Josiah became king of Judah at age eight, inheriting a kingdom in spiritual and moral collapse. His grandfather, Manasseh, had led Judah into idolatry, building altars to Baal and Asherah, filling the Temple with foreign gods, and sacrificing his own son in a pagan ritual. His father, Amon, continued this wickedness until his own officials assassinated him. The people, in turn, killed the assassins and crowned young Josiah.