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Battle of Qarqar

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	Battle of Qarqar
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	Topics Battle of Qarqar Topic Home The Battle of Karkar (or Qarqar) was fought in 853 BC when the army of AssyriaAssyria Assyria in earliest historical times referred to a region on the Upper Tigris river, named for its original capital, the anc... , led by king Shalmaneser IIIShalmaneser III Shalmaneser III was king of Assyria, and son of the previous ruler, Ashurnasirpal II.... , encountered an allied army of 12 kings at Karkar led by HadadezerHadadezer Hadadezer; also known as Bar-Hadad II]]; Ben-Hadad II or Adad-Idri was the king of Damascus at the time of... (also called Adad-idri and possibly the same as Ben Hadad) of DamascusAram Damascus Aram Damascus was an Aramean state centered around Damascus in Syria, from the late 12th century BCE to 734 BCE.... and King Ahab of IsraelKingdom of Israel The Kingdom of Israel Hebrew: ???????? ??????????, Standard Hebrew Mal?ut Yisra'el, Tiberian Hebrew Mal?? Yisra'el) ... . This battle is notable for having a larger number of combatants than any previous battle, and for being the first instance some peoples enter recorded history (such as the Arabs). It is recorded on The Kurkh Monolith. The ancient town of Qarqar at which the battle took place has generally been identified with the modern archaeological site of Tell QarqurTell Qarqur Tell Qarqur is a major archaeological site located in the Orontes River Valley of western Syria.... . According to an inscription later erected by Shalmaneser, he had started his annual campaign, leaving NinevehNineveh Nineveh was an important city in ancient Assyria.... on the 14th day of Aiaru. He crossed both the TigrisTigris The Tigris is the eastern member of the pair of great rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows ... and EuphratesEuphrates The Euphrates is the westernmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia .... without incident, receiving the submission and tribute of several cities along the way, including that of AleppoAleppo Aleppo is a city and province in northern Syria.... . Once past Aleppo, he encountered his first resistance from troops of Iruleni, king of Hamath, whom he defeated; in retribution, he plundered both the palaces and the cities of Iruleni's kingdom. Continuing his march after having sacked Karkar, he encountered the allied forces near the Orontes RiverOrontes River The Orontes or *Asi* is a river of Lebanon and Syria.... . The Contending Allied Forces Shalmaneser's inscription describes the forces of his opponent Hadadezer in considerable detail as follows: King HadadezerHadadezer Hadadezer; also known as Bar-Hadad II]]; Ben-Hadad II or Adad-Idri was the king of Damascus at the time of... himself commanded 1,200 chariots, 1,200 horsemen and 20,000 soldiers; King Irhuleni of Hamath commanded 700 chariots, 700 horsemen and 10,000 soldiers; King AhabAhab Ahab or Ach'av was King of the Kingdom of Israel and the province of Samaria, and the son and successor of Omri .... of IsraelKingdom of Israel The Kingdom of Israel Hebrew: ???????? ??????????, Standard Hebrew Mal?ut Yisra'el, Tiberian Hebrew Mal?? Yisra'el) ... sent 2,000 chariots and 10,000 soldiers; The land of KUR Gu-a-a (sometimes identified with Que - CiliciaCilicia In Antiquity, Cilicia was the name of a region, now known as ukurova, and often a political unit, on the southeastern coast ... ) sent 500 soldiers; The land of KUR Mu-us-ra- (sometimes identified with EgyptEgypt Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a Middle Eastern country in North Africa.... but possibly somewhere near Que) sent 1,000 soldiers; The land of Irqanata (Tell Arqa) sent 10 chariots and 10,000 soldiers; The land of ArwadArwad Arwad – formerly Arado, Arados, Arvad, Arpad, Arphad, Antiochia in Pieria, Latin: ... sent 200 soldiers; The land of Usannata (in the Jeble region of Syria) sent 200 soldiers; The land of Shianu (in the Jeble region) - figures lost King GindibuGindibu Gindibu was king of the Arab forces at the battle of Qarqar, fought against Assyria.... of ArabiaArabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula is a peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia consisting mainly of desert.... sent 1000 camelCamel Camel refers to either of the two species of Camelid.... -riders; King Ba'asa, son of RuhubiRuhubi Ruhubi was the father of Baasha ben Ruhubi, who was king of Ammon in the 850s BCE.... , of the land of Aman (anti-Lebanon - numbers lost Battle Shalmaneser boasts that his troops inflicted 14,000 casualties upon the allied army, capturing countless chariots and horses, and describes the damage he inflicted on his opponents in savage detail. However, the royal inscriptions from this period are notoriously unreliable and never directly acknowledge defeats, and sometimes claim victories won by ancestors or predecessors. If Shalmaneser had won a clear victory at Karkar, it did not immediately enable further Assyrian conquests in Syria. Assyrian records make it clear that he campaigned in the region several more times in the following decade, engaging Hadadezer six times, who was supported by Iruleni of Hamath at least twice. Shalmaneser's opponents held on to their thrones after this battle: Hadadezer was king of Damascus until at least 841 BC, while Ahab was king of Israel until around 850 BC.