Jewish prisoners playing the harp
Jewish prisoners playing the harp accompanied by an Assyrian soldier... Part of the mural of the siege and overthrow of the city of Lachish as part of King Sennacherib’s campaign against the kingdoms of Judah... From the southwestern palace of King Sennacherib in Nineveh 701 BC... The British Museum... Photography 2023
In the Levant campaign, the states located in the south, especially the Kingdom of Judah under the rule of King Hezekiah, were not as easy to submit as those in the north (Azekah, Lachish).
Thus the Assyrians conquered Jerusalem. Although the biblical account confirms that divine intervention by angels ended Sennacherib's attack on Jerusalem by destroying the Assyrian army, an Assyrian defeat is unlikely, as King Hezekiah surrendered to Sennacherib at the end of the campaign. Contemporary records, even those written by enemies of Assyria, do not mention the defeat of the Assyrians in Jerusalem. Sennacherib moved Assyria's capital to Nineveh, where he spent most of his time as crown prince. To transform Nineveh into a capital worthy of his empire, he launched one of the most ambitious building projects in ancient history. He expanded the size of the city and built its great walls, many temples, and royal gardens. His most famous work in the city is the Southwest Palace, which Sennacherib called “a palace unlike any other.”
After the death of his eldest son and crown prince, Ashurnadin-Shumi, Sennacherib initially appointed his second son, Arda-Mulisu, as heir. Then he replaced him with his younger son, Esarhaddon, in 684 BC, for unknown reasons. Sennacherib ignored Arda-Moulisso's repeated pleas to reinstate him as heir, and in 681 BC, Arda-Moulisso and his brother Nabu-shar-user killed their father, Sennacherib, in hopes of seizing power for themselves. Babylon and the Levant welcomed his death as divine punishment, while the Assyrians reacted with a mixture of resentment and horror. The coronation of Arda-Moulisso was postponed, while Esarhaddon prepared a large army, seized Nineveh, and declared himself king as Sennacherib wanted.
Source: websites