilani631-627 BCNeo-Assyrian Empire
Sin-shumu-lishir626 BCNeo-Assyrian Empire
Sin-shar-ishkun627-612 BCNeo-Assyrian Empire
Ashur-uballit II612-608 BCNeo-Assyrian Empire
Sabalico Logo
Sabalytics Logo
World Map Logo
rStatistics Logo
Time Zone Logo
Galaxy View Logo
Periodic Table Logo
My Location Logo
Weather Track Logo
Sprite Sheet Logo
Barcode Generator Logo
Test Speed Logo
Website Tools Logo
Image Tools Logo
Color Tools Logo
Text Tools Logo
Finance Tools Logo
File Tools Logo
Data Tools Logo
History of Humanity - History Archive Logo
History of Humanity - History Mysteries Logo
History of Humanity - Ancient Mesopotamia Logo
History of Humanity - Egypt History Logo
History of Humanity - Persian Empire Logo
History of Humanity - Greek History Logo
History of Humanity - Alexander the Great Logo
History of Humanity - Roman History Logo
History of Humanity - Punic Wars Logo
History of Humanity - Golden Age of Piracy Logo
History of Humanity - Revolutionary War Logo