Sargon

Sargon is named once in scripture, an Assyrian king whose campaign against Ashdod fixes the date of one of Isaiah's prophetic acts.

King of Assyria, Conqueror of Ashdod

Isaiah's oracle is anchored in a specific military year: "In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it" (Isa 20:1). Sargon himself does not appear in person; he is the dispatching authority behind Tartan, his commanding officer. The capture of Ashdod becomes the historical hinge for the prophet's sign-act against Egypt and Cush in the verses that follow.