Sennacherib the Assyrian lays siege to Jerusalem

This six-sided, baked clay prism was discovered at Nineveh (northern Iraq), capital of the Assyrian empire in the seventh century BC. It is named after Colonel R. Taylor, British Consul General at Baghdad, who acquired it in 1830. Originally it had been carefully buried as a record for the gods and future kings of King Sennacherib's achievements.

The early decipherers were astonished when they realised that the story it told overlapped in part with the Bible. Sennacherib’s account includes details of his third campaign in 701 BC against the state of Judah (modern Israel). The Assyrian army destroyed forty-six cities and deported 200,150 people. Hezekiah of Jerusalem, under siege ‘like a bird in a cage,’ sent tribute to make peace with Sennacherib.

In the biblical account disaster struck the Assyrian army overnight and the destruction of Jerusalem was averted at the last minute. This was the inspiration for Byron’s famous poem, The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold.

Parts of the Judah campaign were later recorded on the sculptured panels decorating Sennacherib’s Palace. The siege of Lachish is shown there, but is not mentioned in the prism itself (although it is mentioned in the Bible). We see the Assyrians attack the city, defeat the garrison and deport the citizens.

The Bible reveals the psychological warfare that took place at Jerusalem. The Assyrian commander shouts to the city in Hebrew, so that everyone can understand. He urges them not to rely on their ally Egypt, ‘that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it’. He tells them that their god has summoned Sennacherib to destroy Judah, and that none of the other gods of the region had kept his army from victory.