Introduction
Scholars and casual Bible scholars have been interested in examining the reigns of the Assyrian kings Sargon II and his son Sennacherib.
This is influenced by the fact that they are both referred to in the writings of the Bible. Although Sargon II is mentioned in the Bible very briefly in one verse, he himself writes about events that are also told in the Bible. Secondly, archeology has discovered the "city" built by Sargon, which he himself named Dur-Sharruken.1-1 It has proven to be a very significant discovery, which also provides information about Assyrian art and culture.
Another interesting king of Assyrian history is Shalmaneser V.1-2 There is little historical information about him, but the Bible tells a few details about him that are not told anywhere else. The information contained in the Bible helps to understand some archaeological mentions.
Perhaps a little surprisingly, information is revealed about the reign of Shalmaneser III, which is of great importance for the time of the chronology.
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1. Solar eclipses
There are many other interesting things about Neo-Assyria. Researchers and those who rely on them are glowing about a "point of reference of historical research" and they call it that “Assyrian solar eclipse”. It has been applied in June 763 BCE. solar eclipse that happened.1-3 However, this researchers' insight has a very authoritative-sounding challenger: the Bible. Current researchers admit the difficulty of historical research. In many places, the old clay tablets are missing lines and many sentences are broken. Instead, the Bible has been preserved, there are no missing lines. On top of that, it claims to be a divinely inspired source of information.
The author's new treatise applies the Bible's chronology and, in addition, solar eclipses observed in the past. These solar eclipses have indeed been an important aid in timing the chronologies of ancient history.
However, we notice very significant results when we look at the solar eclipses of that time using the calculator made by NASA, which is used by sites that list solar eclipses, such as e.g. moonblink.info. No suitable solar eclipses can be found at alternative times.
So here we come across the fact that we have to take into account more than the Bible's chronology. In order for the chronology to be calculated correctly, we also have to take into account the events narrated in the Bible. How so?
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2. Effect of the Earth's rotation
The Bible tells of a very significant event. What makes this event significant is that it had a major impact on the position of the Earth. With that, it had a big impact on to what time do solar eclipses seem to have happened, when their time today would be calculated from that time. The Bible says about this:
Isaiah then answered: "God gives you this sign to show that God will fulfill the word he spoke: do you want the shadow to move ten steps forward on the stairs or ten steps back?" Hezekiah said: "It is easy to hold a shadow ten steps but not move back ten steps." Then the prophet Isaiah cried out to God, and he let the shadow move on Ahaz's steps backwards from the ten steps it had already descended.1-4
Here it is told a little indirectly that 'the shadow moved back 10 steps'. This happened when Hezekiah was king of Judah.
What happened in practice at that time, which caused the shadow to shift, has until now been somewhat dependent on guesswork. However, many have considered it very possible that the Earth rotated backwards somewhat.
In his thesis, the author has come to the conclusion that this was very likely.
This event described above apparently happened in the spring of 730 BCE. We will come back to this timing later.
Effect on Earth's gravity. However, many people may have interesting questions about how such a quick stop of the earth's rotation and spinning backwards, stopping again and starting to spin again in the right direction could have an effect.
The author discussed this issue in his treatise.1-5 First of all, it came out that the researchers have not thoroughly investigated this issue. Second, since the earth spinning backwards in that way would have been a miracle caused by God, it would be easy for him to perform another miracle in it as well: He could see to it that no harm would be caused to those living on earth.
It should also be noted that when starting to date the New Assyrian chronology with the help of the Bible's chronology, it is advisable to start the calculation from an earlier time. There you can find events that are almost exactly timed, which are parallel to the history of nations told in the Bible.
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3. King Shalmaneser III of Assyria
His reign: 919-884 BCE. The reign of this king presented here may surprise the reader. It is simply because a clear Bible chronology is not readily available online, and even if it were, few have consulted it. Second, the scientists of this world and their supporters have created an atmosphere that nothing but the results reported by them - mortal men - can be trusted.
Let's clarify a bit. Archeological data reveal that King Jehu of Israel had dealings with Shalmaneser III apparently in his 18th year of reign.1-6
Another related piece of information is the Black Obelisk written by Shalmaneser III. It says that Shalmaneser III fought against the Syrian king Hadadezer, or Benhadad, in the 11th year of his reign. 1-7 Jehu became king of Israel according to the Bible's chronology, apparently in 905 BCE. His predecessor Joram fought against the next king of Syria Hazael possibly during the same year.1-8 Shalmaneser III says that he fought against Hazael in his 18th year of reign.
This also includes the reign of the Assyrian kings after Shalmaneser III and the solar eclipse that occurred in the 9th year of Assur-Dan III's reign. It can be noted that on April 2nd, 824 BCE. was a solar eclipse, it was visible in full in Babylon using the assumption of the earth's position changing. Applying this solar eclipse, when using the calculations made by scholars about the reigns of the Assyrian kings, the reign of Shalmaneser III is placed in the years mentioned above.
The timing of Shalmaneser III's reign at that point is also supported by another solar eclipse. It happened in the 7th year of the reign of King Shimbar-Shipak of Babylon. That year was 1078 BCE. There was a good quality solar eclipse then. It happened 254 years earlier than April 824 BCE. seen a solar eclipse. And how much have researchers calculated as the difference between these years in the old chronology? The same for 254 years (1018-764 BCE).
Here, the accuracy when comparing the years is noteworthy. For example, the 11th year of Shalmaneser III's reign did not coincide with the time when Hazael was the king of Syria according to the Bible's chronology.
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4. The missing king of Assyria is found
The period of the New Assyrian chronology presented here can also be surprising when you take into account the reign of Tiglath-Pileser III, for example. He is said to have been in contact with King Ahaz of Judah, who ruled much later.1-9 The reign of the Assyrian king Assur-nirari V seems to have already ended in 804 BCE.
According to Menander of Ephesus, quoted by the historian Josephus, King Pul of Assyria ruled for 36 years.1-10 The Bible also tells about this king. A king of this name is said to have collected taxes from King Menahem of Israel. 1-11 According to biblical chronology, Menahem ruled in the 780s BCE. It seems likely that he served as king during that time. Calculating his long reign, we arrive at the conclusion that Tiglath-Pileser III became king in 768 BCE.
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5. Assyrian king Sargon II
Sargon II (745-729 BCE). Sargon became king while his brother Shalmaneser V was still king of Assyria. Sargon expanded Assyria during his reign and began the construction of the previously mentioned new capital, Dur-Sarrukin.
Rise to power
Very little is known about Sargon's rise to power and the reasons for it. To a large extent, the events of that time seem to be based on estimates. ABC1 Aikakirja gives a seemingly exhaustive statement about it:
"Shalmaneser went to his destiny in the month of Tebêtu. Shalmaneser ruled Akkad and Assyria for five years. On the twelfth day of the month Tebêtu, Sargon ascended the throne in Assyria.”1-12
From this statement one could conclude that Shalmaneser V's reign ended there and he met a violent end. However, it is good to note that probably this ABC1 Chronicle was not written by the Assyrians. And if it was made by the Assyrians, it may have been written by scribes defending the kingship of Sargon II or by persons unconcerned with the exact details of Shalmaneser V's reign. (Apparently the ABC1 Chronicle was written several decades later and the information in it was copied from smaller clay tablets.)
However, it is possible that Sargon imprisoned his brother for a short time, or perhaps he put up a strong verbal resistance.
However, it appears that Assyrian officials did not officially recognize Sargon's kingship, as the Assyrian limmu list contains a total of 8 lines or even 9 lines (counting the year in which Sargon II became king) for Shalmaneser V's reign.
However, the Assyrians did not completely ignore this rise to power of Sargon, because the limmu list contains the following line after the 5th year of Shalmaneser V's reign:
“Commander in chief" 1-13
Probably the war Commander mentioned here was Sargon II. One can also get the impression that this rise to power of Sargon happened at least partially peacefully, because a little later Shalmaneser V was actively involved in attacking the capital of Israel, Samaria. The Bible describes it briefly:
"In the fourth year of king Hezekiah, or the seventh year of Hoshea, the son of Ela, king of Israel, King Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked Samaria and began to besiege it" 1-14
This happened in 743 BCE, in the 8th year of Shalmaneser's reign. However, it is likely that Sargon II exercised real power in Assyria at that time.
Shalmaneser V's reign ended in 742 BCE. (Perhaps even before the turn of the year according to the Assyrian calendar. Shalmaneser's 8th regnal year ended in the spring of 742 BCE. If he ruled for some time during the next calendar year, he did not step down until his 9th regnal year. The Assyrian limmu list does not give details of when he abdicated of the king's duties.), it is possible that he was killed in the battle against Samaria. However, there is no more detailed information about this. However, it is possible that Shalmaneser V at that time officially stepped down from the duties of king and continued as a warlord under his brother Sargon. According to the Limmu list, only after this was Sargon II officially recognized as the king of Assyria.
However, the Bible confirms that Shalmaneser V served as king longer than the ABC 1 Chronicle used by researchers tells about it.
Military campaigns of Sargon II
Sargon II and his army made several attacks on neighboring countries, as was the custom of Assyrian kings. Let's highlight a few of them here.
One of the notable campaigns he undertook was an attack in his second year against Arpad, Simyra and Damasus of Syria and Samaria of Israel,1-15 although it was a minor battle. The reason for this is that it may have been the same battle described in the Bible:
"However, the king of Assyria found out that Hosea was involved in the conspiracy, because Hosea had sent messengers to King So of Egypt and did not bring tribute to the king of Assyria as in previous years. Therefore the king of Assyria captured him and kept him bound in prison”1-16
It is noteworthy that the name of the Assyrian king who rose up against Hosea, the king of Samaria, is not mentioned in that passage. He can be identified from the writings of Sargon II.
One of the most significant was Sargon's battles and constant quarrels with Urartu, or Armenia. During the 6th year of Sargon's reign (740 BCE), the Armenian king Ursaha (aka Rusa I) turned to rebellion. He killed Aza, the local representative of Assyria. Sargon appointed his brother Ullasa as his new representative of Armenia. However, this apparently feared King Rusa I and allied with him. This led to Sargon invading Armenia but forgiving his servant Ullasa.1-17
He attacked Armenia the very next year and it led to the destruction of Rusa I. Sargon also attacked his successor Argistus II in the 10th year of his reign.
Sargon II's attack on Babylon in the 12th year of his reign was quite significant. 1-18 In this attack he was powerfully assisted by his son Sennacherib, whom he had appointed as his co-ruler.1-19
Sargon says that he also made a campaign against Egypt in the 2nd year of his reign (744 BCE). Scholars consider this to be an incorrect statement and claim that Sargon had diplomatic relations with the pharaoh Osorkon IV.1-20
However, this would seem to be a misinterpretation on their part, as Osorkon IV was the king of Egypt about 50 years before Sargon's reign.1-21 During Sargon's reign, the king of Egypt was apparently Shabako, Sargon II calls him Sebech.
This would seem to be closely related to the previously mentioned campaign that Sargon II made in his 2nd year against King Hoshea of Israel and some cities in Syria because they were plotting a conspiracy with the king of Egypt.
Dating the reigns of Sargon II and Shalmaneser V
It seems that there are a few errors in the old chronology in dating the reigns of these kings. Perhaps the reason is the wrong interpretation of the Assyrian Limmu list.
First, the beginning of Shalmaneser V's reign. It seems that scholars assume that his reign began in 727 BCE. during.1-22 Here we do not comment on that timing according to the old chronology of the researchers. Instead, let's focus on the limmu list related to that event. It says the following:
“During the eponym of Bêl-Harran-bêla-usur, the governor of Guzana, the campaign against [...]. Shalmaneser [V] ascended the throne.”1-13
Here it is good to remember that this was the last year of the reign of Tiglath-Pileser III and the rise to power of Shalmaneser V. This Assyrian calendar year ended in the spring of 726 BCE according to that old chronology. The reign of Shalmaneser V began on the 25th day of the month Tebetu of that calendar year.1-12 This roughly corresponds to the 22nd day of January today. Shalmameser had time to rule for about 2.5 months before the change of the calendar year. Thus Shalmameser's 1st regnal year would have begun in the spring of 726 BCE.
A similar error appears to be associated with the beginning of the reign of Sargon II. He proclaimed himself king at the end of Shalmaneser V's 5th regnal year. Scholars assume that he became king in 722 BCE. But given the previous, was it the Fifth regnal year of Shalmaneser?
Yes it was, but here too it should be taken into account that he became king at the end of that calendar year, during the month of Tebetu.1-12 So his reign began in January 721 BCE. This otherwise does not affect the timing of their reigns as interpreted by the old chronology. Only the length of their rise to power is much shorter.
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6. King Sennacherib of Assyria
Sennacherib (734-710 BCE), king of Assyria. He initially ruled for a little over five years at the same time as his father Sargon II.1-23 There is an apparent contradiction in this passage with the current old chronology. However, it is good to note that the ABC1 Book of Time does not contain any events for the 5-year period assumed by researchers, when Sargon II alone, without a vassal ruler, was the king of Babylon. Instead, it seemingly seamlessly continues the examination of the same battle that Sargon II fought and the king's name is changed to Sennacherib.
The exact time of the beginning of his reign is unknown. Some sort of guideline is given by the fact that in ancient archaeological texts the length of his reign is stated to be 24 years long. 1-12 These stated numbers of years were always rounded numbers. So the length of his reign was longer than 23.5 years and shorter than 24.5 years.
Since Sennacherib's reign ended in the early days of January in 710 BCE according to the Julian calendar, it may have begun in 734 BCE. in the early months or 735 BC. in the last months. This ascension of him to the kingship at that time was evidently at the behest of his father. In 729 BCE, in the month of Ab, around the middle of August, 1-13 he officially received the entire kingdom of Assyria.
Sennacherib's military campaigns
Sennacherib told about his military campaigns in his writings (Annals of Sennacherib). He does not say how many times his reign was in progress during each campaign. His first campaign was against Babylonia and its king, Marduk-Apla-Iddina II. 1-19 This was the same battle that Sargon II tells of in the 12th year of his reign. 1-24 This was also Marduk-Apla- 12th year of Iddina's reign. It seems that this battle did not progress to a resolution until the beginning of February in 733 BCE. (Based on the ABC1 Chronicle, this could have been Sennacherib's 1st regnal year 1-12). The last found Babylonian business document from the reign of Marduk-Apla-Iddina is dated in his 12th year of the 11th month of his reign.1-25 After this, Bel-Ibni became king in Babylonia, apparently appointed by Sennacherib. It may be interesting to note that the first movement document of the year of his rise to power is also dated to the 11th month.1-26 ABC1 Time From the book it can be concluded that after this, when the situation in the area of the city of Babylon had calmed down, Sennacherib continued to fight against Marduk-Apla-Iddina and tried to find him in the land of Elam, but could not. Sennacherib's second campaign was a smaller battle, apparently also dated to 733 BCE.
His third campaign, on the other hand, was more notable, it was directed against Judah. The most significant events of this battle are told in the Bible. It lasted for several months in 732-731 BCE. Reliefs that had decorated the walls of Sennacherib's palace have been found in Nineveh. These reliefs depicted the conquest of the city of Lakii in the territory of Judah.1-27 This battle took its own time. At some point after this, Sennacherib moved to besiege Jerusalem. Some researchers believe that the remains of an ancient military camp recently found near Jerusalem are the military camp formed by the Assyrian soldiers led by Sennacherib, which the Bible tells about.1-28 On the other hand, it should be taken into account that later Babylonian armies were also camped somewhere near Jerusalem when they besieged Jerusalem for several years.1- 29
The Bible tells us that Sennacherib had to stop his attack on Judah when the Egyptian king Turhaa or Tahara invaded the country. The Bible appoints him as the king of Ethiopia. 1-30 Sennacherib also indirectly mentions this event and claims that the Egyptians were called to help on Hezekiah's initiative. 1-31 There is no basis for this claim of Sennacherib in the Bible.
After Sennacherib had fought the Egyptians for a while, he returned to fight Jerusalem.
It seems that Sennacherib's intention was to conquer Jerusalem one way or another. He initially tried a peaceful solution, but Hezekiah refused to surrender. Sennacherib says that he dealt with Hezekiah, but leaves out why he did not conquer Jerusalem. 1-32 Sennacherib's fourth campaign is again directed against Babylonia. There Marduk-Apla-Iddina II had become king again.1-33 This was apparently a reign in which he ruled for about 9 months. This battle of Sennacherib was apparently fought in the late summer of 730 BCE. The following information leads to this conclusion. After this battle, Sennacherib installed his son Assur-nadin-sum as king of Babylon. The first Babylonian document dated to his reign is dated to the 8th month of his accession year.1-33 This corresponds to November. It was apparently the year 730 BCE. Among his predecessors, the latest supplementary document for Bel-Ibni's reign can be found in the 1st month of the 3rd reign, i.e. April 731 BCE.1-33 Researchers have estimated the length of Bel-Ibni’s reign as 2 or 3 years. It seems that he ruled for about 2.5 years. Bel-Ibni was succeeded by Marduk-zakir-Sumi II, who is estimated to have ruled for a few months. This leads to the assumption that Marduk-Apla-Iddina II became king again in the late autumn of 731 BCE. and ruled until the summer of 730 BCE. until.
This is also related to the previously mentioned event: the miraculous change in the Earth's position. Its timing somewhere in the spring of 730 BCE. is estimated from the fact that Marduk-Apla-Iddina II, king of Babylon, sent messengers to Hezekiah, king of Judah, after hearing that he had been cured of an illness. The conclusion can also be drawn from this that he was the king of Babylon at the time the miracle caused by God took place.
During later campaigns, Sennacherib fought battles against the Babylonian king Nergal-ushezib, who succeeded his son Ashur-nadin-sum as king.1-34 This battle took place around 723 BCE. For example, Sennacherib fought the Elamite kings Kultur-Nahhunte and Humbanname III.1-35 This latter battle could be dated to 719 BCE., close to the time when Sennacherib himself became king of Babylon and served in that position for more than 8 years between 719-710 BCE. On the other hand, if the Humban name fell seriously ill already in the month of Nisannu, as ABC1 Aika Kirja could conclude, he did not necessarily personally participate in the battle.
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7. Lunar eclipse of Sennacherib
An ancient letter has been found in Sennacherib's palace, which tells about a lunar eclipse.1-36 This was written by Abil-Istar, who apparently acted as the king's astrologer. Since this was found in Sennacherib's palace, it is reasonable to assume that the lunar eclipse in question occurred during Sennacherib's reign.
Abil-Istar says that this lunar eclipse took place 'over Syria'. It can be concluded that it happened in the morning.
Two lunar eclipses are suitable for this. The first of them happened in September 721 BCE. and another at the beginning of May in 714 BCE.
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8. The following years
From this, everyone can assume what kind of kings in history ruled after this. The most famous later Assyrian kings were Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal.
It can be noted that when Esarhaddon's reign is calculated to have begun in 710 BCE, that at the beginning of August 700 BCE. there was a solar eclipse. This happened during the ancient month of Tammuz and was the 10th year of Esarhaddon's reign.
A very significant feature can be noticed in the short report made here. Ancient solar eclipses support the use of Biblical chronology. On the other hand, the current old chronology, which can also be called secular chronology, is not supported by ancient solar eclipses.
When we follow the list of Assyrian kings forward, we notice that the reign of Ashur-Etil-Ilani, Ashurbanipal's successor, ended already in 655 BCE. This is connected to another peculiarity of the history writing of current researchers.
Based on archaeological data, the Assyrian king Sin-shar-ishkun, during which Napobolassar founded the Neo-Babylonian dynasty, ruled for more than 22 years.1-37
His reign ended with a very violent event in 632 BCE., when the Babylonian king Napobolassar and the Median king Cyaxares I attacked the Assyrian capital of Nineveh.
These last events of the Assyrian Empire can only be dated with the help of Babylonian chronology. There is one historical event that binds the time of Neo-Babylonia to a certain point. The Bible tells of Nebuchadnezzar II's attack on Jerusalem and his conquest of it in the 19th, or 18th year of his reign according to the Babylonian way of counting.1-38 According to the Bible's chronology, this was the year 607 BCE. It can be calculated that Nebuchadnezzar II's reign began in 625 BCE.
Thanks to this, it is possible to calculate when the Neo-Babylonian dynasty began and in which year the Assyrian empire was finally destroyed.
Some would like to imagine that it is erroneous to interpret the chronology of the Bible in this way. They may suggest that archeology proves that such and such an event in the Bible is dated in a certain way. Such a conclusion is very wrong. Even the word "Bible" shows that it is about information that only the Bible contains. It only needs one anchor point from which it can be tied to recognized history. This is the year 539 BCE., when the ancient Neo-Babylonian Empire was conquered.
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9. The final stages of Assyria
The Assyrians did not completely disappear with the Babylonian conquest. They remained in the countryside and villages of Assyria. They apparently lived under Babylon and later under Persia.
The Chronicle of the Babylonian king Nabunaid tells that the Persian king Cyrus fought against the Assyrians and killed their king.1-39
After this, Assyria would seem to disappear from history. It no longer became its own kingdom, but the Assyrians lived under larger kingdoms.
References
1-1 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dur-Sharrukin
1-2 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shalmaneser_V
1-3 en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/4648676
1-4 Bible, 2. Kings 20:9-11
1-5 https://pekkamansikka.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-effect-of-earths-rotational-motion.html
1-6 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shalmaneser_III
1-7
1-8 Bible, 2. Kings 8:28
1-9 Bible, 2. Kings 16:7,8
1-10 time.graphics/period/3188275
1-11 Bible, 2. Kings 15:19, 20
1-12 livius.org/sources/content/mesopotamian-chronicles-content/abc-1-from-nabu-nasir-to-samas-suma-ukin/
1-13 livius.org/articles/concept/limmu/limmu-list-858-699-bce/
1-14 Bible, 2. Kings 18:9
1-15 Records of the past: being English translation of the Assyrian and Egyptian monuments, 1876, p. 29
1-16 Bible, 2. Kings 17:4
1-17 Records of the past: being English translation of the Assyrian and Egyptian monuments, 1876, p. 31,32
1-18 livius.org/sources/content/mesopotamian-chronicles-content/abc-1-from-nabu-nasir-to-samas-suma-ukin/abc-1.ii/
1-19 Records of the past: being English translation of the Assyrian and Egyptian monuments, 1876, p. 59
1-20 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sargon_II
1-21 P. Mansikka: The Mystery of Ancient eclipses, p. 388
1-22 en.n.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Assyrian_kings
1-23 pekkamansikka.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-date-of-sennacheribs-is-found.html
1-24 Records of the past: being English translation of the Assyrian and Egyptian monuments, 1876 p. 40,41
1-25 J. A. Records of the past: being English translation of the Assyrian and Egyptian monuments, 1876 p. 40,41
1-26 J. A. Brinkman ja D. A. Kennedy: ’Documentary Evidence for the Economic Base of Early Neo-Babylonian Society: A Survey of Dated Babylonian Economic Texts, 721-626 B.C.’ p. 14
1-27 en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lachish_reliefs
1-29 Bible, 2. Kings 25:1,2
1-30 Bible, 2. Kings 19:9
1-31 www.kchanson.com/ANCDOCS/meso/sennprism4.html Colum 2
1-32 Records of the past: being English translation of the Assyrian and Egyptian monuments, 1876 p. 61, 62
1-33 Records of the past: being English translation of the Assyrian and Egyptian monuments, 1876 p. 63
1-34 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nergal-ushezib
1-35 www.kchanson.com/ANCDOCS/meso/sennprism4.html Column 5 and 6
1-36 George Smith: Assyrian discoveries p. 408-9
1-37 pekkamansikka.blogspot.com/2024/05/a-look-at-babylonian-cuneiforms.html
1-38 Bible, 2. Kings 25:1,2,8
1-39 livius.org/sources/content/mesopotamian-chronicles-content/abc-7-nabonidus-chronicle/
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