Sennacherib (Akkadian: Sîn-ahhī-erība, “Sîn has replaced the brothers” Syriac: ܣܝܢܚܪܝܒ, translit. Sīnḥārīḇ; Hebrew: “סַנְחֵרִיב” pronounced in Modern Hebrew [/sanχeːˈʁiv/] or in some Mizrahi dialects [/sanħeːˈʁiv]) was the king of Assyria from 705 BCE to 681 BCE. He is principally remembered for his military campaigns against Babylon and Judah, and for his building programs — most notably at the Akkadian capital of Nineveh. He was assassinated in obscure circumstances in 681 BCE, apparently by his eldest son (his designated successor, Esarhaddon, was the youngest).
The primary preoccupation of his reign was the so-called “Babylonian problem,” the refusal of the Babylonians to accept Assyrian rule, culminating in his destruction of the city in 689 BCE. Further campaigns were carried out in Syria (notable for being recorded in the Bible’s Books of Kings, in the mountains east of Assyria, against the kingdoms of Anatolia and against the Arabs in the northern Arabian deserts. His death was welcomed in Babylon as divine punishment for the destruction of that city.
He was also a notable builder: it was under him that Assyrian art reached its peak. His building projects included the beautification of Nineveh, a canal 50 km long to bring water to the city, and the “Palace Without Rival,” which included what may have been the prototype of the legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon, or even the actual Hanging Gardens.
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Author: Wikipedia
Keywords: Sennacherib, King of Assyria, Assyrian king, Assyrian, Assyrian Empire, Assyrian kingdom, Assyria
Bible reference(s): 2 Kings 18:13, 2 Kings 19:16, 2 Kings 19:20, 2 Kings 19:36, 2 Chronicles 32:1, 2 Chronicles 32:2, 2 Chronicles 32:9, 2 Chronicles 32:10, 2 Chronicles 32:22, Isaiah 36:1, Isaiah 37:17, Isaiah 37:21, Isaiah 37:37, Hos 10:6, Tobit 1:15, Tobit 1:18, Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 48:18, 2 Maccabees 8:19, 2 Maccabees 15:22, 3 Maccabees 6:5, 2 Esdras 7:110
Source: This article uses material from the Wikipedia article “Sennacherib,” which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.
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