died 705 BC
Assyrian king (r. 721705 BC).
He continued the empire-building work of his presumed father, Tiglath-pileser III . One of his aims was to prove the might of the Assyrian god Ashur by enlarging the empire he had inherited. His conquests ranged from southern Babylonia to Armenia and the Mediterranean. He probably died in battle in northwestern Persia. His son, Sennacherib , succeeded him.
Sargon II, detail of a relief from the palace at Khorsabad; in the Louvre, Paris
By courtesy of the Musee du Louvre, Paris; photograph, Maurice Chuzeville