Failed Coup: The Assassination of Sennacherib and Esarhaddon’s Struggle for the Throne, 681–680 B.C.

Abstract

Forty-three years after the publication of Simo Parpola’s article “The Murderer of Sennacherib,” the events of his assassination in 681 BC and Esarhaddon’s accession to the throne continue to provoke debate. More than a simple act of murder, the assassination of Sennacherib should be understood as an attempted coup d’ état, a strategically planned attempt to use force to bring about a change in political leadership. Combining a new examination of the many sources associated with this event with fresh theoretical perspectives derived from the study of modern coups d’état, this article refutes recent suggestions that Esarhaddon played a role in the murder of his father. It argues that Sennacherib did in fact disinherit Urad-Mullissu in favor of Esarhaddon, that Urad-Mullissu successfully recruited professional chariot units based in Nineveh to participate in his conspiracy, and that Esarhaddon was likely based in the city of Dur-Katlimmu at the time of his father’s assassination. Esarhaddon avoided assassination and prevailed in the conflict which followed by leveraging his status as the designated heir to create the perception that his candidacy for the throne was endorsed by the gods and therefore his victory was inevitable. Nevertheless, the assassination and the brief civil war that followed cast a pall over Esarhaddon’s reign, shaping his own succession arrangements as well as the atmosphere of paranoia which marked his final years.