Several kingdoms in the Levant ceased to pay taxes to the Assyrian King, Sennacherib; as a result, he set out on a campaign to once again subjugate the rebelling kingdoms, among them the Jewish Kingdom of Judah led by King Hezekiah. After defeating the rebels of Ekron in Philistia he set out to subjugate Judah and in his way to Jerusalem he came across Azekah, among the most important Jewish cities.