Editing Sennacherib (section)

== Background ==

=== Ancestry and early life ===
[[File:Sargon_II,_Iraq_Museum_in_Baghdad.jpg|thumb|alt=Bas-relief depicting Sargon II|[[Alabaster]] [[bas-relief]] depicting [[Sargon II]], Sennacherib's father and predecessor]]
Sennacherib was the son and successor of the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire|Neo-Assyrian]] king [[Sargon&nbsp;II]], who had reigned as [[king of Assyria]] from 722 to 705&nbsp;BC and as [[king of Babylon]] from 710 to 705&nbsp;BC. The identity of Sennacherib's mother is uncertain. Historically, the most popular view has been that Sennacherib was the son of Sargon's wife [[Ataliya]], although this is now considered unlikely. To have been Sennacherib's mother, Ataliya would have had to be born around the year 760&nbsp;BC, at the latest, and lived to at least 692&nbsp;BC,{{Sfn|Elayi|2018|p=13}} as a "queen mother" is attested in that year,{{Sfn|Kertai|2013|p=115}} but Ataliya's grave at [[Nimrud]],{{Sfn|Elayi|2018|p=13}} which was discovered in the 1980s,{{Sfn|Melville|2016|p=56}} indicates she was 35 years old at most when she died. The [[Assyriologist]] [[Josette Elayi]] considers it more plausible Sennacherib's mother was another of Sargon's wives, [[Ra'īmâ]]; a [[stele]] from [[Assur]] (once the capital of [[Assyria]]), discovered in 1913, specifically refers to her as the "mother of Sennacherib". Ra'īmâ's existence is a recent discovery, based on a 2014 reading of the inscription on the stele.{{Sfn|Elayi|2018|p=13}} Sargon claimed he was himself the son of the earlier king [[Tiglath-Pileser&nbsp;III]], but this is uncertain as Sargon usurped the throne from Tiglath-Pileser's other son [[Shalmaneser&nbsp;V]].{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=27}}

Sennacherib was probably born {{Circa|}} 745&nbsp;BC in Nimrud. If Sargon was the son of Tiglath-Pileser and not a non-dynastic usurper, Sennacherib would have grown up in the royal palace at Nimrud and spent most of his youth there. Sargon continued to live in Nimrud long after he had become king, leaving the city in 710&nbsp;BC to reside at [[Babylon]], and later at his new capital, [[Dur-Sharrukin]], in 706 BC. By the time Sargon moved to Babylon, Sennacherib, who served as the [[crown prince]] and designated heir, had already left Nimrud, living in a residence at [[Nineveh]].{{Sfn|Elayi|2018|p=18}} Nineveh had been the designated seat of the Assyrian crown prince since the reign of Tiglath-Pileser.{{Sfn|Elayi|2018|p=30}} As crown prince, Sennacherib also owned an estate at [[Tarbisu]]. The royal educator, Hunnî, would have educated Sennacherib and his siblings. They probably received a [[Eduba|scribal education]], learning arithmetic and how to read and write in [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] and [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]].{{Sfn|Elayi|2018|p=18}}

Sennacherib had several brothers and at least one sister. In addition to the older brothers who died before his birth, Sennacherib had a number of younger brothers, some of whom are mentioned as being alive as late as 670&nbsp;BC, then in the service of Sennacherib's son and successor [[Esarhaddon]]. Sennacherib's only known sister, [[Ahat-abisha]], was married off to Ambaris, the king of [[Tabal (state)|Tabal]], but probably returned to Assyria after Sargon's first successful campaign against Tabal.{{Sfn|Elayi|2018|p=15}}

Sennacherib's name, ''Sîn-aḥḥē-erība'', means "[[Sin (mythology)|Sîn]] (the moon-god) has replaced the brothers" in Akkadian. The name probably derives from Sennacherib not being Sargon's first son, but all his older brothers being dead by the time he was born. In [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], his name was rendered as ''Snḥryb'' and in [[Aramaic]] it was ''Šnḥ’ryb''.{{Sfn|Elayi|2018|p=12}} According to a 670&nbsp;BC document, it was illegal to give the name Sennacherib (then the former king) to a commoner in Assyria, as it was considered sacrilege.{{Sfn|Elayi|2018|p=13}}

=== Sennacherib as crown prince ===
[[File:Sargon II (left) faces a high-ranking official, possibly Sennacherib his son and crown prince. 710-705 BCE. From Khorsabad, Iraq. The British Museum, London.jpg|alt=A stone relief showing Sargon II on the left wearing a crown and holding a staff facing a man on the right|thumb|Sennacherib's father Sargon II (left) facing a high-ranking official, possibly his crown prince Sennacherib|left]]
As crown prince, Sennacherib exercised royal power with his father, or alone as a substitute while Sargon was away campaigning. During Sargon's longer absences from the Assyrian heartland, Sennacherib's residence would have served as the center of government in the Neo-Assyrian Empire, with the crown prince taking on significant administrative and political responsibilities. The vast responsibilities entrusted to Sennacherib suggests a certain degree of trust between the king and the crown prince. In reliefs depicting both Sargon and Sennacherib, they are portrayed in discussion, appearing almost as equals. As regent, Sennacherib's primary duty was to maintain relations with Assyrian governors and generals and oversee the empire's vast military intelligence network. Sennacherib oversaw domestic affairs and often informed Sargon of the progress being made on building projects throughout the empire.{{Sfn|Elayi|2018|pp=30–31}} Sargon also assigned him to the reception and distribution of audience gifts and tribute. After distributing such financial resources, Sennacherib sent letters to his father to inform him of his decisions.{{Sfn|Elayi|2018|p=38}}

A letter to his father indicates that Sennacherib respected him and that they were on friendly terms. He never disobeyed his father, and his letters indicate he knew Sargon well and wanted to please him. For unknown reasons, Sargon never took him on his military campaigns. Elayi believes that Sennacherib may have resented his father for this as he missed out on the glory attached to military victories. In any event, Sennacherib never took action against Sargon or attempted to usurp the throne despite being more than old enough to become king himself.{{Sfn|Elayi|2018|p=|pp=40, 204}}

=== Assyria and Babylonia ===
[[File:Ancient Near East 0900BC.svg|thumb|alt=Map of the Near East in 900 BC|upright=1.6|Map of the [[Near East]] in 900 BC, on the eve of the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]]'s rise. The map shows the former core territories of [[Assyria]] (Aššur) and [[Babylonia]].]]
By the time Sennacherib became king, the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] had been the dominant power in the [[Near East]] for over thirty years, chiefly due to its well-trained and large army, superior to that of any other contemporary kingdom. Though [[Babylonia]] to the south had also once been a large kingdom, it was typically weaker than its northern neighbor during this period, due to internal divisions and the lack of a well-organized army. The population of Babylonia was divided into various ethnic groups with different priorities and ideals. Though old native Babylonians ruled most of the cities, such as [[Kish (Sumer)|Kish]], [[Ur]], [[Uruk]], [[Borsippa]], [[Nippur]], and [[Babylon]] itself, [[Chaldea]]n tribes led by chieftains who often squabbled with each other dominated most of the southernmost land.{{Sfn|Brinkman|1973|p=89}} The [[Arameans]] lived on the fringes of settled land and were notorious for plundering surrounding territories. Because of the infighting of these three major groups, Babylonia often represented an appealing target for Assyrian campaigns.{{Sfn|Brinkman|1973|p=90}} The two kingdoms had competed since the rise of the [[Middle Assyrian Empire]] in the 14th century BC, and in the 8th century BC, the Assyrians consistently gained the upper hand.{{Sfn|Frahm|2014|p=209}} Babylon's internal and external weakness led to its conquest by the Assyrian king [[Tiglath-Pileser III]] in 729 BC.{{Sfn|Brinkman|1973|p=90}}

During the expansion of [[Assyria]] into a major empire, the Assyrians had conquered various neighboring kingdoms, either annexing them as Assyrian provinces or turning them into vassal states. Because the Assyrians venerated the long history and culture of Babylon, it was preserved as a full kingdom, either ruled by an appointed client king, or by the Assyrian king in a [[personal union]].{{Sfn|Brinkman|1973|p=90}} The relationship between Assyria and Babylonia was similar to the relationship between [[Ancient Greece|Greece]] and [[Ancient Rome|Rome]] in later centuries; much of Assyria's culture, texts and traditions had been imported from the south. Assyria and Babylonia also shared the same language ([[Akkadian language|Akkadian]]).{{Sfn|Frahm|2014|p=208}} The relationship between Assyria and Babylon was emotional in a sense; Neo-Assyrian inscriptions implicitly gender the two countries, calling Assyria the metaphorical "husband" and Babylon its "wife". In the words of the Assyriologist Eckart Frahm, "the Assyrians were in love with Babylon, but also wished to dominate her". Though Babylon was respected as the well-spring of civilization, it was expected to remain passive in political matters, something that Assyria's "Babylonian bride" repeatedly refused to be.{{Sfn|Frahm|2014|p=212}}