Esarhaddon’s Eastern Campaigns

Abstract

The article discusses the eastern military campaigns of the Assyrian king Esarhaddon against the Medes, analyzing them on the basis of ancient divination queries and official royal inscriptions. The author challenges the earlier findings of Soviet scholars (including I.M. Diakonoff) and proves that a unified Median Empire did not exist during this period, and that local chieftains operated independently. The analysis of the source texts shows that instead of a single expedition, two separate campaigns took place, which – contrary to official Assyrian success propaganda – did not bring spectacular conquests but primarily served to restore control and collect overdue tribute.