Stone panel from the South-West Palace of Sennacherib (Room 36,
no. 10)
Nineveh, northern Iraq
Neo-Assyrian, about 700-681 BC
The siege and capture of the city of Lachish in 701 BC
This alabaster panel was part of a series which decorated the
walls of a room in the palace of King Sennacherib (reigned 704-681
BC). The story continues from the previous panel (no. 9) of the
relief. This section decorated a corner of the room.
Having been exiled from their city, the people of Lachish move
through the countryside to be resettled elsewhere in the Assyrian
Empire. Below them high officials and foreigners are being tortured
and executed. It is likely that they are being flayed alive. The
foreigners are possibly officers from Nubia. The Nubians were seen
as sharing responsibility for the rebellion. Much of Egypt at this
time was ruled by a line of kings from Nubia (the Twenty-fifth
Dynasty) who were keen to interfere in the politics of the Levant,
to contain the threat of Assyrian expansion. As Sennacherib's
forces laid siege to Lachish, an Egyptian army appeared, led by a
man called Taharqa, according to the Old Testament. He may be the
later pharaoh of Egypt with the same name (690-664 BC).
Sennacherib's account claims that the rebels had called on the
support of the kings of Egypt (Delta princes) and the Kings of Kush
(Nubia). The armies clashed on the plain of Eltekeh. While
Sennacherib claimed victory, he was still not able to capture
Jerusalem.
The story continues on the next panel (no. 11) of the
relief.
J.M. Russell, Sennacheribs palace without ri (University of Chicago Press, 1991)
J.E. Reade, Assyrian sculpture-1 (London, The British Museum Press, 1998)
T.C. Mitchell, The Bible in the British Museu (London, The British Museum Press, 1988)