Shalmaneser V
Assyria would later recover under Tiglath-Pileser III, whose reforms once again made Assyria the most powerful force in the Near East, and transformed it into a fully fledged empire – the first of its kind. Later, under Shalmaneser V, Sargon II and Sennacherib, further Assyrian offensives occurred, although these were designed not only for conquest, but also to destroy their enemies' ability to undermine Assyrian power. As such, costly battles raged taking tolls on Assyrian manpower. Esarhaddon succeeded in taking lower Egypt and his successor, Ashurbanipal, took the southern upper half of Egypt.