than half a year (the seasonal change demanded the soldiers return to their farms and tend to their fields and livestock) the reforms of Tilgath mean that his standing army would take the city in the third year of the siege. In 738 BC, Tiglath mirrored the moves of his predecessor, Ashurnasirpal II by accepting the tribute of many of cities in Canaan and Syria. The fruits of the conquests ensured once again a good supply of raw materials to feed the Assyrian war machine. When Tiglath placed a trade embargo on exporting Phoenician cedar to Egypt, Egyptian-backed rebellions broke out throughout the region, all crushed and all made to recognize the suzerainty of nation of Assur. Shalmaneser V, 726–722 BC and Sargon II, 721–705 BC Sargonid dynasty The succession of Sargon II to Tiglath is surrounded by mystery – his campaigns against Babylon mention a previous conquest of Jerusalem, the capital of the Israelite Kingdom of Judah and the mass deportation of some 27,000+ inhabitants to the lands of Media. The most likely result is that another King before Sargon II, Shalmaneser V may have launched campaigns in the provinces of Syria and Palestine before being overthrown by Sargon II – whose rebellion would have encouraged others throughout the Empire, including the secession of Babylon from Assyria vassalage. Sargon II therefore claims the glory of his usurped predecessor's conquest of Israel. In any case, the Assyrians under Sargon II were once more forced to campaign in the immediate vicinity of Assyria, resulting in an outbreak of rebellion in Syria (no doubt in order to take advantage of the pre-occupied status of the Assyrian army). After defeating her opponents, Sargon II decided to head west rather than completely defeat Elam, being content with reducing her ability to campaign for some time. The Syrian rebellion was backed by the Egyptians (Hanuna of Gaza was encouraged by them and so rebelled) and led by the ruler of Hamath. The cities of Damascus, Samaria and a few of the Phoenician cities also broke away and allied once again to face the threat of Assyria. The rebellion was ultimately doomed; the coalition lacked the military ability to stop Sargon's rapid advance south. After taking Arpad, Sargon II smashed the coalition army at Qarqar, thereby avenging the stalemate of Shalmaneser III. Hamath fell, followed by Damascus and then Samaria. Sargon then went on to take