SARGON II. - One of the greatest kings of Assyria (Assyrian Šarru-uken[1] and Šarru-ken[1]); the Septuagint renders him as 'Apxéa-vo5, from *arkù* « the second » which S. added to his name), whose reign (722-705 B.C.) was decisive for the history of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, which ended tragically in 606 (v. NABOPOLASSAR).
Although S. cannot be said, as was once believed, to have founded a dynasty of « Sargonids », with him that valiant military and sacerdotal empire reached its zenith. The neighboring peoples (Media, and especially Elam and Urartu, alongside the adversary of Assyria) were increasingly learning Assyrian industrial, administrative, and military techniques and organization, turning the first terrible against Assyria. In the south, the Merodach-Baladan (v.), a brilliant diplomat; in the southwest, with the Ethiopian dynasty, Egypt reappeared on the scene (with the *sib’é* of Pharaoh Sabaco); to the west, Mita of Muški (the Phrygian king Midas of Herodotus, Ovid) allied himself with Rusas I, an energetic king of Urartu. Urartu threatened the southeast flank of Assyria, allying itself with Median princes and seeking contact with Elam in the Zagros ranges. S. struck in every direction, but succeeded only in weakening Urartu with the help of the Gimirrai and Iguza (Cimmerians and Scythians of Greek authors), as happens in history, he did not destroy merely one enemy, but also a very strong bulwark, which protected Assyria and ancient Semitic civilization against invasion from the Eurasian steppes. The consequence of this victory was, with the rise of Iranian powers (v. MEDINA), the destruction of Nineveh, the annihilation of the Assyrian people (v. NABOPOLASSAR), and Cyrus’ entry into Babylon (v. NARBONA) in 539 B.C.
The Bible recounts that S.’s *turtanu* besieged and plundered Ashdod (Asdûd; Is. 20, 1). The cuneiform inscriptions are so numerous that S. may be said to be the best-known figure of the ancient East: annals and other records of his deeds, foundation stones, slabs. Outstanding for literary value is the famous « Eighth Campaign », which, for its rhythmic language, use of parallelism, and poetic descriptions of landscapes and festivals, has no equal in its genre. Yet the historian must not forget the propagandistic intent of that solemn (or sacred) « war communiqué »: it is a letter from the chief scribe to the god Assur, which fittingly highlights the exploits of the army. It also reflects, beyond S., the character of his great adversary Rusas I: a portrait that inspires respect, despite the harsh words with which he is elsewhere stigmatized, not unlike what Roman historians do with Hannibal. These inscriptions continue to increase in number, through excavations at Dur-Sarru-ken (« Fortress of Sargon »), built by S. as a magnificent residence in defiance of Nineveh (v.), at the city of Assur, and, in 1952, at Kalab (Nimrud), where the English found: a) half of a « prism » containing his most extensive historical annals; b) a virtually complete « cylinder » of Merodach-Baladan.
According to an enameled slab, published by E. Unger, S. was the younger son of Thelathphalasar III (v.). The spelling of the name, Sarru-ukenu, typical for second-born sons, also agrees: « The King made firm (stable, authentic, the dynasty) ». The other spelling of the name, which mostly appears in ideograms, means « the king firm (genuine, true, authentic) ». There may well have been a slight change in the name when, in 722, S. deposed his brother Shalmaneser V (v.), who must have died under circumstances not clarified by any historical document. The change of regime was accepted by Assyria without internal revolutions. If on that occasion S. restored the privileges of ancient Assur, his native city, this does not imply a revolution of the priests « against the soldiers », merely for the recovery of lost ancient privileges under Thelathphalasar III.
S. Merodach-Baladan (v.) and his ally Humbanigaš of Elam; in the newly found cylinder, Merodach-Baladan exults in celebrating as his complete victory the battle of Dêr (720), by which he freed Babylon from the tyranny of the « Subarei », a name he gives to the Assyrians. But S. had an excellent « secret service », which kept him informed about internal conditions in neighboring countries, and after the death of Humbanigaš, when internal discord arose in Elam, he drove Merodach-Baladan out of Babylon, taking the « lieutenant’s » (šakkanakku) office, with a symbolic rite, by grasping the hands of Bel at the New Year of 709.
Harder were the campaigns against Rusas (Assyrian Ursa), king of Urartu. Well-informed, S. rushed to the aid of the king of the Mannaeans in 719, attacked by a coalition of Rusas, Mitatti of Zikirti, and Bagdatti (an Aryan name) of Uisidis, the latter recent immigrants. The danger was more serious in 717: the Mannaean king, who had succeeded to the throne, was defeated between the peaks of Sahend and the shores of Lake Urmia, and his brother Ullusunu led the army to the aid of the Urartians, together with two other kings from regions further south. S., arriving, crossed the high Sahend mountains, surprised the adversaries, took them alive, and flayed Bagdatti. Ullusunu, pardoned, was confirmed as vassal of S. The greatest battle, however, took place in 715, when Dajakku (Greek Deikies) conspired with Rusas and took 20 cities from Ullusunu, now a loyal vassal. S. retook the lost cities and imposed a heavy tribute on the King of the Nairi lands (between Assyria and proper Urartu). Dajakku, captured with his family, was deported to Hamath in Syria. The next year, S. delivered the hardest blow in the famous « Eighth Campaign »: with his cavalry he reached the shores of Lake Urmia with unexpected speed and annihilated Rusas’s army. It was then easy, amid incredible devastations (S. did not think of annexing countries), to invade Urartu, more or less along the Tabriz-Van route. Without, however, daring to besiege Turuşpâ, he devastated the country as far north as Lake Van, thus weakening that already battered land further by the Cimmerians. On his return he committed an act of sacrilege, plundering the rich temple of the national enemy god Haldi at Muşâşir: this scene is also preserved in a fresco from his palace at Khorsabad. The prince of Muşâşir, however, fled almost alone to Rusas, who soon died. Under Rusas’s son, Argistis II (714-c. 680), Urartu slowly recovered from the double defeat in the north and south of the country and Sennacherib (v.).
In the west, S. confronted Phrygia under Midas at the height of his power, allied with Urartu. S.’s systematic policy aimed to eliminate vassal kings, reducing the entire region to a system of Assyrian provinces. B. Landsberger believes that many of the « pretexts » narrated in S.’s « Annals » were mere fabrications by S.’s highly active secret service; thus S. would have liquidated even the most loyal vassals. S. asserted himself especially in the Taurus, rich in mines, where in 718 he defeated Kiakki of Sinuhtu and gave the country to Matti of Atuna (Tiana). In 715 he took 20 cities in the Taurus, of which Midas had taken possession. Other enterprises restored order or served to establish Assyrian provinces further north: in Commagene, Melitene, and Comana. He delivered the decisive blow to Phrygia in 711: the Assyrian governor of Quê (modern Cilicia) invaded Phrygia, which submitted; Midas paid tribute. On that occasion S. came into contact with the Greeks on the coast. He also subdued Cyprus, as attested by a stele found there.
BIBL.:
Unger, E., *Assyrien*, München 1925, pp. 173 ss.; id., *Sargon II.*, Leipzig 1916; id., *Babylon*, München 1931, pp. 104 ss.; Meissner, B., *Assyrische Studien*, 10, 1920; id., *Babylonien und Assyrien*, I, Heidelberg 1920, pp. 129 ss.; id., *Assyriologische Bibliothek*, 17, 1921; id., *Königsinschriften*, 1926; id., *Reallexikon der Assyriologie*, I, pp. 240 ss.; Jeremias, A., *Handbuch der altorientalischen Geisteskultur*, Berlin 1929, pp. 103 ss.; Landsberger, B., *Assyrische Königsliste* in *Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft*, 68, 1930, pp. 45 ss.; id., *Assyrische Handelskolonien*, Leipzig 1925; id., *Sam'al*, in *Mitteilungen der Vorderasiatisch-Ägyptischen Gesellschaft*, 35, 1930, pp. 1 ss.; id., *Die Serie ana ittišu*, in *Zeitschrift für Assyriologie*, 42, 1934, pp. 94 ss.; id., *Assyrische Briefe* in *Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft*, 69, 1931, pp. 1 ss.; id., *Assyrische Götterlisten*, in *Zeitschrift für Assyriologie*, 43, 1936, pp. 245 ss.; id., *Assyrische und babylonische Texte*, in *Mitteilungen der Vorderasiatisch-Ägyptischen Gesellschaft*, 38, 1933, pp. 1 ss.; id., *Assyrische und babylonische Briefe*, in *Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft*, 70, 1932, pp. 1 ss.; id., *Assyrische und babylonische Inschriften*, in *Mitteilungen der Vorderasiatisch-Ägyptischen Gesellschaft*, 39, 1934, pp. 1 ss.
S.’s campaigns in Phrygia and Palestine, which are of closer concern to biblical history, are more controversial in many details. It seems that S. brought the siege of Samaria to a successful conclusion in 722. Others doubt this, such as E. R. Thiele for chronological reasons, who in a serious study, restoring the historical authority of the Books of Kings, maintains that Shalmaneser V (q.v.) captured the city. The great deportation of the Israelites took place only after 720, when, it seems, Jaubi’di of Hamath (a usurper who deposed Enël, always a loyal Assyrian vassal) attempted to imitate Merodach-Baladan, who had won the victory at Dêr through the Elamites. He allied himself with Hanunu of Gaza, and to him were added the rebels of the already established provinces: Arpad, Simirra, Damascus, Samerina. The second battle of Qarqar then took place (for the first, of 853, see SHALMANESER III). Since Hanunu and the “sib’e” of Pharaoh Shabaka (who had for the first time just conquered the Egyptian delta) did not arrive in time, the allies were defeated. The Assyrian army penetrated into the south, into the Palestinian plain. Another battle took place near Rapihu (Raphia): Hanunu was taken alive, and the “sib’e” of the Pharaoh, defeated, withdrew into Egypt. With the campaign of 715, it seems he wished to secure the trans-Jordanian trade route as far as Yemen. S. received tribute from the Hâippa, Tamud, Ibadidi, Marsimani, from Samsi, queen of the desert region of northern Arabia, and from Itamar of Saba.
Another punitive expedition mentioned in the Bible was against a “Greek,” an adventurer from Cyprus who had killed Abi-miti, a loyal tributary of S. It seems that Hezekiah, king of Judah, along with the Philistines, Edom, and Moab, also participated in that rebellion. With the arrival of S.’s army, Gath, Ashod, and Ashudimmu fell (probably the “harbor” of Ashod). The “Greek” took refuge with the Ethiopian Pharaoh, who, however, wishing to consolidate the delta recently reconquered and not to spoil relations with S., sent him back in chains.
It is not without significance for future history that this powerful king died on a military campaign, probably in Tabal, in the Taurus, where he clashed with Espai of Kullum, likely a Cimmerian chieftain (others think of the east). His reign, which inaugurated an age of splendor—cultural, literary, and artistic—raises an important question: perhaps by continuing a policy of rapprochement with Urartu he might have averted the tragedy of Assyria. An age of prosperity and artistic taste is also revealed by the ruins uncovered by the Americans at Khorsabad, the residence he designed and perhaps even supervised in its architectural details.