Prism of King Sennacherib

Prism of King Sennacherib

This six-sided clay prism was written on behalf of Sennacherib, King of Assyria (705-681 BC). It is one of only a handful of complete hexagonal prisms of this quality known to have survived. The prism contains the narratives of eight of Sennacherib's military campaigns, recounting in detail the manner in which he defeated most of the major Near Eastern powers. During his third campaign, Sennacherib traveled to the West, attacked the Israelite King Hezekiah, and laid siege to Jerusalem. On this prism, Sennacherib boasts of complete victory over Hezekiah. However, the story of this siege is also told in the Old Testament and, perhaps, by the Greek historian, Herodotus. These sources claim that Sennacherib was forced to retreat from the walls of the city.