Sennacherib

Sennacherib
King of Assyria, Babylonia, Akkad and Sumer ܡܠܟܐ ܕܐܬܘܪ ܘܒܒܠ ܘܐܟܕ ܘܫܘܡܪ Malkā d-ʾĀṯūr w-Bāḇēl w-Akkad w-Šūmēr
Sennacherib during his Babylonian war, relief from his palace in Nineveh
Reign	705–681 BCE
Predecessor	Sargon II
Successor	Esarhaddon
Born	ca. 740 BC Kalhu
Died	681 BCE Nineveh
Spouse	Tašmētu-šarrat Naqī'ā/Zakūtu
Issue	Aššur-nādin-šumi Aššur-ilī-muballissu Arda-Mulišši (Adrammelech) Aššur-šumu-ušabši Nergal-MU-... Nabu-šarru-uṣur (Sharezer) Aššur-aḥa-iddina (Esarhaddon)
Dynasty	Sargonid dynasty
Father	Sargon II
Mother	Ra'īmā

Sennacherib's campaign in Judah
Part of Sennacherib's campaigns
Lachish relief showing the siege of Lachish.
Date 701 BCE Location Judah Result Judah remains an Assyrian vassal kingdom.
Belligerents
Kingdom of Judah Supported by Kushite Egypt	Neo-Assyrian Empire
Commanders and leaders
King Hezekiah Isaiah Ben-Amotz Eliakim Ben-Hilkiah Joahe Ben-Asaph Shebna Supported by Taharqa	Sennacherib Rabshakeh Rabsaris Tartan
Strength
Unknown	Over 185,000 soldiers
Casualties and losses
Many killed 200,150 Jews exiled, 46 walled cities and many other towns destroyed

Sennacherib (Akkadian: Sîn-ahhī-erība, "Sîn has replaced the brothers"; Syriac: ܣܝܢܚܪܝܒ‎, translit. Sīnḥārīḇ; Hebrew: סַנְחֵרִיב‎pronounced 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.