page_title: Assyrian conquest of Egypt
section_title: Campaign of 673 BCE
hierarchical_section_title: Assyrian conquest of Egypt / Invasion of Esarhaddon (673 BCE) / Campaign of 673 BCE
caption_attribution_description: English: Taharqa among statues of Napatan kings
context_page_description: The Assyrian conquest of Egypt covered a relatively short period of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 677 BCE to 663 BCE.
context_section_description: Esarhaddon then raided Egypt in 673 BCE. This invasion, which only a few Assyrian sources discuss, ended in what some scholars have assumed was possibly one of Assyria's worst defeats.    Taharqa and his army defeated the Assyrians outright in 674 BC, according to Babylonian records.  The Egyptians had for years sponsored rebels and dissenters in Assyria and Esarhaddon had hoped to storm Egypt and take this rival out in one fell swoop. Because Esarhaddon had marched his army at great speed, the Assyrians were exhausted once they arrived outside the Egyptian-controlled city of Ashkelon, where they were defeated by the Kushite Pharaoh Taharqa. Following this defeat, Esarhaddon abandoned his plan to conquer Egypt for the moment and withdrew back to Nineveh.
caption: Statue of Kushite ruler Taharqa, who led the fight against the Assyrians. Kerma Museum.
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