Tiglath-Pileser I

Tiglath-Pileser I
King of Assyria King of the Four Corners of the World
Rock relief of Tiglath-Pileser I
King of the Middle Assyrian Empire
Reign	1114–1076 BC
Predecessor	Ashur-resh-ishi I
Successor	Asharid-apal-Ekur
Died	1076 BC
Issue	Asharid-apal-Ekur, Ashur-bel-kala, Shamshi-Adad IV
Akkadian	𒆪𒋾𒀀𒂍𒈗𒊏 TUKUL.TI.A.É.ŠÁR.RA Tukultī-apil-Ešarra
Religion	Ancient Mesopotamian religion

Tiglath-Pileser I (/ˈtɪɡləθ paɪˈliːzər, -ˌlæθ, pɪ-/; from the Hebraic form^[1] of Akkadian: 𒆪𒋾𒀀𒂍𒈗𒊏, romanized: Tukultī-apil-Ešarra, "my trust is in the son of Ešarra") was a king of Assyria during the Middle Assyrian period (1114–1076 BC). According to Georges Roux, Tiglath-Pileser was "one of the two or three great Assyrian monarchs since the days of Shamshi-Adad I".^[2] He was known for his "wide-ranging military campaigns, his enthusiasm for building projects, and his interest in cuneiform tablet collections".^[3] Under him, Assyria became the leading power of the Ancient Near East, a position the kingdom largely maintained for the next five hundred years. He expanded Assyrian control into Anatolia and Syria, and to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.^[4] From his surviving inscriptions, he seems to have carefully cultivated a fear of himself in his subjects and in his enemies alike.

The beginning of Tiglath-Pileser's I reign, laid heavy involvement in military campaigns, as suggested from translated texts from the Middle Assyrian period. The texts were believed to be "justification of war."^[5] Although little literary text is available from the time of Tiglath-Pileser I, there is evidence to show that the reign of Tiglath-Pileser I inspired the act of recording information, including that of his military campaigns. Toward the end of Tiglath-Pileser's reign literary texts took the form of "summary texts" which served as a vessel for as much information about his reign as possible, with the intent to be handed down to his successor.