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Sennacherib during his Babylonian war, relief from his palace in Nineveh

Sennacherib (in Akkadian Śïn-ahhe-eriba "(The moon god) Śïn has Replaced (Lost) Brothers for Me") was the son of Sargon II, whom he succeeded on the throne of Assyria (705 BC–681 BC). Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Download high resolution version (802x494, 158 KB)King Sennacherib of Assyria from http://www. ... Download high resolution version (802x494, 158 KB)King Sennacherib of Assyria from http://www. ... Akkadian (lišānum akkadÄ«tum) was a Semitic language (part of the greater Afro-Asiatic language family) spoken in ancient Mesopotamia, particularly by the Assyrians and Babylonians. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Sargon II (right), king of Assyria (r. ... In the Middle Bronze Age Assyria was a region on the Upper Tigris river, named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur (Akkadian: ; Hebrew: , Aramaic: ). Later, as a nation and empire that came to control all of the Fertile Crescent, Egypt and much of Anatolia, the term Assyria... Centuries: 9th century BC - 8th century BC - 7th century BC Decades: 750s BC 740s BC 730s BC 720s BC 710s BC - 700s BC - 690s BC 680s BC 670s BC 660s BC 650s BC Events and Trends 708 BC - Spartan immigrants found Taras (Tarentum, the modern Taranto) colony in southern Italy. ... Centuries: 8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 730s BC 720s BC 710s BC 700s BC 690s BC - 680s BC - 670s BC 660s BC 650s BC 640s BC 630s BC Events and Trends 689 BC - King Sennacherib of Assyria sacks Babylon 687 BC - Gyges becomes king of...

Rise to power

As a crown prince, Sennacherib was placed in charge of the empire while his father Sargon II was on campaign. Unlike his predecessors, the reign of Sennacherib was not marked as much by military campaigns but more on building projects. After the violent death of Sargon, Sennacherib encountered some problems establishing his power. Still, he was able to carry out building projects. He moved the capital from his father's new city Dur-Sharrukin to the old city of Nineveh. It is striking that he not only left his father's city but also doesn’t name him in any official inscription. Sargon II (right), king of Assyria (r. ... Human-headed winged bull, found during Bottas excavation. ... , For other uses, see Nineveh (disambiguation). ...

War with Babylon

During his reign Sennacherib encountered various problems with Babylonia. His first campaign took place in 703 BC against the Chaldean Merodach-Baladan II who had seized the throne of Babylon and gathered an alliance supported by Chaldeans, Arameans, and Elam. We can date the visit of Babylonian ambassadors to Hezekiah of Judah in this period. The allies wanted to make use of the unrest due to the accession of Sennacherib. Sennacherib split his army up and let a part attack the stationed enemy at Kish while he and the rest of the army proceeded to capture the city Cutha. After that was done the king returned swiftly to aid the rest of his army. The rebellions were defeated and Merodach-Baladan fled. Babylon was taken, and its palace plundered but its citizens were left unharmed. The Assyrians searched for Merodach-Baladan, especially in the southern marshes, but he was not found. The rebellion forces in the Babylonian cities were wiped out and on the throne was put a Babylonian raised at the Assyrian court named Bel-ibni. When the Assyrians left, Merodach-Baladan started to prepare another rebellion. In 700 BC the Assyrian army returned to fight the rebels in the marshes again. Not surprisingly, Merodach-Baladan fled again to Elam and died there. Bel-Ibni was found to be a traitor and was taken back to Assyria as a prisoner. Sennacherib tried to solve the problem of the rebellious Babylonians by placing someone loyal to him on the throne, namely his son Ashur-Nadin-Shumi. It didn’t help. Another campaign was led, six years later, in 694 BC to destroy the Elamite base on the shore of the Persian Gulf. To accomplish this Sennacherib had obtained Phoenician and Syrian boats which sailed with the rest of his army on the Tigris to the sea. The Phoenicians were not used to the tide of the Persian Gulf which caused a delay. The Assyrians battled the Chaldeans at the river Ulaya and won the day. While the Assyrians were busy at the Persian Gulf the Elamites had invaded northern Babylonia as a complete surprise. Sennacherib's son was captured and taken to Elam and his throne was taken over by Nergal-Ushezib. The Assyrians fought their way back north and captured various cities, in the meanwhile a year had passed as it was now 693 BC. A large battle was fought against the Babylonian rebels at Nippur, their king was captured and in turn taken to Nineveh. For the loss of his son Sennacherib launched another campaign into Elam where his army started to plunder cities. The Elamite king fled to the mountains and Sennacherib was forced to return home because of the coming winter. Another rebellion leader, named Mushezib-Marduk claimed the Babylonian throne and was supported by Elam. The last great battle was fought in 691 BC with an uncertain result which enabled Mushezib-Marduk to remain on the throne for another two years. This was only a brief respite because shortly afterwards Babylon was besieged which led to its fall in 689 BC. Sennacherib claimed to have destroyed the city and indeed the city was unoccupied for several years. Centuries: 9th century BC - 8th century BC - 7th century BC Decades: 750s BC 740s BC 730s BC 720s BC 710s BC - 700s BC - 690s BC 680s BC 670s BC 660s BC 650s BC Events and Trends 708 BC - Spartan immigrants found Taras (Tarentum, the modern Taranto) colony in southern Italy. ... Look up Chaldean in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Marduk-apal-iddina II (the biblical Merodach-baladan, also called Marduk-baladan, Baladan and Berodach-baladan. ... The Aramaeans, or Arameans, were a Semitic, seminomadic and pastoralist people who originated and had lived in upper Mesopotamia and Syria. ... Elam (Persian: تمدن ایلام) is one of the oldest recorded civilizations. ... Hezekiah (or Ezekias) (Hebrew: חזקיה or חזקיהו, God has strengthened) was the 13th king of indepedent Judah and the son of King Ahaz and Abijah (2 Chronicles 29:1), who was a daughter of a man (who was not the prophet) named Zechariah. ... Look up Judah in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Kish, an ancient city in Sumer, now in Iraq Kish, an Iranian island and city in the Persian Gulf Kish, a person in Bible The Kish Bank is a shallow in the Irish Sea, a fishing ground. ... Bel-ibni was a Babylonian nobleman who served as King of Babylon for several years as the nominee of the Assyrian king Sennacherib. ... Centuries: 9th century BC - 8th century BC - 7th century BC Decades: 750s BC 740s BC 730s BC 720s BC 710s BC - 700s BC - 690s BC 680s BC 670s BC 660s BC 650s BC Events and Trends 708 BC - Spartan immigrants found Taras (Tarentum, the modern Taranto) colony in southern Italy. ... Ashur-nadin-shumi (d. ... Centuries: 8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 740s BC 730s BC 720s BC 710s BC 700s BC - 690s BC - 680s BC 670s BC 660s BC 650s BC 640s BC Events and Trends 699 BC - Khallushu succeeds Shuttir-Nakhkhunte as king of the Elamite Empire 697 BC... Map of the Persian Gulf. ... Phoenicia (or Phenicia ,[1] from Biblical Phenice [1]) was an ancient civilization centered in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coast of modern day Lebanon & Syria [2] Phoenician civilization was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean during the first millennium BC, between... The Tigris is the eastern member of the pair of great rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of Anatolia through Iraq. ... Centuries: 8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 740s BC 730s BC 720s BC 710s BC 700s BC - 690s BC - 680s BC 670s BC 660s BC 650s BC 640s BC Events and Trends 699 BC - Khallushu succeeds Shuttir-Nakhkhunte as king of the Elamite Empire 697 BC... Mushezib-Marduk (692 BC - 689 BC), Chaldean prince chosen as King of Babylon after Ashur-nadin-shumi (son of Sennacherib). ... Centuries: 8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 740s BC 730s BC 720s BC 710s BC 700s BC - 690s BC - 680s BC 670s BC 660s BC 650s BC 640s BC Events and Trends 699 BC - Khallushu succeeds Shuttir-Nakhkhunte as king of the Elamite Empire 697 BC... Centuries: 8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 730s BC 720s BC 710s BC 700s BC 690s BC - 680s BC - 670s BC 660s BC 650s BC 640s BC 630s BC Events and Trends 689 BC - King Sennacherib of Assyria sacks Babylon 687 BC - Gyges becomes king of...

War with Judah, part 1: introduction

In 701 BC, a rebellion backed by Egypt and Babylonia broke out in Judah and was led by Hezekiah. Sennacherib was able to sack many cities in Judah. He laid siege to Jerusalem, but soon returned to Nineveh, with Jerusalem not having been sacked. This famous event was recorded by Sennacherib himself, by Herodotus, and by several biblical writers. Centuries: 9th century BC - 8th century BC - 7th century BC Decades: 750s BC 740s BC 730s BC 720s BC 710s BC - 700s BC - 690s BC 680s BC 670s BC 660s BC 650s BC Events and Trends 708 BC - Spartan immigrants found Taras (Tarentum, the modern Taranto) colony in southern Italy. ... Kingdom of Judah (Hebrew מַלְכוּת יְהוּדָה, Standard Hebrew Malḫut Yəhuda, Tiberian Hebrew Malḵûṯ Yəhûḏāh) in the times of the Hebrew Bible, was the nation formed from the territories of the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin after the Kingdom of Israel was divided, and was named after Judah... Hezekiah (or Ezekias) (Hebrew: חזקיה or חזקיהו, God has strengthened) was the 13th king of indepedent Judah and the son of King Ahaz and Abijah (2 Chronicles 29:1), who was a daughter of a man (who was not the prophet) named Zechariah. ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... , For other uses, see Nineveh (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ...

According to the Bible, the siege failed, as the angel of Yahweh went forth and struck down 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp (2 Kings 19:35). Some of the Assyrian chronicles, such as the stone carved Taylor prism now preserved in the British Museum, date from very close to the time. Tetragrammaton redirects here. ... The Books of Kings (Hebrew: Sefer Melachim ספר מלכים) is a part of Judaisms Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. ... The Taylor prism, or Sennacheribs Prism, is a hexagonal baked-clay prism discovered among the ruins of Nineveh, ancient capital of the Assyrian Empire. ... The British Museum in London, England is one of the worlds greatest museums of human history and culture. ...

The Assyrian accounts do not treat it as a disaster, but a great victory, not telling about the final outcome - they state that the siege was so successful that Hezekiah was forced to give a monetary tribute, and so the Assyrians left victoriously, without anything even remotely like great losses of thousands of men. Part of this is indeed confirmed in the Biblical account, but it is still debated fiercely by historians. In the Taylor Prism, Sennacherib states that he had shut up Hezekiah the Judahite within Jerusalem, his own royal city, like a caged bird.

War with Judah, part 2: Sennacherib's account

Sennacherib and the Assyrian army battling in Lachish against Judea

Sennacherib first recounts several of his previous victories, and how his enemies had become overwhelmed by his presence. He was able to do this to Great Sidon, Little Sidon, Bit-Zitti, Zaribtu, Mahalliba, Ushu, Akzib and Akko. After taking each of these cities, Sennacherib installed a puppet leader named Ethbaal as ruler over the entire region. Sennacherib then turned his attention to Beth-Dagon, Joppa, Banai-Barqa, and Azjuru, cities that were ruled by Sidqia and also fell to Sennacherib. Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Lachish was a town located in the Shephelah, or maritime plain of Palestine (Joshua 10:3, 5; 12:11). ... Map of the southern Levant, c. ... View of the new city the Sea Castle. ... View of the new city the Sea Castle. ... Ushu is the name of the ancient mainland city that supplied Tyre with water, supplies and burial grounds. ... The Old City of Akko in the 19th or early 20th century, looking south-west from atop the Land Wall Promenade, the open space now a parking lot. ... Jaffa (Hebrew יָפוֹ, Standard Hebrew Yafo, Tiberian Hebrew Yāp̄ô; Arabic يَافَا Yāfā; also Japho, Joppa), is an ancient city located in Israel. ...

Egypt and Nubia then came to the aid of the stricken cities. Sennacherib defeated the Egyptians and, by his own account, single-handedly captured the Egyptian and Nubian charioteers. Sennacherib captured and sacked several other cities, including Lachish (the second most-strongly fortified city in the Kingdom of Judah). He punished the "criminal" citizens of the cities, and he reinstalled Padi, their leader, who had been held as a hostage in Jerusalem. Nubia is the region in the south of Egypt, along the Nile and in northern Sudan. ... Lachish was a town located in the Shephelah, or maritime plain of Palestine (Joshua 10:3, 5; 12:11). ... The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) is the worlds largest recreational diving membership organization and diver training organization. ...

After this, Sennacherib turned to King Hezekiah of Judah, who stubbornly refused to submit to him. Forty-six of Hezekiah's cities (cities as categorized in the 1st millennium BCE ranged in scope from large modern-day towns to villages) were conquered by Sennacherib, but Jerusalem did not fall. His own account of this invasion, as given in the Taylor prism, is as follows: Hezekiah (or Ezekias) (Hebrew: חזקיה or חזקיהו, God has strengthened) was the 13th king of indepedent Judah and the son of King Ahaz and Abijah (2 Chronicles 29:1), who was a daughter of a man (who was not the prophet) named Zechariah. ... The Taylor prism, or Sennacheribs Prism, is a hexagonal baked-clay prism discovered among the ruins of Nineveh, ancient capital of the Assyrian Empire. ...

A talent is an ancient unit of mass. ... , For other uses, see Nineveh (disambiguation). ...

War with Judah, Part 3: Biblical account

The Biblical account of Sennacherib's siege of Jerusalem is recorded in length. It starts out, though, with the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and Samaria, its capital. This is how the ten northern tribes came to be known as the Ten Lost Tribes, because as recorded in II Kings 17, they were carried off and mixed with other peoples as was the Assyrian custom. II Kings 18-19 (and parallel passage II Chronicles 32:1-23) details Sennacherib's attack on Judah and capital Jerusalem. Hezekiah had rebelled against the Assyrians, so they had captured all of the towns in Judah. Hezekiah realized his error and sent great tribute to Sennacherib, undoubtedly the tribute mentioned in the Taylor prism. But the Assyrians nevertheless marched toward Jerusalem. Sennacherib sent his supreme commander with an army to besiege Jerusalem while he himself went to fight with the Egyptians. The supreme commander met with Hezekiah's officials and threatened them to surrender, while hailing insults so the people of the city could hear, blaspheming Judah and particularly their God. When the King Hezekiah heard of this, he tore his clothes (as was the custom of the day for displaying deep anguish) and prayed to God in the Temple. Isaiah the prophet told the king that God would take care of the whole matter and that he would return to his own lands. That night, the angel of the Lord killed the entire Assyrian camp consisting of 185,000 troops. Sennacherib soon returned to Nineveh in disgrace. Some years later, while Sennacherib was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, two of his sons killed him and fled, thus God protected His people and sent judgment upon him who had previously blasphemed God. This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ... The Kingdom of Israel (Hebrew מַלְכוּת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Standard Hebrew Malḫut Yisraʾel, Tiberian Hebrew Malḵûṯ Yiśrāʾēl) according to the Bible, was the nation... It has been suggested that Sebastia, Middle East be merged into this article or section. ... It has been suggested that Israelite Diaspora be merged into this article or section. ... The Books of Kings (also known as [The Book of] Kings in Hebrew: Sefer Melachim מלכים) is a part of Judaisms Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. ... The Books of Kings (also known as [The Book of] Kings in Hebrew: Sefer Melachim מלכים) is a part of Judaisms Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. ... The Book of Chronicles is a book in the Hebrew Bible (also see Old Testament). ... The Taylor prism, or Sennacheribs Prism, is a hexagonal baked-clay prism discovered among the ruins of Nineveh, ancient capital of the Assyrian Empire. ... Solomons Temple (Hebrew: בית המקדש, transliterated Beit HaMikdash), also known as the First Temple, was, according to the Bible, the first Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. ... Isaiah the Prophet in Hebrew Scriptures was depicted on the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo. ... A major prophet is a book in the Major Prophets section of the Jewish Hebrew Bible known to Christians as the Old Testament. ... According to the Bible, Nisroch is an Assyrian god in whose temple Sennacherib was worshiping when he was assassinated. ...

War with Judah, part 4: The Egyptian disaster according to Herodotus

The Greek historian Herodotus, who wrote his Histories ca. 450 BC, also speaks of a divinely-appointed disaster destroying an army of Sennacherib in this same campaign while his supreme commander was being defeated in Jerusalem (2:141): This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC - 450s BC - 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC Years: 455 BC 454 BC 453 BC 452 BC 451 BC - 450 BC - 449 BC 448 BC...

Shebitku donation stela, depicting the pharaoh making an offering to Horus of Phabaitos. ... Pelusium is a city in the eastern extremes of Egypts Nile Delta, 30 km to the southeast of Port Said. ... Vulcan, in Roman mythology, is the son of Jupiter and Juno, and husband of Maia and Venus. ...

Building projects

During Sennacherib's reign, Nineveh evolved into the leading Metropolis of the empire. His building projects started almost as soon as he became king. Already in 703 BC he had built a palace complete with park and artificial irrigation he called his new home ‘The palace without rival’. For this ambitious project an old palace was torn down to make more room. In addition to his own large gardens, several small gardens were made for the citizens of Nineveh. He also constructed the first ever aqueduct, at Jerwan in 690 BCE,^[1] which supplied the large demand of water in Nineveh. The narrow alleys and squares of Nineveh were cleaned and made larger, and a royal road and avenue were constructed, which crossed a bridge on its approach to the park gate and which was lined on both sides with stelae. Temples were restored and built during his reign, as is the duty of the king. Most notable is his work on the Assur (god) and the new year (Akitu) temple. He also expanded the city defences which included a moat surrounding the city walls. Some of his city walls have been restored and can still be seen nowadays. The labour for his giant building project was performed by people of Que, Cilicia, Philistia, Tyre, and Chaldeans, Aramaeans, and Mannaeans who were there involuntarily. Centuries: 9th century BC - 8th century BC - 7th century BC Decades: 750s BC 740s BC 730s BC 720s BC 710s BC - 700s BC - 690s BC 680s BC 670s BC 660s BC 650s BC Events and Trends 708 BC - Spartan immigrants found Taras (Tarentum, the modern Taranto) colony in southern Italy. ... , For other uses, see Nineveh (disambiguation). ... Assur was the head of the Assyrian pantheon and the rival of the Babylonian Marduk. ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... QUE or que may refer to: Quwê, an Assyrian vassal state or province at various times from the 9th century BC to shortly after the death of Ashurbanipal around 627 BCE in the lowlands of eastern Cilicia Que Publishing, a company which first began as a publisher of technical computer... Cilicia as Roman province, 120 AD In Antiquity, Cilicia (Κιλικία) was the name of a region, now known as Çukurova, and often a political unit, on the southeastern coast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey), north of Cyprus. ... The historic Philistines (see note Philistines below) were a people that inhabited the southern coast of Canaan around the time of the arrival of the Israelites, their territory being named Philistia in later contexts. ... The Triumphal Arch Tyre (Arabic , Phoenician , Hebrew Tzor, Tiberian Hebrew , Akkadian , Greek Týros) is a city in the South Governorate of Lebanon. ...

In popular culture

The Downfall of Sennacherib, an early work of Rubens.

Lord Byron's poem The Destruction of Sennacherib ("The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold...") is a retelling of the story contained in 2 Kings. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 761 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (3176 × 2504 pixel, file size: 876 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Sennacherib ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 761 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (3176 × 2504 pixel, file size: 876 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Sennacherib ... Peter Paul Rubens (June 28, 1577 – May 30, 1640) was a prolific seventeenth-century Flemish and European painter, and a proponent of an exuberant Baroque style that emphasized movement, color, and sensuality. ... Lord Byron redirects here. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: The Destruction of Sennacherib The Destruction of Sennacherib is a poem by Lord Byron first published in 1815. ...

This entry incorporates text from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897. Eastons Bible Dictionary generally refers to the Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, by Matthew George Easton M.A., D.D. (1823-1894), published three years after Eastons death in 1897 by Thomas Nelson. ...

Sennacherib can also be found on the Terrace of Pride in Dante's Purgatorio. DANTE is also a digital audio network. ... ...

See also

• Rabshakeh – Sennacherib's cupbearer
• Ahikar, Chancellor of Sennacherib

Categories: Hebrew Bible/Tanakh-related stubs | Assyria | Hebrew Bible/Tanakh people ... Ahikar or Ahiqar or Haiqar or Achiacharus- A man known in the ancient near-east for his outstanding wisdom. ...

Further reading

• Edwards – The Cambridge ancient history volume III part 2, 2nd edition, pp. 103-119

External links

• Prism of Sennacherib
• The murderer of Sennacherib - by Simo Parpola

Simo Parpola is professor of Assyriology at the University of Helsinki, Finland. ...

References