Who was Esarhaddon? The Life of an Ancient Assyrian King

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Published 2018-09-04

It's always fascinating to get a glimpse into someone's life, especially if that person lived thousands of years ago, especially especially if they were a paranoid King whose father was murdered by his brother. That was the life of Esarhaddon, the 7th century BCE King of Assyria and thanks to the massive amounts of writing they left behind we can get a taste of what his life was like.

Sources:
Karen Radner, Ancient Assyria: A Very Short Introduction
Georges Contenau, Everyday Life in Babylon and Assyria
Wikipedia as well, obviously.

Image attributions:
Omar Siddeeq Yousif, Nineveh - Mashki Gate, CC BY-SA 4.0
© Sémhur / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0, or Free Art License, Urartu 715 713-en, CC BY-SA 4.0
Prioryman, Tablet of Shamash relief, CC BY-SA 4.0
Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany, Sculpted reliefs depicting Ashurbanipal, the last great Assyrian king, hunting lions, gypsum hall relief from the North Palace of Nineveh (Irak), c. 645-635 BC, British Museum (16722368932), CC BY-SA 2.0
Zhengan, Harran beehive houses (2), CC BY-SA 4.0
anonymous, Venus Tablet of Ammisaduqa, CC BY-SA 3.0
BabelStone, Early writing tablet recording the allocation of beer, CC BY-SA 3.0

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All Comments (21)

@EpimetheusHistory 5 years ago

Fantastic video man! liked the style of this one. Esarhaddon's life would make a great movie....Would love to see an Assyrian army in a big budget movie
@juanpascallucianobravado6112 5 years ago

Your inserted montage of your own paranoia was brilliant.
@vegahimsa3057 3 years ago

"Eunuch or bearded or any other enemy" That pretty much covers and categorizes everyone.
@StefanMilo 5 years ago

Just a quick FYI. The images of cuneiform tablets do not actually match the first hand sources. It's just to give you a little taste of the past, a little Hollywood magic if you will. Still fascinating to get a glimpse into the life of someone who died 2400 years ago.
@nonotes5445 4 years ago

I know this is an old video, but I wanted to say again how much I appreciate your work. When I started watching you, you reminded me of my dad. I was planning to show him some of your videos. He died last week, and now I'm sitting in his study, next to a bookshelf filled with stuff about the levant, watching your videos. He was an academic who specialized in old testament Bible with a focus on the historical context in which they were written. My first job was creating HTML links on an interactive guide to the book of Amos he'd created. He loved technology as a way of teaching people. I hadn't seen him for a while until he got sick, and I'm really sad I can't introduce him to your channel. I'm sure he'd find all your videos interesting. Your beard, short sleeve shirt, and that happy smile when you're talking about a topic that you enjoy is fantastic to see in someone else. You remind me that while he's gone, there are still great people in the world. Sorry if that's a bit much. Keep up the good work!
@missterror5602 2 years ago

I loved the small Paranoid „break“, haven’t laughed so hard in between well presented history.
@sargonch1234 2 years ago

I am an Assyrian and as of today (04-20-2022) I am watching your videos ( Go easy on pot my Brother) 🙏😇😂
@KelciaMarie1 5 years ago

Chin up mate. I'm binge watching your videos right now ^_^
@HistoryTime 5 years ago

Nice work man. Love the Assyrians. Also, I'm enjoying how you seem really happy through the whole video.
@88HELLJUMPER88 3 years ago

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@abiku2923 5 years ago

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@HollyFormolo 5 years ago

haha dude I'm watching your videos- all the way over here in Iraqi Kurdistan!
@celioski3698 5 years ago

I needed this channel
@Ravenfort 4 years ago

Thanks for the videos, I'm really enjoing all of them!
@climberly 5 years ago

Have you read 'violence and the sacred' by rene girard? He details in length the possible reasoning behind the role of kings and how they may have originally been often sacrificed by the community as a sort of communal purification to stave off collective violence.. A really fascinating read I'm not smart enough to explain in detail but this video reminded me of that book.
@lildoveable 2 years ago

I've been a subscribers to this channel for quite some time and I love your work more and more. Thank you for everything.
@jorgemate901 3 years ago

Love your videos mate! I've watched this before but completely missed your cbd skit! Had me chuckling :D keep up the great work mate!
@coopernoble6139 1 year ago

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@antiqueslivers 3 years ago

consistently one of my favourite channels! the smooth comedic timing is a nice bonus!
@matthewm2528 4 years ago

Love you, Stephan! Youre a big inspiration to me