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Balancing and Balancing Failure in Biblical Times
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swung to the northwest, taking the offensive around 709-8 against the Mushkiand their allies, eventually securing a cordial alliance with Mita.
When Sargon died in 705, the major threats appeared to have been
eliminated, and the empire’s territory had been expanded in every direction(Map 3). Elam and Urartu had been dealt punishing blows, while Egypt andMushki had elected to bandwagon under pressure. Assyria’s interior location,unmatched military power, superior intelligence and, arguably, effectivestrategic leadership had again thwarted every attempt by borderland states tocoordinate their resistance. Still, Assyria’s military primacy was unable to tameBabylonia, whose resistance was based less on military power than on itsleaders’ skill at claiming legitimacy to undermine the unity of Assyria’sgoverning elite, as well as asymmetric guerilla warfare (Brinkman, 1984; Cole1996).
Sennacherib (704-681)
Sargon’s successor Sennacherib responded initially with internal
deterrence. Urartu became a (minor) ally, allowing Sennacherib to concentrateon the perennial Babylon-Chaldaean problem. When in 703, Merodach-baladan again raised a rebellion with the same cast of characters--Elam,Aramaeans and Chaldaeans--Sennacherib responded with military repression,de-fortifying and devastating the Aramaean and Chaldaean areas,encompassing nearly all of southern Babylonia.
Sennacherib’s activities in Palestine were partly governed by the need to
repress rebellion but also were probably also directed at a new expansionarygoal: the conquest of Egypt. Given Assyria’s assiduous courting of the Arabtribes near the Egyptian border, as well as its persistent militaryencroachments, it is not surprising to find evidence of Egyptian support forrebellions in Palestine (CAH
2
III/2: 120-22). In 701, Hezekiah of Judah (perhaps
in cahoots with Merodach-baladan, [II Kings 18: 17ff.]) organized a rebelliousalliance of coastal cities, supported by Egypt. Sennacherib put down therebellion, chased out the Egyptians, and laid siege to Jerusalem. The city wasspared as the Assyrians were forced to withdraw to put down yet anotherrebellion in Babylon—Merodach-baladan’s last attempt. Sennacherib reducedBabylon’s autonomy, modifying the previous dual monarchy by placing his sonon the Babylonian throne. Elam then took over the reins of rebellion inBabylon, resulting in a series of campaigns from 694-689 in which Sennacheribstruck first at Elam and then unleashed his vengeance upon Babylon itself. Hesacked and flooded the ancient city, defiled its sacred monuments, expelled orexecuted the rebellion’s ringleaders, and thenceforth ruled Babylon directly asan imperial province (Saggs 1990; cf. Brinkman 1991).
Esarhaddon (680-669)
No sooner had Sennacherib fallen victim to regicide in 680 than stirrings
of rebellion in Babylon got underway again. The new king, Esarhaddon,reversed his father’s policy of deterrence and switched to appeasement,investing huge sums in rebuilding Babylon and pursuing a carefullydifferentiated policy toward the Chaldaeans (Porter 1993; Holloway 2002). Theinitial stirrings of rebellion were dealt with swiftly and efficiently, and withcooperation from the now-bandwagoning Elam. Assyriologists attribute theshift to three factors: a recognition that the previous policy of deterrence had
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| | Authors: Kaufman, Stuart. and Wohlforth, William. |
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19
swung to the northwest, taking the offensive around 709-8 against the Mushki
and their allies, eventually securing a cordial alliance with Mita.
When Sargon died in 705, the major threats appeared to have been
eliminated, and the empire’s territory had been expanded in every direction
(Map 3). Elam and Urartu had been dealt punishing blows, while Egypt and
Mushki had elected to bandwagon under pressure. Assyria’s interior location,
unmatched military power, superior intelligence and, arguably, effective
strategic leadership had again thwarted every attempt by borderland states to
coordinate their resistance. Still, Assyria’s military primacy was unable to tame
Babylonia, whose resistance was based less on military power than on its
leaders’ skill at claiming legitimacy to undermine the unity of Assyria’s
governing elite, as well as asymmetric guerilla warfare (Brinkman, 1984; Cole
1996).
Sennacherib (704-681)
Sargon’s successor Sennacherib responded initially with internal
deterrence. Urartu became a (minor) ally, allowing Sennacherib to concentrate
on the perennial Babylon-Chaldaean problem. When in 703, Merodach-
baladan again raised a rebellion with the same cast of characters--Elam,
Aramaeans and Chaldaeans--Sennacherib responded with military repression,
de-fortifying and devastating the Aramaean and Chaldaean areas,
encompassing nearly all of southern Babylonia.
Sennacherib’s activities in Palestine were partly governed by the need to
repress rebellion but also were probably also directed at a new expansionary
goal: the conquest of Egypt. Given Assyria’s assiduous courting of the Arab
tribes near the Egyptian border, as well as its persistent military
encroachments, it is not surprising to find evidence of Egyptian support for
rebellions in Palestine (CAH
2
III/2: 120-22). In 701, Hezekiah of Judah (perhaps
in cahoots with Merodach-baladan, [II Kings 18: 17ff.]) organized a rebellious
alliance of coastal cities, supported by Egypt. Sennacherib put down the
rebellion, chased out the Egyptians, and laid siege to Jerusalem. The city was
spared as the Assyrians were forced to withdraw to put down yet another
rebellion in Babylon—Merodach-baladan’s last attempt. Sennacherib reduced
Babylon’s autonomy, modifying the previous dual monarchy by placing his son
on the Babylonian throne. Elam then took over the reins of rebellion in
Babylon, resulting in a series of campaigns from 694-689 in which Sennacherib
struck first at Elam and then unleashed his vengeance upon Babylon itself. He
sacked and flooded the ancient city, defiled its sacred monuments, expelled or
executed the rebellion’s ringleaders, and thenceforth ruled Babylon directly as
an imperial province (Saggs 1990; cf. Brinkman 1991).
Esarhaddon (680-669)
No sooner had Sennacherib fallen victim to regicide in 680 than stirrings
of rebellion in Babylon got underway again. The new king, Esarhaddon,
reversed his father’s policy of deterrence and switched to appeasement,
investing huge sums in rebuilding Babylon and pursuing a carefully
differentiated policy toward the Chaldaeans (Porter 1993; Holloway 2002). The
initial stirrings of rebellion were dealt with swiftly and efficiently, and with
cooperation from the now-bandwagoning Elam. Assyriologists attribute the
shift to three factors: a recognition that the previous policy of deterrence had
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