As for Hezekiah the Judahite, who did not submit to my yoke: forty-six of his strong, walled cities, as well as the small towns in their area, which were without number, by levelling with battering-rams and by bringing up seige-engines, and by attacking and storming on foot, by mines, tunnels, and breeches, I besieged and took them. 200,150 people, great and small, male and female, horses, mules, asses, camels, cattle and sheep without number, I brought away from them and counted as spoil.

(Prism of Sennacherib)

Aerial view of the site of Lachish showing the Assyrian siege ramp in the near, right-hand corner and the remains of the palace on the summit.

The siege and capture of the Judaean town of Lachish, one of the fortress towns protecting the approaches to Jerusalem, is unique in that it is mentioned in the Old Testament (II Kings 18; II Chronicles 32) and in the Annals of the Assyrian king, Sennacherib. Not only that but the event is depicted on the walls of Sennacherib’s palace at Nineveh.

The capture of Lachish was evidently an event of considerable importance to the king for he devoted an entire room to the composition (marked in blue in the plan below). Moreover, the approach to the room was guarded by a series of three pairs of colossal human-headed winged bulls, one pair at each of the three doorways leading from the large courtyard. Normally, these figures are only used to mark the most important rooms in the palace

The event itself is depicted in a single tableau, with the whole sequence shown as if they were happening at the same time. So, from left to right you see the approach of the Assyrian army, the assault on the town, the capture of the town, the inhabitants being led into captivity, the leaders of Lachish being tortured to death, and (finally) Sennacherib receiving the report of his general.

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