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{{Infobox monarch
| name = Esarhaddon
| title = [[List of Assyrian kings|King of Assyria]], [[List of kings of Babylon|Babylonia]], [[List of kings of Akkad|Akkad]], [[Sumerian king list|Sumer]], [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] and [[Kingdom of Kush|Kush]]
| native_lang1 = Akkadian
| native_lang1_name1 = Aššur-ahu-iddin
| native_lang2 = Greek
| native_lang2_name1 = Ασαραδδων (Asaraddon)
| native_lang3 = Hebrew
| native_lang3_name1 = אֵסַר חַדֹּן
| image=Esarhaddon.jpg
| caption = Esarhaddon, closeup from [[Victory stele of Esarhaddon|his victory stele]]
| reign = 681 – 669 BC
| predecessor = [[Sennacherib]]
| successor = [[Ashurbanipal]]
| father = [[Sennacherib]]
| mother = Naqi'a
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| death_date = 669 BC
| death_place =
|}}

'''Esarhaddon''' ([[Akkadian language|Akkadian]]: ''Aššur-aḥa-iddina'' "[[Ashur (god)|Ashur]] has given a brother"; {{hebrew Name|אֵסַר חַדֹּן|’ēsár ḥadón|’esār ḥādon}};<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt35a04.htm |title=Ezra 4 / Hebrew - English Bible / Mechon-Mamre |publisher=Mechon-mamre.org |date= |accessdate=2012-08-17}}</ref> {{lang-grc|Ασαρχαδδων}};<ref name="newadvent1">{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/bible/ezr004.htm |title=NEW ADVENT BIBLE: Ezra 4 |publisher=Newadvent.org |date= |accessdate=2012-08-17}}</ref> {{lang-la|Asor Haddan}}<ref name="newadvent1"/>) was a king of the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] who reigned 681 – 669 BC. He was the youngest son of [[Sennacherib]] and the [[ancient Semitic-speaking peoples|West Semitic]] queen [[Naqi'a]] (Zakitu), Sennacherib's second wife.

==Rise to power==
[[Image:Assarhaddon Berlin 012008.jpg|thumb|205px|Victory stele.]]
When, despite being the youngest son, Esarhaddon was named successor by his father, his elder brothers tried to discredit him. [[Oracle]]s had named him as the person to free the exiles and rebuild [[Babylon]], the destruction of which by Sennacherib was felt to have been sacrilegious. Esarhaddon remained [[crown prince]], but was forced into exile at an unknown place beyond Hanilgalbat ([[Mitanni]]), that is, beyond the [[Euphrates]], most likely somewhere in what is now southeastern [[Turkey]].

Sennacherib was murdered in 681 BC. The biblical account is that Esarhaddon's brothers killed their father after the failed attempt to capture Jerusalem (2 Kings 19:37). Esarhaddon returned to the capital of [[Nineveh]] in forced marches and defeated his rival brothers in six weeks of [[civil war]]. He was formally declared king in the spring of 681 BC. His brothers fled to the land of [[Urartu|Ararat]] and their followers and families were put to death. In the same year Esarhaddon began the rebuilding of Babylon, including the well-known ''[[Esagila]]'' and the [[Ekur]] at [[Nippur]] (structures sometimes identified with the [[Tower of Babel]]).<ref name="Porter1993">{{cite book|author=Barbara N. Porter|title=Images, power, and politics: figurative aspects of Esarhaddon's Babylonian policy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kUsLAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA62|accessdate=8 June 2011|year=1993|publisher=American Philosophical Society|isbn=978-0-87169-208-5|pages=62–}}</ref> The statues of the Babylonian gods were restored and returned to the city. He also ordered the reconstruction of the Assyrian sanctuary of [[Esharra]] in [[Assur|Ashur]] as well. Foreigners were forbidden to enter the temple. Both buildings were dedicated almost on the same date, the second year of his reign.

==Military campaigns==

[[File:Easarhaddon cylinder from fort Shalmaneser at Nimrud. It was found in the city of Nimrud and was housed in the Iraqi Museum, Baghdad. Erbil Civilization Museum, Iraq.jpg|thumb|Easarhaddon cylinder from fort Shalmaneser at Nimrud. It was found in the city of Nimrud and was housed in the Iraqi Museum, Baghdad. Erbil Civilization Museum, Iraqi Kurdistan.]]

The first military campaigns of Esarhaddon were directed against nomadic tribes of southern [[Mesopotamia]], the ''[[Dakkuri]]'' and ''[[Gambulu]]'', who had been harassing the peasants. In 679 BC, the [[Cimmerians]], who had already killed his grandfather [[Sargon II]], reappeared in [[Cilicia]] and [[Tabal]] under their new ruler [[Teushpa]]. Esarhaddon defeated them near [[Hubushna (Hupisna)]], and defeated the rebellious inhabitants of [[Hilakku]] as well. The Cimmerians withdrew to the west, where, with [[Scythia]]n and [[Urartu]]an help, they were to destroy the kingdom of [[Phrygia]] in 676 BC.

[[File:Black basalt monument of king Esarhaddon. It narrates Esarhaddon's restoration of Babylon. Circa 670 BCE. From Babylon, Mesopotamia, Iraq. The British Museum, London.jpg|thumb|Black basalt monument of king Esarhaddon. It narrates Esarhaddon's restoration of Babylon. Circa 670 BC. From Babylon, Mesopotamia, Iraq. The British Museum, London.]]

The [[Sidon]]ian king [[Abdi-Milkutti]], who had risen up against the Assyrian king, was defeated in 677 BC and beheaded. The town of Sidon was destroyed and rebuilt as ''Kar-Ashur-aha-iddina'', the "Harbor of Esarhaddon". The population was deported to Assyria. A share of the plunder went to the loyal king of rival [[Tyre (Lebanon)|Tyre]], [[Baal I]], himself an Assyrian puppet. The [[Esarhaddon's Treaty with Ba'al of Tyre|partly conserved text of a treaty with Tyre]] mentions the kings of [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]], [[Edom]], [[Moab]], [[Gaza City|Gaza]], [[Ashkelon]], [[Ekron]], [[Byblos]], [[Arvad]], [[Samsi-muruna]], [[Ammon]], [[Ashdod]], ten kings from the coast of the sea, and ten kings from the middle of the sea (usually identified with [[Cyprus]]), as Assyrian allies.

In 676 BC, Esarhaddon took the towns of [[Sissu(Taurus)|Sissu]] and [[Kundu (Taurus)|Kundu]] in the [[Taurus Mountains]]. The [[Mannaeans]], the Scythians under their king [[Ishpaka]]ia, and the "[[Gutians]]" of the [[Zagros]] proved to be a nuisance as well, as is attested by numerous oracle-texts. The Mannaeans, former [[vassal]]s of the Assyrians, were no longer restricted to the area around [[Lake Urmia]], but had spread into [[Zamua]], where they interrupted the horse trade between [[Parsuash]] and Assyria and refused to pay further tribute. After the fall of Phrygia, a daughter of Esarhaddon was wedded to the Scythian prince [[Partatua of Sakasene]] in order to improve relations with the nomads. The [[Medes]] under Khshathrita ([[Kashtariti]]) had been the target of a campaign as well, the date of which is unclear (possibly before 676 BC). Later, Assyrian hosts reached the border of the "salt-desert" near the mountain Bikni, that is, near [[Teheran]]. A number of fortresses secured the Zagros: [[Bit-Parnakki]], [[Bit-kari]] and [[Harhar]] (Kar-Sharrukin).

A certain [[Mugallu]] had taken possession of parts of the [[Syro-Hittite]] state of [[Melid]], and associated himself with the king of [[Tabal]]. The city of Melid was besieged in 675 BC, but without success. That same year, [[Humban-Haltash II]] of [[Elam]] began a campaign against [[Sippar]], but was defeated by the [[Babylonia]]ns, and died soon afterwards. His brother and successor [[Urtaki]] restored peace with Assyria.

[[File:Terracotta record of king Esarhaddon's restoration of Babylon. Circa 670 BCE. From Babylon, Mesopotamia, Iraq. The British Museum, London.jpg|thumb|Terracotta record of king Esarhaddon's restoration of Babylon. Circa 670 BC. From Babylon, Mesopotamia, Iraq. The British Museum, London.]]

A preliminary campaign against [[Egypt]] begun by Esarhaddon the next year seems to have failed. Meanwhile, Esarhaddon was waging war in the land of [[Bazu]], situated opposite of the island of "[[Dilmun]]" {{Citation needed|date=July 2008}} ([[Bahrain]]), probably [[Qatar]], "where snakes and scorpions cover the ground like ants" - a dry land of salt deserts. In 673 BC, Esarhaddon waged war against [[Urartu]] under king [[Rusas II]], which had strengthened again after the ravages of [[Sargon II]] and the [[Cimmerians]].

In 672 BC, crown prince Sin-iddina-apla died. He had been the oldest son and designated as king of Assyria, while the second son [[Shamash-shum-ukin]] was to become the ruler of Babylon. Now, the younger [[Ashurbanipal]] became crown prince, but he was very unpopular with the court and the priesthood. Contracts were made with leading Assyrians, members of the royal family and foreign rulers, to assure their loyalty to the crown prince.

In 671 BC, Esarhaddon went to war against Pharaoh [[Taharqa]] of [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]]. Part of his army stayed behind to deal with rebellions in Tyre, and perhaps [[Ashkelon]]. The remainder went south to [[Rafah|Rapihu (Rafah, near Gazah)]], then crossed the [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]] and entered Egypt. In the summer, he took [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]], and Taharqa fled to [[Upper Egypt]]. Esarhaddon now called himself "king of Egypt, ''Patros'', and [[Kingdom of Kush|Kush]]", and returned with rich booty from the cities of the delta; he erected a [[victory stele of Esarhaddon|victory stele]] at this time, showing the son of Taharqa in bondage, Prince [[Ushankhuru]]. Almost as soon as the king left, Egypt rebelled against Assyrian rule.

==Death==
Esarhaddon had to contend with court intrigues at Nineveh that led to the execution of several nobles, and sent his general, [[Sha-Nabu-shu]], to restore order in the [[Nile Valley]]. In 669 BC, he went to Egypt in person, but suddenly died during autumn of the same year, in [[Harran]]. He was succeeded by [[Ashurbanipal]] as king of Assyria, and [[Shamash-shum-ukin]] as king of Babylonia.

==See also==
{{Portal|Ancient Near East}}
{{Commons category|Esarhaddon}}
* [[Kings of Assyria]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* Amitai Baruchi-Unna, "Crossing the Boundaries: Literary Allusions to the Epic of Gilgamesh in the Account of Esarhaddon's Egyptian Campaign," in Mordechai Cogan and Dan'el Kahn (eds), ''Treasures on Camels' Humps: Historical and Literary Studies from the Ancient Near East Presented to Israel Eph`al'' (Jerusalem, Magnes Press, 2008),
* Erle Leichty, "Esarhaddon's Eastern Campaign," in Mordechai Cogan and Dan'el Kahn (eds), ''Treasures on Camels' Humps: Historical and Literary Studies from the Ancient Near East Presented to Israel Eph'al'' (Jerusalem, Magnes Press, 2008),
* David Damrosch, ''The buried book: The Loss and Rediscovery of the Great Epic of Gilgamesh'' (Henry Holt and Co., 2007),

==External links==
*[http://www.gatewaystobabylon.com/introduction/assyriankings.htm A summary of Assyrian kings]
*[http://www.gatewaystobabylon.com/introduction/murderersennacherib.htm The murderer of Sennacherib] - by [[Simo Parpola]]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20030816212418/http://www.bol.ucla.edu/~szuchman/Sources.htm Vassal treaties and Esharhaddon's "Letter to the God"]
*[http://www.maravot.com/Hittite_Treaties2.html Esharhaddon’s Syrio-Palestinian Campaign]
*[http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc14/esarhaddon.html Esarhaddon Chronicle]

{{S-start}}
{{s-bef| rows = 2 | before = [[Sennacherib]] }}
{{s-ttl| title = [[King of Assyria]]
| years = 681 – 669 BC }}
{{s-aft| after = [[Ashurbanipal]] }}
{{s-ttl| title = [[Kings of Babylon|King of Babylon]]
| years = 681 – 669 BC }}
{{s-aft| after = [[Shamash-shum-ukin]] }}
{{S-end}}

{{Assyrian kings}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2011}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:669 BC deaths]]
[[Category:Assyrian kings]]
[[Category:Babylonian kings]]

[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:7th-century BC rulers in Asia]]

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