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The Stop
King of Assyria from 745-727 BCE, Tiglath-pileser III oversaw the ‘last and greatest’ phase of the ancient Assyrian Empire’s expansion.1 Under his brutal rule, he merged the kingdoms of Assyria and Babylonia and began what would become the ‘last and greatest phase of Assyrian expansion’ by founding what modern scholars refer to as the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Though he was connected to the royal family by blood, he wasn’t in the royal line and assumed the throne by coup.2
By the time of Tiglath-pileser III’s assumption of control, Assyria had become ‘politically and militarily weak,’ dominated by its northern neighbour, Urartu. Blaming the country’s reduced influence on the weak ruling family, in the spring of 745 BCE, Pul - governor of the city of Calah3 - led a rebellion, seized control of the court, slaughtered the royal family and installed himself as king. Pul took the throne name Tiglath-pileser III as a reference to an ‘illustrious forebear, Tiglath-pileser I’ who had ruled the Empire over three hundred years earlier.
Tiglath-pileser III was an ‘intelligent and vigorous’ ruler who retook direct control of the larger provinces. Under the previous two kings, these vast areas had grown too autonomous and were keen to increase their independence from the central government. Subdividing them into 80 different governorships, he restructured the government to give himself more power and reduced the authority and influence of the local rulers. Each area was now governed by two men - by policy they had to be eunuchs to prevent any governor from trying to pass power onto a son - who had to ‘agree on policy’ before taking it to the king for his approval. Each province was also required to ‘report directly to the king’ so that he could keep constant check on his civil servants’ loyalty and efficiency.
These same servants were responsible for taxation, storing military supplies and ensuring the Assyrian army was composed of ‘loyal forces.’ Under his rule, the Assyrian army - which previously relied on ‘haphazard conscription’ - became the first professional army in history.4 By creating an intelligence system which enabled reports of enemy movements to be transmitted quickly amongst his forces, his redesigned army soon subdued all of the surrounding lands, tribes and kingdoms. Regarded as ‘one of the greatest military leaders in history,’ Tiglath-pileser III took control of the throne of Babylon in 729-728 to make his kingdom the ‘most powerful in the world.’ He ruled it until his death from natural causes the following year.
The Detour
Today’s Detour is to a video (7:41) from The New Yorker: ‘Nsenene.’ It’s a beautifully shot film capturing the practice of grasshopper-catching in Uganda, showing how the insects contribute to Uganda’s diet and economy. Let me know what you think in the comment link!
The Recommendation
Today’s recommendation is Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba’s Forty Thieves (1937).5 I vaguely remember watching it on TV in the early 1970s, but hadn’t thought about since until it popped into my head while working on the Stop. Filled with uncomfortable stereotypes of many types, there are lots of reasons why it’s not on TV today - but as a snapshot of its time (and what animation used to look like), it’s worth at least a look.
Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves
The Sounds
Today’s playlist is a collection of five tracks which have nothing to do with the Stop, but have been languishing in my ‘To Use’ folder for several months and needed to be set free:6 ‘Wrap Sumden’ (Nelly, 2000), ‘Hell is Round the Corner’ (Tricky, 1995), ‘yankee and the brave (ep.4)’ (Run the Jewels, 2020), ‘Many of Horror’ (Biffy Clyro, 2009) and ‘Here I Am (Come and Take Me)’ (Al Green, 1973). Enjoy!
The Thought
Today’s Thought is from the former British Prime Minister (twice, actually - in 1868 and again from 1874-1880), Benjamin Disraeli:7
‘The secret to success is constancy to purpose’
If you have a thought on this Thought - or any part of today’s issue - please leave a comment below:
And that’s the end of this stop - I hope you enjoyed the diversion!
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Until the next stop …
The name Tiglath-pileser - which is one my all-time favourites (to the degree that when I was in university I said that if I had a son I’d name him Tiglath (I didn’t)) - is the Hebrew version of the Akkadian Tukulti-Apil-Esara, meaning ‘my trust is in the son of Esharra’ - one of the names given to the Assyrian deity Asshur.
I’ve loved the history of the Ancient Near East, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Persia, etc. and the surrounding lands since first exposed to them as a child. And I still want a magic carpet. Sources for today’s Stop include: Tiglath-pileser III (Britannica), Tiglath-pileser III (World History), and Tiglath-pileser III (New World Encylopedia).
Calah is also - and better - known as Nimrūd, founded in the 13th century BCE by Shalmaneser I. Chosen by Ashurnasirpal in the 9th Century BCE as the royal seat of Assyria, at the time of the coup its governor would have been of high importance. Tiglath-pileser III is also mentioned in the Bible (as Pul) in II Kings 15:19 and I Chronicles 5:26 which record King Menachem of Israel paying him 1,000 talents of silver to save his kingdom from being sacked and its inhabitants killed.
Instead of bronze, the newly-professional Assyrian army used iron weapons - which were stronger and able to be mass produced to equip a much larger army.
The relevant part of the linked film ends at 17:22; inexplicably, Private Eye Popeye (1954) takes up the last 7 minutes or so.
I think they work well together, but this is of course subjective.
For more about Disraeli, see: Disraeli (Britannica).