A series of 12 programmes Written and presented by Magnus Magnusson
10: The Wolf on the Fold
' The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold, and his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold ' -Byron's image of the dreaded Assyrian hordes. Around 750 BC, this new super-power swooped on the lands to the west, smashing the kingdom of Israel and terrorising the southern kingdom of Judah. King Hezekiah of Judah built a tunnel under the walls of his capital, Jerusalem, to provide a secure water-supply for the ' The KINGS OF ASSYRIA HAVE
LAID WASTE THE NATIONS
AND THEIR LANDS'
• beleaguered citizens. The thwarted Assyrian army destroyed a neighbouring city - Lachish, commemorating their triumph in a series of graphic stone reliefs in their royal palace at Nineveh.
Tonight MAGNUS MAGNUSSON goes to Nineveh to examine the rise of Assyrian power.
Bible reader Eric Porter
Film cameramen JOHN else, PETER HALL Film editor IAN PITCH
Executive producer DAVID COLLISON
Producers PAUL JORDAN , ANTONIA BENEDEZ