Ancient World
Siege of Lachish (701 BC): Sennacherib's Campaign in Judah
Assyrian victory: Lachish was stormed and destroyed, its people deported, and Hezekiah submitted and paid heavy tribute, though Jerusalem itself was not taken.
Region
Middle East
Ancient World
Great Temple of Yeha: Ethiopia's Oldest Standing Building
The temple survives with walls still about 14 metres high and is the best-preserved monument of the pre-Aksumite D'mt kingdom and its links with Saba.
Ancient World
Cimmerian Invasions of Anatolia and the Fall of Phrygia
Cimmerian raids ended Phrygian power, killed King Gyges of Lydia and devastated Ionian cities, until Lydia expelled the nomads around 600 BC and became the leading power of western Anatolia.
Ancient World
Battle of Halule (691 BC): Sennacherib Against Babylon and Elam
Disputed: Sennacherib claimed a crushing victory, while a Babylonian chronicle records an Assyrian retreat; Babylon fell to Assyria two years later.
Ancient World
Taharqa: The Kushite Pharaoh Who Faced the Assyrian Empire
Taharqa's long reign was a high point of Kushite rule in Egypt, but Assyrian invasions drove him from Lower Egypt and Kushite control ended soon after his death.
Ancient World
Sennacherib's Destruction of Babylon (689 BC) and Its Rebuilding
Babylon was sacked, its temples wrecked and the statue of Marduk taken to Assyria; Esarhaddon began rebuilding the city from 680 BC.
Ancient World
Esarhaddon's Conquest of Egypt (671 BC): Assyria on the Nile
Assyria captured Memphis and drove Taharqa south, but its hold on Egypt proved short-lived and ended within about 15 years.
Ancient World
Library of Ashurbanipal: The Great Royal Library of Nineveh
The largest surviving collection of Mesopotamian texts, whose rediscovery made it possible to read cuneiform literature and revealed works such as the Epic of Gilgamesh.
Ancient World
Battle of Til-Tuba (653 BC): Ashurbanipal's Victory over Elam
Assyrian victory; Teumman was killed and Assyria installed its own candidates on the thrones of Elam.
Ancient World
Babylonian Astronomical Diaries: 600 Years of Sky Records
A body of systematic observations spanning about 600 years that underpins much of our knowledge of ancient astronomy and late Babylonian history.
Ancient World
Assyrian Sack of Susa (647 BC): Ashurbanipal Destroys Elam
Susa was plundered and its sanctuaries and royal tombs desecrated; Elam never again rivalled Assyria or Babylon.
Ancient World
Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal: Assyria's Greatest Palace Reliefs
A celebrated cycle of Assyrian reliefs presenting the king as protector of his land, now among the best-known works of ancient art.