Behind | Sennacherib: The Rest of the Story

The Mesopotamian Chronicles record the death of Sennacherib in 681 BC: 

In the month of Tebeth, the twentieth day, during an insurrection, the son of King Sennacherib of Assyria killed his father . . . Sennacherib reigned 24 years over Assyria.

Sennacherib lost his army and then his life. One of his sons, Esarhaddon, described what happened when the king returned to his capital, Nineveh:

My brothers went mad . . . and did something not good against the gods and mankind. They plotted evil and drew weapons in the midst of Nineveh, contrary to the will of the gods. Like kids, they butted against each other over the exercise of kingship. I raged like a lion and my liver started to boil with fury. In order to assume the kingship of my father’s house, I clapped my hands in prayer. As for those usurpers who had fomented rebellion and revolt, when they heard of the coming of my troops, they abandoned their trustworthy troops and escaped to an unknown land.

This is a fascinating piece of Esarhaddon’s royal propaganda. Maybe he was trying to protect his father, but things worked out well for him regardless. The two sons who murdered their father had to run away. Esarhaddon took the throne as Sennacherib’s reign came to a violent end. 

Sources: Iain Provan, “2 Kings,” in Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, vol. 3, edited by John H. Walton, p. 195; Jean-Jacques Glassner, Mesopotamian Chronicles, 2005, p. 199.