Sennacherib

From 705 B.C. to 681 B.C., Sennacherib, the son of Sargon II, was the king of Assyria. At his accession he was greeted by a general rebellion through much of the Assyrian empire, with its two principal centers at Babylon and in Syria and Palestine. The rebellion in Syria and Palestine was led by King Hezekiah of Judah with the assistance of Egypt. In 701 B.C., Sennacherib moved against the revolts in Syria and Palestine. Judah and the cities of the Philistines offered the only effective resistance; the Egyptian forces were defeated. Jerusalem was eventually forced to capitulate. Sennacherib made Nineveh a central city in his empire; he was assassinated by his sons.