Image Details

© Erich Lessing

SURRENDERING TO SENNACHERIB’S SIEGE. After assuming the Assyrian throne in 705 B.C.E., Sennacherib launched military campaigns against several rebellious vassal rulers, including King Hezekiah of Judah. The invasion of Judah came in 701 and devastated the region. This relief depicts the surrender of the Judahite city Lachish to the enthroned Sennacherib. Meanwhile, to prepare his capital city of Jerusalem to survive the inevitable Assyrian siege, King Hezekiah went to great lengths, the most famous of which was ensuring a safe supply of fresh water. But is he responsible for overseeing the eponymous Hezekiah’s Tunnel as so many have believed? Some scholars say no.