Battle of Qarqar: against whom were Assyrians really fighting?
by Damien F. Mackey The problem is, however, that, according to the revision - at least the system that I follow - the long reign of Shalmaneser III, situated as it is in the mid-C9th BC, must coincide with the revised (downwards from the C14th BC) El Amarna [EA] period of Egyptian history of pharaohs Amenhotep III, Akhnaton, (Smenkhkare) and Tutankhamun. Part One: Re-stating the Assyrian Problem Introduction Shalmaneser III was without a doubt a truly mighty king of Assyria, able to rally an army of 120,000 men. Conventionally, this king is dated to c. 858 - 824 BC. And, conventionally again, he is thought to have fought against Ben-hadad of Syria and king Ahab of Israel, and later to have taken tribute from king Jehu of Israel and to have overcome king Hazael of Syria. Since all four of the above-named opponents of Shalmaneser III, according to convention, were biblical kings (Ben-hadad; Ahab; Jehu; Hazael), then it would seem that