Photo © The Israel Museum, Jerusalem |
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Sennacherib recounts his triumphs Victory inscription on a prism in cuneiform script Ninveh, Assyria 691 BCE Pottery H: 31; Diam: 17 cm Gift of Miriam Sacher, London, and Joy Ungerleider, New York Accession number: 71.72.249, 70.62.398 |
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In this inscription, King Sennacherib of Assyria boasts of several military campaigns, among these the war against Judah: “And Hezekiah, King of Judah, who did not submit to my yoke, I laid siege to 46 of his strong cities, walled forts, and to the countless small villages in their vicinity . . . I besieged them and conquered them.” He describes the booty he seized and the numbers of captives he took – more than 200,000. Of the siege on King Hezekiah in Jerusalem he writes, “I made him a prisoner, like a bird in a cage.” Though Jerusalem was not destroyed, Hezekiah was forced to resume paying heavy tribute to Assyria. Digital presentation of this object was made possible by: The Ridgefield Foundation, New York, in memory of Henry J. and Erna D. Leir |
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