Sennacherib was an Assyrian king with three major enemies: the Kingdom of Kush in the Levant, the Elamites, and Babylonians; the latter two kingdoms were allies. His reign was dominated by the challenge to Assyrian dominance over Babylonia, which he countered by leading several offences in the south. Exasperated by a string of Babylonian revolts, he destroyed the city in 689 BCE by drowning it, he said, under the waters of the Euphrates. After his murder, his son Esarhaddon waged war against his brother Arad-Mullissu to secure his hold on the throne.