Tiglath-Pileser III was an Assyrian king who ascended to the throne at round the middle of the 8th century BCE after usurping it from the previous royal dynasty, effectively creating the Neo-Assyrian Empire that would last for some 150 years. He revitalized the Assyrian state from a declining wreck through sensible bureaucratic and military reforms, and went on to conquer practically all of the Fertile Crescent except for Egypt.
But what if no leader as competent as Tiglath-Pileser III had arisen to reverse Assyria's situation in the 8th century, and neighboring states/tribes continued to profit from her decline?
Which political entities would be of note here? Could the ancient Kingdom of Israel survive? What of Babylon, and the Arameans? Could the Neo-Hittite states actually develop into something? Would Urartu still consolidate as it did IOTL under Assyrian patronage?
But what if no leader as competent as Tiglath-Pileser III had arisen to reverse Assyria's situation in the 8th century, and neighboring states/tribes continued to profit from her decline?
Which political entities would be of note here? Could the ancient Kingdom of Israel survive? What of Babylon, and the Arameans? Could the Neo-Hittite states actually develop into something? Would Urartu still consolidate as it did IOTL under Assyrian patronage?