structural:expansion
Destruction of Babylon

Sennacherib (705–681 BC) succeeded Sargon II, and after ruling directly for a while, he placed his son Ashur-nadin-shumi on the throne. However, Merodach-Baladan and his Elamite protectors continued to unsuccessfully agitate against Assyrian rule. Nergal-ushezib, an Elamite, murdered the Assyrian prince and briefly took the throne. This led the infuriated Assyrian king Sennacherib to invade and subjugate Elam and to sack Babylon, laying waste to the region and largely destroying the city. While praying to the god Nisroch in Nineveh in 681 BC, Sennacherib was soon murdered by his own sons. The new Assyrian king Esarhaddon placed a puppet king Marduk-zakir-shumi II on the throne in Babylon. However, Marduk-apla-iddina returned from exile in Elam, and briefly deposed Marduk-zakir-shumi, whereupon Esarhaddon was forced to attack and defeat him. Marduk-apla-iddina once more fled to his masters in Elam, where he died in exile.