rom the
period of the First Dynasty. Moreover, a number of earlier pot-burials
have been unearthed, but a careful examination of the greater part of
the ruins has added little to our knowledge of this most famous city
before the Neo-Babylonian period."[537]

It is possible that Sennacherib desired to supplant Babylon as a
commercial metropolis by Nineveh. He extended and fortified that city,
surrounding it with two walls protected by moats. According to
Diodorus, the walls were a hundred feet high and about fifty feet
wide. Excavators have found that at the gates they were about a
hundred feet in breadth. The water supply of the city was ensured by
the construction of dams and canals, and strong quays were erected to
prevent flooding. Sennacherib repaired a lofty platform which was
isolated by a canal, and erected upon it his great palace. On another
platform he had an arsenal built.

Sennacherib's palace was the most magnificent building of its kind
ever erected by an Assyrian emperor. It was lavishly decorated, and
its bas-reliefs display native art at its highest pitch of excellence.
The literary remains of the time also give indication of the growth of
culture: the inscriptions are distinguished by their prose style. It
is evident that men of culture and refinement were numerous in
Assyria. The royal library of Kalkhi received many additions during
the reign of the destroyer of Babylon.

Like his father, Sennacherib died a violent death. According to the
Babylonian Chronicle he was slain in a revolt by his son "on the
twentieth day of Tebet" (680 B.C). The revolt continued from the "20th
of Tebet" (early in January) until the 2nd day of Adar (the middle of
February). On the 18th of Adar, Esarhaddon, son of Sennacherib, was
proclaimed king.

Berosus states that Sennacherib was murdered by two of his sons, but
Esarhaddon was not one of the conspirators. The Biblical reference is
as follows: "Sennacherib ... dwelt at Nineveh. And it came to pass, as
he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch (?Ashur) his god, that
Adrammelech and Sharezer (Ashur-shar-etir) his sons smote him with the
sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia (Urartu). And
Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead." Ashur-shar-etir appears to
have been the claimant to the throne.

Esarhaddon (680-668 B.C.) was a man of different type from his father.
He adopted towards vassal states a policy of conciliation, and did
much to secure peace with