Shalmaneser II (SalmÃÂnu-aà ¡arÃÂd II, inscribed <sup>md</sup><small>SILIM</small>-ma-nu-<small>MAà  </small>/<small>SAG</small>, meaning "Being peaceful is foremost") was the king of Assyria in 1030âÂÂ1019 BC, the 93rd to appear on the Khorsabad copy of the Assyrian Kinglist, although he has been apparently carelessly omitted altogether on the Nassouhi copy.
In recent years, there has been a trend towards reading the <small>SILIM</small> in his name as sal rather than à ¡ul on philological grounds. He succeeded his father, Aà ¡à ¡ur-nÃÂá¹£ir-apli I and ruled for 12 years according to the Assyrian Kinglist and confirmed by a heavily damaged fragment of an eponym list (pictured). Of the twelve limmu officials listed, only the names of the first two have been substantially preserved, that of Shalmaneser himself, who took the eponymy in his first year, and <small>MU.à  ID</small>-mu-à ¡ab-[à ¡i]. The twelfth entry à ¡a ar[ki si...] indicates that the limmu "which is after" (the previous name) either suggesting that the original from which this list was copied was defective in this place or the gap in the office coincides with a period of turbulence.
In the Synchronistic Kinglist he is listed beside his Babylonian counterpart, Eulmash-shakin-shumi (1004âÂÂ988 BC) of the Bá¿Ât-Bazi dynasty, an unlikely pairing reflecting perhaps the isolation of the two kingdoms at the time. In all likelihood, he reigned concurrently with Nabu-shum-libur (1033âÂÂ1026 BC) and Simbar-shipak (1025âÂÂ1008 BC), whose reigns were characterized by droughts, crop failures and incursions by Arameans, migrating under the pressure from climate change. The later king, Aà ¡à ¡ur-dÃÂn II (935âÂÂ912 BC), recalled Shalmaneser 's own losses to this tribal group:
Another retrospective reference can probably be found in an inscription of Ashurnasirpal II unless it refers to the earlier king by this name. It relates "I repossessed the cities of Sinabu (and) TiduâÂÂfortresses which SalmÃÂnu-aà ¡arÃÂd, king of Assyria, a prince who preceded me, had garrisoned against the land of Nairi (and) which the Arameans had captured by force."
There are few inscriptions which may be attributed for certainty to him as several may belong to the Shalmaneser I who preceded him, or to one of the three who followed. Of those that can be reliably attributed, a monumental stele (number 14) from Aà ¡à ¡ur, from the Stelenreihe, "row of stelae," provides his genealogy thus permitting identification but nothing else. It reads: "Shalmaneser , great king, king of the universe, king of Assyria, son of Aà ¡à ¡ur-nÃÂá¹£ir-apli (I), king of Assyria, son of à  amà ¡i-adad (IV), who was also king of Assyria". A temple endowment lists quantities of cedar balsam (dam erêni) donated by the king to the Assurtemple and its "temples" and includes the provision of a quantity of aromatics to Idiglat, the deified river Tigris. There is a long dedication inscription of Shalmaneser , II or III undetermined, to Ià ¡tar composed for the consecration of a temple. A gold and a silver disk are inscribed with the name "SalmÃÂnu-aà ¡arÃÂd" and could possibly represent this king or his predecessor.
He was succeeded by his son, the briefly reigning Ashur-nirari IV, and then his brother Ashur-rabi II.