Hence it was that the Assyrian monarch found himself checked in the west by the petty kings of Damascus and the neighbouring states.

Ben-Hadad and Hazael, it is true, were beaten again and again along with their allies, while Omri of Israel offered tribute to the invader, like the rich cities of Phoenicia; but Damascus remained untaken and its people unsubdued.
The war with Assyria, however, saved Israel from being swallowed up by its Syrian neighbour.

Hazael's strength was exhausted in struggling for his own existence; he had none left for the conquest of Samaria.
Shalmaneser himself, towards the end of his life, was no longer in a position to attack others.

A great revolt broke out against him, headed by his son Assur-dain-pal, the Sardanapallos of the Greeks, who established himself at Nineveh, and there reigned as rival king for about seven years.

His brother Samas-Rimmon, who had remained faithful to his father, at last succeeded in putting down the rebellion.