style the inscription reads almost like a page from one of the earlier
historical books of the Old Testament.

From the time of Omri on Israel came into frequent contact with
Assyria; indeed, the fortunes of Israel were closely bound up with the
fortunes of this great Eastern world-power.[13] In 885, at about the
time when Omri had finally succeeded in overcoming his rivals,
Ashurnasirpal ascended the throne of Assyria. He determined to restore
the former glory of his nation, which had become eclipsed under his
incompetent predecessors; and with him began a period of conquest which
ultimately brought the whole eastern shore of the Mediterranean under
Assyrian sway. In 860 Shalmaneser III[14] succeeded his father upon
the throne of Assyria, and in the following year he renewed the attack
upon the West. In 854 he felt prepared for a supreme effort, and it is
in the {133} account of this campaign that we read for the first time
the name of an Israelite king in the Assyrian inscription. Shalmaneser
advanced with great speed and success until he reached Karkar, near the
Orontes, a little north of Hamath. In the account of the campaign he
mentions, among the allies who fought against him, Ahab of Israel, who,
he says, furnished two thousand chariots and ten thousand men. The
campaign is recorded in several inscriptions, in all of which
Shalmaneser claims a complete victory.

The most famous inscription of this king is the one on the so-called
Black Obelisk, an alabaster monolith found at Nimrud in 1846. This
monument is inscribed on all four sides with an account, in one hundred
and ninety lines, of the expeditions undertaken during thirty-one years
of the king's reign. In the text of the inscription reference is made
to campaigns against the west land (Syria and Palestine) in 859, 854,
850, 849, 846, 842, and 839. In addition to the inscription the
monument contains, on the upper portion, five series of four reliefs
each, each series representing the tribute brought to the Assyrian king
by kings whom he had conquered or who sought his favor. In the
inscription itself, no mention is made of Israel or the king of Israel,
but the second tier of reliefs is of much interest. It depicts a
prince or deputy prostrating himself before Shalmaneser, {134} and
behind the prostrated figure are attendants bearing gifts of various
kinds. The superscription reads: "The tribute of Jehu, son of Omri,
silver, gold, a golden bowl