The Middle East: 741–730 BCE

Assyrian Dominance and Regional Subjugation

The period from 741 to 730 BCE witnesses Assyria firmly reasserting its imperial strength under the vigorous rule of Tiglath-Pileser III. Following his earlier restoration of internal stability, Tiglath-Pileser embarks on expansive military campaigns aimed at decisively subduing regional opposition and expanding Assyrian territory.

In 740 BCE, Tiglath-Pileser III captures the strategically important city of Arpad in northern Syria. This victory marks a pivotal moment, significantly weakening a northern Syrian coalition that had sought to resist Assyrian dominance. By 738 BCE, the relentless Assyrian king compels various Syrian princes and smaller states scattered throughout eastern Anatolia into submission, extracting heavy tribute and converting many of these vassal states into formal Assyrian provinces. This administrative reorganization reinforces Assyria’s direct control over crucial areas and trade routes, ensuring sustained economic and military dominance.

Meanwhile, Assyrian influence expands further into the southern Levant through alliances and military conquest. Between 735 and 732 BCE, Tiglath-Pileser allies with the kingdom of Judah, conducting extensive warfare across West Asia. These campaigns decisively weaken the kingdom of Israel, resulting in significant territorial losses for the Israelites. The culmination of Tiglath-Pileser’s western campaigns occurs in 732 BCE with the dramatic sack of Damascus, the once-prosperous capital of the Aramaean kingdom. He forcibly deports large populations from both Damascus and northern Israel, systematically breaking local resistance and reshaping the ethnic and political landscape of the region.

Extending Assyrian reach southward, Tiglath-Pileser also successfully forces the Arabian kingdoms into tributary relationships, securing additional wealth and establishing Assyria’s dominance far beyond its traditional Mesopotamian heartland.

Thus, by 730 BCE, Tiglath-Pileser III’s relentless military and administrative reforms have fully revived Assyrian power, firmly establishing it as the dominant force across the Middle East. This period significantly alters the geopolitical dynamics of the region, embedding Assyrian influence deeply into both western Syria and the southern Levant, and solidifying the empire’s legacy of expansion and ruthless governance.

Tiglath Pileser, after taking Arpad in 740 BCE and defeating a northern Syrian coalition two years later, compels all Syrian princes and the small states of eastern Anatolia to pay tribute.

Annexing vassal states, he makes them into Assyrian provinces.

Tiglath-Pileser has warred in West Asia in an alliance with the kingdom of Judah from 735 to 732, defeating Israel and taking considerable territory.

He defeats various coalitions of western states in Syria, and, in 732 BCE, sacks Damascus, the capital of the Aramaean kingdom, and deports its population (and that of northern Israel) to Assyria.

He forces Arabia to pay tribute.

Near East (741–730 BCE): Fragmentation and Local Rule in Egypt

The Twenty-second Dynasty's Final Years

The kings of Egypt’s Twenty-second Dynasty, largely Meshwesh Libyans who settled during the earlier Twentieth Dynasty, continue their reign centered in Tanis. This dynasty, originating according to tradition from Bubastis, governs Lower Egypt from Tanis, their capital, where archaeological evidence of their tombs has been discovered. By this period, the Twenty-second Dynasty's authority has significantly diminished.

Emergence and Decline of the Twenty-third Dynasty

Parallel to the Twenty-second Dynasty is the emergence of the so-called Twenty-third Dynasty, considered by many scholars to be an offshoot dynasty possibly centered in Upper Egypt. All of its rulers govern regions within Middle and Upper Egypt, including the strategic Western Desert Oases. Following the reign of Takelot III, his younger brother and successor Rudamun briefly holds power. Rudamun's poorly documented reign symbolizes the weakening political coherence of the dynasty.

Fragmentation into City-States

After Rudamun's death, Upper Egypt's political landscape fragments further, giving rise to independent local powers. Notable among these emerging city-states are rulers such as Peftjaubast of Herakleopolis, Nimlot of Hermopolis, and Ini at Thebes. Each asserts autonomy, signifying a decentralized era marked by competition and regionalism.

Legacy of the Era

The era from 741 to 730 BCE encapsulates the decline of centralized authority in Egypt and the emergence of smaller, localized kingdoms. This fragmentation paves the way for future shifts in power dynamics, setting the stage for the eventual reunification and consolidation under subsequent dynasties. The political dissolution highlights the complexities of governance and control within Egypt, underscoring a transitional period characterized by regional autonomy amid waning central authority.

The kings of the Twenty-second Dynasty of Egypt are a series of Meshwesh Libyans who rule from circa 943 BCE until 720 BCE, having settled in Egypt since the Twentieth Dynasty.

Manetho states that the dynasty originated at Bubastis, but the kings almost certainly ruled from Tanis, which was their capital and the city where their tombs have been excavated.

The so-called Twenty-third Dynasty is an offshoot of this dynasty perhaps based in Upper Egypt, though there is much debate concerning this issue.

All of its kings reigned in Middle and Upper Egypt including the Western Desert Oases.

Rudamen, a poorly attested king, is the younger brother and successor of Takelot III.

The kingdom of the Upper Egyptian Libyan dynasty quickly fragments after Rudamun's death with the rise of local city states under kings such as …

…Peftjaubast of Herakleopolis, …

…Nimlot of Hermopolis, and …

…Ini at Thebes.

Greece, having become stable and prosperous, begins to see a great growth in population, spurring a great wave of colonization.

The earliest known inscriptions in the Greek alphabet date to around 730, around the time Hesiod writes his “Theogeny.”

The Messenians, not wanting to experience another battle such as the one fought in the vicinity of Ampheia, had fallen back to the heavily fortified Mount Ithome, guarding the entrance to the rich Stenyclarus plain, their center of resistance.

This is when the Messenians first send for help from the Oracle at Delphi.

They are told that a sacrifice of a royal virgin is the key to their success and the daughter of Aristodemus, a Messenian hero, is chosen for the sacrifice.

Upon hearing of this, the Spartans hold off from attacking Ithome for several years, before finally making a long march under their kings and killing the Messenian leader.

Aristodemus is made the new Messenian king and leads an offensive, meeting the enemy and driving them back into their own territory.