The biggest problems Sennacherib faced were Babylonia and Elam. Throughout his reign, he wrestled with the problem of ruling the land of Sumer and Akkad, and attempted various solutions, none of which worked.[17] Between 705 and 689, Sennacherib undertook military action against Babylonia and its ally, the land Elam, no fewer than six times.[18] Ultimately, Sennacherib resorted to drastic action and captured and destroyed Babylon; Marduk, the city's tutelary deity, his entourage, and possessions were carried off into captivity, where they remained in exile until 668.
The initial transition of power in Babylonia (705) appears to have been fairly smooth. Sennacherib took direct control of Sumer and Akkad,[19] but the situation quickly deteriorated. Marduk-zākir-šumi II led a rebellion and seized power at the beginning of Sennacherib's 1st regnal year (704). His tenure as king was very brief; Marduk-apla-iddina II (Merodach-baladan) deposed him after only one month. For nine months, Sennacherib left his Chaldean rival unchallenged, probably because his attention was drawn elsewhere.[20] During those nine months, Marduk-apla-iddina strengthened his position as king by gathering support from the citizens of prominent Babylonian cities, Chaldean and Aramean tribal groups, the Arabs, and the king of Elam (Šutur-Naḫundu = Šutruk-Naḫḫunte II). On the twentieth day of the month Šabāṭu (XI), Sennacherib set out from Aššur with his army. In advance of the king, troops under the authority of the chief official and several provincial governors were dispatched to Kish; Sennacherib and his host marched on Cutha. While Cutha was under attack, the contingent sent to Kish faced off with Marduk-apla-iddina and his supporters. The initial confrontation at Kish met with failure. But when the main body of the Assyrian army arrived after capturing Cutha, Marduk-apla-iddina became frightened, fled the battlefield, and eluded capture. The Assyrians searched for him in the marshes, but their efforts were in vain. As his army fought and defeated other enemy contingents, Sennacherib marched to Babylon, where he plundered Marduk-apla-iddina's palace.[21] Over the course of his 2nd regnal year (703), the Assyrians brought order back to Babylonia. Numerous Chaldean-controlled cities and towns were conquered and mass deportations took place. Sennacherib attempted to rule Sumer and Akkad through a puppet ruler in Babylon. Late in the year, Bēl-ibni, who is described as "a son of a rab banî (and) a scion of Šuanna (Babylon) who had grown up like a young puppy in my palace," was installed as king.
As the Assyrians withdrew, probably at the beginning of Sennacherib's 3rd regnal year (702), numerous Aramean tribes were plundered, a substantial voluntary payment was received from Nabû-bēl-šumāti (the official in charge of the city Ḫararatu), and the city Ḫirimmu was captured.
For the next two years, Sennacherib left Babylonia in the hands of Bēl-ibni. With Assyrian attention drawn elsewhere, Marduk-apla-iddina took the opportunity to make his presence felt. By early 700 (Sennacherib's 5th regnal year and Bēl-ibni's 3rd regnal year), Bēl-ibni's jurisdiction appears to have been restricted to northern Babylonia; the Chaldeans were in control of the south. To remedy the situation, Sennacherib marched into Babylonia; he officially regarded this expedition as his fourth campaign.[22] First, he hunted down a man called Šūzubu (who must be identical to Mušēzib-Marduk), a new, influential Chaldean leader. That Chaldean was defeated at the city Bittūtu; he fled before the Assyrians could capture him. Sennacherib then advanced on Bīt-Yakīn. Marduk-apla-iddina, as he had done many times before, ran away. He fled by ship across the Persian Gulf to Elam; his abandoned family and supporters were captured and deported to Assyria. On his return march, the Assyrian king removed Bēl-ibni and his officials, whether for incompetence or disloyalty is not known, and installed in Bēl-ibni's place Aššur-nādin-šumi, Sennacherib's eldest son. This arrangement ensured Assyrian control over Babylonia for the next six years.
In his 11th regnal year (694), Sennacherib decided to attack the Bīt-Yakīn exiles living in Elam and the Elamites who had granted them asylum; the expedition is officially designated as his sixth campaign.[23] To catch the enemy off guard, Sennacherib decided to enter Elam via the Persian Gulf. Syrian ships were built at Nineveh and then sailed down the Tigris River to Opis, at which point the boats were dragged overland to the Araḫtu; the ships were manned by well-trained sailors from Tyre, Sidon, and Cyprus (or Ionia). Assyrian troops, horses, and their supplies and equipment were loaded onto the ships and sailed down the Tigris. Sennacherib and his elite troops, however, remained on shore and marched along the bank. Once they reached the head of the Persian Gulf, the advance was delayed for five days; this may have been due to the fact that the Phoenician sailors were not accustomed to the strong gulf tide. After this minor setback, which Sennacherib claims to have resolved by making an offering to the god Ea, the Assyrians sailed over to the Elamite coast. Upon landing, the Elamite cities that had granted asylum to exiles from Bīt-Yakīn were captured and plundered. The Bīt-Yakīn exiles and the Elamites who took them in were loaded onto boats and transported back across the Persian Gulf. From all appearances, this campaign should have been a resounding success for Sennacherib. However, this was not the case, as the Assyrian king had been outwitted.
While the Assyrian army was busy in Elam, the Elamite king Ḫallušu (Ḫallutaš-Inšušinak) had invaded northern Babylonia through the Diyala valley and occupied Sippar. The Babylonians struck a deal with Ḫallušu: they handed over Aššur-nādin-šumi and the king of Elam appointed Nergal-ušēzib (of the Gaḫul [Gaḫal] family) as king of Babylon in his place; Aššur-nādin-šumi was carried off to Elam. Sennacherib was caught completely off guard when he returned to Babylonia. The Assyrians had to fight their way north. The fighting was fierce and the conflict continued into the next year (693; Sennacherib's 12th regnal year and Nergal-ušēzib's 1st regnal year). Nergal-ušēzib managed to capture Nippur, while the Assyrians were able to take Uruk. In the month Tašrītu (VII), Sennacherib and Nergal-ušēzib fought a pitched battle near Nippur. The Assyrians won the day. Nergal-ušēzib was taken prisoner and carried back to Nineveh, where he was publicly humiliated.
Sennacherib, enraged by the fact that the Elamite king had carried off his son, immediately sought to exact revenge on Elam. The situation in Elam was ripe to launch a full military assault: Ḫallušu (Ḫallutaš-Inšušinak) had just been deposed and executed in an insurrection. Almost immediately after returning home in late 693, Sennacherib mustered his army and marched directly into Elamite territory; this was officially his seventh campaign.[24] Several border cities, including Rāši, were captured, garrisoned with Assyrian troops, and placed under the authority of the garrison commander of the city Dēr. Thirty-four cities are reported to have been captured, plundered, and destroyed. Kudur-Naḫundu (Kudur-Naḫḫunte), the newly enthroned Elamite king, heard the bad news and fled. Sennacherib ordered the march to the royal city Madaktu, but deep winter set in during the month Ṭebētu (X) and the Assyrians felt it best to return home. Thus, the final conflict with Elam was postponed. Meanwhile, Mušēzib-Marduk (Šūzubu), the same influential Chaldean whom Sennacherib had defeated several years earlier (700), became king in Babylon.[25]
What transpired in Sennacherib's 13th regnal year (692, Mušēzib-Marduk's 1st regnal year) is not entirely clear. Chronographic sources are silent on the matter and record only that Kudur-Naḫundu was deposed in the month Abu (V) and succeeded by Umman-menanu (Ḫumban-menanu). Mušēzib-Marduk, as Sennacherib reports, was strengthening his ties at home and abroad. A substantial bribe was sent to the Elamite king, enticing Elam once again to bring its armies onto Babylonian soil. Sennacherib caught wind of the situation brewing in the south, mustered his army, and marched against the king of Babylon and his allies. This campaign, which is the eighth campaign by official reckoning, is generally thought to have taken place in Sennacherib's 14th regnal year (691, Mušēzib-Marduk's 2nd regnal year).[26] Sennacherib confronted Mušēzib-Marduk, Umman-menanu, and their allies in the plain near the city Ḫalulê. The true outcome of the battle is obscured by conflicting accounts of the event.[27] The Babylonian Chronicle records an Assyrian retreat, while Sennacherib's res gestae describe in a highly poetic style a total rout of the enemy. The fact that Mušēzib-Marduk remained in power may suggest that the Assyrians suffered a setback at Ḫalulê. In any event, any setback was short lived, as Assyrian troops started laying siege to Babylon by the middle of 690 (Sennacherib's 15th regnal year and Mušēzib-Marduk's 3rd regnal year).[28]
Despite the desperate state of affairs, Babylon and Mušēzib-Marduk refused to submit for another fifteen months. On the 1st day of the month Kislīmu (IX) 689 (Sennacherib's 16th regnal year and Mušēzib-Marduk's 4th regnal year), Babylon fell.[29] Sennacherib records that he utterly destroyed Babylon and its temples by diverting water from canals to completely wash away the mud-brick structures, making it impossible for future generations to recognize the ground plans of the city and its buildings. The actual destruction was probably not as bad as Sennacherib describes.[30]
Sennacherib ruled Babylonia directly for the next eight years (688–681), but the extent of his affairs there is not known. He did not assume the titles "king of Babylon," "viceroy of Babylon," or "king of Sumer and Akkad," and he does not appear to have sponsored building activities there. His involvement may have been very limited as one Babylonian chronicle and the Ptolemaic Canon considered Sennacherib's second tenure as ruler of Babylon to be "kingless."
17 For details on Babylonia during the reign of Sennacherib, see Brinkman, Prelude pp. 54–70; and Frame, Babylonia pp. 52–63.
18 For studies of his Babylonian and Elamite campaigns, see for example Böhl, Orientalia Neerlandica (1948) pp. 116–137; Brinkman, Studies Oppenheim pp. 22–27; Grayson, Studies Landsberger p. 342; Levine, JCS 34 (1982) pp. 29–55; Brinkman, CAH2 3/2 pp. 32–40; Grayson, CAH2 3/2 pp. 105–109; W. Mayer, Studies von Soden pp. 305–332; Waters, SAAS 12 pp. 22–36; and Frahm, Sanherib pp. 9–11 and 14–16.
19 The Ptolemaic Canon (see below), however, refers to the two-year period between Arkeanos (Sargon II) and Bilibos (Bēl-ibni) as "kingless." Sources for the first campaign are: Text no. 1 lines 5–62, text no. 2 lines 5–19, text no. 3 lines 5–19, text no. 4 lines 5–17, text no. 8 lines 5–16, text no. 9 lines 5–13, text no. 15 i 1'–ii 10, text no. 16 i 27–ii 5, text no. 17 i 22–77, text no. 18 i 1''–13'', text no. 22 i 20–64, text no. 23 i 18–58, text no. 24 i 19–26, and text no. 34 lines 6b–8a. In addition to Sennacherib's royal inscriptions, the following sources provide information on Sennacherib's first stint as king of Babylon and the first campaign: the Eponym Chronicle (see below), the Babylonian Chronicle (see below), Babylonian Kinglist A iv 13–15 (see below), the Ptolemaic Canon (see below), the Synchronistic King List iv 1–3 (see below), and the Babyloniaca of Berossus (Burstein, SANE 1/5 [1978] p. 23; G. De Breucker's annotated online edition of the text is also available [by subscription] on the Brill Online website:http://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/entry?entry=bnj_a680 [http://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/entry?entry=bnj_a680] [2012]). Because of the ambiguity of the Assyrian sources and because data in Babylonian Kinglist A and the Babylonian Chronicle seem to imply that Sennacherib remained in charge of Babylonia in 705 and 704, scholars have been divided on the date of the first campaign. J.A. Brinkman (Studies Oppenheim pp. 22–26; Prelude pp. 56–59; and CAH2 3/2 pp. 32–34) suggests that the campaign began in late 703, while L.D. Levine (JCS 34 [1982] pp. 28–40) proposes that it started one year earlier, in late 704. Levine's chronology is followed here, as it is by E. Frahm (Sanherib pp. 7 and 9–10; and ISIMU 6 [2003] pp. 129–130).
20 The Eponym Chronicle (see below) records that Sennacherib sent his officials against the Kulummians in Tabal to avenge his father's death. E. Frahm (ISIMU 6 [2003] p. 130) forwards the idea that "Sennacherib may have found it too risky to engage his troops in two dangerous spots in the north and in the south at the same time" and therefore did not march into Babylonia immediately after Marduk-apla-iddina II seized the throne.
21 It is uncertain if Sennacherib participated in the akītu-festival at this time, thus officially inaugurating his 2nd regnal year as king of Babylon. For ten months of his 1st regnal year, Marduk-zākir-šumi II and Marduk-apla-iddina II sat on the throne in Babylon. Thus, the two years that Babylonian Kinglist A states that Sennacherib was king of Babylon (704–703) overlap with the one month and nine months that Marduk-zākir-šumi II and Marduk-apla-iddina II sat on the throne (704) respectively. This coincides nicely with the Ptolemaic Canon, which records that the two years between the reigns of Sargon II and Bēl-ibni were "kingless."
22 Text no. 6 line 15', text no. 15 iv 15'–v 9, text no. 16 iv 38–69, text no. 17 iii 82–iv 17, text no. 18 iii 1'–30', text no. 19 i' 15'–16', text no. 21 ii' 1'–8', text no. 22 iii 50–74, text no. 23 iii 43–65, text no. 26 i 4'b–5', text no. 28 i' 1–2, and text no. 34 lines 8b–12a. The events are also recorded in the Babylonian Chronicle (see below), the Eponym Chronicle (see below), Babylonian Kinglist A iv 15 (see below), the Ptolemaic Canon (see below), the Synchronistic King List iv 3–4 (see below), and the Babyloniaca of Berossus (Burstein, SANE 1/5 [1978] p. 23).
23 Text no. 18 iv 1'–6', text no. 20 i' 1–13, text no. 22 iv 32–53, text no. 23 iv 26–46, text no. 26 ii 1'–6', text no. 34 lines 20–36a, and text no. 35 lines 1'–15'. The events are also recorded in the Babylonian Chronicle (see below), Babylonian Kinglist A iv 17 (see below), the Ptolemaic Canon (see below), and the Synchronistic King List iv 7 (see below).
24 Text no. 18 iv 7'–11'', text no. 22 iv 54–v 16, text no. 23 iv 47–v 8, text no. 26 ii 7'–13', text no. 34 lines 36b–44a, and text no. 35 lines 16'–29'a. The events are also recorded in the Babylonian Chronicle (see below), Babylonian Kinglist A iv 18 (see below), the Ptolemaic Canon (see below), the Synchronistic King List iv 8–9 (see below), and in inscriptions of Ashurbanipal (Borger, BIWA p. 46 Prism A iv 123–127).
25 The details of Mušēzib-Marduk's rise to power are not known. Sennacherib's res gestae imply that he came to power through his own efforts (that is, not appointed by the Assyrian or Elamite king). The fact that Sennacherib does not appear to have made an immediate attempt to remove him from power may indicate that the Assyrian king was not entirely opposed to Mušēzib-Marduk being king of Babylon. On the other hand, it may be that his attention was drawn elsewhere or that he was carefully assessing the Babylonian problem before making his next move.
26 Text no. 18 v 1'–vi 15', text no. 22 v 17–vi 35, text no. 23 v 9–vi 30, text no. 25 i 1'–12', text no. 34 lines 44b–55a, and text no. 35 lines 29'b–52'. The events are also recorded in the Babylonian Chronicle (see below).
27 For a study of the battle of Ḫalulê and other problematic battles, see Grayson, Studies Landsberger pp. 337–342.
28 A legal text dated to V-28-690 describes the grim situation in Babylon at that time: "In the reign of Mušēzib-Marduk, king of Babylon, there were siege, famine, hunger, starvation, and hard times in the land. Everything had changed and become non-existent. (For) one shekel of silver (one could buy) two kor of barley. The city gates were locked and there was no exit in (all) four directions. The corpses of people filled the squares of Babylon because there was no one to bury (them)." For a transliteration, see Brinkman, Prelude p. 64 n. 311 YBC 11377 lines 1–8.
29 Text no. 24 vi 1'–16' and the Bavian Inscription lines 43b–54a (Luckenbill, Senn. pp. 83–84). The event and the period following the second conquest of Babylon are also recorded in the Babylonian Chronicle (see below), the Esarhaddon Chronicle (see below), the Akītu Chronicle (see below), Babylonian Kinglist A iv 19 (see below), the Ptolemaic Canon (see below), and the Synchronistic King List iv 10–11 (see below). Inscriptions of Esarhaddon record the destruction of the city, but those accounts remove all human agency from the events. See for example Leichty, RINAP 4 pp. 195–196 Esarhaddon 104 i 18b–ii 1a.
30 See Frame, Babylonia pp. 55–56.
A. Kirk Grayson & Jamie Novotny
A. Kirk Grayson & Jamie Novotny, 'Military Campaigns, Part 2', RINAP 3: Sennacherib, The RINAP 3 sub-project of the RINAP Project, 2019 [http://oracc.org/rinap/rinap3/RINAP31Introduction/MilitaryCampaigns/Part2/]