Ashur-dan II

Ashur-Dan II (Aššur-dān) (934–912 BC), son of Tiglath Pileser II, was the last king of the interregnum between the Middle Assyrian Empire, and the birthing of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. He was best known for recapturing previously held Assyrian territory in Anatolia, Levant and Zagros and shoring up Assyria's natural borders, in a line from Tur Abdin, Harran, Kiultepe, Merida and Hakkari across southeast Anatolia in the north, the Khabur delta and Hassakeh region to the west, Zagros Mountains to the east and central Mesopotamia to the south. The reclaimed territory through his conquest was fortified with horses, ploughs, and grain stores. His military and economic expansions benefited four subsequent generations of kings that replicated his model.

Background The direction of the campaigns conducted by Assyrian kings and the means of reconstructing chronology of events from the period of 841–745 and beyond are found in one type of eponym list, commonly known as an Eponym Chronicle. The Assyrian royal annals add to this skeleton outline significantly. Annals are still preserved for all but the last few kings. There are no letters available from this period, however administrative and legal documents exist. For Ashur-Dan II, whose annals are only preserved in fragments, certain characteristics of Assyrian military can be observed. He followed the description of his military exploits by the count of wild animals (wild bulls, elephants, and lions) that he had hunted and killed, which traditionally characterized Assyrian kings as protective and heroic. The accounts conclude with Ashur-Dan's building activities, stressing that he did not exploit the spoils of his campaign to enrich himself, but rather to honour and exalt the gods.

Succession Ashur-Dan was succeeded by his son, Adad-nirari II (911–891 BC). He continued to campaign repeatedly in areas that his father had attacked, expanding on his father’s achievements. He ruled two years fewer than his father, but the number and range of his military campaigns were greater. To the west he marched as far as the Balikh river, to the south as far as the middle Euphrates, to the north as far as the southern regions of Lake Van, and to the east he penetrated the Zagros mountains. Three versions of his annals are known. Altogether the annals cover campaigns from the accession to the eighteenth regnal year.