Esarhaddon (Greek and Biblical form; Akkadian Aššur-aha-iddina "Ashur has given a brother to me"), was a king of Assyria who reigned 681 BC-669 BC), the youngest son of Sennacherib and the Aramaic queen Naqi'a (Zakitu), Sennacherib's second wife. When, despite being the youngest son, he was named successor by his father, his elder brothers tried to discredit him. Oracles had named Esarhaddon as the person to free the exiles and rebuild Babylon, the destruction of which by Sennacherib was felt to be sacrilegious. Esarhaddon remained crown prince, but was forced into exile at an unknown place beyond Hanilgalbat (Mitanni), that is, beyond the Euphrates, most likely somewhere in what is now southeastern Turkey. 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. ... Ashur (אַשּׁוּר in Hebrew, ܐܫܘܪ in Assyrian), was the son of Shem, the son of Noah. ... For other uses, see Assyria (disambiguation). ... 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... Centuries: 8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 710s BC 700s BC 690s BC 680s BC 670s BC - 660s BC - 650s BC 640s BC 630s BC 620s BC 610s BC Events and Trends 668 BC - Egypt revolts against Assyria 668 BC - Assurbanipal succeeds Esarhaddon as king of... It has been proposed that Sennacherib be renamed and moved to Sin-ahhe-eriba. ... The Aramaeans, or Arameans, were a Semitic, nomadic people who originated or had lived in the Syrian Desert and the Fertile Crescent. ... Consulting the Oracle by John William Waterhouse An oracle is a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic opinion; an infallible authority, usually spiritual in nature. ... Babylon was a city in Mesopotamia, the ruins of which can be found in present-day Babil Province, Iraq, about 50 miles south of Baghdad. ... A Crown Prince or Crown Princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. ... Mitanni or Mittani (in Assyrian sources Hanilgalbat, Khanigalbat) was a Hurrian kingdom in northern Mesopotamia (in what is today Syria) from ca. ... The Euphrates (the traditional Greek name, Arabic: الفرات Al-Furat, Armenian: ÔµÖƒÖ€Õ¡Õ¿ Yeá¹—rat, Hebrew: פְּרָת Perath, Kurdish: Ferat, Azeri: FÉ™rat, Old Persian: Ufrat, Syriac: ܦܪܘܬ or ܦܪܬ Frot or Prâth, Turkish: Fırat, Akkadian: Pu-rat-tu) is the westernmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia (the other being the...

Sennacherib was murdered in 681 BC, some claim at the instigation of Esarhaddon, though this seems hardly likely, as he was not in a situation to exploit unrest arising from the death of his father. He returned to the capital of Nineveh in forced marches and defeated his rival brothers in six weeks of civil war. He was formally declared king in spring of 681 BC. His brothers fled the land, and their followers and families were put to death. In the same year he began the rebuilding of Babylon, including the well-known Esagila (sometimes identified with Tower of Babel). The statues of the Babylonian gods were restored and returned to the city. In order not to appear too biased in favor of Babylonia, he ordered the reconstruction of the Assyrian sanctuary of Esharra in Ashur as well. Foreigners were forbidden to enter this temple. Both buildings were dedicated almost at the same date, in year two of his reign. , For other uses, see Nineveh (disambiguation). ... A civil war is a war in which parties within the same culture, society or nationality fight against each other for the control of political power. ... The Confusion of Tongues by Gustave Doré (1865): the artist has based his conception on the Minaret of Samarra According to the narrative in Genesis Chapter 11 of the Bible, the Tower of Babel was a tower built by a united humanity to reach the heavens. ...

The first military campaigns of Esarhaddon were directed against nomadic tribes of southern Mesopotamia, the Dakkuri and Gambulu, who had been harassing the peasants. In 679 BC the Cimmerians, who had already killed his grandfather Sargon, reappeared in Cilicia and Tabal under their new ruler Teushpa. Esarhaddon defeated them near Hubushna, and defeated the rebellious inhabitants of Hilakku as well. The Cimmerians withdrew to the west, where they were to destroy the kingdom of Phrygia in 676, together with Scythian and Urartun help. Communities of nomadic people move from place to place, rather than settling down in one location. ... Mesopotamia refers to the region now occupied by modern Iraq, eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and Southwest Iran. ... Centuries: 8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 720s BC 710s BC 700s BC 690s BC 680s BC - 670s BC - 660s BC 650s BC 640s BC 630s BC 620s BC Events and Trends 677 BC - Death of Zhou li wang, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China. ... The Cimmerians (Greek Κιμμέριοι, Kimmerioi) were ancient equestrian nomads who, according to Herodotus, originally inhabited the region north of the Caucasus and the Black Sea, in what is now Russia and Ukraine, in the 8th and 7th century BC. Assyrian records, however, first place them in the region of Azerbaijan in... Sargon II, captor of Samaria, with a dignitary Sargon II (r. ... 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. ... Tabals (also Tobal, Tubal, Jabal, and Tibarenoi) were an indigenous tribe of Asia Minor, who inhabited Great Cappadocia, now part of Turkey. ... Teushpa (or Teispes or Chaishpish) was a 7th century BC king of the Cimmerians. ... Location of Phrygia - traditional region (yellow) - expanded kingdom (orange line) In antiquity, Phrygia (Greek: ) was a kingdom in the west central part of the Anatolian Highland, part of modern Turkey. ... Events November 2 - Donus becomes Pope. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Urartu (Biainili in Urartian) was an ancient kingdom in the mountainous plateau between Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, and Caucasus mountains, later known as the Armenian Highland, and it centered around Lake Van (present-day eastern Turkey). ...

The Sidonian king Abdi-Milkutti, who had risen up against the Assyrian king, was defeated in 677 BC and beheaded. The town of Sidon was destroyed and rebuilt as Kar-Ashur-aha-iddina, the Harbor of Esarhaddon. The population was deported to Assyria. A share of the plunder went to the loyal king of rival Tyre, Baal I, himself an Assyrian puppet. The partly conserved text of a treaty with Tyre mentions the kings of Judah, Edom, Moab, Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron, Byblos, Arvad, Samsi-muruna, Ammon, Ashdod, ten kings from the coast of the sea, and ten kings from the middle of the sea (usually identified with Cyprus), as Assyrian allies. , Sidon or Saida, (Arabic صيدا á¹¢aydā) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. ... Centuries: 8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 720s BC 710s BC 700s BC 690s BC 680s BC - 670s BC - 660s BC 650s BC 640s BC 630s BC 620s BC Events and Trends 677 BC - Death of Zhou li wang, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China. ... The Triumphal Arch Tyre (Arabic , Phoenician , Hebrew Tzor, Tiberian Hebrew , Akkadian , Greek Týros) is a city in the South Governorate of Lebanon. ... Baal I was the king of Tyre (680 - 660 BC). ... Kingdom of Judah (Hebrew מַלְכוּת יְהוּדָה, Standard Hebrew Malḫut YÉ™huda, Tiberian Hebrew Malḵûṯ YÉ™hûḏāh) 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... Edom (אֱדוֹם, Standard Hebrew Edom, Tiberian Hebrew ʾĔḏôm, Assyrian Udumi, Syriac ܐܕܘܡ), a Hebrew word meaning red, is a name given to Esau in the Hebrew Bible, as well as to the nation that purportedly traced their ancestry to him. ... Moab (Hebrew: מוֹאָב, Standard Tiberian  ; Greek Μωάβ ; Arabic مؤاب, Assyrian Muaba, Maba, Maab ; Egyptian Muab) is the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in modern-day Jordan running along the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. ... Map of the Gaza Strip from The World Factbook. ... Ashkelon or Ashqelon (Hebrew אַשְׁקְלוֹן; Standard Hebrew AÅ¡qÉ™lon; Tiberian Hebrew ʾAÅ¡qÉ™lôn; Arabic عسقلان ; Latin Ascalon) was an ancient Philistine seaport on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea just north of Gaza. ... The city of Ekron (Hebrew עֶקְרוֹן, Standard Hebrew Ê»Eqron, Tiberian Hebrew Ê»Eqrôn) was one of the five Philistine cities in southwestern Canaan. ... The ruins of the Crusader castle in Byblos. ... Harbor in Arwad Arwad viewed from the air Arwad, located in the Mediterranean sea, is the only island in Syria. ... Ammon or Ammonites (עַמּוֹן People, Standard Hebrew Ê»Ammon, Tiberian Hebrew Ê»Ammôn), also referred to in the Bible as the children of Ammon, were a people living east of the Jordan river, who along with the Moabites traced their origin to Lot, the nephew of the patriarch Abraham, and who were... Ashdod (Hebrew: ; Arabic: ‎) is a city in the Southern District of Israel. ...

In 676 BC Esarhaddon took the towns of Sissu and Kundu in the Taurus Mountains. The Mannaeans, the Scythians under their king Ishpakaia, and the Guti of the Zagros proved to be a nuisance as well, as is attested by numerous oracle-texts. The Mannaeans, former vassals of the Assyrians, were no longer restricted to the area around Lake Urmia, but had spread into Zamua, where they interrupted the horse trade between Parsuash and Assyria and refused to pay further tribute. After the fall of Phrygia, a daughter of Esarhaddon was wedded to the Scythian prince Partatua of Sakasene in order to improve relations with the nomads. The Medes under Khshathrita (Phraortes) had been the target of a campaign as well, the date of which is unclear (possibly before 676 BC). Later, Assyrian hosts reached the border of the "salt-desert" near the mountain Bikni, that is, near Teheran. A number of fortresses secured the Zagros: Bit-Parnakki, Bit-kari and Harhar (Kar-Sharrukin). Centuries: 8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 720s BC 710s BC 700s BC 690s BC 680s BC - 670s BC - 660s BC 650s BC 640s BC 630s BC 620s BC Events and Trends 677 BC - Death of Zhou li wang, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China. ... The Taurus Mountains (Taurus=bull in greek) (Turkish Toros, also known as Ala-Dagh or Bulghar-Dagh) are a mountain range in Eastern Anatolian plateau, from which the Euphrates (Turkish Fırat) River descends into Syria. ... The Mannaeans (or Mannai, Mannae, Biblical Minni) were an ancient people of unknown origin, who lived in the territory of present-day Iranian Azerbaijan around the 10th to 7th century BC. At that time they were neighbours of the empires of Assyria and Urartu, as well as other small buffer... The Gutian kings came to some power in Mesopotamia in ca. ... The Zagros Mountains (In Persian:رشته‌کوه‌های زاگرس) make up Irans second largest mountain range. ... Look up vassal in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Lake Urmia from space, October 1984 Satellite image of Lake Urmia, taken in November 2003 Lake Urmia (37. ... Medea (Medea Proper), ca. ... Fravartish or Phraortes (c. ... Tehran (also spelled Teheran) (تهران in Persian), population 8,000,000 (metropolitan: 10,000,000), is the capital of Iran and one of the major world cities. ...

A certain Mugallu had taken possession of parts of Meliddu (Melitene), and associated himself with the king of Tabal. Meliddu was besieged in 675 BC, but without success. That same year, Humban-Haltash II of Elam began a campaign against Sippar, but was defeated by the Babylonians, and died soon afterwards. His brother and successor Urtaki restored peace with Assyria. Malatya is a city in south-eastern Turkey, and the capital of Malatya Province. ... Centuries: 8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 720s BC 710s BC 700s BC 690s BC 680s BC - 670s BC - 660s BC 650s BC 640s BC 630s BC 620s BC Events and Trends 677 BC - Death of Zhou li wang, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China. ... Elam (Persian: تمدن ایلام) is one of the oldest recorded civilizations. ... Sippara (Zimbir in Sumerian, Sippar in Assyro-Babylonian) was an ancient Babylonian city on the east bank of the Euphrates, north of Babylon. ...

A preliminary campaign against Egypt begun by Esarhaddon the next year seems to have failed. Meanwhile, Esarhaddon was waging war in the land of Bazu, situated opposite of the island of Dilmun (Bahrain), probably Qatar, "where snakes and scorpions cover the ground like ants" - a dry land of salt deserts. In 673 BC, Esarhaddon waged war against Urartu under king Rusas II, that had strengthened again after the ravages of Sargon and the Cimmerians. Statue of a costumed chief at Bana. ... Dilmun (sometimes transliterated Telmun) is associated with ancient sites on the islands of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf. ... Centuries: 8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 720s BC 710s BC 700s BC 690s BC 680s BC - 670s BC - 660s BC 650s BC 640s BC 630s BC 620s BC Events and Trends 677 BC - Death of Zhou li wang, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China. ... Urartu (Biainili in Urartian) was an ancient kingdom in the mountainous plateau between Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, and Caucasus mountains, later known as the Armenian Highland, and it centered around Lake Van (present-day eastern Turkey). ... This page lists the kings of Urartu an ancient kingdom in what is now eastern Turkey and Armenia. ...

In 672 BC, crown prince Sin-iddina-apla died. He had been the oldest son and designated as king of Assyria, while the second son Shamash-shum-ukin was to become the ruler of Babylon. Now, the younger Assurbanipal became crown prince, but he was very unpopular with the court and the priesthood. Contracts were made with leading Assyrians, members of the royal family and foreign rulers, to assure their loyalty to the crown prince. Centuries: 8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 720s BC 710s BC 700s BC 690s BC 680s BC - 670s BC - 660s BC 650s BC 640s BC 630s BC 620s BC Events and Trends 677 BC - Death of Zhou li wang, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China. ... Shamash-shum-ukin was king of Babylon from 669-648 BC. He was the second son of the Assyrian King Esarhaddon. ... Assurbanipal in a relief from the north palace at Nineveh There were several Assyrian kings named Assur-bani-pal, also spelled Asurbanipal, Assurbanipal (most commonly), Ashurbanipal and Ashshurbanipal, but the best known was Assurbanipal IV.  Ashurbanipal, or Assurbanipal, (reigned 668 - 627 BCE), the son of Esarhaddon and Naqia-Zakutu...

In 671 BC Esarhaddon went to war against Pharaoh Taharqa of Egypt. Part of his army stayed behind to deal with rebellions in Tyre, and perhaps Ashkelon. The remainder went south to Rapihu, then crossed the Sinai, a desert inhabited by dreadful and dangerous animals, and entered Egypt. In the summer he took Memphis, and Taharqa fled to Upper Egypt. Esarhaddon now called himself "king of Musur, Patros and Kush", and returned with rich booty from the cities of the delta. Almost as soon as the king left, Egypt rebelled against Assyrian rule. Centuries: 8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 720s BC 710s BC 700s BC 690s BC 680s BC - 670s BC - 660s BC 650s BC 640s BC 630s BC 620s BC Events and Trends 677 BC - Death of Zhou li wang, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China. ... Taharqa (also spelled Tirhakah, Taharka, Manethos Tarakos) was king of Egypt, and a member of the Nubian or Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt, whose reign is usually dated 690 BC to 664 BC. He was also the son of Piye, the Nubian king of Napata who had first conquered... Sinai Peninsula, Gulf of Suez (west), Gulf of Aqaba (east) from Space Shuttle STS-40 For other uses of the word Sinai, please see: Sinai (disambiguation). ... Memphis, coordiates , , was the ancient capital of the first nome of Lower Egypt, and of the Old Kingdom of Egypt from its foundation until around 1300 BC. Its Ancient Egyptian name was Ineb Hedj (The White Walls). The name Memphis is the Greek deformation of the Egyptian name of Pepi... Map of Upper and Lower Egypt Ancient Egypt was divided into two kingdoms, known as Upper and Lower Egypt. ... Dusty Skies over Southern California MISR (Multi-angle Imaging Spectro-Radiometer) is a scientific instrument on the Terra satellite launched by NASA in 1999. ... For other uses, see Kush (disambiguation). ...

Esarhaddon had to contend with court intrigues at Nineveh that led to the execution of several nobles, and sent his general, Sha-Nabu-shu, to restore order in the Nile Valley. In 669 BC, he went to Egypt in person, but suddenly died in autumn of the same year, in Harran. He was succeeded by Assurbanipal as king of Assyria and Shamash-shum-ukin as king of Babylonia. ... Centuries: 8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 710s BC 700s BC 690s BC 680s BC 670s BC - 660s BC - 650s BC 640s BC 630s BC 620s BC 610s BC Events and Trends 668 BC - Egypt revolts against Assyria 668 BC - Assurbanipal succeeds Esarhaddon as king of... Harran, also known as Carrhae, is a district of Åžanlıurfa Province in the southeast of Turkey, near the border with Syria, 24 miles (44 kilometres) southeast of the city of Åžanlıurfa, at the end of a long straight road across the roasting hot plain of Harran. ... Assurbanipal in a relief from the north palace at Nineveh There were several Assyrian kings named Assur-bani-pal, also spelled Asurbanipal, Assurbanipal (most commonly), Ashurbanipal and Ashshurbanipal, but the best known was Assurbanipal IV.  Ashurbanipal, or Assurbanipal, (reigned 668 - 627 BCE), the son of Esarhaddon and Naqia-Zakutu... Shamash-shum-ukin was king of Babylon from 669-648 BC. He was the second son of the Assyrian King Esarhaddon. ...

In fiction

• Esarhaddon is also a major character in the novel The Assyrian, written as a narrative of a fictional half-brother to Esarhaddon, "Tiglath".

• S. R. Hadden, the reclusive, eccentric billionaire in Carl Sagan's novel (played by John Hurt in Robert Zemeckis's film version) Contact, was named for Esarhaddon. Similarities between the character and the king are numerous.

A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative in prose. ... The Assyrian is a novel by Nicholas Guild. ... John Hurt (Mississippi John Hurt is an early American folk and country blues singer, 1893–1966) John Vincent Hurt CBE (born January 22, 1940) is an Academy Award nominated English actor. ... Robert Lee Zemeckis (born May 14, 1952) is an Academy Award-winning American movie director, producer and writer. ... Contact is a 1997 science fiction film adapted from the novel by Carl Sagan. ... Contact is a science fiction novel written by Carl Sagan and published in 1985. ...

External links

• A summary of Assyrian kings
• The murderer of Sennacherib - by Simo Parpola
• Vassal treaties and Esharhaddon's "Letter to the God" take me back!
• Esharhaddon’s Syrio-Palesrtinian Campaing
• Esarhaddon Chronicle