Sennacherib at Nineveh: his palace at Kouyunjik; its decoration with
battle, hunting, and building scenes._

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CHAPTER I--SENNACHERIB (705-681 B.C.)

_The struggle of Sennacherib with Judæa and Egypt--Destruction of
Babylon._


Sennacherib either failed to inherit his father's good fortune, or
lacked his ability.* He was not deficient in military genius, nor in the
energy necessary to withstand the various enemies who rose against
him at widely removed points of his frontier, but he had neither the
adaptability of character nor the delicate tact required to manage
successfully the heterogeneous elements combined under his sway.

* The two principal documents for the reign of Sennacherib
are engraved on cylinders: the Taylor Cylinder and the
Bellino Cylinder, duplicates of which, more or less perfect,
exist in the collections of the British Museum. The Taylor
Cylinder, found at Kouyunjik or Usebi-Yunus, contains the
history or the first eight years of this reign; the Bellino
Cylinder treats of the two first years of the reign.

He lacked the wisdom to conciliate the vanquished, or opportunely to