Editing Sennacherib (section)

=== Sennacherib in popular memory ===
[[File:Georg Pencz - Tyrants of the Old Testament- Sennacherib - 1923.413 - Cleveland Museum of Art.jpg|thumb|alt=Woodcut depicting Sennacherib wearing a helmet and holding a sword |[[Woodcut]] depicting Sennacherib by 16th-century German engraver, painter and printmaker [[Georg Pencz]], from a series of woodcuts titled ''Tyrants of the Old Testament'']]Throughout the millennia following Sennacherib's death, the popular image of the king has been mainly negative. The first reason for this is Sennacherib's negative portrayal in the Bible as the evil conqueror who attempted to take Jerusalem; the second is his destruction of Babylon, one of the most prominent cities in the ancient world. This negative view of Sennacherib endured until modern times. Sennacherib is presented as akin to a ruthless predator, attacking Judah as a "wolf on the fold" in the famous 1815 poem ''[[The Destruction of Sennacherib]]'' by [[Lord Byron]]:{{Sfn|Elayi|2018|p=1}}

{{blockquote
|quote=The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,<br />And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;<br />And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,<br />When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.
|author=[[Lord Byron]] (1815)
|title=''[[The Destruction of Sennacherib]]''
|source=first stanza.{{sfn|Elayi|2018|p=1}}
}}

[[File:The Death of Sennacherib - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|alt=Miniatures from a book showing three separate episodes from the Israelites' battle with Sennacherib including him being killed by two spears|Miniature from a book of [[Old Testament]] prophets made in [[Norman Kingdom of Sicily|Sicily]] around 1300, portraying three separate scenes from Sennacherib's war against the Israelites. On the right, an angel is portrayed as destroying his army. In the center, Sennacherib and his remaining soldiers are shown on their way back to Nineveh. On the left, two of Sennacherib's sons murder him as he is praying before a pagan idol.]]
Biblical archaeologist Isaac Kalimi and historian Seth Richardson described Sennacherib's 701&nbsp;BC attack against Jerusalem as a "world event" in 2014, noting that it drew together the fates of numerous otherwise disparate groups. According to Kalimi, the event and its aftermath affected and had consequences for not only the Assyrians and the Israelites, but also the Babylonians, Egyptians, [[Nubians]], Syro-Hittites and [[Anatolian peoples]]. The siege is discussed not only in contemporary sources, but in later folklore and traditions, such as Aramaic folklore, in later [[Greco-Roman world|Greco-Roman]] histories of the Near East and in the tales of medieval [[Syriac Christians]] and [[Arabs]].{{Sfn|Kalimi|Richardson|p=1|2014}} Sennacherib's Levantine campaign is a significant event in the Bible, being brought up and discussed in many places, notably [[2&nbsp;Kings]] 18:13–19:37, 20:6 and [[2&nbsp;Chronicles]] 32:1–23.{{Sfn|Kalimi|2014|p=12}} A vast majority of the Biblical accounts of King Hezekiah's reign in 2 Kings is dedicated to Sennacherib's campaign, cementing it as the most important event of Hezekiah's time.{{Sfn|Kalimi|2014|p=15}} In Chronicles, Sennacherib's failure and Hezekiah's success is emphasized. The Assyrian campaign (described as an act of aggression rather than as a response to Hezekiah's rebellious activities) is seen as doomed to fail from the start. According to the narrative, no enemy, not even the powerful king of Assyria, would have been able to triumph over Hezekiah as the Judean king had God on his side.{{Sfn|Kalimi|2014|p=21}} The conflict is presented as something akin to a [[holy war]]: God's war against the pagan Sennacherib.{{Sfn|Kalimi|2014|p=37}}

Though Assyria had more than a hundred kings throughout its long history, Sennacherib (along with his son Esarhaddon and grandsons [[Ashurbanipal]] and [[Shamash-shum-ukin]]) is one of the few kings who was remembered and figured in Aramaic and Syriac folklore long after the kingdom had fallen. The ancient Aramaic [[story of Ahikar]] portrays Sennacherib as a benevolent patron of the titular character Ahikar, with Esarhaddon portrayed more negatively. Medieval Syriac tales characterize Sennacherib as an archetypical pagan king assassinated as part of a family feud, whose children convert to Christianity.{{Sfn|Kalimi|Richardson|p=5|2014}} The legend of the 4th-century [[Behnam, Sarah, and the Forty Martyrs|Saints Behnam and Sarah]] casts Sennacherib, under the name [[Sinharib]], as their royal father. After Behnam converts to Christianity, Sinharib orders his execution, but is later struck by a dangerous disease that is cured through being baptized by [[Saint Matthew]] in Assur. Thankful, Sinharib then converts to Christianity and founds an important monastery near [[Mosul]], called [[Mar Behnam Monastery|Deir Mar Mattai]].{{Sfn|Radner|2015|p=7}}

Sennacherib also occupied various roles in later Jewish tradition. In [[Midrash]], examinations of the Old Testament and later stories, the events of 701&nbsp;BC are often explored in detail; many times featuring massive armies deployed by Sennacherib and pointing out how he repeatedly consulted astrologers on his campaign, delaying his actions. In the stories, Sennacherib's armies are destroyed when Hezekiah recites [[Hallel]] psalms on the eve of [[Passover]]. The event is often portrayed as an [[Apocalypticism|apocalyptic]] scenario, with Hezekiah portrayed as a [[Messiah in Judaism|messianic]] figure and Sennacherib and his armies being personifications of [[Gog and Magog]].{{Sfn|Kalimi|Richardson|p=6|2014}} Sennacherib, due to the role he plays in the Bible, remains one of the most famous Assyrian kings to this day.'''{{Sfn|Mark|2014|p=}}'''

Sennacherib appears in Dante’s Divine Comedy, in the Purgatorio, as an exemplar of pride: “Now was shown how his sons fell upon Sennacherib inside the temple, and how, slain, they left him there” (XII. 51-54). Hollander notes that the Vulgate associates Sennacherib’s campaigns against Hezekiah with “superbia.”<Dante Alighieri, Purgatorio, tr. Robert and Jean Hollander, Doubleday, 2003</ref>