Tiglath-Pileser III Rebuilds the Empire

Tiglath-Pileser divides the subdued kingdoms into provinces under Assyrian governors, replaces the levy with a standing army, and institutes mass deportation: the elite of a defeated people is carried into the depths of the empire, and strangers are settled in its place. So the capacity for resistance was broken. He takes Damascus, reaches Gaza, seats his own clients on thrones, and makes himself king of Babylon. From this reign on, Assyria ceases to be one kingdom among the region's many and becomes the first true empire of the Near East.