Individual Details

Sennacherib, king of Assyria, who ruled from 705 bc to 681 bc, son of Sargon II. One of Sennacherib’s first acts as king was a military expedition against the usurper Merodach-baladan of Babylonia, whom he defeated and expelled from Babylon in 703 bc. Sennacherib appointed Bel-ibni king of Babylon and then marched eastward to subdue the Medians. A rebellion, instigated by Merodach-baladan and Hezekiah of Judah, then broke out in the west. Sennacherib returned in 701 bc to capture Sidon and other Phoenician towns and to defeat an Ethiopian-Egyptian army at Ekron, but he failed to take the Phoenician city of Tyre. He then turned on Judah, capturing 46 towns and exacting a heavy tribute from Hezekiah. When he also demanded the surrender of Jerusalem, Hezekiah at first refused but later submitted. Palestine remained at peace with Assyria for the remainder of Sennacherib's reign. The biblical accounts of a second expedition into Jerusalem, the war against Taharqa (Tirhakah) of Egypt, and the miraculous destruction of Sennacherib's army by pestilence are not confirmed by Assyrian records.

Sennacherib later renewed his campaign in Babylonia, where Merodach-baladan had again seized power and displaced Bel-ibni. He defeated the usurper, placing his own son, Ashur-nadin-shum, on the throne. The next 11 years were spent mainly in the south against the Elamites, who in 694 bc captured Babylon. Three years later Sennacherib defeated the combined Elamites and Babylonians at Khalulu on the Tigris river, and in 689 bc he sacked and burned Babylon. Sennacherib was murdered by one or more of his sons in 681 bc. He is famous as the builder of the magnificent Kuyunjik (Palace Without a Rival) at Nineveh, his capital.

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Death	681 BC	Harran, Assyria
Marriage		Naqi'a-Zakutu

Spouse	Naqi'a-Zakutu ( - )
Child	Esarhaddon King of Assyria ( - -669)

Father

Sargon King of Assyria II ( - -705)