In the Books of 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, and Isaiah:
2 Kings 18:13New King James Version (NKJV)13 And in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them.
Specifically:
2 Kings chapters 18 and 19
2 Chronicles chapter 32
Isaiah chapters 36 and 37
In the Bible, specifically in 2 Kings 18-19 and Isaiah 36-37, Sennacherib is the Assyrian king who besieged Jerusalem, but there is no direct mention of rats in these accounts. However, historical records from Assyrian texts do reference the use of rats as symbols of disease and pestilence during sieges. While rats may not be explicitly connected to Sennacherib's story in the Bible, they are often associated with the broader themes of destruction and hardship during ancient warfare.
Answer: The poet, paraphrasing the Bible (2 Kings 19: 35-36). Note that he is NOT describing Sennacherib's death, but the destruction of his army. Lord Byron knew his Scripture.Note also that 'cohort' refers to that army, being a (Roman) military unit. It does not mean King Sennacherib's companion, although the word is now frequently misused as such (i.e. to = companion), probably because of the poem.Note further that the poem is stunningly beautiful.
That was Sennacherib.
the speaker
in assyria
Sennacherib
Bramble of Destruction.
Sennacherib
King Sennacherib
idkon
idkon
Sennacherib's principal wife was Naqia, queen of Assyria. Zakutu (Naqia) was the mother of his heir Esarhaddon. Her name is non-assyrian and so it is believed that she came from Syria or Judah.