Assyrian king Sennacherib's destruction of Babylon in 689 BCE was viewed as a triumph by other Assyrian citizens.

The story behind the answer

False. Although Sennacherib razed Babylon in 689 BCE after repeated rebellions, many Assyrians did not celebrate it. Babylon was the prestigious religious and cultural heart of Mesopotamia—the city of Marduk—and Assyrian elites drew heavily on Babylonian learning and ritual. The destruction was widely seen as impious and politically risky rather than a straightforward triumph.

The backlash helps explain why Sennacherib’s successor, Esarhaddon, quickly reversed course: he rebuilt Babylon, restored its temples, and repaired relations by returning divine statues and reviving rituals. A handy memory cue: Sennacherib the Destroyer, Esarhaddon the Rebuilder. This swing underscores Babylon’s central status in the region—and why even conquerors had to respect it.