Lachish was the second most important city in Judah, after Jerusalem. It served as Judah's main defense center against enemies. Today, a large tell (or mound) over 46 meters (150 feet) high still exists. Lachish fell in 701 BC after being besieged, terrified, starved, and destroyed by Sennacherib's war machines. Sennacherib celebrated the fall of Lachish as one of his greatest victories and featured the event in large carvings on his palace walls.