Jerusalem 701 BCE: Sennacherib's Siege and the Miraculous Deliverance

Long before the Crusades, the Ottomans, or the British, Jerusalem faced one of its most dramatic sieges: the Assyrian campaign of 701 BCE under King Sennacherib. This episode dives into the archaeological and textual evidence—from the Taylor Prism to the Bible and the works of the Greek historian Herodotus—to reconstruct how Hezekiah of Judah prepared the city for assault. We discuss Hezekiah's Tunnel, a remarkable engineering feat that channeled water from the Gihon Spring into the city, and the Assyrian reliefs from Nineveh that depict the conquest of Lachish but not Jerusalem. The mystery of what happened outside the walls—a plague? a political deal? divine intervention?—is explored through conflicting accounts. Lucas and Luna also examine the geopolitical context: the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel, the tribute paid by Hezekiah, and the lasting impact on Judahite identity and the city's mythology. This is Jerusalem at the edge of annihilation, and the story of how it survived shapes the city's symbolic power for millennia.

#Sennacherib #Hezekiah #AssyrianSiege #Jerusalem701BCE #TaylorPrism #HezekiahsTunnel #GihonSpring #LachishReliefs #Herodotus #BiblicalArchaeology #Silwan #CityOfDavid #KingdomOfJudah #AncientHistory #MiddleEastHistory #IronAge #History #FexingoHistory

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