Assyrian siege of Jerusalem

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Siege of Jerusalem
Part of the Sennacherib's campaign in the Levant
Hezekiah's Wall
Date 701 BC Location Jerusalem, Kingdom of Judah Result Indecisive
Belligerents
Neo-Assyrian Empire	Kingdom of Judah Kingdom of Kush
Commanders and leaders
Sennacherib's Rabshakeh Sennacherib's Rabsaris Sennacherib's Tartan	King Hezekiah of Judah Eliakim ben Hilkiyahu Yoah ben Asaf Shebna Taharqa

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History Timeline City of David 1000 BCE Second Temple Period 538 BCE–70 CE Aelia Capitolina 130–325 CE Byzantine 325–638 CE Early Muslim 638–1099 Crusader 1099–1187 Late Medieval 1187–1517 Ottoman 1517–1917 British Mandate 1917–1948 Modern period (Jordanian and Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem) 1948-
Sieges Before Common Era 701 BCE 597 BCE 587 BCE 63 BCE 37 BCE Common Era 70 614 637 1099 1187 1244 1834 1917 1948
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The Assyrian siege of Jerusalem (c. 701 BC) was an aborted siege of Jerusalem, then capital of the Kingdom of Judah, carried out by Sennacherib, king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The siege concluded Sennacharib's campaign in the Levant, in which he attacked the fortified cities and devastated the countryside of Judah in a campaign of subjugation. Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem, but did not capture it.

Sennacherib's Annals describe how the king trapped Hezekiah of Judah in Jerusalem "like a caged bird" and later returned to Assyria when he received tribute from Judah. In the Hebrew Bible, Hezekiah is described as paying 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold to Assyria. The biblical story claims that Sennacherib marched on Jerusalem with his army only to have it struck down near the gates of Jerusalem by an angel, prompting his retreat to Nineveh.

According to biblical archaeological theory, Siloam tunnel and the Broad Wall in Jerusalem were built by Hezekiah in preparation for the impending siege.