King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Rezin of

Aram Aram may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Aram'' (film), 2002 French action drama * Aram, a fictional character in Japanese manga series '' MeruPuri'' * Aram Quartet, an Italian music group * ''Aram'' (Kural book), the first of the three ...

() or Rasin of Syria in

DRB Deshastha Brahmin is a Hindu Brahmin subcaste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra and northern area of the state of Karnataka. Other than these states, according to authors K. S. Singh, Gregory Naik and Pran Nath Chopra, Deshastha Bra ...

(; akk, 𒊏𒄭𒀀𒉡/𒊏𒆥𒀀𒉡, Ra-ḫi-a-nu/Ra-qi-a-nu; arc, probably *''Raḍyan''; la, Rasin, link=no) ruled from

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

during the 8th century BC. During his reign, he was a tributary of King

Tiglath-Pileser III Tiglath-Pileser III (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , meaning "my trust belongs to the son of Ešarra"), was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 745 BC to his death in 727. One of the most prominent and historically significant Assyrian kings, Tig ...

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...

Lester L. Grabbe Lester L. Grabbe is a retired American scholar and Emeritus Professor of Hebrew Bible and Early Judaism at the University of Hull, England. As an historian of ancient Judaism, he has authored several standard treatments. He founded and convenes ...

, ''Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It?'' (New York: T&T Clark, 2007): p.134

Biography

Rezin conspired with a number of

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

ine kings (e.g.,

Hiram II Hiram II (''Hi-ru-mu'') was the Phoenician king of Tyre from 737 to 729 BC. In 738 he was listed as a tributary of the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III. His predecessor, Ithobaal II, was also stated to have paid tribute in that year. It is possibl ...

of Tyre) to rebel against Tiglath-Pileser III. Rezin's reign ended in 732 BC, when

sacked Damascus and annexed Aram:

In order to save his life, he (Raḫiānu) fled alone and entered the gate of his city
ike Ike or IKE may refer to: People * Ike (given name), a list of people with the name or nickname * Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969), Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II and President of the United States Surname ...
a mongoose. I maled his foremost men alive while making (the people of) his land watch. For forty-five days I set up my camp rond his city and confined him (there) like a bird in a cage. I cut down his plantations, ....., (and) orchards, which were without number; I did not leave a single one (standing). I surrounded (and) captured he city ...��ādara, the ancestral home of Raḫiānu (Rezin) of the land Damascus,
he pl He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
ce where he was born. I carried off 800 people, with their possessions, their oxen, (and) their sheep and goats. I carried off 750 captives from the cities Kuruṣṣâ (and) Samāya, (as well as) 550 captives from the city Metuna. Like tell(s) after the Deluge, I destroyed 591 cities of 16 districts of the land Damascus. (RINAP 1, Tiglath-Pileser III 20, l. 8’-17’)
Hayim Tadmor Hayim Tadmor (born Frumstein) (November 18, 1923, Harbin, China–December 11, 2005, Jerusalem) was a leading Israeli Assyriologist. As a student of Benno Landsberger and Sidney Smith, his knowledge was grounded in immediate knowledge and experie ...
and
Shigeo Yamada Shigeo (written: 茂雄, 茂生, 茂男, 茂夫, 成雄, 成男, 重雄, 重男, 重夫, 繁雄, 繁男, 晟郎, 殖生 or 滋雄) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese photographer *, Japanese swimm ...
, ''The Royal Inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III (744-727 BC) and Shalmaneser V (726-722 BC), Kings of Assyria.'' (The Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period 1; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2011).

Assyrian inscriptions indicate that Tiglath-pileser made a three year campaign in the Levant from 734-732 BC. In the first year he attacked the Phoenicians and sacked the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon. In the second year he devastated the land of Aram and the Arabs living in the Trans-Jordan under Queen Shamsi. Although he beat the Arameans in the field, he failed to take Damascus. In the third year he managed to take Damascus, where he slew King Rezin. He also destroyed and leveled the villages in Northern Israel. He boasted of slaying King Pekah, and he installed Hoshea on the throne. Only the fortified capital of Samaria remained, and the entire land was brought low. Archaeology confirms that many cities destroyed during this time period were never rebuilt. According to the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

( 2 Kings 16), the sack of Damascus was instigated by King

Ahaz Ahaz (; gr, Ἄχαζ, Ἀχάζ ''Akhaz''; la, Achaz) an abbreviation of Jehoahaz II (of Judah), "Yahweh has held" (; akk, 𒅀𒌑𒄩𒍣 ''Ya'úḫazi'' 'ia-ú-ḫa-zi'' Hayim Tadmor and Shigeo Yamada, ''The Royal Inscriptions of Tiglath ...

of Judah and ended in Rezin's execution (). The execution of Rezin is neither confirmed nor disconfirmed by independent evidence. According to 2 Kings Rezin allied with

Pekah Pekah (, ''Peqaḥ''; akk, 𒉺𒅗𒄩 ''Paqaḫa'' 'pa-qa-ḫa'' la, Phacee) was the eighteenth and penultimate king of Israel. He was a captain in the army of king Pekahiah of Israel, whom he killed to become king. Pekah was the son of Rem ...

, son of Remaliah, against

. The defeat of both kings is promised to Ahaz in the

Immanuel Immanuel ( he, עִמָּנוּאֵל, 'Īmmānū'ēl, meaning, "God is with us"; also romanized: , ; and or in Koine Greek of the New Testament) is a Hebrew name that appears in the Book of Isaiah (7:14) as a sign that God will protect the H ...

prophecy Isaiah 7:14, linked to the birth of a child who will be an infant, possibly Ahaz' royal heir

Hezekiah Hezekiah (; hbo, , Ḥīzqīyyahū), or Ezekias); grc, Ἐζεκίας 'Ezekías; la, Ezechias; also transliterated as or ; meaning "Yahweh, Yah shall strengthen" (born , sole ruler ), was the son of Ahaz and the 13th king of Kingdom of Jud ...

, when this takes place.Whittaker, H. A. ''Isaiah'' Biblia, Cannock

References

External links

{{Authority control 8th-century BC Kings of Syria Aramean kings Monarchs of the Hebrew Bible Kings of Syria House of Pekah

Biography

See also

References

External links