1. How do we know what we know?

The Taylor Prism, The Trustees of the British Museum (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Activity

Through researching about Nineveh and the Assyrian King Sennacherib, this activity asks you to examine historical perspectives. You are going to read short readings obtained from the primary sources listed below, and work through document analysis questions. Once you have completed the questions, you will form small groups to discuss your findings. During these discussions you will justify and defend your answers in your groups. Finally, you will write a short historical argument responding to one of two prompts.

Part 1: Primary Source Research

Analyse at least two of the following primary sources about Nineveh and Sennacherib:

1. Herodotus – Written
2. The Old Testament – Written
3. The Taylor Prism of King Sennacherib, Nineveh – Written
4. Wall Reliefs from the sack of Lachish – Visual

Historical sources

Written Source 1

Herodotus [Book One: Chapter 102] (Holland, 2013)

Deioces finally died after a reign of fifty-three years, and was succeeded as ruler by Phraortes, his son. The new king, dissatisfied at ranking merely as lord of Media, set himself at the head of a great army. The first people he attached were the Persians, whom he forced into vassalage. With two powerful peoples now brough under his command, he then advanced to the conquest of Asia, country by country, until at length he came up against the Assyrians – or to be precise against the Assyrians of Nineveh, that same people who had once been the masters of the world, but who since a revolt by their allies had found themselves shorn of their empire. Nevertheless, they remained a significant power; in the resulting war Phraortes himself and much of his army were wiped out, thereby bringing to an end his reign of twenty-two years.

Herodotus [Book Two: Chapter 141] (Holland, 2013)

The next king was a priest of Hephaestus called Sethos. Such was the lack of respect and courtesy that Sethos showed to the warrior class of Egypt that it was as though he imagined he would never have any need of them. One of the ways in which he dishonoured them, for instance, was to confiscate the plots of land – twelve highly productive fields in all – which each warrior had been awarded over the course of earlier reigns. Eventually, when Egypt was invaded by a huge army of Arabians and Assyrians under the leadership of their king, Sennacherib, none of the Egyptian military had any incentive to come to his rescue. Indeed, so desperate were the straits in which Sethos, the priest, found himself that he went into the great hall of the temple and poured out all his unhappiness and forebodings before the statue of the god. Even as he was in the middle of these lamentations he was overcome by a drowsiness, and imagined that he saw the god standing over him, offering him reassurance and a promise that all would be well if only he would march out and meet with the Arab army. ‘For I will send you helpers’. Sethos duly put his trust in his dream: he enlisted all the Egyptians who were prepared to follow him, and set up camp at Pelusium, directly in the path of the invasion. With him in his army were shopkeepers, artisans and market-traders – but not one man from the warrior class. The enemy approached; but then, at night, there came a great swarm of field-mice, which gnawed through the quivers of the invaders, and their bows, and the handles of their shields, so that in the morning they found themselves quite defenceless. They fled and were cut down in great numbers. To this day there is a stone statue of Sethos standing in the sanctuary of Hephaestus, with a field-mouse in his hand. ‘Look on me’, declare the letters carved on the statue, ‘and revere the gods’.

Written Source 2

The Old Testament

[The Book of Nahum: Chapter 3]

[The Book of Isaiah: Chapter 37 – Isaiah’s Message to the King]

Written Source 3

The Taylor Prism of King Sennacherib, Nineveh

[Column 2 and 3: Third campaign]

Images of the Prism

Visual Source 4

Reliefs depicting the battle and capture of Lachish.

Siege of Lachish in 3D (British Museum)

Part 2: Findings discussion

Think. Pair. Share. In small groups discuss your opinions. What similarities do you have, what differences do you have? Can you back up your view with evidence?

Part 3: Historical argument

Individually write a short response in the format of an argument that is based on evidence from the sources and responds to one of the following prompts:.

1. To what extent are the perspectives of Sennacherib similar or different according to at least two sources?
2. To what extent might competing historical perspectives and historical sources about Nineveh lead to differing interpretations?

2. Who is right about what we know?

Sennacherib watches the capture of Lachish, The Trustees of the British Museum (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Activity

You will continue your research on Nineveh and Sennacherib, this time focusing on secondary sources. Read through the secondary sources below and then answer the three levels of questions. Take into consideration what you researched last lesson with primary sources. Once you have completed the questions, you are going to formulate your own historical argument to the below question (use your previous written response and make sure to back up your answer with evidence).

To what extent have historical interpretations of Sennacherib continued or changed over time?

Finally, form either small groups or pairs to debate your arguments.

Part 1: Secondary Source Research

Pick at least two of the following secondary sources to read about Nineveh and Sennacherib by clicking the links below.

1. Nineveh
2. The Taylor Prism of King Sennacherib, Nineveh
3. Siege of Lachish Reliefs at the British Museum
4. Assyrian Warfare
5. Nineveh was the most dazzling city in the world

Part 2: Questioning

• Level one (factual questions):
  • Who was Sennacherib? What did he do?
  • What was Nineveh? Why was it significant?
  • Who have we learnt this information from?
• Level two (inferential questions):
  • What would have motivated the authors of the primary sources to create their work?
  • What was Sennacherib trying to achieve?
• Level three (universal questions):
  • Why are there different perspectives about Nineveh and Sennacherib?
  • What is the importance of understanding historical perspective when evaluating evidence?
  • When is it okay to contest history?

Part 3: Small debates

Using the information you have learned today in conjunction with your written response from the previous activity, you are going to formulate a historical argument in response to the following question.

To what extent have historical interpretations of Sennacherib continued or changed over time?

Form pairs of small groups with even numbers of people who agree that the historical perspective of Sennacherib has remained the same with those who believe it has changed. Take turns to state your argument and defend your view from questions of your opponent.