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Assyria has now conquered Samaria

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reduced the Kingdom of Israel to a small, petty kingdom

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within a couple decades, they would do the same to Israel's southern neighbor, the Kingdom of Judah

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the Syro-Ephraimite War

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took place in the 8th century BC

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Assyria was a great regional power

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the smaller nations of Syria (Aram) and the northern Kingdom of Israel (Ephraim) formed a coalition against Assyria

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King Pekah of Israel joined King Rezin of Aram-Damascus in an attempt to place a new ruler on the throne in Jerusalem

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this was an anti-Assyrian coalition

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the Biblical authors present a very Jerusalem-centered view of these events

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the end of the rule of Tiglath Pileser III (727 BC) marks the beginning of Judah as an independent kingdom in its own right

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King Ahaz rules from 731 to 716 BC

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King Hezekiah (son of Ahaz)

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13th king of Judah

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reign 715 - 686 BC

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one of the most prominent kings of Judah mentioned in the Hebrew Bible

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an age of state centralization

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a growing national pride in the Kingdom of Judah

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cities gates became impressive

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water supply was protected

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reigns of Ahax and Hezekiah were a time of great internal development

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Judah blooming with texts and signs of more widespread literacy

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stamped jar handles attest to an infrastructure that controlled the transport of olive oil, wine, and other precious commodities

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in many ways, Judah's prosperity was a result of Assyria's expansion

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destroyed Judah's more powerful northern competitors

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Assyria might have been using Judah economically as a source of olive oil production

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however, after destroying Israel's olive oil production, Assyria also destroyed that of Judah

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at first Judah pursued peace an demonstrated loyalty to the Assyrian empire

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but eventually revolted

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first with the help of Egypt

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then after the death of Sargon II in 705, Judah made a renewed effort to rebel

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but Sargon's son, Sennacherib, once becoming ruler, laid waste to Judah's richest region

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destroyed its means of olive oil production

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included the destruction of Lachish

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horrifying reliefs in British Museum showing this

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Assyrians besieged Lachish and deported its population

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Sennacherib makes Hezekiah a prisoner in his own city, "like a bird in a cage"

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the Biblical account fails to mention the great devastation at Lachish [lah-KEESH]

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presents Jerusalem as being divinely rescued, Isiah plays a large role in that

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after Sennacherib

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Judah was reduced to a "rump state in the hill country"

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ironically, the city of Jerusalem became densely populated throughout the 7th century

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due to incursions from the north, from Israel

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although some archeologists say this was more just a redistribution of population within Judah