Page:Herodotus and the Empires of the East.djvu/77

Rh probably by the report that a new Egyptian army was approaching, Sennacherib pressed the king of Judah to surrender Jerusalem, but Hezekiah trusted in Jehovah and was not disappointed. A pestilence (2 Kings xix. 35) spread such devastation in the Assyrian army that Sennacherib had to return to Assyria. Of course no mention is made of this in the records of the Assyrian monarch. The king boasts that he had forced Hezekiah, through the siege of Jerusalem, to pay tribute; but this is a perversion of fact, since, according to the Biblical account, which sounds entirely impartial, Hezekiah (as well as his predecessor Ahaz) had paid tribute before the siege of Jerusalem. The statement of Herodotus furnishes us confirmation of the Bible record as well as a correction of the cuneiform account. The hasty withdrawal of the Assyrian troops from Egypt after the battle at Eltekeh, the unexpected raising of the siege of Jerusalem, and the speedy return of Sennacherib to Assyria—all this was enough to give rise to the legendary narratives of which Herodotus furnishes us a proof.

We possess no certain records concerning the fall of Nineveh, which must have been one of the greatest catastrophes of ancient history. Cuneiform accounts are entirely wanting. Herodotus simply states (I., 106) that the Medes, after they had thrown off the yoke of Scythian dominion, marched against Ninos under the leadership of Cyaxares, conquered it, and subdued