Ancient Worlds - BBC Two Episode 2 “The Age of Iron” Lachish was the second most im

Ancient Worlds - BBC Two Episode 2 “The Age of Iron” Lachish was the second most important city in the southern kingdom of Judah, part of the Kingdom of Israel. Occupation at the site of Lachish began during the Neolithic period and during the 10th and 9th centuries BC it was settled by the Israelites. It was heavily fortified, surrounded by two walls and ramparts and a royal palace was built on a platform in the center of the city.In 701 BC, during the revolt of king Hezekiah against Assyria, Lachish was besieged and captured by the Assyrian king Sennacherib. The Assyrian forces, in his invasion of the city, constructed the only siege ramp excavated in the ancient Near East. More than 1000 iron arrowheads were found in the ramp as well as a chain for catching the battering rams. Excavations also revealed approximately 1500 skeletons of men, women and children in one of the caves near the site, indicating the ferocity of the battle. The survivors were mass deported to Assyria, where they were forced to work as slaves.The city was rebuilt in the late 7th century BC during the decline of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, but it fell to the greatest king of the Neo-Babylonian Dynasty, Nebuchadnezzar II in his campaign against Judah in 586 BC. After the fall of the Achaemenid Empire at the hands of Alexander the Great the site was abandoned and it has been unoccupied since then.The events surrounding the conquest of Lachish by the Assyrians are recorded in the Lachish reliefs. The reliefs were part of the decoration of the South-West Palace of Sennacherib in Nineveh.PART ITel Lachish, Israel -- source link

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