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Most people are familiar with King Sennacherib from the Bible's account of the Siege of Jerusalem in 701 BCE. But the king was also credited with enlarging the Assyrian Empire, turning Nineveh into a bustling commercial center, and building a luxurious home that he dubbed the "house without rival."

Sennacherib's expansive estate included lavish gardens, enormous lamassu (human-headed winged bulls), and more than 70 chambers adorned with carved stone reliefs showing events from imperial life and military achievements. Some academics believe the breathtaking splendor led to the belief that Nineveh's sumptuous gardens were home to the famed Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Despite all of his achievements, Lord Byron's poem The Destruction of Sennacherib from 1815 would ultimately determine the fate of the Assyrian era. Its famous opening line is:

“The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,

And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;

And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,

When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.”