ADADNIRARI III

(reigned 810–783 B.C.)

   King of Assyria, son and successor of Shamshi-Adad V. Anoteworthy feature of his reign is the fact that during his early years on the throne, military campaigns were conducted by his generals, perhaps due to the young age of the king. The first expedition led by Adad-nirari himself (in 805) was directed against Syria, where he collected tribute from local rulers. The second took him to Babylonia, where he attacked Der, although he seems also to have made efforts to restore peace and order by bringing back Babylonian deportees and statues of gods kept in Assyria. Although he maintained the borders of the empire as they had been under ShalmaneserIII, toward the end of his reign Assyria began a period of decline.