Azekah Inscription
# Azekah Inscription

The Azekah Inscription, is a tablet inscription of the reign of Sennacherib (reigned 705 to 681 BC) discovered in the mid-nineteenth century in the Library of Ashurbanipal. It was identified as a single tablet by Nadav Na'aman in 1974.

It describes an Assyrian campaign by Sennacherib against Hezekiah, King of Judah, including the conquest of Azekah.

## Inscription

The inscription on the combined tablet has been translated as follows:

   (3) […Ashur, my lord, encourage]ed me and against the land of Ju[dah I marched. In] the course of my campaign, the tribute of the ki[ng(s)...
   (4) […with the mig]ht of Ashur, my lord, the province of [Hezek]iah of Judah like […
   (5) […] the city of Azekah, his stronghold, which is between my [bo]rder and the land of Judah […
   (6) [like the nest of the eagle? ] located on a mountain ridge, like pointed iron daggers without number reaching high to heaven […
   (7) [Its walls] were strong and rivaled the highest mountains, to the (mere) sight, as if from the sky [appears its head? …
   (8) [by means of beaten (earth) ra]mps, mighty? Battering rams brought near, the work of […], with the attack by foot soldiers, [my] wa[rriors…
   (9) […] they had seen [the approach of my cav]alry and they had heard the roar of the mighty troops of the god Ashur and [their] he[arts] became afraid […
   (10) [The city Azekah I besieged,] I captured, I carried off its spoil, I destroyed, I devastated, [I burned with fire…
   (11) [ ], a royal ci[ty] of the Philistines (Pi-lis-ta-a-a), which [Hezek]iah had captured and strengthed for himself

## Transliteration

Na'aman's transliteration of lines 3, 4, 5 and 11 is shown below:

   (3) [… AN.SAR béli u-tak-kil-a] n-ni-ma a-na KUR Ja-[u-di lu al-lik ina] me-ti-iq KASKAL II ja man-da-at-tu sa LU [GAL MES KUR…. amhur….
   (4) […ina da-n] a?-ni sa AN.SAR EN-ja na-gu-u [sa mHa-za-qi-j] a-a-u KUR Ja-u-da-a-a GIM […
   (5) [… ] URU A-za-qa-a E tuk-la-te-su sa ina bi-ri [t mi-i] s-ri-ja u KUR Ja-u-di [… v
   (11) [URU GN URU] LUGAL-ti sa KUR Pi-lis-ta-a-a [sa] [m] [Ha]-[za-qi-j] a-a-u e-ki-mu u-dan-ni-nu-su-ma […

Winckler suggested the text referred not to Judah but to "Yadiya" (Sam'al)

