od, the centre of the revolt in the
west, was invested and taken by the Turtannu or commander-in-chief; its
ruler, a certain "Greek," who had been raised to power by the
anti-Assyrian party, fled to the Arabian desert in the vain hope of
saving his life, and Judah, Moab, and Edom were forced to renew their
tribute. The Egyptians, who had promised to assist the rebels in
Palestine, prudently retired, and the Assyrian yoke was fixed more
firmly than ever upon the nations of Syria. Merodach-baladan was left to
face his foe alone. In B.C. 709 he was driven out of Babylon, and forced
to take refuge in his ancestral kingdom in the marshes. Sargon entered
Babylon in triumph, and "took the hands of Bel." His title to rule was
acknowledged by the god and the priesthood, and an Assyrian was once
more the lord of western Asia.

Four years later the old warrior was murdered by a soldier, and on the
12th of Ab, or July, his son Sennacherib was proclaimed king.
Sennacherib was a different man from his father. Sargon had been an able
and energetic general, rough perhaps and uncultured, but vigorous and
determined. His son was weak and boastful, and under him the
newly-formed Assyrian empire met with its first check. It is significant
that the Babylonian priests never acknowledged him as the successor of
their ancient kings; he revenged himself by razing the city and
sanctuary of Bel to the ground.

Merodach-baladan re-entered Babylon immediately after the death of
Sargon in B.C. 705, but he was soon driven back to his retreat in the
Chaldaean marshes, and an Assyrian named Bel-ibni was appointed king in
his place. The next campaign of importance undertaken by Sennacherib was
in B.C. 701. Palestine had revolted, under the leadership of Hezekiah of
Judah. The full strength of the Assyrian army was accordingly hurled
against it. The King of Sidon fled to Cyprus, and Phoenicia, Ammon,
Moab, and Edom hastened to submit to their dangerous foe. Hezekiah and
his Philistine vassals alone ventured to resist.

The Philistines, however, were soon subdued. A new king was appointed
over Ashkelon, and Hezekiah was compelled to restore to Ekron its former
prince, whom he had imprisoned in Jerusalem on account of his loyalty to
Assyria. The priests and nobles of Ekron, who had given him up to
Hezekiah, were ruthlessly impaled. Meanwhile Tirhakah, the Ethiopian
king of Egypt, on whose help Hezekiah had relied, was marching to the
assistance of his a