37.  Babylonia  had  always  caused  Assyria  much
annoyance.  Campaigns  against  other  countries  had
been  alternated  by  expeditions  to  restore  authority
over  the  South.  Sennacherib  now  conceived  the
idea  of  razing  the  offending  city  to  the  ground,  that
**  in  the  course  of  time,  no  one  may  find  the  place
of  this  city  and  of  its  temples. ' '  First  the  Assyrian
army  was  set  in  motion  toward  Elam.  The  Elam-
ites  and  the  Chaldeans  joined  their  forces  and  pre-
pared to  offer  the  strongest  resistance.     The  great

battle  of  Khaluli  decided  the  fate  of  Baby-
B.c?'^^'       Ion.       The   allied  army    was   completely

overthrown.  Then  Sennacherib  turned
toward  the  fated  city.  Her  walls  were  razed ;  her
dwellings  were  torn  down  and  buried ;  her  temples
were  overthrown ;  and  finally  the  site  of  the  city  was
flooded  with  water.
38.  Sennacherib  returned  to  Nineveh.  There  he
built  a  great  palace.  The  city  was  repaired.  Great
canals  were  made  for  purposes  of  irrigation.  The
land  was  prosperous  and  flourishing  amidst  peace.
But  in  the  height  of  all  this  splendour,  the  king  was
assassinated  by  two  of  his  sons.  Then  came  wars
and  revolutions.
