he campaigned on three more occasions against his opponents in 849, 845 and 838 BC, conquering much of the Levant. He failed to take Damascus but devastated much of its territory however many of the Phoenician cities received a respite from Assyrian attacks during the reign of Shamshi-Adad V and the regent queen Semiramis. Adad-nirari III proved a vigorous king. Among his actions was a siege of Damascus in the time of Ben-Hadad III in 796 BC, which led to the eclipse of the Aramaean Kingdom of Damascus and allowed the recovery of Israel under Jehoash (who paid the Assyrian king tribute at this time) and Jeroboam II. Campaigns of Tiglath Pileser III, 745–727 BC Tiglath Pileser III brought the Assyrian empire out of the period of instability it had entered after the death of Adad-nirari III in 783 BC, much to the fear of Assyria's enemies. His reforms in administration and in the military included the introduction of a standing army (allowing for extensive campaigning and siege warfare), greater lines of communication and supply of horses, metal, arrows and other necessities of war. Upon conquering a new territory, an Assyrian official would be put in charge to supervise and ensure Assyrian interests and tribute were maintained. With these and with his energetic campaigning, the Levant and many of the Phoenician cities were doomed to lose their independence once again to the brutal yet effective Assyrian armies. After taking care of the troublesome Chaldean and Sutean tribes who had migrated into Babylonia to the south, and re-affirming Babylon's vassalage to Assyria, Tiglath led a campaign against the northern opponents of Urartu – Urartu had been extending their influence into the eastern Mediterranean by carving out a number of vassal states along the fertile crescent and into southern Canaan. Consequently, Tiglath's moves against Aramea and Canaan served to aid him in his war against Urartu. Upon hearing of the advancing armies of Assyria, the vassal states in northern Syria called for the forces of Urartu to protect them. In a crushing defeat in the Upper Euphrates Tiglath ensured that no troops would come to their aid; an unsuccessful siege of the capital of Urartu, Turushpa meant that Tiglath concentrated his efforts in the West. The Syrian city of Arpad was placed under siege in 747 BC. While most armies of the time would not be able to lay siege for more