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 superpower 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 beleaguered citizens. The thwarted Assyrian army destroyed a neighbouring city - Lachish, commemorating their triumph in a series of graphic stone reliefs in their palace at Ninevah.
Tonight MAGNUS MAGNUSSON goes to Ninevah (in present-day Iraq) to examine the rise of Assyrian power.
Bible reader Eric Porter
Producers PAUL JORDAN , ANTONIA BENEDEK (Repeal)
Book (same title), £6.50, from bookshops