Researchers have found evidence of a Biblical battle that took place some 2,700 years ago in Jerusalem. An entire archaeological site was discovered in Jerusalem, as per a report by Daily Mail, that provides clues of a battleground between God’s army and Assyrian soldiers.
As per the Bible, an angel of the Lord descended on the invading Assyrian troops when they tried to capture the Holy Land and killed about 185,000 soldiers in a single night.
The Assyrian Empire reigned from 1,365 to 609 BC. The King Sennacherib of the empire led a campaign to control all routes across the Syrian Desert that led to the Mediterranean Sea. The carvings on the walls of Sennacherib’s palace depict the conquest of Lachish, a city 42 miles south of Jerusalem. The palace also has an illustration of a military base floor plan inscribed on its walls.
These ancient engravings were scrutinised by archaeologist Stephen Compton who cross-reference the engravings with aerial photos of the alleged historical area. The site is identified in Israel’s Ammunition Hill area whose map was matched up with the ancient story.
“This appears to be the site of Sennacherib’s camp from the siege of Jerusalem, which was featured in the three books of the Bible,” Compton wrote in a June 4 press release.
The carvings pointed to ruins of a perimeter wall and buried pottery shards revealed to be at least roughly 2,600 years old, as per Compton’s analysis. The site is now believed to have been abandoned after Sennacherib’s invasion.
Researchers are keen to discover similar military bases and other ancient cities destroyed by the Assyrian Empire, using the same methods.
“In some cases, it has also been possible to use the newly discovered camps to locate the sites of ancient cities that were known to have been besieged by the Assyrians but whose locations were unknown or uncertain,” Compton said.
Three Biblical scriptures tell the story of God’s victory over the Assyrians in Jerusalem: Isaiah, 37:36-38; 2 Kings, 19:35; and 2 Chronicles, 32:21.
The story tells that Jerusalem’s ruler Hezekiah prayed to the Israelite deity Yahweh — who is believed to be a God among Christians, for protection and sent an angel to ambush soldiers as they slept. Other retellings of the attack cite the massacre of the Assyrian camp, while a version from Greek scripture describes an invasion of mice that chewed through the soldiers’ weaponry.
(With inputs from agencies)