Editing Sargon II (section)

== Background ==

=== Ancestry and rise to the throne ===
[[File:Tiglath-pileser III and submission of an enemy, 8th century BC, from Nimrud, Iraq. The British Museum.jpg|upright=1.2|alt=Tiglath-Pileser III and Shalmaneser V on a rock relief|left|thumb|Relief from Nimrud depicting Sargon II's probable father [[Tiglath-Pileser III]] ({{Reign}}745–727 BC; right) and possibly also his probable brother [[Shalmaneser V]] ({{Reign}}727–722 BC; left){{Sfn|Yamada|Yamada|2017|pp=402–403}}]]
Nothing is known of Sargon II's life before he became king.{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=23}} He was probably born {{Circa}} 770 BC and cannot have been born later than {{Circa}} 760 BC.{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=29}}{{efn|Sargon's son and successor [[Sennacherib]] ({{Reign}}705–681) had a son named [[Ashur-nadin-shumi]], who was proclaimed vassal king of Babylon in 700. To be king, Ashur-nadin-shumi cannot have been younger than twenty. Because Assyrians tended to marry between the age of 26 and 32 (though royals might have married earlier), Sennacherib was probably born {{Circa}} 745 (at the latest {{Circa}} 740). Sennacherib was not Sargon's eldest son, which pushes Sargon's date of birth to {{Circa}} 770 (at the latest {{Circa}} 760).{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=|pp=28–29}}}} His reign was immediately preceded by those of [[Tiglath-Pileser III]] ({{Reign}}745–727) and Tiglath-Pileser's son [[Shalmaneser V]] ({{Reign}}727–722).{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=25}} Although Sargon is generally regarded as the founder of a new dynastic line, the [[Sargonid dynasty]],{{Sfn|Livingstone|2017|p=366}} he was probably a scion of the incumbent [[Adaside dynasty]].{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=180}} Sargon grew up during the reigns of [[Ashur-dan III]] ({{Reign}}773–755) and [[Ashur-nirari V]] ({{Reign}}755–745), when rebellion and plague affected the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]]; the prestige and power of [[Assyria]] dramatically declined. This trend reversed during the tenure of Tiglath-Pileser,{{Sfn|Melville|2016|p=56}} who reduced the influence of powerful officials,{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=177}}{{Sfn|Düring|2020|p=142}} reformed the army{{Sfn|Dubovský|2006|p=153}} and more than doubled the size of the empire.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=178}} In contrast to Tiglath-Pileser, little is recorded of Shalmaneser's brief reign.{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=25}}{{Sfn|Yamada|Yamada|2017|p=|pp=405–406}}

Whereas kings typically elaborated on their origin in inscriptions, Sargon stated that the Assyrian national deity [[Ashur (god)|Ashur]] had called him to the throne.{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=27}}{{Sfn|Parker|2011|pp=365–367}} Sargon mentioned his origin in just two known inscriptions, where he referred to himself as Tiglath-Pileser's son, and in the [[Borowski Stele]], probably from [[Hama]] in Syria, which referenced his "royal fathers".{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=27}} Most historians cautiously{{Sfn|Chen|2020|p=201}} accept that Sargon was Tiglath-Pileser's son but not the legitimate heir to the throne as the next-in-line after Shalmaneser.{{Sfn|Cogan|2017|p=154}} If Sargon was Tiglath-Pileser's son, his mother might have been the queen [[Iaba, Banitu and Atalia|Iaba]].{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=28}} Some Assyriologists, such as Natalie Naomi May, have suggested that Sargon was a member of a collateral branch of the Adaside dynasty from the western part of the empire.{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=27}} In [[Babylonia]], Sargon and his successors were considered part of the "dynasty of [[Hanigalbat]]" (a western territory), while earlier Assyrian kings were considered part of the "dynasty of Baltil" (Baltil being the name of the oldest portion of the ancient Assyrian capital of [[Assur]]). Perhaps Sargon was connected to a junior branch of the royal dynasty established at Hanigalbat centuries earlier.{{sfn|Fales|2014|p=|pp=204, 227}} Some Assyriologists, such as [[John Anthony Brinkman]], believe that Sargon did not belong to the direct dynastic lineage.{{Sfn|Garelli|1991|p=46}}

[[File:Sargon II proclaimed king.png|thumb|upright=1.2|20th-century illustration of Sargon being proclaimed king in 722 BC|alt=Illustration of Sargon's proclamation as king]]
The [[Babylonian Chronicles]] report that Shalmaneser died in January 722 and was succeeded in the same month by Sargon,{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=25}} who was between forty and fifty years old.{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=29}} The exact events surrounding his accession are not clear.{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=8, 26}} Some historians such as [[Josette Elayi]] believe that Sargon legitimately inherited the throne.{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=27}} Most scholars however believe him to have been a usurper;{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=180}}{{Sfn|Cogan|2017|p=154}} one theory is that Sargon killed Shalmaneser and seized the throne in a [[palace coup]].{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=27}} Sargon rarely referenced his predecessors{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=27}} and, upon accession, faced massive domestic opposition.{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=32}} Shalmaneser probably had sons of his own who could have inherited the throne,{{Sfn|Yamada|Yamada|2017|p=423}} such as the palace official [[Ashur-dain-aplu]], who retained a prominent position under the Sargonid kings.{{Sfn|Yamada|Yamada|2017|p=426}} Sargon's only known reference to Shalmaneser describes Ashur punishing him for his policies:{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=26}}

{{quote|quote=Shalmaneser, who did not fear the king of the world, whose hands have brought sacrilege in this city (Assur), pu[t on...] on his people, [he] impo[sed] the compulsory work and a heavy corvée, paid them like a working class [...]. The Illil of the gods, in the wrath of his heart, overthrew [hi]s rule, and [appointed] me, Sargon, as king [of Assyria]. He raised my head; he let [me] take hold of the scepter, the throne (and) the tiara [...].{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=26}}}}

Sargon did not otherwise hold Shalmaneser responsible for the policies placed on Assur, since he wrote elsewhere that most of these had been enacted in the distant past. Tiglath-Pileser, not Shalmaneser, imposed forced labor on the residents of Assur.{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=|pp=26–27}} Several of Shalmaneser's policies and acts were revoked by Sargon. [[Hullî]], a king in [[Tabal (state)|Tabal]] (a region in [[Anatolia]]) deported by Shalmaneser, was reinstalled and Sargon reversed Shalmaneser's attempt to decrease trade with Egypt.{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=30}}

=== Name ===
[[File:Sargon of Akkad on his victory stele.jpg|thumb|[[Sargon of Akkad]] (c.2334–2279 BC) as depicted on his victory stele. Sargon II likely took his [[regnal name]] from this ancient king and sought to emulate his exploits.|alt=Sargon of Akkad on a rock relief]]
Sargon II was the first king in more than a thousand years to bear the name Sargon.{{Sfn|Foster|2016|p=278}} There were two Mesopotamian kings of the same name before his reign: [[Sargon I]], a minor Assyrian king of the 19th century BC (after whom Sargon II is enumerated by modern historians), and the far more prominent 24th–23rd century BC [[Sargon of Akkad]], conqueror of large parts of Mesopotamia and the founder of the [[Akkadian Empire]].{{Sfn|Hurowitz|2010|p=93}} Sargon was probably an assumed [[regnal name]].{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|pp=14, 28}} Royal names in ancient Mesopotamia were deliberate choices,{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=12}} setting the tone for a king's reign.{{Sfn|Foster|2016|p=278}} Sargon most likely chose the name due to its use by Sargon of Akkad. In late Assyrian texts, the names of Sargon II and Sargon of Akkad are written with the same spelling. Sargon II is sometimes explicitly called the "second Sargon" (''Šarru-kīn arkû''). Though the precise extent of the ancient Sargon's conquests had been forgotten, the legendary ruler was still remembered as a "conqueror of the world".{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=|pp=14–15}} Sargon II also energetically pursued the expansion of his own empire.{{Sfn|Foster|2016|p=278}}

In addition to the name's historical connections, Sargon connected his regnal name to justice.{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=12}} In several inscriptions, Sargon described his name as akin to a divine mandate to ensure that his people lived just lives, for instance in an inscription in which Sargon described how he reimbursed the owners of the land he chose to construct his new capital city of [[Dur-Sharrukin]] on:{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=12}}

{{quote|quote=In accordance with the name which the great gods have given me – to maintain justice and right, to give guidance to those who are not strong, not to injure the weak –  the price of the fields of that town [Khorsabad] I paid back to their owners ...{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=12}}}}

The name was most commonly written ''Šarru-kīn'', although ''Šarru-ukīn'', is also attested. Sargon's name is commonly interpreted as "the faithful king" in the sense of righteousness and justice. Another alternative is that ''Šarru-kīn'' is a phonetic reproduction of the contracted pronunciation of ''Šarru-ukīn'' to ''Šarrukīn'', which means that it should be interpreted as "the king has obtained/established order", possibly referencing disorder either under his predecessor or caused by Sargon's usurpation.{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=|pp=13–14}} ''Šarru-kīn'' can also be interpreted as "the legitimate king" or "the true king" and it could have been chosen because Sargon was not the legitimate heir to the throne.{{sfn|Wilson|2017|p=29}}{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=|pp=13–14}} The ancient Sargon of Akkad also became king through usurpation.{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=|pp=13–14}} The origin of the conventional modern version of the name, Sargon, is not entirely clear but it is probably based on the spelling in the [[Hebrew Bible]] (''srgwn'').{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=13}}