Annual campaigns under Shalmaneser III allowed both the capital to be turned into an army camp and the occupation of important rivals. Babylon was occupied and Babylonia came under Assyrian rule, however the Battle of Qarqar in 853 BC against Aramean states ended in a stalemate. In 849 BC Carchemesh was occupied and by 842 BC Damascus was forced to pay tribute, as well as Tyre and Sidon, then part of Phoenicia in 841 BC.