The Assyrian empire, under the monarch Sennacherib, who reigned from 705 to 681 BCE, was the most formidable military power of the pre-Roman world and, in 701, the dominating force in the Near East. That year, it invaded the kingdom of Judea with a massive army and laid siege to a poorly defended Jerusalem, and yet the Jews somehow survived. What was thought to be a surefire campaign to annihilate the ancestors of today’s Jews—to wipe out Judaism—failed, and the colossal Assyrian empire ended up on the ash heap of history. How did it happen?

The Assyrian empire, under the monarch Sennacherib, who reigned from 705 to 681 BCE, was the most formidable military power of the pre-Roman world and, in 701, the dominating force in the Near East. That year, it invaded the kingdom of Judea with a massive army and laid siege to a poorly defended Jerusalem, and yet the Jews somehow survived. What was thought to be a surefire campaign to annihilate the ancestors of today’s Jews—to wipe out Judaism—failed, and the colossal Assyrian empire ended up on the ash heap of history. How did it happen?