Assyrian siege of Jerusalem 701 BC
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate. Wikidata lists more than one location for this battle; the first is shown.
Key facts
| Year | 701 BC | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Ancient (before 500) | derived from year |
| Location | Israel | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Sennacherib's campaign in the Levant | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Hezekiah, Sennacherib | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 31.7683, 35.2137 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
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.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Assyrian siege of Jerusalem (revision 1370429281), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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