Tiglath-pileser first paid attention to Babylonia, and extinguished the resistance of the Aramaeans in Akkad.  He appears to have been welcomed by Nabonassar, who became his vassal, and he offered sacrifices in the cities of Babylon, Sippar, Cuthah, and Nippur.  Sippar had been occupied by Aramaeans, as on a previous occasion when they destroyed the temple of the sun god Shamash which was restored by Nabu-aplu-iddina of Babylon.

Tiglath-pileser did not overrun Chaldaea, but he destroyed its capital, Sarrabanu, and impaled King Nabu-ushabshi.  He proclaimed himself “King of Sumer and Akkad” and “King of the Four Quarters”.  The frontier states of Elam and Media were visited and subdued.

Having disposed of the Aramaeans and other raiders, the Assyrian monarch had next to deal with his most powerful rival, Urartu.  Argistis I had been succeeded by Sharduris III, who had formed an alliance with the north Mesopotamian king, Mati-ilu of Agusi, on whom Ashur-nirari had reposed his faith.  Ere long Sharduris pressed southward from Malatia and compelled the north Syrian Hittite states, including Carchemish, to acknowledge his suzerainty.  A struggle then ensued between Urartu and Assyria for the possession of the Syro-Cappadocian states.

At this time the reputation of Tiglath-pileser hung in the balance.  If he failed in his attack on Urartu, his prestige would vanish at home and abroad and Sharduris might, after establishing himself in northern Syria, invade Assyria and compel its allegiance.

Two courses lay before Tiglath-pileser.  He could either cross the mountains and invade Urartu, or strike at his rival in north Syria, where the influence of Assyria had been completely extinguished.  The latter appeared to him to be the most feasible and judicious procedure, for if he succeeded in expelling the invaders he would at the same time compel the allegiance of the rebellious Hittite states.

In the spring of 743 B.C.  Tiglath-pileser led his army across the Euphrates and reached Arpad without meeting with any resistance.  The city appears to have opened its gates to him although it was in the kingdom of Mati-ilu, who acknowledged Urartian sway.  Its foreign garrison was slaughtered.  Well might Sharduris exclaim, in the words of the prophet, “Where is the king of Arpad? where are the gods of Arpad?"[504]

Leaving Arpad, Tiglath-pileser advanced to meet Sharduris, who was apparently hastening southward to attack the Assyrians in the rear.  Tiglath-pileser, however, crossed the Euphrates and, moving northward, delivered an unexpected attack on the Urartian army in Qummukh.  A fierce battle ensued, and one of its dramatic incidents was a single combat between the rival kings.  The tide of battle flowed in Assyria’s favour, and when evening was falling the chariots and cavalry of Urartu were thrown into confusion.  An attempt was made to capture King Sharduris, who leapt from his chariot and made hasty escape on horseback, hotly pursued in the gathering darkness by an Assyrian contingent of cavalry.  Not until “the bridge of the Euphrates” was reached was the exciting night chase abandoned.