The account of the blockade erected around Jerusalem is different from the sieges described in Sennacherib's annals and the massive reliefs in Sennacherib's palace at Nineveh, which depict the successful siege of Lachish rather than events at Jerusalem. Though the blockade of Jerusalem was not a proper siege, it is clear from all available sources that a massive Assyrian army was encamped in the city's vicinity, probably on its northern side. Though it is clear that the blockade of Jerusalem ended without significant fighting, how it was resolved and what stopped Sennacherib's massive army from overwhelming the city is uncertain. The Biblical account of the end of Sennacherib's attack on Jerusalem holds that though Hezekiah's soldiers manned the walls of the city, ready to defend it against the Assyrians, an entity referred to as the destroying angel, sent by Yahweh, annihilated Sennacherib's army, killing 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in front of Jerusalem's gates. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus describes the operation as an Assyrian failure due to a "multitude of field-mice" descending upon the Assyrian camp, devouring crucial material such as quivers and bowstrings, leaving the Assyrians unarmed and causing them to flee. It is possible that the story of the mice infestation is an allusion to some kind of disease striking the Assyrian camp, possibly the septicemic plague. An alternative hypothesis, first advanced by journalist Henry T. Aubin in 2001, is that the blockade of Jerusalem was lifted through the intervention of a Kushite army from Egypt. The battle with the Egyptians is considered unlikely to have been an outright Assyrian defeat, especially because contemporary Babylonian chronicles, otherwise eager to mention Assyrian failures, are silent on the matter.
the account of the blockade erected around jerusalem is different from the sieges described in sennacherib's annals and the massive reliefs in sennacherib's palace at nineveh which depict the successful siege of lachish rather than events at jerusalem though the blockade of jerusalem was not a proper siege it is clear from all available sources that a massive assyrian army was encamped in the city's vicinity probably on its northern side though it is clear that the blockade of jerusalem ended without significant fighting how it was resolved and what stopped sennacherib's massive army from overwhelming the city is uncertain the biblical account of the end of sennacherib's attack on jerusalem holds that though hezekiah's soldiers manned the walls of the city ready to defend it against the assyrians an entity referred to as the destroying angel sent by yahweh annihilated sennacherib's army killing 185000 assyrian soldiers in front of jerusalem's gates the ancient greek historian herodotus describes the operation as an assyrian failure due to a "multitude of field-mice" descending upon the assyrian camp devouring crucial material such as quivers and bowstrings leaving the assyrians unarmed and causing them to flee it is possible that the story of the mice infestation is an allusion to some kind of disease striking the assyrian camp possibly the septicemic plague an alternative hypothesis first advanced by journalist henry t aubin in 2001 is that the blockade of jerusalem was lifted through the intervention of a kushite army from egypt the battle with the egyptians is considered unlikely to have been an outright assyrian defeat especially because contemporary babylonian chronicles otherwise eager to mention assyrian failures are silent on the matter