Betrayal and Concealment Under Nineveh

Nadan presses false royal seals into damp clay to frame his aging uncle. King Esarhaddon inspects the forged tablets and demands an immediate execution in the courtyard. Royal guards march the condemned chancellor to the edge of his own property. Ahikar begs the chief executioner to remember a past favor and spare his life.

These events unfold in the sprawling Assyrian capital of Nineveh around 680 b.c. The executioner hides Ahikar in a dry cistern located 15 feet below the house. Loyal workers drop a heavy stone lid over the narrow shaft to conceal him. A condemned criminal dies in his place under the heavy iron execution sword.

Ahikar survives in total darkness on the cold, packed dirt of the cistern floor. His loyal wife secretly lowers bread and water down a narrow ventilation pipe. Above the ground, his treacherous nephew wastes the massive family fortune on luxury. Nadan beats the household servants and hosts loud banquets directly over the hidden cell.

The man who digs a deep pit for his brother will eventually fall into the very same trap.

King Esarhaddon truly believes his wisest counselor is dead and buried in the earth. Word of the execution quickly reaches rival monarchs across the harsh eastern desert. The reigning Pharaoh of Egypt sees an immediate opportunity to humiliate the Assyrian empire. He plans a massive riddle that only the missing chancellor could ever hope to solve.