r.. i V :^. y .-^^^ ( I ~. > ./ • r' ' V> f T ' \ (^..yr--^ \\ '/^V; V /■■ ' ' --■^■)"W ma {t^b T-xV /K"-vy txi A\ ^ ( - o /•^,'v-'-' »-\>V:- HERODOTUS IBRARY OF '^^ «^ ^ UNIVERSAL HISTORY •irtrk-tr CONTAINING A RECORD OF THE HUMAN RACE FROM THE EARLIEST HISTORICAL PERIOD TO THE PRES- ENT TIME ^ ^ H ^ H ^ EMBRACING A GENERAL SURVEY OF THE PROGRESS OF MANKIND IN NATIONAL AND SOCIAL LIFE, CIVIL GOVERNMENT, RELIGION, LITERA- TURE, SCIENCE AND ART H ^ ^ COMPLETE IN EIGHT (VOLUMES Com' and W piled, Arrangfd IQDAPI ^/VIITH C~^ \ A P? P Author of " ILLUSTRATED UNIVERSAL HISTORY,' Wrillen by lOIVrALL OIVll 111 V^ L /A 1 \ L and " COMPLEl E HISTORICAL COMPENDIUM.' REVIEWED, VERIFIED AND ENDORSED BY THE PROFESSORS OF HISTORY IN FIVE AMERICAN UNM'ERSITIES, WITH AN INTRO- DUCTION ON THE EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF HISTORICAL STUDY BY MOSES COIT TYLER, A.M., L.H.D. Professor of Amkkican History ix Cornell ITnivhrsitv. •NOT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE WE WERE BORN IS TO REMAIN ALWAYS A CHILD; FOR WHAT WERE THE LIFE OF MAN DID WE NOT COMBINE PRESENT EVENTS WITH THE RECOLLECTIONS OF PAST AGES I"— CICEKO. Volujue I. — Ancient Orie7ital Nations Illustratei* With Maps, Portraits anp Views NEW YORK R. S. PEALE J. A. HILL 1897 Entered according to Act of Congress in the \'ear 1889, By ISRAEL SMITH CLARE, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1893, By ISRAEL SMITH CLARE, in the office of tlie Librarian of Congress at Washington. Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1896, By ISRAEL SMITH CLARE, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1897, By ISRAEL SMITH CLARE, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. SfacR Annex 5015660 THE EDUCATIONAL VALUE OI'" THE STUDY OV HLSTORY. BY MOSES COIT TYLER, Professor of American Historj- in Cornell University. JN" order to do justice to the claims of historical study, it can never be necessary for us to depreciate those of any other branch of learning. Properh- considered, there is no such thing as rivalrj^ between difTerent spheres of knowledge ; only emulation, a noble and helpful emulation. All real knowledge is good, being in one way or another a source of power and happiness. The various realms of things known or knowable are but co-equal and fraternal states in that vast confederation which we may call the republic of science. No single member of this confederation is strong, none is sufficient, standing alone. Each is necessary to all, all are necessary to each. While, therefore, no one study may assert for itself the whole of what is valuable, every study doubtless has its own special value ; and this value, as in the case of a study like history, it may sometimes be worth our while to place clearly before our minds, modestly, tolerantly, and for the rightful purpose of forming a just idea of the particular good we ought to expect and to work for, in our pursuit of it. I. Probably that use of the study of history which will first occur to most persons, is the one suggested by the common conception of history as an enonnous body of facts about the past, — the effort to know and retain a considerable ninnber of the.se facts being regarded as a fine gymnastic exercise for the faculty of memory. It is, indeed, quite astonishing how great a multitude of historical details — dates, names, and other preci.se items about persons, cities, nations, armies, political parties, institu- tions, and so forth — -almost any person is capable of carrying in his memory, if only he patiently sto.es and trains it in that way. Moreover, no one will dt-ny that there is much convenience and delight in the possession of a memory like that, — a memory enriched with precise and various historical facts, all labeled, and pigeon-holed, and ready for .service at a moment's call. Certainly, a brilliant accomplishment this for conversation ; a weapon of victory for public speech ; in hours of loneliness and suffer- ing, a great solace, — all of which may be seen in the ca.ses of certain famous men in our country who had such a memory, as John Quincy Adams, Theodore Parker, Charles Sumner, (^.arfield. On the other hand, this particular u.se of historical study is somewhat discredited among persons of mature .sense, whenever it is associated with either of two practical mistakes, to which, indeed, young students of history are liable. One of these mis- takes arises from a lack of discrimination as to the relative value of different historical (iii) Mmmm iv PREFACE. facts ; the other from the notion that the work of memorizing historical facts is the principal part of historical study. It can hardly be wise to make the memorj- serve the purpose of an old fashioned garret in a country house, — a receptacle for all sorts of odds and ends of property, precious and worthless. Surely, .such indiscrim- inate memorizing must be a waste of energy, and the perversion of a noble faculty. What is the use of making an effort to remember what is useless? Besides, however valuable it may be to store the memory with well selected dates and names and other historical items, this at best belongs among the lower and more mechanic u.ses of history. With these qualifications upon the primary claim put forward on behalf of his- torical study, we may now pass on to consider some claims which point to mental and even spiritual discipline of a far higher and more complex kind. II. One of these higher benefits may be described as that of training the critical faculty, through the effort to test the evidence for and against particular historical facts, or what are alleged to be such. Perhaps the very hardest thing to get at in this world is the truth, the very truth, especially the very truth concerning the past transactions of the human race. From this point of view, it is plain that the study of history is something more than the pas,sive reading of certain finished and fasci- nating books, like Livy, for in.stance, or Gibbon, or Thiers, or Macaulay, or Pres- cott, or Parkman ; it is indeed, the resolute and attentive application of the whole mind to an innnen.se and complicated subject, — a process which cannot be carried on very long without our running up again.st questions of disputed fact. To deal with these questions in a manner to satisfy a truth-loving mind, it will be necessary for us to look keenly into problems of conflicting testimony, of personal character, of the validity of documents, of the meaning of words, of the right method of con- struction. I am not now speaking of the labors of professional historians, the intri- cacy and arduon.sne.ss of which are admitted to be great, just in proportion to the quality of their results. Even pupils at school, however, and college students, and the members of historical clubs, and .solitary readers of hi.story, if they would pursue this study in the wisest and most fruitful way, must all l)e, to .some extent, historical critics ; mu.st be alert, inqui.sitive, cautious, never credulous, always intol- erant of .slovenly ways ; and as far as pos.sible, they must try the text they are reading by earlier te.Kts, and especially by those nearest to the times that happen to be under consideration. Who is likely to overstate the educational value of such a method of study? On the moral side, how great it must be ! It is produced and is nourished by a conviction of the incomparable worth and sacredness of mere truth in it.self, as against all baser stuff in the form of half-truth, guess work, fables, or lies, and this convic- tion is sure to grow and to strengthen under such honest toil in its service. On the purely mental side, how great nrust be the effect of such study, — since it calls forth and taxes powers so important as those of analysis and comparison, nicety of verbal sense, literary insight, logical acuteness and precision, .soundness of judgment, and saving common sen.se. III. In the next place, it should not be overlooked that the mental and moral dis- cipline involved in the .study of history, is of a kind even broader and more complex than that retjuired for the ascertaiiunent and verification of particular historical facts. I'REFA CE. V Tluit alone, as we have just seen, is a great task, callinu;- for fine and strong powers of mind ; it is a task that can perhaps never be perfectly done by any finite being ; and yet, even that, when it is done as well as we can do it, is not the end of his- torical study, but rather the beginning of it. For, after you liave verified and defined your facts, comes the still more subtle process of discovering their causal relations, — the great play of influence among human events, the interdependence of events, the action and reaction and counteraction of events. Of course, to do this sort of work hastily, recklessly, with that tone of easy infallibility which some his- torical students have when passing judgment upon groups of facts in relation to the past, is probably not very hard, — at least for persons who can do it all; but to one who realizes the worthlessness, the misleading character, of all mere assumption in statements professing to be historical, and how hard it must be even approximately to discover the actual relations of events, it will be obvious that, aside from the in- trinsic value of such generalizations, is the disciplinary value of the mental and spiritual process of arriving at them. Certainly, to generalize wisely from sound his- torical data, is a great exercise of the philo.sophic powers ; it is a test and a devel- opment of broad-mindedness, lucidity, and vigor in reasoning. IV. Another benefit from historical study will occur to us, when we reflect that such study compels one to investigate and to reason within the realm, not of the exact and of the ab.solute, but of the approximate and the probable. No doubt there is a peculiar educational value in the study of those sciences in which the data are precise or absolute ; in which the conclusions are so, likewise. Hi.story, however, deals with data of a different kind, — with mixed deeds, and mixed motives, and traits of character, and experiences of human beings ; looking back into the past, it draws some general conclusions from these data and applies them to the pres- ent and the future ; it aims to formulate some general principles relating to the collective human life of this world, to government, to the working of the social organism. But whatever history requires of its student or does for him, it keeps him mostly within the sphere of the approximate and the probable. You cannot weigh a human motive or impulse as precisely as you can a chemical substance. In much of >our work as an hi.storian, you have to balance one probabilitj' against another . to estimate the operation of spiritual forces, to deal with the inscrutable mysteries of personal character. In so many parts of your work, you are obliged to reason with caution^ .slowly, circumspectly, not dogmatically ; and to realize the limitations upon the definitene-ss and certainty of many of your conclusions. Well, is there any special value in such training as this? It seems to me that, in a rather peculiar sense, this gives the ver>' training required for real life ; since in real life we are in the sphere not of the absolute, but of the relative, and we luue to deal with the very problems which the historian has to deal with, — human character, human feelings and motives, probabilities, and other data more or less indefinite. I would say no word to imply any disparagement of the educational value of mathematics, for example. It has its value, unrivaled in its kind ; but he who .should apply the methods of mathematical reasoning to the questions which come up between man and man in real life, would often make most absurd mistakes and go far astray. Histor- ical study, on the other hand, is a study of human nature on a broad field, and for all ages ; it is exactly the sort of training which helps us to know persons and affairs in real life, the great types of human character, the limited worth of testimony, the play of pa.ssion in interfering with reasonable and prudent conduct, the probable vi PREFACE. consequences of any particular set of outward conditions. Histors- is the great teacher of human nature by means of object lessons drawn from the whole recorded life of human nature. V. This brings us naturally to the fifth benefit to be got from historical study, — the cultivation of fair-mindedness as a habit, and the suppression of intellectual partisanship with respect to all subjects whatsoever. No one can pursue this study in the right waj-, or with any real success, who ■does not learn to acquire the mental attitude, not of an attorney standing for one side of the question, but of a judge standing for what is true on both sides. The historical spirit is the judicial spirit. However vast may be his learning, however splendid his style, whoever writes history in a partisan fashion, spoils to that extent the genuineness and value of his work, as any one may observe by the brilliant examples of Macaulay and Froude. We must not, we cannot, tolerate in history, what we are obliged to tolerate in contemporary comment. Such comment is almost inevitabh- colored by contemporary passion, is biased this way and that through contemporary prejudice, through the stormy likes and dislikes that are irrepressible among men actually engaged in the conflicts of their own time, and having great personal interests at stake. But when it comes to history, we demand something different. History is the comment made afterward, when the fight is over and ended and the combatants are cold in their graves ; and the duty of liLstory is to hear all .sides and all persons, to weigh all pleas, to sift all testimonies, to be fair to all. If, with regard to living controvensies, this attitude of fairness between opposite persons and opinions is almost impossible to attain, it is by no means easy of attaiimient even with regard to dead controversies ; it is, for every topic in history, one of the la.st and choicest results of .spiritual discipline. I do not know any other study more likely than the study of history, to help us to acquire intellectual poise, justice in thought and word, freedom from the warp of undue sympathy or antipathy, the judicial habit. And this, after all, is a quality of great influence and esteem in this world, overridden, as it is, with partisanship of all sorts, and yet conscious that there is a mental attitude nobler and wiser. VI. For the .sixth benefit to be got from historical study, I would call attention to its incomparable u.se in enlarging one's mental horizon. He who does not know history must have a very limited mental horizon — a hor- izon as wide only as the time during which he has lived. The whole vast realm of the past is to him as if it never had been : he knows only what has been done and enjoyed and suffered by the human family .since he arrived here. Even in the case of the oldest man, what is that by comparison with all the years, decades, centuries, epochs, which have rolled over this planet before the sound of his footstep was heard upon it, and which have been crowded with stupendous tran.sactions that he is totally ignorant of except by .some .sort of hearsay, by broken fragments of knowledge picked up from casual tradition ? The man who knows only the time immediately around him, is in a mental con- dition somewhat like that of the man who knows only the place immediately around him — the man who has never traveled, who knows nothing of other neighborhoods and other peoples. Such a man must have a very false notion of himself and others; PREFACE. vii his niiiul can hardly fail to be full of local prejudice and conceit : he lacks the nec- essan,- standards by which to estimate his own size and quality and that of the men and things around him. Such a man is necessarily provincial, parochial ; his intellect is the intellect of a villager. So, the man who knows but little of human time, ex- cept what has elapsed since his own birth, is provincial-minded with respect to vast tracts of human experience ; his mental horizon is necessarily limited to the petty cir- cle of time which surrounds his own life in the world. To such a man history comes with its power to enlarge his own horizon bj- annexing to it the horizons of all the generations before him. History is for time, what travel is for space ; it is an intel- lectual journey acro.ss oceans and continents of duration, and of ages both remote from our own and vitalized and enriched by stupendous events. There is an old aph- orism to the effect tliat, "ignorance of what has been done in the world before he came into it, leaves a man alwaj^s a child." This, perhaps, is but a far-away echo of the saying of the Chinese moralist, Lao-Tse : "Man is an infant born at midnight, who, when he sees the sun rise, thinks that yesterday has never existed." To him who has not studiously opened those books which tell of .the world's yesterday, it is as though the world had never had a yesterday — as though the world had begun only when he began. There have been many attempts to define the es.sential difference between man and the other animals known to us here. What is to be thought of this defi- nition ? Man is the history-knowdng animal — the only animal that can know the pa.st. Therefore, our conscious and cultivated relation to the past, through historical stud}^ develops in us as human beings that very attribute which distinguishes us from those animals that are called the brutes. VII. Perhaps the most impressive consideration touching the benefit to be derived from historical studj-, is the one which still remains to be mentioned; historj' enables each generation of men to profit, if they will, by the experience of their predeces- sors, — especially to avoid their costliest and most painful mi.stakes. Without historv% nearly all the practical wi.sdom of mankind, gained through iiniumerable blunders and mishaps, would be lost, and the same blunders and the same mishaps would have to be repeated and to be suffered over and over again on the part of successive genera- tions ignorant of what had happened before. Let us suppo.se that the human family should now agree that history is an un- desirable branch of knowledge ; that it should no longer be cultivated or taught ; that all the books of history which have been written, from Herodotus down to Ranke and Stubbs and George Bancroft, should be burned up, and that no more should be written ; that even the documentary sources of historj^ should be destroyed. What would be the effect of this gigantic piece of Vandalism ? Of cour,se, before many j'ears, the men who now know something of the past would be dead, and would have left no succes.sors to their knowledge ; and, gradually, nearly all remembrance of for- mer times and of the men and the deeds and the sufferings of former times, of their mi.stakes and triumphs and failures, would be blotted out. Nearly all the le.s.sons taught by the experience of the human family would be forgotten. Consequentlj', to a large extent, progress would cease; each generation, knowing but little of what men had learned before themselves, would have to begin nearly all experiments over again ; and each generation would be liable to keep on repeating the errors of its predecessors, treading over again the same round of blundering attempts and viii PREFACE. disastrous failures. Life itself, or what is called civilization, would still be a laborious march, but it would be a march in a treadmill, wherein the feet seem to move, and steps seem to be taken, but no advance is made. Whenever one is inclined to rate very low the utility of historical study, it may be well for him to recall the fact that all human progress depends on each generation starting with the advantage of the wisdom gained and accumulated by all previous experience, and that history is the temple in which the records of this experience are stored. Burn down the temple, and you thereby destroy some of the things that are essential to further progress. People who do not know history, are apt to be presumptuous and rash in their political methods. They go on advocating errors that were exploded ages ago ; try- ing political or indu.strial or financial experiments that have been tried and found futile and disastrous times without number ; taking false steps which their ancestors had taken before them and had found to be steps toward folly and misery ; mak- ing civilization itself to seem no longer a stream of onward progress, but a mere whirlpool, its currents spinning with men and institutions round and round in a fierce motion, until at la.st they all go down together into some central gulf of darkness. One of the greatest and most inspiring teachers of history known among us dur- ing the past forty years has for his book-plate this motto: " Disci pulus est prioris posterior dies." "To-day is the pupil of yesterday." How much would To-day know, if it were not the pupil of Yesterday? But it is chiefly through what we call history, that Yesterday is able to comminiicate to its pupil the wi.sdom which it has hoarded. Moreover, it is because To-day leams wisdom from Yesterday, that it is able to teach wisdom to To-morrow ; and it is, also, by the same means. There are some people who have so intense an interest in the immediate and tangible facts of life, that they are accustomed to sneer at the past, — calling it the dead past. After all, however, the pa.st is not dead, except to persons who are ignorant of it, or who are themselves dead in their own thinking concerning it. Through the power of history, the past does not die ; it is gifted with a perpetual life, and it reaches for- ward with a strong and helpful hand into the times that now are and are to be. I remember that once a student of mine, in a thesis which he was reading to me, used a pretty figure about history. "History," said he, "is only a stern light on the ship in which we are making life's voyage." I asked him to consider whether he was quite right in describing history as " only a stern light." Of course, even a stern light is something, but it is not all that our life-ship needs. How about a bow light, also, — a light that may throw some gleam acro.ss the waters into which we are advancing? So, even though it might hurt the neatness of the image, we should probably improve its accuracy, by saying, that history is not only a stem light, but a bow light as well : it flashes its rays far back over those rough waters through which our ship has been ploughing, and it throws at least some illumination forward upon the deeps of time toward which we are about to sail. vin. Upon the whole, then, it may fairly be said, that by withdrawing now and then from the present, ahd by making tours of studious obsen-ation into the pa.st, we greatly enlarge our knowledge and our capacity for knowledge ; we teach ourselves toleration, and even sympathy, for types of per.son and .society, for opinions and for courses of action, quite unlike our own ; we become more truly catholic and cosmo- PREFACE. ix politan ; we become more modest, too, by realizing that inifj^hty persons and mighty peoples have lived in this world and left it ages before we came into it ; we learn to understand t)etter our own place in the general movement of time and events, and how to adjust ourselves to both for the greater service, for the more perfect happi- ness, of ourselves and others. If, indeed, this he a just account of the matter, perhaps we .shall not deem it an extravagance to say, as was lately .said by a sober-minded English critic, that "his- tory is the central .study among human studies, capable of illuminating and enrich- ing all the rest." IX. I should be .sorry to come to the end of this discu.ssiou without a word as to the importance of arranging for the study of history upon a wi.se plan, that is, upon a generous and a comprehensive plan. Perhaps in no other study are pettiness and provincialism more incongruous than in this stud}'. Not even patrioti.sni is a sufficient justification for limiting our historical readings to our own countrj-. We Americans have a right to be glad and proud o\'er the strong enthusiasm for the nation which now fills even.- part of il. One manifestation of this robust patriotic ardor is to be .seen in the extraordinary interest now felt among us in American his- tory. Never before has American history been so much written, or so well written; never before has it been so eagerly studied. This is well. Histor^^ like charity, should begin at home; but neither charity- nor history should end there. Our pres- ent danger is of so magnifying the importance of the history of our own country, as to forget the importance of attending to that of other countries al.so. The present popularity of American hi.storj- is really a thing of recent growth. I can well re- member when it was difficult to convince Americans that American history was not only important but fascinating, — even by comparison with the history- of mod- ern Europe, or of ancient and mediaeval times. Apparenth', this truth has l)een at last so well learned b}' us, that another truth is now liable to be forgotten, namely, the intellectual harm of a too exclusive stud}- of American history. Even American history cannot be properly learned, if learned altogether apart from other history. "Without clear notions of general history," said Edward Freeman, "the history of particular countries can never be rightly understood." To no other country, perhaps, is this remark more applicable than it is to our own. Why our ancestors came to America, and how, and what ideas they brought with them, and what sorts of people they were, and what they did here, and how they fared in the land, and how they were interfered with and helped or hindered by the peoples of western Europe from among whom they had come, and how at last they threw off such interference, and how they have got on since then with themselves and with the rest of the world, and how they stand to-day as regards all these matters, — are, indeed, the great topics of what we call American history, but they are likewise topics of European history as well. We commonh- think of American history as be- ginning with the year 1492. These four centuries of American historj- cannot be truly known by any one who does not also know something really considerable of the histories of Spain. France, Holland, and England, during the same time. For us to stud}' American history as a detached and an i.solated experience, is to study it unwisely, — .so unwisely, in fact, as to insure our failure in grasping its real mean- ing. If, however, we caiuiot understand American histor>' without knowing modem European histor>-. neither can we know modern European history without a fair X PREFACE. knowledge of the histoty of Europe during the Middle Ages and in the ancient times. But how shall we know the history of mediaeval and of ancient Europe, un- less we become acquainted with the remoter races from whom these earliest Europeans were derived, and the countries from which they came, and the ideas they broi:ght with them thence, and their subsequent relations therewith ? Thus, we reach the broad principle that, as there is a certain unity in the life of the human family, so there is a certain unity in its history also; that uo nation has ev^er lived without an original kinship with other nations, without more or less contact with other nations, without having its destinies interfered with and in- fluenced b\- other nations. Consequently, no part of history can be truly known without knowing something of all parts. The ideal of the historical student .should be to know the life of his own country as a constituent part of the general life of mankind. Thus, the stud}' of American history mu.st be preceded or at least accom- panied by the study of Universal History. Uio^-^ (jtrU- c^^^ TABLE OF CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. History, Its Departments, Aids and Divisions. — Its Sources. — Races of Mankind. — Origin of Civili- zation. — Historical Nations. — Oriental and Euro- pean Civilization. — Forms of Government. — Varie- ties of Religion. — Ethnological Table of the Cau- casion Race 25-34. Part I.— Ancient History— Vol. I. CHAPTER I.— ANCIENT EGYPT. SECTION I. The Country and People, 41-42 Egj'ptian Ci\nlization and History the Oldest. — Fertility of the Nile Valley and Cause. — Origin and Charadter of the Ancient Egyptians. — Geographi- cal Divisions of Ancient Egypt. — Chief Cities. SECTION II. Sources of Egyptian History 43-44 Ancient Eg>-ptian Myths. — Historical Writings of Herodotus,' Diodorus, Eratosthenes, Apollodo- rus, and Manetho. — Modern Discovery of the Ro- setta Stone and Deciphering of Hieroglyphic In- scriptions. — Difference Among Modem Egyptolo- gists as to the Antiquity of Egypt. SECTION III. Political History, 44-62 Periods of Egj'ptian History. — Founding of the First Dynasty at Memphis by Menes. — Contempo- rary Dynasties. — Fourth Dynasty at Mei:iphis and the Great Pyramids. — High Civilization under the Fourth Dynasty. — Contemporary Dynasties. — Five Kingdoms in Egypt. — Great Power of Thebes. — Conquest of Lower Egypt by the Shepherd Kings. — Greatness of Thebes under the Twelfth Dynasty. — The Labyrinth and Lake Moeris. — Conquest of Upper Egypt by the Shepherd Kings. — End of the Old Empire. — ^The Middle Empire under the Shep- herd Kings. — Their Barbarous Rule. — Absence of Records — Expulsion of the Shepherd Kings. — All Egypt United under the New Empire Over a Thousand Years. — Prosperity, Power and High Civilization of Eg^'pt under the Eighteenth, Nine- teenth and Twentieth Dynasties. — Amasis, Anien- set, Thothmes IV. — Great Sphinx. — Amunoph III. and the two Colossi. — Vocal Memnon. — Horus. — Rameses I. — Seti and the Great Hall of Karnak. — Rameses the Great. — Rameseum at Thebes. — Height of Egyptian Art. — Menepta and the Exo- dus. — Rameses III. and the Temple-Palace at Thebes. — His Successors. — Decline of Egypt. — The Priest-Kings. — Temporary Revival under the Twenty-second Dynasty Founded by Sheshonk I. — Disturbed Condition of Egypt under the next two Dynasties.— Conquest of Egypt by Sabaco the Ethiopian. — His Defeat by Sargon of Assyria at Raphia. — Assyrian Conquest of the Delta. — Tirha- kah. — As.syrian Conquest of Egypt. — Psammeti- chus Recovers the Independence of Egypt. — Mi- gration of the Warrior Caste to Ethiopia. — Reign of Neko. — Commerce. — Circumna\ngation of Af- rica. — Neko Defeated by Nebuchadnezzar of Baby- lon at Carchemish. — Reign of Uahabra. — Egypt Tributary to Babylon. — Amasis Throws off the Babylonian Supremacy. — Defeat of Psammenitus at Pelnsium and Persian Conquest of Egypt. — Table of Kings. SECTION IV. Egyptian Civilization 63-89 Origin of the Egj^ptians. — Their Physical Char- adleristics. — Egj'ptian Tribes. — Intelledlual and Moral Qualities of the Egyptians. — Government. — The King. — His Sacred Charadter. — His Rights and Duties Stridlly Prescribed by the Sacred Books. — Castes.— Priests.— Their Mode of Life.— Their As- cendency over the People. — Priestly Professions. — Physicians. — Military Caste. — Common People. — Egyptian Castes Not Absolutely Fixed. — Intermar- riages and Transitions. — Ev-ils of the Caste System. — Its Tendency to National Decay. — Egj'ptian Land System.— Agricultural Laborers.— Egyptian Laws.— Egyptian Army.— War Chariots. — Archery.— Weajj- ons of Warfare. — Treatment of Prisoners. — Muti- lation of the Enemy's Slain. — Climate of the Nile Valley. — Vegetables. — .■\nimals. — M'nerals.— Causes of' Egypt's Produdliveness. — Cause of its Dense Popuia'tion. — Agriculture. — Song to Oxen. — Care of Animals.— Field Sports.— Beasts of Bur- den. — Egvpt an ObjeA of Interest in All Ages. — Density of its Ancient Population. — Memphis and Thebes.— Architedlure. — Pyramids and Obelisks. — Egvpt the Ancient World's School.— Progress in Sci'ence.— Skill in the Finer Mechanical Arts.— Egyptian Language. — Art of Writing. — Three Kinds of Writing. — Hieroglyphics and Papyrus.— Discovery of the Rosetta Stone and the Key to the Hieroglyphics. — Dr. Young and Champollion. — EgA-ptian Custom of Recording Everything in PiAures and Writing.— Sources of our Knowledge of the Ancient Egyptians.— Revelation of Domestic Scenes from the Egyptian Tombs. — Progress in the Arts thus Demonstrated. — High State of Civ- ilization thus Shown. — Curious Scenes. — Egyp- tian Dress. — Trades and Occupations. — Stone Cut- ting. — Commerce. — Sculpture and Painting. — Re- ligious Character of Egyptian Art.— The Great Temple-Palace at Medinel-.Vbu. — Eg}-ptian Tombs. —Custom of Embalming the Dead.— Paintings and Sculpture in the Tombs.— Chambers in the Tombs. — Scenes Represented in the Tombs. — Process of Embalming. — Mummies of -Animals. — Methods of Embalming. (xi) XII TABLE OF CONTENTS. SECTION V. Egyptian Mythology and Religion, . 89-100 Religious charadler of the Ancient Egyptians. — Character of their Religion. — Two Kinds of Relig- ion. — Three Orders of Gods. — The Eight Gods of the First Order. — Amun. — Kueph. — Phthah. — Kheni. — Phrah. — Reason for Two Systems. — Second Order of Gods. — Third Order. — Change in the Third Order. — Typhon. — Myth of Osiris and Isis. — Plutarch's Explanations. — Allegorical Mean- ing. — Phthah the Chief God in Lower Egypt. — Amun in Upper Egypt.— Comparison of Amun with Phthah. — Phrah the Life-Giving God. — God's of Upper Egypt. — Comparison of Egypt's Gods with those of Greece. — Local Deities. — Animal Worship. — Sacred Animals.' — Sacred Bull, Apis, of Memphis. — Place of Burial. — Animals Sacred in One Place not so in Another Place. — Mummies of Sacred Animals. — Reasons for Animal Worship. — Religious Festivals. — Religious Daily Life of the People. — Priests. — Orders of the Priesthood. — Gloomy Chara<5ler of the Egj'ptian Religion. — Egyptian Temples. — Temple of Amun. — Do(flrine of the Soul's Immortality. — Transmigration of the Soul. — Comparison with the Hindoo DoiSlriue. — Reasons for Ornamenting the Egyptian Tombs and Embalming the Dead. — Ritual for the Dead. — Be- lief in Future Rewards aud Punishments. — Em- balming the Dead. — Funeral Ceremonies. — Trial of the Dead.— Burial of the Wicked.— Of the Good. — Sacred Lakes. — Influence of these Cere- monies on the People. — The Soul's Trial before the Tribunal of the Gods.— Hall of the Two Truths SECTION VI. The Ancient Ethiopians . 100-103 The Ancient Ethiopians and their Country. — Their Antiquity. — Savage and Civilized Ethiopians. — Fertility of Ethiopia. — Monuments. — Meroe and Its Caravan Trade. — Its Red Sea Ports. — Animals. — Kingdom of Meroe. — Its History. — Ethiopian Kings of E.gj'p^. — Egj'ptian Migration to Ethiopia. — Destrudtion of the Persian Army of Invasion by Famine. — Ethiopiau Religion. — The Priesthood and Their Influence. — TempIes.^Power of the Priests Over the Kings. — Ethiopian Queens. — Can- dace and her War with the Romans. — Judaism and Christianity Successfully Established in Ethiopia. — Christiauity Still the Religion of Abyssinia. — Pyramids of Meroe. — Kingdom of Axume and Its Capital, Axum. — Ruins of Axum. — Inscription on a Stone Slab. — King Aeizemus. — Nubian Pyra- mids. — Temples near Merawe. — Great Rock Tem- ple of Ipsambul. — Ruins of Barkal. — Rock-hewn Temples. — Jleroe as an Ancient Commercial Em- porium. — Causes of its Extindlion. CHAPTER II.— CHALDEAN EMPIRE. SECTION I. Geography ok Chald^ea 105-107 Cradle of Asiatic History and Civilization. — Ancient Date in Chaldaean History.— Testimony of the Hebrew Scriptures. — Land of Shinar. — The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. — Geographical and Political Divisions in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley. — Mesopotamia. — Chaldsea, or Babylonia. — Susi- ana. — Assyria. — The Three Great Empires in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley. — Antiquity of Chaldsea. — Its Fertility and Produdlions. — Testimony of He- rodotus and Other Writers. — Brick and Bitumen. — Climate of Chaldsa, or Babylonia. — Animals. — Cities. — Testimony of the Book of Genesis. — Ur of the Chaldees and Its Ruins. — Other Cities. SECTION II. Sources of Chaldean History, . . . 107-108 Berosus. — The Old Testament. — Herodotus, Cte- sias and Diodorus Siculus. — Modern Investigation. — Explorations of Layard and Others at Nineveh, Babylon and Other Ancient Cities. — Cuneiform Inscriptions. — The Canon of Ptolemy. — Assyrian Canon. — Modern Writers. SECTION III. Political History 10S-113 Origin of Chaldrea.^Dynasties According to Be- rosus. — Mosaic Account of Nimrod.^His Charac- ter and Deification. — Universal Tradition of Nim- rod. — Migrations from Chaldtea. — Urukh and His Great Temples. — Ilgi. — His Signet-cylinder in the British Museum. — Conquest of Chaldsea by a Susianian or Elamite Dynasty. — Kudur-Nakhunta. — Kadur-Lagamer and His Conquest of Canaan. — His Successors. — Third and Fourth Dynasties. — New Style of ArchiteAure.— Conquest of Chal- daa by an Arabian Dynasty. — Kharamurabi aud His Great Canal. — His Successors. — Wars and Marriage-Alliances with Assyria. — Assyrian Con« quest of Chaktea. — Table of Kings. SECTION IV. CHALD.SAN Civilization 11 3- 120 Nimrod, Urukh, and Ch :;dorlaomer. — Rawlinson on Cbaldceau Civilization. — Chaldffian Architec- ture. — Brick and Bitumen. — Temples. — Dwellings. — Tombs. — Brick Vaults. — Dish-cover Coffins. — Double-jar Coffins. — Sepulchral Mounds.— Drain- age of the Mounds. — Cuneiform Writing. — Clay Tablets. — Legends on Bricks. — Pottery. — Figures on Clay Tablets. — Arms, Implements aud Orna- ments. — Implements of Stone and Bronze. — Cloths and Textile Fabrics. — Gem Engraving. — Si.£;net- cylinders and Their Seals and Legends. — Com- merce.— Caravan Trade. — " Ships of Ur." — Articles of Foo4. — Astronomy and Arithmetic. — Weights aud Measures. — Chald^a's Legacy to Posterity. SECTION V. Chaldean Cosmogony and Religion . 120-132 Chaldsean Account of the Creation as Given by Bero.sus. — Likeness Between Chaldaean and Jewish Legends. — Assyrian Account of the Creation as Deciphered from the Tablet Inscriptions. — Myth- ical Antediluvian Dynasty of Berosus. — Chaktean Account of the Deluge as Related by Berosus. — Assyrian Account from the Tablets. — Traditions of a Great Flood in Countries Subjedl to Overflows. — Link Between Chaldaean and Jewish Legends. — Account of the Tower of Babel by Berosus. — Raw- linson's View of Chaldaean Mythology. — Polythe- istic Religion of Chaklrea. — Grouping of the Chal- daean Deities. — Chief Deity. — First Triad and Their Wives. — Second Triad and Their Wives. — Five Planetary Deities. — Inferior Deities. — Relationship of the Deities. — II or Ra. — Ana and Anata.--Bel- Nimrod. — Beltis or Mulita. — Hea or Hoaand Dav- kina. — Sin or Hurki, and the Great Lady. — San or TABLE OF CONTENTS. XIll Sansi, ami Cula or Aminit. — Vul or Iva, and Sliala or Tahu^Nin or Niiiip. — Merodacli. — Nergal. — Ishtar or Nana. — Symbolical Myth of Islitar. — Nebo. — Astronomical CliaraJabonadius Attacked and De- feated by Cvrus. — Belshazzar's Feast. — Capture of Babylon by Cyrus, and End of the Babylonian Em- pire. — Table of Kings. T.inLIi Of CONTENTS. XV SECTION III. Babylonian Civilization 279-298 Professor Rawliuson on the Baln'loiiian Empire. — The Later Babyloiiiaus a Mixcil Race. — Semitiz- ing of the Old Chald;tan ropulation. — Thysical Characteristics of the Later Babyloiiiaus. — Their Hair and Beards. — Babylonian Women. — Physical Similarity of the .-Xssyrians and Babylonians. — In- tellenicia. — Capture of Tyre by Sennacherib. — Revolt of Sidon. — Its Recon- quest by Esar-haddou of .\ssyria. — Revolt of the Phoenician Cities Subdued by .\sshur-bani-pal. — Egyptian Supremacy over Phoenicia. — Babylonian Supremacy. — Thirteen Years' Siege of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar. — Defeat of the Egyptians. — Phoe- nicia under Medo-Persian Rule. — Siege and Cap- ture of Tyre by Alexander the Great. — Phoenicia under the Macedonian Dominion. — Subsequent History. SECTION III. Phoenician Commerce and Colonies, . 321-323 The Phoenicians the Leading Manufacturing, Commercial, Colonizing and Maritime People of .\nti'pt 133 First Great Empires., I34.i35 Ancient Asia Minor.. 303 Primitive Settlements . , 334 Canaan, Egypt and Route of the Israelites 335 Ancient Palestine 336 Solomon's Kingdom and Phoenicia. 385 MAP OF THE WORLD According to P091FU.M11S MELA About A. D. 50 no 30 c o s c j^ f r c'^ Jf Q TIAP OF UK WORLD Acco>-ding to IIONVSUS PEItlEliKTES T e r h i a ' » 1 n I r a lis! :,^'"* I » llVl £"""" ;,>'6*' ril* »i''h l-^ Canl' El'! Si ^a-s Ijnea sequinocUa :„».»"" '*• •Scorl ' W ,H«' jffan> S»V' .9inm 1> 2 U M' ,*"■' .i4"* J cSi«' O.^P^- C 6.1 „*>■** .•'■-'" .S? ■•■'olmrr..,f,r .,,t»' Co' ,tl"*' :vi»7,»>.«'' ii\S' ci?/ .*"•'*. .,^i"* :UT^ S»< K^l^' gii a/' 90 150 170 lao INTRODUCTION, ISTORY is a record of events which have occurred among mankind; embracing an ac- count of the rise and fall of nations, and other great muta- tions which have affected the political and social condition of the human race. In a more limited sense, Historj- is a record of the progress of mankind in civilization; and, therefore, deals especiallj^ with those na- tions which have performed great achieve- ments and exerted a commanding influence upon the fortunes of the human race. The Historyi of Civilization is that department of History which treats of the progress of dif- ferent nations in the arts, sciences, litera- ture and social culture. The Philosophy of History treats of the events of the past in conneiflion with their causes and conse- quences, and deduces from them certain principles, which nvxy ser\^e as a guide to statesmen in condudting the affairs of na- tions. Thus, Historj' has been called "philosophy teaching bj^ example;" and, as a celebrated writer has observed; "Social advancement is as completely under the control of natural law as is bodily growth. The life of an individual is a miniature of the life of a nation." Sacred History is that which is contained in the sacred scriptures; as distinguished from Profane History, as recorded in other books. Eeelesiastical His- tory is the History of the Christian Church; while Civil or Political History deals with the rise, progress and fall of nations. Chronology is that department of Histor>' which treats of the precise time or date of each event with respecft to some fixed time called an era or epoch. Chronology and Geography have been called the two eyes of Historj'. The one tells when, the other where, events have occurred. Christian nations compute time from the birth of Chri.st; while Mohammedan nations reckon 1— 2.-U. H. C from the Hegira, or Mohammed's flight from Mecca, which event occurred in the year 622 of the Christian era. The Ancient Greeks dated from the first Olympiad, 776 3'ears before the Christian era; the Ancient Romans from the founding of Rome, 753 years before the Christian era; and the An- cient Babylonians from the Era of Nabon- assar, 747 years before the Christian era. No dates can be established with certainty for events in Ancient History of any period more than five centuries before Christ. Concerning the human race outside of na- tions, there is much important and interest- ing knowledge furnished by different sci- ences. Among these sciences, as aids to History proper, are Ethnology, or the science of the various races or types of mankind; Archeology, or the science of the ancient works of man; Philology, or the science of language; and Anthropology, or the science which deals with man in natural history\ Historj' is generallj' divided into three great epochs — Ancient History, Mediceval History, and Modern History. Ancient His- torj^ begins with the first appearance of his- toric records, and ends with the fall of the Western Roman Empire, A. D. 476. Me- difeval Histor>\ or the Historj' of the Middle Ages, extends from the fall of Rome, A. D, 476, to the Discover>' of America, A. D. 1492. Modem History embraces the period from the Discovert' of America to the pres- ent time. Sometimes, however, the world's history is divided into only two great pe- riods — Ancient and Modern; Ancient His- tor>' embracing the whole period before the fall of Rome, A. D. 476, and Modem His- tory comprising the entire period since that event. This double division is perhaps the more logical of the two, as ancient civiliza- tion passed away with the extineftion of the Western Roman Empire, while modern na- tions and modern institutions took their rise 25) 26 INTRO D UCTION. from that point. The triple division, how- ever, is the more convenient, and for that reason we shall follow it in this work. The three sources of History are written records, architecftural monuments and frag- mentary remains. Several races of men have disappeared from the globe, leaving no records inscribed upon stone or parchment. The existence and charadter of these people can only be inferred from fragments of their weapons, ornaments and household uten- sils, found in their tombs or among the ruins of their habitations. Among these races were the Lake-dwellers of Switzerland; the prehistoric inhabitants of the Age of Stone and the Age of Bronze of the British Isles; the builders of the shell-mounds of Denmark and India; and the Mound-build- ers of the Mississippi Valley. The discovery of monuments of great an- tiquity has aided vastly in ascertaining the date of ancient events. The Parian Marble, brought to England from Smyrna by the Earl of Arundel, contains a chronological arrangement of important events in Grecian history from the earliest period to 355 B. C. The Assyrian Canon, discovered by Sir Henrj' Rawlinson, the great English anti- quarian, consists of a number of clay tab- lets, construcfled during the reign of Sarda- napdlus, and containing a complete plan of Assyrian chronology, verified by the record of a solar eclipse which must have occurred June 15, 763 B. C. The Fasti Capitolini, discovered at Rome, partly in 1547 and partly in 1817 and 1818, contains in frag- mentary records a list of Roman magistrates and triumphs from the beginning of the Roman Repi.blic to the close of the reign of Augustus. The Rosetta Stone, discovered by a French militar>' engineer during Bona- parte's expedition to Egypt in 1798, con- tains inscriptions in the Greek and Egyptian languages, the deciphering of which has led to tlie discoverj' of a key to the meaning of thehieroglj'phic inscriptions on the Egyptian monuments. The fragmentary writings of Sanchoniathon give us some light on Phoeni- cian history; those of Berosus on Babylonia and Assyria; Manetho's lists of the thirty dynasties of Egyptian kings afford us val- uable information; and the works of Herod- otus, the " Father of History," have given us a graphic account of the ancient nations -^their annals, manners and customs, as well as a geographical description of the countries which they inhabited. The imposing temples and palaces of Egypt, Assyria, and India have only afforded historic materials since the diligent research of European scholars and antiquarians has succeeded in deciphering the inscriptions which they bore. Within the present gen- eration the discoveries of these European orientalists have added wonderfullj' to our knowledge of primeval ages, and explained in a remarkable manner the brief allusions of the Hebrew Scriptures. Thus within the last century the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, the deciphering of the Egyptian hieroglyphics, and the labors of those learned French Egyptologists Champollion and Ma- riette, have given us a flood of new light upon ancient Egyptian times; while the ex- humations and discoveries of those celebrated English archsEologists and antiquarians, L,ayard and Rawlinson. in the Tigris-Eu- phrates valleys, have almost recast the his- tory of Assy ria^ Chaldsea, and Babylonia; and the patient explorations and exhumations of that German savant, Dr. Schliemann, upon the site of ancient Troy, between the years 1869 and 1873, have been rewarded with the discovery of many interesting architecftural remains and furnished new illustrations of the "tale of Troy divine." The oldest remaining books are the He- brew Scriptures, which, in the Mosaic cos- mogony, describe the origin of the universe and the creation of the first pair, Adam and Eve, and their fall from a state of innocence and purity; the murder of their son Abel by his brother Cain; the genealogy of the pa- triarchs of the antediluvian period; the de- struc5lion, by a great Deluge, of the whole human race, except Noah and his wife and his three sons and their wives, and their salvation in the Ark, which rested on Moinit Ararat, in Armenia; the vain attempt of Noah's descendants to avert a similar pun- w N o w p > td M 5 N o D Men Di'KtNG TRK Stone Age. Men during the KRONZt Age. VKEHISTORIC MAN. Medeak Nohle. Assyrian Hi(;h Pkikst Assyrian King. THE EARLIEST HISTORICAL T1ME& INTRODUCTION. 27 ishmcnt by building the great Tower of Babel, and the consequent Confusion of Tongues and the Dispersion of the human race, which led to the peopling of everj' quarter of the globe by the descendants of Noah's sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The writings of Berosus, the Babylonian historian, also describe the Creation, the Deluge and the Confusion of Tongues. Every civilized nation and savage tribe has some vague idea of a great flood that once covered the earth, but they all differ in their details. We have already alluded to the writings of Sanchoniathon, the Phoenician historian; Berosus, the Babylonian ; Manetho, the Egyptian; Herodotus, the "Father of His- tory," and the great Hebrew lawgiver, Moses, the earliest sacred historian. He- rodotus was the first of Grecian historians. Other Greek writers of historj^ were Thucyd- ides, the great philosophic historian; Xen- ophon, the writer of charming historical romances; Cte.sias; Diodorus Siculus; Polyb- ius; and Plutarch, the charming biogra- pher of antiquity. Ancient Rome produced lyivy, Tacitus, Sallust, and Cornelius Nepos, who have given us the facfls of Roman his- tory. For the history of the ancient He- brews we are indebted to the books of the Old Testament and the works of Josephus, the celebrated Jewish historian, who wrote a complete history of his countrymen in Greek. Among early Christian church his- torians were the Roman Eusebius and the Anglo Saxon, the "Venerable Bede." The Frenchmen Comines and Froissart were celebrated chroniclers of the Middle Ages. The Italian Macchiavelli achieved fame by his historical writings. Among modern historians have been many who have ac- quired celebrity by their works. Such were the great trio of British historians who flour- ished a century ago — Hume, Gibbon and Robertson, whose works have ever since been regarded as standards. In the pres- ent centurj' England has produced many famous writers of history; such as Macaulay, Carlyle. Grote, Thirlwall, Froude, Lingard, Arnold, Alison. Freeman, Rawliuson, Green, Knight, Merivale, Milman, Hallam and others. France, in the last century, pro- duced Rollin and Voltaire; and in the pres- ent centurj' have flourished Thiers, Guiiot, Sismondi, Mignet, Michelet and the broth- ers Thierry. In the last century- Germany gave the world a great ecclesiastical histo- rian in the person of Mosheim; and in the present century a number of German histo- rians have given the world the benefit of their scholarly researches, among whom we may mention Niebiihr, Neander, Rottcck, Heeren, Schlosser, Mommsen, Curtius and Leopold von Ranke. Among American his- torians the most renowned have been Hil- dreth, Prescott, Bancroft, Motley, Lossiug and Parkman. All traditions and written accounts point to Asia as the cradle of the human race. According to the prevalent belief of modem scholars, mankind spent its infancy in the region between the Indus and the Euphrates, the Arabian Sea and the Jaxartes. The ex- adt location of the Garden of Eden, or Par- adise, is not known. The Oriental nations reckon four Paradises in Asia — one near Damascus, in Syria; another in Chaldsea; a third in Persia; and a fourth in the island of Ceylon, where there is a lofty mountain called Adam's Peak. Mankind has been classed by different ethnologists into a variety of races or types of humanity; the most generally accepted classification for the last century being Blu- menbach's division into five races — the Cau- casian, or white race; the Mongolian, or yellow race; the Ethiopian, or black race; the American, or red race; and the Malay, or brown race. The only race which has figured in history is the Caucasian. The history of the civilized world is the hi.story of the Caucasian race. The great historical nations have belonged to this race. The only nations outside of the Caucasian race which have attained to any degree of civili- zation or played the least part in history have been several Mongolian nations, as the Chinese, the Japanese, the ancient Parthi- ans, and the modem Tartars, Turks, and Magyars or Hungarians, and two American 28 INTRODUCTION. Indian nations, the ancient Peruvians, and tlie Aztecs or ancient Mexicans. The Ethi- opian and Malay races have never had any history nor z.ny civilization. The origin of nations has been involved in obscurity, which has only quite recently been removed by the diligent study and the patient research of modern European schol- ars. Investigation into the affinities of the various languages has given us some new knowledge upon this interesting and im- portant subject. Comparing the languages of most of the modern European nations with those spoken by the ancient Romans, Greeks, Medes and Persians, and Hindoos, we observe that all these languages had a common origin, entirely different from those spoken by the ancient Chaldees, Assyrians, Phcenicians, Hebrews, Arabs and Egyp- tians; these latter being related to each other, but not to those of the nations pre- viously named. The former of these lan- guages are called Aryan, the latter Semitic and Hamitic; while the Central Asian Tartar nomads have a language called Turanian. Modern philologists have divided the Cau- casian race into three great branches — the Aryan, Indo-European, or Japhetic; the Semitic, or Shemitic; and the Hamitic. The Arj-an, or Indo-European, branch embraces the Brahmanic Hindoos, the ancient Medes and Persians, and all the European nations, except the Laps and Fins of Northern Eu- rope, the Magyars or Hungarians, the Otto- man Turks, and the Basques of Northern Spain, all five of whom belong to the Tu- ranian or nomadic branch of the Mongolian race. The descendants of Europeans and European colonists in America and other quarters of the globe of course also belong to the Aryan race. The Semitic branch comprises the Hebrews or Israelites, the Arabs, and the ancient Syrians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Phcenicians and Carthagin- ians. The Hamitic branch included the an- cient Chaldees, Egyptians and Ethiopians. The Aryan branch is called Japhetic, be- cause it has been supposed to be descended from Japheth; while the Semitic branch is regarded as the posterity of Shem, and the Hamitic branch as the children of Ham. The name Arj'an means tiller of the soil; wherein this race has differed from the Tu- ranian, or nomadic races of Central Asia. The ancestors of the Indo-European nations, the primitive Aryans in prehistoric ages, occupied that region of Central Asia in which was located the ancient city of Bac- tra, the modern Balk, in Turkestan. Here this primeval race lived and attained to a considerable degree of civilization; pradlic- ing agriculture and cattle-raising, and some of the mechanical arts, such as weaving and sewing, metallurgy, pottery- manufa<5lure, etc. They were also somewhat skilled in architedlure, navigation, mathematics and astronomy. They considered marriage a sacred contradl; and, unlike other Asiatic peoples, they shunned polygamy. Children were regarded as the light of the family cir- cle, as shown by the meaning of the names —boy, bcstoiver of happiness; girl, she that comes rejoicing; brother, supporter; sister, friendly. With regard to the Arj'an or In- do-European race, it is found that the names of many common objedls are very much alike in all the languages and dialecfls spoken by these people. Thus the word house in Greek is domes; in Latin donnis; in Sanskrit, or ancient Hindoo, dama; in Zend, or ancient Persian, demana; and from the same root is derived our word domestic. The words for ploughing, grinding corn, building houses, etc., are also foimd almost similar. This demonstrates that these na- tions must have had a common origin, and that they engaged in farming, making bread and building hou.ses. They also counted up to one hundred, and domesti- cated the most important animals — the cow, the horse, the sheep, the dog, etc.; and were acquainted with the most useful met- als, and armed with iron hatchets. The primitive Aryans were monotheists in relig- ion and worshiped a personal God. The Aryan or agricultural races had the patri- archal form of government, like the Tura- nian or nomadic races of Central Asia; but the father, or head of the family, was sub- jecfl to a council of seven ciders, whose INTRODUCTION. 29 chief was king, and from whose decision there was an appeal to heaven in the ordeal of fire and water. The Aryans followed their leaders and kings, and fixed the dis- tiuiflion between right and wrong by laws and customs. All these fadls can be proven by the evidence of language, on the author- ity of Max Miiller and other eminent phi- lologists. The rapid increase of the Aryan popula- tion in its primeval home led to a division of this primitive people into three branches — one crossing the Hindoo-Koosh and over- spreading the plateau of Iran and laying the foundations of the great Median and Medo-Persian Empires; another moving southeastward across the Indus and becom- ing the ancestors of the Brahmauic Hindoos; and a third migrating into Europe in suc- cessive hordes, as represented by the Pelas- gic, Celtic, Teutonic and Slavonic nations, whose descendants now occupy the greater part of Europe. These Aryan immigrants into Europe seized the lands of the original Turanian inhabitants, whose descendants are represented by the modern Basques of Northern Spain and the Laps and Fins of Northern Russia and Scandinavia. The Aryan immigrants into Europe occu- pied different portions of the continent. The Pelasgians settled in the Grecian and Italian peninsulas of Southern Europa, and founded the Greek and Roman nations. The Celts spread over Western Europe, em- bracing the Spanish peninsula, Gaul and the British Isles; and became the ancestors of the ancient Spaniards and Gauls, and the Welsh, Irish and Highland Scotch. The Teutons occupied Central Europe and the Scandinavian peninsula; and became the progenitors of the Goths and Vandals, and the modern Germans, Danes, Swedes, Norwegians, Dutch or Hollanders, and the Anglo-Saxons or English. The Slavonians overspread the vast steppes of Eastern Eu- rope; and their descendants are represented by the ancient Sarmatians and the modern Russians, Poles, Bohemians, Servians, Bul- garians, Bosnians and Croatians. The Aryan or Indo-European branch of the Caucasian race has always played the leading part in civilization; and has been the most acflive, enterprising and intelledl- ual in the world's history. The Aryans have always been peculiarly the race of progress; and have surpassed all others in the devel- opment of civil liberty, the perfedlion of law, social advancement, and their progress in art, science, literature, invention, and mode of living. The Aryans alone have originated, developed and perfedted con- stitutional, representative and republican government. The present and the future belong wholly to this highest type of human development. The Semitic branch has been noted for religious development, having given rise to three great monotheistic religions — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam or Mohammedan- ism. The Hamitic branch were famous builders, and their architecflural strucftures in Chaldsea and Egypt were noted for their massive grandeur. The Semitic and Hamit- ic nations, after attaining a certain degree of civilization, remained stationary; and their civilization has utterly perished. After the dispersion of mankind into various quarters, men chose different occu- pations and modes of living, according to the diversities of their places of residence. The inhabitants of steppes and deserts, in- terspersed only here and there with fertile pasture grounds, became shepherds and roved with their tents and herds from place to place, thus becoming nomads or wander- ers; and their occupation was the breeding of cattle and sheep. Those who occupied favorable districts on the sea-coast soon dis- covered, as population increased and their resources developed, the advantages of their situation. They accordingly pracfliced navi- gation and commerce, and sought for wealth and comfort, in furtherance of which ob- jedls they ereefled elegant dwelling houses and founded cities; whilst the inhabitants of less hospitable shores subsisted by means of fisheries. The dwellers upon plains adopted agriculture and the peaceful arts; whilst the rude mountaineer gave himself up to the cha.se, and, moved by a violent im- 30 IN TROD UCTION. pulse for freedom, found his delight in wars and battles. By taming wild cattle, man very early procured for himself domesticated animals. Commerce was a mighty fadtor in the de- velopment and civilization of the human race, and the intercourse among nations. Those who occupied fruitful plains, or the banks of navigable rivers, carried on an in- land trade. The inhabitants of the sea-shores conducfted a coasting trade. At first men exchanged, or bartered, one article for another. At a later period thej' adopted the plan of fixing a certain specified value upon the precious metals, and employed coined money as an artificial and more con- venient medium of exchange. The dwell- ers in towns occupied themselves with me- chanical employments and inventions; and cultivated the arts and sciences for the com- fort, happiness and refinement of life and for mental culture and development. In the course of time nations became di- vided into civilized and uncivilized, as their intelledlual development was furthered by talents and commerce, or retarded and cramped by dullness and by isolation from the rest of mankind. Uncivilized nations are either wild hordes under an absolute and despotic chief who wields unlimited power over his followers, or wandering nomadic tribes, guided by a leader, who, as father of the family, exercises the funiflions of law- giver, governor, judge and high-priest. Neither the wild hordes under their des- potic chiefs, occupying the unknown regions of Africa (Negroes), the steppes and lofty mountain ranges of Asia, the primeval forests of America ( Indians ), and the numerous islands of Oceanica (Malays), nor the nomadic races with their patriarchal government, find any place in history. This subjecft only deals with those nations who have attained to .some degree of civilization and have from similarity of customs and for mutual advantage engaged in peaceful inter- course with each other, and who have made considerable progress in the science of civil government and the development of politi- cal institutions. The oldest civilizations were those found in the Tigris-Euphrates and Nile valleys, in the Hindoo peninsula, and in the remote empire of China. The exa(ft origin of the ancient nations and civilizations is lost in the dimness of their remote antiquity. These regions were richly endowed by na- ture with the resources necessary for sus- taining a dense population; and the oldest historic empires accordingly took their rise in the rich alluvial lands watered by the Tigris and the Euphrates in South-western Asia and by the Nile in North-eastern Africa. Historical Asia is South-western Asia ; where the great Hamitic and Semitic em- pires of Chaldcea, Assyria and Babylonia successively flouri.shed, in the Tigris-Eu- phrates valleys; where the Hebrews and the Pha-nicians played their respecftive parts in the world's historic drama; and where the Aryan race finally came upon the scene in the appearance of the great Median and Medo-Persian Empires and the Graeco-Mace- donian Empire of Alexander the Great and his successors, followed by the Parthian, Eastern Roman and New Persian Empires; after which the Semitic race again prevailed in the sudden rise of Mohammed's religion and the great empire founded by his suc- cessors; followed by the conquests of the Seljuk Turks from Tartary, the two centu- ries of warfare between Christendom and Islam for the possession of the Holy Land as represented in the Crusades, the terrible scourges of the conquering Mongol and Tartar hordes of Zingis Khan and Tamer- lane; and, lastly, the rise of the now-de- caying Mohammedan empires of the Otto- man Turks and the modern Persians. All that part of Asia north of the Altai mountains, now known as Siberia, is a com- paratively barren region and was unknown in antiquity. Central Asia, now called Tar- tan,' and Turkestan, was anciently known as Scythia, and was then as now occupied b}-^ nomadic hordes who have roamed over those extensive pastoral lands for countless ages with their flocks and herds, having no fixed abodes or cities and no other polit- INTRODUCTION. 3» ical arrangements than the patriarchal form of government. Accordingly, the Turan- ian races inhabiting that region have played no part in history, except that the Tartar and Mongol races inhabiting those vast steppes have at times overrun and con- quered the civilized countries of South- western and Southern Asia. Thus, with the single exception of Egypt, all the ancient Oriental nations had their seat in Asia. The populous empires of India, China and Japan — though they con- tributed their jewels, spices, perfumes and silks to the luxury of the people of South- western Asia — were almost unknown to the ancient Greeks and Romans; and though their art and literature are vast, these had no influence upon the general course of the world's progress. China and Japan are two ancient empires which have continued to exist with but little change to the present time. The nations of Farther India are almost unknown to histon,'; while Hindoo- stan, the seat of a dense Aryan population from the earliest antiquity, and one of the oldest civilizations, as attested by vast architectural remains and a copious religious literature, was unknown to history until Alexander's invasion, and became .succes- sively the prey of Arabian, Afghan, Tartar, Mongol, Portuguese and British conquest. The only historical part of Africa is Northern Africa, or that part of the conti- nent bordering on the Mediterranean sea and watered by the Nile; and the only great nations of ancient Africa were Egypt, Ethi- opia and Carthage. All the rest of the vast continent was a dark region wholly un- known to the ancient civilized nations of South-western Asia and Europe; and only within the last four centuries have its West- em, Southern and Eastern coasts been dis- covered, explored, taken possession of and colonized by Europeans; while the interior has been but partialh' visited by European explorers, within the last hundred years. Southern Europe was the seat of the greatest tvvo nations of antiquity — the Greeks and the Romans — the former by their literature and philosophy and their political freedom, and the latter by their laws and political institutions, influencing all future European nations. The other nations of ancient Europe were barbarians, many of whom were conquered and civilized by the Romans. The overthrow of the Ro- man dominion in the fifth century after Christ entirely changed the current of European history^ by a redistribution of its population through the migrations and con- quests of its vast hordes of Northern bar- barians, who fourteen centuries ago laid the foundations of the great nations of modern Europe. America and Oceanica were wholly unknown to the ancient inhabitants of the Old World, and have only occupied the field of historj' since their discovery and settle- ment by Europeans within the last four cen- turies. History deals only with civilized man, and history proper only begins with the origin of civilized nations and with the commencement of historical records. Ac- cordingly, the cradle of civilization — if not the cradle of the human race — was the fer- tile alluvial Tigris-Euphrates and Nile val- leys, where, with the dawn of civilization, flourished the old Chaldaean and Egyptian empires — the most remote of historical states of antiquity. Historj- begins with Egypt, the oldest of historical nations. Civilization and human progress have in the main followed the course of the sun. In the East arose those great nations and cities from which other lands have derived a part of their civil institutions, their religion and their culture. In the East, the land of the camel, the "ship of the desert," originated that caravan trade which contributed so vastly to human progress. To protedt them- selves against the rude Bedouins, the Ori- ental merchants traveled in large companies, often armed, conveying their wares upon the backs of camels from place to place. These connnercial journeys gave rise to many commercial cities and centers of trade, oc- casioned the erection of store-houses and caravansaries, and led to intercourse between distant nations and to an interchange of pro- du(5lions, religious institutions and .social INTRODUCTION. policy. Temples and oracles of celebrity often served for markets and warehouses. In the East all the great religions took their rise and gained their full development, as the Orientals have always been the most contemplative on all that concerns man's relations to the Deity. In the East the patriarchal and despotic governments alone prevailed. Where the system of castes pre- vailed, the priests and soldiers constituted the privileged classes, from both of which ultimately arose the unlimited kingly power; and the officers of state were regarded as slaves and menials, without personal rights or property. The king, who was regarded with almost as much reverence as the Deity, disposed of the lives and possessions of his subjeifls at will. He gave and took away at his pleasure, and no one dared to appear before him without prostrating his body on the ground. He lived like a god, in the midst of pleasure and enjoyment, surrounded by hosts of slaves, who obeyed his wishes, executed his orders, and submitted them- selves to his pleasures; and he was surround- ed by all the wealth and possessions, by all the pomp and splendor, of the world. In these Oriental governments laws and human rights were nowhere; despotism and .slavery prevlailed; and consequently there was no incentive to vital energy and no capability of permanent civilization. For this reason all Oriental states have become the easy prey of foreign conquerors, and their early civilization has perished or remained sta- tionary. By original disposition, the Orientals are more inclined to contemplative ease and en- joyment than to adlive exertion; and for this reason they have never attained to free- dom and spontaneous acfkivity, but have quietly submitted to their native rulers, or groaned under the yoke of foreign oppress- ors. After reaching a certain degree of civilization, they submitted themselves to an unenterprising pursuit of pleasure, and thus by degrees became .slothful and effemi- nate. Their pracflice of polygamy further promoted their effeminacy. Oriental archi- tedlure was noted for its gigantic designs and its imposing grandeur; but it did not display the symmetry, harmony and utility characfteristic of the architedlure of a free people. Slavery paralyzed every outward manifestation of Oriental life. Besides being the cradle of the human race, Asia is the birth-place of the great re- ligions and the home of absolute despotism. The two great pantheistic religions — Brah- manism and Buddhism; also the great mon- otheistic religions — Zoroastrianism, Juda- ism, Christianity and Mohammedanism — arose in Asia; while Asiatic governments to-day are what they have been from time immemorial — absolute monarchies, or des- potisms; no republic or constitutional mon- archy ever having flourished on Asiatic soil. Europe, on the contrary, inhabited by the progressive Aryan race, has carried political institutions to the highest state of develop- ment; civil, political, and religious liberty having had a steady growth. Asiatic civili- zation has been stationary, while European civilization has been progressive. The Asiatics are passive, submissive, given to contemplative ea.se and disinclined to adlive exertion. The Europeans are a(5live, ener- getic, vigilant and aggressive. Europe has also colonized other portions of the globe; the greater part of the present populations of North and South America being the de- scendants of Europeans who settled in the New World, and drove away, or assimilated with, the aborigines; while Europeans have also settled in portions of Africa, Asia and Oceanica. The Asiatics, on the other hand, do not colonize. In the Prehi.storic Ages — that is, the ages before recorded history — the patriarchal ioxva. of government prevailed; each father, or head of a family, governing the whole family. Since the formation of nations there have been various forms of governments — Autoc- racy, despotism, or absolute monarchy, where the supreme power is vested in the monarch himself, without anj' restraint or limitation; Limited, or constitutional monarchy, where the power of the monarch is limited by law or by constitutions giving the nobility, or aristocracy, and the masses some share in INTRODUCTION. 33 the government; Aristocracy, or government by nobles or aristocrats; Theocracy, or gov- ernment by the Church in the name of the Deity; Hierarchy , or government by priests; Pure democracy, or government by the peo- ple diredlly; ■a.wA Representative democracy, or republicanism, or government by the people through their chosen representatives. There have been several kinds of republics — aris- tocratic, where the few have governed, and democratic, where the masses through their chosen representatives are the rulers. The best examples of pure democracy were the governments of ancient Athens and ancient Rome, where the people themselves assem- bled in a body for purposes of legislation. This form of democratic government can only exist where a state consists of but a single city with its surrounding territory, as in the cases of the two ancient republics just cited; and is utterly impossible among a population distributed over a vast extent of country. Monarchs are called by different titles, as Emperor, King, Prince, Duke, Sultan, or Czar. The savage and barbarous tribes of Asia, Africa, America and Oceanica are gov- erned by their chiefs; and their govern- ments are simple, as were those of all the original nations. Even the civilized Asiatic nations have always been despotisms. It was only on the soil of Europe, occupied by the progressive Aryan race, that civil lib- erty was bom, and where the masses first obtained any share of political power. A great hindrance to civil freedom among ancient Asiatic and African nations was the system of castes, by which men were sepa- rated according to their occupations and conditions, which were transmitted without the slightest change from generation to gen- eration. The priests, who alone possessed a knowledge of religious customs and institu- tions, and who bequeathed their knowledge to their descendants, comprised the first caste. The soldiers constituted the second caste, and shared with the priests the gov- ernment of the people. The third caste were the tillers of the soil, the fourth caste the artisans, and the fifth caste the shep- herds, who were universally despi.sed. Any one who violated the rules of ca.ste became an outcast. The system of castes prevailed for the longest time in its purest state in India and Egypt. Man is naturally a religious being. A world-wide religious sentiment seems to pre- vail, but there have been many varieties or manifestations of this .sentiment. Thus we have Monotheism, or the belief in one God; Polytheism, or the belief in many gods; Pan- theism, or the system which regards the whole universe, with all its laws and the different manifestations of nature, as the Supreme Being. Many polytheistic and pantheistic nations have made idols, or im- ages, as figures or representations of their deities; and for this rea.son have been called idolators, pagans or heathen. The four great monotheistic religions of the world have been the ancient Persian religion of Zoroaster; Judaism, or the religion of the Jews; Christianity; and Islam, or Moham- medanism. The leading polytheistic relig- ions were those of the ancient Egyptians, Chaldceans, Assyrians, Babylonians, Phoe- nicians, Greeks, Romans and Scandina- vians. The chief pantheistic religions have been the two great religions of Hindoo or- igin — Brahmanism and Buddhism. It is believed that originally monotheism was universal; but that sometime during the prehistoric ages, after the dispersion of mankind into various quarters, most nations fell into polytheism and idolatry. Even among polytheistic religions there is one Supreme Being, who is superior to and above all the other deities; and for this reason all religions have been to some ex tent regarded as monotheistic. There are also some polytheistic features about all monotheistic religions, as the belief in the existence of angels, who, as dwelling in the celestial world, are beings superior to mor- tals. Among ancient nations the only truly monotheistic religions were those of the Hebrews and the Medo-Persians — the one a Semitic and the other an Aryan people. From time immemorial the custom has prevailed among pagan and polytheistic 34 INTRODUCTION. nations of making idols or images of wood, stone, metal or clay, to represent their dei- ties; and these have been fashioned into a great variety of forms. Temples and altars have been erecfted for the worship of these deities; and sacrifices have been offered to them, partly to appease their wrath, and partly to obtain their favor. These sacrifices have varied in charadler with the civiliza- tion cf the people who have offered them. The ancient Greeks and Romans, in their joyous festivals to their gods, socially con- sumed the fruits of the earth and animals from the firstling of a flock to the solemn sacrifice of a hecatomb (a hundred oxen). Savage tribes have slaughtered human be- ings upon their altars, to appease by blood the wrath of their offended deities. The Phoenicians and Syrians placed their own children in the arms of a red-hot idol, Mo- loch. At first the image or idol was only a visible symbol of a spiritual conception or of an invisible power; but this higher signi- fication often gave way in the progress of time to the worship of the inanimate image itself; the priests only being sensible of any deeper meaning, which they kept from the people for purposes of their own. To further delude the masses, the priests invented legends, fables and myths about their gods, clothed them in poetic fancy, and thus originated mythology, or the science of their gods. In the.se legends, fables and myths, the deeds of the different gods and their dealings with men were de- scribed in enigmatical allusions, allegories and figurative expressions. The nations with the greatest amount of creative imagi- nation and religious impulse possessed the richer mythology. These stories of the gods incited the people to superstition; and the solemn worship in the temples and sacred groves, with their mysterious cere- monies and symbolical usages, maintained a feeling of veneration and religious awe. To inspire in the people a feeling of the di- vine presence, sacred places and temples were provided with oracles, from which the superstitious multitude might get light into the mysteries of the future, in obscure and ambiguous language. In this way and by such means the priesthood swayed the masses in most countries; and thus secured power, honor and wealth for themselves. The people were enslaved by ignorance, credulity, superstition and fear. BRANCHES OF THE CAUCASIAN, THE ONLY HISTORICAL RACE L Aryan, or Indo-European Branch. 1. Hindoos. 2. Medes and Persians. 3. Hellenes, or Greeks. 4. Latin, or Romanic Nations. 1. Ancient Romans. 2. Italians. 3. French. 4. Spaniards and Spanish Americans. 5. Portuguese and Brazilians. 6. Flemings, or Belgians. 7. Roumanians. 5. Germanic or Teutonic Nations. 1. Germans. 2. Danes. "j 3. Swedes. >■ Scandinavians. 4. Norwegians. J 5. Dutch, or Hollanders. 6. English and Anglo-American (A-jglo-Saxon). 7. Scotch Lowlanders. 8. Norman-French. 5. Celtic N.\tions. 1. Ancient Britons, Gauls and Spaniards. 2. Irish, Welsh, and Scotch Highlanders. 3. Bretons (West of France). 7. Sl.wonic N.ations. 1. Russians. 2. Poles. 3. Bohemians. 4. Servians. 5. Bulgarians. 6. Bosnians. 7. Croatians. II. Semitic Branch. 1. Hebrews, or Israelites. 2. Arabs. 3. Syrians. 4. Assyrians and Later Baiivloniaiis. 5. Phcenicians and Carthaginians. III. Hamitic Branch. 1. Chaldees, or Early Babyi-ontans. 2. Egyptians and Ethiopians. — — ff:l ■ ' * / \ 1 ' * 't- fi \ i •- £ r* V 9 ^ iS , Y 1 ■* '^oj ■^ 1 O o CO ■o * ^ ^ -» Jn J * * S 3 = Mi * / w 2 oc 1 ^ ' ' / ih * / ^ o UJ &J ' »: -'^ * ' \ *< / < ic ^--v / "^ ' ^v ^c. J {>\ % / "^^ < i5 ^ 1 I «> ^ ^ /Sh-^?»-*Z/ ■»» \ \\ "- \ ^#^^1 « '"sV ~^ \ r>^ — ^ " Vl '"' ; V ■^'^''^^Ja V S ,^ \ \ "^ 1 \ Tiop^ _r s ^ s ^_^^^ ■* \ I '^ '^ "^ ^ «* € ^.yv • ^^-^"""^"^A./^ .' *J ' / C\^ « &». ^. ■xy\ 1-1 X.W~Jl— ^/^ - Xf x-^^ -, rT) ,, ..-^^ "^ >/ ^l-^ y^ •/■ \ o-/-^^^^"''~''^"~^^r "^ J "^"'^ "^ ^ ^--^^J^'"^'^ p \ 3 ^^/"^"^ ^*='''>i/js)i.l'^ll j I CV >— -"^T * ..-v^*^*^^ * \ -^ / r-'^ i-v. ^.J— '--'"-''^^y /; \ ^— •'"v- /"^(i -^'•^"^ \^ •^ \i " 1 S ?M "a^-^^-^^ ; 1^ H? e5 \ ^i ( '^ll L^^^ 8 M Ik V " 'V"2w^ -I^Rf "^-'"/?'^ 't ^^ ^^ Ph ° / 1 ) ^ 1/ H ^ \ - ^ocO/\ ►.» 1 \ M , 1 =? ) « 1 M S "* ° C M '^ SSfe / C — \ "^ ^^%i f L ■-> \ \ ^ ~ i f ^ \ .\ ; 1 1 ^ / V -^ X ) ^S 1 - i) 9 \ I'-l 5 , 1 /\ *^ ■ '^ ^-t--. \ -i-r-,. " ^^ _ 'ii ir X I y j^ ^ E D I J, ^ ^ 30 W=-^.'^'2fi?#fe% c. Ci, '""an. 20 30 PART FIRST. ANCIENT HISTORY. Medean Noble— Persian Noble— Persias. Assyrian Warrior with Wicker Shield— War- rior WITH RoDND Shield — Archer. ASSYRIAN— Assyrian Noble— Assyrian CotTRTIE« Persian Warrior — Persian Noblk— Persiak Warrior. MEDIA, ASSYRIA. PERSIA. CHAPTER I. ANCIEiNT EGYPT. SECTION I.— THE COUNTRY AND PEOPLE. :;>)lLTHOUGH Asia was the cra- dle of the human race, the cra- dle of civilization was in the Nile valley, which, from the island of Elephantine, in the Nile, northward to the Mediterranean .sea, a distance of five hundred and twenty-six miles, was the seat of ancient Egj'pt, "the mother of the arts and .sciences. ' ' In Egypt ■we first find a civil government and political institutions established; and although Eg>^pt ■may not be the oldest nation, Egyptian his- tor>' is the oldest histor}-. The monuments, records and literature of Egypt are far more ancient than those of Chaldaea and India, the next two oldest nations. The ruins and monuments of ancient civilization found in the Nile valley render that countrj- one of -the most interesting on the globe. While the progress of other nations from ignorance and rudeness to art and civilization may be easil}- traced, Eg}"pt appears in the earliest twilight of history a great, powerful and highly civilized nation; and her gigantic architectural works are the most wonderful, as well as the most ancient in the world, showing a .skill in the quarn-ing, tran.sport- ing, car\'ing and joining of stone which modem architedls may admire but are un- able to surpass. From the earliest antiquity- Egypt has been called "the Gift of the Nile." From time immemorial this renowned land, in the midst of surrounding deserts, has been one ■of the most fertile regions of the globe, and was in consequence the great granary of an- tiquity. This unsurpassed fertility is attrib- \itable to the annual overflow of the Nile, 1— 3.-U. H. occasioned by the heav)- rainfalls in the up- lands of Abyssinia ; so that this mighty stream, the only river of ICgypt, in its whole course through the country from south to north, by its mud deposits renews yearl}^ the .soil of this narrow valley, which really con- stituted ancient Egypt, and who.se average width, from the modem city of Cairo .south to the First Cataracl, does not exceed fifteen miles. The Nile discharges its waters into the Mediterranean through three distindt channels, which branch off from each other about ninety miles from the sea, and which enclose the region called the Delta, from its resemblance in form to the Greek letter of that name. The Delta has always been a region of unsurpassed fertility. The spon- taneous growth of the date-palm furnished the people with a cheap and abundant article of food ; and the immense yield, with com- parativel}- slight labor, of large crops of ce- reals, because of the natural fertility of the soil, rendered this region, from primitive times, capable of sustaining a dense popula- tion, and made it the primeval seat of organ- ized human society. Ancient Egypt was divided into three geographical seclion.s — the Thebais, or Up- per Egypt, in the south ; the Heptanomis, or Middle Egypt, in the centre ; and the Delta, or Lower Egi'pt, in tlie'north. The chief city of the Thebais was the ' ' hundred- gated Thebes," whose ruins, extending for seven miles on both banks of the Nile, a.s- tonish the modern traveler, as he gazes upon the remains of magnificent temples, .splendid, palaces, colossal statues, obelisks, .sphinxes, tombs hewn in the solid rock, stibterranean 41 42 ANCIENT HISTORY.— EGYPT. catacombs, and the gigantic statue of Mem- non. Karnak and Luxor are the portions of Thebes which present the most stately ruins, the most imposing being the great temple at the former place. The most an- cient city of Upper Eg>'pt was This, after- ward called Abj'dos. Other cities of this se(5lion were Lj'copolis, Latopolis, Antasop- oli.s and Ombos. The southernmost points of Egy'pt were Syene and the island of Ele- phantine, in the Nile. The leading city of the Heptanomis was Memphis, on the west side of the Nile, founded \iy Menes, the first Egj'ptian king, and whose wonderful ancient splendor is now attested hy its ruins. In the vicinitj' of Memphis was the famous Lab- j-rinth, and here also are the great Pj-ramids of Ghizeli — the most imposing monuments ever eredted by human hands. Other famous cities of Middle Eg3'pt were Heracleopolis, Hermopolis and Letopolis. The Delta was, in ancient times, thicklj' studded with cities, chief of which were Avaris, or Tanis, Sais, Bubastis, Mendes, Rameses, Heliopolis, Mag- dolon, Pelusium, Canopus and Hermopolis. The famous Greek city of Alexandria, on the western side of the Delta, was, in the later days of antiquity, the metropolis of Egypt, and from its location it became the gi2at commercial center of the civilized world, while being also the seat of learning and civilization. To the .south of ancient Egypt, in the re- gion now embracing Nubia and Aby,ssinia, was the ancient Ethiopia, whose people had also attained a high state of civilization, as is fully proven b}- the existence of ruins along that portion of the Nile valley similar to those of Egypt. On the west of Egypt was the great Libyan Desert, now called the Sahara. The population of ancient Egypt is known to have been at least five millions, and may have been seven millions. They belonged to the Hamitic branch of the Caucasian race, and originally came from Asia, being, ac- cording to the Hebrew account, the descend- ants of Misraim, the grandson of Ham. They were a brown race, mild in their gen- eral charadter, polished in their manners, and were by nature obedient and religious. They were cleanly in their habits and food, and in con.sequence were a healthy, hardy people. SECTION II.— SOURCES OF EGYPTIAN HISTORY, HE historj- of Eg^'pt dates back to the most remote antiquity. The early Egyptians believed that there had been a time when their ancestors were sav- ages and cannibals, dwelling in caves in those ridges of sandstone which border the valley of the Nile on the east ; and that their greatest benefadtors were Osiris and Isis, who rai.sed them into a devout and civ- ilized people, eating bread, drinking wine and beer, and planting the olive. For this reason the worship of Osiris and Isis became general throughout Egypt, while the differ- ent cities and nomes had their own respect- ive local deities. According to Manetho, a native Egyptian historian of the later days of antiquit)-, the first rulers of Egypt were gods, spirits, demigods, and manes, or human souls ; which amounts to saying that the earliest history of Egypt, like that of most other countries, is unknown or in- volved in the obscurity and uncertainty of legend and fable. The history of this great ancient people has been derived from several sources — the historical writings of the ancient Greek his- torians, Herodotus and Diodorus, and the native Egyptian priest Manetho, and in modern times from the deciphering of the inscriptions on the Egyptian monuments and from the discoven- of the records on rolls of pap^TUS found in the tombs. The ancient sources of Egyptian chronol- og\- are obscure and conflicfting. The Greek historians represented the Egyptians as the S()('A'C7-:S OF EGYPTJAX Jf/SICN): 43 first race of nieu. When Herodotus visited Eg\'pt, about the middle of the fifth centurj- before Christ, the native priests read to him, from rolls of pap>TUS, the names of three hundred and forty-one kings, from Menes, the founder of the monarchy, to Seti. In the great temple of Thebes the priests showed Herodotus the wooden images of three hun- dred and forty-five priests, who, from father to son, had held the sacerdotal office during the reigns of these kings. From these data Herodotus estimated the antiquity of Egj'pt to have been nearly twelve thousand years, coiniting three hundred and forty genera- tions from Menes to Seti, with three gener- ations to each century, and reckoning a centur>- and a half from the beginning of Seti's reign to the Persian conquest of Egypt, B. C. 525, which latter event had occurred about seventy-five years before the visit of the "Father of Histon,-" to this celebrated land. According to this computation, based upon the recorded traditions of the Egyptian priests, the founding of the Egyptian mon- archy by Menes occurred more than twelve thousand five hinidred j-ears before Christ. In the first century before Christ, Diodo- rus Siculus, another Greek historian, also visited this renowned land, and to him the priests read from their sacred books the names of four hundred and sevent}' kings, beginning with Menes, with accounts of their appearance, stature and actions. From the information he thus received, giving three generations to a century, Diodorus computed the founding of the kingdom by Menes at nearlj^ seventeen thousand years before his time. But careful research re- vealed to him many errors in the tradition- ary records, and his correcfled accounts assign the founding of the Old Empire by Menes at 4800 B. C. About three centuries before Christ, the learned Greek antiquarian, Eratosthenes, librarian of Alexandria, copied the names of thirt>--eight Theban kings from the holj' books of Thebes, which list W'as finished b\' Apollodorus by adding the names of fifty- three more, thus giving a full list of ninetx- one kings. In the third centurj* before Christ, an Egyptian priest, named Manetho, compiled a history of his country in three volumes, giving the reigns of all the kings from the founding of the monarchy by Menes to the first Persian conquest of Egypt, 525 B. C, through twenty-six dynasties, and through four more dynasties until the final Persian conquest in 346 B. C, making thirty dynas- ties in all. This work was afterward lost, but fragments of it were transcribed by Jo- sephus, Julius Africanus, Eusebius, Syncel- lus, and other historians, and thus handed down to future generations. According to Manetho' s calculation, the founding of the kingdom by Menes occurred in the year 5706 B. C. in the Egyptian reckoning, and in the year 5702 B. C. of the Julian calendar. Manetho' s record of the first seventeen dy- nasties, embracing the periods of the Old Empire and the Middle Empire, is ver>' ob- scure, on account of fa(5ts and dates found recorded in the monumental inscriptions of that long period of over twelve centuries ; and it is hard to decide whether the thirty dynasties w-ere consecutive, or whether sev- eral of them were contemporaneous. This fadl has made it difficult to fix the exacft or approximate date of the establishment of the Old Empire by Menes. A list of the names of kings was also pre- ser\-ed in the Turin Papyrus, recorded more than a thousand years before the Christian era. Other sources of ancient EgA'ptian his- tory are the allusions made to that country in the Hebrew Scriptures. In the past century our knowledge of this famous land has been immen.sely extended by the discovery of the art of deciphering the inscriptions which this ancient people lavishly car\-ed on their buildings and mon- uments, particularly their obelisks, painted on the frescoed insides of their tombs, and adlually cut on nearly all objedls of art or use. These writings and carvings were in the character of what are known as hiero- glyphics, a Greek word signifying sacred carvings or priestly writing The knowl- edge of the reading of these inscriptions per- ished with the decay of ancient Egypt, and 44 ANCIENT HISTORY.— EGYPT. for many centuries the tenn ' ' hieroglyphics ' ' was synonymous with everything mysteri- ous. The unraveHng of this mystery was brought about by an interesting incident. During Bonaparte's invasion of Egypt in 1798, a French engineer, while engaged in digging the foundation of a fort near the Rosetta mouth of the Nile, discovered a stone tablet about three feet long, on which was car\'ed an inscription in three different char- adlers. This tablet has become celebrated as the Rosetta Stone. The lower of the three texts was Greek, and ea.sily tran.slated; the upper text was in the hieroglyphic style, while the middle text was in a character since styled demotic, meaning the writing of the common people (from rt'cwoi-, the people). Copies of this inscription were circulated among the learned men of Europe, and after long and patient efforts the alphabet of the hieroglyphics was discovered ; so that these carved in.scriptions on old Eg\'ptian works of art and archite(5lure can now be easih' and correcflly read, thus giving an abundance of new light on the historj' of this wonderful land of antiquity. The Ro.setta Stone was car\-ed about ig6 B. C, and was an ordi- nance of the Egyptian priests decreeing honors to Ptolemy Epiphanes, one of the famous Greek dynasty who governed Egj'pt during the first three centuries before Christ, and that accounts for the existence of the three texts on the tablet. The great task of deciphering these inscriptions was chiefly the work of the noted French savant, Cham- pollion. On account of the obscurity and uncer- tainty of early Eg}'ptian chronology, modem historians and Egj'ptologists have differed widely as to the antiquity of this most an- cient monarch}-. The French Egyptolo- gists, headed by M. Mariette, place the founding of the First Dynasty by Menes at 5004 B. C. The German Orientalists and Egj'ptologists differ, Bockh fixing the date at 5702 B. C, Dr. Brugsch at 4455 B. C, Lauth at 4157 B. C, Professor Lepsius at 3892 B. C, Baron Bunsen at 3059 B. C, and Dr. Duncker at 3233 B. C. The English Egyptologists, at the head of whom stands Sir Gardner Wilkinson, regard the year 2700 B. C. as about the approximate date; and, as it is necessarj' to have some fixed chronological basis, we will follow the En- glish view in the present work. SECTION III.— POLITICAL HISTORY. |HE history of ancient Egypt has been divided into three di.s- tin(5live periods. The Old Empire extended from the es- tablishment of the First Dy- nasty at Memphis by Menes, in the very earliest times, to the conquest of all Egypt by the Hyksos, or Shepherd Kings, about 1900 B. C. The Middle Empire — the epoch of the rule of the Hyksos over the whole country — embraced the period from 1900 B. C, to the expulsion of the Shepherd Kings in 1600 B. C. The New Empire lasted over a thousand years, from 1600 B. C. to the Persian conquest of Egypt in 525 B. C. , since which time this famous land has not been governed b>' a nati\-e prince. The New Empire was the most brilliant period of Egyptian history, and ma}^ be subdivided into two sharply-distinguished epochs — the grand age, from 1600 B.C. to 1200 B. C; and the age of decay, from 1200 B. C. to 525 B. C. Egypt was originally divided into a num- ber of no7nes or petty states, independent of each other, and each having for its nucleus a temple and an established priesthood. One historian mentions fifty-three nomes. another thirty-six. The gradual absorptiop of the weaker nomes by the more powerful finally resulted in the establishment of this first consolidated monarchy of Africa. The first mortal king of Misraim, the "double laud," was MenES, who, according POLITICAL HISTORY. 45 to Manetho, founded the First l-lgyptian Djnasty at This (afterwards Abydos), in Upper Egypt. This was the beginning of the Oi,D Empire, which lasted from the ear- liest times to the conquest of all Ivgypt by the Hyksos, about 1900 B. C. Menes, the first Egyptian king, conquered and improved Lower Egypt, and on a marshj' tradl which he had drained and protecfled by dykes against the annual overflow of the Nile, he founded the great city of Memphis, which, for many centuries, remained the capital of the flourishing kingdom which he had es- tablished. At Memphis Menes built the temple of Phthah, and there were won the — who was skilled in medicine and wrote works on anatomy, of which portions still exist, and who built the citadel and palace of Memphis. Kenkenes, the third king, was succeeded by Uenephes, who built the Pyramid of Kokome, believed to be the oldest of all those wonderful stru(5lures, and who bore the name of the Sacred Calf of Heliopolis. Altogether the First Dynasty comprised eight kings. The Third Dynasty reigned at Memphis and embraced nine kings. The first of these was Necherophes, who is said to have con- quered Libya, the superstitious Libj-ans having been frightened into submission by THIC GREAT PYRAMID. first recorded triumphs of this ver\- oldest of ancient civilized nations. On the north and west sides of his capital, Menes caused artificial lakes to be construcfted for the de- fense of the city, and on the south side a large dyke protected it against the annual overflow of the Nile. The pul)lic treasures were established in the cit\-, the laws were revised and the civil administration im- proved. After a reign of sixty-two years, Menes is said to have perished in a struggle with a hippopotamus, and was deified by bis admiring countr\-men. Menes was succeeded b\- his .son Atet.v —called Athothis, or Thoth, by the Greeks an eclip.se of the moon as thej- were prepar- ing for battle. Tosorthrus, the second king of this dynasty, encouraged writing, medicine and architedlure, and introduced or improved the art of building with hewn stone, previous structures having been made of rough stone or brick. He was known to the Greeks as the "Peaceful Sesostris," the later two mouarchs bearing that name being great warriors and conquerors. His son and succes.sor, Sasvchis, or Mares-sesorcheres, was a renowned law- giver, who is said to have organized the worship of the gods, and to have invented the sciences of geometry and astronomy. 46 ANCIENT HISTORY.— EGYPT. He is likewise said to have made the remark- able law that a debtor might give his father's mummy as security for a debt. If the debt was not discharged, neither the debtor nor his father could ever rest in the familj' sep- ulcher, and this was regarded as the most disgraceful fate that could befall a mortal. The monumental and more certain historj* of Egypt commences with the Second, Fourth and Fifth Dynasties, which reigned contemporaneously ; the Second at This, in Upper Egypt ; the Fourth at Memphis, in Middle Egypt ; and the Fifth in the Isle of Elephantine, in Upper Egypt. Of these the Fourth Dynasty, established at Memphis about 2450 B. C, was the most powerful and exerci.sed a certain degree of supremacy over the other two. This Memphite dynasty consisted of eight kings, and its greatness is fully attested by the gigantic strudlures of stone which it left in Middle Egypt between the Eib}'an Mountains and the Nile ; so that it was the Fourth Dj-nasty that immortalized itself as that of the Pyramid-builders, and this period is one of the most brilliant in the history of ancient Eg^'pt. The great increase in the population had placed at the king's disposal a large amount of unemployed labor, and the natural pro- ductiveness of the soil had given all ranks far more leisure than was enjoyed by any other people of antiquity. The long dura- Uon of the yearl)' overflow of the Nile cau.sed a perceptible suspension in the various in- dustrial channels, and allowed the sovereigns larger opportunities to employ the labor of the people in works which might carry their fame to countless future ages. Such were the circumstances that led to the building of the great Pyramids — the most gigantic strucflures ever erecfted bj- human hands, and which the kings designed for their tombs. These Pyramids are in the vicinity of the site of the ancient Memphis, about ten miles west of the Nile, on a barren elevation, in the sides of which were chambers hewn out of the solid rock, in which the bodies of the ordinary dead were interred. The kinglj- sarcophagus was assigned a more pretentious sepulcher under more imposing monuments of stone. Gradually the heap of roj-al tombs assumed the form of the Pj-ramids, the struc- ture becoming, by degrees, more regular in- ternally and externally, so that the finished pile has been the wonder of succeeding ages. Along the elevation west of Memphis about seventy of these stupendous strudlures were eredled. Of these, three were specially cel- ebrated becau.se of their size and grandeur. These are the Pyramids of Ghizeli, near which city they^ are located. They were built in the twenty-fifth centurj- before Christ. These three are more conspicuous than the remaining se^-en of the same group in that vicinity. The oldest and largest of the three great Pyramids of Ghizeh is that of Khufu — the Cheops of Herodotus — who was the successor of Seneferu or Boris, the first king of the Fourth Dynasty, and the builder of the northern Pyramid of Abousir. The Pyramid of Cheops was originally four hundred and eighty feet high, but as the apex has been broken off it is now but four hundred and fifty feet high. The base covers about thirteen acres, and each side of the base is seven lunidred and sixteen feet long, and the inclination is five lunidred and seventj^-four feet. The vast strudture is loca- ted exacflly on the thirtieth parallel of north latitude, and its four sides face the cardinal points of the compass. On the north side, exactly- in the middle, a rectangular opening is cut, being the entrance of a descending passage three feet wide and four feet high. The passage leads downward to a chamber cut in the solid rock of the foundation, over a hundred feet inider the ground-level of. the base. The chamber is precisely under the apex of the pyramid, at a distance of six hundred feet. At points in the main pas- sage to this chamber di\-erging passages lead to two other chambers, which also lie di- rectly under the apex of the Pyramid and above the first chamber. In these chambers were placed the stone coffins containing the nuimmies of these ancient monarchs. Upon the walls were sculptures recounting the departed king's deeds. The door of the passage was sealed with a stone, and the name of the dead sovereign was added to BUILDING OF THE TYRAMIDS. O > 5^ t-H roi.irrcAi. history. 47 the list of deities in the temple. Herodotus says that the building of the "Great Pyra- mid" occupied thirt}- years, that one hun- dred thousand men were forced to work upon it at a time, and that a new army of laborers was employed everj' three months. The second of the three great Pyramids was built by Khufu's celebrated succes.sor, Shafra. and was originally four hundred and fifty-seven feet high, and resembles the Pyramid of Cheops in general proportion and internal stnidlure. The third Pyramid of Ghizeh was eredled by Menkaura, tlte successor of Shafra, and is only two hun- dred feet high and thirty-three feet at the base, and the inclination is two hundred and sixty-two feet. Some of the outside por- tions of this Pyramid consist of polished slabs of granite. It has a double chamber within, one behind the other. In the farther chamber was recently found the sarcophagus containing the mummy of Menkaura him- self, by General Howard \'3'.se; and the hie- roglyphic in.scription on the case containing, with the monarch's name, the myth of the god Osiris, has been deciphered and transla- ted into English. It is only in recent times that other royal mummies have been found. The Pyramids are built of successive lay- ers of stone from two to six feet thick, in proportion to the size of the structure. The layers decrease in size from the ground up- wards, so that the monument appears on each side in the form of a .series of stone steps receding to the top. Diodorus saj-s he was informed by the Egyptian priests that the gigantic masses of stone which were used in building the Pyramids were brought from Arabia, and were put into place by building under them vast mounds of earth, from which the blocks of stone could be moved into their respective places. This statement .seems to be substantiated by the fact that no stone of the kind used in the constru(5lion of these vast monuments can be found within many miles from the place where the Pyramids were erected. Khufu and his successor, Shafra, oppress- ed the people and despised the gods, crush- ing the former bj- the severe toils required by the.se great works, and closing the tem- ples of the latter and putting an end to their worship; but Menkaura, who was the son of Khufu, and who, as well as his father, reigned sixty-three years, differed from him in being a good and humane sovereign. Menkaura reopetied the temples which his father had closed, restored the religious rites of sacrifice and praise, and put an end to op- pressive labors. He was, in consequence, highly reverenced bj- the people, and his name was celebrated in many hynnis and ballads. After the reigns of four more kings, known to us only by names and dates, the Fourth Dynastj-, whose eight reigns aggre- gated about two hundred and twenty years, ended about 2220 B. C. The Second Dynasty, ruling Middle Egj'pt from This, or Abydos, and the Fifth, ruling Upper Egr^'pt from the Isle of Elephantine, were probably related by blood to the pow- erful sovereigns ruling Lower Egypt from Memphis, as the tombs of all three of these royal races are found in the \-icinity of Mem- phis. The Arabian copper mines of the Peninsula of Sinai were worked b)- Egyptian colonies established there by the P3Tamid- kings, and at this period Egyptian arts and archite<5lure had attained their highest de- gree of perfedtion. Painting, sculpture and writing, as well as modes of living and gen- eral civilization, were about the same as fifteen centuries later. The reed pen and the inkstand are among the hieroglyphics emploj-ed, and the scribe appears, pen in hand, in the paintings on the tombs, making notes on linen or pap},-rus. In the tombs of Beni-Hassan, belonging to this period, five different kinds of plows are shown, and ag- ricultural life is fully illustrated. Thus we ha\-e figures of sheep and goats treading seed into the ground ; of wheat bound into sheaves, threshed, measured, and carried in sacks to the granary; of bundles of flax on the backs of asses ; of figs gathered ; of grapes thrown into the press; of wine car- ried into the cellar; of the overseer and laborers in field and garden ; and of the bas- tinado applied to the backs of laggards. W'e also have scenes of flocks and herds, of 48 ANCIENT HIS TOR Y. —EG ) V T. bullocks, calves, asses, sheep, goats; and also domestic fowl, such as geese and ducks. The making of butter and cheese is likewise shown. Other works of sculpture show us the spinners and weavers at their looms, the potter working the clay or burning his ware in the furnace, the smith making javelins and lances, the painter at work with his colors, the mason with his trowel, the shoe- maker at his bench, the gla.ss-blower ph'ing his art. The various grades of domestic life are illustrated, and we see servants at work. The Fourth Dynasty at Memphis was succeeded by the Sixth Dynasty about 2220 B. C. The Second Dynasty continued to^ reign at This or Abydos, and the Fifth in the Isle of Elephantine, while the Ninth arose at Heracleopolis and the Eleventh at Thebes ; so that Egypt was now divided into five separate kingdoms, the Theban gradually becoming the most powerful, as the Memphite was losing its preeminence. Thus weakened by division and exhausted by the great architedtural works which had OBELISK OF USURTASEN I. .^T HELIOPOLIS. the kitchen implements used, also domestic apes, dogs, cats, etc. In militarj' life we have exhibited soldiers pradlicing in arms, fighting battles, battering walls and storm- ing towns. Various sports and amusements are likewise depidled, and we have here ex- hibited wrestlers, jugglers, musicians, male and female dancers, fishing parties with hooks and .spears and nets. Dwarfs and de- fomiities can also be seen, and ever>- con- dition of human life is found represented upon imperishable tablets of stone. withdrawn the people from the pratlice of anns, the countrj' easih- fell a prey to the barbarous nomad hordes from the neighbor- ing regions of Sj'ria and Arabia. These entered Lower Egypt from the north-east by way of the Isthmus of Suez about 2080 B. C, and soon became masters of the countr>' from Memphis to the sea. They were called the Hyksos, or Shepherd Kings. They carried on their conquests in the most cruel man- ner, burning the cities, razing the temples to the ground, slaying the inhabitants and POLITIC. If. ins TOR ) '. 49 reducing the women and children lo slavery. The Hyksos founded the Fifteenth Dy- nasty at Memphis and the Sixteenth at Ava- ris, in the Delta, near the site of the later city of Pelusiuni. Native dynasties con- tinued to reign in Middle and Upper Egypt, the Ninth at Heracleopolis, the Fifth in the Isle of Elephantine, while the Twelfth had succeeded the Eleventh at Thebes, and the Fourteenth arose at Xois, in the Delta, in the ver\- heart of the conquests of the Shep- herd Kings, and maintained its indepen- dence during the whole period of the dominion of the Hyksos. Under the vigorous rule of the Twelfth Dj-nasty, Thebes rapidly grew into a power- ful and prosperous kingdom and extended its supremacy over the kingdoms of Ele- phantine find Heracleopolis, conquered the peninsula of Sinai and carried its arms tri- umphantly into Arabia and Ethiopia. Us- URT.\SEN I. reigned over all Upper Egypt, and under Usurtasen II. and Usurtasen III. Thebes attained its highest prosperity. Usurtasen III. enriched the country by numerous canals ; and monuments of his power at Senneh, near the southern border of the kingdom, still excite the wonder of the traveler. His successor, Ammenemes III. — the Maris or Loemaris of Manetho, and the Moeris of Herodotus — built the Eab^-rinth in the Faioom, the most superb and gigantic edifice in Egypt, which contained three thousand rooms, one half of which number were underground, and were the receptacle of the mummies of kings and of the sacred crocodiles, and are known as the Catacombs. The walls of the fifteen hundred apart- ments above ground were of solid stone and entirely^ covered with sculpture. Herodo- tus, who visited this magnificent strucflure, declared that it surpassed all other human works. He says: "The roof throughout was of stone like the wall, and the walls were car\-ed all over with figures. Every court was surrounded with a colonnade, which was built of white stones exquisitely- fitted together. ' ' The same king constru<5led the Lake Mceris, a natural resen'oir near a bend of the Nile, which he so improved by means of a canal and dykes as to retain, for purposes of irrigation, a large part of the waters from the annual inundation, and thus increased the fertility of the surrounding country. Architecflure and the arts flourished in Upper Egypt, and numerous canals were constructed to increase the fruitfulness of the soil by irrigation, while Lower Egypt continued to groan under the oppressive rule of the Hyksos, or Shepherd Kings. The Thirteenth Dynasty, which succeeded the Twelfth at Thebes, was compelled to give way before the Shepherd Kings and to seek refuge in Ethiopia, thus leaving Upper Egypt also to the mercy of the barbarous Hyk.sos, who now ruled all Egypt, except Xois, in the Delta (B. C. 1900). The bar- barous conquerors burned cities, destroyed temples, and massacred or enslaved the in- habitants. During the Middle Empire— from 1900 B. C. to 1600 B. C. — this barbarous race held the native Egyptians insubjecftion; the Thirteenth Dynasty at Thebes, the Sev- enth and Eighth at Memphis, and the Tenth at Heracleopolis, holding their crowns as tributaries of the Shepherd Kings of the Seventeenth Dynasty. This was the darkest period of Egyptian history. The Hyksos destroyed the monu- ments of their predecessors and left none of their own, so that there is a gap of three centuries between the Old and the New Em- pire, during which the Holy City of Thebes was in the hands of the barbarians; the an- nals ceased, and the names of kings, either native Egjptian or Hyksos, are for the most part unknown to us. Late writers sup- pose the Hyksos to have been the same as the Hittites of Syria. After their ex- pulsion from Egy'pt some of them found refuge in Crete, and reappeared in Palestine about the same time that the Israelites en- tered that country' from the west. It is believed by some that Joseph and the family of Jacob settled in Lower Egypt during the reign of one of the Shepherd Kings ; others, however, place that event a little later. After their long Innuiliation under the oppressive rule of the Shepherd Kings, the 50 ANCIEiYT HISTORY.— EC, ] TT. Egyptian people rallied for a great national uprising under the Theban king Amosis, Ames, or Aahmes ; and the H\-ksos were driven from Egypt, after a desperate contest, B. C. 1600. Then began the New Empire — the most brilliant period of Egyptian his- tor\- — which lasted a little more than a thousand j-ears (B. C. 160x^-525). Amosis united all Egypt into one kingdom, with Thebes for its capital, and founded the Eighteenth Dynasty. He married Nefru- ari, the daughter of the King of Ethiopia — ' ' the good and glorious woman ' ' — \\ho held the highest honor ever accorded a queen. tial spirit wrought up !)>' the struggle against the H3'ksos displa3ed itself in warlike en- terprises against neighboring nations, which were again obliged to acknowledge the su- premacy of Egypt, whose arms were carried in triumph into Ethiopia, Arabia and Syria, and even beyond the Euphrates. Amosis, the first king of the Eighteenth Dynasty, reigned twenty-six years. The next king, Amcnoph I., married the widow of Amosis, and reigned twenty-one years. Thothmes I., the third king of the Eight- eenth Dynasty, won great victories over the Ethiopians and conquered the Canaanites of .AN KGVPTI.\X KING DKSTROVING HIS ENlvMIKS. For the next eight centuries Egypt re- mained a single united kingdom; and during the Ei,ghteenth, Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasties Egyptian .sculpture and architedl- ure reached their highest degree of perfec- tion. During this period the hundred-gated Thebes attained the height of its .splendor. Its great temple-palaces were then built ; and numerous obelisks, "fingers of the sun," pointed heavenward. The horse and the war-chariot were now introduced into Egypt, and the military caste for a time held a higher rank than the priestly. The mar- Palestine, and even carried his arms east- ward against the Assyrians in Mesopota- mia. He reigned twenty -one years. Royal women were held in higher esteem in Egypt than in any other ancient mon- arch}-. Thothmes I. was succeeded by his daughter, Ajienset, Mesphra, or Hatasu, who acted as regent for her younger brother, Thothmes II., who died a minor. Amen- set held the regency for her next brother, Thothmes III. Her reign of twent3'-two years was brilliant and successful. She completed the temple of Aniun, and her poi.iTic.ii nrsroRY 51 fame is commemorated by the two gigantic obelisks at Karnak. After the death of Ameiiset, her brother, Thothmes III., reigned alone. Envious of his sister's fame, he caused her name and image to be effaced from all the sculptures in which they had appeared together. Thothmes III. reigned alone forty-.seven years (B. C. 15 10-1463). He carried on wars in Ethiopia, Arabia, Syria and Meso- potamia, and defeated the Syrians in a great battle at Megiddo, in Canaan, twice took Kadish, the chief citj- of the Kheta tribes, and led his armies as far as Nineveh, from which city, according to inscriptions on his monuments, he took tribute. Thothmes III. is no more distinguished for his militar}- exploits than for the magnificent temples and palaces which he erecfted at Karnak, Thebes, Memphis, Heliopolis, Coptos, and in ever}' other city of Egypt and Ethiopia. ^S!f^ CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE. .-Vs it stood in Alexandria (uow iu New York). The records of his twelve successive cam- paigns are inscribed in sculpture upon the walls of his palaces at Thebes. The two obelisks near Alexandria, which .some Ro- man wit called Cleopatra's Needles, one of which is now in London and the other iu New York, bear the name of this king. Thothmes III. was succeeded by his son, Amuxoph II., in the beginning of whose reign the Ivgyptians took Nineveh. He is said to have brought to Egypt the bodies of seven kings whom he had slain in battle, and whose heads were placed as trophies upon the walls of Thebes. After a short reign he was succeeded bj' his son, Thoth- MKS I\'., who is believed by .some writers to have cau.sed the can-ing of the great Sphinx near the Pyramids. Amunoph III., the son and successor of Thothmes I\'., who as- cended the Egj'ptian throne B. C. 1448, reigned thirty-six years, and was one of the greatest monarchs of the Eighteenth D\- nasty. He condu(5led succe.ssful wars against the Libyans and Ethiopians, and adorned his kingdom with many magnificent archi- tecftural works, and improved its agriculture by the construction of tanks or resen-oirs to regulate irrigation. New temples were built at Thebes, where also two great Co- lossi, one of which is known as the Vocal Mcmnon, also belong to this reign ; but the Amenopheum, of which they were orna- ments, is now in ruins. The two Colossi were huge granite statues of Amunoph III., with his mother and queen in relief on the die, in front of the sancftuarj- of Osiris, and ma)' still be .seen among the surrounding ruins. The \''ocal Memnon, according to a Greek tradition founded on the story of trav- elers who visited the spot, was said to utter a musical sound at sunrise like the twanging of harp-strings. The pedestal is fifty-nine feet high from base to crown. The palaces of Luxor and Karnak, now among the most conspicuous of the ruins of those famous places, were connecfled by an avenue of a thousand sphinxes, while at Thebes a col- onnade in the same style was lined with colo.ssal sitting statues of the cat-headed goddess Pa.sht, or Bubastis. In the monu- mental inscriptions of his times, Amunoph III. is styled "Pacificator of Egy^Jt and Tanner of the Libyan Shepherds. ' ' The reign of Amunoph III. was marked by great internal troubles, iu consequence of his unsuccessful efforts to change the national religion. His .son, HoRUS, was his legitimate successor, but his claims were disputed by many pretenders, most of whom 52 ANCIENT HIS TOR V.—EG Yl'T. were princes or princesses of the blood ro}-al, and for thirty years the kingdom was in an unsettled and distracted condition. Horus ultimately triumphed over and outlived all his rivals, and died after reigning seven j'ears in peace. He conducfted successful wars in Africa and enlarged the palaces at Karnak and Luxor. With the next king, Resitot, or Rathotis, the Eighteenth Dy- nasty came to an end, B. C. 1400. The Nineteenth Dynasty was founded B. C. 1400 by Raimkses I., who was descended tlie Great, whom the Greek writers named Sesostris, and who, during his father's life- time, subdued both L,ibya and Arabia. Upon ascending the throne he entered upon a career of conquest with the ultimate de- sign of universal dominion. Herodotus, Diodorus, and Manetho relate, with .some variation in their narrative, his sulyugation of the neighboring nations. After dividing his kingdom into thirty-six nomes and as- signing his brother Armais to the regency in his absence, Rameses set out with an armv THi: TWIN Ccil.USSl Ul' .V.MUNUl'U lU. Xlv.VK XUEBliS. from the first two kings of the Eighteenth Dynasty. He reigned less than two years, and was succeeded by his son Seti, or Sethos I., who inherited all the national hatred toward the Syrian invaders of his country, reconquered Syria, which had re- volted forty years before, and extended his conquests as far as the borders of Cilicia and the Euphrates. Seti built the great Hall of Columns at Karnak, in which the whole Cathedral of Notre Dame, in Paris, could stand without touching walls or ceil- ing ; and his tomb is the most magnificent of all the royal .sepulchers of ancient Egypt. The most renowned king of Egypt was Rameses II., (1388-1322 B. C.j, surnamed of six hundred thousand foot-soldiers, twen- ty-four thousand horse, and twenty-seven thousand war-chariots, to conquer the world. He first reduced Ethiopia under subjec- tion and imposed upon that country a heavy tribute of ebony, ivory and gold. He founded the Egyptian navy by building a fleet of four hundred war vessels on the Red Sea, and reduced under his dominion the islands and .shores as far as India. After carrying his vidlorious anns eastward be- yond the Ganges, he rapidly subdued Asi- atic and European Scythia, and was only checked in his conquering career in Thrace l)y the severity of the climate and the scar- city of food. Wherever he conquered he w cq D W •72 w W H }'oi.rric.\i. HisroRY 53 erected momiments with the inscription : "Sesostris, king of kings and lord of lords, lias conquered this territory by the power of his arms." After nine years of conquest, this triumphant warrior-king returned to his kingdom with a vast booty and captives from the subjugated nations. 1I.\1.I. OK COLUMNS I.N THE GRE.^T TEMPLE .\T K.\RNAK. Modern investigation has shown the mili- tary exploits of Ranieses the Great, as nar- rated by Herodotus and Diodorus, to ha\'e been highly exaggerated. Bj' deciphering the inscriptions in the Raniescum at Kar- nak. in the temple ere<5led by Rameses in Kthiopia, in the ruins of Tanis, and on the Rocks of Beyreut, it has been .shown that the principal scenes in his triumphant career were enacted in the neighboring countries of Ethiopia, Arabia and Syria. The noted works of Rameses the Great were the building of a great wall from Pelusium to Heli- opolis, to protecl Egypt on the east against the inroads of the Syrians and Arabs; the cutting of a -sj-stem of canals from Memphis to the sea ; the completion of the famous Hall of Columns at Kaniak, begun by his father; and the magnifi- cent temple of Amunoph HI. at Luxor. Before this temple were placed two sitting co- lossi of Rameses and two red granite obelisks, both of which still remain with their hiero- glyphic inscriptions as perfedl as when they were cut, one still standing on the original spot, and the other greeting the eye of the beholder in the Place de la Concorde, in Paris. In ever}- part of Eg>pt may be found monuments com- memorating the achievements and greatness of this celebra- ted monarch. At Ipsambul, in Nubia, in a valley with walls of j-ellow sandstone, two temples are cut in the solid rock, one dedicated to Ra by Rameses the Great, and the other to Hathor by his queen. Before the temple of Rameses are four stupendous colossi of himself, over seventj- feet high, and .seated on thrones. The shoulders of these colossal statues are twenty-five feet wide, and they measure fifteen feet from elbow to finger-tip. The image of Rameses stands conspicuous among those of the long line of deified sov- ereigns of Ancient Egypt, on the walls of the 54 ANCIENT HIS TORY.— EG YPT. ^eat temple of Abydos, while before the altar another image represents Rameses as a mortal offering sacrifice to himself and his ancestors. Under the Nineteenth Dynast}-, the magnificence and greatness of Thebes, then the capital, surpassed the former splendor of Memphis. In Thebes the wonderi'ul works of Thothmes IV., Amunoph III., Seti, Rameses II., and Rameses III., rose in majestic gran- deur, on both .sides of the Nile, around a circle of fifteen miles. Menepta, who succeeded Rameses the Great in 1322 B. C, and reigned twenty' years, is now generally regarded as the Pharaoh of the Exodus of the Israelites. In 1550 B. C, the familjr of Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, the founder of the Hebrew race, had settled in that part of Lower Egypt on the east side of the Delta, known as the Land of Goslien, while Jacob's favorite son, Joseph, was prime minister to the Egyptian king, a post to which he is said to have been elevated on ac- count of his services in saving the land from famine. Here the posterity of Jacob or Israel multiplied during a period of two and a half centuries. For a while the new race of stran- gers were highly esteemed by the Egyptian kings and nation, jut during the reigns of Seti I. and Rameses the Great, the Egyptian authorities grew jealous of the rapidly increasing Hebrew race and began to exercise a systematic oppression toward them. The strangers were set to work at build- ing and digging. Their labor enlarged the treasure cities of Pithom and Rameses. They aided in the con^ stni<5tion of the great canal from the Nile, Bubastis, to the Red Sea. They toiled in brickyards and were beaten by the ptian task-masters until they rose in rebellion. The revolt was heightened the withdrawal of religious privileges, great leader, Mo.ses, who had been pelled to .save his life by flight to the d of Midian because he had slain an yptian whom he had seen ill-treating a brew, had now returned to his people and sought to obtain King Menepta's per- mi,s.sion to lead them in a three daj's' march into the desert to sacrifice to Jehovah. It was only after Moses had performed signs and wonders in the king's hou.se that Menepta allowed the Israel ites to depart. They followed the bank of the canal, gathering their -THE viicAL MKMNON. people aloug the route of the Hebrew towns, but upon reaching the Gulf of Suez were hemmed in by the hosts of the Eg>'ptian king. By the receding of the waters at that shallow point of the sea, by means of a "strong NE.\R THEBES- por. rriCAL ins n )A' ) '. 55 east wind," as told in Exodus, the fleeing Israelites, numbering two millions, were en- abled to crass the bare, sandy bottom and reach the opposite shore in safety. But the hosts of Menepta, while crossing the shallow bottom in pursuit of the fugitives, were sud- denly drowned by the returning waters. The account of the Exodus of the Israel- ites, as related by Manetho and quoted by Josephus, differs from the Mosaic account in detail. Manetho states that Menepta de- sired to see the gods, and was infonned by a priest of the same name that his wish could only be gratified when he cleansed the land of lepers. The Pharaoh Menepta, therefore. priest Osarsipli, of Heliopolis, for their leader. He gave Ihcni laws, one of which gave them permission to kill and eat the gods, the sa- cred animals of the I^gyptians. He then directed them to fortifj- Avaris, and also sent an emba.ssy to Jerusalem to infonn the ban- ished Hyksos of the course of events in Egypt, to invite them to return, and to promise them the kej-s of Avaris. The Shepherd Kings gladly availed themselves of the offer and returned with an army of two hundred thousand men to reco\-er the kingdom of their ancestors. When informed of this invasion of the Hyksos, King Me- nepta, influenced by superstition and fear, cast eight)' thousand of the lepers into the stone-quarries east of the Nile. When the son of Papius heard that .some priests and men of learning had thus perished, he feared the displeasure of the gods for having plot- ted to ruin or enslave holy men. But a vision informed him that others would come to aid the lepers and govern Egypt thirteen years. After writing this on a roll of papy- rus, he committed suicide. Menepta, becoming alarmed, liberated the lepers from the quarries. He assigned them Avaris, which had remained in ruins since the expul.sion of the Shepherd Kings. After rebuilding the city, the lepers chose the fled in terror into Ethiopia, there to remain until the thirteen j-ears of leper rule should have pa.ssed. Thus Egypt was sacrificed to the unclean, who rioted in the sacred places until King Menepta returned with an army of Egyptians and Ethiopians and expelled the lepers and their allies, the Hyksos, from the kingdom. The name of the priest-leader of the lepers had, in the meantime, beer changed to Moyses, or Moses. The Egyu- tian historians always spoke of the Hebrews as lepers. After the reigns of Seti II. andSiPHTHAH, the Twentieth Dynasty ascended the throne of Egypt in 1269 B. C, in the person of Set- 56 ANCIENT HIS TOR ) '. — EG ) 'PT. NEKHT. The next king was Rameses III., who, during a reign of thirt^'-two years and in ten victorious campaigns, restored to Egypt the glory which she had possessed un- der the elder kings of the preceding dynasty, subduing the Hittites and Amorites of Ca- naan and the Ethiopians, Libyans and Ne- groes of Africa. Naval battles were fought during this reign, as attested by hiero- glyphic inscriptions. Rameses III. built the palace of Medinet- Abu at Thebes, of which every pylon, every gate, and ever>' chamber gives some account of his brif- liant exploits. Rameses III. had four sons, each named Rameses, who reigned in suc- cession. Rameses VIIL, who succeeded them, conducfted some successful wars. He was followed by seven other kings bearing the same name, but their reigns were short and uneventful. Eg\'pt, which had reached the pinnacle of its greatness under the Nine- teenth Dynasty, rapidly declined during the Twentieth. The hieroglyphic inscriptions no longer recount the grand military- ex- ploits of kings, and art and architedlure decayed. Egypt's conquests in Asia and Ethiopia were gradualh' lost. From its long contacft with Asiatic nations, Egypt had lost its national feeling, and foreign influ- ence was marked in the civil administration of the kingdom. The Pharaohs at this time became allied by marriage with foreign courts, and foreign colonies — Assyrian, Ba- bylonian and Phcenician — settled in the countr)-; and the constant intercommuni- cation between the Egyptians and the Sem- itic nations of Asia is shown by the presence of Semitic names and the admission of Sem- itic words to the Egj'ptian language, as well as by' the admission of foreign gods into the Egyptian sanc5luaries, hitherto inaccessible to any deity outside of the Egyptian pan- theon. The ovenvhelming predominance of the priesthood, whose influence pervaded all ranks, from the highest to the lowest, was a barrier to thought and progress of every- kind. The people were slavishly held to the old forms of religion, architecfture lan- guished, no new buildings were erected, nor additions made to the magnificent structures of former ages. Sculpture and painting de- rived no new life from the study of nature, but confined themselves to slavish copies of old models or dull and meaningless imita- tions. The priestly caste aimed to hold all things at a certain level, fixed and un- changeable. Thus, when progress ceased, decay at once commenced. , The later mon- archs of the Twentieth Dynasty were but instruments in the hands of the priestly cla.ss. During this period of general military and intellettual decline the priestly order aug- mented its power and influence to such an extent that it seized the throne, and the Twenty-first Dynasty reigning at Tanis, in the Delta, was a race of priest-kings. They- wore the sacerdotal robes and called them- selves High Priests of Amun. Pisham I., one of this priestly- race, gave his daughter in marriage to Solomon. The seven kings of this dynasty generally- had short and uneventful reigns (B. C. 1091-990). Sheshonk I. — the Shishak of the Old Testament and the founder of the Twenty-' second Dynasty — married the daughter of Pisham II., the last king of the previous dynasty, and also called himself High Priest of Amun. He made Bubastis, in the Delta, his capital, and restored the military- strength of the kingdom. It was to Sheshonk that Jeroboam fled after his unsuccessful rebellion against King Solomon; and Sheshonk es- poused the cause of Jeroboam in his revolt against Solomon's son and successor, Reho- boam, and invading Judah, took Jerusalem, plundered the treasures of the Temple and the palace, and compelled Rehoboam to pay tribute. One of the inscriptions at Kar- nak gives a list of one hundred and thirty- towns and distri(5ls reduced by Sheshonk in Syria. He made the office of High Priest of Amun hereditary in his family. Sheshonk died in 972 B. C, and was suc- ceeded by his son Osorkon I., who reigned fifteen years and was succeeded by his son Pehor. Osorkon II., the fourth king of this dynasty, is believed by some writers to have been the Zerah of Scripture, who invaded Syria and was defeated by Asa, King of Egvptiax Courtier — F^c.yptian King — Fan B£ARKR. Jewish Warriors— Jewish Kings. Jewish HniH-PKiESx— Levites. Alexander The Great. 1— 4.-U. H. EGYPT, JEWISH KINGDOM, GREECE. POLITICAL HISTORY. 57 Jiidah, in the battle of Mareshah ( 2 Chron. xiv. 9-14). The reinaiiiiii}:; kings of the T\vent5--second Dynasty, whieh ended with Takelot II. in 847 B. C, were insignificant personages: and the process of decay and disintegration rajiidly went on and was ag- gravated by tlieeni]iloynient of Li1)yan mer- cenaries in preference to native soldiers. Semi-independent principalities sprang up in different parts of the kingdom, successfully defying ever\- effort of the Pharaohs to pre- ser\-e the unity of the nation. The utter de- cay of the national spirit paralyzed both sovereign and people. The Twenty-third Dynasty, ^B. C. 847- 758), which ruled at Tanis, comprised four kings, none of them famous, and who.se reigns were characflerized by revolutions and civil wars. The Northern Ethiopian king- dom, which had Napata for its capital, was founded by Piankhi, a descendant of the priest-kings of the Twenty-first Egyptian Dyna.st}-. Piankhi became virtual master of Egypt, which, according to his stele found at Gebel-Berkal, was at this time di- vided into seven kingdoms, each ruled by a native Egyptian prince, who reigned under the suzeraintj- of Piankhi. Tafnekht, who ruled in the Western Delta and held Sais and Memphis, endeavored to cast off the yoke of Piankhi, and headed a revolt which was joined by the other native Egyptian princes. Piankhi's army took Thebes, defeated the rebel fleet, besieged and took Hermopolis, defeated the rebel fleet a second time at Sutensenen and gained another great victory^ on land. Xanirut, the Hermopolitan king, besieged the Ethiopian garrison in Hermop- olis and recovered the cit)-. Thereupon Pi- ankhi, in person, led an arm 3- against Her- mopolis, and laid siege to the city, which he finally compelled Xamrut to surrender. Pi- ankhi also forced Pefaabast, king of Hera- cleopolis Magna, to surrender, and then at- tacked Memphis, which was defended \>y a strong garrison devoted to Tafnekht. After a desperate resistance and frightful slaugh- ter Memphis was taken, and its fall hastened the restoration of Piankhi's authority over all Egypt. The revolt ended with the sub- mis.sion of Osorkon, king of Bubastis, and Tafnekht, the rebel leader, both of whom were generously pardoned by Piankhi, after taking a new oath of allegiance to the Ethi- opian sovereign, who allowed all the native rebel kings to retain their respective thrones. But in a few years, Egypt revolted under the leadership of Bkk-kn-kani-", called Boc- choris by the Greeks, a native of Sais, who was the only king of the Twenty-fourth Dy- nasty. Bocchoris, however, was soon con- quered by Sabaco, or Shabak, the Ethio- pian king reigning at Napata, and was burned alive in punishment for his rebellion. S.\B.\co, the Ethiopian, thus founded the Twentj'-fifth Dynasty, and is known in the Hebrew Scriptures as So, or Sevah. He entered into an alliance with Ho.shea, King of Israel, and the Syrian princes against Sar- gon. King of Assyria, but was defeated bj' the As.syrian monarch in the jjreat battle of Raphia, near the eastern borders of Egj'pt, B. C. 718. Sabaco fled to Ethiopia, retain- ing possession of Upper Egypt ; while the sway of the Assyrians was established over the Delta and Middle Egypt, over which they placed tributary native princes, their policy being to weaken Egypt by dividing it as much as possible. Sabaco's .son and succes.sor, Shab.\tok, for a short time ruled all Egypt, but was deprived of the Ethiopian crown by Tirhak.\h, or Tehrak; while the petty native Egyptian princes fonued an alliance with Hezekiah. king of Judah, against Sennacherib, King of Assyria, but the allies were defeated in the South of Pales- tine and submitted to the sway of the vidlori- ous Assyrians. Instigated by Tirhakah, the Egyptian princes and the King of Judah again rose in arms against the Assj-rian king. Again Sennacherib took the field against the allies and advanced to Pelusium, in the eastern part of Lower Egypt, but his army of one hundred and eighty-five thou- sand men was destroyed by a strange panic which seized them in the night, and which the Jews and Egyptians considered a miracu- lous interposition, B. C. 698. Sennacherib fled in dismay to Nineveh and abandoned his conquests. The Assyrian defeat enabled 58 A XCIEX T HIS TOR ) '. — FA; YPT. Tirhakah to invade Egj'pt, kill Shahatok and reduce the whole land under lithiopian dominion. Tirhakah was at once involved in a struggle with Ivsarhaddon, King of Assj-ria, Sennacherib's son and successor, who, in 672 B. C, in\-aded Kgypt, captured Memphis and Thei)es, drove Tirhakah back into Ethiopia, and established the Assyrian sway once more overall Egypt, whose twenty native princes were reduced to a state of vas- salage under the Assyrian monarch. A few years afterward, however, Tirhakah re- turned and expelled the Assyrian garrisons from Egypt, which again acknowledged the Ethiopian dominion; but his triumph was of short duration, as he was again deprived of his Egyptian conquest b\- Esarhaddon's .successor, A.sshur-bani-pal, who won the native Egyptian princes over to the Assyri- an interest. Being allowed more local free- dom by the Assyrian king, they preferred his rule to that of the more oppressive Ethiopian monarch. Tirhakah's stepson and succe.s.sor, Rut-amimon — the llrdamane of the Assyrian inscriptions — endeavored to maintain the Ethiopian power in Egj'pt ; and descending the Nile, he re-occupied Thebes and Memphis, drove the Assyrians out of Egypt and made him.self master of the country; but was soon driven back into Ethiopia by Asshur-bani-pal. Rut-ammon's successor, Mi-ammon-Nut, tells us that in the fir.st year of his reign (about B. C. 660), he dreamed that a serpent appeared on his riglit hand and another on his left, and when he woke they had disappeared. The interpreters informed him that this signified that he would rule all Egypt. Thereupon Mi-ammon-Nut led a hundred thousand men into Egypt, being hailed as a deli^'erer in Upper Egypt, against the Assyrians, who had allowed the temples to go to decay, overturned the statues of the gods, confis- cated the temple revenues, and restrained the priests from exercising their offices. Mi- ammon-Nut proclaimed himself the cham- pion of religion, visited the temples, led the images in procession, offered rich sacrifices and paid every respect to the priestlj' col- leges. For this reason he was everj-wdiere recei\x-d with acclamations in I'pper Egypt. In Lower ICgypt he was opposed, but after a great victory at Memphis, he occupied that cit}' and enlarged and beautified the temple of Phthah. The chapel to Phthah-Sokari- Osiris, recently uncovered b}- M. Mariette, is full of Mi-anunon-Xut's .sculptures and in- •scriptions, its stones being inlaid with gold, its paneling made of acacia-wood .scented with frankincense, its doors of polished cop- per and their frames of iron. The princes of the Delta submitted and were generously pardoned, governing their towns as Ethi- opian and no longer as Assyrian vassals. Mi- ammon-Nut returned to Ethiopia, and the Ethiopian joke was soon shaken off by the Egyptians. The pett}- native Egyptian states for many years remained tributary to Assyria, as the employment of foreign mercenaries, which had so long prevailed in Eg\'pt, had deadened the national spirit and patriotism of the I\gyptian people, and thus made it easy for the A.ssj-rians to hold the countrj' in subjedlion. PsAMMETiCHUS, oue of the native vice- roys under the Assyrian monarch, encour- aged by the growing weakness of the As- syrian Empire, which was obliged to recall its garrisons from Egypt to defend itself against the destructive inroads of Scj'thian hordes from Central Asia, seized the oppor- tunity to throw off his allegiance to Assj'ria, and crushing the opposition of the native viceroy's, founded the Twenty-sixth Dy- nasty, thus placing E^gypt once more under the swa}^ of its native kings, after a century of foreign domtnion, Ethiopian and Assyr- ian, B. C. 632. Psammetichus conciliated the Ethiopian party by mariying the daugh- ter and heiress of the King of Thebes, whom he had deposed, and thus secured the adhe- sion of Upper Egypt, where the Ethiopians were still popular. He was a wise and lib- eral sovereign, and under his rule the arts and sciences began to revive. He con- structed many great works throughout the kingdom. The new culture was not purely native Egyptian. Foreign wars, coloniza- tion andconnnercial intercourse had brought immense numbers of foreign settlers — Ethi- rai.iriCAi. iiisroRV. 59 opians, Phccniciaiis. Jews and Checks — into the Egyptian cities. The new art was widely different from the classic art of Old Epvpt. The Kgypt of the Pharaohs was beyond resurrection, the old ei\'ili/alion had perished, and the native li)ut;ue had heen corrupted. P.sannnetichus was also a j;rcat warrior. He reduced part of Ethiopia and subdued the Philistines, but his continuance of the u.se of foreign troops and liis ein])lo\-nient of Greek mercenaries offended the warrior class of Egypt, of whom two hundred and forty thou.sand emigrated to I'Uhiopia, reject- ing every entreaty of Psammetichus to re- turn to their native land, and thus striking a fatal blow at the reviving prosperity of Egypt. Psanunetichus attempted the ccni- <]uest of Palestine and Syria, but was thwarted in his designs by the stubborn re- sistance of the Philistine city of A.shdod, which endured a siege of twenty-nine years before it was taken. He encouraged com- merce and friendl>' intercourse with other nations. Psammetichus died in 6io 15. C, and was succeeded by his son Nkko, under whom the navy and connnerce of Egypt were largely augmented. The great increase in the number of foreign colonists in EgA'pt gave rise to a new class of interpreters, through whose medium foreign intercourse was im- mensely facilitated. Neko endeavored to reopen the great canal from the Nile to the Ked Sea, which had been constru(fted during the reign of Rameses the Great, but aban- doned becau.se the oracle had instructed him that he was laboring for the l)arbarian. Under Neko's au.spices, an P^gj-ptian fleet, manned by Pha'uician .seamen, .sailed down the Red Sea, and after an absence of three years, during wliicli tlie\- twice landed, sowed grain and gathered a har\x'st, they returned to ligypt l)y way of the Pillars of Hercules ( Straits of Gibraltar ) and tlie Mediterranean ; thus making the circiun- navigation of Africa two thou.sand years before the famous voyage of Va.sco da Gania around the same continent. Neko's military enterprises were ble.s.sed with but varied fortune. The great empire of Assyria had already fallen before the con- (piering arms of Media and Babylon. Neko prepared to di.spute the dominion of the workl with the Habylonian monarch. After invading Palestine and defeating and killing Josiah, King of Judah, at Megiddo, Neko con(iuered all the country eastward to the Ivuphrates; but Nabopolas.sar, King of Babj-- lon, .sent his .son Nebuchadnezzar, with a large army, to drive the ICgyptians out of Asia. In the great and deci.sive battle of Carchemish, Neko was totally defeated by Nebuchadnezzar, and Ivgypt's power in the East was ended forever, all of Neko's Asi- atic contpiests falling into the hands of Babylon, B. C. 605. Neko died in 594 B. C, and was .suc- ceeded by his .son, Ps.\mmis, whose .short reign of six years was only distinguished for an e.Kpedition into PUhiopia. His son and successor, ITaii.\bra — the Pharaoh Hophra of Scripture and the Apries of Herodotus — who reigned nineteen years, renewed the warlike .schemes of his grandfather, besieged vSidon and fought a naval battle with Tyre, but failed in his attempt to conquer Phoe- nicia. He formed an alliance with Zede- kiah, King of Judah, who endeavored to free him.self from the Babylonian yoke; Init the great Babylonian king, Nebuchadnez- zar, quickly invaded Palestine, besieged and took Jerusalem, pillaged the city and the Temple, and thus broke the power of the allies and jnit an end to the struggle by driving the Egj'ptian monarch back into his own kingdom. Uahabra was afterward defeated in an expedition against the Greek colony of Cyrene, west of Egi'pt, in con.se- quence of which his native .soldiers revolted and dethroned him; and the revolutionary leader, Amasis, with the aid of Nebuchad- nezzar, who had twice invaded I'^gvpt, ( B. C. 5cSi and 570), was placed upon the Ivg3"p- tian throne as king, tributary to the Bab\-- lonian monarch. Amasis reigned forty-one years, at first as atributarx to Babylon, but he afterward cast oflFthis yoke and increased his influence by marrying Nitocris, the sister of hispredeces- 6o ANCIENT HIS TOR Y.—EG^ 'PT sor. He adorned vSai.s, his capital, with mag- nificent building.s ; and numerous monu- ments of his reign, found in all parts of the country, attest his liberal patronage of the arts; while his friendlj- foreign policy toward Cyrene and the other Greek states, and his encouragement to Greek merchants to settle in Egj'pt, added immen.sely to the wealth of the country. He conquered the island of Cyprus and reduced it to tribute. Alarmed by the growing power of Persia under its renowned monarch, Cyrus the Great, who had conquered Media and Baby- lon, Amasis allied himself with Croesus, King of Lydia, and Polycrates of Samos; but before his policy was produ<5live of any results, he died, B. C. 525, and was succeeded on the throne of Egypt by Psammenitus. Cambyses, King of Persia, the son and suc- cessor of Cyrus the Great, was already on the march toward Egypt. The Egyptian anuy advanced to Pelusium to meet the in- vader, but was there defeated in a pitched battle and driven back to Memphis, the cap- ital, which was besieged and taken by the Persian king. Psammenitus was taken pris- oner after a reign of only six months, and soon afterward put to death by the hard- hearted Cambyses, who suspeifted him of a design to recover his power. With the tragic end of Psammenitus perished the ancient kingdom of Egypt, which had ex- isted for over two thousand years, from the time of the founding of the Old Empire by Menes ; and the celebrated land of the Pha- raohs became a mere province of the vast Medo-Persian Empire (B. C. 525). The tj-ranny and cruelty of Cambyses produced in the hearts of the Egj'ptians the most implacable hatred of Persia; and dur- ing a period of two centuries they con- stantlj' plotted against the Twenty-seventh, or Persian Dynasty, and under three native dynasties— the Twentj'-eighth, Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth — regained their independence, w^hich they as often lost. The accounts of these revolts and short spasms of independ- ence will be narrated in the history of the Medo-Persian Empire. Since its conquest by the Persians, the land of the Pharaohs has been successively under the sway of the Persians, the Macedonians, the Romans, the Saracens, the Mamelukes, and the Ottoman Turks ; the last of whom have held the country tributarj- for the last three and a half centuries. MANETHO'S THIRTY EGYPTIAN DYNASTIES. OLD EMPIRE. Contemporary Dynasties from about B. C. 2700 to about B. C. 2450. FIRST dynasty (THINITE). THIRD DYNASTY (MEMPHITE). KINGS. YEARS ACCORDING TO KINGS. YEARS ACCORDING TO EUSEBIUS. AFRICANUS. EUSEBraS. AFRICANUS. Menes, 60 27 39 42 20 26 18 26 62 57 31 23 20 26 18 26 Necherophes, tosorthrus TVREIS . 28 29 7 17 16 19 42 26 Athothis, or Thoth, . . Unephes, Kenkenes usaph^dus MiEBIDUS, Semempsf S S '-5 > •Si f s OS a t ° a Cli H ^ S B^ S u CIVIIJ/.ATION. 65 disciplined hordes, tlic)' were defeated when- ever they encountered a brave and skiUful enemy. Their readiness to break engage- ments when their fulfdhnent was inconve- nient, made them unrehable alHes; and for this reason the Hebrew prophet Isaiah spoke of Egypt as a "braised reed, whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand and pierce it." The government of Eg>'pt was a theo- cratic monarchy, the king being the earthlj' representative of the Deity. His body was considered sacred, and he was worshiped as a god. His title of Phrah, or Pharaoh, sig- nifying the Sun, ranked him as the emblem DRESS OK THE EGYPTIAN KING. of Helios, or Phrah, or Ra, the Sun-god. His right and duty was to preside over the sacri- fices and to pour out libations to the gods. He was thus the head of the national relig- ion, as well as the civil and political head of the state. The kingly office was hereditar>% but the monarch was not an absolute ruler ; and the political system was a combination of theocracj-, monarch)- and hierarchy, the king's power being more or less curtailed by the power of the priesthood, or hierarchical class. In this respecfl Egypt differed from an Asiatic despotism, where the sovereign was unlimited lord and master over his subjecfts. An Egyptian Pharaoh did not possess un- 5 limited povver over the lives and property of his people but his authority was strictly defined and limited by law, and unlliingwas left to passion or caprice. The monarch, howe\'er, po.s.sessed the right to make new laws. The king's public duties and personal habits were nunutely defined by religious regulations, the sacred books prescribing his food, drink, dress and the employment of his time, thus allowing him less individual freedom than was enjoyed by the humblest and most degraded of his subjects. He was not permitted to give way to excessive in- dulgence of any kind. No slave or hireling was permitted to hold oflSce about his per- son, for fear that he might be con- taminated bj- such unworthy pres- ence, but those of the highest rank only were accorded the privilege of attending him and ministering to his wants. The ritual of every moniing's worship constantly re- freshed his memorj' with a knowl- edge of the virtues of former kings, and reminded him of his own kingly and per-sonal duties. After his death his body was placed in an open court, where any and every one of his subjects might bring accusations against him ; and if his conduct in life was proven to have been unworthj- his exalted station, he was for- ever excluded from the tombs of his ancestors. The ancient Egyptians were divided into classes or castes, distinguished by their ranks and occupations; the priests forming the highest caste, the warriors the second caste, and husbandmen, gardeners, boatmen and herdsmen the lowest caste. The priesthood possessed great authority in the .stati and were the "power behind the throne." So far as the sovereign was con- cerned the}' used their power wisely and well. Their habits of life were simple and moderate. Their diet was plain in quality and limited in quantity, and they ab.stained from fish, mutton, swine's flesh, beans, peas, garlic, leeks and onions, which were articles 66 ANCIENT HISTORY.— EGYPT. of food among the common people. Tliej- bathed twice a day and twice during the night, some of the more stri(ft in water tasted bj- their sacred birds, the ibis, to make sure of being purged of all unclean- ness. Their abstinence, purity and humil- ity, and their reputation for learning, en- abled the priests to hold the people in relig- ious, political and mental subjection. By their knowledge of physical .science they could frighten and terrorize the superstitious and ignorant lower classes by optical illu- sions and other tricks. By their power to try the dead they could decide the fate of any man, from the king to the swineherd, by refusing him a pa.ssport to the outer world. The priests prescribed the religious ranked next to the sacerdotal, or priestlj- order, numbered about four hundred thou- .sand persons. When not engaged in mili- tary .sen-ice, either in foreign wars, in garri.sons or at the roj-al court, these were .settled on their lands, which were located principally on the east side of the Nile or in the Delta, which portions of the countr\' were the most exposed to hostile invasion by a foreign foe. Each .soldier was allotted about six and a half acres of land, exempt from all taxation or tribute; and from the proceeds of this land he defrayed the ex- pen.ses of his arms and equipments. The soldier, however, could not engage in an>' art or trade. The lands of the priests and soldiers were considered privileged propert\-. p:gvpti.\n soldiers of diffkrent corps. ritual of every Egyptian, from the king to the meanest of his subjet5ls. The Eg>ptian priesthood embraced an order including many professions and occu- pations. They alone were acquainted with the arts of reading and writing, and with medicine and the other sciences. They cul- tivated the science of medicine from the earliest ages. The universal pracftice of em- balming was exercised by the physicians, thus enabling them to study the efFedts of various di.sea.ses by examining the body after death. Asiatic monarchs sent tj Egypt for their physicians, and the fertile .soil of the Nile valley furnished drugs for the whole ancient civilized world. Even in our own time the characfters used by druggists to de- note drams and ounces are the Eg>'ptian ciphers adopted by the Arabs. The .soldiers, oi' military ca.ste, which while all other lands were regarded as the king's property, and were rented by him to farmers, who paid a yearly rent of one- fifth of the produce. Below the priests and warriors were the various unprivileged castes, embracing husbandmen, gardeners, boatmen, artisans of various kinds, and herdsmen, compris- ing shepherds, goatherds and swineherds. These latter were intensely de.spi.sed as the most degraded of human creatures, and were not allowed to enter the temples. All castes below the priesthood and the warrior class were deprived of all political rights and dis- qualified from ownership in land. The two privileged castes, the priests and \varriors, are believed to have been the de- scendants of the Asiatic conquerors and im- migrants into Egypt, while the lower clas,ses were the descendants of the Ethiopian abo- Cykvs the Great. Egyptian King in War Chariot — Egyptian Warriors. Egyptian Lady — Egyptian ooken— Egyptian TvADV. Egyptian Ppiest — Men and Woman of Low Castc MEDIA AND EGYPT. CIVir.IZATION. 67 rigines of the Nile valley. The I^gyptian castes were not as fixed as those of the Hin- doos, as the educational system enabled any- one of superior talent to rise abo\-e his native rank. Saj-s Rawlinson: "Castes, in the strictest sense of the word, did not exist in Eg>pt, since a son was not absolutely compelled to follow his father's profession.'' Intermarriages sometimes occurred between members of the priestly and warrior castes, and transitions between them were common. The same was the case between members of the various unprivileged orders. Still, in the main, the same rank, professions and occupations remained in the same families for hundreds and hundreds of years, and the evils of class distinction were almost equal to those of the fixed castes of India. The upper classes despised all handicrafts, and "everj- shepherd was an abomination in the sight of an Eg\ptian." There were many slaves who had been captives taken in war. The class system tended to discourage per- sonal ambition, and thus to check all prog- ress and improvement after the earliest high state of civilization had been attained, and was the principal cause of the final national decay of this renowned ancient people. The land in Eg}pt belonged exclusively to the king, the priests and the soldiers, during the period of the New Empire; all other land-owners having surrendered their proprietorship to the king, while the He- brew Joseph was prime minister, occupying them only afterward as tenants of the crown by paying an annual rental of one-fifth of the produce. The lot of the agricultural laborer in Eg3'pt was a hard one. There were few Eg3'ptian peasants rich enough to rent their farms and till them for themselves. Most of them were hired laborers working on the estates of others, under the supen-ision of brutal overseers or taskmasters, who applied the bastinado to the backs of the idle or re- fraclorj- on the slightest pretext. The pea- sant farmer was not much better off. Writes Amenemun to Pentaour: "Have you ever represented to yourself the estate of the rustic who tills the sjround ? Before he has put the sickle to the crop, the locusts have blasted a part of it; then come the rats and the birds. If he is slack. in housing his grain, the thieves are upon him. His horse dies of weariness as it drags the wain. Anon, the tax-gatherer arrives; his agents are anned with clubs; he has Negroes with him, who carrj- whips of palm branches. They all crj-, ' Give us your grain! ' and he has no easy way of avoiding their extortion- ate demands. Next, the wretch is caught, bound and sent off to work without wage at the canals; his wife is taken and chained; his children are stripped and plundered." Tuaufsakhrat, in the "Praise of Learning, " gives a similar account in these words: "The little laborer having a field, he passes his life among rustics; he is worn down for vines and pigs, to make his kitchen of what his fields have; his clothes are heavy with their weight; he is bound as a forced laborer: if he goes forth into the air, he suffers, having to quit his warm. fire-place; he is bastinadoed with a stick on his legs, and seeks to save him.self: shut against him is the hall of everj- house, locked are all the chambers. Thus it will be seen that the small culti- vator was oppressed with extortionate taxa- tion, collected by the brutal tax-gatherers; that forced labors were exacted of him, and that he was bastinadoed with a stick on the back or legs if he resisted. He was torn from his family and homestead, and forced to labor under the hot Egyptian sun at cleaning out or banking up the canals. No wages being paid him, and insufficient food being furnished him, he often perished under the hardships imposed upon him by a merciless government. If an iron consti- tution saved him and he returned home, he frequently found his family dispersed, his wife carried off. and his mud cabin in ruins. He was regarded with contempt, not alone by the privileged classes, but also by their servants, and even by their slaves. The laws of Egj'pt were remarkable, and are another evidence of the high civilization of the people. Bossuet has said that "Eg>-pt was the source of all good government." 68 ANCIENT HISTORY.— EGYPT. Perjury was considered the most heinous of all crimes — an offense alike against gods and men — and was punishable with death. Any one seeing a person defending his life against a murderer, and failing to render him assistance, was also capitally punished, as being equally guilty with the assassin. If The Egyptians were the first people to or- ganize a regular ami)-, and thus to lay the foundation for the whole system of ancient warfare, including the military systems of the ancient Asiatic monarchies. The war- chariots formed the most important part of an Egyptian army, and were used instead of DISCIPLINED TROOPS OF THE EIGHTEENTH DYNASTY. the witness were unable to assist the defend- ant, he was bound to report the assailant to the lawful authorities. A person falsely accusing another was punished as a calum- niator. Everj' Egyptian was bound to fur- nish the authorities with a written state- ment of his means of liveli- hood ; and any one giving a false account, or following an unlawful pursuit, was pun- ished with death. A wilful murderer was likewise put to death. A judge who con- demned an innocent person to death was punished as a deliberate murderer. A sol- dier who deserted his ranks was punished with infamy, but could recover his lost honor by future gallant be- havior. Making counterfeit money, false weights, scales or measures, falsifying public records, or forging documents, were crimes puni.shed with the loss of both hands. A man's property could be seized for debt, but not his person ; and if a debtor swore that he owed nothing to a creditor who was without a bond, the debt was void. The interest was never permitted to exceed the principal. cavalry. These chariots were mounted on two wheels, and were verj' carefuUj' made. They were hung low, were open behind to enable the warrior to step in and out with ease, and had no seat. They were drawn by two hor.ses, and usually contained two war- EGVPTIAN WAR-CHARIOT. riors, one to manage the horses, and the other to fight. The war-chariots of differ- ent nations differed from each other. The harness and housings of the horses were elegantly decorated. A quiver and bow- ca.se, tastefully and skillfully decorated, were fixed to the chariot ou the outside. The cn'ii.i/.A'noN. 69 Kgyptiaii national weapon was the bow, used by infantry and charioteers. The Ivgyptians were the most skillfnl arch- ers of antiqnity. Their bows were the most powerful, and their arrows, drawn to the ear, were the best aimed, of those of all ancient nations. The children of the mili- tary caste were trained to the pradlice of archery from the earliest infancy. The heavy anns of the Egyptian in- fantry were a .spear, a dagger, a short sword, a pole-ax, a battle- ax, a helmet and a .shield. Some of the principal officers used coats of mail for protection. The light troops were armed with swords, battle-axes, maces and clubs. Ev- ery battalion had its standard, w-ith some symbol or sacred objedl represented thereon, generally the emblem of the nome or tribe. The soldiers were called out by con- scription, drilled to the sound of the trumpet, and taught to march in measured time. In the most ancient period cavalry were used as skirmishers, videttes and ex- presses. In attacking walled cit- ies battering-rams, besieging-tow- ers and .scaling-ladders were used. The Egyptians, like other ancient nations, treated their captives very- cruelly, putting them to death or reducing them to slavery. The Egyptians readily gave quarter when an enemy submitted, and thousands of prisoners were often taken in their military expe- ditions. If they ran down an enem3''s ship they exerted themselves to rescue the men on board from the waves, and took them to their own ves.sels at the risk of their own lives. Enemies who laid down their weap- ons on land and sued for mercy were usualh' spared. Their arms were bound together by a cord passed round them a little above the elbows, and they were led from the field to the camp, usualh- in long strings, each condudled by one Egyptian. Laggards were urged forward by fear of the bastinado, 1— 5.-U. H. which was freel}- applied by those in charge of the captives. All captives were consid- ered as belonging to the king, and conse- (|uenlly became his slaves, being employed by him in forced labors during the rest of their lives: but sometimes the monarch re- warded individual captors by allowing them to hold their own prisoners, who thus passed into pri\-ate ser\'itude. ASSAII.T ox .\ I-ORT — TKSTUDO .^ND SCALIN-G-1.AI)I1i:R. The Egyptians, in order to ascertain the number of slain among an enemy's army on the battle-field, mutilated them, cutting off and carrying to the camji the right hand, the tongue or some other portion of the body. Heaps of each of these are shown in the sculptures, which the royal scribes are represented as counting in the king's presence, before registering them. Each soldier received a reward upon showing these proofs of his prowess. The climate of the Nile valley is warm 70 ANCIEKT HISTORY.— EGYPT. and dr}-. In Southern Eg)"pt the heat is excessive. In Northern Eg5'pt several causes combine to gi^■e a lower summer tempera- ture. In the desert tracfts the air is much drier than in the Nile valle}- itself, with gi'eater alternations of heat and cold. In summer the air is .sufTocating, while in winter the days are cool and the nights acftually cold. Heavy rains and violent thunder-storms are frequent at this sea.son. At certain seasons green herbage and flow- ers cover the torrent-beds after the water has flowed into the Nile; but the solar heat and the Khanisccn, or hot de.sert wind, wither the herbage and flowers at other sea- .sons. The vegetable produdlions of Egypt are trees, shrubs, esculent plants, grain, arti- ficial grasses and medicinal plants. The trees are the date-palm, the sycamore, the tamari.sk, the myxa, the acanthus and sev- eral kinds of acacias. Among .shrubs and fruit-trees are the fig, the pomegranate, the mulberrj-, the vine, the olive, the apricot, the peach, the pear, the plum, the apple, the orange, the lemon, the banana, the locust-tree, the per.sea, the castor-oil plant and the prickly pear. These, excepting the orange, lemon, apricot and banana, are believed to ha\-e all been producftions of ancient, as well as of modem, Egypt. The esculent plants which grew wild were the bj'blus, or papyrus, the Nymphcva lo- ins and the Lotus arni/ca. The papyrus plant, which was used for writing, is not now found in Egypt. The cultivated vege- tables are mainly the same as tho.se of other countries. Artificial grasses of ancient Egypt were clover, vetches, lupins and the gilbdn of the Arabs, or the Lathynis sativus of Pliny. The wild animals indigenous in Egypt were the hippopotamus, the crocodile, the lion, the hyena, the wolf, the jackal, the fox, the ichneumon, the hare, the jerboa, the rat, the mou.se, the shrew-niou.se, the porcupine, the hedgehog, and perhaps the bear, the wild boar, the ibex, the gazelle, three kinds of antelopes, the stag, the wild sheep, the .1/oiiilor Niloticus, and the wild cat. The domestic animals were the horse, the ass, the camel, the Indian or humped ox, the cow, the sheep, the goat, the pig, the cat and the dog. The birds of Egj'pt are the eagle, the fal- con, the xEtolian kite, the black vulture, the bearded vulture, the / 'ultio- pcrcnoptcriis, the osprey, the horned owl, the .screech-owl, the raven, the ostrich, the ibis, the pelican, the vulpanser or fox-goose, the Nile duck, the hoopoe, the sea-swallow, the Egyptian kingfisher, the quail, the oriental dotterell, the benno, the sicsac, the swallow, the spar- row, the wagtail, the crested plover, the heron and other wading birds, the com- mon kite, the hawk, the common vulture, the common owl, the white owl, the turtle- dove, the mi.ssel thrush, the common king- fisher, the lark, and the finch. There were different kinds of fish in the Nile; and various reptiles were found in the countni', such as turtles, iguanas, geckos or .small lizards, the horned .snake, the asp, the chameleon, and others. The most re- markable insedls are the .scorpion, the locust and the solpuga spider. Among minerals in Egypt are many ex- cellent kinds of stone, such as magnesian limestone, sandstone, porphyry, alabaster, granite and syenite. The inexhaustible supply of stone made that gift of nature the great building material of Egypt. The dif- ferent kinds of stone were conveyed from one end of Egypt to the other by being floated on rafts along the Nile. It was easy to float down the river the granite and sye- nite of the far South of Egypt to Thebes, Memphis, and the cities of the Delta. There were few metals in Eg>pt. Among the.se were gold, silver, copper, iron and lead. Other mineral productions were natron, salt, .sulphur, petroleum, chalcedonies, cameli- ans, ja.spers, green breccia, emeralds, agate, rock-cry.stal, .serpentine, compact felspar, steatite, honiblende, basanite, actinolite and the sulphate of barytes. The fertilizing of the .soil by the animal inundation of the Nile, and the irrigation of the countr>' by means of numerous canals, contributed to make Egypt the great gran- c7\7/j/.rnoA\ 71 ar>- of antiquity, from which other nations drew their supplies in times of famine. The naturally fertile soil and the sponta- neous growth of the date-palm furnished the people with cheap and abundant food, and agriculture received much attention. The rapid increase and density of the Egyptian population, which, as we have already said, was about seven millions, crowded in the narrow valley of the Nile, ouh' seven miles in width, was due to the abundance and cheapness of food and the readiness with which it could be obtained. trodden in bj' .sheep, goats or pigs, and then simply awaited the har\-est. Plows, of a simple construction, and hoes were used in preparing the ground in other portions of the country. The plows were drawn by two oxen or two cows, yoked to it by the shoul- ders or by the horns. vSometimes a single plowman guided the plow by holding one handle in his left hand, and carrj-ing a whip in his right; but generally there were two plowmen, one holding the two handles, and the other driving the animals with tlie whip. In light and loose soils the hoe was used Vilillcf KORKIOX CAPTIVKS M.\KING BRICK.S .Vt THKllKS. This facfl accounts for the ease with which great public works like the Pyramids, that were useless, could be built; as the mon- archs were thus enabled to employ the labor of hundreds of thousands of men, who were not required by necessity to labor in any other way. The non-interference of the government with agriculture was an advantage. The grain was sowed when the inundation had disappeared. In some parts of EgN'pt the husbandman only scattered the seed upon the rich Nile deposit and caused it to be instead of the plow. The hoes and plows were of wood. The grain cultivated was wheat, barley, and what Herodotus called zea or olyra, probably the modem doom. The wheat and barley were used by the rich, and the doora by the poor. The wheat was cut with a toothed sickle, a little below the ear, and put in baskets or bound in sheaves. The filled baskets were carried in b}' men or donkeys to the threshing-floor, and there emptied on a heap. Sometimes the corn was conveyed from the harvest-field to the gran- ary or storehouse, and kept there a month. 72 ANCIENT ins TOR Y.—EG YPT. Threshing was done by means of cattle, which were driven round and round the threshing-floor, while a laborer, with a pitch- fork, threw the unthreshed ears into their path. The threshed corn was at once win- nowed, by being tossed into the air with shovels, in a place where the draught of air would blow off the chaif as the corn fell. After this operation the cleansed grain was carried in sacks to the granarj', and there stored until used. In a. harvest song, discovered by Chani- pollion at lulethyias, the oxen are repre- .sented as mainly threshing for thcvisclvcs. The following is the song in hieroglyphics, with its translation into English: III I I I 1 Lk A y^^A^'v^« //III III /vvww\ I I I ■ 11 • I « »^ III ^ SONG OK THRESHERS TO OXEN. Translated as To/lows: Tbresb for yourselves, Thresh for yourselves, O Oxen! ' Thresh for yourselves, Thresh for yourselves. Measures for yourselves, Mea.sures for your masters. The cultivation of barley was similar to that of wheat, and barley bread was in great demand. Beer was also brewed from the grain. The doora was pulled up by the roots, and the earth was then shaken off by the hand. It was bound in sheaves and carried to a storehouse; and after it was dry it was unbound and drawn by the hand through an instrument, armed at one end with a set of metal spikes, which .separated the heads from the straw. These were, per- haps, then also threshed and winnowed. Beans, peas and lentils were al.so raised. Artificial grasses, such as clover, lupins and vetches, were grown to furnish pro- vender for the cattle during the inundation. Flax was raised in great abundance for the linen out of which garments were made. Cotton, indigo, safflower, sesame, the ca.stor- oil plant, and various medicinal herbs were also culti\-ated. Esculent vegetables, such as garlic, onions, leeks, endive, radishes, melons, cucumbers, lettuces, etc., were like- wise raised in considerable quantities, and formed a large element in the food of the people. The raising and harvesting of the.se different crops employed the agricul- tural class for the greater part of the year. In addition to the yearl)- overflow of the Nile, the countn,- was fertilized by irrigation in the form of a .system of canals, with em- bankments, .sluices and flood-gates, by which the overflow was retained in vast reser\'oirs, and thus utilized. This system of irrigation was established at an early date, and was maintained with the greatest care by the government. In the distridl of the Faioom, a natural depression in the Libyan de.sert, eight or ten miles from the Xile valley, a canal was cut from the Nile, thus filling this depression with water, and forming an artificial lake, known as the "Lake Mceris." From this innnense reser- voir, canals were cut in all directions to irrigate the surrounding desert. In this region, by this system of irrigation, the cul- tivation of the olive was rendered possible. In the edge of the Nile valley, toward the desert of Ildi^rr, where the soil was light and composed of sand mixed with gravel, the vine was cultivated all the way from Thebes to Memphis. It was also grown in the Faioom, and in the western part of the Delta. The fruit, after being gathered, was carried in ba.skets to the .storehou.se, where the juice was extra(5led by treading or squeezing in a bag. After fermentation, the wine was stored away in va.ses or amphorae of an elegant shape, closed with a stopper and then hermetically sealed with moist clay, pitch, gypsum or other substance. In the large estates of the rich land-own- ciiirrzATroN. 73 ers the herdsmen were under the supervision of overseers. The peasant who cultivated the land on which the flocks and herds fed was resp>onsible for their proper sujijiort and for the exacl account of the amount of food which they consumed. Some persons were wholly employed in taking care of the sick animals, which were kept at home in the farm-yard. The overseer of the shepherds attended, at stated periods, to give a report to the scribes connected with the estate, by whom it was submitted to the steward, who was accountable to his employer for this and all his other possessions. The paintings represent the head shepherd rendering his account, and behind him we see the flocks assigned to his charge, con.sisting of the sheep, goats and wild animals belonging to the person in the tomb. In one painting the expres.sive attitude of this man, with his hand at his mouth, is imagined to con- vey the idea of his effort to remember the numbers which he is giving, from memory, to the scribes. In another painting the numbers are written over the animals. The oxen are numbered eight hundred and thirty-four, the cows two hundred and twenty, the goats three thousand two hun- dred and thirty-four, the asses seven hun- dred and sixty, and the .sheep nine hundred and seventy-four. These are followed by a man carrying the young lambs in baskets slung upon a pole. The .steward, in a lean- ing posture upon his staff, and accompanied by his dog, stands on one side; while the scribes, writing out their statement, occupy the other side. Another painting shows us men bringing baskets of eggs, flocks of geese, and baskets full of goslings. An Egyptian ' ' Goo.se Gibbie ' ' is represented as making obei.sance to his master. In still another painting we see persons feeding sick oxen, goats and geese. The ancient Egyp- tians carried the art of curing disea.ses in all kinds of animals to great perfection; and the testimony of ancient writers and paint- ings is sustained h\ a discover>' of Cuvier, who found the left shoulder of a mummied ibis fradlured and reunited, thus showing that human art inter\^ened in this ca.se. The ancient Egyptians of everj- class de- lighted in field-sports, and the peasants con- sidered it a duty, no le.ss than amu.sement, to hunt and kill the hyena and other wild animals which annoyed them. The paint- ings show us numerous hunting scenes and various devices for catching birds and beasts. The lu-ena is u.sually represented as caught in a trap. Wild oxen were caught by a noose or lasso, in very much the same man- ner as the vSouth Americans catch horses and cattle, thcmgh the Egyptians are not represented as riding on honseback when the)- u.sed it. The introduction of a bush in one painting, just behind the man throw- ing the las.so, would seem to imply that the huntsman was concealed. Other wild ani- mals hunted were the hippopotamus, the jackal, the fox, the crocodile, the porcupine, the gazelle, the ibex, the hare, the antelope, and even the ostrich. Wild cattle were also hunted. Lions, upon the borders of Egypt, were hunted by a few of the kings, but there is only one representation of a roj'al lion hunt. Sometimes lions were tamed, and were used in the chase of other animals, ac- cording to a single painting. One king is represented as having "hunted a hundred and twenty elephants on account of their tu.sks." Fishing and fowling were also fa- vorite sports among the Egyptians. Hounds were likewise used in pursuing game. All the departments of agriculture, farm- ing, breeding cattle, etc., are illustrated in the paintings with wonderful accuracy- and detail. We observe oxen lying on the ground, with legs pinioned, while herdsmen are branding marks upon them with hot irons, and other men are heating irons in the fire. The paintings give us full accounts of the king's kine, which are generally copied after the fattest specimens. One of these represents the Pharaoh as himself a toler- ably exten.sive grazier, the king's ox being marked eighty-six. Another illustrates a regular cattle-show; another the actual oper- ation of the veterinarv- art, cattle doctors being exhibited as performing operations upon sick oxen, bulls, deer, goats and geese. The hieroglyphic denoting a physician is 74 ANCIENT HISTORY.—EGYPT. > w •n O Q P « O « 2; o H -J W W CIVILIZATION. 75 the fowl whose cr\' is ' ' Quack ! quack ! ' ' Egyptian beasts of burden were asses, cows and oxen. Horses were used for riding, for drawing curricles and chariots, mainly b}- men of the upper classes, and for drawing the plow. Multitudes were re- quired for the war-chariots and for the cav- alry service. A brisk trade in horses was carried on with Syria and Palestine, where they were in great demand and commanded high prices. The horses of ancient Egypt \ were kept con.stantly in stables, fed on straw and barley, and were not allowed to graze in the fields. The larger land-owners also possessed wild animals, such as wild goats, gazelles and oryxes; and also wild fowl, such as the stork, the \-ulpanser and others. Egyptian farmers also bred large numbers of sheep, goats and pigs. Egypt has been an objecfl of interest to mankind in every age, as the birth-place of civilization, art and science. In this nar- row strip of country, "the Gift of the Nile," only seven miles wide and five hundred and twent>-six miles long, were seven million inhabitants. The Nile valley is studded with the ruins of ancient cities. Memphis, the chief citj- of Middle Egypt, or the Hep- tanomis, so called from its seven nomes, was situated about twelve miles south of the apex of the Delta, and as we have said, was founded by Menes, the first Egyptian king. In the vicinity of Memphis are the most splendid of the pyramids, which extend for seventy miles on the west bank of the Nile, and among which are the famous Pyramids of Ghizeh, already described. In this vi- cinity is also the Great Sphinx, or woman- headed lion, one hundred and forty-six feet long and thirty-six feet wide across the shoulders. Here are also the ruins of the famous Labyrinth, and miles on miles of rock-hewn temples. The magnificent and stately Thebes, the hundred-gated city of Upper Egypt, or the Thebais, is said to have extended over twenty-three miles. On its site are the villages of Kaniak and Euxor, where the ruins of magnificent and spacious temples, splendid palaces, colossal .statues, avenues of obelisks and lines of .sphinxes, tombs of kings hewn in the .solid rock, subterranean catacombs and the gigantic statue of Memnon, still bear witness to the immense size and splendor of this great and celebrated cit)-, who.se ruins extend for seven miles along both banks of the Nile. The ancient Egyptians had a wonderful building instinct, and architedture was the greatest of all their arts. The distinguish- ing features were ma.ssiveness and grandeur, in which they have never been surpas.sed. This great people delighted in pyramids, .sphinxes, obelisks and stupendous palaces and temples, with massive columns and .spa- cious halls of solemn and gloomy grandeur, in which our largest cathedrals could stand, adorned with elaborately-.sculptured colossal statues, and connedled with which were ave- nues of .sphinxes and lines of obelisks. Their pyramids are the oldest, as well as the largest and most wonderful of human works }'et remaining, and the beauty of their masonry, Wilkinson declares, has never been surpassed. An obelisk of a single stone now standing in Egypt weighs three hundred tons, and a colo.ssus of Rameses the Great nearly nine hundred tons; and Herod- otus describes a monolithic temple weigh- ing fi\'e thousand tons, which was carried hundreds of miles on sledges, as were also the huge blocks of stone, .sometimes weigh- ing sixteen thousand tons each, with which the pyramids were built. In one instance two thousand men were employed three years in conveying a single stone from the quarry to the strudlure in which it was to be placed. There is a roof of a doorway at K&rnak covered with sandstone blocks forty feet long. Sculpture and bas-reliefs thirty- five or forty centuries old, in which the granite is cut with exquisite delicacy, are yet to be seen throughout this famous land. The pyramids were all built on stridlly scientific and mathematical principles. The obelisks, so called on account of their peculiar shape, were tall and slender monoliths eredled at the gateways of tem- ples, one standing on each side. From the quarries of Syene they were floated down the Nile on rafts during an annual overflow. 76 ANCIENT HISTORY. — ECVrT. They were formed in accordance with a cer- tain rule of proportion, and were from twenty to one hundred and tweuty-three feet high. was taken to Paris in 1833 and erecfted in the Place de la Concorde. Several others had previously been removed to Rome. I' .iiiiiiiiiiiuaiiiiii The names and titles of the kings who ere<5ted them were recorded in hieroglyphic carv'ings on the sides. An obelisk at Luxor Two faniou -ii^ks, after standing for eighteen centuries at the gate of the temple of the sun at Heliopolis, where they had cr\-n.i/..\r!ON. been erected by King Thothnies III., were removed to Alexandria by the Romans just after tlieir con(|nest of Kg>pt, in the time of Augustus CiEsar. These were known at Alexandria as Cleopatra's Needles, and one was transported to London a few years ago. The other was shortly after transported to New York, and is now one of the objects of interest greeting the eye of the beholder in Central Park. RUINS or TlCMl'Uii K.\RN.\K. 78 ANCIENT HIS TOR Y. — EG YPT. Egypt, renowned for its discoveries in art and science, was the ancient world's univer- sity, where Moses, Lycurgus and Solon, Pythagoras and Plato, Herodotus and Di- odorus — lawgivers, philosophers and his- torians — were students. The ancient Egyp- tians had made considerable progress in the sciences, particularly astronomy, geometry, arithmetic, cheniistrj-, medicine and an- atom}-. Their knowledge of astronomy is proven by the accuracy with which they calculated solar and lunar eclipses; by their mode of reckoning time and their knowledge of the length of the year as being three hundred and sixty-five days; by their knowl- edge of the spherical shape of the earth; and by their abilitj' to compute latitude and lon- gitude, as demonstrated by the facft that the tomb of Cheops, Suphis, or Khufu, the king who built the largest of the three great Pyr- amids of Ghizeh, is located exadlly on the 30th parallel of north latitude. The ancient Egyptians had attained great skill in many of the finer mechanical arts, such as potter)-, the manufacture of glass and porcelain, dyeing and the making of linen and cotton goods. They likewise ex- celled in the polishing and engraving of precious stones, and in metallurg)-. Mining was one of their industries. Their walls and ceilings were painted in beautiful pat- terns, which moderns yet imitate; and in the producflion of useful and ornamental articles the^^ ha\-e never befen surpassed, either in ancient or modern times. The language of the ancient Egyptians was related to the languages of the Semitic nations, but differed from them in many particulars. There were different diale(5ts in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Egj'ptians pracfticed the art of writing far more extensively than any other ancient people. The pyramids and monuments, even to the most remote antiquity, bear in- scriptions, and it was the custom to mark every article of use or ornament. There were three kinds of writing in use. For monumental inscriptions hieroglj-phics were used. For documents the writing was exe- cuted on leaves of the papyrus plant, from which our word paper is derived. The third kind of writing was the demotic, that of the common people, so called from demos, the people. The writing was executed with a reed pen. The hierogljphics were traced in black, but commenced in red, and the sculptured hieroglj-phs were also embellished with colors. The hieroglyphic signs are pidtorial, and are of four kinds — representa- tive, figurative, determinative and phonetic. Much of this ancient literature has come down to us in a fragmentary and di.scon- ne(5led form. Remnants of papyrus man- uscripts of the most ancient Theban dy- nasties — about four thousand j^ears old — are still in existence. The professional scribes were from the priestly class. The di.scover>' of the famous Roseffa Stone, during Bonaparte's Egyptian campaign, in 1798, led to the deciphering of the hiero- glyphic inscriptions on the monuments, which has been the means of throwing a flood of new light upon the history of ancient Egypt. All three forms of hieroglyphic writing were unknown to the Greeks, to whom the monumental in,scriptions were in- terpreted b)' the Egyptian priests. The key to these writings was lost, thus conceal- ing the treasures of Eg>ptian learning from the civilized world for centuries. The cop- ies of the three kinds of inscriptions on the Ro.setta Stone — the hieroglyphic, the de- motic and the Greek — given to European scholars, were the means of opening this long-sealed library- on stones and papyri. In 1815 Dr. Young, the English Egyptologist, discovered the key to the texts, and the distinguished French Egyptologist, Cham- pollion, made a successful application of the newly-discovered key. The Rosetta Stone is now in the British Museum. The ancient Egyptians surpassed all othe: nations in their love for recording all human adlions. They preserved in writing, on papyrus, a record of all the details of private life with surprising zeal, method and regu- laritj-. Ever}^ >'ear, month, week and day had its record of transacftions. This incli- nation fully accounts for Egypt being the monumental land. No other human records CIVILIZATION. 79 — whether of Chaldnen, India or China — go as far back into remote antiijuity as do those of Egypt. Bunsen says: "The genuine EgA'ptian writing is fully as old as Menes, the founder of the Old Knipire, perhaps three thousand years before Christ." Lep- sius saw the hieroglyph of the reed and ink- stand on the monuments of the Fourth Dynasty. Herodotus remarked: "No Egyp- tian omits taking accurate note of extraor- dinarj- and striking events." Everything was recorded. Scribes are everj'where seen on the monuments, taking accounts of the products of the farms, going into the most minute details, even so far as to giving account of ever\- single egg and chicken. Bunsen further says: "In spite of the ravages of time, and though systematic excavation has scarcely yet commenced, we possess chronological records of a date prior to any period of which manuscripts are preser\-ed, or the art of writing existed in any other quarter. ' ' It is owing to their fondness for recording ' everjthing, both in pictures and in three kinds of writing ; also to their fondness for building and excavating temples and tombs in imperishable granite ; and lastly, to the drj'ness of the air which has preserved for us these paintings, and to the sand which has buried the monuments, thus preventing their destruction — it is owing to all these circum- stances that we have so wonderfully pre- ser\-ed, for forty-five centuries, the account of the everyday life, thoughts and religious belief of this renowned ancient people. The most ancient mural paintings reveal a state of the arts of civilization so perfedl as to excite the wonder of archteologists, who therefore know how few new things there are under the sun. We find houses with doors, windows and verandas, likewise barns for grain, vineyards, gardens, fruit trees, etc. We also see pictures of marching troops, armed with spears and shields, bows, slings, daggers, axes, maces and the boome- rang. We also notice coats of mail, stand- ards, war-chariots, and the assault on forts by means of scaling-ladders. The ancient Egyptian tombs likewise ex- hibit scenes of domestic life and customs similar to tho.se of our own times. We ob.serve monkeys trained to gather fruit from the trees in an orchard, houses fur- nished with a great variety of chairs, tables, ottomans, carjjets, couches, as elegant and elaborate as any u.sed at the present day. There are likewise seen comic pictures of parties, where ladies and gentlemen are sometimes represented as being the worse for wine; of dances, where ballet-girls in short dresses perform pirouettes of the mod- em kind; of exercises in wrestling, games of ball, games of chance like chess or check- EGVPTIAN MKN CARRIED HOME KROM A DRINKING P.ARTV. ers; of throwing knives at a mark; of the modem thimble-rig, wooden dolls for chil- dren, curiously-carved wooden boxes, dice and toy-balls. We have likewise presented to our view men and women playing on harps, flutes, pipes, cymbals, trumpets, drums, guitars and tambourines. We find glass to have been in general use by this great people nearly four thousand years ago, as early as the reign of Usurtasen I., and we can see pictures of glass-blowing and glass bottles as far back as the Fourth Dynasty. The most skillful Venetian glass- workers can not rival some of the old Egj'ptian glass-work; as the Eg^'ptians could combine all colors in one cup, place gold between two surfaces of glass, and finish in glass details of feathers, etc., which can not be distinguished without the use of the microscof)e. This last fadl dem- onstrates that they must have understood the use of the magnifying-glass. The Egyp- tians likewise imitated with success the col- ors of precious stones, and were even able to make statues thirteen feet high, closely re- sembling an emerald. They made mosaics 8o 'ANCIENT HISrORY.— EGYPT. in glass of colors of wonderful brilliancy. They were able to cut glass in the most ancient periods. Chine.se bottles have also been found in previousl5--unopened tombs of the Eighteenth Dynasty, .showing that there must ha\-e been commercial intercourse as far back as that period. The Egyptians could spin and weave and color cloth, and understood the use of mordants, as in mod- ern calico printing. Pliny described this art as practiced in Egypt. The art of making writing-paper from the papyrus, or paper-plant, is as ancient as the Pyramids. The Egyptians tanned leather and made shoes : and the shoemakers are represented as working on their benches preci-sely as do our own. Their carpenters u.sed axes, saws, chisels, drills, planes, nders, plummets, squares, hammers, nails, and hones for shai-pening. They likewise knew the u.se of glue in cabinet-making, and there are paintings in veneering, in which a piece of thin, dark wood is fastened by glue to a coarser piece of light wood. Their boats were propelled by sails on yards and masts, as well as by oars. They used the blow- pipe in making gold chains and other orna- ments. They had rings of gold and silver for monej', and weighed it in carefully-con- structed scales. Their hieroglyphics are carved on the hardest granite so delicately and accurately as to indicate the use of me- tallic cutting instruments harder than our best steel. The siphon was known to these people as earh- as the fifteenth centun,- before Christ. The wig was worn by all the higher classes, who constantly shaved their heads, as well as their chins, and frequently wore false beards. In the tombs are found san- dals, shoes and low boots, .some of them ver}- elegant. Loose robes, ear-rings, finger- rings, bracelets, armlets, anklets and gold necklaces were worn by women. Vases for ointment, mirrors, combs, needles, etc., are fomid in the toml)s. These people al.so had their dodlors and drugs. The prevalence of the pa.ssport system is also .shown by the careful descriptions of the person contained in their deeds, in precisely the same style as tho.se required by travelers in Europe. The description of Egyptian customs and man- ners here given is but a small part of that revealed to us in painting or .sculpture in the tombs, or upon the walls of Thebes or Beni- Ha.ssan. At their feasts, which were numerous among the rich, the host and hostess pre- sided. The seats were single or double chairs, but numbers sat on the ground. The servants decked the guests with lotus flow- ers, and placed meat, cakes, fruits and other articles of food on the small tables in front of them. Hired musicians and dancers entertained the company. Their games were something like our chess or checkers. The rich rode in chariots, or in heavy car- riages drawn by oxen. Women received more respectful treatment and enjoyed more freedom in Egypt than in any of the Asi- atic nations. Games of ball were played by females, as well as by males, and one pidlure shows us that the loser was obliged to allow the win- ner to ride on her back. Egyptian shops furnished many curious scenes. Poulterers suspended gee.se and other fowls from a pole in front of the shop, which also supported an awning to .shade them from the sun. Man}- of the shops re- semliled our stalls, being open in front, with the goods set on the shelves or hanging from the inner wall; a custom still prevail- ing in the East. In the Egyptian kitchens were likewise exhibited singular scenes, among which we find representations of a cook roasting a goo.se. He holds the spit, with one hand, and blows the fire with a fan in the other. Another person is seen cutting up joints of meat and putting them into the pot, which is boiling close at hand ; while other joints of meat are lying on the table. Egyptian artists and .scribes put their reed pens behind their ears, when examining the effe(5l of the painting or listening to a per- .son on business, as in a modern counting room. The paintings in some instances rep- resent the scribe at work with a spare j-yen behind his ear, his tablet upon his knee, and his writing-case and inkstand on the table in front of him. CIVILIZATION. 8i The dress of tlie highest class consisted of the slicitti, a short linen or woolen garment, folded or fluted, and worn around the loins, being fastened with a girdle. A fine linen robe, reaching to the feet, was worn over this, being provided with long sleeves reaching to the elbows. A second girdle fastened the outer robe to the waist. The arms and lower parts Kc;VPTI.\N GUKST.S TO WHO.M WINi:, oil. .\.N1) r..\RI,.\Nl)S ARli. BROl'GHT. of the legs were left bare. Sandals or shoes of leather, or of jiahn-leaves or papyrus stalks, were worn by the rich of both sexes. The Egyptian lords wore ornaments, such as collars of beads or gold chains round their necks, armlets and bracelets of gold round the arms, rings upon the fingers, and anklets round the ankles. The Egyptian women wore a single garment, tied at the neck or fastened by straps over the .shoulders, and reaching 82 ANCIENT HISTORY.— EGYPT. from the neck or breast to the feet ; but those of the upper class wore over this a colored sash, passed twice around the waist and tied in front, and over this second gar- ment a large, loose, fine linen robe with full open sleeves, reaching to the elbow. They wore sandals like the men, and the same ornaments, with the addition of ear-rings in the form of serpents or ending in the heads of animals or of goddesses. Elegant head-dresses were woni. The most important trades among the Egyptians were those of building, stone- cutting, weaving, furniture-making, char- iot-making, glass-blowing, potter)-, metal- lurgy, boat-building and embalming. The EGVPTI.\N HEAD-DRESSES. builders worked in wood, stone and brick. The mechanical excellence of their works is fully attested bj- their continuance to the present day. The paintings frequently allude to the occupations of the mason, the stone-cutter and the sculptor. Workmen are represented polishing and painting statues of men. sphinxes and small figures. In two cases are illustrated large granite colossi, sur- rounded with scaffolding, on which are rep- resented men employed in polishing and chiseling the stone; the painter coloring the hieroglyphics which the .sculptor had en- graved on the back of the statue. Stone-cutting embraced the occupations of quarrj'ing and shaping blocks for the builder, and of cutting, polishing and en- graving gems. The Egyptians are still without rivals in the former branch. Blocks of stone were usually cut with a single- handed saw in the hands of a single sawyer. Sometimes the pick and chisel were used to a considerable extent, after which wedges of drj- wood were in.serted ; and these expanded on being wetted, and split off the required block from the mass of stone in the quarry. The tools used were mostly of bronze. Blocks of stone, obtained from the quarries, were finally smoothed and prepared for use bj- means of the chi.sel and mallet. The Egyptians carried on an ex- tensive commerce with other coun- tries ; importing gold, ivor>-, ebony, skins and slaves from Ethiopia and Central Africa, incense from Ara- bia, and .spices and gems from India; and exporting, in exchange for the.se articles, grain and cloth. As the Egyptians had not attained much skill in the art of ship-build- ing, their trade was carried on prin- cipally by Greek and Phoenician \ merchants. •J Eg3'ptian sculpture was designed to illustrate the religious faith of the people, and for this reason was charadlerized by grandeur and sub- limity rather than beauty. Their peculiar ta.ste was the outgrowth of their religious ideas, for the aim was to inspire awe rather than please the eye with graceful and ele- gant forms. This checked all progress in art, for all inventive genius was fettered by conventional rules founded on religions Ije- liefs. Colossal statues, uncouth allegorical CIVILIZATION. 83 figures and strange ideal fonns of animals supplied the place of nature and beauty in Eg>^ptian art. Painting, as illustrated by the specimens in the interiors of tem- ples and sepulchers, was likewise intended to ser\-e the cause of religion, and was trammeled by the same conventional rules, certain colors being strictlj' prescribed in representing the bodies and draperies of the gods, thus sacrificing variety of form to an ideal mouotou)-. The painting was often executed in brilliant coloring, but the draw- ing lacked accurac>-, exhibiting no compli- ance with the rules of perspective or the plainest laws of vision. The pigments used were characterized by durability and often b)- brilliancy. Ancient Egj'ptian scu.pture embraces statuary; reliefs, or representations of forms on a flat .surface by means of a certain pro- jedlion; and intaolios. or representations by cutting the fonns into stone or marble, thus sinking them below the surtace. Completely detached statues are rare in Egypt. The statues were cut out of stone. There are grotesque figures of Phthah and Bes, which produce disgust and aversion. Egyptian statuary' was distinguished for massivene.ss and strength. The statuettes, in bronze, basalt or terra-cotta, are less dignified than the statues, but possess more elegance and grace. The Great Sphinx, near the Pyra- mids of Ghizeh, is a .striking monument, and impresses the beholder with its air of impassive dignity. Other sphinxes have a certain calmness and grandeur. There are also statuettes of bulls, monkeys and dogs, which are fairly good. • Animal forms are excellent, but the chief defecfls of P'gyptian drawings are improper proportion and incorrect perspecti\-e. The bas-reliefs have the same defedls in this re- spedl as their statues and statuettes; and there is a frequent intrusion of hideous forms, as seen in the three huge and mis- shapen figures, so frequently seen upon the ceilings of temples, aud which are suppo.sed to represent ' ' the heavens. ' ' Bes in all his forms is fearful to behold: as are also Taou- ris, Savak, Cerberus, Khem, and sometimes even Osiris. The forms of the gods are all more or less repulsive; the stiff outlines, the close-fitting robes, the large hands and feet, the frequent animal heads and innnense head-dresses, the ugly or inexpressive faces, recall the mon.strosities of the religious re- presentations of Brahminism and Buddhi.sm. The drawings, mostl\- of a .serious nature, are of four kind.s — i, religiotis, where wor- ship, especially sacrifice, is offered to the gods, or where the gods .sustain the king, or where the soul passes through scenes it will endure after death; 2, processional, where the monarch goes in state, or where tribute is brought to him, or where the pomp of a fun- eral, or the installation of an official, or some other civil ceremony, forms the subjedt; 3, ivar scenes, such as land and naval battles, sieges of forts, marches of armies, the return home with bootj- and captiA-es, etc. ; 4, scenes of ordinary life, as exclusively represented in the tombs, where the houses and goods, the occupations, the hunting scenes, the enter- tainments, and the amusements of the de- cea.sed are depicted. These tomb scenes are the most numerous and the most interesting; and here the Egyptians are sportive and amusing, exhibiting playfulness and humor, and even approaching caricature. In painting the Egyptians drew figures of men and animals, and also of other ob- jects, in outline on a white background, and then filled in the outline, wholly or partially, with ma.sses of uniform hue, prac- ticing no shading or .softening of the tints. All the exposed parts of a man's body were colored with a uniform red-brown; all the exposed portions of a woman's body, with a lighter red or a yellow. Except in the case of foreigners, the hair and beard were pitch- black. Dresses were mostly white, with their folds marked by lines of red or brown, and were sometimes striped or otherwise patterned, generalh- red or blue. Most large surfaces were more or less patterned, generally with small patterns of various colors, including much of white. The stone on which the Eg^'ptians painted — whether sandstone, fossiliferous limestone, or granite — was covered with a coating of stucco, 84 A NCIF.N T HIS TOR Y.— EGYPT. which was white or whitish and prevented the colors from Ijeing lost by sinking into the background. Besides black, white, red, blue and yellow, they used green, brown and gray, as colors in their paint- ings. The black is a bone-black. The white is prepared from pure chalk with a light trace of iron. The red and the yellow- are ochres, the coloring matter being iron mixed with the earthy substance. The Ijhie is derived from the ox- ide of copper combined with pulverized gla.ss. The green is the same preparation combined ■with yellow ochre. The l>rown is a mix- ture of blue-black with the red. The colors were mixed with water and with a moderate amount of gum, to inake the mixture ad- hesive and tenacious. They were applied to a stuccoed flat surface, or to figures in relief or intaglio. The great temple-palace of Rameses 1 1 1, at Medinet-Abu full\- illustrates the combined effe(5ts of painting and .sculpture in Egypt. On the north-east wall of this ruined struc- ture is represented, in painting, the king on a throne, in.scribed with a hawk-headed figure leading a lion and .sphinx. Behind the king are the winged effigies of Truth and Justice. Twehe royal princes bear the shrine, and high officers of .state ^va^■e their labella before their august sovereign, while priests carry his arms and insignia. The monarch's sons bear the footstool of his throne, and are accompanied by .scribes and great warriors. There is likewi.se .seen a ])roce.ssion of .scholars, fan-bearers and sol- diers. A great scribe delivers a jiroclama- mation from a roll of papyrus, and the high-])riest burns incen.se before the shrine. Birds fly in every dire(5tion, as if to spread Pharaoh's fame to every quarter of the world. This is but a part of the elaborate .sculpture, the effedl of which is heightened by the painter's art, on the inside walls of the great temple-palace. The temples and palaces of Thebes exhibit a similar degree of form and color, which appear almost as perfedt as if they had just come from the artist's hand. As we .shall observe, the belief of the future reunion of the soul and body was the reason SCULPTURKD F.\(;.\DE OF THE TKMPI.K OF KDFU. taken to preser\-e the latter from decay, as exemplified in the singular custom of em- balming the dead, which was the uni^•ersal pracftice among this celebrated people, and also in the great pains taken to ornament the insides of the rock-hewn supulchers, the belief pre\-ailing that the dead body in the tomb was not entirely unconscious. While other nations embellished the tem- ples and palaces of the living, the ancient Eg>'ptians decorated their tombs, the recep- tacles of the dead, with la\ish splendor. Many of these highly-ornamented sepulchral chambers .seem only accessible through long, narrow and intricate passages. The entrances to others seem to be closed with the stricftest care, and hidden with reverential san<5tity. A necropolis, or ' ' city of the dead, ' ' belonged to each city or nome. In the rock-hewn sep- ulchers of Memphis and Thebes were treas- ured up all the scenes in which the living monarch and his subjects had figured. Egypt abounds ^\■ith inniiense tombs, whose CIV1LI/-AT10N. 85 walls, like those of the temples, are adorned with the most wonderful paintings, exeeuted three and four thousand years ago. In these paintings, the entire country, with all its natural productions, its vegetables, ani- mals, birds, fishes, and the people in all their private and domestic occupations, are delin- eated with a remarkable fidelity of outline and an extraordinary richness of coloring. Religion was at the foundation of the ex- traordinary care which the E.gyptians be- stowed upon their dead. The whole art of embalming the body — the preparing, the bandaging, the anointing, in faCl the entire process of forming the inunnny — was a duty of the priests. This remarkable custom was a universal national usage among the an- cient Egyptians, and had an inseparable conneclion with their religious dogmas and sentiment. The origin of this singular pradlice has been traced to the local circum- stances of the country. In Egypt the cus- toms of burning and burying the dead, which have prevailed among other nations, were impradlicable, — the first, because the country produces little timber, and its fruit-trees, such as the date-palm and others, are too valuable for ordinary consumption: and the second, becau.se in the narrow Nile valley all the land available for agricultural pur- poses was required for the sustenance of the dense population, and also becau.se the annual inundation of the Nile would have washed up the bodies and generated pestilence. The rock)- mountain ranges on each side of the river .seemed designed by nature for sepulchers; but the multitudes of the dead could not with .safety be heaped together in a state of decomposition, even in the inmost chambers of their rocks, without breeding pestilence. Ancient Egypt was remarkably free from the epidemic plagfues which now desolate the Nile land, on ac- count of the universal praiflice of embalm- ing the dead, which cut off one chief .source of noxious vapors. This peculiar custom was, therefore, a wise sanitary regulation, adopted by the priestly lawgivers, and in- corporated with the civil and religious in.sti- tutions of ihe nation. 1— 6.-U. H. The Egyptian lawgivers, having recog- nized this provi.sion as es.sential to the public health, .secured its universal and permanent pradlice by associating it with the doctrines of the soul's immortality and the metempsychosis, or transmigration of the .soul. It was believed that every spirit, upon leaving the bod)-, must pa.ss through a predestined cycle of three thou-sand years, entering successively into the bodies of various animals, xuitil it returned to the human body from which it had departed. Whenever the body which it had last left became subject to corruption the course of its migrations was suspended; the end of its long journey and its ardently-wished-for re- turn to more exalted states of existence was delaj'ed. For this rea.son the utmost care was taken to pre,ser\-e the bodies of human beings and animals, and .secure them forever from decomposition and putrefadtion. Thus this u.sage was enforced by stringent and sacred laws, and certain orders of the priest- hood were expressly empowered with the duty of carr^-ing it into execution. Em- balming w-as performed with .solenui relig- ious rites. Herodotus tells us that when a body was found seized by a crocodile, or drowned in the Nile, the city upon whose territory- the body was cast was obliged to take it in charge and to cau.se it to be em- balmed and interred in a sepulcher. The tombs of the wealthy consisted of one or more chambers, ornamented with paint- ings and sculpture, the place and size o which depended on the expen.se which the family of the deceased incurred, or on the wishes of the persons who purchased them I during their lifetime. These sepulchers were ! owned by the priests; and as a sufficient number w-ere always held in readiness, the purchase was made at the shortest possible notice, even the sculptures and in.scriptions being so far complete as to require only the insertion of the name of the deceased, and a few^ statements concerning his family and profes.sion. The numerous subjects illus- trating agricultural life, the trades and occu- pations of the i)eo])le, their diversions, etc., were already introduced. These were the 86 ANCIENT HISTORY.— EGYPT. same in all the tombs, diflfering only in their details and the manner of their execution, and were probably designed as a brief epit- ome of human life, being adapted equally to every future occupant. In some cases all the paintings of the tomb were completed, and even the small figures representing the tenant were introduced, only those of larger size l)eing left unsculptured, because they required more accuracy in the features to give a corTe(5t portrait. In .some instances even the large figures were finished before the tomb was sold, only the hierogl3-phic legends containing the names of the tenant and his wife remaining to be inserted. The priests often sold old mummy-cases and tombs belonging to other persons, altering the hieroglyphics and giving the name of the new tenant. This was especially the case when the purchaser was satisfied, from motives of economy, with a second-hand tenement for the remains of his departed friend. The tomli was invariably prepared as a resting-place for the bodies of a husband and his wife. Whichever died first was interred in the .sepulcher, or was kept embalmed in the house until the death of the other. The manner in which husband and wife are always represented, with their arms around each other's waist or neck, illustrates the aflfecftionate di.sposition of the ancient Egyp- tians. The presence of the different rela- tives, who are introduced in the performance of some tender office to the deceased friend, shows the attachment of a family to its de- parted relatives. Besides the upper rooms of the Egyptian tombs, which were ornamented with the paintings already described, there were pits, from twenty to seventy feet deep, at the bottom and sides of which were recesses, like small chambers, for the reception of the coffins. The pit was closed with masonry after the interment of the body, and was, in .some cases, reopened to receive the other members of the family. The upper apart- ments were profusely ornamented with painted sculptures, thus bearing the char- acter of a monument in honor of the de- ceased, rather than his sepulcher. These apartments served for the reception of the friends of the deceased, who often met there, and accompanied the priests when perform- ing the .services for the dead. Tombs were built of brick or stone, or cut in the solid rock, according to the position of the ne- cropolis. The rock-hewn tombs were pre- ferred wherever the mountains were near enough to the Nile, and the.se were usually the most elegant in design and variety of sculpture. The sepulchers of the poorer classes had no upper chamber. The coffins of these were laid in pits in the plain, or in recesses at the side of a rock. Mummies of the lower orders were interred together in a common repositorj', and the remains of those whose relatives were too poor to de- defray the expen.ses of a funeral, after being cleansed and kept in an alkaline solu- tion for seventy days, were wrapped up in coarse cloth, in mats or in a bundle of palm sticks, and laid in the earth. We have the following account of the funeral of Nophri-Othph, a priest of Amun, at Thebes, from the walls of his tomb. The scene of the funeral was on the lake, and on the way from the lake to the .sepulcher. At the head of the procession was a large boat conveying the bearers of flowers, cakes and many things relating to the offerings, tables, chairs and other articles of furniture, as well as the friends of the deceased, these being con.spicuous by their dresses and their long walking-sticks, the distinguishing mark of Egyptian gentlemen. Next came a small skiff, carrj'ing baskets of cakes and fruit, with a supply of green palm-branches, which it was the custom to strew in the way as the body was being conveyed to the tomb; the smoothness of the palm-lea\-es and stalks making it easy for the sled to glide over them. The lo\-e of caricature, so gen- eral among the Egyptians, even in so serious a matter as a funeral, is exemplified in this portion of the scene. A large boat having run aground and being pushed off the bank, struck a smaller one with its rudder, and overturned a large table, loaded with cakes and other things, upon the heads of the CIl'ILIZATlON. 87 rowers seated below, iiotwiUistaiuliiig all the exertions of a man in the jirow, and the vehement cries of the frightened helnis- niau. In another boat were men carn,-ing bunches of flowers and boxes supported by yokes on their shoulders. Then followed two other boats, one convejang the male mourners, and the other the female mourn- ers, standing on the roof of the cabin, beat- ing themselves, uttering cries and making other demonstrations of grief. At last came the consecrated boat, carr>'ing the hearse, around which were the chief mourners and the female relatives of the deceased. Upon arriving at the opposite shore of the lake, the procession marched to the catacombs. On their way, several women of the vicinity, carrj'ing their children in shawls, suspended from the side or back, joined in the lamen- tations of the funeral train. The nuunmy was set in a standing position in the cham- ber of the tomb; and the sister, wife or nearest relative, embracing it, began a funeral dirge, calling upon the deceased with ever}' expres.sion of affection, extolling his virtues and bewailing her own great loss. The high-priest presented a sacrifice of incense and libation, with offerings of cakes and other usual gifts for the dead; and the male and female mourners con- tinued the wailing, throwing dust upon their heads, and making other demonstra- tions of grief. Another painting represents the judgment of a wicked soul, which is condemned to return to earth in the form of a pig, having been weighed in the scales before Osiris and found wanting. It is put in a boat, and, attended by two monkeys, is expelled from heaven, all intercourse with which is sym- bolically cut off by a man hewing away the ground behind it with an axe. During the whole period of seventj'-two days of mourning for the dead, the process of embalming the body was performed. This embalming was perfonned by the physi- cians, who, as we have obser\'ed, were of the priestly order. Vast numbers of sacred animals — bulls, apes, dogs, cats, sheep, etc. — were likewise embalmed. It is said that more than four hundred million munnnics of human beings were made in Ivgypt. In recent years many of the.se mummies have been brought from the land of the Pha- raohs to our nui.seiuns. Tombs have been opened revealing thousands of them in rows one upon another, without coffins. vShip- loads of them have been transported to England, and ground up for fertilizers for the .soil. Kr.VPTI.\N MUMMIKS. The embalmers of dead bodies constituted a numerous class among the ancient Egyp- tians, and must have carried on a prosper- ous trade, if the prices mentioned by Dio- dorus were ac?tually tho.se usually exadted. According to the Sicilian historian, the most improved method of preparing a corp.se for interment cost a sum which, in our money, would amount to about a thousand dollars. A secondary and much inferior method re- quired an expenditure amounting to about four hundred dollars. The lowest and poorest classes had a third method, the price of which was comparatively mod- erate; but the vast numbers of this class must have made the profits to the em- balmers considerable. It has been esti- mated that between B. C. 2000 and A. D. 700, when embalming ceased, there may have been interred in Egypt four hundred and twenty million munuiiied corpses, a\'er- aging one hundred and fiftj'-five thousand yearly. If five-sixths of these, or one hun- 88 ANCIENT HISTOR Y. — EG YPT. dred and thirty thousand, belonged to the lower classes, while two-fifteenths, or twenty thousand, may have been furnished by the middle classes, and one-thirtieth, or five thousand, b)- the wealthy classes, and if the poor man paid one-twentieth of the price paid by those of the upper middle class, the annual amount received by the embalm- ers would have exceeded fifteen million dol- lars of our money. The process of embalming was very an- cient in Egypt, and by the time of the Eighteenth Dynasty the art had reached a remarkable degree of perfe(5tion. In the most expensive system, the brain was ex- tra (fled with great skill by a cur\^ed, bronze implement through the nostrils, after which the skull was washed out with certain medi- caments. The nostrils were plugged up, the eyes were removed and their places sup- plied with artificial ones of ivory or ob- sidian, and the hair was likewise sometimes removed and placed in a separate packet, covered with linen and bitumen. An open- ing was cut in the right side with a flint knife, through which the entire intestines were removed by the hand and deposited in sepulchral urns. The cavity was then cleansed by an injection of palm-wine, and .sometimes by a subsequent infusion of pounded aromatics; after which it was filled with bruised mj'rrh, cassia, cinnamon and other spices. The whole body was then immersed in natron for seventy days. The finger-nails were kept in place with thread, or by means of silver gloves or stalls placed over the fingers. A tin plate, in.scribed with the symbolic eye, was laid .over the incision in the right side. The arms were arranged symmetrically along the sides, or on the breast or groins. The body was then bandaged. Linen bandages were always u.sed, and were generally three or four inches wide and .several yards long. The coarser linen was nearest the body, the finer towards the outside. In some instances the bandages in which a single corp.se was swathed were over .seven hundred, or, ac- cording to Pettigrew, over a thousand j-ards long. The bandages were joined together and kept in place with gum. After the ban- daging, an outer linen shroud, dyed red with the cavihamus iinfloriiis, and ornamented with a network of porcelain beads, was put over the entire body; or the bandaged body was covered by a "cartonnage," composed of twenty-four layers of linen tightly pressed and glued together, thus forming a kind of pasteboard envelope, which was then thinly coated with stucco, and painted in bright colors with hieroglyphics and figures of deities The bod}- was then placed within a wooden coffin shaped similarly, and in most instances similarh- ornamented; and this coffin was often enclosed within another, or within several, each just capable of holding the preceding one. In the funerals of the wealthy the coffined body was placed within a stone chest, or sarcophagus, which might be of granite, alabaster, basalt, brec- cia or other good material, and was either rectangular or in the form of the mummied bod}-. Some sarcophagi were plain, but many were adorned with sculptures in re- lief or intaglio, embracing mainly scenes and passages from the most sacred of Egy-ptian writings, the "Ritual of the Dead." When the family or relatives were unable or indisposed to incur the large expen.se re- quired by this costly mode of embalming, a cheaper method was adopted. The viscera, instead of being deposited with spices in separate urns, could be returned into the body, accompanied by wax images of the four genii. The abdominal cavity could be only cleansed with cedar oil, and not filled with spices. The silver finger-stalls and artificial eyes could be dispensed with. The bandages could be reduced in number and made of coarser linen. The ornamentation could be simpler. A single wooden coffin would be sufficient, and the sarcophagus might be done without. Thus the expense of funerals could be reduced within mode- rate limits. A still cheaper mode was necessary for the poorer classes. Sometimes the bodies of the poor were submerged in mineral pitch. Often they were only dried and salted. Bodies prepared in this manner are in some Rr.T.IGION AND MYTHOLOGY. 89 cases swathed in bandages, but are frequently only wrapped in coarse cloths or rags. These bodies are not enclosed in coffins, and have been only buried in the ground, some singly, others in layers, one above the other. The expense of these modes of embalming was .so trifling as to be within the reach of the poorest. SECTION v.— EGYPTIAN RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY. lONCERNING the Egyptians, Herodotus says : "They are of all men the most excessively attentive to the worship of the gods." Much of the theology, m3'thology and ceremonies of the Hebrews and Greeks had their origin in Egj'pt. He- rodotus further says: ' 'The names of almost all the gods came from Egypt to Greece." He also states that the Greek oracles, es- pecially that of Dodona, were brought from Eg^'pt, and that the Egyptians first intro- duced public festivals, processions and sol- emn supplications, which the Greeks learned from them. He goes on to say: "The Eg>'p- tians are beyond measure scrupulous in mat- ters of religion." They invented the calen- dar and connedled astrology with it. Says Herodotus : ' ' Each month and day is as- signed to some particular god, and each per- son's birthday- determines his fate." He like- wise says : ' ' The Egyptians were also the first to say that the soul of man is immortal and that it transmigrates through everv^ va- rvG.\x of animal." The Greek Mysteries of Eleusis were taken from those of Isis, and the storj^ of the wanderings of Ceres in pur- suit of Proserpine was borrowed from that of Isis in search of Osiris. Modem writers agree with Herodotus. Wilkinson says : "The Eg>-ptians were unquestionably the most pious nation of all antiquity. The old- est monuments show their belief in a future life. And Osiris, the Judge, is mentioned in tombs two thousand j-ears before Christ." Bunsen says: "It has at last been ascer- tained that all the great gods of Egypt are on the oldest monuments." He goes on to say: "It is a great and astonishing facft, es- tablished bej'oud possibility of doubt, that the empire of Menes, on its first appearance in historv', possessed an established mythol- og}-, that is, a series of gods. Before the empire of Menes the separate Egj'ptian states had their temple worship regularlj- organized. ' ' M. Maun,-, the French Egj'ptologist, saj'S that everything among the Egyptians took the stamp of religion. Their writing was so full of sacred symbols as to render it almost useless for any other purpose. Lit- erature, science and art were branches of theology- and worship. The most common labors of daily life were constantly inter- EGYPTI.\N TRINITY. rupted by some reference to priesth- regula- tion. The future fate of every Egyptian was perpetually before him, so that he only hved to worship the gods. When the sun set, it seemed to die; when it arose, it seemed 90 ANCIENT HIS TOR Y. —EG YPT. a symbol of the resurrecftion. Religion penetrated so deeply into the people's hab- its that it became an instin<5t. It was of all polj-theisms the last to give way to Christianity, retaining its votaries as late as the sixth century of the Christian era. The ancient Egyptian religion was a perplexing mixture of monotheism and polytheism, of lofty and noble conceptions and of degrading superstitions. The sacred books of the ancient Egyp- tians contained the religion of the priests, who were raonotheists and considered it im- pious to represent the Supreme Being by images and idols; but they made him known to the masses by personifying his various attributes and manifestations, as Phthah the Creator, Amun the Revealer, and Osiris the Benefactor and Judge, and so on through an innumerable list of primary, secondary and tertiary characflers, which, to the untutored masses, became so many separate deities, thus accounting for the polytheistic faith of the lower classes. Some portion of the di- vine life was believed to pervade plants and animals, which were consequently cher- ished and worshiped by the ignorant; for what to the wise and learned were merely symbols became to the people distindt ob- jec5ts of adoration; and the Egyptian priests, like other ancient philosophers, disdained to enlighten the people, whom they despised and deemed incapable of comprehending their grand conceptions, and whom they de- sired to hold in subservience to their own and the kingly authority. Thus there were two kinds of Egyptian theology — esoteric, or an interior theology, for the initiated, and exoteric, or an ex- terior theology, for the uninitiated. The interior hidden theology for the priests and the wise related to the unity and spirituality of the Deity. The exterior theology for the masses consisted of mythological accounts of Osiris and Isis, the judgment of the dead, the metempsychosis, or transmigra- tion of the .soul, and everj-thing pertaining to the ceremonial worship of the gods. Herodotus tells us that the Egyptian masses believed in three orders of gods, and Bun.sen and Wilkinson thought that they had succeeded in tracing them from the monuments. Thus there were eight gods of the first order, twelve gods of the second order, and seven gods of the third order. The gods of the first order were of a higher and more spiritual class; tho.se of the second order were a transition from the first order to the third — children of the first and parents of the third. The first order of gods was for the priesthood, and taught them the unity, spirituality and creative power of the One True and Indi\-isible Supreme Being. The gods of the third order were for the masses of the people, and were the personal agents which represented the forms and forces of external nature, which was believed by the ignorant masses to work through this third series of gods, the most popular of which were Osiris and Isis. The gods of the second or intermediate order were neither so abstracft as those of the first order, nor so concrete as those of the third order — not rep- resenting either the spiritual charadleristics of the gods of the first cla.ss, or the natural qualities and forces of those of the third class, but rather the powers and faculties of human beings. For this reason most of the deities of this second class were adopted by the Greeks, whose religious sj-stem was es- sentially founded on hunian nature, and whose gods and goddesses were mainly the imaginary representations of human char- adleristics. The eight gods of the first order were believed to constitute a process of divine development, and were supposed to exercise the power of revealing themselves. These eight divinities, according to Bunsen, were arranged in the following order : i. Amn, or Amnion; 2. Kheni, or Chemmis; 3. Mut, the Mother Goddess ; 4. Num, or Kneph ; 5. Seti, or Sate; 6. Phthah, the Artist God; 7. Net, or Neith, the Goddess of Sais; 8. Ra, the Sun, the God of Heliopolis. Ac- cording to Wilkinson, they are classed in a different order: i. Neph, or Kneph; 2. Anuni, or Ammon; 3. Phthah; 4. Khem ; 5. Sate; 6. Maut, or Mut ; 7. Pasht, or Diana; RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY. 91 8. Neith, or Miner\-a. In Wilkinson's list, Paslit, or Diana, is classed in the first order instead of the second, while Ra is not classed ill this series. Amnion, or Amun, was "the Revealer," "the Concealed God," "the Absolute Spirit," "the Father of all the other gods;" corresponding to the Zeus of the Greeks. He is stj'led "the King of the Gods," " the L,ord of Heaven," "the Ruler," "the Lord of the Two Thrones, " " the Horus or God of the Two Egjpts. ' ' His city was Thebes. Manetho saj's his name signifies conceal- ment. The root " Anin" signifies to veil or conceal. His original name, as standing in the rings of the Twelfth Dynasty, was Amu. After the Eighteenth Dynasty he was called Amn-Ra, signifj'ing the Sun. Says Bunseii: "Incontestably, he stands in EgA'pt as the head of the great cosmogonic development." Kneph, the God of Spirit, was also called Knubis, or Num. His name, according to Plutarch and Diodorus, means Spirit. At Esna he was called ' ' the Breath of those in the Firmament." At Elephantine he was styled "Lord of the Inundations." He is represented as wearing the ram's head with double horns, and was universally worshiped in Ethiopia. The sheep were sacred to him, and large flocks of them were kept in the Thebais for their wool. The serpent or asp were also sacred to Kneph. He was called Creator, and was represented in the figure of a potter with a wheel. In Philae he is repre- sented as forming on his wheel a figure of Osiris, bearing the inscription: "Num, who fomis on his wheel the Divine Limbs of Osiris. " He is likewise called ' ' the Sculptor of all meu, " " the god who made the sun and the moon to revolve." According to Por- phyrj-, Phtliah sprang from an egg which came from the mouth of Kneph, and in this declaration he is sustained by the authority of the monuments. Phthah thus represents the Absolute Divine Being as Spirit, the Spirit of God mo\-ing on the face of the waters, a moving spirit intertwined and in- terwoven with the chaotic and shapeless mass of matter. Phthah— called HephiEstus by the Greeks, Vulcan by the Roman.s — represents creation by the truth, fonnation, stability; and is called in the inscriptions "Lord of Truth," "Lord of the Beautiful Face," "Father of Beginnings, moving the Egg of the Sun and Moon." Horapollo and Plutarch considered the scarabaeus, or beetle, the sign of this god, as an emblem of the world and its creation. In an inscription he is called " Creator of all things in the world." Says lamblicus: "The God who creates with truth is Phthah. ' ' He was also related with the sun, having thirt}- fingers, representing the thirty days of the month. He is also represented as a defoniied dwarf. Khem, whom the Greeks called Pan, the principle of generation, is sometimes repre- sented as holding a plowshare. Amun has no female companion. Mut, the mother, is the partner of Khem, the father. Seti, the Ray or Arrow, a feminine figure with the horns of a cow, is the consort of Kneph. Neith, or Net, the Goddess of Sals, is the companion of Phthah. The Greek Athene, Pallas, or Miner\-a, is believed to be derived from Neith, and her name signifies: ' ' I came by myself. ' ' Clemens Alexandrinussaj-s that her great shrine at Sais has an open roof bearing this inscription : "I am all that was and is and is to be, and no mortal has lifted my garment, and the fruit I bore is Helios. ' ' This signifies her identity with Nature. Helios, or Ra, or Phrah, the Sun-god, the God of Heliopolis (City of the Sun), is the eighth and last of the first order of gods, according to Bunsen. It is from Ra, or Phrah, that the name Pharaoh is derived. As we have already seen, Wilkinson ex- cludes Ra from the first order, substituting Pasht, or Bubastis, the Diana of the Greeks, instead. If we accept Bunsen's classifica- tion, taking the Sun-god as the eighth and last of the first series, we shall then see in Amnion, the Concealed God, the pure Spirit, from which emanates Kneph, the creative power; followed by Khem, the generative power; followed by Phthah, the artistic prin- ciple; after which come the three feminine creative principles of Nature in Neith, the 92 ANCIENT HISTORY.— FXrVPT. nourishing principle in Mut the mother, the developing principle in the goddess Pasht, and the completion of the whole cycle in Helios, or Ra, or Phrah, the Snn-god. The reason for the difference between the priestly and popular religions of Eg>"pt is to be attributed to the difference of race origin between the priesthood and the masses. The priests are believed to have been the descendants of the Asiatic immi- grants into the Nile valley, while the great body of the people are supposed to have been of Ethiopian extradtion. The Asiatic immigrants and conquerors brought with them the spiritual ideas represented by the first order of gods, while the Ethiopian oc- cupiers of the Nile valley held fast to the African instindl of nature- worship. The combination of these two principles fonned the Egyptian religious system. The first order of gods was therefore for the priests, the initiated; the third order was for the people, the uninitiated; while the second order was a transition between the first and third — children of the first and parents of the third. As we have said, the second order of Egyptian gods was incorporated into the Greek pantheon. Thus Khonso, the child of Ammon, was the same as the Greek Her- cules, God of Strength; Thoth, child of Kneph, was the equivalent of the Greek Hennes, God of Knowledge; Pecht, child of Phthah, was represented by the Greek Artemis, or Diana, the Goddess of Birth, who prote(fled women; Athor, or Hathor, was the same as the Grecian Aphrodite, or Venus, the Goddess of Love; Seb was the Greek Kronos, or Saturn, the God of Time; and Nutpe was the Grecian Rhea, the wife of Kronos. The third order of gods were the children of the second order, and were manifestations of the Divine Spirit in the external universe. These, as we have said, were the popular gods, though worshiped by the untutored masses. The gods of the third class, though lowest in the scale, had more of individuality and personality about them, and their wor- ship throughout Egypt was universal from thenio.st remote antiquity. Says Herodotus: "The Osiris deities are the only gods wor- shiped throughout Egypt." Says Bun.sen: "They stand on the oldest monuments, are the center of all Egyptian worship, and are perhaps the oldest original obje(5ls of rever- ence." Wilkinson says the only change in the EgA'ptian religious system was during the fourteenth century' before Christ, when Amun, or Ammon, was made chief of the third class of gods, in place of Typhon, or Seth, the God of Destru(5tion, who had pre- viousU' held the first place and had been the most highly reverenced of the popular deities. Seth's name was then chiseled off the monuments, and Amun's substituted in- stead. This religious revolution was the final result of the amalgamation of the two races and religions in Egj'pt — the Asiatic Semitic and Aryan immigrants, with their higher spiritual ideas, and the Ethiopian Hamitic aborigines, with their gross African nature-worship. It was very natural that the priests, the descendants of the Asiatic immigrants, should place their religion above that of the descendants of the abo- riginal inhabitants, and that they should have permitted for a time the external wor- ship until the public was prepared for the reception of a higher religious faith in the .substitution of Amun, the Revealer, for the God of Terror and Destruction. The most popular of ancient Egyptian myths was that of Osiris and Isis, as given us by Plutarch. Seb and Nutpe, or Nut — the Kronos and Rhea of the Greeks, the Saturn and C^'bele of the Romans — were the parents of the third group of deities. Seb is Time, and Nut is Space. The Sun pronounced a curse upon them, in not permitting them to be delivered on any daj' of the year. This symbolizes the difficulty of the thought of Creation. But Hermes, or Wisdom, who loved Rhea, won at dice, of the Moon, five days, the .seventieth part of all her illumina- tions, which he added to the three hundred and .sixty days, or twelve months. This im- plies the corredlion of the calendar. The five days added were the birthdays of the gods. Osiris was born on the first of these five days, THE HATHOR TEMPLE OE DENDERAH. RF.I.ICION AND lUVT/m/.OCV. 93 when a voice proclaimed: " The Lord of all things is now horn." Arneris-ApoUo, the elder Horus, was born on the second of these days ; Tj-phon on the third; Isis on the fourth ; Nepthys- Venus, or V'ictory, on the fifth. Osiris and Arueris were children of the Sun; Isis was the daughter of Hermes; and Typhou and Nepthys were children of Kronos, or Saturn, the God of Time. Osiris took Isis for his wife, and went through the world civilizing and refining mankind by means of music, poetry and ora- tory. On his return Tj-phon took seventj-- two men and likewise an Ethiopian queen and construdled an ark as large as the bod)- of Osiris, and at a feast he offered it to the one whom it should fit. Osiris got into the ark, and thej- closed the lid and soldered it fast, after which they cast the ark into the Nile. Then Isis, putting on mourning, went to look for the ark. As her inquiries were made to little children, these were thought by the Egyptians to possess the power of divination. She then found Anubis, child of Osiris by Nepthys, wife of Typhon, who in- formed her that the ark was entangled in a tree which grew up around it and concealed it from view. The king construdled from this tree a pillar to support his house. Isis sat down and wept, whereupon the queen's women came to her, and she stroked their hair, thus causing fragrance to pass into it. She became nurse to the queen's child, feed- ing him with her finger, and burning his impurities by means of a lambent flame dur- ing the night-time. After this she converted herself into a swallow, and flying around the house, bewailed her fate. The queen watched her proceedings and cried out in alarm, thus depriving her child of immortal- ity. Isis then begged the pillar, and taking it down, took out the chest and cried so loud as to frighten the king's younger son to death. Then taking the ark and the king's elder .son she sailed away. Being chilled by the cold air of the river she be- came angry and cursed it, so that it became drj-. Then opening the chest, she put her cheek to the cheek of Osiris, weeping bit- terly. The little boy coming and peeping into the chest, she gave him such a terrible look as to frighten him to death. Then Isis went to her son Horus, who was at nurse at Buto. Typhon, while hunting by moonlight, saw the ark, with the body of Osiris, which he tore into fourteen pieces and cast them around. Isis went in a boat made of papjrus to look for the parts of her hu.sband's body, and finding them, buried them all in different places. The soul of Osiris then returned from Hades to train up his son, Horus. Then Horus conquered T>-- phon in battle, but Isis allowed Tjphon to make his escape. It is also said that Isis had another son bj' the soul of Osiris after his death, the god Harpocrates, who is rep- resented as lame and with his finger on his mouth, signifying childhood. Plutarch says that Osiris afterward became Serapis, the Pluto of the under- world. Plu- tarch, in explanation of the myth of Osiris and Isis, says that 0.siris is the personification of Water, especially the Nile, and that Isis is the Earth, especially the Nile valley of Egypt overflowed by the river. Horus, the son, is the Air, especially the moist, mild air of Egypt. Typhon is Fire, especially the summer heat which dries up the Nile and parches the land. His seventy-two com- panions are the seventy-two da^'s of most intense heat, as viewed by the Egyptians. Nepthys, Typhon's wife, sister of Isis, is the Desert out of Egypt, but which, when over- flowed by a higher inundation of the Nile, becomes productive and has a child by Osiris, named Anubis. The confinement of Osiris in the ark signifies the summer heat dr>'ing up the Nile and confining it to its channel. The entanglement of the ark in a tree means the division of the Nile into many mouths at the Delta and the overhanging of the river by the wood. Isis nunsing the king's child, the fragrance, etc., signifies the nour- ishment of plants and animals by the earth. The tearing of the body of Osiris into four- teen parts by Typhon means either the divis- ion of the Nile at its mouths or the pools of water left after the inundation has dried up. Besides this geographical explanation of this allegory, Plutarch gives a scientific and 94 ANCIENT HISTORY.— EGYPT. astronomical view. Thus Osiris is the pro- dudlive and creative principle in nature. Isisis the feminine quality in nature, and for this reason is called by Plato the nurse. Ty- phon is the destructive principle in nature. Horus is the mediator between creation and destru(5lion. This gives us the triad of Osi- ris, Typhon and Horus, corresponding to the Hindoo triad of Brahma, Siva and Vish- nu, and likewise to the Persian triad of Or- mazd, Ahriman and Mithra. In this way the Egyptian myth symbolizes the struggle between the principles of good and evil in the world of nature. The priests sought to turn the worship of Osiris and Isis into an allegory- of the strug- gles, trials, sorrows and self-recovery of the human soul. After death every human soul adopted the name and symbols of Osiris, after which he retired to the under- world, there to be judged by that god. Closely re- lated with this was the dodlrine of the soul's transmigration through various bodies — which dodlrine Pythagoras brought from Egypt. These do(5lrines were taught in the My.steries. Herodotus says : "I know them, but must not tell them." lamblicus, in his work on the Mysteries, says that they taught that One God existed before all things, and that this One God was to be venerated in silence. Then Emeph or Neph was god in his self-con.sciousness. After this in Aniun his mind became truth, diffusing light. Phthah represents truth working b^' art, and Osiris symbolizes art producing good. Bunsen says that according to the monu- ments Osiris and Isis, besides emanating from the second order of gods, are them- selves the first and second order. Osiris, Isis and Horus embrace all Egyptian my- thology, excepting Amun and Neph. In Lower Egypt Phthah was the highest god, corresponding to the Greek Hephaestus, the Roman Vulcan, the god of fire or heat, the father of the sun. In Upper Egj'pt Amun was the chief god. According to Manetho, Phthah reigned nine thousand years before the other gods, signifying that this was the oldest worship in Egypt. Amun is the head of a cosmogony proceeding by emanation from spirit to matter, while Phthah is at the origin of a cosmogony a.scending by evolu- tion from matter to spirit. From Phthah, or heat, comes light; from light comes life; from life proceed gods, men, plants, animals and all organic existence. In the inscrip- tions Phthah is called, "Father of the Father of the Gods," "Kingof both Worlds," "God of all Beginnings, " " Former of Things. ' ' The egg, as containing the germ of life, is one of his symbols. The scarabaeus, or beetle, which rolls its ball of earth, supposed to contain its egg, is sacred to Phthah. Memphis was his sacred city. His son, Ra, the Sun-god, had his temples at On, which the Greeks called Heliopolis, meaning "City of the Sun, ' ' so named from Ra's Greek name Helios. The cat was sacred to Ra. As Phthah is the god of all beginnings in Lower Egypt, so Ra is the life-giving god, the adlive ruler of the world, holding in one hand a sceptre and in the other the symbol of life. The goddesses of Lower Egypt were Neith at Sais, Leto, the goddess whose tem- ple was at Buto, and Pasht at Bubastis. As we have already said, the chief god in Up- per Egypt was Amun, or Amnion, the Con- cealed God; and next to him is Kiiepli, or Knubis, the vSpirit of God. Their compan- ions were Mut, the mother, and Khonso. The two oldest gods were Mentu, the rising sini, and Atmu, the setting sun. In Egypt, as in Greece, the earliest wor- ship was of local divinities, who were after- wards united in a Pantheon. As in Greece Zeus was at first worshiped in Dodona and Arcadia, Apollo in Crete and Delos, Aphro- dite in Cyprus, Athene at Athens, and after- wards these local deities were united in one company as the twelve great gods of Olym- pus, so in Egypt the different early theol- ogies were combined in the three orders of gods, with Amnion at their head. But in Eg>'pt, as in Greece, each cit_\- and dis- tridl retained the special worship of its own local deity. As in Greece Athene contin- ued to be the protedling goddess of Athens, and Aphrodite of Cyprus, so, in Eg>-pt, vSet continued to be the god of Ombos, Leto of KF.I.IGION AND JlIVniOLOGY. 95 Buto, Horus of Edfii, Kheiii of Coptos, etc. The oue great sing^ular feature about the Egyptian religion was animal-worship. He- rodotus saj's : "All animals in Egypt are accounted sacred, and if any one kills the.se animals willfully he is put to death." This account of Herodotus is not stridlly corre(5l, as many animals were not considered sacred, though most of them were. Wilkinson men- tions more than one hundred Egyptian ani- mals, over one-half of which number were sacred. Hunting and fishing being favorite amusements of the Egyptians, the killing of some animals must have been tolerated. If, however, anj' one killed any of the sacred animals, either accidentally or willfulh% he was immediately put to death. In different parts of Egypt different animals were ac- counted sacred. Besides the sacred bull at Memphis, the most striking sacred animals were the Mnevis, or sacred calf at Heliopolis, the sacred sheep at Sais and Thebes, and the sacred crocodiles at Ombos and Arsinoe. Thus the animal sacred in one place was not so regarded in another. The cat, the ibis and the beetle were particular objecfts of wor- ship. The death of a cat in a private house caused the whole family to shave their ej-e- brows in token of their grief The Persian king Cambyses was enabled to conquer the Egyptians by placing in the van of his army multitudes of cats, which the Egyp- tians were fearful of killing, so that they abandoned all resistance. Cows were sacred to Isis, and this god- dess was represented in the form of a cow. The gods often wore animals' heads. Am- un is represented with the ram's head. The worship of Apis, the sacred bull of Memphis, the representative of Osiris, was one of the most striking and imposing among Egyp- tian religious ceremonies. Plutarch describes him as a fair and beautiful image of the soul of Osiris. He was a bull with black hair, a white spot on his forehead, and some other distinguishing marks. He was kept in a magnificent temple at Memphis. The fes- tival in his honor continued seven days, during which time a great multitude of people as.sembled. When he died his body was embalmed and buried with great pomp, and the priests went in quest of another Apis, which, when discovered by the dis- tinguishing marks, was taken to Mem- phis, fed with care and exerci.sed, and con- sulted as an oracle. The burial-place of the sacred bulls was in recent years discovered near Memphis. It consists of an arched gallery cut in the solid rock, two thousand feet long, twenty-five feet high and twenty- five feet wide. On each side is a .series of recesses, each of which contains a large sar- cophagus of granite, fifteen bj' eight feet, in which the body of a sacred bull was depos- ited. In 1852 thirty of these had been dis- covered. Before this tomb is a paved road, with lions in rows on each side, and before this is a temple with a vestibule. As we have previously remarked, the animals sacred in one place were not so regarded in another, and this difference of worship often led to bitter enmities between the several nomes. Thus at Ombos the crocodile was wor- shiped, while at Tentyra it was hunted and abhorred. The ram-headed Aniun was adored at Thebes, and the sheep was there a sacred animal, while the goat was killed for food. In Mendes the goat was worshiped and the sheep killed and eaten. Mutton was likewise eaten at Lycopolis, in compliment to the wolf, which was there an objecft of veneration. The sacred animals at death were em- balmed by the priests and buried, and thousands upon thousands of mummies of dogs, cats, wolves, sheep, crocodiles, birds and other animals are found in the tombs. The sacred animals were reverenced as con- taining a divine element. Says Wilkinson: "The Egyptians may have deified some animals to insure their preser\^ation, some to prevent their unwholesome meat being used as food." The cow, the ox, the dog, the cat, the ibis, appeared to the Egyptians as gifted with supernatural powers. This people reverenced the mysterious manifesta- tion of the Divine presence in all external nature. Animals were considered expres- sions of Divine thoughts. This belief reached its extreme point in the Egyptian 96 ANCIENT HISTORY.— EGYPT. reverence for animal life. This people saw something divine and found Deity in nature. The Egyptians had more religious festi- vals than any other ancient people, everj' month and day being governed by a god. There were two feasts of the New Year; twelve of the first days of the months; one of the rising of the dog-star; and others to the great gods, to seed time and harvest, to the rise and fall of the Nile, as the nine days' feast in honor of Osiris, the Benefadlor of men. The feast of the lamps at Sais was in honor of Neith, and was observed throughout Egypt. Other noted festivals were the feast of the death of Osiris, and the feast of his resurrecflion, when the people exclaimed: "We have found him! Good luck!" One of the feasts of Isis lasted four days. The great feast at Bubastis was the most noted of all the Egyptian festivals. On one of these occasions seven hundred thousand persons sailed on the Nile with nui.sic. At another blood}- conflicts occurred betu'een the armed priests and the armed men who conveyed the image of the god to the temple. The daily life of the people was an em- bodiment of the history of the deities. The the bird Weiniu took place ; on the four- teenth of Toby no voluptuous songs must be listened to, for Isis and Nepthys bewail Osiris on that day. On the third of Mechir no one can go on a journey, becau.se Set then began a war. ' ' None must go out on another specified day. The day on which the other gods conquered Set was regarded EGYPTI.\N PRIESTS. as lucky, and the child born on that day was believed to be sure to live to a good old age. The priests, of which every temple had its own separate body, did not fonn an ex- SACRED WOMEN. French Eg3ptologist, De Rouge, describes an old papyrus which says: "On the twelfth of Chorak no one is to go out of doors, for on that day the transformation of Osiris into elusive caste, though the priestly office was generally continued by inheritance in cer- tain families. Priests could be militant com- manders, provincial governors, judges oi RELIGION AND MYTIIOI.OCY. 97 architecfls. The sons of soldiers were often priests, while soldiers frequently married daughters of priests. Josejih, who was a foreigner naturalized in Eg>pt, married the daughter of the High Priest of On, or Heli- opolis. The Eg>'ptian priests were of differ- ent grades — the chief priests, or pontiffs, the prophets, the judges, the scribes, those who examined \ic5tims, the keepers of the robes, the keepers of the sacred animals, and others. Women also performed official du- ties in the temples. The priests were exempt from taxation and were supported out of the public stores. Their duties were to superintend sacrifices, processions, funerals, etc. They were ini- tiated into all the religious mysteries, and were taught sur\-eying. They were par- ticular as to their food, refraining from eat- ing peas, beans, onions and garlic, while fish and swine-fle.sh were stridlly forbidden. They bathed twice a day and twice during the night, and shaved the head and body every third day. Their fasts, which lasted from one to six weeks, took place after their purification. The\' offered prayers for the dead. The priestly dress was simple, made chiefly of linen, and consi.sted of an under- garment and a loose upper robe, with full sleeves, and the leopard-skin above; while sometimes there were one or two feathers in the head. Chaplets and flowers were placed upon the altars, such as the lotus and papyrus; likewise baskets of figs and grapes, and ala- baster vases of ointment. Necklaces, brace- lets and jewelrj- were also offered as invoca- tions and thanksgivings. Oxen and other animals were offered as .sacrifices, and the blood was permitted to flow over the altar. Incense was offered to all the gods and goddesses in censers. Religious processions were another char- a.cfleristic feature of the EgV'ptian system. In one of these shrines were carried on the shoulders by means of long staves passed through rings. In others the statues of the gods were carried, and arks o\'er- shadowed bj' the wings of the Goddess of Truth were spread over the sacred beetle. The most highly esteemed of the priestly order were the prophets, who studied the ten hieratical books. The stolists dre.ssed and undressed the images, attended to the vestments of the priests, and marked the beasts chosen for sacrifice. The .scribes served for the Apis, or sacred bull, and their chief requirement was great learning. The priests, who.se life was full of duties and restricflions, had only one wife, and were circumcised like other Egyptians. They devoted all their time to study or re- ligious service. The gloomy character of the Egyptian religion was in strong contrast with the cheerful worship of the Greeks. One Greek writer says: "The gods of Egypt rejoice in lamentations, those of Greece in dances." Another says: " The Egyptians offer their gods tears. ' ' The Egyptian temples surpassed in grand- eur all other architecflural monuments in the world. The temple of Amun, in the fertile oasis of Siwah, in the Libyan desert, was one of the most celebrated oracles of anti- quity. Near this temple, in a grove of palm- trees, rose a hot spring, the Fountain of the Sun, whose bubbling and smoking were be- lieved to betoken the Divine presence. The oasis was a stopping-place for caravans pass- ing between Egypt and Central Africa, and many rich offerings were left in the temple by traveling merchants, who thus .showed their gratitude for e.scaping the perils of the desert, or thus sought the favor of Amun for their journey when just begun. The immortality of the .soul and the be- lief in a future state, based on rewards and punishments for good or evil in this life, formed a cardinal point of Egyptian relig- ious faith from the earlie.st period; and the belief in the transmigration of the soul was clo.sely connetled with the reverence for ani- mals. Bun.sen says the Egyptians viewed the human soul and the animal .soul as the same, and for this reason the animal was considered sacred to man. The Egyptian dodtrine of transmigration differed from that of the Hindoos in one es.sential point; there being no idea of retribution in the Egyptian 98 ANCIENT HISTORY.— EGYPT. doclrine, as in the Hindoo. The Egyptian docftrine, according to Herodotus, was that every human soul must pass through all animals, fishes, insedls and birds, thus com- pleting the whole circuit of animated exist- ence, after which it would again enter the human body from which it came. The Hindoo doctrine regards transmigration as a punishment for sin and wickedness, and that only those who lead an unholy life are subjected to this punishment, from which the only release is the leading of a pure and holy life. Herodotus further says that the complete circuit of transmigration is per- formed by the soul in three thousand years, and that it does not begin until the body de- cay's. This explains the extraordinary care taken in ornamenting the tombs, as the per- manent resting-places for the dead during a long period. Diodorus says that the Egyp- tians ornamented their tombs as the endur- ing residences of mankind. The dodlrine of transmigration also accounts for the cus- tom of embalming the dead, in order to pre- ser\-e the body from decay, and to render it fit to receive the soul on its return. Mr. Birch says that the docftrine of the soul's immortality is as old as the inscrip- tions of the Twelfth Dynasty, of which many contain extracts from the Ritual for the Dead. Mr. Birch has translated one hundred and forty -six chapters of this Rit-" ual from the text of the Turin Papyrus, which is the most complete in Europe. Chapters of it are seen on mummy-cases, on mummy-wraps, on the walls of tombs, and on papyri within the sarcophagi. This Ritual is the only remnant of the Hermetic Books constituting the library of the priests. This liturgy represents Osiris and his triad as struggling with Set and his devils for the soul of the departed, in the presence of the Sun-god, the .source of life. The Egyptians believed that happiness in the future state depended upon well-doing in this life. As we have seen, the belief that the soul, after making the circuit of transmigration through the animal creation, would return to the body from which it had departed, caused the universal national cus- tom of embalming the dead to preserve their bodies from decay. The period of mourning for the dead lasted seventy-two days, during which the body of the deceased was in the charge of the embalmers. After the process of embalming had been finished, the mummy thus formed was returned to the house of its earthly abode, where its friends kept it for a month or a year, and where feasts were given in its honor, it be- ing always present in the company of guests. The mummy, in its stone chest, or sarcopha- gus, was then carried in an imposing funeral procession to the borders of the sacred lake, where occured the trial of the deceased by a priestly tribunal of forty-two judges, symbol- izing the soul's trial before the judgment-seat of the gods presided o\'er by Osiris. Masked priests represented the gods of the under- world. Typhon is represented as accusing the deceased and demanding his punish- ment. The intercessors plead for him. Any one was at liberty to bring accusations against the deceased. A large pair of scales was brought forward, on one side of which was placed the conduct of the deceased in a bottle, and on the other side was set the image of truth. If it was clearly shown that the deceased had led an evil life, the priestly judges pronounced an unfavorable verdicft upon it as to its future fate, in which case the body was denied the privilege of burial with the just opposite the sacred lake and was returned to its friends, who usually buried it on the side of the sacred lake op- posite the resting-place of the just. If, howe^•er, the verdi(fl of the'judges was {■ax- orable, the lamentations of the funeral train gave way to songs of triumph, and the de- ceased was congratulated upon being admit- ted into the happy companionship of the friends of Osiris; and the body in its sar- cophagus was ferried across the sacred lake and interred with those of its ancestors in a tomb richly ornamented. These ceremonies are represented on the funeral papyri. The forty-two judges who tried the dead repre- sented the forty-two nomes, or provinces of Eg^'pt; and every nome had its sacred lake, across which all funeral processions must RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY. 99 pass on their way to the citj- of the dead. On the sides of these sacred lakes nearest the abodes of the living have been found the remains of great numbers who were rejecfled by the judges at their trial, and whose bodies were in consequence returned in dis- grace to their friends, to be disposed of in the most speedy manner possible. At death all became equal, and every one, from the king and highest pontiff to the lowest swine- herd, was subject to the same .solemn judg- ment passed at death, and the fear which it inspired exercised a wholesome influence over all cla.sses. The soul's trial before the judgment-seat of the gods, as represented in the papyrus Book of the Dead, and before which the soul had to pass an acquittal before it could enter the abode of the blessed, is described as follows: Forty-two gods occupj- the judg- ment-seat, over which Osiris presides, and before whom are the scales, in one of which is placed the statue of perfect Justice, while in the other is the heart of the deceased. The soul of the departed stands watching the balance, while Horus examines the plummet showing on which side the beam inclines; and Thoth, the Justifier, records the sentence. If the decision of this divine tribunal is favorable, the soul is sealed as "justified." The Hall of the Two Truths, described in the Book of the Dead, recounts the scene when the soul appears before the gods, forty-two of whom are ready to feed on the blood of the wicked. The soul, addressing the Lord of Truth, denies having done evil, saying: "I have not afflicted any. I have not told falsehoods. I ha\e not made the laboring man do more than his ta.sk. I have not been idle. I have not murdered. I have not committed fraud. I have not injured the images of the gods. I have not taken scraps of the bandages of the dead. I have not committed adulter^-. I have not cheated by false weights. I have not kept milk from sucklings. I have not caught the sacred birds." He then says to each god: "I have not been idle. I have not boasted. I have not stolen. I have not counterfeited, nor killed the sacred beasts, nor blasphemed, nor refused to hear the truth, nor despi.sed God in my heart." In other texts the soul is represented as .saying: " I have loved God. I have given bread to the hungry, water to the thirsty, garments to the naked, and an a.sylum to the aban- doned." Many of the virtues taught by Christi- anity appear to have been the ideal of the ancient Egyptians. Brugsch tells us that a thousand voices from the tombs declare this. One inscription in Upper Egv'pt .says: "He loved his father, he honored his mother, he loved his brethren, and never went from his home in bad temper. He never preferred the great man to the low one." Another saj^s: "I was a wise man, my soul loved God. I was a brother to the great men and a father to the humble ones, and never was a mischief-maker." An inscription at Sais, on a priest who lived in the days of Cam- byses, says: "I honored my father, I es- teemed my mother, I loved my brothers. I found graves for the unburied dead. I in- structed little children. I took care of orphans as though they were my own chil- dren. For great misfortunes were on Egv'pt in my time, and on this city of Sais." The following is an inscription on a tomb of a nomad prince at Beni-Hassan: "What I have done I will say. My goodness and my kindness were ample. I never oppressed the fatherless nor the widow. I did not treat cruelly the fi.shermen, the shepherds or the poor laborers. There was nowhere in my time hunger or want. For I cultivated all mj- fields, far and near, in order that their inhabitants might have food. I never pre- ferred the great and powerful to the humble and poor, but did equal justice to all." A king's tomb at Thebes describes the relig- ious creed of a Pharaoh thus: "I lived in truth, and fed my soul with justice. What I did to men was done in peace, and how I loved God, God and my heart well know. I have given bread to the hungry, water to the thirsty, clothes to the naked, and a shelter to the stranger. I honored the gods with sacrifices, and the dead with offeriugs. ' ' lOO AATIENT JUS TOR Y. — Ed 'PT. A rock at Lycopolis pleads for an ancient ruler in these words: "I never took the child from its mother's bosom, nor the poor man from the side of his wife." Hundreds of stones in Egypt declare the best gifts which the gods bestow on their favorites to be ' ' the respecft of men, and the love of women. ' ' On a monumental stele discovered at Kar- nak by M. Mariette, and translated by De Rouge, is an inscription recording the tri- umphs of Thothmes III. in strains sounding like the song of Miriam or the Hymn of Deborah, the king recognizing his power and triumph as the work of the great god Amun. A like strain of religious poetry is found in the Papyrus of Sallier, now in the British Museum. This is an epic poem by the Egyptian poet Pentaour, celebrating the campaigns of Rameses the Great, and was can-ed in full on the walls of Karnak. It especially describes an incident in a war with the Kheta, or Hittites, of Syria, who had revolted against Rameses. Rameses being .separated from his main force by a strategem, was in extreme peril; and Pentaour describes him as calling upon Amun, God of Thebes, for aid, recounting the sacrifices he had offered to the god, and imploring the god not to leave him to the mercy of the cruel Syrian tribes. Rameses is represented as pleading thus; "Have I not eredted to thee great temples ? Have I not sacrificed to thee thirty thousand oxen ? I have brought from Elephantine obelisks to set up to thy name. I invoke thee, O my father, Amun. I am in the midst of a throng of unknown tribes, and alone. But Amun is better to me than thousands of archers and millions of horsemen. Amun will prevail over the enem}-." After defeating his enemies, Ram- e.ses, in his song of triumph, says; "Amun- Ra has been at my right and my left in the battles; his mind has inspired my own, and has prepared the downfall of mj^ enemies. Amun-Ra, my father, has brought the whole world to my feet. ' ' SECTION VI.— THE ANCIENT ETHIOPIANS. OUTH of Egypt — in the region now called Nubia and Abys- sinia — lived the ancient Ethi- opians, some tribes of whom were as highly civilized as the ancient Egyptians, but we know very little of their history, and their origin is involved in the impenetrable obscurity of a remote antiquity. The ruins of splendid monu- ments, obelisks, sphinxes, colossal statues, rock -cut temples, etc., along that portion of the Nile valley, fully attest the progress of this ancient Hamitic people in the art of architecflure. Besides the civilized Ethiopians, this re- gion was occupied in ancient times, as now, by various Arab tribes in different stages of advancement from the complete savage to the hunting and fishing tribes, and from these to the nomadic herdsmen and shep- herds. The civilized Ethiopians dwelt in cities, possessed a civil government and laws, were acquainted with the use of hiero- glyphics, and the fame of their progress in knowledge and the .social arts had in the earliest ages spread over a con.siderable por- tion of the earth. The soil of the portion of the Nile \-alley occupied bj^ the ancient Ethiopians was in their day as fertile as the richest part of Eg^'pt, and where protecfted it yet continues to be so, but the hills on both sides are bordered by sandy deserts, against which they afford but a scanty protecflion. The navigation of the Nile is impeded by the windings of the river, and by the obstru(5tion of catara(fts and rapids, so that intercourse is more generally maintained by caravans than by boats. In the southern part of the valley the river incloses a number of fertile islands. The productions of the Nile valley in Nubia are e,s.sentially the same as those of Egypt. All along this portion of the valley is a succession of stupendous monu- THF. ETHIOPIANS. lOI ments, rivaling in beauty those of Thebes, and surpassing them in grandeur. The island of Meroe — so called because it was almost surrounded with rivers — pos- sessed large numbers of camels, which were used in its inunense caravan trade; and the ivory, ebony and spices which the Ethi- opians sent down the river into Eg>pt were obtained by traffic with the inhabitants of Central Africa. Meroe had better harbors for commerce with India than had Egypt, as the Ethiopian ports on the Red Sea were superior to the Egyptian, and the caravan- routes to them were shorter and the perilous portion of the navigation of that sea was entirely avoided. In the wild tradts of country in the vicinity of Meroe are ani- mals which were hiuited by the ancient savage tribes, as they are by the modem, such as the giraffe, or camelopard. The elephant is found in Abyssinia, not far south of the neighborhood of Meroe. About one thousand years before Christ, Meroe was the seat of a flourishing Ethi- opian kingdom, which for a time held Upper Eg3'pt under sway, bat its early his- tory is shrouded in the obscurity of a dim past. The monuments of Meroe are believed to have been modeled from the wonderful architecftural stru(5lures of Egj'pt; but cut off from the rest of the civilized world hy Egypt, the Ethiopians can only be traced in historj' when their country is invaded, or when they themselves invade other lands. We have seen that several Egj'ptian kings conquered Ethiopia and ruled the countrj' for short in- tervals. The fabled Assyrian queen, Semi- ramis, is said to have invaded Ethiopia in the eleventh century before Christ. This is doubtful, but we have certain knowledge that the Ethiopians at this time were a pow- erful nation, and that they aided Shishak, King of Egypt, in his war against Reho- boam. King of Judah, in 957 B. C. Sixteen years later Zerah, King of Ethiopia, is said to have invaded Judah with an immense army, but was totally defeated. According to the Scripture narrative, the Ethiopians had made considerable progress in the art of war, controlled the Red Sea navigation, 1— 7.-U. K. and held sway over a large portion of Ara- bia. The expen.se of so vast and distant an expedition bears e\'idcnce to the facfl that the Ethiopian kingdom must then have been in a flourishing condition. The gradual increa.se of the Ethiopian power finally enabled the King Sabaco, or Shebak, to conquer Eg>'pt, over which he and his two successors, Sevechus and Tara- kus, reigned successively. Sevechus, called So in vScripture, was so powerful a monarch that Hoshea, King of Israel, rose in revolt against the Assyrians, relying upon the aid of So; but, not being supported by his Ethi- opian ally, Hoshea and his subjecfts were carried into the Assyrian Captivity. Tara- kus, the Tirhakah of Scripture, was a more warlike sovereign, for he led an army against Sennacherib, King of Assyria, who was then besieging Jerusalem; and the Eg^'ptian traditions, preser\'ed in the time of Herodotus, g^ve the account of the de- strucftion of Sennacherib's army of one hun- dred and eighty-five thousand men in a night panic, as mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures. In the reign of Psammetichus in Egi^pt, in the seventh century before Christ, two hundred and forty thousand Egyptians of the warrior-caste, offended at their king's favor to Greek merchants whom he had in- vited to settle in Egypt, migrated to Ethi- opia, and were settled in the extreme south- ern part of that country, where they ad- ded immensely to the prosperity of the state. The.se useful colonists instrudled the Ethi- opians in the improvements then recently made in the art of war, and thus prepared them for resisting the formidable invasion by the Persians. No sooner had the Persian king, Cam- byses, conquered Egypt, in 525 B. C, than he invaded Ethiopia without preparing any store of provisions, ignorant of the deserts through which he had to pass, so that when the invasion took place the Persian army was destroyed bj^ famine. The religion of the ancient Ethiopians was in early times similar to that of Egypt. Aramon was the chief of the Ethiopian I02 ANCIENT HISTORY.— EGYPT. gods, and several temples were ere(5led to his worship. The political power was vested in a priesthood, who comprised a sacred caste. They chose the king from one of their own number, and could take his life at pleasure in the name of their gods. The Ethiopian priests possessed such influence over the superstitious African tribes that a solitary priest at the head of a caravan was able to secure a safe passage of untold wealth through the countries occupied by the most ferocious savages. The temples, also, were a safe place for the deposit of merchandise; and here, under the shadow of an inviolable sanifluary, people of hostile nations met to transacfl their business in absolute peace and security. At any place where it was considered necessary to have a commercial emporium a temple was built for its protedlion. Whenever the Ethiopian priests became tired of their king they sent a courier with orders for him to die. Ergamenes, who reigned early in the third century before Christ and had been instrudted in the Greek philosophy, resisted this foolish custom, stormed the fortresses of the priests, massa- cred many of them, and founded a new re- ligion. The sovereigns of Ethiopia were frequently queens. An Ethiopian queen named Can- dace made war on Augustus Caesar about twenty years before the birth of Christ, and, although the superior discipline of the Romans brought them an easy triumph. Queen Candace obtained an honorable peace. During the reign of another Queen Candace the Jewish religion prevailed in Meroe, as a result of the change made by Ergamenes ; and the queen's confidential adviser went to wor- ship at Jerusalem, and when he returned, A. D. 53, he was converted to Christianity by St. Philip, and thus became the means of introducing that religion into Ethiopia. Ever since that time the Christian religion has prevailed among the Ethiopians and their descendants, the modem Abyssinians. The pyramids of Meroe, though not as large as those of Middle Egypt, exceed them in architedlural beauty, and the Ethiopian sepulchers exhibit the greatest purity of taste. The use of the arch by the Ethiopi- ans fully attests their progress in the art of building. Mr. Hoskins has asserted that the Ethiopian pyramids are more ancient than the Egyptian, but this is disputed by the best authorities. The Ethiopian vases depicfted on the monuments, though not richly ornamented, exhibit a taste and ele- gance of form that has never been surpassed. In sculpture and coloring, the edifices of Meroe, though less profusely adorned, rival the best specimens of Egyptian art. Another famous Ethiopian kingdom was that of Axume, an ofi"shoot of Meroe. • Its capital, Axum, is still in existence, and con- tains remarkable antiquities, among which is an obelisk eighty feet high, in the great square, beside forty others of smaller size. Some of the ruins of Axum are believed by the inhabitants to be as old as the time of Abraham. A stone slab, eight feet by three and a half, found here, has an antique Greek inscription, which, translated, begins as fol- lows: ' ' We Aeizamus, king of the Axomites, and of the Homerites, and of Raeidan, and of the Ethiopians, and of the Sabeans, and of Zeyla, and of Tiamo, and the Boja, and of the Taguie, King of Kings, Son of God, etc." Aeizamus was King of Ethiopia in the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, who wrote him a letter. Adulis, the port of Axume, was celebrated for its ivory trade. All along the banks of the Nile in Nubia are strewn pyramids of unknown antiquity, ruins of temples and monuments similar to. those of Eg>pt. Near the present Merawe are seven or eight temples, adorned with sculpture and hieroglyphics. One of these temples is four hundred and fifty by one hundred and fifty-nine feet in extent. Near Shendy are forty p>-ramids. The most remarkable of all the monu- ments of Nubia is the rock-temple of Ipsam- bul, near Derr. This temple is cut from a mountain of solid rock, adorned inside with colossal statues and painted sculptures, representing castles, battles, triumphal pro- THE ETHIOPIANS. 103 cessions and religious pageants. On the out- side are four colossi, larger than any sculp- tured figures in Eg^'pt, except the Sphinx. One of these colossi is sixty-five feet high. This temple is one hundred and seventy feet in depth, and contains fourteen apartments, one of which is fifty -seven feet by fifty-two, and is supported by images with folded arms, thirty feet high. The rock in which this temple is built is six hundred feet high. The great rock-temple of Ipsambul is said to resemble the famous excavated struc- tures on the island of Elephanta, near Bom- bay, on the west coast of Hindoostan. The general plan is the same in both — massive pillars, stupendous figures, symbolic devices and mystic ornaments. It is also asserted that a frequent resemblance is discovered be- tween the religious vestiges of Eg^'pt and Ethiopia and those of India. Among the numerous other remarkable antiquities of this region we must mention those of Barkal, about a mile from the Nile, and near the village of Merawe, the ancient Napata, the capital of Queen Candace. Here is a rock rising four hundred feet per- pendicularly toward the river, at the foot of which are huge rock-hewn temples, the walls of which are covered with hieroglyph- ics in high relief, representing figures of kings and gods, among which we are able to distinguish Isis, Amnion, Apis, Horus and Mendes. There are other gigantic ruins in this region. Meroe, on account of its favorable situa- tion for commercial intercourse with India and Central Africa, by its location on the intersedlion of the leading caravan-routes of ancient commerce, was the emporium of trade between the north and the south, be- tween the east and the west, while the fer- tility of its soil enabled the Ethiopians to purchase luxuries with native productions. Fabrics were woven in Meroe, and the manufactures of metal were here as flour- ishing as in Egj'pt. The great changes in the lines of trade, the ravages of successive conquerors and revolutions, the fanaticism of the Saracens, and the ruin of the fertile soil by the moving sands of the desert, together with the pres- sure of nomadic hordes, all contributed to the extindlion of this powerful ancient em- pire. Ruck. te.mi'I.jc uf ii'-samulx. JI A P OF THE EARLIEST HISTORIC REGIOISS !A. N D THE BIRTHPLACE OF CIYILIZATIQN B.C. 3000 -1000. By I S.Clare SCALE OF MILES 25 50 100 200 300 100 frhc lighi part represents, the cradle of civilisation aad history. LiHisituJe Easl HJ frou^ Grteuwicii 4o 50 ^™ i: I CHAPTER II. THE CHALDEAN EMPIRE. SECTION I.— GEOGRAPHY OF CHALD^A. (ISIA, as we have noticed, was the cradle of the human race. The cradle of Asiatic histor>- and civilization was the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates riv- ers. This region was earh' occupied by Semitic and Hamitic tribes. The civiliza- tion which grew up in the Tigris- Euphrates valle}' was almost as ancient as that which arose in the Nile valley. There is an adtual date in Chaldaean historj' as far back as 2234 B. C. ; while authentic Egj-ptian his- tory — the period of the Pyramid-builders, the Fourth Dynasty — antedates this date by only two centuries, B. C. 2450. The Hebrew Scriptures assign the be- ginning of the history of the human race in the Tigris-Euphrates valley. Speaking of the immediate posterity of Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, after the Deluge, the Book of Genesis says: "And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the Land of Shinar, and dwelt there." Shinar was the southern portion of the Tigris-Euphrates valley. In this region the Scriptures place the building of the Tower of Babel, and the ' ' Confusion of Tongues ' ' and disper- sion of the human race. The record of this event is preser\-ed in the Babylonian tradition, as well as in the Mosaic narra- tive; and an account of this has been re- cently discovered among the cuneiform in- scriptions on the Babylonian tablets now in the British Museum. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers rise in the highlands of Armenia and unite near the head of the Persiou Gulf, into which their waters empty after the Euphrates has flowed about 1780 miles and the Tigris about 1146 miles. Both these rivers, like the Nile, overflow their banks in the lower part of their courses; and though these inundations do not deposit a fresh soil, as in the case of the Nile, they are the cause of the fertility of the plain of Mesopotamia, and in ancient times they were condudled throughout its entire extent by a system of canals, by which these over- flows were utilized and the countrj- thus irrigated. The Tigris-Euphrates vallej^ comprises a fertile region in the midst of the great belt of desert extending from the western shores of Africa almost to the north- eastern coast of Asia. This fertile vallej- anciently embraced a number of territorial and political divisions, whose boundaries were often very indefinite. The region between the two ri\'ers was called Mesopotamia by the Greeks (from mesos, midst, and potamoi. rivers). This was merely a geographical or territorial dis- tricft, and not a political division. Chaldaea, or Babylonia, was a political as well as a ter- ritorial division, situated between the lower course of the Tigris on the east and Arabia on the west, and corresponding to the geo- graphical region which the Hebrews desig- nated as the Land of Shinar. As the Per- sian Gulf in ancient times extended about 1 20 or 1 30 miles farther north than at present, ancient Chaldsea was quite a small section of country compared with that region in our day. The distri(5t east of the lower course of these rivers, immediately east of Babylonia, was a territorial and political divi.sion called Susiana, or Elam, the chief (105) io6 ANCIENT HISTORY.— CHALD^A. city of which was vSusa. Assyria proper, as a territorial division, lay to the east of the Euphrates, west of the Zagros mountains, north of Susiana and Chaldgea, and south of Armenia; while Assyria as a political power, or the Assyrian Empire, varied in territorial extent at different times, and often comprised the entire region from the Mediterranean to the plateau of Iran. Three great empires successively flour- ished in the Tigris-Euphrates valley — the Chaldaean, or Early Babylonian Empire, from 2400 B. C. to 1300 B. C; the Assyrian Empire, from 1300 B. C. to 625 B. C; and the Eater Babylonian Empire, from 625 B. C. to 538 B. C. The Chaldaean, or Early Babylonian Em- pire, was the first great monarchy of South- western Asia. As we have seen, its seat was the great alluvial plain lying to the north-west of the Persian Gulf. The popu- lation of this region increased very rapidly in the most ancient times, because of the extreme natural fertility of the soil, which produced everything requisite for man's sup- port. Groves of date-palm lined the banks of the rivers, and such cereal grains as wheat, barley, millet, sesame and vetches grew in luxuriant abundance, as did also various other grains. Says a certain writer: "Ac- cording to a native tradition, wheat was in- digenous in Chaldaea. Its tendencies to grow leaves was so great that the Babylon- ians used to mow it twice, and then pasture their cattle on it for a while, to keep down the blade and induce the plant to turn to ear." Speaking of this country, Herodotus says: " Of all the countries that we know of, there is none so fruitful in grain. It makes no pretension indeed of growing the fig, the olive, the vine or any other tree of the kind; but in grain it is so fruitful as to yield two hundred fold. The blade of the wheat plant and barley plant is often three or four fingers in breadth. As for the millet and the .sesame, I shall not say to what height they grow, though within my own knowl- edge; for I am not ignorant that what I have already written concerning the fruit- fulness of Babylonia must seem incredible to those who have never \-isited the coun- try." Saj'S another writer: "Babylonia, in the neighborhood of the Euphrates, rivaled the fertility of the valley of the Nile; the .soil was so peculiarly suited for com that the husbandman's returns were sometimes three hundred fold, and rarely less than two hun- dred fold. The rich oily grains of the pan- cium and sesamum were produced in luxu- riant abundance; the fig-tree, the olive and the vine were wholly wanting; but there were large groves of palm-trees on the banks of the river. From the palms they obtained not only fruit, but wine, sugar and molasses, as the Arabs do at the present time. Dwarf cypress-trees were scattered over the plains; but these were a poor sub- stitute for other species of wood. To this deficiency of timber must be attributed the negle(5t of the river navigation, and the abandonment of the commerce of the Indian seas, by the Babylonians." Chaldsea produced no stone or minerals of any kind. The stone used in building was brought there from other lands. But the country yielded an abundant supply of clay, from which were manufactured excellent bricks for building purposes, while the wells of bitumen afforded an inexhaustible amount of admirable cement. These materials sup- plied the place of wood, stone and mortar. Considering its luxuriant yield of cheap and abundant food and its never-failing supply of building material, it is not surprising that Chaldsea in primeval times became densely populated and abounded in great cities. Assyria was better supplied with minerals than Chaldaea; good qualities of stone, iron, copper, lead, silver, antimony and other metals existed in abundance; while bitumen naphtha, petroleum, sulphur, alum and salt, were also yielded. As regards climate, the winters of Chal- dffia are mild, frosts being light and snow unknown; while the summers are hot and dry; and heavy rains fall in November and December. The wild animals indigenous in Chalda3a were the lion, the leopard, the hyena, the lynx, the wild cat, the wolf, the SOURCES OF CHALDyRAN HISTORY. 107 jackal, the wild boar, the bnffalo, the stag, the gazelle, the jerboa, the fox, the hare, the badger and the porcupine. The domestic animals of the country were the camel, the horse, the buffalo, the cow, the ox, the goat, the sheep and the dog. The Book of Genesis, in speaking of Nim- rod, "the mighty hunter before the L,ord," says: " And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the Land of Shinar." The southern tetrarchy of four cities consisted of Ur or Hur, Hunik, Nipur, and Larsa or Larancha, which are believed to be identical with the Scriptural "Urof the Chaldees," Erech, Calneh, and Ellasar. The northern tetrarch}- consisted of the cities of Babel or Babylon, Borsippa, Cutha and Sippara. Ur, or Hur, in the southern part of Chal- daea, betn'een the Euphrates and the Ara- bian border, was the early capital and me- tropolis of Chaldasa, and is celebrated as the birth-place of Abraham. Its stately ruins, now called Mugheir bj- the Arabs, and chief among which are the remains of a great temple, consist principalh- of a series of low mounds of an oval shape with the largest diameter running from north to south. Thirty miles north-west of Ur, on the east bank of the Euphrates, are the ruins of Larsa or Larrak, the Biblical Ella- sar, the Laranchse of Berosus, and the Lar- issa of Apollodorus; now called Senkereh or Sinkara. On the same side of the river. fifteen miles north-west of Larsa, are the ruins of Huruk, the Scriptural Erech and the Greek Orchoe; called by the present na- tives Urka or Warka, and celebrated for the ruins of its ma.ssive temple. Sixty-five miles north-west of Warka, thirty miles east of the Euphrates, are the ruins of Ni- pur, called Calneh by Moses, and Niffer by the present inhabitants. About sixty miles from Niffer, on the west bank of the Euphra- tes, are the remains of the ancient Borsippa, chiefl}^ its temple, whose modem name is Birs-i-Nimrud. Fifteen miles north-west, on both banks of the Euphrates, are the ruins of ' ' Babylon the Great, ' ' which cover a space three miles long by between one and two miles wide, and which consist of three mounds now called Babil, Kasr and Amram bj- the Arabs. The ancient Sippara, the Scriptural Sephan'aim, was twenty miles north-west of Babylon, on the east bank of the Euphrates, and is now called Sura. Dur-Kurri-galzu, now called Akker- kuf on the Saklawiyeh canal, was six miles from the site of the present Bagdad. About twenty miles north-east of Babylon was Cutha, now Ibrahim. Ilii, or Ahava, was the modem Hit, about one hundred and twenty miles north-west of Babylon, on the Euphrates. Chilmad was the present Kal- wadha, near Bagdad. Rubesi was probably Zerghul. There were a large number of smaller cities in ever}' part of Chaldaea, of which nothing is known. SECTION II.— SOURCES OF CHALD^^AN HISTORY. EGARDING the great anti- quity of Chaldaea we have the authority of Berosus, the na- tive Babylonian historian, who was a priest of Bel at Babylon, and flouri-shed during the first half of the third century B, C. Soon after Alexander the Great took Babylon, Berosus wrote a History of Chaldaea in Greek, in three books, and dedicated the work to Antiochus, King of Sj'ria. Unfortunately this work has been lost, excepting a few fragments which were copied by Apollodorus and Polyhistor, two Greek writers of the first centur\- before Christ, and these fragments were afterwards quoted bj- Eusebius and Syncellus, and from them we learn the Babylonian histor- ian's account of his country's annals. Other ancient sources of Chaldsean, Assyrian and Babj'lonian history are the Old Testatment io8 ANCIENT HISTORY.— CHALD^A. and the writings of the Greek historians, Herodotus, Ctesias and Diodorus Siculus. As in the case of Egypt, our knowledge of the history of the three great successive empires in the Tigris-Euphrates valley has been vastly enlarged through the diligent research of modem historians, antiquarians and Orientalists. By the diligence of the great explorers, beginning with Layard nearlj' half a century ago, Nineveh, Babjdon and the buried cities of the plain have been excavated; their temples and palaces have been exposed to view; the mysterious in- scriptions in the cuneiform, or wedge-shaped and arrow-headed charadlers, which were discovered on the slabs that lined the in- sides of the palaces and temples, have, by a grand triumph of modem scholarship, been deciphered, so that a new flood of light has been shed upon the darkness of these famous ancient monarchies. Specimens of the cu- neiform inscriptions have been published in the British Museum Series, edited by Sir Henr>' Rawlinson and Mr. E. Norris. Many of these inscriptions have been deciphered by M. Oppert, the French Orientalist. The evidence of both classical writers and the monumental inscriptions shows that the Chaldaeans, Assyrians and Eater Babylon- ians paid great attention to chronology. The Canon of Ptolemy, which contained an exadl Babylonian computation of time from 747 B. C. to 331 B. C, is generally credited as a most authentic document. The Assyr- ian Canon, discovered by Sir Henry Raw- linson, and consisting of a number of clay tablets, contains a complete .system of Assyr- ian chronology from 911 B. C. to 660 B. C, verified by the record of a solar eclipse which must have occurred June 15, 763 B. C; and is regarded as equally reliable. Among the eminent modem writers on the.se ancient Oriental monarchies are the English histor- ians, George Rawlinson and P. Smith, and the renowned German historians and Ori- entalists, Niebuhr, Bunsen and Duncker. SECTION III.— POLITICAL HISTORY. HE Chaldaeans were a Semitic and Hamitic race, and their origin is involved in the ob- scurity of an unknown anti- quity. The Chaldaean mon- archy probably began about 2400 B. C, as we have an account of astronomical obser- vations dating back to 2234 B. C. Berosus assigns nine dynasties to Chaldaea and Babylonia from the Deluge to the Persian conquest of Babylonia in 538 B. C. The first of the.se dj-nasties is largely traditional, and ended, according to Rawlinson, in the 3^ear 2286 B. C, and according to Duncker in the year 2458 B. C. The Hebrew Scriptures mention Nimrod, the .son of Cush and the grand.son of Ham, as the founder of this most ancient Asiatic empire. Says the Mosaic narrative: "And Cush begat Nimrod ; he began to be a mighty one in the earth ; he was a mighty hunter before the Lord; wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod, the mighty' hunter before the Lord; and the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Cal- neh, in the land of Shinar. " Nimrod's capital was the celebrated " Ur of the Chal- dees, " which at this early period was a greater city than the four which Nimrod is said to have founded. By means of his per- sonal prowess and strength, as "a mighty hunter before the Lord, ' ' Nimrod had earned the gratitude of his countrymen by reducing the number of wild animals which roamed over that region in primitive times. Evi- dently one of the greatest charadlers of an- tiquity, Nimrod was deified by the Chal- daeans after his death, and was worshiped by them and by the Assyrians and Later Babylonians for two thousand years, under the title of Dilu-Nipru, or Bel-Nimrod, "the god of the chase," or "the great hunter." Pi VJTICAL ins TOR Y. 109 Rawliiison thinks that the title assigned by the Arab astronomers to the constellation of Orion — El Jabbar, "the giant"— was in memon.- of Xinirod. The ignorant people who occupy that region at the present day still remember Ninirod, Solomon and Alex- NIMROD. ander the Great as the three great heroes of antiquity, while all others have been forgot- ten. Calah, one of the Assyrian capitals, was regarded as Nimrod's sacred city, and the town which now occupies its site bears his name slightly corrupted — Niinrud. Al- though the tradition concerning Nimrod is almost universal, his name has not yet been found among o.\\y of the monuments or cu- neiform inscriptions. We have no account of the immediate suc- cessors of Nimrod. Some time after his death there followed a migration of Semitic and Haniitic tribes from ChakUea to the northward and westward. Thus the Assjt- ians, a Semitic people, migrated to the mid- dle portion of the Tigris valley, where they laid the foundations of their kingdom; the Phoenicians, a Hamitic race, descended from Canaan, a .son of Ham, settled on the west- ern shores of the country afterwards called Canaan, or Palestine, where they became the most famous commercial and colonizing people of antiquity; while the Semitic tribe which produced Abraham, the shepherd and native of " Ur of the Chaldees," and from whom are descended the Hebrews and Arabs, passed into Northern Mesopotamia, whence Abraham journeyed westward with his flocks and herds into the "promised land" of Canaan. One of the successors of Nimrod was Urukh, or Urkham. He is the first Chal- dsean king of whom any traces have been discovered in the countr>'. The exadl time of his reign is uncertain. He eredled many stupendous edifices, which appear to have been designed as temples. These structures are gigantic in dimensions, but rude in work- manship. The bricks of which the)- are built are rough, and put together awkwardl}', moist mud or bitumen being used for mortar. In speaking of the works eredled by this monarch, Professor Rawlinson says: "In his architedture, though there is much that is rude and simple, there is also a good deal which indicates knowledge and experience." Astronomy was cultivated during the reign of Urukh. Ur was still the capital of the Chaldsean monarchy, Babylon having not yet risen into importance. At Warka, on the site of the ancient city of Huriik — the Erech of the Book of Genesis — is the famous mound called Bowariyeh by the present in- habitants. The general form of the ruin is pyramidal, but the ravages of ages have de- ANCIENT HISTORY.— CHALD^A. stroj-ed its sj-mmetn-. Recent discoveries have brought to light the fatt that this mas- sive structure was a tower two hundred feet square at its base and two stories high. The lower storv' was built of bricks baked in the sun and cemented together with bitumen, in which were placed laj-ers of reeds ever>- four or five feet. In the upper story, which is now in ruins, the middle portion was like- wise of .sun-baked brick, but on the outside were burnt bricks. As it now stands, this ancient temple is about one hundred feet above the level of the plain, and not much is known of the original dimensions of the massive edifice, but the ruins indicate that it must have been of immense altitude and grandeur. All the bricks of the buttresses are stamped with cuneiform inscriptions, and the layers are strongly' cemented with bitu- men. The solid dimensions of the whole strudlure have been estimated at three million cubic feet, and the number of bricks used in its eredlion have been computed at thirty millions. The name of its royal builder frequently occurs on the burnt bricks of this ruined temple. In some places his name is stamped in the baked clay, and in other places the inscription records that " Urukh, King of Ur, King of Sumir and Accad, has built a temple to his ladj-, the goddess Nana," or that "Urukh has built the temple and fortress of Ur in honor of his Lord, the god Sin," or that "The mighty Lord, King of Ur, may his name continue ! " The temple of Ur was also built by Urukh, and is like the one just described. Recent excavations have unearthed the ruins of this old Chaldjean structure after it lay buried for centuries beneath the mounds of rubbish. In the portion of the strucflure which has escaped the ravages of time ma}- be seen the traces of the temple of Hurki, the Moon- god. The four corners of the vast edifice, and not its four sides, face the four cardinal points of the compass, and the ground-plan of the strucflure is in the form of a parallelo- gram, with its longest sides facing to the north-east and south-west. The foundation of this temple is raised twenty feet above the level of the plain. The longer sides of the base measure one hundred and ninet}'- eight feet, and the .shorter sides one hun- dred and thirty-three feet. The first story above the basement is about forty feet high, and is secured outside by a wall ten feet thick, made of burnt brick cemented to- gether with bitumen. The .second story, now mostly in ruins, had the same form and character originally. According to a local tradition this immense structure had a third storj', said to be the shrine of the god to whose worship the temple had been erecfled. Tiles glazed with a blue enamel and copper nails have been found in such a position as to indicate that they were used in the con- strudlion of this third story. Similar ruins have been discovered in other parts of Chaldsea, of which the most important are those of Calneh and Larsa. Heaps of rubbish, the ruins of wrecked temples, are seen in ever>' part of this famous land of remote antiquity. In Cal- neh the fragments of temples eredled dur- ing the reign of Urukh are buried beneath two mounds. The first of these temples was dedicated to the goddess Beltis and the other to Bel-Nimrod. In Larsa the ruins indicate that San, the Sun-god, was adored as the tutelary divinity of that city. In the cuneiform inscriptions of Ur, his capital, Urukh is sometimes called ' ' King of Ur, ' ' and also ' ' King of Accad. ' ' It was chiefly at Ur that his great architecflural works were ere(5led. The ruins of this once-famous cit} — his great capital — display his inscrip- tions in greater profusion than those of any other Chaldaean monarch. Urukh, at his death, was succeeded on the Chaldaean throne by his son, Ilgi, or Elgi, who also styled himself "King of Ur. " The royal seal or signet of the Chaldaean and Assyrian monarchs was formed in the shape of a small cylinder, with figures and characters engraven in the surface. When rolled upon wax or any other plastic mate- rial this cylinder left the king's name and emblems in jrelief upon the substance em- ployed in sealing. In one of the mounds near Erech, or Orchoii, the signet-cylinder of Ilgi has been found, and is now in the Brit- POL ITICA L HIS TOR Y. Ill ish Museum. The legend inscribed upon it has been deciphered as follows: " For sav- ing the life of Ilgi, from the mighty Lord, the King of Ur, son of I'rukh. " Ilgi fin- ished the great archite'ans. The name Chaldseans was unknown to these early peo- ple, but was given them by Berosus and has been used by writers ever since. The He- brew prophets — such as Isaiah, Habakkuk and others — spoke of the Babylonians, even to the latest times, as Chaldseans. Isaiah called Babylon the "daughter of the Chal- daeans, ' ' and ' ' the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency." In a restri(?led sen.se, the term Chaldceans was applied to the learned men of Babylon to the latest ancient times. Af- ter the Assyrian conquest of Chaldaea, in B. C. 1300, there was an admixture of new Semitic elements from the north, so that in the process of time the Chaldeans became Semitized; and the preponderating portion cn'fijz.rno.y. 115 of the later Babj-lonian population was Semitic, while the Haniitic, Aryan and Tu- ranian elements occupied a subordinate place. The language of the learned in Baby- lon in later times was the classic Chaldee, while the national language of the Semi- tized Babylonians was akin to that of the Hebrews. At an early period — earlier than 2,000 B. C. — the Chaldees had made considerable progress in the arts, especially in archi- itedlure, and from the first they showed the building tendency which seemed to be instinctive in other famous Hamitic nations, such as the Eg^-ptians and Ethiopians. The attempt to build a tower ' ' which' should reach to heaven," made here, as mentioned in the Mosaic narrative, was in accordance with the general spirit of the Chaldees. Out of such simple and rude building material as brick and bitumen they construdled edifices of vast size, the ruins of which have recently been discovered by the explorations of Lay^- ard and Botta. These vast strudlures were pyramidal in design, and were built in suc- cessive steps or stages to a considerable alti- tude, and so placed as to face the four cardinal points of the compass. Speaking of the building material of the Chaldees, a certain writer says : ' ' Stone and marble were even more rare in this country than wood, but the clay was well adapted for the manufa<5lure of bricks. These, whether dried in the sun or burnt in kilns, became so hard and durable that now, after the lapse of so many centuries, the remains of ancient walls preserve the bricks unin- jured by their long exposure to the atmos- phere, and retaining the impression of the inscriptions in the arrow-headed character as perfeClly as if they had only just been manufa(5tured. Naphtha and bitumen, or earthy oil and pitch, were produced in great abundance above Babylon, near the modem town of Hit. The.se served as sub- stitutes for mortar and cement; and so last- ing were they, that the layers of rushes and palm-leaves laid between the courses of bricks as a building material, are found at this day in the ruins of Babylon as perfect as if a year had not elap.sed since they were put together. ' ' The most imposing ruins of ancient Chal- drea are their temples, two of which have been described. The temple of Abu-Shah- rein was similar in characfler to those of Erech and Ur, and was one of the few Chal- dean edifices built of stone, which may be accounted for by the proximity of a stone- quarry in the neighboring Arabian hills. In this massive strucfture are also marble, alabaster and agate, skillfully cut and pol- ished, while gold plates and gilt-headed nails have also been discovered in the ruins. In the sacred shrine of the deity to whose worship the temple was consecrated, the wood-work and images of the god were or- namented. Like the Egyp^i^ii Pyramids, the Chaldtean edifices were chiefly remark- able for their grandeur and massive propor- tions, v^'hile architedlural beauty was want- ing. In the cities the dwellings were built of brick, but in the rural districts they con- sisted of reed huts plastered with slime. The houses of even the rich seem to have been rude and coarse. The remains of a dwelling-house have been found among the excavations at Ur, in which the foundation was a brick platform raised above the sur- face, the floors were of bunit bricks well cemented with bitumen, and the walls were plastered with gypsum. In the apartments of a house discovered at Abu-Shahreiu the walls were frescoed with designs in red, black and white; and figures of birds, beasts and men were skillfully drawn on the plaster of the walls. The Chaldsean dwellings usu- ally had flat wooden roofs, though some- times there were arched roofs built of bricks cemented with bitumen. Next to their architedlural stni<5tures, the most remarkable remains of the ancient Chal- dseans are their burial-places. The immense number of ancient tombs discovered in what was Chaldaea proper is truly wonderful. Large sepulchers are filled with the bones and relics of the dead. At Warka, the ancient Erech, except the triangular space between the three principal ruins, the ii6 ANCIENT HISTORY.— CHALD^A. whole remainder of the platform, the space within the walls, and a wide extent of the neighboring desert, are filled with human bones and sepulcliers. Coffins are heaped upon coffins from thirty to sixty feet, and there are miles on miles of tombs in portions of this once-famous laud. The most striking of these burial-places are those at Warka, the ancient Erech; at Mugheir, the ancient Ur; at Abu-Shahrein and Tel-el-Lahm. The tombs are of three kinds — brick vaults, clay coffins shaped like a dish cover, and clay coffins formed of two large jars placed mouth to mouth and cemented to- gether with bitumen. The brick vaults, principally found at Mugheir, are seven feet long, three and a half feet wide, and five feet high. The floors and walls of these vaults were made of sun-dried bricks ce- mented together with mud or bitumen, and the side walls were closed in above with an arch. The body was laid to rest on its left side on a matting of reeds spread upon the floor. The fingers of the right hand were placed upon a copper bowl set in the palm of the left. The head rested upon a brick for a pillow. Articles of use and ornament were placed in the vault, and vessels with food and drink were set near the head of the departed. The remains of several bodies are in many cases found in the same vault, and one vault contained eleven skeletons. It is believed from this that the brick vaults were family sepulchers. Where the dish-cover clay coffins were used, the body was laid on a mat spread over a sun-dried brick platform, disposed of in the same manner as in the brick vaults, and surrounded with articles of food and ornaments. The large clay coffins shaped like a dish-cover, seven feet long, two and a half wide at the bottom, and two or three feet high, then covered the body, matting, utensils, ornaments and all. Never were more than two skeletons, one male and the other female, discovered under one cover. Children were interred under covers half the size of those for adults. These tombs were found seven or eight feet under ground at Mugheir. The clay coffins consisting of two large jars, from tn'o and a half to three feet deep and two feet in diameter, and ce- mented together with bitumen, as found at Mugheir and Tel-el-Lahm, readily contained a full-sized corpse and had an air-hole at each end to allow the gases generated by decomposition to escape. The coffins containing the bodies of the dead were placed in rows, and then covered with earth so as to form a mound. These mounds were repeatedlj- covered with fresh earth, so that they were often elevated to a height of sixty feet above the original level of the plain. The mounds were carefully drained by means of tube-like shafts of pot- tery, consisting of a succession of rings or joints, two feet in diameter and a foot and a half wide, skillfully put together and ce- mented with bitumen, and filled with masses of broken pottery' to resist external pressure. These drains reached from the surface to the original ground-level; and by their means the sepulchral mounds have been protecfled from dampness, and their utensils, orna- ments and skeletons have been preserved to the present day, and appear perfecfl on open- ing the tombs, but usuallj^ crumble to dust when touched. Monuments have also been exhumed bear- ing inscriptions in the aineiform, or wedge- shaped charadlers, the deciphering of which, as we have said, has given us new light on early Chaldsean history. This kind of writ- ing was used for monumental records, and was either hewn or carved in rocks and sculptures, or impressed on tiles and bricks. The legends stamped upon the baked bricks of this ancient period prove the extent to which this kind of writing was in use. The earliest date that can be assigned to its use was about 2000 B. C, and it was little, if at all, used as late as 300 B. C. A vast d«^al of labor and erudition have been spent in deciphering these cuneiform inscriptions. The great inscription of Behistuu, in Persia, is of special interest. It is engraved in three forms of cuneiform writing, upon the per- pendicular face of a mountain, at a height of three hundred feet; and gives an account of the genealogy of Darius, his exploits. CIVILIZATION. 117 1— S.-TT. H. iiS ANCIENT HISTORY.— CHALD^A. and the provinces of his empire. Tliis in- scription was deciphered by Sir Henry Raw- linson. The writing of the Chaldees is well-nigh as abundant as that of their Hamitic kins- men, the Egyptians. The writing was im- pressed on the clay while it was moist and plastic. The inscriptions on the bricks re- cord the history of the building in which they are found, the name of the monarch who built it, his titles and his fame. The inscriptions on the clay tablets are usually of a private character, relating to such mat- ters as deeds, contracfts and personal records. The writing is from left to right, except on signet-cylinders, on which it is reversed, because of the manner in which it was stamped, as described in a previous sedlion. The legend on the bricks was always stamped in the form of a square in the center; and was in some cases impressed upon the clay, and in others was cut or engraved in the sur- face with some implement. On many of the tablets the signet-cylinder of the maker or contradtor was rolled across the surface, showing the wearer's motto and seal in re- lief These tablets were preserved as family records, just as moderns file important docu- ments for preservation. These inscriptions abound in all the ruins of ancient Chaldsea. The earthenware coffins and drainage- shafting, besides the many jars, vases and drinking-vessels, attest the skill of this ancient people in pottery from the earliest ages of their history. On many burnt-clay tablets are figures representing lions, bulls and men; in most of which are illustrated deadly combats between men and lions. The Chaldees fashioned arms, implements and ornaments from various metals. In the oldest ruins are discovered flint knives, hatchets, stone hammers and occasional articles of bronze, such as arrow-heads, knives, hatchets and sickles. Articles of iron, gold and copper have been discovered in great abundance in the mounds. Orna- ments were usually made of iron or gold, while arms and weapons were generally fashioned from copper or bronze. The primitive Chaldees were also celebrated for the fine cloths and delicate textile fabrics manufa(5tured by their looms, showing that the spinner's and weaver's art had attained a high degree of skill and perfedtion among this renowed primeval race. The Chaldees were also skillful in the art of cutting, polishing and engraving gems, some of their work in this art rivaling the best modem specimens. The signets and seals were of this class, and several of them have been deciphered and rendered in En- glish. The inscription on the seal of Urukh has been translated as follows: "The sig- net of Urukh, the pious chief. King of Ur, High Priest of NifFer." On Ilgi's seal was the following legend: "To the manifesta- tion of Nergal, King of Bit-Zida, of Zur- guUa, for the saving of the life of Ilgi, the powerful hero, the King of Ur, son of Urukh * * * May his name be preserved." A signet-cylinder of one of the Sin kings bears this inscription: "Sin, the powerful chief, the King of Ur, the King of the four races * * * his seal." Some of the cylinders bear neither figures nor inscriptions; while others have no legend, but bear figures and symbols. They were usually of jasper oi chalcedony, ai:d were used to impress the seals of their owners on clay tablets. They were half an inch in diameter and three inches long. The cylinder was rolled upon the tablet bj- means of a copper or bronze parallelogram, one side of which was passed through a hole bored through its axis. It was suspended from the owner's neck or waist by means of a string or chain attached to a metal frame. The design of the wearer's seal was cut in reverse on the surface of the signet, leaving the impression in relief The Chaldees likewise engaged in com- merce with other countries. Their trading caravans journeyed to the Ar>-an and Tu- ranian countries of Central Asia, and the "ships of Ur" navigated the Persian Gulf and traded with the people on its shores. The Chaldaeans found cheap and abun- dant articles of food in the luxuriant growth of the date-palm and the abundant yield of such cereals as wheat, barley, millet and sesame; in addition to which the wealthier cnii.r/.ATiON. TIQ classes induljjcd in animal food, snch as fish, chickens and the wild boar. The worship of the heavenly bodies led the primitive Chaldces at an early day to the study of astronomy and chronology. Diodorus declares that the Chaldasans were far in advance of all other ancient nations in their knowledge of the starry heavens. This celebrated people discovered and recorded the relation of the sun's circuit to the other cycles of the solar system. They observ-ed that the sun's apparent course through the firmament equals about twelve rounds of the moon, and for this reason they divided the year into twelve months of thirty days each, and when they discovered the inaccu- racy of this sj-stem they introduced new cal- culations, re<5tifying the calendar so as to ag^ee with the sidereal year of three hundred and sixty-five days and six hours. By their obser\-ation of the sun's course through the heavens the}- were able to establish the twelve signs of the Zodiac; and by observ- ing the variation of the orbits of the planets from that of the sun thej- were enabled to fix the limits of the zodiacal signs, and to divide each sign into thirty degrees by the progress of the sun. By watching the moon's phases they adopted seven days as the length of the week. They further divided each day into twelve hours; each hour into sixty, or five times twelve, minutes; and thus estab- lished the basis of the duodecimal method of calculation. Two times twelve, or twenty-four, finger-widths was fixed upon as the measure of a aibit. A cycle of sixty- years was called a soss; ten times sixty was a 7ier; and the square of sixt>', or thirty-six centuries, was a sar. They measured distances in the heavens by taking the width of the sun's disc as a unit. By comparing the quantitj^ of water di.scharged through an orifice in a jar in the time occupied by the sun in crossing the horizon on the morning of the equinox with the amount discharged through the same orifice at the next sunrise, they discovered that the amount discharged between the two risings of the sun was seven hundred and twenty times the amount discharged dur- ing sunrise on the equinocflial moniing. They thus inferred that the sun's orbit measured seven hundred and twenty times his disc, and from this they derived a unit to measure space and time. In regard to space this unit constituted half a degree, and in the calculation of time the same unit equaled two minutes, or one-thirtieth of an hour. A stadium was the distance an active foot-courier could walk in one unit of time, or two miiuites; and the distance he could walk in thirty units, sixty minutes, or one hour, at the same ratio of speed, was called a. parasang. The stadium was divided into three hundred and sixty cubits, and sixty cubits was called ■a. plcthron. The Chaldaeans discovered and recorded the fact that each cycle of the moon's eclipses is completed in a ]3eriod of two hun- dred and twentj--three months, and from this discovery they computed the length of the synodic and periodic months so accu- rately that modem astronomers have found the calculation to fall short of less than five seconds of our time. They carefully re- corded all the results of their observations. The Greek Callisthenes, who had accom- panied the expedition of Alexander the Great, sent to Aristotle from Babylon a series of tablets on which were inscriptions recording astronomical observations dating as far back as 1903 years before the year 331 B. C, the 3-ear that Alexander entered that city. These observ-ations would therefore reach back 2234 years before Christ. The Chaldaeans had also made considerable progress in arithmetic, and they employed two systems of notation — decimal and duo- decimal. They used cuneiform, or wedge- shaped and arrow-headed characters, to re- present numbers. Their system of weights was based upon their system of measures. A cubit of water, which weighed sixty-six pounds, was divided into sixtj' logs, each log measuring about five-sixths of a pint. The log was the unit of measure; and its weight, called a niiiia, was the unit of weight. A duck-shaped stone belonging to King Ilgi has been discovered bearing the inscription, "Ten minse of Ilgi," Like most other na- ANCIENT HISTORY.— CHALD^A. tions, the Chaldasans had one sj'stem of weights for the ordinary' articles of the mar- ket-place, and another system for the pre- cious metals and gems. Circular pieces or rings, called talents, shekels, etc. — names afterwards used by the Hebrews and the Greeks — were taken as units in weighing gold and silver. Although the brilliant intellecftual adtivity of Chaldasa ceased more than three thou- sand years ago, and its massive architectural structures have slumbered in eternal repose beneath the sands and dust of more than thirty centuries, the grand mental triumphs of its venerable civilization j-et remain, as a permanent legacy to posterity — the ground- work of the science and learning in which they have ever since been recognized as the pioneers — the wonder and admiration of the ages. SECTION v.— CHALDEAN COSMOGONY AND RELIGION. EROSUS begins his history by recounting the Chaldsean tra- ditions regarding the creation of the world and the origin of the human race. The follow- ing is an account of the Chaldaean cosmo- gony: "In the beginning all was darkness and water, and therein were generated mon- strous animals of strange and peculiar forms. There were men with two wings, and some even with four, and with two faces; and others with two heads, a man's and a woman's, on one body; and there were men with the heads and horns of goats, and men with hoofs like horses, and some with the upper parts of a man joined to the lower parts of a horse, like centaurs; and there were bulls with human heads, dogs with four bodies and with fishes' tails, men and horses with dogs' heads, creatures with the heads and bodies of horses, but with the tails of fish, and other animals mixing the forms of various beasts. Moreover, there were monstrous fish and reptiles and ser- pents, and divers other creatures, which had borrowed something from each other's shapes; of all which the likenesses are still preser\-ed in the temple of Bel. A woman ruleth them all, by name Omorka, which is in Chaldee Thalatth, and in Greek Thalassa (or 'the sea'). Then Bel appeared, and split the woman in twain; and of the one half of her he made the heaven and of the other half the earth; and the beasts that were in her he caused to perish. And he split the darkness, and divided the heaven and the earth asunder, and put the world in order; and the animals that could not bear the light perished. Bel, upon this, seeing that the earth was desolate, yet teeming with produiftive power, commanded one of the gods to cut off his head, and to mix the blood which flowed forth with earth, and form men therewith, and beasts that could bear the light. So man was made, and was intelligent, being a partaker of the divine wisdom. Likewise Bel made the stars, and the sun and moon, and the five planets." There is a remarkable likeness between certain Chaldaean and Jewish legends, such as the traditions of the destrudtion of man- kind by a great Flood, because of its wicked- ness, and the Tower of Babel and dispersion of the human race. Among .some claj' tab- lets brought from Assyria to London by Mr. George Smith are a series of fragments which, joined to some smaller pieces in the British Museum coUecftion, give the history of the world from the Creation down to some period after the fall of man. Mr. Smith succeeded in translating these legends in 1875, and the following is his brief account of the contents of the tablets: "Whatever the primitive account ma)' have been from which the earlier part of the Book of Gene- sis was copied, -it is evident that the brief narrative given in the Pentateuch omits a number of incidents and explanations — for COSMOGONY AND RlilJClON. 121 instance, as to the origin of evil, the fall of the angels, the wickedness of the serpent, etc. Such points as these are included in the cuneiform narrative." Mr. Smith then proceeds to give a sketch of the Assyrian cosmogony, as follows: ' ' The narrative on the Assyrian tablets commences with a description of the period before the world was created, when there existed a chaos or confusion. The desolate and empty state of the universe and the generation by- chaos of monsters are vividly given. The chaos is presided over by a female power named Tisalat and Tiamat, corresponding to the Thalatth of Berosus; but as it proceeds the Assyrian account agrees rather with the Bible than with the short account from Bero- sus. We are told, in the inscriptions, of the fall of the celestial being who appears to correspond to Satan. In his ambition he raises his hand against the san(fluar\^ of the God of heaven, and the description of him is really magnificent. He is represented riding in a chariot through celestial space, surrounded by the storms, with the light- ning playing before him., and wielding a thunderbolt as a weapon. This rebellion leads to a war in heaven and the conquest of the powers of evil, the gods in due course creating the universe in stages, as in the Mosaic narrative, sur\'eying each step of the work and pronouncing it good. The divine work culminates in the creation of man, who is made upright and free from evil, and endowed hy the gods with the noble faculty' of speech. The Deity then delivers a long address to the newly-created being, instruct- ing him in all his duties and privileges, and pointing out the glorj- of his state. But this condition of blessing does not last long before man, yielding to temptation, falls; and the Deity then pronounces upon him a terri- ble curse, invoking on his head all the evils which have since afflicted humanity." After his mythical account of the Crea- tion, Berosus mentions a sea-monster, half man and half fish, named Oan, who came out of the deep to teach men language and letters, astronomy, the arts, agriculture and all that pertains to civilization. During the fabulous reigns of the ten antediluvian kings of Chaldaea, there appeared at different times six other fish-monsters who, like Oan, in- strucfled mankind. The ten kings whom Be- rosus mentions as reigning in Chaldoea during the antediluvian period, and who correspond in number with the ten patriarchs of the same period mentioned in the Mo.saic record, will now be named with the lengths of their reigns. Alorus, a Chaldaean, reigned 36,000 years; Aloparus, son of Alorus, 10,800 years; Almelon, a native of Sippara, 46,800 years; Ammenon, a Chaldaean, 43,200 years; Ame- galarus, of Sippara, 64,800 years; Daonus, of Sippara, 36,000 years; Edorankhns, of Sippara, 64,800 years; Amempsinus, a Chal- dsean, 36,000 years; Otiartes, a Chaldjean, 28,000 years; and Xisuthrus, the Chaldaean Noah, 64,800 years — the ten reigns covering a period of 432,000 years. The Chaldaean or Babylonian account of the Deluge, as narrated by Berosus, is as follows: "The god Bel appeared to Xisu- thrus (Noah) in a dream, and warned him that on the fifteenth day of the month Dae- sius, mankind would be destroj'ed hy a del- uge. He bade him bur>' in Sippara, the City of the Sun, the extant writings, first and last; and build a ship, and enter therein with his family and his close friends; and fumi.sh it with meat and drink; and place on board winged fowl, and four-footed beasts of the earth; and when all was ready, set sail. Xisuthrus asked ' Whither he was to sail?' and was told, 'To the gods, with a prayer that it might fare well with mankind.' Then Xisuthrus was not disobedient to the vision, but built a ship fifteen stadia (3125 feet) in length, and six stadia (1250 feet) in breadth; and colledled all that had been commanded him, and put his wife and chil- dren and close friends on board. The flood came; and as soon as it ceased, Xisuthrus let loose some birds, which, finding neither food nor a place where they could rest, came back to the ark. After some days he again sent out the birds, which again returned to the ark, but with feet covered with mud. Sent out a third time, the birds returned no more, and Xisuthrus knew that land had 122 ANCIENT HISTORY.— CHALDALA. reappeared; so he removed some of the cov- ering of the ark, and looked, and behold! the vessel had grounded on a mountain. Then Xisuthrus went forth with his wife and his daughter, and his pilot, and fell down and worshiped the earth, and built an altar, and offered sacrifice to the gods; after which he disappeared from sight, to- gether with those who had accompanied him. They who had remained in the ark and not gone forth with Xisuthrus, now left it and searched for him, and .shouted out his name; but Xisuthrus was not .seen any more. Only his voice answered them out of the air, saying, 'Worship the gods; for because I worshiped them, am I gone to dwell with the gods; and they who were with me have shared the same honor. ' And he bade them return to Babylon, and recover the writings buried at Sippara, and make them known among men; and he told them that the land in which they then were was Armenia. So they, when they had heard all, sacrificed to the gods and went their way on foot to Baby- lon, and, having reached it, recovered the buried writings from Sippara, and built many cities and temples, and restored Baby- lon. Some portion of the ark still continues in Annenia, in the Gordiasan (Kurdish) mountains; and persons scrape off the bitu- men from it to bring awa>', and this they use as a remedy to avert misfortunes." The Assyrian inscriptions discovered by George Smith give an account of the Del- uge nuich resembling the narrative of the same event by Berosus. Among the ruins of the palace of the A.ssyrian king Asshur- bani-pal, tablets have been di.scovered from which the account of the Deluge has been deciphered, agreeing in some particulars with the Chaldsean tradition. The legend found recorded on the tablets states that the god Hea commanded Sisit to build a ship of specified size and to launch it on the deep, as he intended to detroy the wicked. Then Hea said : ' ' When the flood comes which I will send thou shalt enter the ship, and into the midst of it thou shalt bring thy com, thy goods, thy gods, thy gold and silver, thy slaves male and female, the sons of the army, the wild and tame animals; and all that thou hearest thou shalt do. And Sisit gathered together all his possessions of silver and gold, all that he had of the seeds of life, and caused all of his .slaves, male and female, to go into the .ship. The wild and tame beasts of the field also he caused to enter, and all the sons of the army. And Shamas, the Sun-god, made a flood, and said: 'I will cause rain to fall heavily from heaven; go into the ship and shut the door.' Overcome with fear Sisit entered into the .ship, and on the morning of the day fixed by Shamas the storm began to blow from the ends of heaven, and Vul thundered in the midst of heaven, and Nebc came forth, and over the mountains and plains came the gods, and Nergal the De- stroyer overthrew, and Nin came forth and dashed down; the gods made ruin; in their brightness they swept over the earth. The storm went over the nations; the flood of Vul reached up to heaven; brother did not see brother; the lightsome earth became a desert, and the flood destroyed all living things from the face of the earth. Even the gods were afraid of the storm, and sought refuge in the heaven of Ana; like hounds drawing in their tails, the gods seated theni- seh-es on their thrones, and Ishtar, the great goddess, .spake: 'The world has turned to sin, and therefore I have proclaimed destruc- tion. I have begotten men, and now they fill the .sea like the children of fishes. ' And the gods upon their .seats wept with her. On the se\-enth da}- the storm abated, which had destroyed like an earthquake, and the sea began to dry. Sisit perceived the move- ment of the sea. Like reeds floated the corpses of the evil-doers and all who had turned to .sin. Then Sisit opened the win- dow, and the light fell upon his face, and the ship was stayed upon Mount Nizir, and could not pass over it. Then on the seventh day Sisit sent forth a dove, but she found no place of rest, and returned. Then he sent a swallow, which also returned; and again a raven, which saw the corpses in the water and ate them, and returned no more. Then Sisit released the beasts to the four COSAKXiONV AND REIJGION. 123 winds of heaven, and jiouixd a libation, and built an altar upon the top of the mountain, and cut seven herbs, and the sweet savor of the sacrifice caused the gods to assemble, and Sisit prayed that Bel might not come to the altar. For Bel had made the storm and sunk the people in the deep, and wished in his anger to destroy the ship, and allow no man to escape. Nin opened his mouth, and spoke to the warrior Bel: 'Who would then be left?' And Hea spoke to him: ' Captain of the gods, instead of the storm let lions and leopards increase, and dimini.sh mankind; let famine and pestilence desolate the land and destroy mankind.' When the sentence of the gods was passed, Bel came into the midst of the ship and took Sisit by the hand and condudted him forth, and caused his wife to be brought to his side, and purified the earth, and made a covenant; and Sisit and his wife and his people were carried away like gods, and Sisit dwelt in a distant land at the mouth of the rivers. ' ' Traditions of a great Flood have been pre- valent in all countries subject to overflows of rivers, with the exception of Egypt, where the annnal inundation was .so regular. Legends like those of Chaldasa and Assyria have been discovered among the inhabitants of Annenia, Greece, India and all countries expcsed to dangerous floods. The account of the Deluge as narrated by Moses is a record of the same story as given by Berosus and as found inscribed upon the Assyrian tablets. It is not known when the great Flood occurred in Chaldsea, and the dates assigned by Berosus are fabulous, as are his accounts of the antediluvian dynasty- and the first postdiluvian dynasty in Chaldcea. " In a valuable contribution to the London Academy, in the year 1875, Mr. Sayce showed that the Phoenician legends fomi, as it were, the link between the Chaldaean and the Hebrew so far as the so-called Elohistic portion of Genesis is concerned; this being especially noticeable in the legend of the Creation and the sacrifice of Isaac. Mr. Sayce also explained the very close resemblance between the Babvlonian and Jewish legends of the Garden of Eden, the Deluge and the Tower of Babel, the Phrrnician analogies failing us here altogether. ' ' The following is the Chaldaean account of the Tower of Babel, as related by Berosus: ' ' The earth was still of one language, when the primitive men, who were proud of their strength and stature, and despi.sed the gods as their inferiors, erecfted a tower of vast height, in order that they might mount to heaven. And the tower was now near to heaven, when the gods caused the winds to blow and overturned the strudlure upon the men, and made them speak with divers tongues ; whereupon the city was called Babylon." Sa)-s Rawlinson, concerning Chaldaean mythology: ' ' The striking resemblance of the Chaldaean system to that of classical mythol- ogy seems worthy of particular attention. This resemblance is too general, and too close in some respedls, to allow of the supposition that mere accident has produced the coinci- dence. In the Pantheons of Greece and Rome, and in that of Chaldasa, the same gen- eral grouping is to be recognized; the same genealogical succession is not unfrequently to be traced; and in some cases even the familiar names and titles of classical divini- ties admit of the most curious illustrations and explanations from Chaldaean sources. We can .scarcely doubt but that, in some way or other, there was a communication of beliefs — a passage in very early times, from the shores of the Persian Gulf to the lands washed by the Mediterranean, of mytholo- gical notions and ideas. It is a probable conje(5lure that ' among the primitive tribes who dwelt on the Tigris and Euphrates, when the cuneiform alphabet was invented, and when such writing was first applied to the purposes of religion, a Scythic or Scytho- Arian race existed, who subsequently mi- grated to Europe and brought with them those mythical traditions which, as objedls of popular belief, had been mixed up in the nascent literature of their native coun- trj',' and that these traditions were passed on to the classical nations, who were in part descended from this Scythic or Scytho- Arian people." 124 ANCIENT HISTORY.— CHALD.EA. The religion of Chaldsea, or Babj-lonia, was from the most ancient times a gross polytheism, and was a kind of Sabsean wor- ship, the heavenlj' bodies being objecfls of adoration and represented by their special deities. L,ocal divinities abounded, every town being under the protedlion of some particular deity. The Chaldaean gods and goddesses therefore dwelt in the sky. The deities of the first order were grouped as follows: At the head of the Chaldaean Pan- theon stood El, or //, or Ra ; after whom was named the great city, Babylon, or Bab-El, meaning Gate of El. Next to the chief deity was a triad of gods — A7ia, or Anu,- Bil, or Bel, or Belus ; and Hea , or Hoa — who corresponded to the classical Pluto, Jupiter and Neptune. Each of these three gods was accompanied by a female principle, or wife; Anal, or Aii- ata, being the wife of Ana; Mulila, or B elf is, the wife of Bel; and Davkina the wife of Hoa. These were followed by a second triad of gods, consisting of Sin, or Hurki, the Moon-god; San, or Sa/isi, the Sun-god; and I'ltl, or /z'a, or Bin, the Air-god. Each of this second triad was also accompanied by a feminine power, or wife; a goddess called "the Great Lady," whose name is un- certain, being the consort of Sin, or Hurki; Gula, or Anunit, the companion of San; and Shala, or Tala, the wife of Vul. Next to these great gods and goddesses at the head of the Pantheon were a group of fi\'e minor deities representing the five planets then known — Nin or Ninip (Saturn), Mero- dach (Jupiter), Nergal (Mars), Ishtar (Ve- nus), and Nebo (Mercury). All the deities thus far named constituted the principal gods and goddesses, and after them were nu- merous divinities of the second and third order. The chief Chaldaean gods and goddesses were not all descended from the same parent- age, like the Egyptian, or the Greek or Roman deities, yet some relationship existed among them. Ana and Bel were brothers, the sons of II. Vul was the son of Ana; and Sin, or Hurki, the Moon-god, was the son of Bel. Nebo and Merodach were sons of Hoa. Among the many deities without parentage were II, the chief god; Hoa; San, the Sun-god; Ishtar, the planetary Venus; and Nergal, the representative of the planet Mars. Sometimes the relation.ship is con- fused and contradi(5lor\-; Nin, the planetary Saturn, being represented as the son and father of Bel, and as the son and husband of Beltis. El, or //, is the root of the well-known Biblical Eloliim, and also of the Arabic or Mohammedan Allah. It is the name which Diodorus represents z.sEhis; and Sanchronia- thon, or rather Philo-B5'blius, under the name of Elus, or Ilus. The meaning of the word El, or II, is simply "God," or "the God." Ra had the same meaning in Chaldsea, but in Egypt it was the special designation of the Sun-god. The Semitic name of Babylon was Bab- II, signifying "The gate of II, " or "the gate of God." Ra was a sort of fount or origin of deity and had few attributes. He was not much worshiped, and does not ap- pear to have had any temple in early times. He was the common father of Bel and Ana. Though Babj'lon, from its name Babil, was originally under Il's proted;ion, Bel was the god chiefly worshiped in that city in early times, and Merodach in later times. El, or II, was the lord of heaven. He was styled ' ' the Warrior, " " the Prince of the gods, " " the Eord of the universe. ' ' In an Assyrian tablet he is styled ' ' the Lamp of the divinities. ' ' In his anger at the wickedness of mankind II sent the great Flood to destroy the human race, and Sisit with the rest. The residence of Ana, the first god of the first triad, was in the concave dome of the sky, to which the other gods fled to escape the ravages of the Flood, which the wrath of II had sent against the wicked world. On some tablets Ana was called ' ' the Old Ana," " the Original Chief, " "the Father of gods, " "the Lord of spirits and demons, " "the King of the lower world, " "the Lord of darkness, " "the Ruler of the far-off city," etc. The old city of Erech, or Huruk ( now Warka), was the chief seat of Ana's wor- ship, and here was a favorite burial-ground of the Chaldees, over which Ana was be- cosj/o(;ojyy and RJiUGioN. •25 lieved to preside as a tutelary divinitj'. He was worshiped in the most remote antiquity, and Urukh alhided to him as one of the gods of Ur. King Shamas-Vul built a tem- ple to Ana at Asshur, (now Kileh-Sherghat), about 1830 B. C. The temple of Erech bore the name of Bit- Ana, or House of Ana; and the goddess Beltis, whose worship su- perseded that of Ana, in this temple, was the companion of Ana and was called "the Lady of Bit- Ana." Anat, or Anata, the wife of Ana, was but a reflecflion of her husband, and had no dis- tinguishing characfleristics, being nothing but the feminine form of the masculine Ana. All his epithets were applied to her with only a distincflion of gender, and she had no personality different from his, and is rarely, if ever, mentioned in the historical or geo- graphical inscriptions. One tablet repre- sents Ana and Anata as having nine chil- dren. Two of Ana's sons were Vul, the Air-god, and Mariu, the representative of "Darkness," "the West," etc., correspond- ing to the Erebus of the Greeks. Bel, also called Enii, and known as Bc/ns by the Greeks, was the second of the first triad of gods. His name Bit. or Bel signifies "Lord." He was called "the Supreme," ' ' the Father of the gods, " " the Procreator, ' ' "the Lord," "the King of all the spirits," ' ' the Lord of the world, " " the Lord of all the countries." When Nimrod, "the mighty hunter before the Lord," the legendary founder of the Chaldaean Empire, after his death was deified as Bel-Nimrod, or Bilu- Nipru, "the Hunter Lord," his attributes and titles were mingled with those of Bel. Calneh, or Nipur, the modern Niifer, was his sacred city and the seat of his worship, and here was the great temple consecrated to him. Many legends and traditions connec5l his name with this ancient city, which was also dedicated to his wife Beltis. Bel-Nimrod was called "Lord of Nipra," and his wife " Lady of Nipra." His temple at Nipur, called Kharris- Nipra, and famed for its wealth, magnificence and antiquity, was an objecft of intense veneration to the Assyrian monarchs. Temples were likewise dedicated to his w'orship at Calah (now Nim- rud), and Dur-Kurri-galzu (now Akkerkuf). He is sometimes said to have had four "arks" or "tabernacles." Inscriptions are found on Assyrian tablets, in which his name is invoked as ' ' the Lord of the world. ' ' This facfl attests that his worship was general throughout Chaldaea and Assyria. In As- syria he was inferior only to. Asshur, and in Chaldaea only to El and Ana. Thus Bel and Bel-Nimrod were virtually the same god. Beltis was his wife; and Nin, the As- syrian Hercules, was their son, and was fre- quently joined in their invocations. Sin, the Moon-god, is also said to be Bel-Nim- rod's son, in some inscriptions. His title "Father of the gods" would indicate an al- most infinite paternity. Bel-Nimrod was worshiped during the whole period of the monarchy. Urukh built him his temple at Calneh, or Nipur (now Niffer), and Kurri- galzu erecfted the one at Akkerkuf. LIrukh often mentions him in the inscriptions in connedlion with Sin, or Hurki, the Moon- god, whom he calls Bel-Nimrod's "eldest son." Beltis, or Mulita — the Mylitta of Herodo- tus — as the wife of Bel-Nimrod, presented a strong contrast to Anata, the wife of Ana. Beltis was not only a female power of Bel- Nimrod, but was really a distinct and import- ant deity. Her common title was ' ' the Great Goddess." Her Chaldsean name, Mulita, or Enuta, signifies ' ' the Lady. ' ' Her Assyrian name, Bilta or Bilta-Nipruta, were the femi- nine fomis of Bil and Bilu-Nipm. Her favorite title was "the Mother of the gods," or "Mother of the great gods," likewise ' ' Queen-mother of the gods, " " the Queen of the land," "the Great Lady," "the Goddess of war and battle," "the Goddess of birth." Though usually classed as the wife of Bel- Nimrod and the mother of his son Nin, .she is sometimes called "the wife of Nin," and in one place ' ' the wife of Asshur. ' ' She is likewise styled ' ' the lady of Bit- Ana, " " the lady of Nipur." Her worship was general, and her temples were numerous. At Erech (now Warka) she was worshiped on the same platform with Ana. At Cahieh, or 126 ANCIENT HISTORY.— CHALD.^EA. Nipur Cnow Niffer), she shared fully in her husband's honors. She had a shrine at Ur (now Mugheir), another at Rubesi, and an- other outside the walls of Babylon. Some of these temples were ^•ery ancient, those at Erech and Nipur being built by Urukh, while that at Ur was either built or repaired by Ismi-Dagon. One record makes Beltis the daughter of Ana, and as ' ' Queen of Nipur" she was "the wife of Nin." Beltis was "the Goddess of fertility and birth," ' ' the Lady of offspring. ' ' The worship of Beltis was general throughout Chaldsea, and the magnificence of her temples prove the adoration of the Chaldseans and the Later Babjdonians for her as the source of beaut}^ and the dispenser of love. Hea, or Hoa, the third of the first triad of deities, was the Sea-god, who, Berosus says, taught language and letters, art and science, and agriculture to the primitive Chaldees. Though he is represented as a fish-monster, Berosus calls him ' ' the Great Giver of good gifts to man," and he also bears the title of ' ' Lord of the abyss, ' ' and ' ' Lord of the great deep. ' ' He was adored as the dispenser of life and knowledge, and as such his emblem was the serpent, which Eastern races generally emploj^ed as the symbol of more than human wisdom. Raw- linson considers the legend of Hea in the form of a serpent teaching men wisdom, as bearing some relation to the story of the .serpent in the Garden of Eden, enticing Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge by promising them extended wisdom. The connecftion of Hoa with the introdu(ftion of letters is symbol- ized in the arrow-head in the cuneiform in- scriptions. The Assyrian kings built him temples at Asshur and Calah. Davkina was the wife of Hoa, and her name signifies "the Chief Lady." Like Anata, Davkina had no distineflive titles or important position in the Pantheon, but took her husband's epithets with a simple distincflion of gender. Merodach and Nebo were the sons of Hoa and Davkina. Sin, or Hurki, the Moon-god, was the first deity of the second triad. He was called "the Powerful," "the Lord of the spirits," "He who dwells in the great heavens, " " the Chief of the gods of heaven and earth," "the King of the gods," "the Bright, " " the Shining, " " the Lord of the month." As the patron and protedtor of buildings and architedlure, he was styled ' ' the Supporting Architecfl, " " the Strength- ener of fortifications, " " the Lord of build- ing. " Bricks were under his protecflion, and the sign of the month under his special care was the one by which they were desig- nated. His common symbol was the crescent, or new moon. The monuments represent him in the form of an aged bearded figure with illustrations of the different phases of the crescent near his head. The signet- cylinder of King Urukh, now in the British Museum, bears this representation of the Moon-god. In this figure he is represented as offering one hand in salutation in the presence of three worshipers standing before him. The Moon-god was the special objedl of kingly worship. Ur, or Hur, which de- rived its name from Hurki, was his sacred city, and here was the great temple built for his worship by King Urukh and his famous son and successor, Ilgi. This deity was like- wise worshiped by the princes of Borsippa and Babylon, and one dynasty of Chaldsean monarchs bore the title of the Sin kings. The Moon-god was adored by the Chal- daeans and Babylonians to the latest days of antiquit}', through the period of Assyrian supremacy to the times of Nebuchadnezzar and Nabonadius, the last of whom restored his shrine at Ur and bestowed on him high- sounding titles, such as "the Chief of the gods of heaven and earth, the King of the gods, God of gods, H6 who dwells in the great heavens." In some inscriptions the Moon-god is called the eldest son of Bel- Nimrod. His wife, the Moon-goddess, called "the Great Lady," was often asso- ciated with him in the lists. Hurki and his wife were the tutelary deities of Ur, or Hur, and a part of the temple was dedicated to his wife. Her "ark" or "tabernacle," which was separate from that of her hus- band, was also deposited in this sancftuarj-. cosMoco.yy and rki.icion. [27 It was called "the lesser light," while his ark was styled "the light." Sail, or Sansi, the Sun-god — whose Semi- tic names were Sanias, Shanias, and Shem- esh — was the second deitj- of the second triad. He was regarded as the lord of the daj-light, and was represented as lighting the universe. His emblem was the circle. He was called "the Lord of fire," "the Light of the gods, " " the Ruler of the day, ' ' " He who illumines the expanse of heaven and earth," "the Regent of all things," ' 'the Establisher of heaven and earth . ' ' The Sun-god inspired warlike thoughts in the minds of kings, and diredled and favored their militarj- expeditions. He caused the Chaldsean monarchs to assemble their char- iots and warriors, and went forth with their armies and defeated their foes in battle. He extended their dominions, and brought them back to their own land as conquerors. He chased their enemies before them and crushed all opposition. He aided them to swaj' the kingly sceptre and to enforce their authorit}^ over their subjects. He was thus called ' ■ the Supreme Ruler who casts a fa- vorable eye on expeditions," "the Van- quisher of the king's enemies," "the Breaker-up of opposition." As the sun dif- fused light and wannth throughout the realm of nature, so San lightened men's minds and hearts with wisdom and inspira- tion. The chief seats of the Sun-god's wor- ship were at Larsa and Sippara. At Larsa was the great temple to San, called Bit- Parra, built by Urukh, and restored at times to as late a period as the age of Nebu- chadnezzar. At Sippara the worship of this deity took precedence of all others, so that the Greeks called this place Heliopolis, or City of the Sun. The idolatry of the "Fire- king," Adrammelech, which the Second Book of Kings mentions as being set up in Samaria, was the worship of the Chaldaean Sun-god. At Sippara, called Tsipar sha Shamas, "Sippara of the Sun," in the in- scriptions, was the large temple to the Sun- god which was repaired and adorned bj- many of the ancient Chaldaean kings, as well as bj- Nebuchadnezzar and Nabouadius. Most of the signet-cylinders of the Chal- daean monarchs have the emblem of the sun among their symbols of divinitj-. Ai, Gula, or Anunit, the wife of San, as the female power of the sun, was usually as- sociated with the Sun-god in temples and invocations. Gula signifies "great. " As a deitj' separate from her husband, she pre- sided over life and birth. She was wor- shiped with her husband both at Larsa and Sippara, and her name appears on the in- scriptions at both places. She is believed to have been the Anammelech whom the Sephar\'ites adored in combination with Ad- rammelech, the "Fire-king." In later times she had temples independent of her husband at Bab}-lon and Borsippa, as well as at Calah and Asshur. Her emblem was the eight-rayed disk or orb, which is often associated with the four-rayed orb in the Babylonian representations, or sometimes an eight-raj-ed star, and frequently a star of only six rays. Vul, or Iva, the Air-god — also variously translated as Bin, Yem, Ao or Hu — was the third god of the second triad. Like the Zeus of the Greeks and the Jupiter of the Romans, Vul wielded the thunderbolt and directed the storm and the tempest. The Chaldasan account of the great Flood repre- sents Vul as thundering in heaven. He was considered the destroj-er of crops, and consequently the author of famine, scarcity and pestilence. The ' ' flaming sword ' ' which he is said to have held in his hand is represented as his symbol on the tablets and cylinders, where it is figured as a thunder- bolt. He was regarded as "the Prince of the power of the air." His usual titles were "the Minister of heaven and earth." ' ' the Lord of the air, " " He who makes the tempest to rage." He was the great de- stroyer in the realm of nature, but as the dispenser of rain he was adored as the source of the fertility of the nourishing earth. He was regarded as the prote(5lor of rivers, canals and aqueducts. Thus he was st\led ' ' the Careful and Beneficent Chief, " " the Giver of abundance, " " the Lord of canals, ' ' and ' ' the Establisher of works of irrigation. ' ' ■128 ANCIENT HIS TOR } '.— CHALD^A. The name of King Shamus-Vul, son and successor of Ismi-Dagon, indicates that Vul must have been worshiped in early times, as that king set up his worship at Asshur, (now Kileh-Sherghat), in Assj-ria, where a temple was built to him and Ana conjointly. All through the period of Assyrian ascend- ency and to the end of the Later Babylonian Empire the Air-god was highly venerated. Shala, or Tala, was the wife of Vul, or Iva and her usual title is sarrat or sharrat, mean- ing "queen, " the feminine of the word sa?', which signifies "king,'' "chief," or "sov- ereign. " First among the deities who represented the five planets then known, was Nin, or Ninip, also called Bar, or Adar, who was the representative of Saturn. Bar, the Semitic name, and Nin, the Hamitic designation, signify "Lord" or "Master." Ninip signi- fies "Nin by name," or "He whose name is Nin." Barshen signifies "Bar by name," or "He whose name is Bar." In his char- acfter and attributes Nin most nearly corres- ponded to the Hercules of the Greeks, as he was adored as the god of strength and heroism, according to the testimony of the inscriptions. He boldly faced the foe in battle, and his name was invoked to encour- age the warrior in the deadly confiicft. He was styled "the Lord of the brave," "the Champion," "the Warrior who subdues foes, " " He who strengthens the hearts of his followers," "the Destroyer of enemies," ' ' the Reducer of the disobedient, " " the Ex- terminator of rebels, " " He whose sword is good." In characfler he thus very much re- sembled Bel-Nimrod and Nergal, and also the Greek Hera, the Roman Mars, and the Scan- dinavian Odin. The in.scriptions call Nin, and not Hoa, the ' ' Fish-god. ' ' His emblem was generally the fish; and on some reliefs he is represented as part man and part fish, and beneath are such titles as "the God of the sea," "He who dwells in the deep," "the Opener of aquedudls. ' ' On other tablets he is styled "the Powerful Chief," "the Supreme," "the First of the gods," "the Favorite of the gods," "the Chief of the .spirits," and like titles. In his planetary characfter, he is called "the Lightof heaven," "He who, like the sun, the light of the gods, irradiates the nations." In the sculptured courts of the Assyrian palaces, Nin is rep- resented as a winged man-bull, the impenso- nation of strength and power. He guards the palaces of the Assyrian kings, who con- .sider him their tutelary deity, and whose capital citj', Nineveh, is named in his honor. Nin does not rank with the most ancient of the Chaldsean gods on the monuments; but as the Fish-god, whom Berosus represented as coming out of the sea to teach the Chal- dasans letters and science, he must have been an object of veneration from primeval times. His oldest temples were the two at Calah (now Ninirud), and his temple at Nineveh was widely famed for its splendor, and is noticed in the ' ' Annals ' ' of Tacitus. His worship was very general throughout Chaldsea and As.syria, as is shown by the frequency with which his emblems are found among the inscriptions. As we have said, Nin was the .son of Bel-Nimrod, and the in- scriptions represent him as the husband and son of Beltis. One tablet calls Nin the father, instead of the son, of Bel-Nimrod. This contradi(flion is the result of the double characfler of Nin, who, as Saturn, was the father, but as Hercules, the son of Jupiter. Merodach, or Bel-Merodach, represented the planet of Jupiter, and was called ' ' the Old Man of the gods," "the King of the earth" "the Most Ancient," "Senior of the gods," "the Judge," and the like. He was regarded as the god of judgment, justice and right. He was believed to preside wherever justice was dispensed by kings sitting in the gates, the early seats of justice. He was considered the most spiritual of the Chal- dsean deities, and in the Babylonian in.scrip- tions he is classed as superior to all celestial and terrestrial divinities, under the title of Belrabu. The Tel Sifr tablets indicate that Merodach must have been worshiped in the early Chaldsean kingdom. He is be- lieved to have been the tutelary deity of Babylon from the most remote antiquity, and as the city grew into importance his worship became more and more prominent. COSA/OaON]' AND Rl'.l.ICIO.y. 129 The Assyrian kings alvvaj's associated Baby- lon with Merodach, and in the Later Baby- lonian Knipire his worship took precedence of that of the other gods. Herodotns mi- nutely described his temple, and the prophet Uanicl bore testimony to the devotion with which he was worshiped by the Babylonians. Nebuchadnezzar called him "the King of the heavens and the earth," "the Great Lord, " " the Senior of the gods, " " the Most Ancient," " the Supporter of .sovereignty," "the Layer up of treasures," and the like; and attributed to this god all his glorj- and success. His emblem is not definitely known; but Diodorus states that the great statue of Merodach at Babylon was a figure "standing and walking," and such a form frequently appears upon the Babj-lonian cylinders. Merodach's wife, Zir-Banit, had a temple at Babylon, attached to her hus- band's, and is believed to have been the goddess whose worship was introduced into Samaria \>y the Babj-lonian colonists, and who is called Succoth-benoth in the Old Testament. Nergal, the War-god, was the representa- tive of the planet Mars, and his name, which is Hamitic, signifies "the Great Man" or ' ' the Great Hero. ' ' In the Assyrian ac- count of the Deluge, Nergal is alluded to as the destroyer; but he was chiefly cele- brated for his power over the chase and the battle-field, thus partaking of the charac- ter and attributes of Bel-Nimrod, with which deity he is compared in the adoration bestowed upon him as the ancestor of the Assyrian monarchs. He was called "the King of battles," "the Champion of the gods," " the Storm ruler, " "the Strong Begetter, ' ' ' 'the Tutelary God of Babylonia, ' ' and "the God of the cha.se." He is usually coupled with Nin, who also presides over battles and hunting. The chief seats of Nergal' s worship were the ancient cities of Cutha and Tarbissa. Cutha was the sacred city where he was said to "live," and in which was his famous shrine. The "men of Cuth," when transported as colonists to Samaria by the Assyrians, naturally "made Nergal their god, ' ' introducing his worship into the land of their forced adoption. Ner- gal' s emblem was the famous winged man- lion, the impersonation of human intelli- gence and phy.sical .strength, as .seen at the entrances of the great palaces of vSusa and Nineveh. Of Nergal's wife, called Lax, only her name is known. Ishtar, or Nana, was the representative of the planetary Venus, and in characfler and attributes she mainly corresponded with the classical goddess whose name the planet bears. Ishtar was her Assyrian name, and Nana was her Bab^'lonian appellation. The Phoenicians called her Astarte, and the He- brews Astoreth. Ishtar is styled in the in- .scriptions, "the Goddess who rejoices man- kind," and her most common epithet is A.surah, "the Fortunate," or "the Happy." She is also called ' ' the Mistress of heaven and earth," "the Great Goddess," "the Queen of all the gods; " and also "the God- dess of war and battle, " " the Queen of vic- tor}-," "She who arranges battles," and ' ' She who defends from attacks. ' ' In the inscriptions of one monarch she is repre- sented as "the Goddess of the chase." Her worship was general, and her shrines were numerous. She is often styled ' ' the Queen of Babylon," and must have had a temple in that city. She likewise had temples at Asshur, Arbela and Nineveh. Her symbol, as represented on the cylinders, is the naked female form. Ishtar, in her journey to the under-world, symbolized the disappearance in winter of the Life in nature as ushered in at spring. Ishtar is represented as going down to the House of Lskalla. Mr. Fox Talbot, the Eng- lish Orientalist, gives the following transla- tion of the descent of Ishtar to Hades, or the House of lskalla: ' ' To the land of Hades, the land of her desire, Ishtar, daughter of the Moon-god Sin, turned her mind. The daughter of Sin fixed her mind to go to the House where all meet, the dwelling of the god lskalla, to the house which men enter, but cannot de- part from — the road which men travel, but never retrace — the abode of darkness and of famine, where earth is their food, their I30 ANCIENT HISTORY. — CHALDyEA. nourishment clay — where Hght is not seen, but in darkness they dwell — where ghosts, like birds, flutter their wings, and on the door and the door-posts the dust lies undis- turbed. "When Ishtar arrived at the gate of Hades, to the keeper of the gate a word she spake: 'O keeper of the entrance, open thy gate! Open thy gate, I say again, that I may enter in! If thou openest not thj-gate, if I do not enter in, I will assault the door, the gate I will break down, I will attack the entrance, I will split open the portals. I will raise the dead, to be the devourers of the living! Upon the living the dead shall prey.' Then the porter opened his mouth and spake, and thus he said to great Ishtar: 'Stay, lady, do not shake down the door; I will go and inform Queen Nin-ki-gal.' So the porter went in and to Nin-ki-gal said: 'These curses thy .sister Ishtar utters; yea, she blasphemes thee with fearful curses.' And Nin-ki-gal, hearing the words, grew pale, like a flower when cut from the step; like the stalk of a reed, she shook. And she said, ' I will cure her rage — I will speedily cure her fury. Her curses I will repa}-. Light up consuming flames! Light up a blaze of straw! Be her doom with the husbands who left their wives; be her doom with the wives who forsook their lords; be her doom with the youths of dishonored lives. Go, porter, and open the gate for her; but strip her, as some have been stripped ere now.' The porter went and opened the gate. ' Lady of Tiggaba, enter,' he .said: 'Enter. It is pennitted. The Queen of Hades to meet thee comes.' So the first gate let her in, but she was stopped, and there the great crown was taken from her head. ' Keeper, do not take off" from me the crown that is on my head.' ' Excu.se it, lady, the Queen of the Land insi.sts upon its removal.' The next gate let her in, but she was stopped, and there the ear-rings were taken from her ears. ' Keeper, do not take off" from me the ear-rings from my ears. ' ' Excu.se it, lady, the Queen of the Land in- .si.sts upon their removal.' The third gate let her in, but she was stopped, and there the precious stones were taken from her head. ' Keeper, do not take off from me the gems that adorn my head. ' ' Excuse it, lady, the Queen of the Land insists upon their removal.' The fourth gate let her in, but .she was stopped, and there the small jewels were taken from her brow. ' Keeper, do not take off" from me the small jewels that deck my brow.' 'Excuse it, lady, the Queen of the Land insists upon their re- moval.' The fifth gate let her in, but she was stopped, and there the girdle was taken from her waist. ' Keeper, do not take off from me the girdle that girds my waist.' 'Excuse it, lady, the Queen of the Land t insists upon its removal.' The sixth gate let her in, but she was stopped, and there the gold rings were taken from her hands and feet. ' Keeper, do not take off" from me the gold rings of my hands and feet. ' ' Ex- cu.se it, lady, the Queen of the Land insists upon their removal.' The seventh gate let her in, but she was stopped, and there the last garment was taken from her body. 'Keeper,' do not take off, I pra}', the last garment from my body.' 'Excuse it, lady, the Queen of the Land insists upon its re- moval.' ' ' After that Mother Ishtar had descended into Hades, Nin-ki-gal saw and derided her to her face. Then Ishtar lost her reason, and heaped curses upon the other. Nin-ki- gal hereupon opened her mouth, and spake: ' Go, Namtar, * * * and bring her out for punishment, =*= * * afflict her with disease of the ej'e, the side, the feet, the heart, the head' (some lines effaced). * * * ' ' The Divine messenger of the gods lac- erated his face before them. The assembly of the gods was full. * * * The Sun came, along with the Moon, his father, and weep- ing he spake thus unto Hea, the king: 'Ishtar has de.scended into the earth, and has not risen again; and ever since the time that Mother Ishtar descended into hell, * * * * tijg master has ceased from com- manding; the slave has ceased from obey- ing.' Then the god Hea in the depth of his mind formed a design; he modeled, for her escape, the figure of a man of clay. COSMOCrONV AND RliLKilON. Go to save her, Plmiitom, present thj'self at the portal of Hades; the seven gates of Hades will all open before thee; Nin-ki- gal will see thee, and take pleasure because of thee. When her mind has grown calm, and her anger has worn itself away, awe her with the names of the great gods! Then prepare thy frauds! Fix on deceitful tricks thy mind! Use the chiefest of thy tricks! Bring forth fish out of an empty vessel! That will astonish Nin-ki-gal, and to Ishtar she will restore her clothing. The reward — a great reward — for these things shall not fail. Go, Phantom, save her, and the great assembly of the people shall crown thee! Meats, the best in the citj% .shall be thy food! Wine, the most delicious in the city, .shall be thy drink! A royal palace shall be thy dwelling, a throne of state shall be thy seat! Magician and con- juror shall kiss the hem of thy garment!' "Nin-ki-gal opened her mouth and spake; to her messenger, Namtar, commands she gave: ' Go, Namtar, the Temple of Justice adorn! Deck the images! Deck the altars! Bring out Anunnak, and let him take his seat on a throne of gold! Pour out for Ishtar the water of life; from my realms let her depart.' Namtar obeyed; he adorned the Temple; decked the images, decked the al- tars; brought out Anunnak, and let him take his seat on a throne of gold; poured out for Ishtar the water of life, and suffered her to depart. Then the first gate let her out, and gave her back the garment of her form. The next gate let her out, and gave her back the jewels for her hands and feet. The third gate let her out, and gave her back the girdle for her waist. The fourth gate let her out, and gave her back the small gems she had worn upon her brow. The fifth gate let her out, aud gave her back the precious stones that had been upon her head. The sixth gate let her out, and gave her back the ear-rings that were taken from her ears. And the seventh gate let her out, and gave her back the crown she had car- ried on her head. ' ' Ishtar's return to earth .symbolized the reappearance of spring. The god Nebo represented the planet Mercury, and was the last of the five plane- tary deities. Nebo was the god of wisdom and intelligence, the patron and protecflor of knowledge and learning, and the teacher of mankind. His attributes were the .same as those of the Greek Hermes. He was styled ' ' the God who possesses intelligence, " ' ' He who hears from afar, " " He who teaches, " or " He who teaches and instrucfls. ' ' He thus somewhat resembled Hoa, whose son he is called in .some in.scriptions. Like Hoa, he had for his emblem the simple wedge or arrow-head, the primarj' element in the cuneiform writing, to signify his as- sociation with that god in the patronage of letters. Nebo's other titles were "the Lord of lords, who has no equal in power, " "the Supreme Chief, " "the Sustainer, " "the Sup- porter, " " the Ever- ready, " "the Guardian over the heavens and the earth," "the Lord of the constellations," "the Holder of the sceptre of power," "He who grants to kings the sceptre of royalty for the government of their people." Sometimes he is cla.ssed with the inferior deities. His worship was more general in Chaldaea than in Assyria. In the later ages Borsippa was the chief seat of Nebo's worship, and there the great tem- ple, called Birs-i-Nimrud, was consecrated to him. The ruins of one of his shrines are found on the site of the ancient Assyrian city of Calah, (now Nimrud), whence im- posing statues of this god have been trans- ferred to the British Museum. He was a favorite deity of the later Babylonian kings, many of whom were named after him, such as Nabonassar, Nabopolassar, Nebuchad- nezzar and Nobanadius. Nebo's wife was Varamit, or Urmit, a name signifying "ex- alted," who was only a companion of her husband and had no special attributes. Be- sides the deities described, the Chaldaean Pantheon embraced a multitude of inferior divinities, of whom but verj- little is known. It is thus seen that the Chaldaean religion was, from the mo.st remote antiquity, an astronomical worship. The twelve constel- lations of the Zodiac were the sun's "twelve hou.ses," and his proper abode was in the 132 ANCIENT HIS TOR Y.—CHALDy^A. constellation of Leo. The planets likewise traversed twelve stages in their course, and each sign or ' ' house ' ' passed lay any one of these celestial bodies was regarded as a seat of divine power, w'hile the planets them- selves were considered gods. Thirty of the fixed stars were associated with the planets as "counseling gods;" and twelve others in the northern heavens, and twelve in the southern firmament, were designated ' ' the judges." The twelve "judges" above the horizon controlled the destines of the living, while the twelve below were masters of the fate of the dead. Each of the twelve months of the year was assigned to one of the twelve great gods, beginning with Ana. The seven days of the week were controlled by the seven great heavenly bodies — the sun, the moon, and the five planets then known. The hours were assigned to certain stars. Thus in the earliest twilight of Oriental history, more than four thousand years ago, the Wise Men of ancient Chaldsea — priests, bards, sages and prophets — by their observa- tions of the heavens and their explorations of the paths of the celestial luminaries, be- came the great pioneers of astronomical science, and the founders of that semi- mythical and semi-scientific learning which became diffused throughout the whole West of Asia. The priests performed the task of watching the courses, positions and phases of the celestial orbs and luminaries, and estimating and calculating the influence of this ever-varjing aspedl upon the destinies of men and nations. The seer and the prophet endeavored to show how the good and evil fortune of the state was blended with conjuncftions and oppositions in the starry firmament. Thus astrology became mingled with astronomy. In the Book of Daniel the Chaldaeans are mentioned as in- terpreters of stars and signs. The following inscription has been deciphered from a tab- let found at Nineveh: " If Jupiter is seen in the month of Tammuz, there will be corpses. If Venus comes opposite the star of the fish, there will be devastation. If the star of the great lion is gloomy, the heart of the people will not rejoice. If the moon is seen on the first da}' of the month, Accad will pro.sper." From that ancient period to the present there has prevailed among the superstitious, in all ages and nations, a belief that stars and astrological signs bear some relation to the fate of men and nations. ^ ^tj^Ji^^X^i^ BIRS-I-NIMRDD. -15 ' ail' 40 ■^^-xb ..„,*t^^''% s Lct.>':>5; Pyraiy Hei-nckoiiojis - AUAUll/ Z J. Latopoli&c iOlIinO|;oIis ^ ' " Tlifljcs \Etiri)hanfirie y/^ *■ Island HS>'"' ■\ o \ \-^ \, Q 10 30 35 40 CHAPTER III. THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE. SECTION I.— CxEOGRAPHY OF ASSYRIA. ^SSYRIA, as we have seen, em- braced the portion of the Ti- gris - Euphrates valley north of Chaldoea, or Babylonia — the region now known as Kurdis- tan. The soil of Assyria was not so fertile as that of Chaldaea, but was generally pro- dudtive; and careful cultivation and irriga- tion brought luxuriant yields of various grains and vegetables; while such fruits as the citron, the orange, the lemon, the date- palm, the pomegranate, the olive, the vine, the fig and the apricot flourished in profu- sion, and the mulberry gave nourishment to an unusually large silk-worm found no- where else; but ever since the fall of the Assyrian Empire the country has been ex- posed to the ravages of plundering nomad hordes and to the devastations of hostile armies, so that this region is now almost a wilderness. Unlike Chalda;a, which, as we have ob- sen^ed, produced no stone or minerals of anj^ kind, Assyria was supplied with an abund- ance of stone, iron, copper, lead, silver, an- timony and other metals; while bitumen, naphtha, petroleum, sulphur, alum and salt were also yielded in sufficient quantities. Assyria has a varied climate, but on the whole the summers are cooler and the win- ters more severe than in Chaldrea, because of mountain breezes from the Zagros and from Armenia; while there is also more moisture, and in portions of the country heavy rains, snows and dews fall during the winter and spring. The wild animals of Assyria were the lion, the leopard, the lynx, the hyena, the 1-9.-U. H. - ^ jackal, the ibex, the gazelle, the jerboa, the bear, the deer, the wolf, the stag, the buffalo, the beaver, the fox, the hare, the badger, the porcupine, the wild cat, the wild boar, the wild sheep and the wild ass. The riv- ers abounded with fish, and the marshy thickets with wild fowl. The domestic ani- mals were the camel, the horse, the ass, the mule, the ox, the cow, the sheep, the goat and the dog. The true heart of Assj'ria was the coun- try close along the Tigris between latitude tliirt3"-five degrees and thirty-six degrees and thirtj' minutes north. Within these limits were the four great cities marked by the mounds of Khorsabad, Mosul, Nimrud and Kileh-Sherghat, besides a multitude of cities of minor importance. Three of the four great capitals of the Assyrian Empire were located on the east bank of the river; but the early capital, Asshur, now called Kileh-Sherghat, was on the west bank. The Assyrian ruins strew the countrj- between the Tigris and the Khabour. Mounds ex- ist along the Khabour' s great western afflu- ent, and even near Seruj, in the country between Harran and the Euphrates. But the remains on the east side of the Ti- gris are more extensive and more import- ant. Nebbi-Yunus, Koyunjik and Nim- rud — which have furnished by far the most valuable and interesting of the Assyrian monuments — are all situated on the east side of the Tigris, while the only places on the west side which have yielded striking relics are Arban and Kileh-Sherghat. In Assyria, as in Chaldaea, four cities were in early times preeminent. The Book of 37) 138 ANCIENT HIS TOR Y.—ASS ) lUA . Genesis iu speaking of the Assyrian emi- gration from Chaldsea, or the Land of Shi- nar, says: "Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah and Resen." In the flourishing period of the Assyrian Empire we find four cities — Nineveh (or Ninua), Calah, Asshur and Dur-Sargina, ( or City ot Sargon ) — all of which were cities of the first rank. Besides these four capitals, there were a vast number of minor cities and towns, so numerous that the whole country is strewn with their ruins. Among these minor places were Tarbisa, Arbil { or Arbela), Arapkha and Khazeli, in the region between the Tigris and the Zagros mountains, the ancient Assj'ria proper and the modern Kurdistan; and Harran, Tel-Apni, Razappa (or Rezeph) and Amida in the North-west ; Nazibina, (or Nisibis) on the eastern branch of the Khabour; Sirki (or Circesium), at the confluence of the Khabour with the Eu- phrates; Anat on the Euphrates, a little be- low the junction ; Tahiti, Margarisi, Sidi- kan, Katni, Beth-Khalupi, and others be- tween the lower course of the Khabour and the Tigris. On the east bank of the Tigris, opposite the present town of Mosul, are the ruins of the once-mighty city of Nineveh, the cele- brated and magnificent capital of the Assyr- ian Empire when that monarchy was iu the zenith of its greatness and splendor. The name Nineveh is read on the bricks, and a uniform tradition from the time of the Arab conquest gives the mound this title. These are the most exten.sive ruins of Assyria. As the city will be described in a sub.secjuent part of this book, we will not enter into any minute description of the place in this connection. At the present town of Khorsabad, on the east bank of the Tigris, about nine miles north of Nineveh, are the ruins of I)ur-vSargina (City of Sar- gon), chief of which are those of the mag- nificent palace erected there by the famous Sargon, one of the most celebrated of Assyrian monarchs. The.se ruins were brought to light in recent ^-ears by the ex- cavations of that enterprising French ex- plorer, M. Botta. The present town of Nimrud, on the east side of the Tigris, about twenty miles south of the ruins of Nineveh in a diredt line, and about thirty miles by the course of the Tigris, occupies the site of the ancient Calah, the second great Assyrian capital cit}', whose ruins, among which are those of several royal palaces, cover an area of nearly one thousand English acres, which is little over half the area of the ruins of Nineveh. Forty miles south of Nimrud, at Kileh-Sherghat, on the west bank of the Tigris, are the remains of the ancient city of vAsshur, the third great city and the early Asssjrian capital, who.se ruins, marked by long lines of low mounds, are scarcely less in extent than those of Calah. Four miles north-west from Khorsabad are the ruins of Tarbisa, among which are those of a royal palace and several temples. About twenty miles south-east of Khorsabad is the ruin of Keremles. About halfway between the ruins of Nineveh and Nimrud, or Calah, is Selamiyah, supposed by .some to be the Resen of vScripture. About forty miles east of Nimrud was the famous citj' of Arabil, or Arbil, called Arbela by the Greeks, and still retaining its ancient desig- nation. Besides these principal towns of Assyria proper, the inscriptions mention a large number of cities whose .site is not known. Considering the wonderful discoveries made in this field of ancient Oriental histors^ within the last half century by the patience and diligence of .such renowned explorers as Layard and Botta, the day may not be far distant when other ruins ma}- be identified with undiscovered places recorded in ancient writings. Let us hope that the zeal of some future explorer may further add to our stock of knowledge of the ancient Oriental world. sofA'C/'s OF .issy-Av.ix ///sroA'y. '39 SECTION II.— SOURCES OF ASSYRIAN HISTORY. UR sources of Assyrian historj- are tlie Greek historians, He- mdotus and Ctesias, and the Assyrian inonuiiK-ntal inscrip- tions. Little reliance can be placed upon exact dates relating to the an- nals of most of the very ancient nations. With ^\ssyrian chronologj-, however, we can depend upon the accuracy of the two trustworthy documents already alluded to — the Canon of Ptolemy, a Babylonian record having important bearing upon Assyrian dates, and the Assyrian Canon, discovered and edited by Sir Henry Rawlinson in 1862, and which gives the succession of the Ass^-r- ian kings for 251 years, beginning with the year 911 B. C. and ending 660 B. C. These two documents not only harmonize remark- ably with each other, but they agree admir- ably with statements of Berosus and Hero- dotus. According to Berosus, Assyria be- came independent of Chaldsea about 1300 B. C, and according to Herodotus half a century later, about the j^ear 1250 B. C. From these sources, and from the inscrip- tions on Assyrian tablets, bricks and sculp- tures, we are able to fix the dates of As.sj'r- ian events with tolerable accuracy. With respedl to the duration and antiquity of the Assyrian monarchy, the two original authorities are the Greek historians alluded to at the beginning of the preceding para- graph, and between these two the judgment of the learned has since been divided. Cte- -sias maintained that the Assyrian mon- archy had an existence of 1306 or 1360 years, and that it had almost as remote an antiquity as had the city of Baby- lon : while Herodotus as.serted that the Assyrian Empire had a duration of le,ss than seven centuries, beginning about the j-ear B. C. 1250, when a flouri.shing Empire had alreadj- existed in Chaldaea for more than a thousand years from the time of Nimrod. Ctesias was followed by such writers as Cephalion, Castor, Diodorus Sicu- lus, Nicolas of Damascus, Trogus I^jmpeius, Agathias, Syncellus, Velleius Paterculus, Josephus, lui.sebius, and Moses of Chorcne, among the ancients, and by Freret, Rollin and Clinton, among the moderns. He- rodotus has been sustained by such mf)dern writers as Volnej-, Heeren, B. G. Niebuhr, Brandis, the two Rawlin.sons and many others. The English historians and Orient- alists consider the Assyrian Empire as hav- ing ended in 625 B. C, while the French regard the \ear 606 B. C. as the date of that event. Herodotus wrote within two centuries after the fall of the Assyrian Empire, and about thirty years before Ctesias. He had traveled extensively in the East, as well as in Eg3"pt, and had availed himself of all the accessible sources of information, consulting the Chaldseans of Babylon and others. He was thoroughly honest and conscientious, and implicit reliance can be placed in the accuracy of his statements. He had espe- cially endeavored to inform himself fully and correcth- regarding A.ssyria, of which country he designed writing an elaborate work entirely distinct from his general his- tor\-. Ctesias also visited the East, .spending" seventeen years at the court of the Persian king. Being the court-phjsician to Arta- xerxes Mnemon, he may have had access to the archives in the pos.session of the Persian monarchs. He was a man of such temper and spirit as to be di.sposed to differ with others. He flath' called Herodotus "a liar," and was therefore resolved to differ with him. He continually differs with Thucydides wherever the>- handle the same .subject. He peqietuallj- di.sagrees with Ptolemy on Babylonian chronology, and with Manetho on Egyptian dates. He is also constantly at variance with the cuneifonu inscriptions, which generally confirm the statements of Herodotus. His Oriental his- torj- likewise contradicts the Old Testament. 140 ANCIENT HISTOR Y.— ASSYRIA. as he places the destrudlion of Nineveh at 875 B. C, long before the time of Jonah. The judgment of Aristotle, of Plutarch, of Arrian, among the ancients, and of Niebuhr, Bunscn and other modern historians and Orientalists, is all on the side of Herodotus, whose chronology is to be preferred, on every account, to that of Ctesias. Herodotus assigns the year B. C. 1250 as the beginning of the Assj'rian Empire, which, according to his account, lasted six and a half centuries. During the first five hundred and twent}^ j'ears of this period, from B. C. 1250, to B. C. 730, the Assyrians maintained their supremacy over Western Asia, after which the Medes revolted and formed an independent kingdom east of the Zagros mountains. The Assyrian mon- arch\-, thus reduced, lasted one hundred and thirty years longer, to the close of the seventh century before the Christian era, when the Medes took and destroyed Nineveh (B. C. 603). These dates, though nearer the truth than those of Ctesias, are not abso- lutely accepted by modern historians and Orientalists. The chronology of Berosus coincides more nearly with that of Herodotus than with that of Ctesias. As his sixth Chaldaean, or Babjdonian djaiasty, which was Assyrian in race, began to reign about 1300 B. C, and as the Assj-rian monarchy became inde- pendent when this dynasty was founded, it follows that the foundation of the Assyrian Empire dates from that year. As Berosus also placed the fall of the Assyrian Empire at 625 B. C, that empire must have existed six hundred and .seventy-five years. SECTION III.— POLITICAL HISTORY. IE history of Assyria is divided into three periods — the period of its subjection to Chaldcea, from the time of the settlement of the Ass}'rians in the Tigris valley and Upper Me.sopotamia to B. C. 1300; the Old Assyrian Empire (B. C. 1300- 745); and the New or Lower Assyrian Em- pire (B. C. 745-625). The origin of the Assyrians is shrouded in obscurity, although it is known that the}' were a Semitic tribe originally dwelling in Chaldaea, the Scriptural Shinar, and that they migrated to the middle Tigris ^•alley during the general movement of Semitic and Hamitic tribes from ' ' the land of Shinar, ' ' some time after Nimrod's death. Says the Mosaic account: "Out of that land went forth Asshur and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, and Re.sen be- tween Nineveh and Calah; the same is a great city. ' ' It was before their settlement along the middle Tigris, and while they yet dwelt in the flat alluvial plain in the southern portion of the Tigris-Euphrates valley — that pro- dudlive region where nature so readily sup- plied everj'thing requisite for the support of man, with .so little exertion on his part — it was there that the Assyrians had grown from a family into a tribe or nation, and had developed a religion and learned the most essential of the arts. The style and char- adter of the Assyrian archite(5lure indicates that it originated in the low flat alluvium where brick and bitumen were the only building materials. The cuneiform writing of the As.syrians also shows its Chaldtean origin; while their religion was verj^ nearly identical with that of their southern neigh- bors, the onh' essential point of difference being that the chief Assyrian god, Asshur, was unknown in Chaldaea. The monu- mental and tablet inscriptions thus verify the statements of the Pentateuch, in repre- senting the Assyrians as originally dwelling in Chaldaea, and at an early period migra- ting northward to the middle Tigris region. It is not known whether the Semitic and Hamitic migrations from Chaldaea, their mother country, were voluntar>' removals on the part of the migrating tribes themselves, POLITICAL Ills '/ V )R ) -. 141 or conipulsor)- colonizations inaugurated and carried out by the Clialdnean nionarclis. One body led by Terah, Abraham's father, reni()\-ed from Ur to Harran: another from the shores of the Persian Gulf to Syria, Canaan and Phoenicia; and a third, the Assyrian branch, larger than either of the other two, ascended the Tigris valley, occu- pied Adiabene, with the neighboring dis- tridls, gave its own tribal name of Asshur to its chief city and territory, and was known to adjacent peoples first as a separate tribe, and afterwards as an independent and pow- erful nation. The date of their settlement in Assyria is uncertain, but it must have oc- curred before the reigns of the Chaldsean kings, Purna-puriyas and Kurri-galzu, in the fifteenth century before the Christian era. A temple to Anu and Vul was erecled on the site of Asshur, as early as the nine- teenth century^ before Christ, by Shamas- Vul, the son and viceroy of the Chaldaean king, Ismi-Dagon. The Assyrians were likelj- at first gov- erned in their new country by viceroys under the Chaldsean sovereigns. Bricks of a Baby- lonian description have been discovered at Kileh-Sherghat, the site of the ancient Asshur, the early Assyrian capital, which are belie\^ed to be older than any distincflly Assyrian remains, and which were in all probability stamped by these viceroys. Very soon, however, the Assyrians liberated them- selves from the Chaldaean yoke and founded an independent kingdom of their own in their new abode, while the old Chaldaean Empire continued to flourish in the alluvial plain at the head of the Persian Gulf. The co-existence of the.se two kingdoms side by side is attested by a mutilated tablet of much later date, containing a .synchronistic record of Assyrian and Chaldaean annals from a very remote antiquity. This tablet gives us the names of three of the most ancient Assyrian monarchs — Asshur-bil-nisi-su, BuzuR-AssHUR and Asshur-upallit — the first two of whom are recorded as having concluded treaties of peace with contempo- rar>' Chaldsean, or Babylonian .sovereigns, while the third interfered in the domestic affairs of Chaldaea, deposing a usurper and restoring the rightful claimant, his own rela- tive, to the throne. Intermarriages occurred between the royal families of Assyria and Chakkea at this early period; and Asshur- upallit, the last of these three Assyrian kings, had given a daughter in marriage to the Chaldaean king, Purna-puriyas. On the death of the latter, his son, Kara-khar-das, became king of Chakkea, but lost his life in attempting to jjut down a rebellion of his own subjects, and was succeeded by a usurper, Nazi-bugas. Thereupon A,s,shur- upallit marched an army into Chaldaea, defeated and killed the u.surper, and placed Kurri-galzu, another sou of Purna-puriyas, on the Chaldaean throne. The tablet just referred to shows the power and influence of Assyria at this early day as fully equal to that of her more ancient southern neighbor. After the events just narrated Assyrian history is a blank for sixty years, only the names of the kings being known to us. The bricks of Kileh- Sherghat show us that Asshur-upallit was succeeded as king by his son, Bel-LI'SH, or Bellikhus, who was followed in succession by his son Pudil, his grandson Vul-lush I., and his great-grandson ShalmanESER I. All that is known of Bel-lush, Pudil and Vul-lush I. is that they eredled or repaired important edifices at A.sshur (now Kileh- Sherghat), which remained the capital of Assyria for several centuries later. This place, located on the west bank of the Ti- gris, was not favorably situated, the most fertile region of Assyria being on the east bank; but Calah and Nineveh were not yet built. Shalmaneser I., who reigned from B. C. 1320 to B. C. 1300, is chiefly distinguished as the founder of Calah (now Nimrud), the .second of those great cities which the Assyr- ian kings delighted to embellish with mag- nificent edifices, and which in the cour.se of .several centuries succeeded Asshur as the capital. Calah was advantageously situated on the east bank of the Tigris, forty miles north of A.sshur, in a region of exceeding fertility and great natural strength, being 142 ANCIENT HISTORY ASSYRIA. protected on one side by the Tigris and on the other by the Shor-Derreh torrent, while it was defended on the south hy the Greater Zab and on the north-east by the Khazr, or Ghazr-Su. The inscriptions of Asshur-izir- pal show us that Shalmaneser I. undertook expeditions against the tribes on the upper Tigris, and founded cities in that region, which he colonized with settlers brought from other distant quarters. Shalmaneser's extension of the Assyrian dominion to the northward ranks him as the first known As- syrian conqueror. With the death of vShal- maneser I. in B. C. 1300 ends the first period of Assyrian historj" — the period of its sub- je(5lion to Chaldcea. Shalmaneser I. was succeeded on the As- syrian throne by his .son Tiglathi-Nin I., the founder of the Old Assyrian Empire, which embraces the second period of As- .syrian historj' ( B. C. 1300-B. C. 745). The date of this monarch is seen to syn- chronize with the time given by Berosus as the beginning of the .sixth Chaldsean, or Babylonian dynasty, and b}- Herodotus to the founding of the Assyrian Empire. The inscriptions mention Tiglathi-Nin as trans- ferring to Assj'ria the supremacy hitherto claimed and exercised by Chaldsea, or Babylonia, in consequence of a successful war with the latter kingdom, which circum- stance induced him to in.scribe upon his sig- net-seal this title: "Tiglathi-Nin, King of A.ssyria, son of Shalmaneser, King of As- .syria, and conqueror of Kar-Dunyas. Who- ever injures my device or name, maj' Asshur and Vul destroy his name and country." This signet-seal, recovered six centuries later at Babylon by Sennacherib, shows that Tiglathi-Nin I. reigned personally for some time in that city, where he afterwards estab- lished an Assyrian dynast)- of dependent kings — probably a branch of his own family. On a genealogical tablet he is called "King of Sumir and Accad, ' ' a title not bestowed on any of the other kings. ChakUea, or Babylonia, was not, however, from this time permanently subjedl to As- syria. Nearl\- a century after Tiglathi- Nin'.''. conquest the .\ssyrian supremac}' was shaken off, and Babylonian kings with Semitic names, and perhaps of Assyrian de- scent, were engaged in wars with the As- syrian monarchs. The Babylonian king- dom was not permanently subjected to the Assyrian dominion until the time of Sargon, in the latter part of the eighth century be- fore Christ, and even under the dynasty of the Sargonida; the Babylonians were constantly in revolt, and were only reconciled to As- syrian rule when Esar-haddon united the two crowns and reigned alternately at Baby- lon and Nine\'eh. Nevertheless, from the time of Tiglathi-Nin's conquest Assyria was recognized as the ruling power in the Tigris-Euphrates valley, as is fully .shown by its conquest of, and its imposition of a dynasty upon, the southern kingdom. Its influence was therefore felt, even while its yoke was rejected; and from the time of Tiglathi-Nin's conquest, throughout the whole period of Ass^'rian ascendenc}' in the Tigris-Euphrates valley, the process of Semitizing the Chaldseans went on ; the names of the Babylonian kings during all this time being Semitic, whether those kings recognized the domination of Assj-ria or were at war with that power. Tiglathi-Nin I., who was the eighth and last Assyrian king of the line founded by A.sshur-bil-nisi-su, died about B. C. 1280. After an inter\'al of half a century there fol- lowed another series of eight kings, known to us chiefly through the celebrated Tiglath- Pileser cj-linder, which gives us the succes- sion of five of them, but completed from the united testimony of .several other documents, the most important of which are the Baby- lonian and Assyrian synchronistic tablet and the mutilated statue of the goddess Ish- tar now in the British Museum, which bears an inscription giving the names and di- re6t genealogical succession of the last three of these monarchs. The combined reign.s of these eight sovereigns embraced about one hundred and sixty years, from about B. C. 1230 to B. C. 1070. Bel-kudur-uzur, the first king of this .second .series, is only known on account of his unsuccessful war with the contemporary iH^i.rric.ii. ///S7()h')'. 143 king of Bal)\li)n. Tlu- Scinilic line of kings established at Babj-loii l)y the Assyrians were dissatisfied with their state of vassal- age; and during Bel-kudur-uzur's reign in Assyria, Vul-baladan, the Babylonian vassal ruler, attempted to throw ofiFthe yoke of his Assyrian suzerain, and the war which fol- lowed ended in the defeat and death of Bel- kudur-uzur in a great battle about B. C. 1210. NiN-PALA-ziRA was the second Assyrian monarch of this second series. It is not certain whether he was related to his prede- cessor, but he avenged his death. The in- scriptions call him "the king who organized the country of Assyria, and established the troops of AssA'ria in authority." Sooii after he ascended the throne, Vul-baladan of Babylon, encouraged by his triumph over Bel-kudur-uzur, invaded Assyria and at- tacked Asshur, its capital, but was com- pletel}- defeated in a battle under the walls of the cit\- and fled into his own dominions, leaving Assyria in peace during the re- mainder of Nin-pala-zira's reign. AsSHUR-DAYAN I., the third king of the second series, enjoyed a long and prosperous reign, according to the inscription of Tig- lath-Pileser I. He made a successful raid into Babylonia and returned to Assyria with valuable spoils. He also tore down the de- lapidated temple eredled by Shamus-Vul, the son of Ismi-Dagon, at Asshur; and the structure was not rebuilt until sixty years later. Mutaggil-Nebo, the son and succes.sor of Asshur-dayan I., reigned from about B. C. 1 170 to B. C. 1 150. The Tiglath-Pileser in-scription informs us that "Asshur, the great Lord, aided him according to the wishes of his heart, and established him in strength in the government of Assyria." AssHUR-Ris-iLiM, the son and successor of Mutaggil-Nebo, reigned between about B. C. 1 150 and B. C. 1130; and the inscrip- tion of his son, Tiglath-Pileser I., calls him "the powerful king, the subduer of rebel- lious countries, he who has reduced all the accursed." The synchronistic tablet of Ba- bylonian and Assyrian history informs us that he warred with Nebuchadnezzar I., or Nabu-kudur-uzur, of Babylon, who began the struggle by in\-ading A.ssyria by way of the Zagros mountains, but was repulsed by As.shur-ris-ilim in person in this mountain region, and driven back. Nebuchadnezzar invaded Assyria a .second time, directly from the south, but was defeated by Asshur-ris- ilim's general, and driven back, leaving to the victorious Assyrians fortj- chariots and a baiuier. Tiglath-Pileser I., the son and succes- sor of Asshur-ris-ilim, who died about B. C. 1130, was the first Assyrian king of who.se histor)^ we possess elaborate details. The discover}' of his inscription on two du- plicate c}dinders, now in the British Mu- seum, and which was tran.slated in 1857 by Sir Henry Rawliuson, Mr. Fox Talbot, Dr. Hincks and M. Oppert, has given us the record of events during the first five }-ears of his reign. The Tiglath-Pileser inscription begins by naming and glorifying the "gjeat gods" who "rule over heaven and earth," and who are "the guardians of the kingdom of Ti- glath-Pileser." These deities are "A.sshur, the great Lord, ruling supreme over the gods; Bel the lord, father of the gods, lord of the world; Sin, the leader, the lord of empire; Shamas, the establisher of heaven and earth; Vul, he who causes the tempest to rage over hostile lands; Nin, the cham- pion who subdues evil spirits and enemies; and Ishtar, the source of the gods, the queen of victorj', she who arranges battles. ' ' These gods, it is said in this inscription, have placed Tiglath-Pileser upon his throne, have "made him firm, have confided to him the supreme crown, have appointed him in might to the sovereignt}^ of the people of Bel, and have granted him preeminence, ex- altation and warlike power; ' ' and are in- voked to make the "duration of his empire continue forever to his royal posterity, last- ing as the great temple of Kharris-Matira." Then follows a self-glorification of the king with an enumeration of his titles, thus: "Tiglath-Pileser, the powerful king, king of the people of various tongues; king 144 ANCIENT HISTORY.— ASSYRIA. of the four regions; king of all kings; lord of lords; the supreme; monarch of nionarchs ; the illustrions chief, who, imder the aus- pices of the Sun-god, being armed with the scepter and girt with the girdle of power over mankind, rules over all the people of Bel; the mighty prince, whose praise is blazoned forth among the kings; the ex- alted sovereign, whose servants Assliur has appointed to the government of the four regions, and whose name he has made cele- brated to posterity; the conqueror of many plains and mountains of the Upper and Lower country; the victorious hero, the terror of whose name has overwhelmed all regions; the bright constellation who, as he wished, has warred against foreign coun- tries, and under the auspices of Bel — there being no equal to him — has subdued the enemies of Asshur. ' ' Tiglath-Pileser then recounts his con- quests during his first five years as king. The first people he subdued were the Mus- kai, or Moschians — believed to be the Me- shech of the Old Testament — who were governed by five kings and inhabited the countries of Alzi and Purukhuz, parts of Taurus or Niphates. The Moschians had negledled for fifty years to pay the tribute due from them to the Assyrians; and at this time, with a force of twenty thousand men, they had invaded the neighboring coun- try of Qummukh (afterwards Commagene), an Assyrian dependency, and had subdued it; but were there attacked and defeated by Tiglath-Pileser I. , who then conquered Com- magene, burned its cities, plundered its tem- ples, ravaged the country, and carried away cattle and treasure as booty or tribute. The following is a passage from this in- scription: "The country of Kasiyara, a difficult region, I passed through. With their twenty thousand men and their five kings, in the country of Qummukh I en- gaged. I defeated them. The ranks of their warriors in fighting the battle were beaten down as if by the tempest. Their carcasses covered the valleys and the tops of the mountains. I cut off their heads. Of the battlements of their cities I made heaps, like moimds of earth. Their mova- bles, their wealth, and their valuables 1 plundered to a countless amount. Six thou- sand of their common soldiers, who fled be- fore my servants, and accepted my yoke, I took and gave over to the men of my own territory' as slaves." The Moschians still refusing to pay trib- ute, Tiglath-Pileser condudted a second campaign in their country and again sub- dued them, completely overrunning Comma- gene, which was annexed to the Assyrian Empire. He also attacked the neighboring tribes in their fastnesses, burned their cities and ravaged their territories. He likewise invaded the countrj^ of the Khatti (Hittites), because two of their tribes had committed an aggression on Assyrian territory, and completely chastising them, carried away one hundred and twenty chariots and much valuable booty. He also invaded the moun- tainous region of the Zagros, reduced its stronghold and seized much treasure. Tiglath-Pileser's third campaign was against the Nairi tribes of the Euphrates valley in Northern Syria and Mesopotamia, the distridl subsequently known as Comma- gene. These tribes were ruled by many petty kings. Those east of the Euphrates were easily conquered, but those west of the river were only subdued after a desperate and protracfted struggle. The Assyrians gained a great vidlory, taking one hundred and twenty chariots, and pursued the Nairi and their allies to the Mediterranean. The country was frightfully ravaged, and the vanquished were required to pay a tribute of twelve hundred horses and two hundred cattle. In his fourth campaign, Tiglath-Pileser at- tacked the Aramaeans, or Syrians, who then occupied the narrow valley of the Euphra- tes for a distance of two hundred and fifty miles, from the territories of the Tsukhi, or Shuhites, between Anah and Hit on the south-east, to Carchemish, the capital and stronghold of the Khatti, or Hittites, on the north-west. Tiglath Pileser says in his in- scription that he reduced this region "at one blow. " He first plundered the east bank '^.' «^~^ i^/ ^ / // '''^m TIGI.ATHl'U.EsKK SIDKMIN'G A TUWN. I'AI.ACK Ol N IN HVh 1 1. POLITICAI. ins TOR ) '. 145 of the river, and then crossed the stream in boats covered with skins, and burned six cities on the west bank and carried away a vast amount of boot}-. Tigkith-Pileser's fifth and last campaign was against the land of Musr, or Muzr, in the upper part of the present Kurdistan, which was completely overrun, and its armies were defeated, its cities bunied and its strongholds taken. Ann, the capital, was spared because of its submission, and a tribute was imposed upon the countn,-. The Comani, who, though Assyrian subjedls, had assisted the inhabitants of Musr, were punished for their defetflion by Tiglath-Pi- leser, who invaded their countn,-, defeated their army of twenty thousand men, and took their towns and castles, some by stonn and others without resistance, burning the for- mer and sparing the latter, but destroj-ing the fortifications of both; and the "far- spreading country of the Comani ' ' was soon reduced to submission and an increased trib- ute exadled from it. After this fifth campaign, Tiglath-Pileser's inscription sums up the result of his wars thus: "There fell into my hands altogether between the commencement of mj- reign and ray fifth 3'ear, forty-two countries with their kings, from the banks of the river Zab to the banks of the river Euphrates, the coun- try of the Khatti, and the upper ocean of the setting sun. I brought them under one government; I took hostages from them; and I imposed on them tribute and offer- ings." The king next boasts of his hunting ex- ploits. He says that he killed with his ar- rows in the country of the Hittites, "four wild bulls, strong and fierce;" and in the vicinitj' of Harran, on the banks of the river Khabour, he slew ten large wild buffaloes and took four alive. He took these cap- tured animals, with the hides and horns of the killed beasts, to Asshur, his capital citj-. He also says that he slew nine hundred and twenty lions in his various journeys, and at- tributes all these exploits to the protetflion of the gods Nin and Nergal. This great monarch then gives an account of the Iniildings which he had eredled and of the improvements which he had intro- duced. Among these buildings are the tem- ples to Ishtar, Martu, Bel, II, and the pre- siding deities of the citj- of Asshur, his own royal palaces, and castles for the military defence of his dominions. Among his pub- lic improvements he mentions the construc- tion of works of irrigation, the introducftion of cattle and wild animals from other coun- tries into Assyria, as well as of foreign veg- etable productions, the increase in the num- ber of chariots, the enlargement of his do- minions, and the growth of the population. Before speaking of the restoration of two old temples in the city of Asshur, Tiglath- Pileser gives an account of his descent from Nin-pala-zira, the founder of the dynast\-, as follows: "Tiglath-Pileser, the illustrious prince, whom Asshur and Nin have exalted to the utmost wishes of his heart; who has pursued after the enemies of Asshur, and has subjugated all the earth — the son of Asshur-ris-ilim, the powerful king, the sub- duer of rebellious countries, he who has re- duced all the accursed — the grandson of Mutaggil-Nebo, whom Asshur, the Great Lord, aided according to the wishes of his heart, and established in strength in the government of Assj^ria — the glorious off- spring of Asshur-dayan, who held the scepter of dominion, and ruled over the people of Bel; who in all the works of his hands and the deeds of his life placed his reliance on the great gods, and thus obtained a long and prosperous life — the beloved child of Nin-pala-zira, the king who organized the country' of Assyria, who purged his territo- ries of the wicked, and established the troops of Assyria in authoritj'." The temple torn down by Asshur-dayan I., the great-grandfather of Tiglath-Pileser I., and which had stood for six hundred and forty-one j^ears, was not rebuilt; and, after its site had remained vacant for sixty years, Tiglath-Pileser, soon after his accession, re- solved upon the eredlion there of a new tem pie to the old gods, Ann and Vul, believed to lie tutelan,^ deities of the city of Asshur. Tiglath-Pileser relates the circumstances 146 AXCIENT HIS TOR y.—ASS YRIA. •of the building and dedication of this new temple, as follows: "In the beginning of mj' reign, Ann and Vul, the Great Gods, my lords, guardians of ni)' steps, gave me a command to repair this their shrine. So I made bricks; I leveled the earth; I took its dimensions: I laid down its foundations upon a mass of strong rock. This place, throughout its whole extent, I paved with bricks in set order; fifty feet deep I prepared the ground; and upon this substrudture I laid the lower foundations of the temple of Anu and Vul. From its foundation to its roof I built it up l^etter than it was before. I also built two lofty towers in honor of their noble god.ships, and the holy place, a spacious hall, I consecrated for the conven- ience of their worshipers, and to accommo- date their votaries, who were numerous as the stars of heaven. I repaired, and built, and completed my work. Outside the tem- ple I fashioned with the same care as inside. The mound of earth on which it was built I enlarged like the firmament of the rising stars, and I beautified the entire building. Its towers I raised up to heaven, and its roofs I built entirely of brick. An invio- lable shrine for their noble godships I laid down near at hand. Anu and Vul, the Great Gods, I glorified inside the shrine. I set them up in their honored purity, and the hearts of their noble godships I delighted." The other temple, which Tiglath-Pile.ser I. says he restored, was one to Ann only, which, like the one just mentioned, was originally built by Shamas-Vul, the son of Ismi-Dagon. This building had likewise fallen into decay, but had not been taken down like the other. Tiglath-Pileser says that he "leveled its site," and then rebuilt it "from its foundations to its roofs," en- larging and embellishing it. Inside the building he "sacrificed precious vicftims to his lord, Vul." In the temple he likewise deposited a collecflion of rare stones and mar- bles, which he had procured in the countrj' of the Nairi during his wars there. Tiglath-Pileser's inscription ends with the following lengthy invocation: ' ' Since a holy place, a noble hall, I have thus consecrated for the use of the Great Gods, my lords, Anu and Vul, and have laid down an adytum for their special worship, and have finished it successfully, and have delighted the hearts of their noble godships, may Anu and Vul preserve me in power ! May the}' support the men of my government ! May they es- tablish the authority of m^' officers ! May they bring the rain, the joy of the year, on the cultivated land and the desert, during my time ! In war and in battle may they preserve me vicftorious ! Manj- foreign countries, turbulent nations, and hostile kings I have reduced under my yoke; to my children and my descendants, may they keep them in firm allegiance ! I will lead my steps" (or, "may they establish mjf feet"), "firm as the mountains, to the last days, before Asshur and their noble godships ! The list of my vi(5tories and the catalogue of my triumphs over foreigners hostile to Acshur, which Anu and Vul have granted to my arms, I have inscribed on my tablets and cylinders, and I have placed, [to remain] to the last days, in the temple of my lords, Anu and Vul. And I have made clean the tablets of vShamas-Vul, my ancestor; I have made sacrifices, and sacrificed vidlims before them, and have set them up in their places. In after times, and in the latter daj-s * * * if the temples of the Great Gods, my lords Anu and Vul, and these shrines .should be- come old and fall into decay, may the prince who comes after me repair the ruins ! May he raise altars and sacrifice vidtims before my tablets and cylinders, and may he set them up again in their places, and may he inscribe his name on them together with my name ! As Anu and Vul, the Great Gods, have ordained, may he worship honestly with a good heart and a full trust ! Who- ever shall abrade or injure my tablets and cylinders, or shall moisten them with water, or scorch them with fire, or expose them to the air, or in the holy place of God shall assign them a place where they cannot be seen or understood, or shall erase the writ- ing and inscribe his own name, or .shall di- vide the sculptures and break them ofi" from my tablets, maj- Anu and Vul, the Great POLITICAL HISTORY. 147 Gods, my lords, coiisig^ii his iiainc to perdi- ditioii ! Maj- thej^ curse him with an irre- vocable curse ! May the\- cause his sov- ereignty to perish ! Ma\- they pluck out the stabilit}' of the throne of his empire ! Let not his ofFsprius^ survixe him in the king- dom ! Let his ser\-ants be broken ! Let his troops be defeated ! Let him fly vanquished before his enemies ! May Vul in his furj' tear up the produce of his land ! May a scarcitj' of food and of the necessaries of life afflict his countrj- ! For one day may he not be called happy ! May his name and his race perish ! ' ' The document is then dated — "In the month Kuzalla (Chisleu), on the 29th day, in the year presided over hy Ina-iliya-pallik, the Rabbi-Turi." The most striking feature of Tiglath-Pi- leser's inscription is its religious tone. His wars are not onlj^ wars of conquest, but thej^ are religious wars, designed to extend the worship of Asshur, as well as to enlarge the dominion of the Assyrian monarch. All the king's successes in war and hunting are ascribed to the aid and favor of Asshur. The wars were untertaken to chastise the enemies of Asshur, as the Hebrews fought to punish the enemies of Jehovah. The commanding position which religion occu- pied in the hearts of the Assyrian kings and people is proven hy the long and solemn in- vocation of the Great Gods, the religious character and purposes of the wars, the ac- count given of the building and renovation of the temples, the dedication of offerings, and the characteristic final praj-er. The deep earnestness of this religious faith of the Assyrians, in its outward manifestations, displayed a zeal and fanaticism akin to that of the Israelites in their wars with the Ca- naanites, Philistines and other nations, or to that of the followers of Mohammed in their warfare against the foes of Islam. The Assyr- ian king glorifies himself much, but he glori- fies the gods more. While fighting for his own credit and the extension of his own do- minion, he likewise fights for the honor and glorj- of Asshur, the Great Lord, and the other Great Gods, whom the neighboring nations rejecl. His buildings are temples for the worship of the gods. His whole mind is deeply imbued with religious feeling, showing that the gods are "in all his thoughts. ' ' This religious feeling is highly exclusive and intolerant. The king, while exalting himself, is .still "the illustrious chief, who, under the aus- pices of the Sun-god, rules over the people of Bel," and "whose servants Asshur ha.s appointed to the government of the four regions." If his enemies fly, "the fear of A.sshur has overwhelmed them; if they re- fuse tribute, they withhold the offerings due to Asshur." The king himself feels inclined to make an expedition against a countrj-; "his lord Asshur, invites him" to proceed thither; if he collects an army. "Asshur has committed the troops to his hand." When a countr\- not previously subjedt to Assyria is attacked, it is because the people "do not acknowledge Asshur;" when its plunder is carried off, it is to adoni and enrich the temples of Asshur and the other gods; when it yields, the first thing is to "attach it to the worship of Asshur." The king hunts "under the auspices of Nin and Nergal," or of "Nin and Asshur; " he puts his tablets under the protedlion of Anu and \'ul; he attributes the long life of one ancestor to his exceeding piety, and the prosperity of an- other to the protecftion which Asshur be- stowed upon him. The name of A.sshur occurs in the inscription almost forty times, or once in nearly every- paragraph. Shamas, the Sun-god, and the gods Anu, \w\ and Bel, are mentioned frequently; while Sin, the Moon-god, and the deities Nin, Nergal, Ishtar, Beltis, Martu and II, are also ac- knowledged. All this is on an historical inscription. The energetic charaeler of Tiglath-Pileser I. is fully attested by his militarj' exploits during the first five years of his reign, as displayed in the conquest of six neighbor- ing nations and many petty tribes; the humbling of forty-two kings; the traversing of difficult mountain regions; the vicflories in battle; the sieges of towns; the stonning and destruction of strongholds; the ravaging 14? ANCIENT HIS TOR i \—ASS YRIA. of countries; the incessant employment of the monarch; his pursuit of the chase; his contests with the wild bull and the lion, in which he rivaled "the mighty hunter before the Lord," counting his victims by the hun- dreds; while all this time he was concerned for the welfare of his dominions, as shown in the magnificent strucftures which he eredled, the introducftion of the animal and vegetable producfts of other regions and climes, the fertilizing of the land bj' works of irrigation, and bis measures in general, ' ' improving the condition of the people, and obtaining for them abundance and security. ' ' Asshur was still the Assyrian capital, and no other native city is yet named, though mention is made of "fortified cities." In his inscription Tiglath-Pileser calls himself ' ' king of the four regions, ' ' and also ' ' the exalted sovereign whose servants Asshur has appointed to the government of the country of the four regions. ' ' The Assyrian territory seems at this time to have been bounded on the east by the Zagros moun- tains, on the north by the Niphates ranges, on the west by the Euphrates, and on the south by Chaldaea, or Babylonia. The plunder of other countries poured wealth into Assyria, the introduction of enslaved captives cheapened labor, irrigation was im- proved, new fruits and animals were intro- duced, fortifications were repaired, palaces were renovated, and temples were embel- lished or rebuilt. The countries bordering upon Assyria on the north, east and west exhibited condi- tions of political weakness, and were divided into a multitude of petty nations and tribes, the most powerful of which could raise an army of only twenty thousand men. These nations lacked the essential elements of unity, being di\'ided into many separate communities governed by their own kings, who in times of war united against the common foe, but who were too jealous of each other to even .selecfl a generali.ssimo. On the Euphrates, between Hit and Carch- emish, were, first, the T.sukhi, or Shu- hites; next above them, on both banks of the river, were the Aramaeans, or Syrians, who possessed many cities; and above the Aramaeans, also on both sides of the stream, were the Khatti, or Hittites, who were di- vided into tribes, and whose chief city was Carchemish. North and north-west of the Khatti were the Muskai, or Moschi, a war- like people, who endeavored to extend their dominion eastward into the territory of the Qumnuikh, or people of Commagene. The Qummukh occupied and ruled the mountain region on both sides of the upper Tigris, and had many strongholds, most of which were on the west bank of the river. East of the Qummukh were the Kirkhi, while south of them were the Nairi, who occupied the region from Lake Van, along the line of the Tigris, to the district called Commagene by the Romans. The Nairi had, at least, twenty-three kings, each of whom ruled his own tribe or city. South of the eastern Nairi was the country of Musr, or Muzr, a mountain region densely inhabited and abounding in strong castles. To the east and south-east of Muzr were the Comani, or Quwana, the most powerful of Assyria's neighbors, like the Moschi, able to raise an army of twenty thousand men. The Comani and the people of Muzr were at this time close allies. Across the lower Zab, skirting the Zagros, were the many petty tribes who offered little resistance to the Assyrian arms. Thus, late in the twelfth century before Christ, Assyria was a compa(fl and powerful kingdom, surrounded on her eastern, north- em and western sides, by weak neighbors. Centralized therefore under one monarch, Assyria, with a single great capital, was easily able to triumph over foes, who, al- though united in confederations to resist their common enemy, were easily dispensed after suffering a defeat. Only on her south- ern border did Assyria have a powerful neighbor in the ancient and venerable mon- archy of Chaldaea, or Babylonia, whose Semitic sovereigns, although established in that country by Assyrian mfluence, had re- nounced all dependence upon their old pro- tedlors. Chaldaea, almost equal in territor- ial extent and population to Assyria, and as POLITICAL HIS TOR V. 149 much centralized and consolidated in her govenimeiit, served as a check to her ag- gfressive and vigorous northern neighbor, thus preserving some semblance of the bal- ance of power in Western Asia. In addition to the great cylinder inscription of Tiglath-Pileser I., five more years of his annals exist in fragments, which give us ac- counts of the continuance of his aggressive expeditions, principally in the dire(5lion of the north-west, during which he subdued the Lulumi in Northern Syria, attacked and took Carchemish, and pursued the fleeing inhabi- tants across the Euphrates in boats. Near the end of his reign Tiglath-Pileser I. marched an army into Babj'lonia, and ravaged its northern territories with fire and sword for two years, taking the cities of Dur- Kurri-galzu (now Akkerkuf ), Sippara of the Sun, and Sippara of Anunit (the Sephar- vaini, or "two Sipparas " of the Hebrews), Hupa (or Opis), on the Tigris, and finally the great capital, Babylon, itself. After the capture of Babylon, Tiglath- Pileser I. led an army np the Euphrates, and took several of the cities of the Tsukhi. But the Babj'lonian king, Merodach-iddin- akhi, captured some of Tiglath-Pileser' s baggage during his retreat from Babj'lon. The images of the gods which Tiglath- Pileser had carried with him in his expedi- tion against Babylonia, to secure him vidlor}- b}- their presence, were captured bj- Mero- dach-iddin-akhi, who carried them to Baby- lon, where they remained over four centuries as mementoes of victory. The Sj'nchronis- tic Tablet, the chief authorit},- for this war, says nothing of the capture of the.se idols, but this fadl is mentioned in a rock inscrip- tion of Sennacherib's at Bavain, near Khors- abad. Thenceforth a spirit of ho.stility and jeal- ous rivairs' marked the relations between Assj^ria and Babylonia, and no more inter- marriages occurred between their roj'al fam- ilies, while wars between them were almost constant, nearly every Assyrian king of whose historj' we possess detailed knowl- edge, leading one or more expeditions into Babylonia. In a cavern from which rises theTsnpuat, or eastern branch of the Tigris, near the vil- lage of Korkhar, about fifty or sixty miles north of Diarbekr, is a bas-relief .sculptured on rock smoothed for the purpose, consisting of a figure of Tiglath-Pileser I. in his priestly dress, with the right ann extended and the left hand grasping the sacrificial mace, wiih the following inscription: "Bj' the grace of As,shur, Shamas and Vul, the Great Gods, I, Tiglath-Pileser, King of As- syria, son of Asshur-ris-ilim, King of As- syria, who was the son of Mutaggil-Nebo, King of Assyria, marching from the great sea of Akhiri" (the Mediterranean) "to the sea of Nairi" (Lake of Van), "for the third time have invaded the countrj' of Nairi." Tiglath-Pileser I. was succeeded on the Ass3'rian throne by his son Asshur-bil- KALA, of whom verj' little is known besides his war with Merodach-shapik-ziri, king of Babylonia, the succes.sor of Merodach-iddin- akhi. This war is recorded on the Synchro- nistic Tablet, along with the wars of As.shur- bil-kala's father and grandfather, but the injured condition of this portion of the tab- let pre\-ents us getting details from it. A monument of Asshur-bil-kala's time — one of the oldest Assyrian sculptures yet remain- ing — bears witness that he was adluated by the same religious spirit displayed by his father, and that he also adorned temples and set up images of the gods. A mutilated female figure, supposed to be the image of the goddess Ishtar, discovered by Mr. Loftus at Koyunjik, and now in the British Museum, bears a dedicators- inscription, almost illegible, from which it appears to have been .set np by A.sshur-bil-kala, the son of Tiglath-Pileser I. and grandson of Asshur-ris-ilim. It is suppo.sed that Asshur-bil-kala reigned from about B. C. mo to B. C. 1090. His successor seems to have been his j-ounger brother, Sha jias-Vui, I. , of whom nothing is known except his building or repairing a temple at Nineveh. He is thought to have reigned from B. C. 1090 to B. C. 1070: being thus contemporary with Samuel or Saul in I50 ANCIENT HISTORY.— ASSYRIA. Israel. During the eleventh centur>^ before Christ, Assyria for a time passed under a cloud, and its ancient glories were then eclipsed by the imperial splendor of the Israelitish kingdom under David and Sol- omon. For two centuries, between the reigns of Shamas-Vul I. and Tiglathi-Nin II., who, according to the Assyrian Canon, ascended the throne of Assyria in B. C. 889, Assyrian history is a blank. The very- names of the kings are almost entirely un- known to us for three-fourths of this period, from about B. C. 1070 to B. C. 930. The inscription of Shalmaneser II., the Black- Obelisk king, speaks of certain cities on the west bank of the Euphrates being taken from AssHUR-MAZUR, whose reign has been assigned to this period. While Assyria, from the absence of records; at this time had apparently simk into insig- nificance, her influence seems to have ex- tended into Egypt, whose kings of the Twenty-second Dynasty beginning with Sheshonk I., or Shishak, a contemporar>- of Solomon, married Assyrian women of royal or noble birth, who gave Ass>Tian names to their children, thus introducing Semitic names in Egyptian dynastic lists. When Ass^-ria again emerged from dark- ness with the accession of Asshur-d.wan II. about B. C. 930, Asshur was still the capital of the kingdom. A.sshur-da^-an II. was the first of a series of kings who re- paired and enlarged public edifices, which is recorded to their honor in the inscription of a sub.sequent sovereign. Asshur-dayan II. reigned from B. C. 930 to B. C. 911. His son and successor, VuvLUSH II., occupied the throne from B. C. 911 to B. C. 889. Nothing is j-et known of the history' of these two kings, no historical in.scriptions of their reigns being yet found, and no exploits be- ing recorded of them in the inscriptions of later sovereigns. TiGL.'VTHi-NiN II., the .succe.s.sor of Vul- lush II., reigned only six years; but accord- ing to the inscriptions of his son and .suc- cessor, Asshur-izir-pal, on the Nimrud mon- olith, he recorded his militarj- exploits and also the facfl that he .set up his sculptures at the sources of the Tsupnat river beside the sculptures .set up by his ancestors, Tiglath- Pile-ser I. and Tiglathi-Nin I. The A.ssyr- ian Canon assigns the reign of Tiglathi-Nin II. between the years B. C. 889 and B. C. 883. Asshur-izir-pal, the son and successor of Tiglathi-Nin II., reigned twenty-five years, from B. C. 883 to B. C. 858, which period is one of the most flourishing in the annals of the Assyrian Empire. Asshur- izir-pal was an adtive and energetic mon- arch, and did not allow himself any repose. The limits and influence of Assyria were expanded in everj' diredtion, and her pro- gress in wealth and the arts was so rapid that she suddenly attained a point not pre- viously reached by any people. The size, magnificence and excellent artistic embel- lishment of Asshur-izir-pal' s architectural .stru(5lures, the high skill in the pracftical arts which they exhibit, the pomp and splendor of this reign which they imply, have e.Kcited the wonder and admiration of modern Europe, which has seen that the Assyrians nine centuries before Christ, or nearly twenty-eight centuries ago, had reached a degree of advancement in the in- ventions and arts of practical life equal to the boasted achievements of the modern ages. Asshur-izir-pal' s first campaign was in the north, in portions of Armenia, where he saj's he penetrated a region "never ap- proached by the kings his fathers." Here he easily .subdued the mountaineers, the Numi, or Elanii, and the Kirkhi, from whom has been derived the name of the modern Kurkh, as applied to some ruins on the west bank of the Tigris, about twenty miles below Diarbekr, some remains of which have been transferred to the British Mu.seum. Asshur-izir-pal took and de- stroyed the fortresses of the.se mountain tribes, and one captive was taken to Arbela, where he was flayed and hung up on the town wall. Asshur-izir-pal's second expedition oc- curred in the same year as the first, and was. diredted against the tribes to the west and POLITICAL inSTOR Y. 151 north-west of A,ss\Tia. He first overran the countries of Qummiikh, Serki and Sidikan, or Arbau, and reduced them to tribute. Then he took the field against the Laki of Central Mesopotamia, where the people of the city of Assura had rebelled, killed their governor, and invited a foreigner to govern them. The rebels submitted on Asshur-izir-pal's approach and .surrendered to him their city and their new ruler, who was carried in fetters to Nineveh. The rebellious inhabitants were cruelly punished by Asshur-izir-pal, who plundered the city, gave the houses of the rebel leaders to his own officers, placed an Assyrian governor over the citj-, crucified some of the inhabi- tants, bunied others, and cut off the ears and noses of the remainder. The other kings of the Laki submitted, and sent in their tribute readily, though it was " a heavy and much-increased burden." In the second ^-ear Asshur-izir-pal under- took a third expedition. Marching north- ward, he reduced to submission the kings of the Nairi, who had recovered their inde- pendence, and exadled from them a yearly tribute in gold, silver, horses, cattle and other commodities. Ascending the Tsupnat river, or Eastern Tigris, he .set up his memo- rial beside monuments hitherto eredled on the same site by Tiglath-Pileser I. and by the first or second Tiglathi-Nin. The inscrip- tions also give Asshur-izir-pal's own account of his severe treatment of the revolted c\ty of Tela, upon retaking it, in the following words: "Their men, young and old, I took prisoners. Of some I cut off the feet and hands; of others I cut off the noses, ears and lips: of the young men's ears I made a heap; of the old men's heads I made a minaret. I exposed their heads as a trophy in front of their city. The male children and the female children I burnt in the flames. The city I destroyed, and consumed, and burnt with fire." Asshur-izir-pal's fourth campaign was in the south-east, where he crossed the Lesser Zab and entered the Zagros range, ravaged the fruitful valleys with fire and .sword, took many towns, and exadled tribute from a dozen petty kings. On his return, he built a city which the Babylonian king Tsibir had destroyed at an early period, and named it Dur-A.sshur, in gratitude for the protedlion bestowed upon him by Asshur, ' " the Great Lord," " the chief of the gods." Asshur-izir-pal's fifth campaign was di- rected to the north. Crossing the country of the Qummukh and receiving their tribute, the warlike king invaded the Mons Masius and took the cities of Matyat (now Mediyat) and Kapranisa. He then crossed the Tigris and warred along the Niphates ranges against the people of Kasijara and other enemies. He next invaded the country of the Nairi, where he says he destroyed two hundred and fiftj' strong walled cities, and put to death many princes. Asshur-izir-pal's sixth campaign was in the west. He started from Calah (now Nim- rnd), where he crossed the Tigris, marched through Central Mesopotamia, received trib- ute from many subjecft towns, among which were Sidikan (now Arban), Sirki and Anat (now Anah). He then entered the terri- tories of the Tsukhi, or Shuhites, took their city Tsur, and compelled them to surrender, although the}- were aided by the Babylon- ians; after which he invaded Babylonia, or Chaldsea, and chastised its people. His seventh campaign was likewise against the Shuhites, who had rebelled against the Assyrian yoke and invaded the Assyrian territories, being aided by their north-eastern neighbors, the Laki. The allied army numbered twenty-thousand men, in- cluding many warriors who fought in char- iots. Asshur-izir-pal first reduced the cities on the east bank of the Euphrates, and, as he says, ' ' made a desert ' ' of the banks of the Khabour, and impaled thirty of the chief captives on stakes, in punishment for the rebellion. He then crossed the river on rafts and defeated the Tsukhi and their allies with great slaughter, many of them being drowned in their flight across the the river. Six thousand five hundred of the rebels were killed in the battle, and the west bank of the river was frightfully ravaged with fire and sword; cities and castles were 152 A NCIEN T HIS TOR V.—ASS'} HI A . bunied, men were massacred, and women, children and cattle were carried away. One king of the L,aki escaped, but another was carried in captivity to Assyria. An in- creased rate of tribute was exacfled of the conquered people, and two new cities were built by the Assyrian king, one on either bank of the Euphrates, the one on the east bank being named after the king, and the one on the west bank after the god Asshur. Asshur-izir-pal's eighth campaign was higher up the Euphrates, where the Assyr- ian monarch in^-aded the country of the Beth- Adina, to piuiish its people for giving refuge to Hazilu, the king of the Laki who had escaped capture after his defeat in the pre- vious war. Asshur-izir-pal besieged the people of Beth-Adina in their chief city, Kabrabi, which he soon took and burned. The part of Beth-Adina east of the Euphra- tes, in the vicinity of the modern Balis, was overrun and annexed to the Assyrian Em- pire, and two thousand five hundred cap- tives were settled at Calah. Asshur-izir-pal's ninth and most interest- ing campaign was the one against S^'ria. After marching across Northern Mesopota- mia, and receiving tributes from various nations and tribes on the wa)-, the A.ssj'rian king crossed the Euphrates on rafts and en- tered the city of Carchemish, where he re- ceived the submission of the Hittite king, Sangara, whose capital was that cit}-, and of many other princes, "who came reverently and kissed his scepter." Then he "gave command to advance toward Lebanon." He entered the country of the Patena, which embraced the region about Antioch and Aleppo, and took their capital, Kinalua, located between the Abri (or Afrin ) and Oron- tes; whereupon the rebel king, Lubarna, in alarm, submitted and agreed to pay a tribute. The Assj-rian monarch then crossed the Orontes and destroyed some of the cities of the Patena, and marched along the northern flank of Lebanon to the Mediterranean. In this region he built altars and offered sacrifi- ces to the gods, and then received the submis- sion of the leading Phoenician states, such as Tyre, Sidon, Byblus and Aradus. He then went inland, and cut timber, set up sculp- tured memorials, and offered sacrifice on the Amanus mountains. Among the plunder which he carried to Assyria were cedar beams for his public buildings at Nineveh. Asshur-izir-pal's tenth campaign, and the last recorded, was in the region of the Upper Tigris, where he defeated his enemies and overcame all resistance, burned cities and carried away many captives. The chief "roj'al city" which he assailed was Amidi, now Diarbekr. During all his ten campaigns, which were prosecuted during the first six years of his reign, Asshur-izir-pal indulged in the sports of the cha.se. He records among his in- scriptions that on one occasion he killed fifty large wild bulls on the east bank of the Euphrates, and captured eight of the same kind of beasts; while at another time he slew twenty ostriches and captured as many. This monarch's .sculptures bear testimony that hunting the wild bull was a favorite recreation with him. He had a menagerie park in the vicinity of Nineveh, in which he kept various strange animals. He re- ceived, as tribute from the Phoenicians, ani- mals called /rt!;^//A-, or pagdls — believed to be elephant.s — which were placed in this zoo- logical enclosure, where he says they throve and bred. A certain King of Egypt sent him a present of curious animals when he was in Southern S3'ria. In an obelisk in- scription, designed to commemorate a great hunting expedition, he says he took all sorts of antelopes to Asshur and killed lions, wild sheep, red deer, fallow deer, wild goats, or ibexes, leopards large and small, bears, wolves, jackals, wild boars, ostriches, foxes, hyenas, wild asses, and other animals not yet identified. An inscription of his at Nimrud informs us that in another hunting expedition he slew three hundred and sixty large lions, two hundred and fifty-seven large wild cattle, and thirty buffaloes; and that he sent to Calah fifteen full-grown lions, fifty young lions, some leopards, .several pairs of wild buffaloes and wild cattle, along with ostriches, wolves, red deer, bears, cheetas and hyenas. Thus, like his distin- POLITICAL HISTORY. '53 jjiiished ancestor, Tighith-Pileser I., As- shur-izir-{)al was renowned alike as a war- rior and a Inniter. Asshur-izir-pal surjiassed his predecessors in the grandeur of his public edifices, and the profusion of sculpture and painting in their embellishment. The strudlures of the earlier Ass\rian kings at Asshur were far in- ferior to the buildings of Asshur-izir-paland his successors at Calah, Nineveh and Dur- Sargina. The mounds of Kileh-Sherghat have not revealed bas-reliefsor traces of build- ings which can be compared with those which excite the wonder of the traveler at Nim- rud, Koyunjik and Khorsabad. Asshur- izir-pal's great palace was at Calah (now Nim- rud), which he raised from the condition of a provincial town to that of a metropolis of his empire. This palace was three hundred and .sixty feet long and three hundred feet wide, had .seven or eight large halls, and many more small chambers grouped round a ■central court one hundred and thirt}' feet long and almost one hundred feet broad. The longest hall faced toward the north, was the first room entered upon coming from the city, and measured one hundred and fifty- four feet in length and thirty-three feet in breadth. The others were of different di- mensions, some almost as spacious as the largest one, while the smallest room had a length of sixtj^-five feet with a breadth of less than twenty feet. The chambers were nearly or altogether square, and none of them were more than thirty feet in their greatest dimensions. The entire palace was raised upon a high platform, con.structed of sun-dried bricks, but cased on the outside with hewn stone. Of the two grand facades, ■one faced the north, and on that side was an ascent to the platform from the town;- the other, in the opinion of Mr. Layard, faced the Tigris, which in ancient times flowed at the foot of the platform toward the W'est. On the northern front were two or three great gateways flanked with andro-sphinxes, or .sculptured figures representing the body of a winged lion with the head of a man. These gatewaj-s led to the principal hall or audience chamber, which was lined through- I-IO.-U. H. out with sculptured slabs illustrating the king's various deeds, and which contained at the eastern end a raised stone platform cut into steps or stages, which La>-ard be- lieves was designed to sup])ort the monarch's carved throne. A grand jwrtal in the southern wall of the chamber, guarded on either side by .sculptured representations of winged man-headed bulls carved out of yel- low limestone, opened the way into a .second hall much smaller than the first, and with less variety of ornament. This .second hall was about one hundred feet long by twenty- five broad, and all the slabs which adorned it were ornamented with colossal eagle- headed figures in pairs, facing one another and separated by the sacred tree. This second hall was connedled with the central court by an elegant gateway towards the south, and communicated likewise with a third hall towards the east. This third hall was one of the most remarkal)le apartments of the palace, and was better proportioned than most of the others, being about ninety feet long by twenty -six wide. It ran along the eastern side of the great court, with which it was connecfted bj- two gatewaj'S, and on the inside it was ornamented with more elaborately-finished sculptures than any other apartment in the palace. Back of this eastern hall was another hall open- ing into it, somewhat longer, but only twelve feet broad; and this led to five .small chambers, \\hich here bounded the palace. South of the great court were also two halls communicating with each other, but these were smaller than those on the north and west, and were less profusely adorned. Mr. Layard believes that there were also two or three halls on the west side of the court to- ward the ri\^er. Nearly everj- hall had one or two .small chambers adjoining it, which were generally at the ends of the halls, and connnunicated with them by large doorways. The grand halls of this palace, so narrow for their length, were decorated on all sides, first with ,scul])tures as high as nine or ten feet, and then with enameled bricks or pat- terns painted in frescoes to the height of seven or eight feet more. The rooms were 154 ANCIENT HIS TOR Y.—ASS YRIA. sixteen or eighteen feet high. The square chambers had no other embeUishnients than inscribed alabaster slabs. Asshur-izir-pal's .sculptures displaj' great boldness, force and spirit, but are usually clumsily drawn and roughly executed. As- syrian mimetic art suddenly sprung up at this period, the only specimens more ancient than this monarch being the rock-tablet of Tiglath-Pileser I., already referred to, and the mutilated female statue brought from Koyunjik to the British Museum and in- scribed with the name of Asshur-bil-kala, the son and successor of Tiglath-Pileser I. As.shur-izir-pal's ornamentation was his own invention. Not a solitary fragment of a sculptured slab has been found about the mounds of Kileh-Sherghat, while bricks have been found in abundance. This mon- arch was the first to use bas-reliefs on a large scale for architecftural ornamentation, and to employ them to illustrate the history of the monarch. This king likewise adorned his edifices by means of enameled bricks and painted frescoes upon plaster. Asshur-izir-pal's .sculptures attest the sur- prising advance made in manufadlures by the Assyrians at this early period. The metallurgy of the time is represented by swords, sword-sheaths, daggers, earrings, necklaces, armlets and bracelets. The char- iots, the harness of the horses, and the em- broidery which adorned the robes, further attest the mechanical .skill of the Assyrians in the age of this famous king. The sculp- tures bear testimony to the fa(5l that this ancient people at this early day already rev- eled in luxury, and that in the useful arts, in dress, furniture, jewelry, etc., they were not far behind the modems. Besides the splendid palace which he eredled at Calah, Asshur-izir-pal built many temples, the most important of which have already been described. They occupied the northwestern corner of the Nimrud plat- form, and consisted of two structures; one precisely at the corner, embracing the higher tower, or ziggurat, which stood out as a cor- ner buttress from the great mound, and a shrine with chambers at the tower's base ; the other, a little farther to the east, compris- ing a shrine and chambers without a tower. The tower of the first strudlure was partly built by A.sshur-izir-pars son and successor, Shalmaneser II. These temples were highly adorned with embellishments, both inter- nally and externalljf; and in front of the larger one was an ere(5lion indicating that the Assyrian kings received divine honors from their subjedls. On a plain square pedestal two feet high was raised a solid limestone block cut in the form of an arched frame, within which was carved a figure of the king in sacerdotal costume, with the sacred collar encircling his neck, and the five chief divine symbols represented above his head. In front of this figure was a tri- angular altar with a circular top, resembling the Grecian tripod. A stele of Asshur-izir- pal, re.sembling the figure just described, has been brought to England from Kurkh, near Diarbekr, and is now in the British Museum. Asshur-izir-pal built a temple at Nineveh, which was dedicated to the goddess Beltis. A white stone obelisk, set up as a memorial of his reign, is now in the British Museum. The sculptures and inscriptions which com- memorated his military and hunting exploits, and which covered the four sides of this monument, are now almost obliterated. The obelisk is a monolith, twelve or thirteen feet high, and two feet wide on the broader side of the ba.se and less than fourteen inches on the narrower side. It tapers slightly and is crowned at the top by three steps or gra- dines. Fragments of two other obelisks erecfled by this great monarch were discovered at Koyunjik by Mr. lyoftus, and are likewise now in the British Museum. One of these, in white stone, had sculptures on one side only, being mostly covered by an in.scription recording his hunting exploits in vSyria and his repairs of the city of Asshur. The other, in black basalt, had sculptures on every side representing the great king receiving tribute- bearers. Asshur-izir-pal construdled a tuiuiel and canal by which the water of the Greater Zab was brought to Calah. He records this fadl in his annals, and Sennacherib, who /V V, / TICA I. HIS T( > A' > : 155 repaired tlie tuinicl two centuries later, set up therein a tablet with an inscription com- memorating Asshur-izir-pal as its author.- Asshur-izir-pal's favorite capital was Ca- lah, although he beautified Asshur, the old capital, and the rising city of Nineveh. The continual spread of the Assyrian dominion northward necessitated the removal of the capital to a more central point than A.sshur; and for that rea.son Calah, which was forty miles farther north, on the opposite or east side of the Tigris, was selected for the seat of government. Calah, located in the fer- tile and healthy region of Adiabene, near the junction of the Greater Zab with the Tigris, was strongly protected b\' nature, being defended on either side by a deep river. The new capital rapidly grew to great- ness, and palace after palace rose on its high platform, profuseh' embellished with carved woodwork, gilding, painting, sculpture and enamel; while stone lions, sphinxes, obelisks, shrines and temple-towers also adorned the scene. The lofty ziggurat attached to the temple of Nin stood forth preeminent amid the varied mass of royal palaces and sacred temples, giving unity to the whole. After his glorious reign of twenty-five 3'ears, Asshur-izir-pal — who styled him.self ' ' The conqueror from the upper passage of the Tigris to Lebanon and the Great Sea, who has reduced under his authoritj- all countries from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same" — died at no ad- vanced age, and was succeeded on the throne by his son, Shalmaneser II. Shalmane.ser II. inherited the warlike spirit and genius of his illustrious father; and during his reign of thirty-five years, from B. C. 858 to B. C. 823, he conducted twenty-three military' expeditions in person, and entrusted four others to a favorite gen- eral. His twenty-three expeditions were undertaken during the first twenty-seven years of his reign, and were diredled against the territories of neighboring peoples. Babjdonia, Chaldcea, Media, the Zimri, Ar- menia, Upper Mesopotamia, the country of the Upper Tigris, the Hittites, the Patena, the Tibareni. the Hamathites, and the Syr- ians of Damascus, were attacked by the ar- mies of vShalmaneser II. , their hosts defeated, their cities be.sieged and taken, their kings reduced to submission and forced to pay tri- bute. Shalmaneser II. took tribute from the Phoe- nician cities of Tyre, Sidon and Byblus; from the T.sukhi, or Shnhites; from the peo- ple of Muzr, or Musr; from the Bartsu, or Partsu (believed to be the Persians), and from the Israelites. He thus traversed the entire region from the Persian Gulf on the south to the Niphates mountains upon the north, and from the Zagros range on the east to the Mediterranean sea on the west. Over this whole A'ast domain he made his power felt, while his influence extended be- yond its limits, where the nations feared and respected him and willingly sought his favor bj' placing themselves under his protecftion. In the closing years of his reign he deputed the command of his armies to his favorite general, Daj^an- Asshur, in whom he reposed great confidence. Dayan-Asshur held an important office in the fifth year of Shal- maneser's reign; and in the twenty-seventh, twentj'-eighth, thirtieth, and thirty-first he was sent with an army against the Anne- nians, the rebellious Patena, and the people of the region included in modem Kurdistan. In his twenty-ninth year the king himself led an expedition into Khirki, the Naphates districft, where he "overturned, beat to pieces, and consumed with fire the towns, swept the country with his troops, and im- pressed on the inhabitants the fear of his presence." Shalmaneser's most interesting campaigns are those of the sixth, eighth, ninth, elev- enth, fourteenth, eighteenth and twenty-first years of his reign. Two of these campaigns were direcfted against Babylonia, three against Een-hadad of Damascus, and two against Kha/.ail (Hazael) of Dama.scus. In his eighth j-ear, while Babylonia was rent by a civil war between King Merodach- sum-adin and his younger brother, Mero- dach-bel-usati, Shalmane.ser II. invaded that kingdom ostensibly to aid its legitimate sov- ereign, but reall)- for his own aggrandize- 156 ANCIENT HISTORY.— ASSYRIA. ment. He at once seized several Babylonian towns, and in the following year he defeated and killed the pretender to the Babylonian crown, entered Babylon and invaded Chal- daea, the countiy along the Persian Gulf, then independent of Babylon, and compelled its kings to become his tributaries. He in- forms us in his inscriptions that ' ' the power of his army struck terror as far as the sea." The wars of Shalmaneser II. in Southern Syria began in the ninth year of his reign. He had extended his dominion in Northern Syria over the Patena and most of the Northern Hittites. Alarmed at the rapid growth of the Assyrian power, Ben-hadad, King of Damascus; Tsakhulena, King of Hamatli; Ahab, King of Israel; the kings of the southern Hittites; the kings of the Phoe- nician cities upon the coast, and others, formed an alliance, but their combined forces were defeated by the King of Assyria, with the loss of twenty thousand men killed in battle, while many chariots and much war material fell into the hands of the vicftori- oua Assyrians. Five years later, in the eleventh year of his reign, Shalmaneser II. again took the field against Hamatli and the Southern Hittites. Suddenly invading their territories, he took many towns without resist- ance ; but Ben-hadad of Da- mascus joined the Hittites, and though the allies were again defeated by the Assyrian monarch, the latter did not succeed in extending his sway over Southern Syria. Three years afterward, Shalmaneser II. again attempted the con- quest of Southern Syria. Col- ledling his people "in multi- tudes that were not to be counted," he crossed the Eu- phrates with an anny of more than a hundred thousand men and marched southwards. This time he gained a decisive vicflon,' over the allied armies of Ben-hadad of Dama.scus, the Hamathites and the Hittites, who fled in dismay, losing many chariots and imple- ments of war. The coalition at once fell to pieces, and the Hamathites and Hittites submitted to the conqueror's 3-oke, Damas- cus being deserted by her allies. The next year Shalmaneser II. advanced against the Syrians of Damascus, who were strongly posted in the Anti-Lebanon fast nesses, and w^ere under the leadership of their new king, Hazael, who had treacher- ously murdered Ben-hadad. Hazael raised an immense army, including over eleven hundred chariots, and took a strong position in the mountain range dividing the king- doms of Damascus and Hamath, where he was attacked and utterly defeated by the Assyrian king, losing sixteen thousand men, eleven hundred and twenty-one chariots, a large amount of war material and his camp. This blow completely broke the power of Damascus, and three years later Hazael made no resistance when Shalrnaneser II. again invaded Syria and took and plundered his towns. In his inscription, Shalmaneser II. .says: "I went to the towns of Hazael of Damascus, and took part of his provis- ions." He next saj's: " I received the trib- utes of Tyre, Sidon and Byblus." Jehu, King of Israel — ".son of Omri," as he is called in the Assyrian inscription — sent a JEHU'S EMUAbSV BEFORE SHALMANESER II. quantity of gold and silver, in bullion and manufacftured articles, as tributes to the Assyrian monarch. Sculptures at Nimmd represent the Israelitish ambassadors pre- senting this tribute to Shalmaneser II., the POLITICAL I//S 7Y)A' ) '. 157 ^:-;S'\«ir'7'~: ■-''■',•■.';'■, '-'''V-'Vs' 4 )f;..,..^':^.-.. . .,1 /■->-,■_.; >^ ■. ."'"i-. , ri -1.' ■■. ■■ ■ ...■-,.,. I w-*-.-''ll-'^ MSU' ),■ ,1-., % ; !■,- ■■'y.;i "-'< <^^''.. -.- i-j--^ wmsi LMAMASiAf I >r 1[HU Rul D ftEL rALA S DE ^E POD IX S '« yilfliililllllllllH^ll^'lliii^'i'li^^'lll|M^lllln^ll!^ll l'|li'|l'''l'i"'''"'''i"''':'lMi;i:l.' " -K THE BLACK CHiKUSK Ol- SHALMANESER II. 158 ANCIENT HISTOR Y.— ASSYRIA. articles appearing' carried in the hands or on the shoulders of the envoys." Like his distinguished father, Shalman- eser II. had great taste for architecture and the other arts. He completed the :-iggurat of the great temple of Nin at Calah, which his father had commenced. He also built a more splendid palace than the one eredled by his father on the same lofty platform of that city, about one hundred and fifty yards from the former palace. This is known as the ' ' Central Palace ' ' of the Nimrud plat- form, and was disco\'ered by Mr. Layard on his first expedition. The ruined condition of this magnificent edifice rendered it impos- sible for its modern discoverer to obtain a clear idea of its ornamentation. Two mass- ive winged man-headed bulls partiallj^ de- stroyed, in the grand portals of this great strudture, and the sculptured fragments of bas-reliefs, which must have adorned its walls, illustrate its points of similarity to Asshur-izir-pal's great edifice. The sculp- tures of Shalmaneser's palace were on a grander scale and more mythological than tho.se of his father's building. A famous monument of Shalmancser II. is an obelisk in black marble, in shape and general arrangement resembling that of his father already described, but of a handsomer and better material. This obelisk was dis- covered lying prostrate under the rubbish covering Shalmaneser's palace. It contained ba.s-reliefs in twenty compartments, five on each of its four sides, the space about them being covered with minute cuneiform in- scriptions; the whole in an excellent state of preservation. It is somewhat smaller than Asshur-izir-pal's obelisk, being only seven feet high and twenty-two inches on its broad face. Its proportions make it more solid-looking and taper less than the former obelisk. The bas-reliefs represent Shalman- eser II., accompanied by his vizier and other chief officers, receiving tribute from five nations, whose envoys are ushered into the royal presence by officials of the court, and prostrate themselves at the feet of the Great King before they present their offerings. The gifts are mostly articles of gold, silver, copper bars and cubes, goblets, elephants' tusks, tissues, etc., and are carried in the hand; but there are also animals, such as horses, camels, monkeys and baboons of va- rious types, stags, lions, wild bulls, ante- lopes, and the rhinoceros and elephant. As already related, the Israelites are one of the nations offering tribute. The others will now be noticed. The people of Kirzan, a country adjoining Armenia, present gold, silver, copper, horses and camels, and occupy the four highest compartments with nine envoys. The Muzri, or people of Muzr, or Musr, as we have obser\-ed, almost in the same region, bring various wild animals and fill the four central compartments with six envoys. The Tsukhi, or Shuhites, from the Euphrates, are represented h\ thirteen en- voys, bringing two lions, a stag and various precious objecfts, such as metal bars, ele- phant tusks, and shawls or tissues; and are given four compartments below the Muzri. The Patena, from the Orontes, fill three of the lowest compartments, with a train of twelve envoys bearing gifts similar to those of the Israelites. A stele of Shalmaneser II. , closely resembling those of his father, was brought to the British Museum from Kurkh in 1S63. Calah. where he and his father built their great palaces, was the usual capital of Shal- maneser II. ; but he sometimes held his court in the new city of Nineveh, and also in the old capital, Asshur. At the latter place he left a monument in the .shape of a stone statue representing a king seated, which was found by Mr. Layard in a nuitilated condition. In his later years Shalmaneser II. was troubled by a dangerous rebellion of his eldest son, the heir apparent to the crown, Asshur-danin-pal. The rebellious prince had a powerful popular support, and was proclaimed king at Asshur, at Arbela in the Zab region, at Amidi on the Upper Tigris, at Tel-Apni near the site of Orfa, and in more than a .score of other fortified places. The aged monarch called his second son, Shamas-Vul, to the command of the loyal troops, and this prince reduced the rebellious cities in succession and soon completely PL )l.rriCAL HIS 71 >A' } • 159 crushed the revolt. Asshur-danin-pal, the rebellious crown-prince, forfeited his claims to the crown by his treason, and is supposed to have been put to death; while his younger brother and conqueror, Shamas-Vul, became the heir to his father's kingdom, to which he shortly' afterwards succeeded, upon Shal- maneser's death, in B. C. 823, after an a(5live and glorious reign of thirty-five years. Shamas-Vul II. reigned thirteen years, from B. C. 823 to B. C. 810. We will now briefly notice the extent of the Assyrian do- minion at his accession. Since the time of Tiglath-Pileser I. the limits of the A.ssyrian Empire had been extended in different direc- tions, but mainly toward the west and the north-west. In this diredlion the Assyrian limits had been pushed bej'ond the Euphrates over all Northern Syna, over Phoenicia, Ha- beyond Amanus, the region between the two belonging to theTibareni (Tubal), who had submitted as tributaries. The northern limits were the Niphates range — "the high grounds over the affluents of the Tigris and the Euphrates" — where Shalmaneser II., setup "an image of his majesty." The eastern frontier was in the central Zagro.s region, the tra<5l between the Lower Zab and Holwan, then called Hupuska. On the south the Assyrian kingdom was still bounded by the territories of the Baby- lonians and Chaldaeans, who j'et remained unconquered. These conquests and changes, which con- verted Assyria's former enemies into sub- jedts, brought the empire into contadl with new enemies on her western, northern and eastern sides. In the west the Assvrians Ab.SVRIANS GLIiNi; Tu H.\TT1.1'.. math, and Samaria, or the Israelite kingdom. These countries were not, however, reduced to the condition of provinces; they still re- mained under their own native kings, and retained their administration and laws ; but they were virtually subje(5l to Assyria, as they acknowledged the suzerainty of the Assyrian monarch, paid him an annual trib- ute, and allowed his armies a free passage through their territories. On the west the Assj'rian Empire extended to the Mediter- ranean, from the Gulf of Iskanderun to Cape Camiel or to Joppa. The north-western boundary- was the Taurus mountain range came in collision with the Syrians of Damas- cus, and with the kingdom of Judah, through their tributary', Samaria, or Israel. In the north-west they found new foes in the Ouin, or Coans, who occupied the farther side of Amanus, near the Tibareni, in a portion of what was subsequenth- called Cilicia, and the Cilicians also, who are now first mentioned. The Moschi had migrated from this section. On the north the Anne- nians were at this time Assyria's onlj- neigh- bors. Toward the east were the Manual, or Minni, about Lake T 'nnniyeh; the Kharkhar, in the Van region and in North-westera i6o ANCIENT HISrOR Y.— ASSYRIA. Kurdistan; the Bartsu, or Persians, then in South-eastern Armenia; the Mada, or Medes, east of the Zagros; and the Tsimri, or Zimri, in ITpper Luristan. These new neighbors and enemies were all weak, and no power- fully-organized monarchy at this time ex- isted to contest with Assyria the dominion of Western Asia. The Medes and Persians, afterwards so celebrated as powerful nations, at this period were no more important than the other insignificant tribes and nations upon the Assyrian borders. Neither of these kindred Ar>^an peoples had yet a capital cit}-, neither was united under one sovereign, but each was divided into many tribes, headed by chiefs, and dispersed in scattered and defenseless towns and villages. They were thus in the same condition as the Nairi, the Qummukh, the Patena, the Hittites and other frontier nationalities whose compara- tive weakness Assyria had demonstrated to the world in a long course of wars in which she had uniformly triumphed. Like his father, Shalmaneser II. , Shamas- Vul II. resided principally at Calah, where he, like his father and grandfather, set up an obelisk, or rather a stele, to commemo- rate his exploits. This monument, covered on three sides with an inscription in the hieratic, or cursive characfter, contains an opening invocation to the god Nin, con- ceived in the usual terms, the king's gene- alogy and titles, an account of Asshur-da- nin-pal's rebellion and its suppression, and Shamas-Vul's own annals for the first four years of his reign. These infonn us that he exhibited the same acflive and energetic spirit as his father and grandfather, con- ducting campaigns against the Nairi on the north, Media and Arazias on the east, and Bab}lonia on the south. The people of Hupuska, the Minni, and the Bartsu, or Persians, paid him tribute. The fourth campaign of Shamas-Vul II. was against Babylonia, which country he entered from the north-east. He took a strongly-fortified position of the Babj-lonians after a vigorous siege, eighteen thousand of the garrison l)eing .slain, and three thousand made prisoners, while the city was plun- dered and burned, and the Assyrian mon- arch went in hot pursuit of the flying foe. Shamas-Vul II. next defeated the Babylon- ian king, Merodach-belatzu-ikbi, at the head of an allied host of Babylonians, Ara- maeans, or Syrians, and Zimri, on the river Daban; the allies losing five thousand killed, two thousand made prisoners, one hundred chariots, two hundred tents and the Baby- lonian royal standard and pavilion. The annals of Shamas-Vul II. here abruptly ter- minate; but it appears from other circum- stances that from this time, for over half a century-. Babylonia, which had for a long time been a separate and independent king- dom, was reduced to the condition of a tributan,-. The stele of Shamas-Vul II. contains one allusion to a hunting exploit, stating that he killed se\-eral wild bulls at the foot of the Zagros, while leading his expedition against Babylonia. His stele consists of a single figure in relief, representing the king in his priestly dress, wearing the sacred symbols round his neck, standing with his right arm upraised, and enclosed in the usual arched frame. This figure is somewhat larger than life, and is cut on a single solid stone, and then set on a larger block serving for a ped- estal. The figure closely re.sembles that of Asshur-izir-pal, already described. Shamus-Vul II., upon his death, in B. C. 8 ID, was succeeded on the Assyrian throne by his son VuL-LUSH III., who reigned twenty- nine years, from B. C. 8io to B. C. 781. The .scant}' memorials of this king consist of two slabs found at Nimrud, of a short dedicatory inscription on duplicate statues of the god Nebo, brought from the same place, of some brick inscriptions from the Nebbi-Yunus mound of Nineveh, and of short notices of the regions in which he conducted campaigns, contained in one copy of the Assyrian Canon. Vul-lush III. was as warlike as any of his predecessors, and extended the Assyrian do- minion in every direction. He led seven expeditions across the Zagros mountains into Media, two into the Van region, and three into Syria. He says that in one of his POLITICAL HISTORY. i6r Syrian expeditions he reduced Damascus, whose kings had defied the repeated at- tacks of Shahnaneser II. He counts as his tributaries in this region, besides Da- mascus, the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon, and the countries of Khumri, or Sa- maria; Palestine, or Philistia; and Hudxnn ( Edom, or Idum^a ). On the north he received tokens of submission from the Nairi, the Minni, the Mada, or Medes, and the Bartsu, or Persians. On the south he ruled Babj'lonia like a so\^ereign, re- ceived homage from the Chaldjeans, and in the great cities of Babylon, Borsippa and Cutha, or Tiggaba, he was permitted to sacri- fice to the gods Bel, Nebo and Nergal. In one place he styles himself "the king to whose son Asshur, the chief of the gods, has granted the kingdom of Babylon : ' ' from which it has been inferred that he appointed his own son viceroy of Babylon. Thus, by the time of \'ul-lush III., early in the eighth century before Christ, Assyria was master of Babylonia in the south, and of Philistia and Edom in the west. Her do- minion thus skirted the Persian Gulf on the one hand and came into conta(5l with Egj-pt on the other. At the same time she re- ceived the submission of some of the Median tribes on the east; and held Southern Arme- nia, from Lake \'an to the sources of the Tigris, on the north. She was in possession of all Northren Sj^ria, including Comma- gene and Amanus, and had tributaries be- yond that mountain range. She ruled su- preme over the entire Syrian coast from Issus to Gaza; and her sway was acknowledged bj- all the tribes and kingdoms between the Mediterranean coast and the Syrian desert, such as the Phoenicians, the Hamathites, the Patena, the Hittites, the Syrians of Da- mascus, the Israelites, or Samarians, and the Edomites, or Idumseans. In the east she had .subjugated nearlj- the whole region of the Zagros, and had tributaries in the highlands on the east side of that range. On th^ south she had either absorbed Babj-- lonia, or made her influence supreme in that kingdom. Although she had not attained the highest pinnacle of her greatness until a centur\- later, she was already, as described by the Hebrew prophet Ezekiel, "a cedar of Lebanon," who.se "height was exalted above all the trees of the field; and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long," and "under his shadow dwelt great nations." Vul-lush III. calls himself the "restorer of noble buildings which had gone to de- cay." On the Nimrud mound, between the north-western and south-western palaces, are chambers built by him, and on the Nebbi- Yunus mound of Nineveh are the ruins of a palace erecled bj- him. The walls of the Nimrud chambers were plastered, and then painted in fresco with patterns of winged bulls, zigzags, squares, circles, etc. The superstitious regard of the nati\-es for the supposed tomb of the prophet Jonah has thus far thwarted all efforts of Europeans to explore the Nebbi-Yunus palace. Sir Henr\- Rawlinson disco^•ered two rude statues of the god Nebo in a temple at Nim- rud dedicated to that deitj- by Vul-lush III., along with four colossal statues of the same god, and two others resembling those now in the British Museum. These statues dis- play no artistic merit, as Assyrian sculptors were trammeled by precedent and conven- tional rules in religious subjects, and in rep- resentations of kings and nobles, being thus limited by law or custom to certain ancient forms and modes of expression, which we see repeated with uniform monotony through all the periods of Assyrian historj-. These statues are interesting as containing inscriptions showing that they were offered to Nebo by an officer who was governor of Calah, Khamida (Amadiyeh) and three other places for the life of Vul-lu.sh III. and of his wife, Sammuramit, "that the god might lengthen the monarch's life, prolong his days, increase his years, and give j^eace to his house and people, and victory to his armies." This Sammuramit, wife of Vul- lush III., has been identified as the legend- ary Semiramis, whom the Greek historians represented as a woman of masculine quali- ties, the mightiest queen that ever reigned, and whose conquests rivaled or surpassed l62 ANCIENT HISTORY.— ASSYRIA. those of Cyrus the Great or Alexander the Great. This Sammuramit, or Semiramis, the Babylonian wife of Vul-lush III., gave that king his title to the Babylonian dominions, and reigned jointly with him both in Baby- lonia and Assyria. The exaggerated stories of this princess, as transmitted to modern times through the accounts of Herodotus and Ctesias, have been exploded in the pres- ent century; the renowned German histori- ans, Heeren and Niebuhr, first pronouncing the story of her conquering career a myth, and patient explorers in the field of Assyrian antiquity substituting for the shadowy mar- vel of Ctesias a very prosaic Assyrian queen, a very common-place Babylonian princess, who never reall}' executed great works or performed great exploits. With the death of Vul-lu.sh III., in B. C. 781, ended the brilliant Calah line of Assyr- ian sovereigns; and for a period of almost forty years A.ssyrian historj- is again in- volved in partial obscurit}'. The Ass3'rian Canon informs us that three monarchs reigned during this interval — Shalmaneser HI. from B. C. 781 to B. C. 771, Asshur- DAY.'i.N III. from B. C. 771 to B. C. 753, and Asshur-lush from B. C. 753 to B. C. 745. During this short period Assj-rian conquests ceased, Assyrian glory for the time had pa.ssed away, and a general decline seems to have set in. None of these three kings left any important buildings, memorials or monumental records. The onward march of this great empire, which remained un- checked for over a century, was thus brought to a .sudden halt. At this point there is an apparent contra- didlion between the native Assyrian records and the incidental allusions to their history as found in the Second Book of Kings. The Scriptural Pul — the ' ' King of As,syria ' ' who came up against the land of Israel and re- ceived from Menahem a thousand talents of silver, "that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand" — is not mentioned in the Assyrian inscriptions, and is not named in the A.ssyrian Canon. The Scrii)ture records would make Pul the im- mediate predecessor of Tiglath-Pileser II.; as his expedition against Menahem is fol- lowed, at most, thirty-two years later, by an expedition by Tiglath-Pileser II. against Pekah, King of Israel. Berosus represented Pul as a Chaldsean king, whom Polyhistor calls Pulus, and is believed to be the Porus mentioned in the Canon of Ptolemy. During this interval of Assyrian darkness and decay, under the first three successors of Vul-lush III., the frontier kingdoms be- gan to assert their power and independence. Babylon, which had remained under Assyr- ian sway since its conquest bj- Shamas-Vul II. , the father and immediate predecessor of Vul-lush III., reestablished its independence under Nabonas.sar in B. C. 747, from which point — thereafter known as the Era of Na- bonassar — the Babylonians thereafter reck- oned time. Enterprising Kings of Israel, such as Jeroboam II. and Menahem, also cast off the Assyrian j'oke and extended their own dominions, as did the tribes of Armenia and the Zagros region. The reign of Asshur-dayan III. was disturbed by three foniiidable rebellions in the heart of Assyria itself — one at the city of Libzu, another at Arapkha, the chief town of Arrapachitis, and a third at Gozan, the chief city of Gauzanitis, or Mygdonia. The inscriptions do not inform us of the re- .sults of these revolts, but the degenerac}- of the military spirit, and the \'oluptuous and luxurious disposition of the kings, give ground for the belief that the attempts made to subdue the rebels were failures. Asshur- dayan III. and Asshur-lush spent their reigns mostly in inaction and inglorious ease at their rich and luxurious capitals. At the close of this period of darkness and decline, Calah, the .second city of the king- dom, revolted, and thus inaugurated the dynastic and political revolution which ushered in the brilliant period of the New or Lower Assyrian Empire, founded by the great Tiglath-Pileser II. It has been supposed that it was during this period of general national weakness and decay, when an unwarlike sovereign was reveling in inglorious ease amid the luxuries and refinements of Nineveh, and POLITIL AL JUS Tl >A' ) '. 163 when the Ninevites had abaudoued them- selves to vicious indulgences, that they were suddeul}- startled bj' a strange voice in their streets uttering the solemn warning: "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be over- thrown!" A strange wild man clad in a rude gannent of skin — a traveler unknown to the inhabitants, pale, emaciated, wearj^ — ■ proclaimed in every quarter of the great and luxurious city: "Yet forty days, and Nin- eveh shall be overthrown! " Coming as this cry did, when the glory of Assyria had de- parted, and when it had to defend its own existence against the foes it had subdued in the da>s of its former prosperity, the people were seized with consternation and alann. This dismay invaded the royal palace, and his frightened servants ' ' came and told the King of Nineveh," who then sat on his throne in the great audience-chamber, sur- rounded b}- all the wealth, luxun,-, pomp and magnificence of his court. The mon- arch at once "arose from his throne, and laid aside his robe from him, and covered himself with sackcloth and ashes." After having an edidl framed, he "caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nin- eveh, by the decree of the king and his no- bles, saying. Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; let them not feed, nor drink water; but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God; yea, let them turn everj' one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands." The fast thus com- manded by royal authority was at once pro- claimed, and the Ninevites, fearing the Di- vine wrath, clothed theni.selves in sackcloth ' ' from the greatest of them even to the least of them." From joy and merriment, from revelry and feasting, the great city turned to lamentation and mourning. The people abandoned their vices and humbled them- selves; they " turned from their evil way," and by a sincere repentance of their past sins thej- sought to avert their threatened doom. The haggard and travel-stained stranger who had alarmed the inhabitants of this great capital and metropolis to re- pentance, by announcing to them their threatened destrucflion, was the Jewish prophet Jonah. He sat in vain outside the eastern limits of the city, waiting to behold the destrucflion which he expected that the Lord Jehovah would visit upon the "great city, ' ' which then is said to have had ' ' six score thousand persons that could not dis- cern between their right hand and their left." The expedted doom was not inflidled in fort}^ days, and Nineveh was not over- thrown until more than a century later. With TiGLATH-PiLESER II., wlio became King of A.ssyria in B. C. 745, began theJVcw or Lowe}- Assyrian Empire (B. C. 745-625) — the third and last, and the most brilliant, period of Assyrian history. Tiglath-Pile.ser II. was thus the restorer of Assyrian great- ness. The circumstances of his accession are iniknown to us, but he was the founder of a new dynasty, and Rawlinson thinks he was a usurper, and places no reliance upon the story- of Bion and Polyhistor that this monarch ro.se from the humble station of a vine-dresser who had been employed in keep- ing in order the king's gardens. In his in- scriptions Tiglath-Pileser II. is repeatedly- represented as speaking of "the kings his fathers," and as calling the royal palaces at Calah "the palaces of his fathers," but he never gives the name of his actual father in an}- record that has come to the eye of mod- ern archaeologists and antiquarians. This circumstance gives ground for the conclu- sion that he owed his possession of the crown, not to the legitimate title of heredi- tary- succession, but to the fortunes of a suc- cessful re\-olution which displaced the pre- ceding d\-nasty. Tiglath-Pileser II. undertook to effedl the restoration of the A.ssyrian Empire by a series of wars upon his different frontiers, seeking by his iniwearied activity and tire- less energ>- to recover the losses occasioned by the imbecility of his predecessors. The chronological order of these wars, which was previously unknown, is now definitely determined by the A.ssyrian Canon. Among his man\- military expeditions only those undertaken into Babylonia and vSyria are of any con.sequence. The expeditious of Tig- 164 ANCIENT HIS TOR Y. —A SS YRIA . latli-Pileser II. against Babylon occurred in the first and fifteenth j-ears of his reign, B. C. 745 and 731. As soon as he was fimily seated upon his throne he led an army against Babylon, over which, accord- ing to the Canon of Ptolemy, Nabonassar then reigned, and against the other petty Chaldcean princes, among whom was Mero- dach-Baladan, who reigned in his father's city of Bit-Yakin. After attacking and de- feating several of these princes, and taking the towns of Kurri-galzu ( now Akkerkuf ) and Sippara, or Sephar\-aim, and other places in Chaldaea, Tiglath-Pileser II. compelled Merodach-Baladan to acknowledge him as suzerain and agree to pay an annual tribute, whereupon the Assyrian monarch assumed the title of "King of Babylon" and offered sacrifice to the Babylonian gods in all the chief cities (B. C. 729). The first Syrian war of Tiglath-pileser II. began in the third year of his reign (B. C. 743), and lasted five years. During its pro- gress he conquered Damascus, which had recovered its independence and was governed by Rezin. He also subdued Syria, where Menahem, Pul's old foe, was still reigning. He likewise reduced Tyre, whose reigning sovereign bore the common name of Hiram. The Assyrian monarch also subjedled Ha- math, Gebal and the Arabs bordering upon Egypt, who were ruled by a queen named Khabiba. He also defeated a large anny under Azariah, or Uzziah, King of Judah, but failed to reduce him to submission. Tiglath-Pileser II. did not conquer Judaea, Idumaea, Philistia, Phcenicia, or the tribes of the Hauran, in his first war; aud in B. C. 734 he renewed the struggle by an attack on Samaria, whose kiog at that time was Pekah, and taking " Ijon, and Abel-beth- maachah, and Janoali, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, and all the land of Naphtali, and carr\'ing them cap- tive to Assyria," thus "lightly afflicting the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali," or the more northern part of the Holy Land, about Lake Merom, and thence to the Sea of Gennesareth. Then followed the most important of the Sj'rian wars of Tiglath-Pileser II. The common danger united Pekah, King of Sa- maria, and Rezin, King of Damascus, in a close alliance; and when Ahaz, King of Judah, refused to unite with them they in- vaded his kingdom and attempted to de- throne him and put ' ' the son of Tabeal ' ' in his place. Ahaz applied to the King of As- syria for help, offering to be his "servant" — his vassel and tributary — if he came to his relief. Tiglath-Pileser II. gladly came to the rescue of Ahaz, and with a large anny he entered Syria, defeated Rezin and besieged him in Damascus for two j-ears, when he was taken captive and slain. The Assj'rian king then invaded Samaria: and the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, who occupied the provinces east of the Jordan, were carried captiA'e to As- syria and colonized in Upper Mesopotamia, on the affluents of the Bilikh and the Khabour, from about Harran to Nisibis. Some cities on the west bank of the Jordan, in the territory of Issachar, but belonging to Manasseh — among which were Megiddo, in the plain of Esdraelon, and Dur, or Dor, upon the coast — were also seized and occu- pied by the conquering Assyrians; and As- syrian governors were placed over Dur and the other leading cities of Southern Syria. Tiglath-Pileser II. then marched south- ward and subdued the Philistines and the Arab tribes of the Sinaitic peninsula as far as the borders of Egypt. He deposed the native queen of these Arabs, and put an Assyrian governor in her place. Returning to Damascus, he there received the submis- sion of the neighboring states and tribes; and before he left Syria he received submis- sion and tribute from Ahaz, King of Judah; Mit'enna, King of Tyre; Pekah, King of Samaria; Khanun, King of Gaza; Mitinti, King of Ascalon; and from the Moabites, the Ammonites, the people of Ar\-ad, or Aradus, and the Idum^ans. Thus Tiglath- Pileser II. fully reestablished the Assyrian power in Syria, and restored to his emjiire the territorj' from the Mediterranean on the west to the Syrian desert on the east, and from Mount Amanus on the north to POLITICAL JUSTORY. 165 the Red vSea and the frontiers of I'-gypt on the south. Tiglath-Pileser II. afterwards .sent an- other expedition into Syria, to ([ucll the dis- orders occasioned hy the revolt of Mit'cnna, King of Tyre, and the a.s.sassination of Pekah, King of Israel, by Hoshea. The Tyrian king quickly submitted, and Ho.shea agreed to govern his kingdom only as an Assyrian province; \vhereni)on the Assyrian anny retired beyond the Ivuphrates. Calah was the chosen residence of Tig- lath-Pile.ser II. Here he repaired and adorned the palace of Shalmaneser II., whose ruins are now in the center of the Nimriid mound. Here he also erecfted a new edifice, the most splendid of his struc- tures. The sculptures which embellished Shalmaneser' s palace were afterwards u.sed by Esar-haddon to adoni his own palace. The new palace which Tiglath-Pileser II. built, was afterward ruined by some invader, and then built upon by the last Assyrian king. The excavations of this palace by Messrs. Layard and Loftus have revealed the ground-plan of the edifice, showing its arrangements of courts and halls and cham- bers, and the sculptures which ornamented the walls, representing animal forms, such as camels, oxen, .sheep, goats, etc. The Assyrian Canon gives Tiglath-Pileser II. a reign of eighteen years, from B. C. 745 to B. C. 727. He was succeeded by Sh.\lm.\nesER IV. It is not known wheth- er this monarch was related to his prede- cessor or not, but he is supposed to have been his son. Shalmaneser IV. reigned only between five and six years (B. C. 727-722). Soon after he became king he terrified Hoshea, King of Judah, into a renewal of his submission, so that "Ho- shea became his sen'ant and gave him presents," or "rendered him tribute." Tile arrears of tribute were rendered and the homage of the vassal king to his lord were paid. But soon afterward Hoshea, disregarding his engagements, was seeking the alliance of the King of Egypt. Says the Second Rook of Kings: "And the King of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So, King of Egypt, and brought no present to the King of Assyria, as he had done year by year." The native Pharaohs of Egypt had been friendly to Assyria, but the Ethiopian dy- nasty which had recently conquered Egj'pt was the natural foe of the A.ssyrians, and gladl\- accepted the proposals of Hoshea for an alliance against Shalmaneser IV. Hoshea then revolted against the Assyrian monarch, withheld his tribute and declared his inde- pendence. Shalmaneser at once invaded Judah a second time, and seized, bound and imprisoned Hoshea. A year or two later Shalmaneser led a third expedition into Syria and "came up throughout all the land," and laid siege to Samaria, B. C. 724. But the siege lasted two 3-ears, on account of the heroic resistance of the iidiabitants, aided by the Egyptians; and the city was only taken after the reign of Shalmaneser \\ . had been ended by a .successful revo- lution. While engaged in the .siege of Samaria, Shalmaneser IV. was likewi.se prosecuting hostilities against the Phoenician cities, which had also revolted against Assyria after the death of Tiglath-Pileser II. Shal- maneser quicklj- overran Phcenicia in the first year of his reign, and forced all the re- volted cities to submit to the Assyrian yoke. Insular Tyre soon again revolted; whereupon Shalmaneser reentered Phcenicia, and col- lecfling a fleet from the other Phoenician cities, Sidon, Pala;-Tyrus and Akko, he began the siege of Tyre. His sixty ves.sels were manned by eight hundred Phoenician rowers, cooperating with a smaller number of unskilled Assyrians. Shalmaneser' s large fleet, however, was easily routed and dis- persed, with the loss of five hundred pris- oners, by a Tyrian fleet of only twelve vessels manned by skillful seamen. Shal- maneser thereupon abandoned a(5li\-e opera- tions against the de\-oted city, but left a body of troops on the main-land to cut off" the supplies of water which the T\-rians were in the habit of drawing from the river Litany, and from the aqueducfls which conducted the water from springs in the mountains. 1 66 ANCIENT HIS T( ^RY.— A SS YRIA . The Tyrians heroicall)' held out against this pressure for five years, using rain- water, which they collecTied in reser\-oirs, to quench their thirst. It is not known whether they submitted, or whether the siege was abandoned, as the quotation from Menander, our only authority on this point, here breaks off aljruptly. Before either of the two great militarv^ en- ter[3rises of his reign were concluded, Shal- maneser IV. was hurled from his throne by a successful revolution, which put the usurper Sargon in his place. The monu- ments furnish us no knowledge of the cir- cumstances concerning this usurpation, be- yond the mere absence of Shalmaneser in Syria; but it is believed that discontent, caused by the distress in consequence of the king's long absence from the capital of his empire, and by his failure to speedily reduce Samaria and Tyre, encouraged Sargon in his usurpation. The usurper's station must previously have been obscure, or, at least, mediocre, as no inscription can be found in which he glories in his ancestrj', or even names his father, as was the custom with the legitimate heirs and successors of Assyr- ian and Babylonian monarchs, but he only alludes to the Assyrian kings, in a general way, as his ancestors. Sargon, or Sargina, means ' ' the firm " or " well-establi.shed king." Sargon determined to confirm his doubtful title to the throne by the prestige of mili- tary success, and at once began a series of warlike expeditions. He condudled success- ive wars in Susiana, in Syria on the borders of Egypt, in the tract beyond Amanus, in Melitene and Southern Armenia, in Media and in Chaldaea. His expeditions occupied the whole of the first fifteen years of his reign. Immediately upon his accession he invaded vSu.siana and defeated its king, Hnnibanigas, and Merodach-Baladan, the old enenn' of Tiglath-Pileser II., who had revolted and made himself King of Baby- lonia. Though an important vicflory was thus gained, and many captives taken and transported to the country of the Hittites, the Susianian and Babvlonian kings were not fully reduced to subje(flion. In the same year, B. C. 722, Samaria surren- dered to Sargon' s generals, after its two years' siege begun by Shalmaneser IV. Sargon punished the devoted city by depos- ing its native king and placing an Assyrian governor over it instead, and by carrying into slavery 27,280 of its inhabitants. On those who remained he re-imposed the rate of tribute to which the city had been sub- jecfled before its revolt. The next year, B. C. 721, Sargon was obliged to lead an expe- dition into Syria to quell a formidable revolt. The usurper, Yahu-bid, or Ilu-bid, King of Hamath, had headed a rebellion, in which the cities of Arpad, Zimira, Damascus and Sa- maria had participated; but the allied rebels were defeated by Sargon at Karkar, or Gar- gar, Yahu-bid and the other revolted leaders being taken prisoners and put to death. Having crushed this revolt in Syria, Sar- gon marched southward against the Egyp- tians, who had extended their dominion over a part of Philistia. At Rapikh, on the Medi- terranean coast, half-way between Gaza and Wady-el-Arish, or " River of Egypt" — the Raphia of the Greeks and Romans, and the modern Refah — the united forces of the Philistines under Khanun, King of Gaza, and tho,se of Sabaco, or Shabak, the Ethi- opian King of Eg^-pt, were defeated by the Assyrian monarch ; Khanun being made prisoner., and Shabak seeking safety in flight, B. C. 720. Khanun was deprived of his crown and carried a captive to Assyria by his conqueror. The battle of Raphia is im- portant as being the beginning of Egypt's subjecftion to the successive dominion of Asiatic and European nations — A.ssyrians, Babylonians, Medo-Persians, Greeks, Ro- mans, vSaracens and Turks. After conducfling unimportant wars to- ward the north and north-east, Sargon led another expedition towards the .south-west in B. C. 715, five years after his vidlory at Raphia. He first chastised the Arab tribes who had made plundering raids into Syria, during which "he subdued the uncultivated plains of the remote Arabia, which had never before given tribute to Assyria. ' ' sub- POLITICAL IIISl'OR Y. 167 je(5ted the Thaimidites and other Arab tribes, and settled a certain number of them in Sa- maria. The surrounding princes sought the conqueror's favor by sending him embassies and offering to become Assyrian tributaries. The King of Egypt, as well as It-hamar, King of the Saba^ans, and Tsamsi, the Arab queen, tlius became vassals to Sargon and sent him presents. Four years afterward, B. C. 711, Sargon conduc5led a third expedition into this region to punish Azuri, King of Ashdod, who had revolted against the Assyrian monarch, withheld his tribute and incited rebellion among the neighboring princes. Sargon deposed Azuri and put his brother Akhimit on the throne of Ashdod in his stead; but the people of this Philistine city refused to recognize Sargon's creature as their king, and chose a certain Yaman, or Yavan, for their ruler, who, to secure himself, entered into alliances with the other Philistine cities, and with Judah and Edom. Thereupon Sargon led an army against Ashdod, but Yaman sought safety in flight, and "escaped to the dependencies of Egypt, which were under the rule of Ethiopia." The Assyrian king besieged and took Ashdod, and Ya- man's wife and children, with most of the inhabitants, were transported to Assyria, while captives from other nations taken in Sargon's Eastern wars were colonized in Ashdod, over which an Assyrian governor was also placed. Shabak, or Sabaco, the Ethiopian king of Egypt, greatly terrified, sent an embassy imploring his favor, and surrendered the fugitive Yaman. In conse- quence of this suppliant attitude of the Ethiopian .sovereign of Egypt, "the Assyr- ian monarch boasts that the King of Meroe, who dwelt in the desert, and had never sent ambassadors to any of the kings his prede- cessors, was led by the fear of his majesty to diredl his steps towards Assyria and humbly bow down before him." Sargon next led an expedition against Babylon, over which Merodach-Baladan had been quieth^ reigning for twelve years. Having established his court at Babylon, Merodach-Baladan fonned alliances with Sutruk-Nakhunta, King of Susiana, and the Aramaean, or Syrian, tribes above Bal)y- lonia, to resi.st any attack by the Assyrian monarch. Nevertheless when Sargon ad- vanced against Babylon, Merodach-Baladan fled to his own city, Beth-Yakin, leaving garrisons under his generals in the more important inland towns. At Beth-Yakin, which was situated on the Euphrates, near its mouth, the Babylonian king prepared for a stubborn resistance, summoning the Ara- maeans to his assistance. He posted him- self in the plain in front of the city, and proteefted his front and left flank with a deep ditch, which he filled with water from the Euphrates. Sargon soon appeared at the head of his armj-, and defeated the Baby- lonian troops and drove them into their own dyke, where many of them were drowned, while the allies were also driven away in headlong flight. Merodach-Baladan shut himself up in Beth-Yakin, which was besieged and taken by Sargon. The Baby- lonian king himself became a prisoner, but his life was generously spared b)- his con- queror, who, however, plundered the palace and burned the city, and himself assumed the government of Babylonia, depriving Merodach-Baladan of his throne. In the Canon of Ptolemy, Sargon is called Arce- anus. Sargon then reduced the Aramaeans and conquered a portion of Susiana, to which countn,' he transported the Commukha from the Upper Tigris, placing an Assyrian gov- ernor over the mixed population, and mak- ing him dependent upon the A.ssyrian viceroy of Babylon. Thus the Assyrian dominion was firmly established over Chal- daea, or Babylonia, whose power was now completely broken. Thenceforth, with a few brief intemiptions, Chaldasa remained an Assyrian dependency until the downfall of the Ass>rian Em]iire in B. C. 625. Now and then, for a short interval, the unwilling .subject kingdom cast off the conqueror's yoke only to be again reduced to a more humiliating state of vassalage, until it event- unlU- submitted to the hand of fate and re- mained (juiet. During the last half century 16S ANCIENT HIS TOR } '.—ASS YRIA. of the Assj-rian Empire, from B. C. 680 to B. C. 625, Babylonia was one of the most tranquil of its provinces. While Sargon held his court at Babj-lon in B. C. 708 or 707, he received embassies from two opposite quarters, both from islanders dwelling ' ' in the middle of the seas ' ' that bordered on his dominions. One embassy was sent by Upir, King of Asmun, the ruler of the island of Khareg, or Bah- rein, in the Persian Gulf; and the other by seven kings of Cyprus — princes of a countr>' which was located ' ' at the distance of seven days from the coast, in the sea of the setting sun" — who offered the great Oriental sov- ereign treasures of gold, silver, vases, logs of ebony, and the manufadlures of their own country. By bestowing these presents the Cypriots acknowledged the suzerainty of the King of Assj^ria; and they carried home with them an effigy of their sovereign lord carv^ed in the usual form, and bearing an in- scription recording his name and titles, which they .set up at Idalium, near the center of the island. This effigy of Sargon, found upon the sight of Idalium, is now in the Berlin Museum. In the inscriptions, "setting up the image of his majesty" is always a sign that a monarch has conquered a country. Such images are sometimes rep- resented in the bas-reliefs. Sargon' s expeditions to the north and north-east also yielded successful results; and the mountain tribes of the Zagros, the Taurus and the Niphates — the Medes, the Armenians, the Tibarenians, the Moschians and others — were thus subdued. Ambris tlie Tibarenian, Mita the Moschian, and Urza the Armenian had become allies against their common foe, the King of Assyria; and their submission was only forced after a long and fierce contest. Am- bris was deposed, and an Assyrian governor was placed over his countr\-. Mita, after a resistance of many years, onl)- agreed to pay tribute. Urza committed .suicide, in despair at his defeat. But this region was only brought (juietly under tlie Assyrian yoke when the King of Van was conciliated by the cession to him of a large extent of coun- trj' which the Assyrians had wrested from Urza. Having rapidly overrun Media, Sar- gon seized a number of towns and ' ' annexed them to Assyria," thus reducing a large part of that country to the condition of an Assyrian province. He erecfted a number of fortified posts in one part of the country, and imposed upon the Medes a tribute con- sisting wholly of honses. After the fourteenth year of his reign, B. C. 708, Sargon resigned the leadership of his armies entirely into the hands of his generals. A disputed succession in Illib, a small country on the borders of Susiana, in B. C. 707, affisrded him an occasion for in- terference in that quarter. Nibi, a pretend- er to the throne of Illib, had solicited the aid of Sutruk-Nakhunta, King of Elam, or Susiana, who held his court at Susa, from whom he received promises of support and protecflion. The other claimant, named Is- pabara, thereupon sought and received the assistance of Sargon, who sent "seven cap- tains with seven armies, ' ' and these defeated the troops of the King of Susiana and estab- lished Ispabara on the throne of Illib. The next year, however, Sutruk-Nakhunta in- vaded Assyria, and took some of its cities and annexed them to his kingdom. In all his wars Sargon made use of the plan of wholesale deportation of populations. Israelites were thus transferred from Sama- ria to Gozan, or Mygdonia, and the cities of the Medes. Armenians were colonized in Ha- math and Damascus. Tibarenians were set- tled in Assyria, and Assyrians were trans- ported to the countr}' of the Tibarenians. Mountaineers from the Zagros were likewise carried captive to Assyria. Chaldaeans, Arabians and others were established in Samaria. Medes and other Eastern people were placed in Ashdod. The Commukha were removed from the extreme North to Susiana, and Chaldaeans were brought from the far South to supply their place. In every quarter of his dominions Sargon "changed the abodes" of his subjecfts, with a view of weakening the more powerful nationalities by di.spersion, and of .smother- ing all patriotic impulses in the feebler races POLITICAL lUSTOR Y. 169 by severing' at one stroke all the bonds of attachment to their native land. Although this system had been practised by fonner Assyrian kings, none had carried it out on so extensive and so grand a scale as Sargon. The splendid palace which this monarch had erected at Dur vSargina (City of Sargon), the modern Khorsabail, was the most strik- ing of his great architectural works. It was not as large as the palaces built by previous or subsequent kings, but it surpassed all other royal residences by its magnificence and grandeur, with the solitary exception of the great palace of Asshur-bani-pal at Nineveh. Its ornamentation was resplendent be>-ond description. It was literally covered with sculptures, both inside and outside, generally arranged in two rows, one above the other, and illu.strating the events in Sargon' s wars, his battles and sieges, his captives, his treatment of prisoners, etc. Above this it was embellished with en- ameled bricks, fashioned in beautiful mod- els. Leading to this magnificent edifice were noble flights of steps; and the structure stood by itself, .so that its appearance was not marred by the proximity of other build- ings. Its entrances and passages were guarded by colossal winged man-headed bulls and lions. It was in many partic- ulars the most interesting of As.S5-rian works. The city where this palace was located was surrounded with strong walls, enclosing a square two thousand ^-ards each way. Assigning fifty square }'ards to each person, this space could have accommodated eighty thousand people. The cit)-, as well as the palace, was wholh- built by Sargon, whose name it bore until after the Arab conquest in the seventh century after Christ. Sargon's palace is the most complete of the Assyrian royal residences j-et unco\-ered. It exhibits the architecture, the decorative art and sculpture of the A.ssyrians in their highest fonns. Like all other Assyrian palaces, it stands on the summit of an im- mense mound constructed of bricks. The mound was arranged in two platforms of unequal height in the form of the letter T. The palace proper was built on the more ele- 1— ll.-U. H. vated mound, and consisted of a series of structures ranged around inunen.se courts. The main building occupied by the king was located at the bottom of the principal court, and had a perfectly regular fa9ade, with a magnificently-omamented gateway in the middle. Two-thirds of the north- west part of the palace was occupied by the grand reception hall and its large and mag- nificent galleries, with walls ca.sed with bas-reliefs; one-third, to the .south-east, by the inhabited apartments, with smaller and less decorated rooms. Passages led into two of the .sides of the large court; one on the north-west to a square esplanade, or court, occupying the northern angle of the artificial mound of the palace, in front of a building joining the north-west face of the seraglio, with which it had no communica- tion intemall)-. This edifice was most pro- fusely ornamented; it contained six im- mense halls decorated with sculpture, and some other smaller rooms. It was "a .second palace grafted on to the first — a second sela- mik, rivaling in splendor that of the serag- glio." The pa.ssage leading into the .south- east side of the reception hall of the serag- lio opened to the lower platform, and to the great court of the offices. The lower platform of the artificial hill raised for the palace of Sargon was occupied by the khan and the harem. This part of the structure faced towards the city, and connnunicated directly with it. In the midst was the khan proper, an enormous square court, surrounded on every side by buildings, sta- bles, lodgings for grooms and for most of the sla\'es. It was reached from the city by two immense flights of steps in the center of the south-east face of the terrace. As we have obser\-ed, an elaborately-decorated pas- sage led from this court of the khan into the reception hall of the seraglio. Two small doors likewise communicated directl)' with the occupied rooms of the palace. To the right of the khan was the khazneh, or treasury, with its many courts and cham- bers, constituting some of the offices or com- mon rooms of the palace. Here were the stores of provisions for the royal hou.sehold, 170 ANCIENT HIS TOR y.—ASS\ 'RIA. and places for the custod}- of the vahiables which Sargoii informs us, in his dedicatory inscription, that he had acquired by his conquests and stored in his palace. Adjoin- had many long galleries and many rooms for habitation. The harem was shut in in the closest possible manner; all communica- tion with the outside world was intercepted, w Q < O -Tians inmiediately captured the towns of Altaku and Tamna. Rebellious Ekron also at once submitted to Sennacherib, opening its gates to the vidlorious monarch, who in- flidted a terrible punishment upon the rebels, whose leaders were put to death, their bodies being exposed on stakes round the entire circuit of the city walls; while large num- bers of inferior rank were sold into slavery. Padi, the expelled king who was friendly to Assyria, was restored to his authority as king, tributarj' to the Assyrian monarch. Besides the Egyptians and Ethiopians, the revolted city of Ekron had Hezekiah, King of Judah, for an ally. When the Ekronites deposed Padi, they seized him, loaded him with chains, and sent him to Hezekiah for safe keeping. To punish the King of Judah for his complicity in the Ekronite revolt, "Sennacherib, King of Assyria, came up against all the fenced cities of Judah and took them. And Heze- kiah, King of Judah, sent to the King of As.syria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; retiurn from me; that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the King of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah, King of Judah, three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house. At that time did Hezekiah cut off the doors of the hou.se of the Lord, and the pillars which Hezekiah, King of Judah, had overlaid, and gave it to the King of As- syria." Such is the short account of this expedition of Sennacherib, as recorded in the Second Book of Kings. We will now give the account recorded by Sennacherib himself in these words: "Be- cause Hezekiah, King of Judah, would not submit to my j'oke, I came up against him, and by force of arms and by the might of my power I took forty-six of his strong fenced cities; and of the smaller towns which were scattered about I took and. plundered a countless number. And from SKNNACHHRII! ATTACKING JKRUSALEM. POLITICAL HISTORY. •73 these places I captured and carried off as spoil two hundred thousand and one hun- dred and fifty people, old and young, male and female, together with horses and mares, asses and camels, oxen and sheep, a count- less multitude. And Hezekiah himself I shut up in Jerusalem, his capital cit\', like a bird in a cage, building towers round the city to hem him in, and raising banks of earth against the gates, so as to prevent es- cape. * * * Then upon this Hezekiah there fell the fear of the power of my arms, and he sent out to me the chiefs and the elders of Jerusalem with thirty talents of gold and eight hundred talents of silver, and divers treasures, a rich and immense bootj-. * * * All these things were brought to me at Niu- e\-eh, the seat of my govennnent, Hezekiah having ser.t them by way of tribute, and as a token of his submission to mj- power." After wreaking his vengeance upon the people of Ekron, Sennacherib invaded Ju- dali, directing his march toward Jerusalem, taking many small towns and villages on the way, and carrying two hundred thou- sand of their inhabitants into slaverj- and captivity. Upon reaching Jerusalem he laid siege to the city in the usual waj-, erecfling towers around it, from which stones and ar- rows were discharged against the defenders of the fortifications, and "casting banks" were hurled against the walls and gates. The fortifications of Jerusalem were weak, and there had recently been many ' 'breaches of the city of David." The inhabitants had ha.stily fortified the city by pulling down the houses near the wall. Great alarm was felt for the safety of the holy places. Jerusalem was "full of stirs and tumult." The people rushed to the house- tops, and saw "the choicest vallej-s full of chariots, and the horsemen set in array at the gates. ' ' Then followed ' ' a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplex- ity" — a day of "breaking down the walls and of crying to the mountains." In the midst of this consternation some were made reckless by despair; so that there was a gen- eral ' ' call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth — beholding jo}- and gladness, slaying oxen and killing sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine — ' Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we shall die.' " Seeing the hopelessness of further resistance, Hezekiah offered to surrender upon terms which Sennacherib granted. It was agreed that Hezekiah should pay an annual tribute of thirty tal- ents of gold and three hundred talents of silver, and that he should al.so give up the chief treasures of the city as a "present" to the Great King. To procure an ade- quate supply of gold, Hezekiah was obliged to strip the walls and pillars of the Temple of this precious metal, with which they were partly overlaid. He gave up all the silver- from the royal treasury and from the treasury of the Temple, which amounted to five hundred talents more than the fixed rate of tribute. Besides these sacrifices the Jewish king was obliged to deliver up Padi, the Ekronite king whom he had held in captivity, and was forced to surrender cer- tain parts of his territories to the neighbor- ing Philistine kings. After this triumph over Hezekiah, Sen- nacherib returned to Nine^•eh, and in the following year, B. C. 700, he led an expe- dition into Babylonia, where Merodach- Baladan, with the aid of Susub, a Chaldaean prince, had again risen in arms against the authority of the Assyrian monarch. After defeating Susub, Sennacherib marched upon Beth-Yakin, and compelled Merodach-Bal- adan to flee for refuge to one of the islands of the Persian Gulf, leaving his brothers and adherents to the conqueror's merc\-. I'pon returning to Babylon, Sennacherib removed the viceroy Belibus, whom he blamed for disloyalty or incompetency, appointing in his stead his own eldest son, Asshur-inadi- su, the A.sordanes of Polyhistor, and the Aparanadius, or As.saranadius, of Ptolemy's Canon. The dates of the remaining events of Sen- nacherib's reign can not be fixed with cer- tainty, Ptolemy's Canon taking no account of an>' subsequent event recorded in the inscriptions of this reign. It is believed that his .second expedition into Palestine occurred 174 ANCIENT HISTORY.— ASSYRIA. B. C. 699, Hezekiah having again revolted against the Assyrian king, and entered into an alliance with the Ethiopian King of Eg>-pt, Tehrak, or Tirhakah. Sennacherib direcfled his expedition first against his more powerful foe, and marched his amiy through Palestine southwards to Libnah and Lach- ish, laying siege to the latter city, and send- ing a detachment of his army, under a Tar- tan, or general, supported by two high officers of his court — the Rabshakeh, or Chief Cup- bearer, and the Rab-saris, or Chief Eunuch — to demand the surrender of Jerusalem. Hezekiah sent high dignitaries to treat with the Assyrians encamped outside the city walls, but the Assj-rian envoys demanded the unconditional submission of the Jewish king and people. The Rabshakeh, or Chief Cupbearer, familiar with the Hebrew lan- guage, took the word and delivered the message in insolent phraseology, laughing at Hezekiah's simplicity in relying upon Egypt, and at his foolish superstition in de- pending upon a Divine deliverance, and defi- antly asking the Jewish king to produce two thousand disciplined soldiers capable of serving as horsemen. Then the prophet " Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus saith the Lord, ' Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the King of Assyria have blasphemed me. Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumor, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. ' ' ' When asked to speak in some other language rather than the Hebrew, for fear that the people upon the walls might hear, the intrepid envoy, in utter disregard of diplomatic courtesy, made a loud and diredl appeal to the fears and hopes of the people. Seeing that they could make no impression upon the Jewish king or people, and regarding their military detachment as inadequate for a siege, the Assyrian amba.ssadors returned to their sov- ereign at Libnah and informed him of their failure. Thereupon Sennacherib sent other mes.sengers with a letter to Hezekiah, re- minding him of the fate of other kingdoms and nations which had the hardihood to re- sist the mighty Assyrian power, and again urging the Jewish king to submit. Heze- kiah took this letter iuto the Temple, where he "spread it before the Lord," praying: " Lord, bow down thine ear, and hear; open. Lord, thine eyes, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God." Thereupon the prophet Isaiah declared to his afBidled sovereign that Jehovah would "put his hook in Sennacherib's nose, and his bridle in his lips, and turn him back by the way by which he came." The prophet further declared: "Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the King of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord. For I will defend this city, to .save it, for mine own sake, and for my .ser\'ant David's sake." After receiving the submission of Libnah, Sennacherib advanced toward Egypt, and had come within sight of the Egyptian army at Pelusium when Hezekiah received his let- ter and made the prayer to which Lsaiah de- livered the response. The immense host of the Egyptians and Assyrians encamped op- posite each other for the night, the Egyptians and their king full of anxious alarm, and Sennacherib and his Assyrians in proud con- fidence of a vi(5lor>^ on the morrow as grand as those of Raphia and Altaku. But these bright hopes were destined to sad disappoint- ment. Ere the morrow appeared the im- mense Assyrian host was destroyed in a night panic. Says the Hebrew record: "And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred four- score and five thousand ; and when they aro.se early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. ' ' While the Hebrews ascribed this destrucflion of Sennacherib's army to the miraculous interpo.sition of Jehovah, the Eg3'ptians regarded their deliverance as the special inter\-ention of their own gods, and pursued the fleeing Assyrian hosts, distress- POLITICAL HIS roR ) : 175 iug their retreating columns and cutting off stragglers. The haughty Sennacherib returned to Nineveh with the shattered rem- nants of his mighty host, shorn of his glory. The proud capital of Assyria was plunged into such grief and despair as is beyond the power of the historian to describe. The Assyrian annals say nothing of this dis- astrous campaign. According to Sennacherib's own annals, his fifth campaign was in a mountainous country called Nipur, or Nibur, supposed to be near Mount Ararat. He there took many towns, and then moving westward toward the Taurus range bordering on Cilicia, he war- red with Maniya, King of Dayan, and, ac- cording to his own boast, plundered and rav- aged the country^ burned the towns and car- ried away the inhabitants, their flocks and herds, and their valuables. His next contest was a fierce struggle of three years with the Babylonians and Susi- anians. The Chaldaians of Beth-Yakin, dis- satisfied with the Assyrian yoke, migrated in a body from their own city to the territory^ of the King of Susiana. Carrying with them their gods and their treasures, they set sail in their ships, crossed "the Great Sea of the Rising Sun" — the Persian Gulf — and landed on the Elamite, or Susianian coast, where they were kindly received by the Susianian monarch, who allowed them to build a new city on his territon,-. This voluntary- de- sertion of Beth-Yakin by its own people aroused the anger of the A.ssjrian king, who accordingly determined to bring back his deserting subjedls to their native city, and to his dominion, by force. The suzerainty of Assyria over Phoenicia had placed at the Assyrian king's disposal the most skilled shipwrights and the best sailors in the world, and Sennacherib re- .solved to invade Susiana by sea to reclaim his emigrant subjects. The shipwrights of Tyre and Sidon \\-ere therefore set to work at building a fleet of war-galleys on the Tigris. This fleet, manned by Phoenician sailors, descended the river to the Persian Gulf astonishing the inhabitants on the shores with a spectacle ne\-er before seen in tho.se waters. The Chaldacans, who had navigated tho.se waters for many centuries, were far inferior as ship-builders and mari- ners to the Phoenicians, who.se ships with their masts, sails, double tiers of oars and shaq) beaks, were novelties to the nations in these parts. Sennacherib, in his Phoenician ships, crossed from the mouth of the Tigris to the new settlement of the emigrant Chaldacans, destroyed their newly-built city, captured the deserters, ravaged the vicinity, burned many Susianian towns, and transported his captives, Chaldaean deserters and Susian- ians, across the gulf to Chaldaea, and thence took them to A.ssyria. The Susianians, not expecting an invasion b}- sea, had as.sembled an army near their north-western frontier, so that Sennacherib had found no force to oppose him when he landed on the Susianian coast. Taking advantage of circumstances, the Babylonians now revolted and .set up a king of their own called Susub; but the Babylon- ian army was defeated by the Assyrian troops upon their return from Susiana, Su- sub being captured; and the Susianian army which had come to the aid of the revolted Babylonians was routed. Susub and many other captives were carried to Nineveh. Kudur-Nakhunta, who was still King of Susiana, held the cities of Beth-Kahiri and Raza, which Sennacherib regarded as part of his paternal inheritance. The Assyrian king now easily retook the.se towns, and leading his anny into the heart of Susiana, took and burned thirty-four large cities and many small villages. After besieging and taking by storm Vadakat, or Badaca, the .second city of Susiana, after it had been abandoned by Kudur-Xakhunta, Sennach- erib returned to Nine\eh with a large booty. Susub, the Babylonian prince, having es- caped from his captivity at Nineveh, re- turned to Babylon, where he was again hailed as king by the inhabitants. He se- cured the alliance of the new King of .Susiana, ITmmanniinan, the \onnger brother and suc- cessor of Kudur-Nakhunta, by sending him as a present the gold and silver belonging 176 ANCIENT HISTORY.— ASSYRIA. to the great temple of Bel at Babylon. The Susianian monarch at once led an ami}- to the Tigris, while many Aranijean, or Syrian, tribes on the middle Euphrates, which Sen- nacherib had subjugated in his third year, revolted, and their army joined that of Su- sub. Sennacherib defeated the allied host in a great battle at Khaluli, a town on the Lower Tigris, both Susub and the Susianian king escaping, but Nebosumiskun, a son of Merodach-Baladan, and many other chiefs, being made prisoners. Sennacherib entered Bab>-lon in triumph, destroyed its fortifica- tions, pillaged and burned its temples, and broke to pieces the images of the gods. Either Regibelus, or Mesesimor- dachus, whom the Canon of Ptolemy makes contemporary with the middle part of Sen- nacherib's reign, is believed to have been placed o^'er the rebel citj' as viceroj- by the conqueror. Sennacherib is said to have also led an ex- pedition against Cilicia, and, according to Abydenus, a Greek writer, a Grecian fleet was beaten by the Assyrian fleet on the Ci- lician shores; while according to Polyhistor, Sennacherib's army defeated a Greek land force in Cilicia itself; after which Sennach- erib took possession of Cilicia, in which country he built the city of Tarsus, after- wards renowned as the birth-place of St. Paul. Among the inscriptions of Sennach- erib's wars upon the Koyunjik bulls is one stating that he " triumphanth" subdued the men of Cilicia inhabiting the inaccessible forests. ' ' The Canon of Ptolemy marks an interreg- num at Babylon for eight years, from B. C. 688 to B. C. 680, the year of Esar-haddon's accession; from which circumstance it is evident that Babylonia had again thrown off the Assyrian yoke and maintained her inde- pendence for eight 3'ears. Thus the military glory of Sennacherib, the greatest and best-known of Assyrian kings, was tarnished by two great disasters — the destruction of his anny at Pelusium by a night panic during his war with Hezekiah of Judah and Tirhakah of Egypt, and the successful revolt of Bal)ylon just mentioned. Still he was the most illustrious and the most successful of Assyrian warrior kings. In his inscription, Sennacherib calls himself "the great king, the powerful king, the king of nations, the king of Assyria, the king of the four regions, the diligent ruler, the favorite of the great gods, the observer of sworn faith, the guardian of the law, the embellisher of public buildings, the noble hero, the strong warrior, the first of kings, the punisher of unbelievers, the de- stroyer of wicked men. ' ' Sennacherib takes the first rank among Ass5'rian monarchs as an architedl and patron of art, as well as that of a warrior. The gigantic palace erecfled by him at Nin- eveh surpassed ni dimensions and grandeur all previouslj'-built strucftures, and covered an area of more than eight acres. The grand halls and smaller chambers of this vast and magnificent edifice were arranged around at least three courts or quadrangles, which were respectively one hundred and fiftj'-four bj- one hundred and twenty-five feet, one hundred and twenty-four by ninety feet, and ninety- three by eighty-four feet. Small apartments were grouped around the smallest of these courts. A narrow passage leading out of a long galler\', two hundred and eighteen by twenty-five feet, opened the way to the king's seraglio. This galler}- was entered through two other passages, one leading from each of the two main courts. The principal halls were immediately within the two chief entrances, one on the north-east, and the other on the south-west front of the palace. One of these seems to have been one hun- dred and sixty feet long, and the other one hundred and eighty feet, while each was a little over fortj' feet wide. The palace had about twent}' other rooms, and from forty to fift}- smaller chambers, about square, entered from some hall or large apartment. Mr. Eayard saj^s he explored seventy-one cham- bers, including the three courts, the long gallery and four passages. Sennacherib's palace, like other A.ssyrian architecflural works, was built on an artifi- cial platform, eighty or ninetj' feet above the plain, and covered with a brick pave- POl. I TIC A L If IS 7 Y )A' } '. '77 ment. It is believed to have had three grand facades, respectively on the north- east, south-east and south-west sides. Its chief apartment was first entered by the visitor. All the walls ran in straight lines, and all the angles of the rooms were right angles. Although there were numerous pas- sages, the apartments in many instances di- rec5tly opened into one another, nearly half of the rooms being passage-rooms. The doorwaj-s were usuall\- towards the comers of the apartments. In many ca.ses a room was entered b}- two or three doorways from another room or from a court. There were also many square recesses in the sides of rooms. The walls were ^■er^• thick. The apartments, never much over fortN" feet wide, were comparatively narrow for their length, but the courts were much better propor- tioned. Sennacherib's royal building differed from others in the size and luimber of its rooms, in its u.se of pa.ssages and in its style of or- namentation. His principal state apart- ments were one-third wider, though very little longer, and thus were in better pro- portion. But one galler\-, coiuiecling the more public portion of the building with the harem, or private apartments, foniied a cor- ridor, two hundred and eighteen feet long b}- twenty-five feet wide, iniiting the two parts of the palace. This corridor commun- icated by passages with the two public courts, which were also joined by a third passage. Timber from Lebanon and Amanus was used in the roofing of this palace. Sennacherib's ornamentation was marked by the first general use of the back-ground in completing each scene, as it really existed at the time and place of its occurrence. Mountains, rocks, trees, roads, rivers and lakes were represented with the highest de- gree of perfection which the ability of the artist and the means and facilities at his command would permit. In Sennacherib's bas-reliefs the species of trees is distin- guished; gardens, fields, ponds, reeds, etc., are portrayed with great exadtness; wild animals, such as stags, boars and antelojies, are illustrated; birds are represented flying from one tree to another, or standing over their nests feeding their young as they stretch u]) to receive the food; fi.sh swim in the water; fishermen, boatmen and agri- cultural laborers are depicted; the entire scene being striking and real in appearance. On the walls of the passages of Sennach- erib's palace are depicted ordinary .scenes of every-day life. Trains of ,ser\auts daily bring to the royal residence game and locusts for the monarch's diinier, and cakes and fruits for his dessert, just as they walked through the courts canying the delicacies for which he displaj-ed special fondness. In another place is exhibited the work of car\'- ing and transporting a gigantic bull of .solid stone, from tlie removal of the material from the quarry, to its elevated position on a palace-mound as part of the great entrance- passage of the ro\-al dwelling. The trackers are shown dragging the huge rough block, supported on a low flat-bottomed boat, along the course of a river, divided in gangs per- forming their work under taskmasters who ply their rods upon the most trifling provo- cation. The trackers, three hundred in number, in their national costumes, are each delineated with the utmost precision. We next see the stone block conveyed to land, and carved into the rough likeness of a bull, and in that shape it is set on a sledge and mo^•ed along le-vel ground by gangs of laborers, arranged \"ery much as before, to the base of the mound, at the top of which it must be located. The building of the mound is illustrated in detail. Brick-makers are represented moulding the bricks at the foot of the mound, and workmen are seen with baskets at their backs, filled with earth, bricks, stones or rubbi.sh, climbing the as- cent after the mound is partially raised, and emptying their burdens upon the top. The bull on the sledge is then drawn up an in- clined plane to the summit by four gangs of laborers, before the eyes of the king and his attendants. The carving is then finished, and the gigantic figure is set into an upright position and dragged along the surface of the platform to the place assigned it. Sennacherib also restored the old nnal 178 ANCIENT HISTORY.— ASSYRIA. palace at Nineveh. He built a brick em- bankment on the banks of the Tigris to con- fine the river to its channel, and supplied his capital with good water by construcfting for that purpose a system of canals and aquedu(5ls. He strengthened the defenses of Nineveh by the erecftion of colossal towers at some of the brick gateways. Lastly, he eredled a temple to the god Ner- gal at Tarbisi (now Sherif KhanJ, on the Tigris, about three miles above Nineveh. Sennacherib's conquering expeditions into other lands furnished him with a sufficient amount of forced labor, which he employed in the construdtion of his great works. The Bellino Cylinder tells us that he employed Chaldseans, Aramaeans, or Syrians, Armeni- ans, Cilicians, and Quhu, or Coans, in this way. A bull-inscription informs us that in one raid he carried into slavery two hun- dred and eight thousand Aramaeans. By this means the colossal bulls of stone were transported and elevated, the vast mounds built, the bricks moulded, the walls of edi- fices erecfted, the canals excavated and em- bankments construcfted. They were forced to labor in gangs, under the rods of brutal and exacfting taskmasters, and in their re- specftive national costumes. The work was direcfted by Assyrian foremen, and the forced laborers were frequently compelled to work in fetters, sometimes supported bj- a bar fastened to the waist, and sometimes consisting of shackles around the ankles. The king, standing in a chariot drawn by his attendants, often witnessed the laborers at their task. Sennacherib's glorious reign of twenty- four years experienced a sad end. The great monarch fell a vicflim to a plot of as- sassination on the part of his sons, Adram- melech and Sharezer. He was slain while at worship in a temple; and his son Nergilus, who claimed the crown, was also soon mur- dered by his brothers, Adrannnelech and Sharezer; but these were soon overthrown by their brother Esar-haddon, who, in com- mand of the army on the Armenian frontier, marched to Nineveh and was recognized as the rightful successor to his father's throne. The year of Sennacherib's assassination and Esar-haddon's accession was B. C. 68i, according to the Assyrian Canon — the year just before his first year in Babylon on the authority of the Canon of Ptolemy. This is to be accounted for by the facft that a king was not entered on the Babylonian list until the Thoth which followed his accession, and the Thoth in this instance occurred in Feb- ruar3'. Thus the Babylonian dates are gen- erally one year later than the Assyrian, and the two Canons are seen to harmonize with remarkable precision. Esar-haddon held the throne for thirteen years, and reigned alternately at Nineveh and Babylon, thus placing the two great capitals on an equality, and reconciling the Babylonians to the Assyrian rule. Esar- haddon's inscriptions show that he was en- gaged for some time after the opening of his reign in a civil war with his half-brothers, who, at the head of large bodies of troops, contested his claims to the Assyrian crown. Esar-haddon, who, at the time of his father's death, was stationed on the Armenian front- ier, at once marched upon Nineveh, defeated the army of his brothers in the country of Khanirabbat, north-west of Nineveh, and entered the capital, where he was univer- sally acknowledged king. Abydenus says that Adrammelech fell in the battle, but bet- ter authorities state that both he and his brother Sharezer escaped into Armenia, where the ruling sovereign treated them with kindness, bestowing upon them lands, which long remained in the possession of their po.sterity. Our information of Esar-haddon's reign is mainly derived from a cylinder inscrip- tion, existing in duplicate, which records nine campaigns. A memorial which he set up at the mouth of the Nahr-el-Kelb, and a cylinder of his son's, give us .some additional knowledge concerning the closing portion of his reign. The Old Testament, in .several in.stances, connedls him with Jewish history'; and Abydenus alludes to some of his for- eign conquests. An incomplete cylinder inscription of Esar-haddon's reign contains accounts of his civil war with his brothers POI.TTIC.M. I [[STORY. 179 and also his Arabian and Syrian uxpeditions. Ksar-liaddon's first expedition was into Phoenicia. The civil dissensions resulting from vSeniKicherib's murder encouraged a re- volt in that region on the part of Abdi-Mil- kut, King of Sidon, and Sandu-arra, King of the neighboring portion of Lebanon, who had entered into an alliance to cast off the Assjt- ian yoke. Esar-haddon first attacked Sidon and .soon took the city, and Abdi-Milkut sought refuge in an island, either Aradus or Cyprus, but was pursued and made prisoner by Esar-haddon, who, it was said, traversed the .sea "like a fish." Esar-haddon next at- tacked Sandu-arra in his mountain fastnesses, defeated his troops and took him prisoner. Both captive kings were executed in punish- ment for their rebellion; the walls of Sidon were destroyed, its inhabitants and tho.se of the whole neighboring coast were carried off into Assyria, and thence dispersed among the provinces: while a new city was built and named after Esar-haddon, which was designed to succeed Sidon as the leading city in this region, and Chaldtean and .Susi- anian captives were colonized in the new city and the adjacent country, over which an As.syrian governor was appointed. Esar-haddon' s second campaign was in Armenia, where he took a city named Arza, which, he says, was in the neighborhood of Muzr, and carried away its inhabitants, along with a number of mountain animals, settling the captives "beyond the eastern gate of Nineveh." At the same time he received the submission of Tiuspa, the Cimmerian. Esar-haddon's third campaign was in Cilicia and the adjacent regions. The Cili- cians, so recently subdued by Sennacherib, re-asserted their independence at his death, and formed an alliance with the Tibareni, or people of Tubal, who occupied the high mountain district about the junction of Amanus and Taurus. After defeating the Cilicians, Esar-haddon invaded the moun- tain region, where he took twenty-one towns and many villages, all of which he plundered and burned, carrying the inhabitants into captivity. Esar-haddon next conducted a pett\- war in Northern Syria, and another in South- eastern Armenia against the Mainiai, or Minni. He then made an expedition into Chaktea, against Nebo-zirzi-sidi, Merodach- Baladan's son, who, aided by the Susianians, had regained a footing on the Chaldaean coast: while his brothcj- >Jahid-Marduk, sought the favor of the Assyrian king, quit- ting his refuge in vSusiana to present himself before the Great King's foot-stool at Nineveh. After subduing Nebo-zirzi-sidi, E.sar-haddon bestowed the entire coast distri- the flames before its completion. Esar-haddon's palace at Calah was built at the .south-western corner of the Nimrud mound, abutting towards the west on the Tigris, and towards the valley formed by the vShor-Derreh torrent. It faced north- ward and w.is entered on this side from the open space of the platform, through a jiortal guarded b)- two winged man-headed bulls. The entrance led into a large court, two Innulred and eighty by one hundred feet, bounded on the noith side by a mere wall, I82 ANCIENT HISTORY.— ASSYRIA. but surrounded by buildings on the east, west and south sides. The chief building was opposite, and was entered from the court by two gateways, one direcftly facing the great northern portal of the court, and the other slightly to the left, the former be- ing guarded by colossal winged man-headed bulls, and the latter only reveted with slabs. The.se gateways both opened into the same room, the design of which was on the most magnificent scale of all the Assyrian apartments, but it was so thoroughly broken up through the archite(5l's inability to cover the wide space without sufficient supports, that this room virtually constituted four chambers of moderate size rather than one grand hall. As one apartment this room was one hundred and sixty-five feet long by sixty-two feet wide, ^'iewed as a .suite of four chambers, the rooms appeared to be two long and narrow halls running parallel to each other, and conne6ted by a grand doorw^ay in the middle, with two smaller chambers located at the two ends, running at right angles with the principal ones. The smaller chambers were sixty-two feet long, and respedlively nineteen feet and twenty-three feet wide. The larger ones were one hundred and ten feet long, and re- spedlively tweut)' feet and twenty-eight feet wide. Mr. Fergu.s.son's account of the grand apartment of this palace is as follows: "Its general dimensions are one hundred and sixty-five feet in length, by sixty-two feet in width; and it consequentlj' is the largest hall yet found in As,syria. The architeAs, however, do not seem to have been quite equal to roofing so large a space, even with the number of pillars with which the}' seem usually to have crowded their floors; and it is consequently divided down the center by a wall .supporting dwarf columns, forming a center gallery, to which acce.ss was had by bridge galleries at both ends, a movle of ar- rangement capable of great variety and picflurcsquene.ss of effetfl, and of which I have little doubt that the builders availed themselves to the fullest extent. " The inner of the twc long parallel cham- bers was coimedled by a grand doorway, guarded by sphinxes and colossal lions, either with a small court or with a large chamber extending to the southern edge of the mound; while the two end rooms were connecfted with smaller apartments in the same direcftion, but Mr. Layard's excava- tions here were incomplete. The buildings on the right and left sides of the great court appear to have been wholly .separate from those at its southern end. Tho.se on the left have not been explored, but on the right several long narrow apartments, with one or two passages, have been examined. Eastward the palace has not been explored, and its extent northward, southward and westward is not certain. Southward and westward the mound has been worn away by the Tigris and the Shor-Derreh torrent. The walls of Esar-haddon's palace were built of sun-dried bricks, reveted with ala- baster slabs, taken from the decaj-ed palace.- of his predecessors. Ere the new sculp tures on these slabs were completed, Esar- haddon died, and the work ceased, or the palace was ruined by fire. The only sculp- tures finished were the winged man-headed bulls and lions at the various portals, a few bas-reliefs near them, and some sphinxes within the span of the two widest doorways. These sphinxes were Egyptian in idea, but had the horned cap like those on the bulls, the Assyrian arrangement of hair, Assyr- ian ear-rings, and wings like those of the bulls and lions. The figures near the lions were mythic, and according to Mr. Eayard's representations, were more than ordinarily grotesque. The inscriptions give us a full account of the character of Esar-haddon's buildings and their ornamentation. These inform us that the thirty-six temples which this king erected in Assyria and Babylonia were pro- fu.sely adorned with plates of gold and sil- ver, making them "as splendid as the day." His palace at Nineveh, located on the Neb- bi-Yunus mound, was said to have been built upon the site of a former palace of the Assyrian kings. The materials for its con- struttion were procured from different coun- POLITIC. 1 1. Ills n Vv' V. ■83 tries; the Phoenician, Syrian and Cyprian kings sending to Nineveh for this purpose great beams of cedar, cypress and ebony, stone statues, and various works in different kinds of metal. The size of this palace is said to have surpassed all the structures of former kings. Car\-ed beams of cedar wood were used in roofing this edifice, which was partly supported by colunnis of cypress wood, ornamented with rings of silver and strengthened with iron bands. Winged man-headed bulls and lions guarded the por- tals; and the gates were made of ebony and cypress ornamented with iron, silver and ivor\- ; while the walls were adorned with sculptured slabs and enameled bricks. The prejudice of the present Mohammedan inhabitants against disturbing their dead, and against violating the tomb of Jonah has thus far prevented satisfactory excavations of the Nebbi-Yunus mound. Mr. Layard stealthily made a slight excavation in this mound, thus discovering a few fragments bearing Esar-haddon's name. Turkish ex- cavations soon afterwards uncovered a long line of wall of one of Sennacherib's palaces, and likewise a part of Esar-haddon's palace. On the outside surface of the former were winged man-headed bulls in high relief, .sculptured seemingly after the wall was eredted, each bull covering ten or twelve distindl stone blocks. A slab-inscription obtained from this palace was published in the British Museum Series. A bronze lion with legend was obtained from Esar-had- don's palace. We know nothing of Esar-haddon's palace at Babjdon, which now lies buried beneath the mounds at Hillah. Mr. Layard and Sir Henrs' Rawlinson have carefully examined the Sherif-Khan palace, which was found to be very- much inferior to the ordinan,- Assyr- ian royal residences, being oidy a dwelling eredled by Esar-haddon for his eldest son, and it also is believed to have been unfin- ished when the king died. After a reign of thirteen years, Esar- haddon, "King of Assyria, Balndonia, Egypt, Meroe and Ethiopia," as he calls himself in his later inscriptions, died in B. C. 668, and was succeeded on his throne by his eldest .son. Asshur-bani-pal, whom he had already associated in the goveriunent. Asshur-bani-pal, upon his accession, ap- pointed to the viceroyalty of Babylon his younger brother, vSaiil-Mugina, called vSani- mughes by Polyhistor, and Sao.sduchinus by the Canon of Ptolemy. Upon his accession, Asshur-bani-pal found himself involved in a war with Egypt. Eate in Esar-haddon's reign Tirhakah, the Ethiopian king, de.scended the Nile, recov- ered Thebes, Memphis and other Eg)'ptian cities, and expelled the princes and governors appointed by Esar-haddon when he had con- quered the countrj'. Asshur-bani-pal, soon after his accession, led an expedition through Syria into Egypt, and defeated the Ethio- pian and Egyptian army near the city of Kar-banit. Tirhakah at once fled from Memphis, .sailing up the Nile to Thebes; and being pursued by the A.ssyrians to the latter place, the Ethiopian king continued his retreat up the Nile valley, leaving all Egypt north of Thebes in the possession of the Assyrian monarch. Asshur-bani-pal restored the princes and rulers whom his father had placed over Egypt, and whom Tirhakah had expelled; and, after a short rest at Thebes, returned in triumph by waj'' of Syria to Nineveh. No sooner had the Assyrian king left Egypt than intrigues to restore the Ethio- pian power commenced. Neko and other Egyptian governors restored by Asshur-bani- pal deserted the Assyrian cause and sided with the Ethiopians. The governors who remained loyal to Assyria tried to suppress the revolt ; Neko and .several other rebel leaders were carried in chains to Assyria; and Sais, Tanis, Mendes and other revolted Egyptian cities were puni.shed. The revolt was, however, successful, and Tirhakah having reestablished himself at Thebes, threatened to again extend his sway over the entire Nile valley. But when Asshur- bani-pal forgave Neko and sent him back to Egypt with a large Assyrian army, Tirha- kah again fled to Upper Egypt, where he died shortly afterwards. Tirhakah' s step- 1 84 ANCIENT HIS TOR ) -. — A SS J 'RIA. son and successor, Urdamane — believed to be the Rud-Amun of the hieroglyphics — descended the Nile valley with an array, de- feated the Assyrians near Memphis, forced them to seek refuge within its walls, besieged and took the city, and regained possession of Lower Egj'pt. Upon hearing of this, Asshur-bani-pal left Asshur, and leading an expedition personally against the new Ethi- opian monarch, drove him from Memphis to Thebes, and thence to the city of Kipkip, far up the Nile. After entering Thebes in triumph and sacking the city, and again placing governors over the Egyptian cities and taking hostages to secure their loyalty, Asshur-bani-pal returned to Nineveh with his plunder of gold, silver, ebony, ivory, obelisks, precious stones, dj'ed garments, monkeys and elephants of the Theban palace, male and female captives. Between his first and second expeditions into Egypt, Asshur-bani-pal attacked Tyre, whose king, Baal, had incurred his displeas- ure, and, reducing him to submission, ex- adled from him a large tribute, which he sent to Nineveh. About the same time As- shur-bani-pal married a Cilician princess. Soon after his second expedition into Egypt, Asshur-bani-pal invaded Asia Minor, cross- ing the Taurus mountains and penetrating a region never before entered by an Assyrian king; and, after reducing a number of towns, he returned to Nineveh, where he received an embassy, of which he gives the following account: "Gyges, King of Lydia, a country on the sea-coast, a ren>ote place, of which the kings my ancestors had never even heard the name, had formerly learned in a dream the fame of my empire, and had sent officers to my presence to perform homage on his behalf." The Eydian king now sent a sec- ond time to As.shur-bani-pal and told him that since his submission he defeated the Cimmerians, who had formerly ravaged his countrj% and he begged him to accept Cim- merian chiefs whom he had taken captive in battle, along with other presents, which the Assyrian monarch regarded as "tribute." About the same time As.shur-bani-pal re- pulsed an attack by the "King of Kharbat" on a distridl of Babylonia, and aft^er taking Kharbat, transported its inhabitants to Egypt. Asshur-bani-pal next invaded Minni, or Persannenia, the mountain region about Lakes Van and Urumiyeh. Akhsheri, the King of Minni, having lost his capital, Izirtu, and several other cities, was murdered by his subjedls; and his son, Vahalli, was forced to submit, and sent an embassy to Nineveh to do homage, with tribute, presents and hostages. As.shur-bani-pal received the envoys gracioush', pardoned Vahalli and kept him on the throne of Minni, but compelled him to pay a heavy tribute. Asshur-bani-pal also conquered a region called Paddiri, which his predeces- -sors had separated from Minni, but which he annexed to his own dominion, placing an Assyrian governor over it. Asshur-bani-pal next engaged in a strug- gle of twelve j-ears with Elam, or Susiana. Certain tribes, pressed by famine, had passed from Susiana into the Assyrian dominions, where they were permitted to settle; but when, after the famine had ceased, they wished to return to their former home, Asshur-bani-pal would not agree to their removal. Urtaki, King of Susiana, resented this by invading Babj'lonia, and was aided by Belu-bagar, King of the Gambulu, an important Aramaean tribe. Saiil-Mugina, Asshur-bani-pal' s brother and viceroj' at Babylon, greatly alarmed, sent to Nineveh for aid. Thereupon an Assyrian army drove the Susianian monarch out of Babylonia, inflicfting upon him a severe defeat before he escaped and returned to Susa, where he died within a year. A dynastic revolution in Susiana now proved of great advantage to the Assyrians. Urtaki had wrested the Susianian throne from his elder brother, Umman-aldas. At his death, his younger brother, Temin-Um- man, usurped the crown ; and the sons of Um- man-aldas and those of Urtaki, who claimed the Susianian crown, only saved their lives by fleeing to Nineveh with their relati\'es and adherents, and putting themselves under the protecflion of the Assyrian monarch. Thus POLITICAL JUS TON V. 185 Asshur-b:iiii-pal, in the expedition which he now undertook, had a party which favored him in Susiana itself; but Teniin-Uninian strengthened himself by alliances with two descendants of Mcrodach-Baladan, who had principalities upon the Persian Gulf coast, with two sons of Belu-bagar, sheikh of the Gambulu, with two mountain chiefs, one a blood relation of the Assyrian king, and with several inferior chieftains. Asshur- bani-pal defeated the allies, took Temin-Um- man prisoner, executed him, and exposed his head over one of the gates of Nineveh. He then divided Susiana between Urtaki's sons, Umman-ibi and Tammarit, establish- ing the former at Susa, and the latter at a town called Khidal, in Eastern Susiana. A son of Temin-Uniman was executed with his father. Several of Merodach - Baladan's grandsons suffered mutilation. A Chaldaean prince and a chieftain of the Gambulu had their tongues torn out by the roots. An- other Gambulu chief was beheaded. Two of Temin-Umman's principal ofiScers were chained and flayed. Bj' these cruelties As- shur-bani-pal expected to strike terror into his enemies. No sooner, however, had the Assyrians returned to Nineveh then fresh troubles broke out. Asshur-bani-pal's own brother, Saiil-Mugina, dissatisfied with his subordi- nate position as viceroy of Babylon, rebelled, and, declaring himself King of Babylon, obtained a number of important allies. These were Umman-ibi, who, though he had received his crown from Asshur-bani- pal, had been bribed by gift of treasure from the Babylonian temples; Vaiteha, a powerful Arabian prince; and Nebo-bel- sumi, a sur\4ving grandson of Merodach- Baladan. Saiil-Mugina's fair prospecfls of success were blighted b}- domestic troubles in Susiana, where Umman-ibi was defeated and slain in a civil war with his brother Tammarit, who thus became King of all Susiana. Tammarit, however, entered into an alliance with Saiil-Mu- gina; but while ab.sent with his army in Babylonia, a mountain chief from Luristan named Inda-bibi, or Inda-bigas, excited a 1— 12.-U. II. revolt in vSusiana and seized the throne; and Tammarit, deserted by his army, was obliged to flee and .seek safety in concealment, while the Susianian army returned home. While Saiil-Mugina thus lost the most important of his allies, A.sshur-bani-pal had overrun the northern Babylonian provinces and be- sieged and took the Babylonian towns one after another. Saiil-Mugina was taken pris- oner by Asshur-bani-pal, who punished his rebel brother more terribly than any of his other captured enemies, burning him alive. A lull of some j-ears in acflual hostilities between Assyria and Susiana followed. Inda-bibi having given refuge to Nebo-bel- sumi, and having repeatedly refu.sed to sur- render the fugitive prince as demanded by the Assyrian king, was killed b}' the com- mander of his archers, a second Umman- aldas, who then usurped the Susianian throne. At the same time many pretenders claimed the Susianian crown, and Asshur- bani-pal again demanded the surrender of Nebo-bel-sumi, who would have been given up had he not committed suicide. About B. C. 645 Asshur-bani-pal invaded Susiann, took the strongl)--fortified town of Bit-Imbi by siege, drove Umman-aldas into the mountain region of Susiana, took Susa, Badaca and twenty-four other cities, and assigned the government of Western Susiana to Tammarit, who, after his flight from Babylonia, had become a fugitive at the court of Assyria. Umman-aldas was al- lowed to retain the sovereignty of Eastern Susiana. Tammarit, in order to cast off his vassal- age to the Assyrian monarch, plotted to mas- sacre all the foreign garrisons in his domin- ions, but was carried a prisoner to Nineveh, and Western Susiana was put under military rule. Umman-aldas, in his mountain fast- ness, colledled a new anny, and took pos- session of Bit-Imbi the following spring; but unal )le to resist the Assyrian assaults, he soon evacuated the town, and defended him- .self in his entire retreat to Su,sa, holding the different strong towns and rivers in succession. But the Assyrians drove him from post to post, and finally took both Susa 1 86 ANCIENT HISTORY.— ASSYRIA. and Badaca, thus again placing Susiana at Asshur-bani-pal's mercy, all the towns mak- ing their submission, while Umman-aldas was carried a prisoner to Nineveh. Inflamed with rage on account of the revolt, Asshur- bani-pal plundered the Susianian capital of its treasures, among which were eighteen images of gods and goddesses, thirty-two statues of former Susianian kings, including those of Kudur-Nakhunta and Tammarit. He also gave the other Susianan cities to be pillaged by his soldiers for a period of almost two months. He then annexed Susiana to the Assyrian Empire, thus closing this Susianian war, after it had lasted, with short intervals, for twelve years. While Asshur-bani-pal was thus engaged in Susiana and Babylonia, Psammetichus declared himself independent in Egypt and began a war against the pettj- Egyptian princes who remained steadfast in their loy- ality to their Assyrian .suzerain. In Asia Minor, Gyges, King of Lydia, who had so recently done homage to Assyria, sent aid to the Egyptian rebel. Egypt cast off the As- syrian yoke; but Gyges was slain in a terri- ble struggle with the Cimmerians, who had spread desolation throughout his dominions; and Ard^-s, his successor on the L^dian throne, renewed the homage to the Assyrian king which his father had relinquished. Asshur-bani-pal next engaged in an im- portant war with some Arab tribes of the desert who had aided Saiil-Mugina in his re- volt against his brother and suzerain. The Arab leader in this war was Vaiteha, whose allies were Natun, or Nathan, King of the Nabathseans, and Annnu-ladin, King of Ke- dar. The whole border of Arabia from the Persian Gulf to S5'ria, and thence southward by Damascus to Petra, was the scene of mili- tary' operations in this war. Petra, Moab, Edom, Zoar and several other cities fell into the hands of the Assyrians. The Arabs were defeated with great slaughter in the final Isattle at Kliukhuruna, in the moun- tains near Damascus; and the two Arab chiefs who had aided vSaiil-Mugina were carried captives to Nineveh, and there pub- licly executed. Thus ended the annals of A.sshur-bani-pal, who was the most enterprising and the most powerful of Assyrian warrior kings, and who extended the Assj-rian Empire in e\-ery diredtion beyond its previous limits. In Egypt he completed the task begun by his father Esar-haddon, and established the As- syrian dominion for some years, not only at Sais and Memphis, but likewise at Thebes. In Asia Minor he subdued large sedlions never before invaded by any Assyrian king, and carried his renown to the western ex- tremity of the Asiatic continent. In the north he held, not only the Minni, but the Urarda, or true Armenians, among his trib- utaries. On the south he formally annexed Susiana to the Assyrian Empire, and on the west he signall)' chasti.sed the Arabs. Thus in the middle part of A.sshur-bani- pal's brilliant reign Assyria reached the cul- minating point of her greatness — the zenith of her power and the widest extent of her dominion — being at this time paramount o\'er the portion of Western Asia from the Mediterranean and the Hal>-s on the west to the Caspian Sea and the Persian desert on the ea.st, and from Arabia and the Persian Gulf on the south to the northern frontier of Armenia and the center of Cappadocia on the north. In Africa the authorit}' of Assyria was at this time acknowledged by Egypt as far south as Thebes. Thus the Assyrian influence extended over Susiana, Chaldsea, Babylonia, Media, Matiene, or the Zagros range, Mesopotamia; portions of Ar- menia, Cappadocia and Cilicia; Syria, Phoe- nicia, Palestine, Idumsea, part of Arabia and nearly all of Egypt. The island of Cyprus may also have been a dependency. But Persia proper, Bactria and Sogdiana, even Hyrcania, were beyond the eastern limit of Assyrian power, which on the north did not on this side extend farther than about the vicinity of Ka,svin, and towards the south was confined within the Zagros mountain range; while on the west, Phrygia, Lydia, Lj'cia, even Pamphylia, were independent, the arms of Assyria having never been, as far as known, carried westward beyond Ci- licia or across the river Halys. POLITICAL HISTORY. 187 Asshur-bani-pal was also noted for his love of hunting, especially lion-hunting. On the banks of streams, and in his pleas- ure-galley in raid-stream, he roused the king of beasts from his lair by means of hounds and beaters, and slew him with his arrows. In his own park of paradise large and ferocious beasts, brought from distant quarters, were placed in traps about the grounds, and when he approached they were released from confinement, while he drove among them in his chariot, letting fly his arrows at each, seldom missing the marks at which they were direcfted. With two or three attendants armed with spears, he often encountered the terrific spring of the bolder beasts, who rushed wild with rage at the royal marksman to tear him from the chariot. On some occasions he left the chariot-board and engaged in a close struggle single-handed with the brutes, without the protection of armor, in his usual dress, with only a fillet upon his head, and would pierce them through the heart with sword or spear. He often engaged in the chase of the wild ass, and hunted the stag, the hind and the ibex, or w-ild goat. His love of sport is also attested bj' the figures of his favorite hounds made inclay, and painted and inscribed with their respec- tive names. Asshur-bani-pal was the only A.ssyrian king who exhibited any taste for learning and literature. His predecessors only left to their posterity some records of the events of their reigns, inscribed on cylinders, tab- lets, slabs, winged man-headed bulls and lions, and a few dedicatory inscriptions, addresses to the deities whom they par- ticularly worshiped. Asshur-bani-pal dis- played far more varied and all-embracing literary tastes. He established a Royal Li- brar>-, consisting of claj' tablets, at Nineveh, from which the Briti.sh Museum has derived its most valuable coUedlion. Under the auspices of this monarch were prepared com- parative vocabularies, lists of deities and their epithets, chronological lists of kings and eponyms, records of astronomical obser- vations, grammars, histories and various kinds of .scientific works. These treasures of learning were preserved in certain cham- bers of the palace of A.s.shur-bani-pal's grandfather, Sennacherib, where they were discovered by Mr. Layard. There are al.so a large number of religious documents, pray- ers, invocations, etc., besides many juridical treatises, the fines to be imposed for certain social offenses; and lastly, there are all the contents of the Registry office, such as deeds of sale and barter referring to land, houses, and all kinds of property, contracfts, bonds for loans, benefactions and other different kinds of legal instruments. Selections from the tablets have been published in England, being prepared for that purjiose h\ vSir Henry Rawlinson and others. The clay tablets on which they were inscribed lay here in such large numbers, sometimes whole, but gen- erallj' in fragments, that they covered the floors of the chambers for more than a foot high. Mr. Layard truly says that "the documents thus discovered at Nineveh prob- ably exceed all that has yet been afforded b}^ the monuments of Egypt. ' ' Among the interesting and valuable results which these documents have recently yielded is the chronological scheme drawn from sev-en dif- ferent tablets, and known as ' ' the Assyrian Canon." As a builder A.sshur-bani-pal fully rivaled, if he did not surpass, the greatest of his predecessors. His magnificent palace at Nineveh, whose ruins are seen on the Koyunjik mound, within a few hundred j^ards of his illustrious grandfather's splen- did royal edifice, was built on a plan differ- ent from those of former kings. The main building consisted of three arms branching from a common center, thus in its general form resembling the letter T. The central point was entered bj' a long ascending gal- lery- lined with sculptures, leading from a gateway, with rooms attached, at a comer of the great court, first a distance of one hundred and ninety feet in a direiftion par- allel to the top bar of the T, and then a dis- tance of eighty feet in a diredtion at right angles to this, thus bringing it down pre- cisely to the central point from which the 188 ANCIENT HISTORY.— ASSYRIA. arms extended. The whole stnicfture was thus shaped like a cross, having one arm extending from the top towards the left or west. The principal apartments were in the lower limb of the cross, where a grand hall extended almost the entire length of the limb, no less than one hundred and forty- five feet long by twenty-eight and a half feet wide, opening towards the east on a great court, paved principally with patterned slabs, and communicating with a number of smaller rooms towards the west, and through these smaller rooms with a second court, facing towards the south-west and the south. The next largest apartment was in the right or eastern arm of the cross, and was a hall one hundred and eight feet long by twenty- four feet broad, divided by a wide doorway, in which were two pillar-bases, into a square ante-ghamber twentj'-four feet each way, and an inner apartment about eighty feet long. Neither arm of the cross was thoroughlj' ex- plored, and it is not known whether they reached to the extreme edge of the eastern and western courts, dividing each into two, or whether they only extended into the courts a certain distance. Only one door- way has been discovered leading from the rest of the palace to the western rooms. A.sshur-bani-pars great palace was especi- ally remarkable for its beautiful and elabo- rate ornamentation. The courts were paved with large slabs covered with elegant pat- terns. Some of the doorwa3-s had arched tops highly adorned with ro.settes, lotuses, etc. The chambers and passages were lined throughout with alabaster slabs, which bore reliefs designed with remarkable .spirit, and executed with wonderful detail and fineness. Here were represented interesting hunting scenes, such as the wild ass, the stag, the hind, the dying wild ass, the lion about to spring, the wounded wild ass seized by hounds, the wounded lion, the lion biting a chariot-wheel, the king .shooting a lion with his arrow, the lion-hunt on a river, the king killing lions, the lion let out of a trap, the hound held in leash, the wounded lioness, the hound chasing a wild ass, the hound chasing a doe, the stag taking the water, etc. In this part of the palace were likewise illustrated the king's private life, the trees and flowers of the palace garden, the royal galley with its two banks of oars, the liba- tion over four dead lions, the temple with pillars resting on lions, and different bands of musicians. A part of the ascending pas- sage was adorned with various .scenes, such as a long train, with game, nets and dogs returning from the chase. In combination with all the sculptures just enumerated were many .scenes of sieges and battles, illustrat- ing As.shur-bani-pal's wars. Reliefs resem- bling these last were discovered by Mr. Lay- ard in certain chambers of Sennacherib's palace which had been embellished by Ass- hur-bani-pal. These reliefs were distin- guished for the large number and small size of the figures, for the varietj' and .spirit of the attitudes, and for the careful finish of all the minute details of the scenes illustrated upon them. These give us a good representation of an Assyrian battle, showing us at one view the battle, the flight and pursuit, the capture and treatment of prisoners, the gathering of the spoil and the beheading of the slain. These reliefs are now in the British Mu.seum. A.sshur-bani-pal, as already obser\'ed, made additions to Sennacherib's great palace at Nineveh, and ereefted some other build- ings at the same city, whose remains are seen on the Nebbi-Yunus mound, where have been discovered slabs inscribed with his name and an account of his wars. He also built a temple to Ishtar at Nineveh, whose ruins are seen on the Koyunjik mound, and repaired a shrine of the same goddess at Arbela. If he was the monarch called Sardanapalus by the Greeks, he was the founder of Tarsus, in Cilicia, and of the neighboring city of Anchialus, on the au- thority of some classical writers, though more reliable authors inform us that Tarsus was founded by Sennacherib. It was be- lieved generally by the Greeks that the tomb of Sardanapalus was in this vicinity. They described this tomb as a monument of some height, having a statue of the king on the top, representing him as snapping his fingers. POL J TIC A I. HIS TOR Y. 189 The stone base bore an inscription in As- sj-rian characters, which they interpreted as follows: "Sardanapalus, son of Anacyn- daraxes, built Tarsus and Anchialus in one day. Do thou, O stranger, eat, drink, and amuse thyself; for all the rest of human life is not worth so much as this" — "this" sig- nifying the sound supposed to be made by the king with his fingers. Clearchus said that the inscription was simply the following: ' ' Sardanapalus, son of Anacyndaraxes, built Tarsus and Anchiale in one day — yet now he is dead." Amyntas said that the tomb of Sardanapalus was at Nineveh, and gave a very^ different inscription. Rawlin- son thinks that the so-called tomb of Sar- danapalus was realh- the stele set up by Sennacherib on his conquest of Cilicia and founding of Tarsus, as related by Polyhistor. The Greeks seem to have known more of this monarch than of any other Assyrian king. The account given by Ctesias of the voluptuous Assyrian monarch whom he called Sardanapalus, and repeated from him by subsequent authors, does not probably refer to Asshur-bani-pal, but rather alludes to his successor, the last Assyrian king. Asshur-bani-pal, the vanquisher of Tirha- kah, the conqueror of the tribes bej^ond the Taurus, the great warrior king whom the wealthj' and prosperous Gyges, King of Lydia, sought to propitiate by means of rich presents, was so unlike the mere volup- tuary who never ventured outside the palace gates, but confined himself exclusively to the seraglio, performing woman's work and often attired in female apparel. He was one of the greatest of Assj-ria's kings. He conquered Egypt and Susiana, held Baby- lon in quiet subjecflion with the exception of the short revolt of Saiil-Mugina, extended his conquests far into Armenia, led his armies beyond the Taurus, ana subjugated the barbarous tribes of Asia Minor. During the intervals of peace he employed him.self in hunting the lion, and in the eredlion and embellishment of palaces and temples. In one re.specfl alone does A.sshur-bani-pal's chara<5ler, as disclosed to us by the monu- ments, exhibit the slightest likeness to that of the Sardanapalus of Cte.sias. Asshur- bani-pal obtained for him.self a multitude of wives. Always upon the suppression of a revolt, he required the conquered va.ssal to send to Nineveh, along with his tribute, one or more of his daughters. These princesses became inmates of his harem, or seraglio. Asshur-bani-pal's glory was well known to the Greeks. He was doubtless one of the ' ' two kings called vSardanapalus, ' ' celebrated by Hellanicus; and he must have been "the warlike Sardanapalus ' ' of Callisthenes. He- rodotus alluded to his great wealth, and Aristophanes employed his name as a by- word for magnificence. In his reign the Assj-rian Empire attained its greatest dimen- sions, Assj-rian art reached its highest point, and the Assj^rian dominion appeared likely to extend itself over the entire East. Then Assyria most fully answered the forcible de- scription given her by the Jewish prophet Ezekiel in these words: "The A.ssyrian was a cedar in Lebanon, with fair branches, and with a .shadowing shroud, and of high stat- ure; and his top was among the thick boughs. The waters made him great; the deep set him up on high with her rivers running about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field. Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth. All the fowls of the heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations. Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches; for his root was by great waters. The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him; the fir-trees were not like his boughs: and the chestnut- trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God teas like unto him in his beauty y With all their advance in civilization, their progress in art and the pradlical inven- tions, their ever-increasing literature, the As,syrians still retained the cruel and vin- dicative spirit of the most barbarous ages and I go ANCIENT HIS TOR Y.—ASS YRIA. nations in conducfling their wars. Through the whole period of their history their treat- ment of captured enemies continued to be of the most barbarous brutality, which all their advancing culture and their progi'ess in- the arts of civilized life did not tend to mitigate or soften. Sennacherib and E.sar- haddon were more merciful than their pre- decessors, frequently sparing their captives, even when rebels; but As.shur-bani-pal re- stored the old pradlice of executions, muti- lations and tortures, and was apparently the most cruel of all the Assyrian kings. On his bas-reliefs we see the unresisting enemy pierced through with the spear, the tongue torn from the mouth of the captive accused of blasphemy, the rebel king be- headed on the battle-field, and the prisoner led to execution with the head of a friend or brother hung round his neck. We see the scourgers preceding the king as his regular attendants, with their whips pa.ssed through their girdles. We observe living and dead men subjedled to the operation of flaying. We behold scenes in which the executioner is represented as first striking in the face with his fist those about to be executed. Thus we have all the e\-idence of barbarous cruelty, such as had a brutalizing influence on those who inflicfted it, and also on those who witnessed it. Nineveh was deservedly designated by the Jewish prophet Nahum as "a bloody city," or "a city of bloods;" and, in the language of the same prophet, "the lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with pre}?, and his dens with ravin." Asshur-bani-pal gloried in his vin- didlive and unsparing cruelties, transmitting the record of them to posterity by represent- ing them in all their horrors upon his palace walls. It has been generally supposed that As- shur-bani-pal died about B. C. 648 or 647, in which case his entire reign would have been a brilliant and prosperous one; but recent discoveries render it probable that he lived and reigned until B. C. 626, and that he was the Cinneladanus of the Canon of Ptolemy, who occupied the Babylonian throne from B. C. 647 to B. C. 626. Asshur- bani-pal distinclly asserts that when he sub- dued Babylon and put his brother Saiil-Mu- gina to death he became King of Babylon himself; and many tablets remain, dated by his regnal years at Babj'lon, while the epo- nyms which can be assigned to his reign are at least twenty-six or twenty-.seven. Poly- histor distindlly saj's that the successor of Sam-mughes, or Saiil-Mugina, on the Baby- lonian throne was his brother, and that he reigned twentj'-one years. Thus modem writers have identified Asshur-bani-pal with Cinneladanus, and have concluded that he reigned in all forty-two years, from B. C. 668 to B. C. 626. In this case Assyria's de- cline commenced during the later years of Asshur-bani-pal' s reign, so that during this period she was obliged to exchange her former aggressive course toward other nations for a defensive attitude to maintain her own con- tinued existence against the fierce assaults of the powerful neighboring kingdom of Media and the destrucftive inroads of the wild Scyths from the plains of Central A.sia. The centralized monarchy established in Media about B. C. 640 rapidly developed into a great military power. Setting aside the old system of separate government and village autonomy, the Medes had united themselves into a single consolidated mon- archy, and about B. C. 634, when Asshur- bani-pal had reigned over Assyria thirty- four years, these people undertook an expe- dition against Nineveh, but failed in this first attack. Phraortes, or the adlual leader of this army of invasion, was thoroughly defeated by the Assyrians, his host being cut to pieces, and himself being among the slain. Nevertheless the facfl that the Medes had assumed the offensive was a potent cause for alarm, as it illustrated a new state of affairs in Western Asia, fully demonstrating that Assyria was no longer the arbitress of the destinies of nations. Cyaxares, the next Median king, led an army against As- syria about B. C. 632, defeated the Assyrians in battle, and at once laid siege to Nineveh, but was recalled to the defense of his own country against a devastating barbarian tor- poi.rncAi. Ills TOR j : 191 rent which threatened tt> engulf the mon- archy whicli had so suddenly grown \\\> on the eastern borders of Assyria. This new danger was an irresistible inroad of the Scyths, or Scythians, from Central Asia, who swept with destrudlive force over both Media and Assyria, threatening the utter annihilation of the civilized nations of Western Asia. Herodotus and Hippocrates described the Scythians as coarse and gross in their habits, with large fleshy bodies, loose joints, soft swollen bellies and .scanty hair. They never washed themselves, only cleansing their persons with a vapor bath, their women applying to their bodies a paste which left them glossy after it had been removed. They dwelt in wagons, or in rude tents con- sisting of woolen felts arranged around three bent sticks inclined towards each other. They subsisted on mare's milk and cheese, adding at times boiled beef and horse-flesh as a delicac}'. They drank the blood of their enemies slain in battle. They cut off the heads of these dead foes, and showed them to their kings to obtain each his re- spedlive share of the spoil. They also strip- ped the scalps from the skulls and suspended them on their bridle-reins as trophies. Oc- casionally they flayed the right arms and hands of their .slain enemies, and u.sed the skins as coverings for their quivers. The upper part of the skulls were usually con- verted into drinking-cups. They spent the larger portion of each day on horseback, at- tending on the vast herds of cattle which the)- pastured. They used the bow, their favorite weapon, while riding, shooting their arrows with unerring aim. They also each carried a short spear or javelin, and .sometimes also a short sword or battle-ax. The Scythian nation embraced many sepa- rate tribes. At the head of all was a royal tribe, corresponding to the "Golden Horde" of the Mongols, surpassing in numbers and bravery anj' of the others, and considering them all as slaves. The kings ruled by he- reditary right, and their families belonged to the royal tribe. Several kings frequently ruled at the same time, but in great emer- gencies the supreme power was always vir- tually vested in one man. The Scythian religion embraced the wor- ship of the vSun and Moon, Fire, Air, Earth, Water, and a deity resembling the Greek Hercules; but the chief objetft of adoration was the naked sword. The country was divided into .sections, in each of whicli was a vast pile of l)rushwood, .serving as a tem- ple to the vicinity, and having planted at its top an antique sword or cimeter. On a .specified day of each year solemn sacrifices of human beings and animals were offered at these shrines, and the warm blood of the victims was poured upon the sword at the top. The human vicftims for sacrifice, who were captives taken in war, were hewn to pieces at the foot of the mound: their limbs were wildly tossed into the air by the votaries, and the bloody fragments were left where they had fallen. The Scythians had no priest caste, but they believed in divina- tion, the diviners comprising a distincl class vested with important powers. When the king was ill he sent for these diviners, to in- form him of the cause of his illness, which they generally ascribed to the circumstance that an individual, whom they named, had .sworn falsely by the Royal Hearth. Those accused of this offense, if found guilty by .several bodies of diviners, were beheaded in punishment, and their property was given to their original accusers. Such were the chief charatfleristics of the Scythians, as described by Herodotus, who tells us that they were the ruling race over a great part of the steppe region extending from the river Ister (now Danube) and the Carpathian mountains on the west to the eastern limits of the region embraced by niodeni Turkestan on the east. Coarse and repulsive in appearance, ferocious in temper, .savage in habits, and powerful on account of their vast numbers and a system of war- fare not eas)- to withstand, and in which thev had become expert, they could well strike consternation even into the strong and warlike Median nation. Successive hordes of Scyths swept through the passes of the Caucasus, and spread ruin and devas- 192 ANCIENT HISTORY.— ASSYRIA. tation over the rich plains to the south of them. Onward they pushed in swarms, overwhehning and irresistible, overrunning Iberia and Upper Media, reducing the rich cultivated country to a howling wilderness. They consumed the crops, carried off or de- stroyed the herds, burned the villages and homesteads, massacred or enslaved such of the inhabitants as did not escape to the lofty mountain summits or other strongholds, sparing neither age nor sex, and converted the whole countr>' into a scene of desolation. The strongly-fortified towns which resisted the invading Scyths, when not starved into submission, escaped by consenting to pay a tribute. Herodotus informs us that these barbarians were masters of all Western Asia from the Caucasus to the frontiers of Egj'pt for a period of twenty-eight years; and their ravages spread over, not only Media, but Amienia, Assyria, Mesopotamia, Syria and Palestine. The resistless tide of barbarian invasion continued to roll on, sweeping from one re- gion to another, plundering and ravaging everywhere, settling nowhere. When the savage hordes had reached Southern Pales- tine, the course of invasion was stayed by the Egyptian king, Psammetichus, who was then engaged in the siege of Ashdod. Upon hearing of the approach of the Scythian host to Ascalon, Psammetichus sent an embas.sy to their leader and bribed him by means of valuable presents to abstain from an inva- sion of Egypt. Thenceforth the power of the Scythian invaders declined, and the nations whose armies they had beaten, whose lands they had ravaged with fire and sword, began to recover themselves. Cyaxares, King of Media, and the sovereigns of other nations, drove them beyond their dominions, many of the barbarians returning across the Cau- casus to their home-land, large numbers being slain in battle or massacred, and the remainder submitting and entering the .service of the native Asian monarchs. The only vestiges of this destru(5live Scythic inroad were the names of the Armenian province thenceforth called' Sacasene and the Syrian town known thereafter as Scyth- opolis, a Greek name signifying City of the Scyths. Weakened by the severity of the Scythian attack, Assyria rapidl}^ declined from this time. The country^ had been ravaged and depopulated, the provinces had been plun- dered, many of the great towns had been pillaged, the palaces of the kings had been burned, and much of the gold and silver had been carried away. Assyria was but the shadow of her former self when the Scyth- ians retired from the country. Enfeebled and exhausted, she was ready to fall before the arms of a conqueror. Babylonia and the other provinces of the empire, from the force of habit and because they too had been exhausted by the barbarian inundation, con- tinued loyal to Ass3-ria to the very last. Thus Asshur-bani-pal ruled over an extens- ive empire to the end of his life. But Asshur-bani-pal died B. C. 626, after a reign of forty-two years, and was succeeded by his son, Asshur-Emid-ilin, called Sara- cus by Abydenus. He was the last Assyr- ian king, and reigned but one year. We have very few native records of this mon- arch, and the only classical notices concern- ing him are the account given of him by Ctesias, and a few sentences in the writings of Abj'denus and Polj'histor. A few legends on bricks inform us that he began the erec- tion of a palace at Calah, whose remains are now seen at the south-east part of the Nimrud mound. The contrast between this unfinished edifice and those grand royal residences of former Assyrian kings clearly exhibited the waning glorj- of the mighty monarchy which had swaj-ed the destinies of Western Asia for nearl}- seven centuries. Instead of the alabaster bas-reliefs which embellished the palaces of the predecessors of this last Assyrian monarch, his edifice was adonied with nothing better than coarse limestone slabs without sculptures or inscrip- tions; and in place of the enameled bricks of elegant patterns which ornamented the magnificent structures of Sargon, vSenna- cherib and Asshur-bani-pal, we find in this building a simple plaster above the slabs. POLITIC. 1 1. HIS TOR V. 193 A series of small chambers, none of which was over forU'-five feet long, nor more than twenty-five feet in its greatest width, was sufficient for the last Assyrian sovereign, whose diminished court could not now have filled the spacious halls of his predecessors. The Nimrud palace of Asshur-emid-ilin, or Saracus, appears to have occupied less than half the space covered by any other palace upon the mound. The decline of taste is clearly demonstrated by its lack of grand facades or magnificent gateways, its small and inconvenient rooms, running in suites which communicated with one another without any entrances from courts or pas- sages, composed of sun-dried bricks faced with limestone and plaster, and roughl}^ paved with limestone flags. The mere facfl that Saracus should have entertained the thought of making his residence in a struc- ture of so poor and mean a characfter is the most convincing evidence of Ass3'ria's de- cadence and degeneracy on the eve of her overthrow. The rude condition of this palace, and its entire want of elegant orna- mentation, is to be partially accounted for by the circumstance that Saracus perished, along with his capital and his empire, before he had time to complete the edifice. While this building was undergoing erec- tion Saracus held his court at Nineveh, where he prepared to defend himself against the enemy who, taking advantage of his powerless condition, lost no time in pressing forward the conquest of his rapidly-decay- ing and declining empire. The Medes, fa- vored by nature in their land of rocky hills and inaccessible mountain chains, did not suffer as much from the ravages of the Scyths as did the Assyrians in their defense- less plains; and they were the first of the nations exposed to the barbarian inundation to recover from its destrucftive effects. Hav- ing repulsed the Scyths and expelled them from his country, Cyaxares, the warlike monarch who founded the great Median Empire, led a large anny into Ass>ria from the east; while his allies, the Susianians, en- tered the country in force from the south. To defend his countrv against this double invasion, Saracus, the last of the great dy- nasty founded by Sargon, divided his forces, retaining a portion under his own command to oppose the Medes, while he assigned the other part to his general, Nabopola.ssar, whom he ordered to Babylon to check the advance of the Su.sianians. But Nabopo- lassar, .seeing his own opportunity in his sovereign's perilous dilemma, turned traitor, and, instead of fighting loyally against the foes of Assyria, he entered into .secret nego- tiations with Cj'axares, agreeing to an alli- ance with him against the Assyrians, and ob- taining the daughter of the Median king as a bride for his eldest son, Nebuchadnezzar. Uniting their forces, Cyaxares and Nabopo- lassar jointly attacked Nineveh; whereupon Saracus, or Asshur-emid-ilin, unable to de- fend his capital, and overcome by despair, .set fire to his palace and perished in the flames. The once-proud city of Nineveh was plundered and destroyed by the con- quering Medes and their allies. The account of the downfall of As.syria as related by Ctesias is so fanciful that it is utterl}- discarded by the best modem histo- rians. He says that the Medes were accompa- nied by the Persians, and the Babylonians by some Arab allies, and that the a.ssailing army numbered four hundred thousand men. In the first engagement the Assyrians were victorious, and the attacking army was driven to the Zagros mountains. A second and a third attack likewise failed. The tide of battle turned in favor of the assailants upon the arrival of a strong reenforcement from Badlria, when a night attack upon the Assyrian camp was crowned with complete success. The Assyrian king sought refuge in his capital, leaving his army under the command of his brother-in-law, Sala;menes, who was soon defeated and slain. The siege of Nine\-eh then began, and lasted over two years without any result. An unusually wet sea.son in the third year of the siege caused an extraordinary rise in the Tigris, destroA'ing more than two miles of the city wall; whereupon the king, who had been told b)' an oracle to fear nothing luitil the river became his enemy, yielding to despair, 194 ANCIENT HISTOR } '.—ASSYRIA. made a funeral pile of all his richest furni- ture, and burnt himself with his concubines and his eunuchs in his palace. The Medes and their allies thereupon entering the city on the side laid open by the flood, phnidered and destroyed it. This description of the last siege of Nineveh, as related by Ctesias, has been transmitted to posterity through the WINGED MAN-HEADED BULI.. Now in British Museum. writings of Diodorus Siculus, and, like most of his statements, is unworthy of credit. Thus fell the mighty Assj'rian Empire, not so much from any inherent weakness as by an unfortunate combination of circum- stances — the invasion of the powerful and warlike Medes when the empire had been exhausted by the terrible inroad of the Scyths, and the treason and perfid}' of its leading general. With the destru(5lion of the empire the A.ssyrian race sank into ob- livion, and Assyrian history ceased forever. Assyria upon its downfall was divided be- tween its conquerors, the portion east of the Tigris falling to Media, and the part west of the river being absorbed by Babylonia. By the successive changes in this part of Asia, the countn,' has continually changed niasters, being successivelj- under the Medo- Persian, Grseco-Macedonian, Syrian, Par- thian, New Persian, Saracen, Seljuk, Mon- gol, and for the last five centuries under the Ottoman Turkish, dominion. The country now forms part of the Turkish province of Kurdistan, and the half-savage modern Kurds are the diredl descendants of the renowned ancient Assyrians. The palaces in which Sargon, Sennacherib, Esar- haddon and Asshur-bani-pal dwelt in lux- ury- and splendor, after lying imbedded be- neath the mounds and ruins of twenty-five' centuries, have in our day, thanks to the enterprise and diligence of patient explorers like Layard and Botta, been brought out of their long concealment to the light of the modern world; and many wonderful sculp- tures from the great cities of ancient As- syria now adorn the museums of London, Paris and Berlin. The great cities of As- shur, Calah, Dur-Sargina and Nineveh, with their magnificent royal residences, their busy shops and fadlories teeming with the producfts of industry, their crowded thorough- fares in which vidlorious warrior-kings were greeted with the applause of their sub- je<5ts and the triumphant .shouts of their stalwart and invincible soldiery, now exist only in the records and memory of their past glory and greatness, and in the ruins on the mounds of Kileh-Sherghat, Nimrud, Khorsabad and Koyunjik, only tenanted by the wandering Kurds watching their herds WINGED MAN-HEADED LION. Now in British Museum. and flocks, and resounding with the jackal's howl after the sun in its daily course has sunk to rest beneath the western horizon. The independent kingdom of Assyria lasted about a thousand years, but the em- pire covered a little less than the last seven centuries of this period, from B. C. 1300 to B. C. 625, when it fell before the arms of the Medes, or more properly onl>- about five centuries, from B. C. 11 50. The power and. extent of the empire culminated during the brilliant reign of Asshur-bani-pal, just be- fore its rapid decline and sudden fall. THE DI'ATH OF SARACUS. POL I TICAL HIS TOR } : 195 KINGS OF ASSYRIA. B. C. B. C. About 1440 to 1420. " 1420 to I4 which connects them with the time of Purna-puriyas, the Chaldiean king. .'isshur-upallit mentioned on Kileh-Shcrghat bricks. Names and succession found on i Kileh-Sherghat bricks, vases, etc. Shalmaneser I. mentioned also on a genealogical slab and in the standard inscription of Nimrud. Mentioned on a genealogical tablet. Called "the conqueror of Babylon," and placed by Sennacherib 600 years before his own capture of Babylonia in B. C. 703. Mentioned on the synchronistic tablet as the predecessor of Nin-pala-zira. Names and relationship given in cylinder of Tiglath-Pileser I. \ Mentioned on the synchronistic tab- ' let above spoken of. Date of I 1 Tiglath-Pileser I. fixed by the f ) Bavian inscription. Dates of the I other kings calculated from his at twenty years to a generation. Mentioned in an inscription of Shal- maneser II. The kings from .\sshur-dayan II. to Vul-lush III. are proved to have been in direcl; succession by the Kileh-Sherghat and Nimrud monu- ments. The last nine reigns are given in the Assyrian Canon. The Canon is the sole authority for the last three. The dates of the whole series are determined from the Canon of Ptolemy by calculating back from B. C. 680, his date for the accession of Esar-haddon (Asaridanus). They might also be / fixed from the year of the great / eclipse. 2 > w s ■a n The years of these kings, from Esar- haddon upwards, are taken from the Assyrian Canon. The dates accord strictly with the Canon of Ptolemy. The last year of Asshur- bani-pal is to some extent conjec- tural. 196 ANCIENT HISTORY.— ASSYRIA. SECTION IV.— ASSYRIAN CIVILIZATION. llAYS Professor Rawlinson: "The nature of the dominion estabhshed by the great Meso- potamian monarch}' o\-er the countries inchided within the limits above indicated, will perhaps be best understood if we compare it with the empire of Solomon. Solomon 'reigned over all the kingdoms from the ri\-er (Euphrates) unto the land of the Philistines and unto the border ofEgj'pt: they broiiglil presents and served Solomon all the days of his life. ' The first and most striking feature of the earliest em- pires is that they are a mere congeries of kingdoms; the countries over which the dominant state acquires an influence, not only retain their distindl individuality, as is the case in some modern empires, but re- main in all respe(5ls such as thej' were before, with the simple addition of certain obliga- tions contradled towards the paramount au- thority. They keep their old laws, their old religion, their line of kings, their law of succession, their whole internal organization and machiner}'; they only acknowledge an external suzerainty which binds them to the performance of certain duties towards the Head of the Empire. These duties, as un- derstood in the earliest times, may be summed up in the two words ' homage ' and 'tribute;' the subjecft kings 'serve' and 'bring presents.' They are bound to acfts of sulamission; must attend the court of their suzerain when summoned, unless they have a reasonable excu.se; must there salute him as a superior, and otherwise acknowledge his rank; abo\-e all, they must pay him reg- vilarl)' the fixed tribute which has been im- posed upon them at the time of their sub- mission or .subjecftion, the unauthorized with- holding of which is open and avowed rebell- ion. Finally, the)' must allow his troops free passage through their dominions, and must oppose any attempt at invasion by way of their country on the part of his enemies. Such are the earliest and most es.sential obli- gations on the part of the subjecl states in an empire of the primitive type, like that of Assj'ria; and these obligations, with the cor- responding one on the part of the dominant power of the prote6lion of its dependents against foreign foes, appear to have consti- tuted the sole links which joined together in one the heterogeneous materials of which that empire consisted. * * * "Such, in its broad and general outlines, was the empire of the Assyrians. It em- bodied the earliest, simplest and most crude conception which the human mind forms of a widely extended dominion. It was a 'kingdom-empire,' like the empires of Solo- mon, of Nebuchadnezzar, of Chedor-laomer, and probabl)' of Cyaxares, and is the best specimen of its class, being the largest, the longest in duration, and the best known of of all such governments that has existed. It exhibits in a marked way both the strength and weakness of this class of monarchies — their strength in the extraordinary mag- nificence, grandeur, wealth, and refine- ment of the capital ; their weakness in the impoverishment, the exhau.stion, and the consequent dLsaffeetion of the subjecft states. Ever falling to pieces, it was perpetually re- constru(fled bj' the genius and prowess of a long succession of warrior princes, seconded by the skill and bravery of the people. For- tunate in having for a long time no very powerful neighbors, it found little difficult)' in extending itself throughout regions di- vided and subdivided among hundreds of petty chiefs, incapable of union, and singly quite unable to contend with the forces of a large and populous countn,'. Frequently endangered by revolts, yet always triumph- ing over them, it maintained itself for five centuries, gradually advancing its influence, and was only overthrown after a fierce strug- gle by a new kingdom formed upon its bor- ders, which, taking advantage of a time of exhaustion, and leagued with the most pow- erful of the subjetl states, was enabled to accomplish the destrucftion of the long-domi- nant people. ' ' CJ17L/ZA nOiV. 197 As in the case of the Chaldaeans, it was formerly a subjecl of dispute as to what branch of the Caucasian race the Assyrians belonged; but it has now been definitely de- termined b>- the evidence of language, as well as the testimony of the Hebrew ac- counts, that the Chaldseans were mainly a Hamitic, or Cushite race, fused slightly with Semitic, Aryan and Turanian elements; while the Assyrians are found to have been pure Semites, and therefore a kindred people with the Hebrews, or Israelites, the Arabs, the Syrians, or Aramaeans, and the Phcenicians. The Mosaic genealogies connedted Asshur with Aram, Eber and Joktan, the progeni- tors respedlively of the Aramaeans, or Syrians, the Israelites, or Hebrews, and the Northern, or Joktanian, Arabs. The languages, pln^s- ical types and moral characteristics of these races were well known, as they all belonged to a single family — to what ethnologists and philologists call the Semitic family. The manners and customs, particularh' the re- ligious customs, of the Assyrians were iden- tical with tho.se of the Syrians and Phoe- nicians. The modem Chaldaeans of Kur- distan, who consider themselves descendants of the ancient inhabitants of the neighbor- ing Assyria, still speak a Semitic dialect — a fadl discovered and reported bj' the elder Niebuhr, and confirmed by Mr. Ainsworth. These three circumstances are sufficient evidence that the Assyrians were Semites, being closely allied in race with the Sj'rians, the Later Babylonians, the Phoenicians, the Israelites and the Northern Arabs ; and recent linguistic discoveries have fully con- firmed this view. We now have in the en- gra^•ed slabs, the clay tablets, the cylinders and the bricks, excavated from the ruins of the great Assyrian cities, abundant docu- mentarj" testimony of the character of the Assyrian language, and of the ethnic char- adler of the people. All who have examined this evidence have arrived at the conclusion that the language of these records is Semi- tic, and that it is closely connected with the Hebrew, the Syriac, the Later Babj'loniau and the Arabic. The physical characteristics of the Assyr- ians, as disclosed to us by their sculptures, also confirm this view. Their sculptured effigies bear the most striking resemblance to the Jewish physiognomy. The low and straight forehead, the full brow, the large and almond-shaped eye, the aquiline nose a little coar-se at the end and unduly depressed, the strong and firm mouth with over-thick lips, the well-fomied chin — best observed in the representation of eunuchs — the thick hair and heavy beard, both of black color — all these, as exhibited by the Assyrian sculptures, display a remarkable likeness to the striking peculiarities of the Jewish head and face, and also bear somewhat of a re- semblance to the ph}-siognomy of the Arabs, and to all branches of the Semitic race. These traits are now common to the Jew, the Arab and the Kurd, while in ancient times they characterized the Assyrians, Syr- ians, Phoenicians, Hebrews and the minor Semitic nations. The Egyptian sculptures of Amunoph III., as representing the Pa- tena, or people of Bashan; the Asuru, or As- syrians; and the Karukamishi, or people of Carchemish, show us the same type of physi- ognom)-, which the Egyptians regarded as common to all the nations of Western Asia. In shape the Assyrians are most truly repre- sented by their descendants, the modern Chaldaeans of Kurdistan. Like the modern Kurd, the Assyrian was robust and stalwart in bodily frame, with broad shoulders and large limbs. The monuments of no other people show us so strong a race in muscular development as the ancient Assyrian. The large brawny limbs of this resolute and sturdy people, whom Rawlinson fitly calls "the Romans of Asia, " indicate a physical power belonging to no other nation. The mental and moral characteristics of the Jews and the Assyrians also bore the clo.sest analogy. In each the religious sen- timent was peculiarly predominant. The inscriptions of Assj-rian kings begin and end with praises, invocations and prayers to their chief deities. All the king's victories and conquests, his successful feats in the chase of the lion and the wild bull, are as- cribed to the protection and favor of the 198 ANCIENT HISTORY.— ASSYRIA. gods. Thus Tiglath-Pileser 1. says in his cyhnder: "Under the auspices of Ninip, my guardian deity, I killed four wild bulls strong and fierce; ' ' and ' ' lender the auspices of Ninip, one hundred and twenty lions fell before me. " One of A.sshur-bani-pal's sculptured in.scriptions says: "I, Asshur- bani-pal, king of the nations, king of As- syria, in my great courage fighting on foot with a lion, terrible for his size, seized him by the ear, and in the name of Asshur and Ishtar, Goddess of War, with the spear that was in my hand I terminated his life." Wherever the Assyrian monarch led his conquering hosts, he "set up the emblems of Asshur," or of "the great gods;" and compelled the vanquished to render them homage. The most precious of the spoils of conquest were dedicated as thank-offerings in the temples. The temples themselves were adorned, repaired, beautified, enlarged and multiplied numerically by most of the Assyrian sovereigns. The kings worshiped in these temples in person and offered sacri- fices. They embelli.shed their palaces with religious figures, such as emblems of chief deities and illustrations of a(5ls of adoration, as well as with representations of their vic- tories in war and their exploits in hunting. Their signets, and tho.se of the Assj-rians generally, are religious in characfler. In every respecft religion occupies an important place among the Assyrians, who fight more for the honor of their gods than for their king, and aspire as nuich toward extending their religion as their dominion. As in the Jewish religion, we perceive in the Assyrian SN'stem a .sensuousness con- tending with a higher and purer element, which in this case reigns uncontrolled, giv- ing a gross, material and voluptuous char- adler to its religion. This pra(5lical people cared ver>- little for the spiritual and the ideal, and, not being satisfied with symbols, made idols, or images, of wood and stone to represent their gods; and their intricate mythological .system, with its priestly hie- rarchy, its magnificent ceremonial and las- civious ceremonies, resembled that of Egj'pt, and thus differed from that of the Jews. The Hebrew Scriptures represent the As- syrians as "a fierce people." Their per- sonal valor and courage, and their skill and superiority over all other nations in the art of war, gave them their vidlories over their less-civilized neighbors and enemies. The valor and courage of the Assyrians, like that of the Romans, was kept up by constant wars, and by the cultivation of their manly charadleristics, developed in the pursuit and .slaying of ferocious beasts. The lion and other fierce and dangerous animals infested Assyria; and, unlike other Asiatics, who tremble with fear before the great beasts of prey and avoid an encounter with them by flight if pos.sible, the ancient Assyrians hunted the strongest, and fiercest animals, provoked them to a collision and engaged with them in close combat. The spirit of Nimrod, "the mighty hunter before the Lord," which animated his own people, the Chaldseans, inspired to even a greater extent their northern neighliors, the A.s.syrians, ac- cording to the evidence afforded us by the monuments. The Ass^-rians, from the sov- ereign to the lowest subject, delighted es- pecially in hunting the lion and the wild bull, noted for their .strength and courage, and to attack either of which was to incur extreme peril. The Assyrians were not only a brave and hardy people, but also verj- fierce and fero- cious in their nature. In the language of the Hebrew prophet Isaiah, the Assyrian nation was "a mighty and a strong one, which, as a tempest of hail and a destroy- ing storm, as a flood of mighty waters o\'er- flowing, cast down to the earth with the hand." The Lsraelitish prophet Nahum could well describe Nineveh as "a bloody city," or "a city of bloods." In this fierce dispo.sition the Assyrians were not unlike other conquering races, few of which have been tender-hearted, or inclined to spare a vanquished foe. Carnage, ruin and desola- lation marked the course of an Assyrian army, and excited feelings of fear and ani- mosity among their enemies. Assyrian fierceness was, howe\-er, often tempered with clemency. The slain foe was nuitilated CIVILIZATION, 199 not by way of insult, hut as a proof of the slayer's prowess, perhaps to obtain a reward given for heads, as has frequently been the case with Orientals. Scribes are often rep- resented on the sculptures taking an account of the heads cut ofif. Otherwise the Ass3-r- ians had no actually cruel customs. Thej' readily gave quarter when asked for, and chose rather to take prisoners than to mas- sacre. They were ven' terrible foes to en- counter in battle and to withstand in an attack, but in the hour of triumph they forgave and spared the fallen foe. The ex- ceptions to this general clemency were in the cases of the .subjugation of rebellious towns, wherein the most guilty of the rebell- ion were impaled on stakes, and in several instances prisoners are represented on the sculptures as being led before the king by a rope fastened to a ring passing through the under lip, while occasionally one appears as being flayed with a knife. But usually cap- tives were either released, or transferred, without unnecessar>- suffering, from their own country^ to another part of the Assj-rian Empire; there being some exceptional cases, where the captives were urged onwards by blows, like tired cattle, and where they were heavily fettered. Captive women were never manacled, but were treated with real tenderness, being frequently permitted to ride on mules or in carts. The greatest \-ice of the Assyrians seems to have been their treachery. Saj-s the Hebrew prophet Isaiah : ' ' Woe to thee that spoilest, though thon wast not spoiled, and dealest treacherously, though they dealt not treach- erously with thee!" The prophet Nahum declared Nineveh to be "full of lies and rob- bery." Isaiah further declared, in alluding to the Ass3'rian king: " He hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he re- gardeth no man." But the denunciations of the Assyrians for cruelty- or treachery by Jewish prophets and writers would carry more weight if the Hebrew hi.story did not alx)und with tales of barbarous cruelty, bloodshed, treachery and crime. Another failing in the characfter of the Assyrians was their pride, which is especi- ally denounced in the Hebrew Scriptures, where it is expressly declared to have called forth the Divine judgments upon the nation. Says the pnii)het ICzekiel: "Because thou hast lifted uji thyself in height, and he hath shot his to]) among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height; I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal with him; I have driven him out for his wickedness. ' ' The prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel and Zephaniah alike denounce Assyrian pride. This characteristic everj^where per- vades the Assyrian inscriptions. The As- syrians considered themselves greatly supe- rior to all other nations. They alone were favored by the gods. They only were really wise or acftually brave. The armed hosts of their foes were chased before thera like chaff before the wind. Their enemies were afraid to fight, or were at once defeated with ease. They carried their arms in triumph wherever they pleased, and never acknowl- edged that they had experienced a reverse. The only merit that they admitted other people to possess was some skill in the me- chanical and mimetic arts, and this ac- knowledgment was only tacitly made bj- employing foreign artists to ornament their edifices. The Greek accounts as gi\en by Ctesias, and transmitted therefrom to the E.omans and through them to the modems, repre- sented luxurious living and sensuality as the predominant \-ice of Assyrian monarchs, from Ninyas to Sardanapalns, from the ori- gin to the overthrow of the Assyrian Em- pire. The entire race of Assyrian sovereigns are thus represented as voluptuaries, who car- ried into practice the principle that human happiness consisted in freedom from all cares or troubles, and in unrestrained indulgence in every kind of sensual pleasure. This ac- count is directly contradicted by the au- thentic records which the Assyrian monu- ments and sculptures funiish us conceniing the warlike character and manly pursuits of so large a number of the monarchs. Never- theless in .so flourishing a monarchy as As- syria luxury did gradually advance; and ANCIENT HIS TOR ) '.—ASS } 'RIA. when the Empire fell before the combined attack of two powerful neighboring king- doms, it had lost much of its old-time vigor. There is only one passage in the Old Testa- ment ascribing luxury and sensuality as a cause of the downfall of Assyria. The usual faults for which Jewish prophets gen- erally denounced the Assyrians are their violence, treachery and pride. When Nin- eveh repented in Jonah's time it was by each man having ' ' turned from his e\'il way and from the violence which was in their hands." When Nahum announced the final over- throw, it was "the bloody city, full of lies and robbery." In the figurative language of the prophet, the lion was selected as the s}-mbol of Assyria, even at the close of her histon,-. Thus Assyria is still repre- sented as ' ' the lion that did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with ravin." The chosen national emblem of Assyria is thus accepted as the true type of her people ; and blood, ra\-in and robbery are the Assyrian qualities in the view of the Jewi.sh prophet. The Assyrians were among the foremost Asiatic nations in mental power. Though they derived the elements of their civiliza- tion originally from their mother countrj-, Chaldcea, they excelled their instructors in many particulars, and rendered the old arts more valuable by continual improvements. Their language, arts and government attest their native genius, and are advances upon what had previously prevailed in Mesopo- tamia and in the world. The Assyrians were the superiors of the highly-lauded Eg>'ptians in many essential particulars. The progressive characfter and .spirit of As- syrian art contrasts most strongly with the stiff, lifeless and fixed conventionalism of the Egyptian. The Assyrian language and alphabet are an advance upon the Egyptian. The A.s.syrian religion is more earnest and less degraded than that of the Nile land. The courage and military genius of the As- syrians were also superior to the same (_|uali- ties in the Egyptians, who were on the whole an uu warlike nation. But in the grandeur and durability of her architecfture Egypt sur- passed Assyria. The Assj-rian palaces, with all their splendor, were inferior to the colos- sal stru(ftures of Thebes. Neither Assyria, Rome or any other nation, has rivaled Egypt in the vastness and the solemn grand- eur of its edifices. But with this solitary exception, the great kingdom of Africa was decidedly the inferior of her powerful Asia- tic rival, which was truly described by the Hebrew prophet Ezekiel as "a cedar in Leb- anon, exalted above all the trees of the field — fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches — so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him — and not one was like unto him in his beauty." The material and phy.sical vigor of the As-sj^rians outran their intellecflual pro- gress and development. The elements of their science and literature, their cuneiform writing, their architedture and other arts, they brqught with them from their mother country, Chaldaea. Even the Hamitic, or Cushite, dialedt of the Chaldees became the language of the Assyrian priests and scholars, and in this dead language were preser\'ed the records of the old Chal- daean kingdom and the early history of the Assyrian monarchy. It was not until the culminating period of Assyrian greatness and glor\-, during the brilliant reign of Asshur-bani-pal, just before the rapid decaj' and decline of Assyrian power, that the works written in the Chaldee classic tongue were translated into the Assyrian vernacular. The Assyrian race manifested its greatness in art and manufacflures, and not in science and literature. As we have before noticed, the same sys- tem of cuneiform, or wedge-.shaped, charac- ters used in Chaldisan writing was employed in the written language of Assyria. The mounds of Assyria and Mesopotamia have yielded a mass of documents in the A.ssyr- ian language. Some of these are .stone slabs bearing long historic in.scriptions with which the walls of palaces were paneled, and which are wonderfully pre- served to- this day. Other memorials are the hollow cylinders, or, more properly, civn.rzATiox. 20 1 hexagonal or octagonal prisms, made of ex- tremely thin terra-colta, and which the As- syrian kings inscribed with the records of their acftions and with many religious invo- cations, and deposited at the corners of c ^Tii ^T ^^ a^ ^ y »--rf >£^ ^^^T 1- >ni ^ |^^H ^1^ ^ T^ :=:i^ I: SLAB WITH CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTION. Now in British Museum. -13.-U. H. temples. These cylinders are from a half yard to a yard high, and the inscriptions covering the outside face are arranged in columns, one of which occupies each side, reading from top to bottom. This writing — . was so wonderfully fine as to often require a good niagnifying-glass to decipher it. The cyl- inder of Tiglath-Pileser I. contains thirty lines in a space of six inches, or five lines to an inch, which is almost as close as the type of this book. The cylinder of Asshur- bani-pal has six lines to the inch. The durabili- ty of these cylinders is attested by the fact that many of them still re- main, and give us most of our knowledge of the annals of this great peo- ple, as recorded by them- selves twentj'-five and thirt}' centuries ago. Besides slabs and cj-1- inders, the written rec- ords of AssjTia were in- scribed upon the stone bulls and lions, stone obelisks, engraved seals, bricks and clay tablets. Both the sun-dried and kiln-burned bricks are stamped with legends, to preser\-e them from the two great dangers of flood and fire, to which Assyria was sub- ject:. Fire would only harden the sun-dried bricks, and water could not affedl those burned in kilns. The clay tab- lets are numerous, and of sizes varying from nine by six and a half inches, to an inch and a 202 ANCIEXT HISrORY.— ASSYRIA. half by an inch. In some cases they are wholly co\-ered with writing, while in other instances a portion of their surface is stamped with seals, mythological emblems, etc. Thousands of these talilets have been found, many being historical, many mytho- logical, some linguistic, .some geographic, some astronomical. Such are the treasures of Assyrian literature. The few stone obelisks are in a fragmen- tary condition, the only perfe- high relief, was to the Greeks, what painting has been to modern European nations since the time of Ciniabue, that low relief was to the Assyrians — the practical mode in which artistic power found vent among them. They used it for almost everj' pui-pose to which mimetic art is applicable ; to express their religious feelings and ideas, to glorifj- their kings, to hand down to pos- teritj' the nation's historj' and its deeds of prowess, to depicft home scenes and domestic occupations, to represent landscape and arch- itecture, to imitate animal and vegetable forms, even to illustrate the mechanical methods which the\- employed in the con- stru(ftion of those vast architedtural works of which the reliefs were the principal orna- mentation. It is not too much to say that we know the Assyrians, not merely artisti- cally, but historicalh- and ethnologically, chiefly through their bas-reliefs, which seem to represent to us almost the entire life of the people." The bas-reliefs were sculptured on stone slabs, which were set in the lower part of the walls of the palaces which they adorned. These reliefs were of five different classes — I. War scenes, such as battles, sieges, devas- tations of an enemy's country, naval expedi- tions and triumphant returns from foreign wars, with the trophies and fruits of vic- torj'i 2. Religious scenes, mythical and real; 3. Processions, mosth' of tribute-bearers, carrying the products of their respecftive countries to the Assyrian king; 4. Hunting and sporting scenes, such as the cha.se of fe- rocious animals, and of animals hunted for food, the spreading of nets, the shooting of birds, etc.; 5. Scenes of even,-day life, such as the transportation and erection of colos- sal bulls, and landscapes, temples, interiors, gardens, etc. Assyrian mimetic art is in the form of statues, bas-reliefs, metal castings, ivory car\-ings, clay statuettes, brick enamelings, and intaglios on stones and gems. Assyrian statues are rare and imperfedt. The best specimens are two royal statues now in the British Museum; also two statues of the god Nebo, one of the goddess Ishtar, and one of Sargon — all of \\hich are now also in the British Museum. The A.s.s^-rian claj- stat- uettes, mostU' images of deities, possess even less artistic excellence than the statues. Small animal figures, mostly dogs and ducks, in terra-cotta, have likewi.se been di.scovered. In painting, as well as in sculpture, the Assyrians made great progress, and many of the drawings on the prominent sculptures are elegant. Even,thing indicates a taste for display. In architeiftural designs, and in the grouping of flowers and animals for the purpo.ses of embellishment, great rich- ness and variety of fancy are exhibited. The dresses of the kings display gorgeous robes, elegantly' and profusely embroidered, fringed and tasseled. Sandals made of wood or leather were u.sed for the feet, while caps and tiaras of silk were worn on the head. Many articles of furniture likewise displayed great elegance . Tables constructed of wood or metal, inlaid with ivorj' and having legs gracefully- canned, were in the dwellings of the wealthy. Elegant baskets seem to have been in use. Ornaments, such as tassels, fringes, necklaces, armlets, brace- lets, anklets, ear-rings of various forms and elegant workmanship, clasps, etc., were worn in profusion. There were drinking-cups of gold and sih-er. E\'er>-where was manifested a love of elaborate and gaudy decoration. The excavations within the last half cen- tury at Khonsabad, Koyunjik, Nimrud and Kileh-Sherghat have revealed to us the fadl that truly did Assyria rank next to Egypt in monumental grandeur. The remains of A.ssyrian art and architecture exhumed from these mounds give a very considerable knowledge of their stupendous palaces in the days of their splendor and glor\-. We can, by looking at the remains of the .sculp- 204 ANCIENT HISTORY.— ASS YRIA. tared and painted walls of their vast edifices, read the records of Assyria — its battles, its sieges, its conquests and its triumphs. We see around the colossal images of the As- sj-rian gods, by which, in monstrous yet striking emblems, the Assyrians endeavored to express their conceptions of divinity. We are here introduced to the semblances of monarchs who flourished from twenty-five to thirty centuries ago. We .see these in their costumes of state, in all the pomp and circumstance of war, in the pursuit of the chase, and in the solemn ceremonials of re- ligion. We are also enabled from these sculptures to inform ourselves "of many of the domestic customs of the Assyrians, of their household furniture, their mechanical tools and implements, their methods of agri- culture, the crops of the husbandman, and in facft, the occupations and amusements of this renowned Asiatic people in the days of their preeminence. lyayard and Botta, the fortunate discov- erers of the.se famous ruins, ha\-e given us glowing descriptions of the ma.s.sive dimen- .sions, the magnificence and grandeur, of the Assyrian palaces, whose ruins they uncov- ered from the Khorsabad, Koyunjik and Nimrud mounds. The stranger who visited these splendid palaces in the flourishing pe- riods of the Assyrian Kmpire was ushered in through the portal, guarded by colossal winged man-headed lions and bulls of white alabaster. In the first hall he saw all around him the sculptured records of the empire — battles, sieges, triumphs, hunting exploits, religious ceremonies — all portrayed on the palace walls, sculptured in alabaster, and painted in gorgeous colors. Under each picture he saw engraved, in characflers filled up with bright copper, in.scriptions descrip- tive of the .scenes thus illustrated. Above the sculptures he ob,ser\'ed paint- ings representing other events — the As.sj-rian king, attended by his eunuchs and his war- riors, receiving his captives, negotiating alliances with other monarchs, or perform- ing some sacred duty; these representations being surrounded by colored Ijorders, of elaborate and elegant designs. He saw the emljlematic tree, also winged man-headed bulls and lions, occupN-ing conspicuous places among the ornaments. At the upper end of the hall was a gigantic figure of the king, in adoration before Asshur, ' ' the Great IvOrd," or receiving from his eunuch the holy cup. He was attended by warriors bearing his arms, and by the priests, or pre- siding divinities. His robes and those of his followers were adorned with groups of figures, animals and flowers, all painted with brilliant colors. The visitor trod upon alabaster slabs, each bearing an inscription, recording the titles, the genealogy and the achievements of the Great King. Several doorways, guarded by gigantic winged man-headed lions and bulls, or by the figures of guardian deities, led into other apartments, which likewise opened into more remote halls. In each of these apartments and halls were sculptures. On the walls of some were processions of colos- sal figures — armed men and eunuchs follow- ing the king, or warriors laden w-ith spoil, conducfting captives or bearing presents and offerings to the gods. On the walls of others ! were portrayed the winged priests, or pre- .siding divinities, standing before the sacred trees. The ceilings abo\-e the visitor were divided into square compartments, painted with flowers or wdtli figures of animals. Some were inlaid with ivor}-, each compartment being surrounded with elegant liorders and mouldings. The beams, as well as the sides of the chambers, may have been gilded, or even plated with gold and silver; and the most highly prized species of wood, promi- nent among which was the cedar, were used in the wood-work. The palaces were lighted from the roofs, which were of wood, the light being admitted through square open- ings into the ceilings of the chambers. A pleasing light was thus cast over the sculp- tured walls, and gave a majestic expression to the human features of the colossal figures guarding the entrances. The azure hue of the eastern sky was seen through these apertures, which were enclosed in frames, whereon were painted in vivid colors the CIMI.IZATION. 205 winged circle, in the midst of elegant orna- ments and the graceful figures of ideal animals. These vast edifices were the great Assyr- ian monuments, upon whose walls were represented in sculpture, or inscribed in cuneiform characflers, the chronicles of the Assyrian Empire. The \-isitor who en- tered these splendid stru(5tures might here read the annals and learn all about the glorj- and triumphs of this great people. These memorials ser\'ed also to constantly remind those who assembled within the palace on festive occasions, or for cele- brating religious ceremonies, of the deeds and prowess of their ancestors, and the power and majesty of the Assyrian gods. The palaces seem to have been of one story, but of vast extent. Under the floor of each room was a drain, consisting of a clay pipe. No traces of the dwellings of the common people remain. The sculptures inform us that the Assyrians used the arch in building. Assyrian pillars in the temples and palaces rested on circular or globular bases, or on animal figures. The temple towers, or zig- gurats, were eredted in the form of steps or stages around their four sides, thus gradu- ally becoming narrower at the top. Such were the royal residences of Assyria — each of which was at the same time a temple and a palace — the dwelling of him who was at once the sovereign, the priest and the prophet of his people. The Assyrian ruins exhibit no tombs like those of Egypt, whose painted interiors, protedled from the ravages of the elements, have transmitted to succeeding ages the thoughts, feelings and opinions of their ancient builders. All that remains of As- .syrian architecture are .scattered bricks, usu- ally marked with inscriptions and with sculptures and reliefs. The most interesting and valuable are the stone slabs facing the inside walls of the temples. The Assyrian strudlures were generally built of brick, which was preferred as a building material, although stone was abundant in the country-. The temples constructed of .stone have partly remained, though buried in heaps of rubbish for twenty-five centuries. Marble, alabaster and basalt were u.sed in the palaces. The ancient Ass>-rian edifices, like the palaces, had no windows, but were lighted through their wooden roofs. So thoroughly was Nineveh destroj'ed that when Xenophon, about two hundred and twentj'-five years afterward, passed over its ruins the verj' name of the place was un- known to the inhabitants; and in the time of Alexander the Great, nearly a century later, the city was forgotten; so that for over two thousand years the ver\' site of the re- nowned capital and metropolis of Assyria was unknown. But the wonderful discov- eries of Layard in recent times have identi- fied its localitj' as the ruins opposite the present town of Mosul, on the Tigris, con- .sisting of two principal mounds, known re- specftively by their present Arab names of Nebbi-Yunus and Ko^-unjik. The Koyun- jik mound is the larger of the two, and is located about nine hundred yards, or a little over half a mile, north-we.st of the Nebbi- Yunus. Its .shape is an irregular oval, elon- gated to a point towards the north-east, in the line of its greater axis. The surface is almost flat, and the sides slope at a .steep angle, being furrowed with many ravines, worn in the .soft material by the rains of twenty-five centuries. The mound rises to its greatest height above the plain towards the south-eastern extremity, there overhang- ing the small stream of the Khosr-su, where the height is about ninety-five feet. The mound covers about a hundred acres. On this artificial mound the Assyrian palaces and temples, now buried beneath heaps of earth and rubbish, were eredled in ancient times. The Nebbi-Yunus mound is almost tri- angular at its base and covers about forty acres. It is more elevated, and its sides are more precipitous than Koyunjik, particularly on the west, where it abutted upon the wall of the city. The surface is mostly flat, but is di\-ided into an eastern and a western por- tion by a deep ravine running nearly from north to south. The supposed tomb of Jonah occupies a conspicuous place on the 2o6 ANCIENT HISTORY. — ASSYRIA. CIMUZATION. 207 northern edge of the western portion of tlie mound, and the cottages of Kurds and Turko- mans are grouped about it. The eastern portion forms a general Mohammedan burial- ground for the surrounding country. Palaces and temples were raised on these two great mounds, both of which are in the same line and abutted on the western wall of the city. On this side Nineveh was thir- teen thousand six hundred feet, or over two and a half miles long, and in ancient times overhung the Tigris, which is now a mile farther to the west, leaving a plain of that impends over a deep ravine formed by a winter torrent, thus running in a dire<5l line about a thousand yards, when it is joined with the eastern wall, with which it forms a slightly acute angle. The eastern wall is the longest and the most irregular of the four ramparts, and skirts the edge of a rocky ridge, there ri.sing above the level of the plain and presenting a slightly convex course to the north-east. This wall is sixteen thousand feet, or over three miles long, and is divided a little north of the middle into tw-o portions, by the THE GREAT MOUND OF KOVUNJIK, ON THE SITE OF NINEVEH. width between the river and the old rampart of the city. This rampart followed the nat- ural course of the river bank. At its northern extremity the western wall ap- proaches the present course of the Tigris, and is there connecfted, at exactly right angles, with the northern or north-western rampart, which runs in a diredl line to the north-eastern angle of the city and measures exactly seven thousand feet. At one third of the distance from the north-west angle this wall is broken by a road, and adjoining this is a remarkable mound, which covers one of the principal gates of the city. At its other eiid the western wall forms an obtuse angle with the southern wall, which Khosr-su, which flows through the cit)' ruins, running across the low plains to the Tigris. Thus the entire enceinte of Nineveh forms an irregular trapezium. Its greatest width, which is in its northern portion, is four- ninths of its length, thus giving the city an oblong shape, as Diodorus described it, though he greatly exaggerated its size. The circuit of the walls is not quite eight miles, instead of being over fifty; and the area thus embraced is eighteen hundred English acres, and not one hundred and twelve thousand. It has been estimated that populous Ori- ental cities have a hundred inhabitants to the acre, or one to fifty square yards, thus 20S ANCIENT HIS TOR J '. — ASS ) 'RIA. !i!|i)il«!|i|i!iii!i|Ni!||iiiiffli|ji)ii'i)'iii|imi!;|i;ii;i|i|lipi 'ii , „ :.'■: i ! 1 Ti*. V ■'.: ;.. \: ■' liili! I I .iMiji Ii ii I Ii ■.;mt !!l;!ll!i!i!iii|l!l^ito:».' i;!lliiiliiiHi!;i:'!i' 1 ,| pl;i,i;,l:!';,1l,K,i,l'.|:il,l:.!:i, m IL CIl'ILIZATION. 209 giving ancient Nineveh one luindred and seventy-five thousand souls, a population exceeding that of any city of Western Asia at the present time. Diodorus described the wall with which Ninus surrounded his capital as being one hundred feet high, and so wide that three chariots could be driven abreast along the top. Xenophon, who passed near the ruins while conducfliug the Retreat of the Ten Thou- sand, says that the walls were one hundred and fifty feet high and fifty feet broad. The greatest height at present appears to be forty-six feet; but the great amount of rub- bish at the foot of the walls, and their ruined condition, have led Mr. Layardtosay: "The remains still existing of these fortifications almost confirm the statement of Diodorus Siculus, that the walls were a hundred feet high." The walls in their present condition are from one hundred to two hundred feet broad. Xenophon says that the walls up to fifty feet were construAed of a fossiliferous lime- stone, smoothed and polished on the outside, and that above that height sun-dried bricks were used. The stone masonrj-, in Mr. Lay- ard's opinion, was ornamented along its top by a continuous series of battlements, or gradines, of the .same material, and it is probable that a like ornamentation crowned the upper brick structure. The wall was pierced at irregular intervals by gates, above which rose high towers; and lower towers occurred in the parts of the wall between the different gates. A gate in the north- western rampart, cleared by excavation, seems to have consisted of three gateways, the inner and outer being ornamented with colossal winged man-headed bulls and other figures, while the middle one was only pan- eled with alabaster slabs. Between the gate- ways were two large chambers, seventy feet long by twenty-three feet wide, being thus capable of holding a considerable body of soldiers. The chambers and gateways are believed to have been arched over, similar to the castles' gates on the bas-reliefs. The gates themselves have entirely ceased to ex- ist, but the rubbish which filled both the chambers and the passages contained so nuich charcoal as to give rise to the belief that they were constructed of bronze. The ground within the gateway was paved with large limestone slabs, which still bear the marks of chariot-wheels. Besides its ramparts, Nineveh was pro- tected on all sides by water barriers, the west and south being defended by natural streams, and the north and east by artificial canals beginning at the Khosr-su. vSkirting the northern and eastern walls was a deep moat, into which the waters of the Khosr-su were turned by occupjiug its natural channel with a strong dam, carried across it in the line of the eastern wall, and at the point where the stream uow flows into the en- closure. On coming in contadt with this obstrucftion, of which some vestiges j-et re- main, the waters separated into two parts, one flowing to the south-east into the Tigris by the ravine immediately to the south of the cit}-, which is a natural water-course, and the other turning at an acute angle to the north-west, washing the remainder of the eastern and the entire northern wall, and emptying into the Tigris at the north- west angle of the city, where a .second dam kept it at a sufiicieut height. On the eastern side, which seems to have been the weakest and the most exposed, a .series of outer de- fenses were construcfted for the further pro- tection of the citJ^ North of the Khosr-su, between the city wall and that stream, which there flows parallel to the wall and forms a second or outer moat, are the re- mains of a detached fort which, from its size, evidently added considerable strength to the city's defenses in that quarter. The works are yet more elaljorate to the south and south-east of the Khosr-su. From a point where the stream leaves the hills and reaches low ground, a deep ditch, two hun- dred feet wide, was extended lor two miles, until it connected with the ravine forming the natural defen.se of the cit>- on the .south. On each side of the ditch, which could be easily filled with water from the Khosr-su at its northern c.xtrcmity, was erected a high and wide wall; the eastern one forming 2IO ANCIENT HIS TOR } '.—ASS ) 'RIA. the outermost defense, and rising even yet a hundred feet abo\-e the bottom of the ditch on which it adjoins. Between this outer barrier and the city moat was a kind of demi-lune, defended by a double wall and a broad ditch, and joined by a covered way with the city itself. Thus Nineveh was protected on its most vulnerable side, to- wards the centre, by five walls and three broad and deep moats ; towards the north by a wall, a moat, the Khosr-su and a strong outpost; towards the south bj' two moats and three lines of rampart. The entire for- tification on the eastern side is two thousand two hundred feet, or nearl)- a half mile wide. The accounts of Ctesias and Diodorus re- specting the immense size of Nineveh are highlj- exaggerated, and it is known that these writers regarded the ruins of Nimrud, Keremles, Khorsabad and Koyunjik as all being the remains of that renowned Assyr- ian capital. The Book of Jonah also bears testimony to the immense size of this great city. Unlike Ctesias, who onh- saw the ruins of Nineveh, Jonah saw the city itself in its splendor. This Hebrew prophet tells us that Nineveh was "an exceeding great city, of three days' journey," and also that in it were ' ' more than sixscore thousand persons that could not discern between their right hand and their left." Though these pas- sages are very vague, they yet convey some idea of the vastness of the city. It has been supposed that the one hundred and twenty thousand persons "that could not discern between their right hand and their left ' ' were children, which would thus indicate a population of about six hundred thousand. It has also been believed that the phrase ".six score thousand persons that could not discern between their right hand and their left ' ' alluded to the dense ignorance of the inhabitants, in which case the number here mentioned included the entire population of the city. The sculptures of the Assyrians furnish us with very complete representations of their system of warfare. The Assyrians, like other ancient nations, fought in char- iots, on horseback and on foot. Like the Egyptians, the early Greeks, the Canaanites, the Syrians, the Jews and Israelites, the Philistines, the Hittites, the Lydians, the Elamites, or Susianians, the Medes and Per- sians, the Hindoos, the Gauls, the Britons, and other peoples of antiquity, the Assjt- ians looked upon the chariot as most hon- orable. Their king invariably went to war and battle riding in a chariot, only dis- mounting and shooting his arrows on foot while besieging a town. The leading officers of state, and other dignitaries of high rank, followed the same custom. The cavalry and infantrj' were composed of persons of the lower classes. The Jewish prophet Isaiah, in warning his countrj'men of the miseries in store for them, described the Assyrians as a people "whose arrows were sharp, and all their bows bent, whose horses' hoofs should be counted like flint, and their -a'hcels like a whirlwind." The same prophet, in after- wards announcing Jehovah's displeasure with Sennacherib on account of his pride, speaks of tbat king's reliance upon "the multitude of his chariots." The prophet Nahum, in announcing the coming over- throw of the haughty nation, declares that Jehovah is ' ' against her, and will bum her chariots in the smoke." In the fabulous Assyrian history by Ctesias the war-chariots of the mythical king Ninus are represented as amounting to nearly eleven thousand, and those of his wife and successor, Semira- mis, are estimated at the extravagant num- ber of one hundred thousand. The Assyrian war-chariot is believed to have been made of wood. Like that of the Greeks and Egyptians, it seems to have been mounted from behind, being there complete- ly open, or only closed hy means of a shield, which could be hung across the aperture. It was richly ornamented, and completely paneled at the sides. The, two wheels were placed at the extreme hind end of the body, as in the Egj-ptian war-chariot. The chariot- wheels of the early period had six spokes; those of the middle and later periods had eight. The felloes of the wheels usual- ly consisted of three distinct circles, the o w > z 'T. w o -1- 0", < cnn.izATioN. 211 middle one being the thinnest, and the outer one the tliickcst of the three. vSonictiines there was a fourth circle. These circles were fastened together with bands of iron. The wheels were attached to an axle-tree fastened to the body without any springs between them. They were furnished with bows, quivers of arrows, spears, or javelins, hatchets, battle-axes and shields. ASSYRIAN WAR-CHARIOT. The chariots were drawn bj- two or three horses, two being yoked together in front, while the third was hitched before the others by means of a rope, and was designed as a suppl}' in case of loss. The harness and trappings of the horses were extremelj' rich and elegant ; ribbons, tassels, fringes and rosettes, of gay colors, profusely decorating the head, neck and sides. The bits and ornaments of the bridles were of gold and silver. Embroidered robes were sometimes thrown over the backs of the ;hariot-horses. The chariots contained two persons at least, the driver, or charioteer, and the war- rior. Sometimes they contained in addi- tion an attendant who protecfled the warrior with a .shield while he discharged his arrows at the foe. In rare instances there was a sec- ond attendant with a shield to prote(5l the archer from behind, thus making four persons occupying the chariot. The lx)w was the usual weapon of the chariot warrior, as well as of the cavalrj' and infantry sol- diers. The chariot warrior was sometimes dressed in a long tunic confined at the waist by a girdle, and sometimes in a coat of mail, like the Egj'ptian chariot warrior. Some- times he descended from the chariot to shoot off his arrows on foot. The A.ssyrian cavalry rank in importance almost equally with the war-char- iots. Ctesias made the number of hor.semen in Assj-rian armies alwaj-s greater than the chariots. The writer of the Apoch- ryphal Book of Judith as- signs Holofernes twelve thousand hor.se-archers, and the prophet Ezekiel alludes apparentl}- to all the "desirable 5-oung men" as "horsemen riding upon horses." The Assyrian sculptures represent the cavalry as far exceeding in number the chariots. In the early period of Ass>-r- ian history- cavalry- was but little used, but in the times of Sargon and Sennacherib the cavalry came to be prominent in all battle scenes, the chariot being only used by the king and high dignitaries. The Assyrian cavalrj' were divided, ac- cording to their weapons, into mounted arch- ers, or bowmen, and mounted speannen. In the early period each cavalrj' archer was ac- companied by an unarmed attendant, who managed his steed, while the archer dis- charged his arrows. Assyrian armies, like others, consisted mainly of iufantrj-. Ctesias gives Ninus 1,700,000 footmen, 210,000 horsemen and 10,600 chariots. Xenophon showed the wide contrast between the immense host of infan- trj' and the scanty numbers of the cavaljy and the chariots. Herodotus says that the As- syrians in the great army of Xerxes were all 212 ANCIENT HIS TOR Y.—A SS } 'RIA. footmen. The Book of Judith assigns to Holofemes ten times as many footmen as horsemen. The Assyrian monuments show the same proportion of infantrj- to cavalrv', and represent a hundred footmen to each chariot soldier. For their military successes the Assyrians were chiefly indebted to the with their axes. In Sargon's time the foot soldiers consisted of those of the light equip- ment, those of the intermediate equipment, and those of the heavy equipment. Senna- cherib's foot archers embraced four classes, two heavy-anned and two light-armed. The offensive weapons were the bow and BATTI.E PIECE ; valor, discipline, .solidity and equipment of their infantry, which consi.sted mainly of foot archers, or t)owmen, and foot spearmen. Besides these the foot soldiers embraced swordsmen, mace-bearers, ax-bearers, and from .Sennacherib's time, .slingers. Pioneers accompanied the army to clear away trees I'ROM NINKVISH. ' arrow, the spear, pike, or javelin, the sword, the mace, the battle-ax and the .sling. The defensive armor consisted of a shield of metal or wicker-work ; a crested or pointed helmet of metal; and a coat of mail, con- si.sting of successive rows of iron scales in the early period and reaching to the feet or CIMI.IZATION. 2'3 knees, and in later times composed of larger metal plates and bauds fastened together and reaching only as low as the waist. The warriors were variously costumed, those of the lighter equipment onlj- wearing a short tunic reaching from the waist to half-way down the thigh, the rest of the per- son being bare ; those of the intermediate equipment wearing a coat of mail to the waist and a tunic thence to half-way down the thigh; and those of the heavy equipment wearing a coat of mail above the waist, and a robe thence down to the feet. Both these lat- ter classes wore helmets over the head, and sandals on the feet. The anns were bare. When not covered by the robe the legs were also sometimes bare, and sometimes covered by close-fitting trousers and short greaves, or boots. The hilts of swords and daggers were ornamented with gold chasings of ele- gant forms, and the points of sheaths with the beaks of birds. The bow was the chief weapon of war, alike among chariot, cav- alry and infantrj' soldiers, and was richl)^ mounted. The barbarous custom of rewarding those who carried back to camp the heads of foe- men, caused the heads of the dead, and even of the wounded, the disarmed and the unre- sisting, of the enemj-, to be carried back to camp, in proof of the slayer's prowess. Quar- ter was generally only given to generals and dignitaries of rank whom it was desirable to spare. Scribes were always present to take an account of the spoil at the close of the battle. The usual praAice upon taking a city or town was to plunder it of ever\'thing of value. The strongly-fortified towns of an enemy were besieged and assailed iu three principal ways. The attack bj- escalade was hy means of ladders placed against the citj^ walls. These ladders were mounted by the spearmen, followed by the archers, while the bowmen and slingers kept up a constant discharge of arrows and stones. The as- sailants protecfled themselves with their shields. The besieged endeavored to dis- lodge and break the ladders, and defended themselves by discharging their arrows and stones, or meeting their assailants .spear to spear and .shield to shield. If the escalade failed, or was impracli- cable, the battering-ram, an engine mounted on four or six wheels, and having cither a pointed or blunt head, was driven with force agaiust the walls to effect a breach. In con- nection with the battering-ram a movable tower containing .soldiers was sometimes employed, the besiegers being thus enabled to meet the besieged oia a level and protect the engine from attacks. The besieged often tried to fire the battering-ram by casting upon it torches, burning tow or other in- flammable substances. To thwart these at- tempts the soldiers in the battering-ram were furnished with a supply of water which they diredled through leather or metal pipes against the combustibles. Some- times they suspended a curtain of cloth or leather from a pole in front of the battering- ram to protedl themselves. Sometimes the besieged attempted to catch the point of the battering-ram by means of a chain sus- pended from the walls, but the besiegers in turn tried to catch the chain by means of strong metal hooks. The Assyrians in their sieges also used a catapult, a large engine designed for throwing stones against forti- fied walls, the besiegers worsting the engine from a mound or inclined plane, and the besieged endeavoring to destroy it b}- fire. The besiegers also endeavored to mine the foundations of the walls by means of crow- bars and pickaxes, protecling themselves by holding their shields above them. Some- times the besiegers would try to break open the gates with axes, or fire them with tht? torch. WTien a cit}- or town was taken it was fired, its walls demolished and its trea- sures carried off. The Assyrians had three modes of exe- cuting captives — impaling them on stakes in the ground, beating in their skulls with a mace, and beheading them. Several bas- reliefs represent them flaying prisoners with a knife. This may have been after death, as was the custom of the Persians and the barbarous Scythians. Sometimes prisoners were punished by mutilation instead of D o ,— ^ H -< a ai Ci ■A PS CIMl.lZATIOX. 215 death. Cutting off the ears, blinding the eyes with hot irons, cutting off the nose, and tearing out the tongue by the roots, have always been favorite Asiatic punishments. Asshur-izir-pal saj^s in his great inscription that he frefiuently cut off the noses and ears of captives; and a slab of Asshur-bani-pal represents a captive in the hands of torturers, one holditig the prisoner's head, and another thrusting his hand into his mouth to tear out the tongue. The captives consisted of men, women and children. The men were driven in bands under the condu(5l of brutal such as oxen, sheep, goats, horses, asses, mules and camels. Sennacherib, in his in- -scriptions, says that in one foray he carried away from the tribes on the Huphrales "7,200 horses and mares, 5,230 camels, 11,- 000 mules, 1 20,000 oxen and Stx), 000 sheep." Other Assj-rian monarchs mention the cap- tured animals as "too numerous to be counted," or "countless as the stars of heaven." Precious metals were often among the spoils carried off. As in all other Asiatic monarchies from time immemorial, the severest form of des- c.\i'Tivi:,s ui-' war; from .A.ssiii r-bani-i'ai.'s palace. officers, who hurried them on bj- blows to the Assyrian capital, where the kings em- ployed them in labor. The .skilled work- men were required to aid in ornamenting palaces and shrines. The great mass of the unskilled laborers were set to work, under brutal taskmasters, in quarrj'ing and trans- porting stone, in raising mounds, making bricks, etc. Sometimes the captives were only colonized in new regions, to prevent rebellion in their own native lands, and to keep down malcontents in their new abodes. Besides captives, the Assyrians carried off great numbers of domesticated animals. potism existed in Assj-ria. The .sovereign's will was law, and no code was in existence to restrict his judgments, even the ancient customs and usages being set a.side at his pleasure. The king was the head of the church, as well as of the state, and claimed divine worship. His palace was filled with as many wives and concubines as he chose to colledt, and these were placed under the guardianship of eunuchs, an unfortunate class, first brought into use in Assyria. The portion of the royal palace assigned to the king's w'omen was his harem, or seraglio. A rigid etiquette separated the king from 2l6 ANCIENT HISTORY.— ASSYRIA. his subjedls, no one being allowed access to him except through the proper court ofhcials, who always accompanied him. No one but the vizier and the chief eunuch were per- mitted to begin conversation with the king, who was seated on his throne when he re- ceived them, they standing before him. As a rule, the Assyrian kings led hardy and ac- tive lives. In times of peace they superiu- ASSYRIAN KING ; FROM NIMRUD. tended the public works, administered jus- tice, and found recreation in the dangerous pastime of hunting the lion and the wild bull. In war the king generally rode in his chariot, though he occasionally marched on foot, going into battle in the same manner. The sovereign showed himself freeh' to his subjedls, but maintained his haughty dig- nity in everj'thing, and was verj' seldom the effeminate voluptuary that the Greeks sup- posed him to be. The Assyrian court cere- monial w'as most elaborate and imposing. The monarch's dress in peace and war was of the most exceeding magnificence, and while engaged in the religious ceremonies prescribed for him he was clothed in a special dress. The musical instruments of the Assjt- ians were the harp, the lyre, the guitar, the pipe, the tambourine, the cj-mbal, the drum, the dulcimer and the trumpet. Bands of musicians are represented in some of the bas-reliefs, showing their employment on the occasions of public ceremonials. The usual apparel of the common people was a plain tunic, reaching from the neck almost down to the knee, and held to the waist by a wide belt or girdle. The sleeves were very short. The head and feet were entirely bare. The king and his great officers wore head-dresses and shoes. Laborers above the lowest grade wore sandals. The better class of laborers wore close-fitting trousers and leather boots. The lower classes wore no ornaments; armlets and bracelets be- ing worn only by persons of rank, and ear-rings by soldiers and musicians. Men of rank wore long fringed robes extending almost down to the feet, the sleeves being short and barely covering the shoulders. This robe fitted closely down to the waist, where it was con- fined to the l)ody with a belt or girdle, being loose below the waist. The jew- elry of the higher classes consisted of fillets, ear-rings, annlets and bracelets. Women of the upper ranks were dressed in long fringed gowns, looser than those of the men, the sleeves being long. Over this dress they frequently wore a short cloak of a similar pattern, open in front and falling over the arms, which they covered as far down as the elbows. Their hair was arranged in short crisp curls, or carried back in waves to the ears, from which it was iu part twisted into long pendant ringlets, and (717/. //AT/ON. 217 in part curled, like that of tin.- men, in three or four rows at the back of the neck. A fillet frequently encircled the head. They also wore girdles around the waist. Their feet were either bare or protetfled by sandals. Women of the lower clas.ses wore only a gown extending down to the ankles, and a hood to cover the head. The ornaments and toilet articles of the upper ranks of As- also represented in the later sculptures. The first Assyrian ships seem to have been round, with ribs of willow boughs covered with skins. They had neither .stem nor stern. Thej- were used chiefl}- on rivers, though large and strong enough to transport cattle. The genius and greatness of the Assyrian people are di.splayed in their art and nianu- MUSIC.\L PROCESSION, NINEVliH. Syrian women exhibited the high degree of luxury in their manner of living. The Assyrians excelled in the arts of weaving and dyeing. They decorated their stuffs by introducing colored threads and tissues of gold in the woof. They had in- digo, cotton and silk in abundance. The chief dignitaries wore richly-figured robes. The men seem to have prized their beards, which they dressed in long artificial curls. A.ssyrian plows have been found. Irriga- tion was common. Sesame, millet and corn were the chief articles of food. The Assyrians were fond of entertain- ments, and these were condudled with great pomp and luxury. Drinking scenes are represented on the sculptures. They had vessels of gold and silver. Wine flowed freely ; while delicious fruits, rich viands, honey, incense, conserves of dates, etc., were among the delicacies of the repast. Women, even wives, danced naked before the guests; while the music of stringed in- struments heightened the festivity of the occasion. The Assyrians carried on an extensive commerce, principally by land and by means of caravans. At a later period their mari- time traffic was likewise considerable. They imitated the Phanician ships, which are 1-14.-U. H. facflures, and not in the field of literature and science. The works of their sculptors, and the produdls of their shops and facflories, bear testimony to the patience, diligence and care which thej- exhibited in every field of material and pracftical acflivity. The char- adleristics of their sculptures, and their manifest appreciation of works of general utilit}-, .show their preference for the pradlical over the theoretical, for the useful over the ideal, for the real over the imaginar\'. Architedlure, the only one of the fine arts acflually useful, constitutes their greatest glory. Unlike the Egyptians, whose chief works were their temples and tombs, the in- terest attaching to which is spiritual and ideal, the Assyrians bestowed most attention on their palaces and dwellings, the more u.seful stru(5tures. Assyrian sculptures aimed to illustrate the real, the historically true; the only departure from this rule being the representations of dragons fighting, and the colossal winged man-headed bulls and lions guarding the entrances and passages of palaces, which are the symbols of strengh combined with intelligence. With the exception of the few emblematic figures relating to the Assyrian religion, the A.ssyr- ian bas-reliefs are closely copied from nature. The imitation is always laborious but iu 2l8 ANCIENT HISTORY.— ASSYRIA. most cases very accurate. Eveu where the laws of representation are apparently departed from, it is always done to im- press corredl ideas upon the beholder. Thus the gigantic stone bulls and lions have five legs, so that they may appear from every point of view as having four. The ladders are set edgeways against the walls of besieged cities, to show that they are really ladders. The dispropor- tionate smallness of citj^ walls, as represent- ed in these sculptures, is designed to convey a full and correct idea of the real fadl. The spirit of faithfulness and honesty pervading these sculptures is fully illustrated b^' the pains-taking finish, the minute detail, the elaboration of every hair in a beard, and every stitch in the embroidery of a dress. The Assj^rian sculptures have a grandeur and a dignity, a boldness, a strength, and a life-like appearance, which render them in- trinsically valuable as works of art, and which excite our wonder and admiration ; though in conception, in grace, and in free- ASSVRIAN LION Hl'NT. dom and perfection of outline, they are sur- passed by the wonderful produdlions of the Greek sculptors. Egyptian art was confined to a lifeless religious conventionalism which checked progress ; Assyrian art aimed to represent vividly the highest scenes of hu- man acftivity. All phases of war — the march of the army, the battle-field, the pursuit of the flying foe, the siege of cities, the passage of rivers and marshes, the submission and treatment of captives, and the ' ' mimic war' ' of hunting — the chase of the lion, the stag, the antelope, the wild bull and the wild ass — constitute the chief subjecfts of Assyrian sculpture ; and here all conventionality is ut- terly discarded. Fresh scenes, new group- ings, bold and strange attitudes, are contin- ually seen ; and the animal representations particularly exhibit an unceasing advance with the progress of time, gradually becom- ing more and more spirited, more varied, more true to nature, though proportionately losing in the qualities of grandeur and majesty. This disposition to depidl things in their re- ality continues to develop in perfection; and the progress in grace and delicacy of execu- tion fully testify to the progressive charadter of Assyrian art, which only culminated in the closing j-ears of the empire, during the brilliant reign of Asshur-bani-pal. The art of Assyria was thoroughly national, and de- veloped by the inherent genius of the race. In manufadlures and the useful arts the Assyrians displayed a preeminence o\-er all other ancient Oriental nations. The native industrial skill of this great people produced in abundance what was required for their comfort and happiness; while the multitudes of skilled workmen brought to Nineveh from the con- quered nations hy every war, in accordance with the policy of the Assyrian mon- archs, led to the introduc- tion of foreign fabrics and manufadlures in the great Assyrian cities, and thus contributed to the industrial development of this adlive and practical race. The plunder, tribute and commerce of the sub- je' nation. CIVILIZATION. 219 Most of the ornaments, utensils, etc., are of elegant forms, and display much knowl- edge of metallurgy and other arts, as well as a refined taste: and some of these antici- pate inventions supposed until recently to have been modem. One of these was trans- parent glass, and glass-blowing was one of the industries of Assyria, as it had been of ancient Egypt. A lens discovered at Nim- rud, together with the fadl that many of the Assyrian inscriptions are so minute that they can not be read without the use of magnifying-glasses, proves that they must have used such glasses in making these in- scriptions. The ornamental metallurgy of the Assjt- rians di.splayed wonderful skill ; and con- sisted of entire figures or parts of figures cast solid, castings in low relief, and em- bossed work wrought principally with the hammer "but finished by a .sparing u.se of the graving tool." The solid figures, most of which were small, comprised animal forms, chiefly lions. Castings in low relief were principally used in the oniamentation of thrones and chariots, and embraced ani- mal and human figures, winged deities, griffins, etc. The embossed work was curi- ous and elegant, as displayed in weapons, ornaments for the person, household imple- ments and numerous other objedls. The ornamental metallurgy of the Assyrians was mostly in bronze, consisting of one part of tin to ten parts of copper, which is yet re- garded as the best proportion. The Assyrians also understood other pradtical arts. Their buildings show that they were acquainted with the princi- ple of the arch. They construcfled tunnels, aqueducts and drains. They knew the u.se of the jnilley, the lever and the roller; and constantly used the inclined plane in attack- ing fortified towns. They understood the arts of inlaying, enameling and overlaying with metals; and they cut and engraved gems with a degree of skill and fini.sh not excelled by the French in our own day. Assyrian civilization did not fall far behind the boasted achievements of the modems. Says Rawlin.son conceming the civiliza- tion of this wonderful ancient people : ' ' With much that was barbaric .still attach- ing to them, with a rude and inartificial govemment, savage passions, a debasing religion, and a general tendency to materi- alism, they were, towards the close of their empire, in all the ordinary arts and appli- ances of life, ^•ery nearly on a par with our- selves; and thus their history furnishes a waming — which the records of nations con- stantly repeat — that the greatest material prosperity may co-exist with the decline — and herald the downfall — of a kingdom." Thus it will be seen that the inherent genius of the Assj'rian people displayed it- self in centuries of continued conquest and in material greatness. The glory of their arms and the grandeur of their art gave them the ascendency over the nations of Western Asia for almost seven hundred years. Their almost uninterrupted course of conquests poured wealth into their great capitals, developed luxurj-, and made them haughty and domineering. The mingled civilization and barbarism exhibited in the case of this mighty ancient Asiatic people has ever been the distinguishing charadter- istic of all the great Oriental empires which have successively risen, flourished, decayed, and crumbled to pieces. 220 ANCIENT HISTORY.— ASSYRIA. vSECTlON v.— ASSYRIAN RELIGION. ^„HE Assyrian religion was al- ^ most identical with the Chal- daean, the only essential point of difference being that the supreme national deity of As- syria, Asshur, "the Great Lord," was un- known in Chaldtea, where II was the chief god. With this solitarj' exception, the gods of Chaldasa were also the gods of Assyria. The minor points of difference were that certain deities prominent in the Chaldaean pantheon occupied a stibordinate position in the pantheon of Assyria, and vice versa. Each pantheon began with the preeminence of a single god followed by the same groupings of identically the same divinities, and, after that, by a multitude of local deities. Each country had almost the same worship — tem- ples, altars and ceremonies of a similar char- acfler — the same religious emblems — the same religious ideas. But Assyria furnishes us with a clearer knowledge of the material aspe' pair of ram's honis, upon which is mounted a capital consisting of two pairs of rams' horns, with one, two or three horizontal bands between them; while above this capital is a scroll like that usually sur- mounting the winged circle, and above the scroll is a flower like the Greek "honey- suckle ornaments." In some cases the pil- lar is elongated, with a capital in the mid- dle as well as one at the top; the blo.s.som above the upper capital, and usually the -Stem also, throwing out many smaller blos- soms of the same kind, or fir-cones, or pome- granates. Sometimes there is likewise an intricate network of branches forming an arch surrounding the tree. This Assj-rian sacred tree has been compared with the Scriptural "tree of life." In early times the A.s.syrians ranked Anu and \'ul next to As.shur; but later they ac- corded this honor to Bel, Sin, Shamas, Vul, Nin and Nergal. Gula, Ishtar and Beltis were fa^'orite goddesses. Hoa, Nebo and Merodach were less worshiped in Assj'ria than in Chaldaea, or Babylonia, though they were more esteemed in the later period of Assyrian histor3^ As the charadleristics of these deities have been described in our ac- count of the religion of Chaldcea, we will here simply refer to-their worship in Assyria, and to the temples dedicated to them. The worship of Anu was introduced into Assj^ria from Babylonia during the period of Chaldaean supremacy before Assyria had become an independent kingdom. Shamas- \'ul, the son of Ismi-Dagon, King of Chal- daea, eretled a temple to Anu and Vul at Asshur, the early As.syrian capital, about B. C. 1820. The In.scription of Tiglath- Pileser I. says that this temple lasted six hundred* and twenty-one )-ears, when, on account of its decayed condition, it was torn down by Asshur-dayan I., the great-grand- father of Tiglath-Pileser I. Its site re- mained vacant for sixty years, after which Tiglath-Pileser I. rebuilt the temple more splendidly than before, and thenceforth it was one of the principal shrines of Assyria. A tradition relating to this ancient temple was the source from which the site of the city of A.s.shur in later times derived the name of Telane, or "the Mound of Asshur, ' ' a title it bears in Stephen. Ann's name is no element in the names of monarchs or of other prominent characfters, and is not found in many solemn invocations; but where his name occurs it is always placed next to that of Asshur, and Tiglath- 222 ANCIENT HISTORY— ASS ) 'RIA. Pileser I. mentions him in his great Inscrip- tion, as his lord and protecflor, in the place next to Asshur. Asshur-izir-pal calls himself "him who honors Ann," or "him who hon- ors Ann and Dagon." Asshur-izir-pal's son and successor, Shalmaneser II., gives Ann the second place in the invocation of thirteen gods with which he begins his record. The monarchs of the New or Lower Assyrian Empire did not usually esteem Anu verj- highly, with the exception of Sargon, who glorified him, coupled him with Asshur, and made him the tutelarj- god of one of the gates of his new city, Dur-Sargina (now Khorsa- bad), uniting him in this capacity with the goddess Ishtar. Anu did not have many temples in A.ssyria, having none at Nineveh or Calah, the only important one being at Asshur. Bel, or Bel-Nimrod, according to the tes- timony of the Assyrian monuments, was worshiped as extensively in Assyria as in Chaldaea, or Babylonia. From the time of Tiglath- Pileser I. to the fall of the Assyrian Empire, the Assyrians, as a nation, were specificalh- denominated ' ' the people of Bel ; " and a certain part of Nineveh was desig- nated "the city of Bel." The word Bel was an element in the names of three Assyrian kings. In the invocation of the gods Bel's place is next to Asshur's when Anu's name is omitted; but when Anu occupies his proper place next to Asshur, Bel ranks third. In several places, however, where Anu is omitted, Shamas, the Sun-god, is second, and Bel ranks third. Bel was worshiped in early Assyrian times, as indicated by the royal names of Bel-.sumili-kapi and Bel-lush, as borne by two of the earliest Assyrian monarchs. Bel had a temple at Asshur in connection with II, and its antiquity is proven by the facft that as early as the time of Tiglath- Pileser I., B. C. 1130, it had fallen into de- cay and was rebuilt by that famous king. Bel had also a temple at Calah, and four "arks" or "tabernacles," whose sites are not identified. Sargon accorded high honor to Bel, coupling him with Anu in his royal titles, and dedicating to him, in conjuncflion with his wife, Beltis, one of the gates of his city. In this dedication Bel is called "the establisher of the foundations of his city;" and in many passages Sargon attributes his royal authority to the favor of Bel and Merodach. It is believed that the horned cap, the general emblem of divinity, was the special symbol of Bel. Esar-haddon says that he set up over "the image of his majesty the emblems of Asshur, the Sun, Bel, Nin and Ishtar." The other kings invariably men- tion Bel as one of the chief objec5ls of their worship. Hoa was not prominenth- worshiped in Assyria. Asshur-izir-pal says that Hoa alot- ted the senses of hearing, seeing and under- standing to the four thousand deities of heaven and earth; and then, mentioning that the four thousand deities had transfer- red these senses to himself, he assimies Hoa's titles and identifies himself with this god. Asshur-izir-pal's son and successor, Shalmaneser II., the Black Obelisk king, in his opening in\ocation, assigned Hoa his proper place, between Bel and Sin. Sargon placed one of the gates of his new city under Hoa's prote(5tion, in conjundlion with Bilat-Ili, "the Mistress of the Gods," be- lieved to be Gula, the Sun-goddess. Sen- nacherib, after his successful expedition across the Persian Gulf, offered sacrifice to Hoa on the .sea-shore, presenting him with a golden boat, a golden fish and a golden coffer. Hoa's emblem, the serpent, was found on the black stones on which were recorded benefadtions, and on the Babylon- ian cylinder-seals, but was not adopted by the Assyrian monarchs among the divine symbols worn by them, nor among those in.scribed by them above their efiigies. Hoa's name .seldom occurs among the royal invocations. His only two known temples in Assyria were the one at Asshur (now Kileh-Sherghat) and the one at Calah (now Nimrud). The Assyrian devotion to Nin, the tutelary god of the Assyrian monarchs and of their capital, caused Nin's worship gradually to sujier.sede that of Hoa. Beltis, "the Great Mother," the wife of RELIGION. 223 Bel, ranked in Assyria next to the triad embracing Ann, Rcl and Iloa. She is usiiall)' mentioned in the Ass\-rian inscri])- tions in close relation with her hnsband. The Assyrians particularly considered Beltis "the Queen of fertility," thus resembling the Greek Demeter, the Roman Ceres, who was also known as "the Great Mother." Sargon put one of the gates of his new city under the jMoteelion of Bellis, along with her husband, Hel; and Sargon's great-grand- son, Asshur-bani-pal, repaired and re-dedi- cated to this goddess a temple at Nineveh, originally erected by Asshur-izir-pal. She also had a temple at Asshur: and at Calah was a temple dedicated either to Beltis or to Ishtar, the epithets used applying to either goddess. The goddess, though known in Assyria as Beltis, was called Mylitta in Babylonia. Sin, the Moon-god, occupied the next place to Beltis in the Assyrian pantheon, the sixth place among the gods where Beltis was inserted, and the fifth place wherever her name did not occur. His worship in the early period of the A.s.syrian Empire is indi- cated by the invocation of Tiglath-Pileser I., where he is mentioned in the third place among the gods, between Bel and Shamas. Sin's emblem, the crescent, was woni by As- shur-izir-pal, and is always .seen among the divine symljols which the Ass3'rian monarchs inscribed oA-er their effigies. Sin was one of the most highly esteemed of the Assyrian deities, and his sign is found as often as any other among both Assyrian and Babylonian cylinder-seals. His name is sometimes seen in the appellation of kings and princes; as in that of Sennacherib, signifj-ing "Sin multiplies brethren." >Sargon was particu- larly' devoted to the worship of Sin, after whom he named one of his sons, and to whom, in conne(5tion with vShamas, the Sun- god, he erected a temple at his new city, as- signing to him the second place among the tutelary deities of the city. The Assyrians seem to have regarded Sin as a very ancient god, and when they desired to mark a very old period they would say: "From the origin of the god Sin." This was a vestige of the old connecflion of Assyria with Chakkta, who.se jirimitive capital, IJr, was under the sjiecial protecflion of the Moon-god, and where the mo.st ancient tem- ple was dedicated to his worshii). The only two temjiles known to lunx* been eredled to vSin in Assj-ria were the one dedicated to him, along with Shamas, by Sargon at his new city, and the other to Sin alone at Calah. Shamas, the Sun-god, ranked next below Sin, but was more popular and far more generally worshiped in Assyria. Many passages would seem to indicate that the A.ssj'rian kings esteemed him next to Asshur, as they really ranked him above Bel in some of their li.sts. The emblem of the Sun-god, the four-raj'ed orb, was worn upon the neck of the Assj^rian king, and is seeii more gen- erally than most others upon the cylinder- .seals. In some cases the emblem of Shamas is even united with Asshur's emblem, the central circle of which is marked by the fourfold raj's of Shamas. The worship of Shamas in Assyria ex- tended to a vers- remote antiquity. Tiglath- Pileser I. mentions him in his invocation, and represents himself as ruling specially under his auspices. Asshur-izir-pal names Asshur and Shamas as the tutelar}' gods under whose influence he condudled his wars. Asshur-izir-pal's son and .successor, Shalmaneser 11. , the Black Obelisk king, gives Shamas his proper place among the gods whom he invokes at the beginning of his long Inscription. The kings of the New or Lower Assyrian Empire rendered him more devotion than their predecessors. Sar- gon dedicated the north gate of his new city to Shamas, along with \'ul, the Air-god; and erecfted a temple to both Shamas and Sin at the same city, assigning the Sun-god the third place among the tutelary gods of the new city. Seimacherib and Esar-had- don named Sham;is next to Asshur in pas- sages when mentioning the gods whom they considered their chief protectors. The only special temple dedicated to the worship of Shamas was the one assigned to him and »Sin jointly at Sargon's new cit}'; but his images are frequently seen among 224 ANCIENT HISTORY.— ASSYRIA. the lists of idols, so that he may have been worshiped in temples consecrated to other deities. His emblem is usually seen united with that of the Moon-god, either beside or above it. Vul, the Air-god, was known in Assyria from the earliest times; a temple having been eredled at Asshur, during the period of Assyria's subjection to Chaldsea, by Shamas-Vul, the son of Ismi-Dagon, King of Chaldasa; as well as the temple which the same king dedicated to both Anu and Vul. As these edifices had fallen to ruin by the time of Tiglath-Pileser I., that mon- arch rebuilt them from their base; and A'ul, being regarded as one of the special "guard- ian deities," was worshiped in both tem- ples. In Shalmeneser II. 's Black Obelisk invocation the intermediate place between Sin and Shamas is assigned to Vul, and on that obelisk is recorded the fadl that Shal- maneser II. held a festival in honor of both Asshur and Vul. Sargon gave Vul the fourth place among the tutelary deities of his new cit}', and dedicated to him the north gate in connedtion with Shamas, the Sun- god. Sennacherib spoke of hurling thun- der on his enemies like Vul, and other As- sj-rian monarchs say they "rush on the enemy like the whirlwind of Vul," or "sweep a country as with the whirlwind of Vul. ' ' The Tiglath-Pileser Inscription men- tions Vul as "he who causes the tempest to rage over hostile lands." The name Vul often occurred as an element in the names of kings and other personages, as in Vul- lush, Shamas-Vul, etc. The symbol of Vul, the double or triple bolt, is often seen among the emblems worn by the Assj'rian monarchs, and engraved above their heads on the rock tablets. Besides his two temples at Asshur, Vul had a temple at Calah dedi- cated to him and his ^\^fe, the goddess Shala. Gula, the vSun-godde.ss, the wife of Sha- mas, was not very highly ranked among the Assyrian deities. It is true, her emblem, the eight-rayed disk, was borne by the As- syrian kings, along with her husband's symbol, and is often inscribed on the rock tablets, on the stones on which benefadtions are recorded, and on the cylinder-seals. But her name is not often found in the inscrip- tions, and, where it does occur, it is seen low down in the lists. Gula is the next to the last among the thirteen deities named in the Black Obelisk invocation. The only other places where she is mentioned is in in- scriptions of a distiudtly-religious nature. At Asshur was a temple dedicated to Gula, Ishtar and ten inferior deities. Gula's other Assj-rian temple was at Calah, where her husband likewise had a temple. Gula has been identified with Bilat-Ili, "the Mistress of the Gods," to whom, together with Hoa, Sargon dedicated one of the gates of his new city. Nin was one of the most devotedly wor- shiped in Assyria among the .second order of gods. The oldest traditions mention Nin as the founder of the Assyrian royal race, and the might}' city which finally became so famous as the capital and metropolis of the Assyrian Empire derived its name from this god. As far back as the thirteenth century before Christ, Nin became an ele- ment in ro}-al names. The Ninus of the Greek writers has been regarded b>- modems as the Nin of the Assyrian inscriptions. He- rodotus and Ctesias both considered Ninus as the founder of the Assyrian dynasty. Tiglath-Pileser I., the first Assyrian king who has left us an historical inscription, and who considered himself under Nin's guard- ianship, is called "the illustrious prince whom Asshur and Nin have exalted to the utmost wishes of his heart. ' ' This monarch mentions Nin sometimes alone, and some- times along with Asshur, as his ' ' guardian deity." Nin and Nergal are .spoken of as .sharpening weapons for Tiglath-Pile.ser, and it is further said that under the auspices of Nin the most ferocious animals fall beneath these weapons. Asshur-izir-pal eredted a splendid temple to Nin at Calah. Asshur- izir-pal' s grandson, Shamas-Vul I., dedi- cated to Nin the obelisk which he set up at Calah to commemorate his vidtories. Sar- gon put the new city -which he founded under Nin's protedlion, and invoked this god .spe- REI.IC.IOX. 225 cially to guard his gorgeous palace. Sar- gon's veneration for Niii was strikingly in- dicated by the ornamentation of that magni- ficent structure; and Nin's emblem, the winged man-headed bull, stood guard at all its principal gateways. The figure stran- gling a lion, occupying so prominent a place on the harem portal facing the great court, represented this god. Sargon attributed his viclories in war to the favor of Nin, and for this reason he placed Nin's emblems on the sculptures representing his military expedi- tions. Sennacherib, Sargon's son and succes- sor, had the same reverence for Nin, as he also placed the winged man-headed bull at most of the doorways of his magnificent palace at Nineveh, and assigned the figure strangling the lion a prominent place on the grand fa- cade of the same splendid edifice. Esar-had- don states that he continued in the worship of Nin, and that he set up the emblem of that god over his own royal effigy, in conne(5lion with the symbols of Asshur, Shamas, Bel and Ishtar. Nin's name entered as an element into the names of three Assyrian kings — Nin-pala- zira and the two Tiglathi-Nins. The prin- cipal temples dedicated to Nin were at Calah. The vast edifice at the north-western corner of the great Nimrud mound, including the pyramidal elevation constituting the most conspicuous feature of the ruins, was a tem- ple dedicated to Nin by Asshur-izir-pal, who erecfted the north-west palace. It has been supposed that this edifice was the ' ' bu.sta Nini" of the Greek writers, where Ninus, whom the Greeks considered the hero- founder of the Assyrian nation, was interred and specially' worshiped. This great tem- ple was named Bit-zira, or Beth-zira, and from its fane Nin had the title Pal-zira, "the .son of Zira." Nin's other temple at Calah was named Bit-kura, or Beth-kura, from the fane of which Nin was called Pal- kioa, "the .son of Kura." Merodach was a god mentioned by most of the early Assyrian kings in their opening in- vocations, and an allusion in their inscrip- tions indicates that he was regarded as a very powerful god. Shalmaneser II., the Black Obeli.sk king, .says in one place that "the fear of Asshur and Merodach fell upon his enemies." Hut Merodach was not a popu- lar deity in Assyria until the later times of the empire, \"ul-lush III. being the first monarch who a.ssigned him a prominent place in the Assyrian pantheon. vSargon and his successors continued the worship of Merodach. Sargon constantly ascribed his power to the united favor of Asshur and Merodach, and Esar-haddon sculptured the emblems of these two gods over the images of foreign gods presented to him by a sup- pliant prince. But Merodach had no temple in Assyria. Nergal was a god highh' reverenced, be- ing regarded by the Assyrian monarchs as their divine ancestor, Sargon having traced the line of descent through three hundred and fift}' generations. Nergal's symbol was the winged man-headed lion, or the national lion, whose figure enters largely into Ass^t- ian architecture. The confident reliance of the Assyrians on Nergal's protedlion is proven by the conspicuous place his em- blems even'where occupied in their palaces. Nin and Nergal, as the gods of war and hunting, in which occupations the A.ssyriau kings spent their lives, were tutelary gods of these monarchs; and these two deities are found equally a.ssociated in the royal inscrip- tions and sculptures. Sennacherib dedi- cated a temple to Nergal at Tarbisi (now Sherif-Khan); and he may have had one at Calah, as a smaller temple with the lion en- trance is found in the ruins on the north- west comer of the Nimrud mound, and as he was mentioned as one of the ' ' resident gods" of Calah. Ishtar was a favorite goddess of the As- syrian kings, who styled her "their lady," and sometimes coupled her with Asshur, "the Great Lord," in their invocations. Ish- tar had a very old temple at Asshur, the primitive Assyrian capital, and this temple Tiglath-Pileser I. repaired aud beautified. Asshur-izir-pal erected a second temple to her at Nineveh, and she had a third at Ar- bela, which Asshur-bani-pal says he restored. Sargon put the western gate of his new 226 ANCIENT HIS TOR } '. — . / 55 } 'RIA. city under the united protection of Ishtar and Anu. Sargon's son and successor, Sennacherib, spoke of Asshur and Ishtar as about to "call the kings his sons to their sovereignty over Assyria," and implored Asshur and Ishtar to "hear their prayers." Sennacherib's grandson, Asshur-bani-pal, the royal hunter, was de\-oted to Ishtar, whom he considered the special patron of his fa\-or- ite pastime, the chase of the lion and the wild bull. Ishtar appears as one goddess divided into many; as the Ishtar of Nin- eveh, the Ishtar of Arbela, and the Ishtar of Babylon are all distinguished from each other, a separate address being made to each of them in the .same iuvocation, as in that of Sennacherib and in that of Esar-haddon. Thus though Ishtar was a general objecft of wonship throughout Assyria, she had a dLstiuclly local charaifter in the various As- syrian and Babylonian cities. Nebo was one of the most ancient of As- syrian gods, and his name enters as an ele- ment into a king's name in the twelfth cen- tury before Christ, namely that of Mutaggil- Nebo. But he was not extensively worshiped until V'ul-lush III. had given him a promi- nent place in the A.s.syrian pantheon after leading an expedition into Babylonia, where Nebo had always been highlj' honored. "\'ul-lush III. .set up two statues to Nebo at Calah, and perhaps ereifled to him the tem- ple there called Bit-Saggil, or Beth-Saggil, from which Nebo derived his name of Pal Bit-Saggil Sennacherib and Esar-haddon held this god in high veneration, the latter putting him above Merodach in au important invocation. A.sshur-bani-pal also paid Nebo much reverence, alluding to him and his wife, 'W(''armita, as the deities uuder whose auspices he engaged in .some literarj' work. After these chief deities, the Assyrians recognized and adored a multitude of inferior divinities. Beltis, the wife of Bel; and Gula, the wife of Sharaas; also Ishtar, who is sometimes alluded to as the wife of Nebo, were all goddesses of exalted rank and im- portance. But Sheruba, the wife of .Asshur; Anata, or Anuta, the wife of Anu; Davkina, the wife of Hoa; Shala, the wife of \'ul; Zir- banit, the wife of Merodach; Laz, the wife of Nergal; and Warmita, usually called the wife of Nebo, did not occupy a place in the Assyrian pantheon at all in comparison with the dignity and rank of their hu.sbauds. Nin, the Assyrian Hercules, and Sin, the Moon-god, had wives also; but their proper names are not known, Nin's wife being called "the Queen of the Land," and vSin's wife "the Great Lady." Thus the Assj-rians usually combined in the same temple the worship of the male and the female principle; the female deities — with the exception of Beltis, the wife of Bel; Gula, the wife of Shamas; and Ishtar, either as an independent goddess or as the wife of Nebo, who are as strong and distinct as their husbands — are in most cases only the reflec- tion of their husbands, thus having an un- substantial charaifter, and occupj-ing a very insignificant position in the pantheon. Some minor goddesses, among whom was Telita, the goddess of the great marshes near Baby- lon, stood alone, unassociated with any male deity. Most of the minor male divinities likewise had no female companions, the notable exceptions to this rule being Martu, whose wife was called ' ' the Lady of Tig- ganna," and Idak, God of the Tigris, whose wife was Belat-Muk. Prominent among the minor male divini- ties were Martu, called a son of Anu and "the Minister of the deep, ' ' and corresponding to the Greek Erebus; Sargana, also ranked as a son of Anu, and from whom Sargon is supposed to have derived his name; Idak, God of the Tigris; Supulat, Lord of the Euphrates; and II, who, though the Baby- lonian chief god, occupied an humble position in the A.ssyrian pantheon. Tiglath-Pileser I. repaired a temple to II at Asshur about B. C. 1150. Besides these just mentioned, there were a nuiltitude of minor Assyrian divinities, of whom but ven,- little is yet known. The A.ssyrians are supposed to have be- lieved in the existence of genii, .some of whom they considered powers of good, others powers of evil. The winged figure wearing the horned caj), usually represented RliLICION. 227 as waiting upon the kiiis^ when he is en- gaged in any sacred capacity, is heHeved to be his tutehiry genius, the spirit carefully watching o\'er him and proteifling him from the s])irits of darkness. This figure gener- all>' carries a pomegranate or a pine-cone in the right hand, and sometimes holds a plaited bag or basket in the left, while at other times this hand is free. The pine- cone, when carried, is always pointed towards the king, as if signifying the means of communication between the protedtor and the protected, the instrument conveying grace and strength from the genius to the human being whom he had taken under his care. The sacred basket is often very ele- ganth- and elaborately ornamented, some- times with winged figures in adoration be- fore the sacred tree, and the^- themselves holding baskets. The hawk-headed figure, also found attending upon the king and watching his acflions, is likewise believed to cepresent a good genius. -Ni.iKocn lii-.i-oui': TiiH sv-MLui.ic Tkhi;. As Seen in Sargou's Great Palace. Few representations of evil genii have been discovered. Among these is the mon- ster — half lion, half eagle, driven into re- treat bj- Vul's thunderbolts — found among the sculptures at Nimrud, the ancient Ca- lah. Certain grotesque statuettes found at Khorsabad, representing a human figure having a lion's head with the ears of an ass, have likewise been classed with these evil genii. In one case we see two monsters with heads like the one ju.st described, placed on human bodies whose legs end in eagle's claws, both armed with daggers and maces, and struggling with each other. This sculpture — found in the ruins of As- shur-bani-pal's great palace at Nineveh, and now in the Briti.sh Museum — is believed to be a symbolical illustration of the tendency of evil to turn iqion itself and waste its strength by internal contention and tur- moil. Instances are abundant in which a human figure with the head of a hawk or an eagle threatens a winged man-headed lion, the emblem of Nergal, with a strap or a mace; thus typifying the spirit of evil at- tacking a god, or the hawk-headed genius driving Nergal out of Assyria — an emble- matic representation of war. The Assyrian religion had a strongly- idolatrous character in its mode of worship. The different images of the same deity came to be regarded as separate objects of worship in their different temples; and thus we find the Ishtar of Arbela, the Ishtar of Nineveh, and the Ishtar of Bab}-lon invoked by the same monarch in the same inscription as separate divinities. The identifica- tion of the god with the image is ex- emplified in the great Inscription of Tiglath-Pileser I., where the king \ Ijoasts that he set up Ann and Vul in their places, and where he constantly identifies the images which he car- ries O0" from foreign lands with their gods. In the same spirit Sennach- erib inquires, through Rabshakeh : " Where are the gods of Hamath and of Arpad ? Where are the gods of vSepharvaim, Hena and Ivah ? ' ' The meaning of these interrogatory- ex- pressions is that the gods of those foreign lands had been carried captive to Assyria when their idols were conveyed there. When Hezekiah, King of Judah, had de- stroyed all the images throughout his do- minions Sennacherib thought that monarch had deprived his subjeifls of all divine pro- tedlion. The usual Assyrian custom of carrying off" the idols of foreign countries was designed to weaken the enemies of As- syria by depriving them of their divine pro- tedlors. The.se idols were not removed in an irreverent or sacrilegious manner, and 228 A NCI EN T HIS TOR Y.—A SS ) 'RIA . were deposited in the chief Assyrian tem- ples, so that these gods wonld thereafter be among the celestial guardians of the As- syrians. Assyrian idols were made from stone, baked clay or metal. Some images of Nebo and of Ishtar have been found among the ruins. Those of Nebo are standing figures somewhat larger than the human size. They show the marks of the ravages of time, and, like many of the winged man-headed lions and bulls, are disfigured by several lines of cuneiform inscriptions, stating the fadl that the statues represent Nebo, and relating the circumstances of their dedication. The few clay idols found are usually of good material and of different sizes, smaller than the full human stature, but are com- monly mere statuettes less than a foot high. These statuettes are believed to have been mostly intended for private use among the people in general, while the stone idols were designed for public worship in the shrines and temples. Idols in metal have not been found among the Assyrian remains, but a passage from the Hebrew prophet Nahum indicates that the A.ssyrians had images made of that material in their temples. In alluding to Nineveh, Nahum .says: "And the L,ord hath given a commandment con- cerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown ; out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image. ' ' The Assyrian method of worship consisted mainly of sacrifices and offerings. Tiglath- Pileser I. states in his long Inscription that he offered sacrifices to Ann and Vul when he had finished repairing their temple. Asshur- izir-pal states that he sacrificed to the gods after having embarked on the Mediterra- nean. VuMush III. sacrificed to Merodach, Nebo and Nergal in their respedtive tem- ples at Babylon, Borsippa and Cutha. Sen- nacherib offered sacrifices to Hoa on the sea- shore after his expedition in the Persian Gulf against Susiana. Esar-haddon "slew great and costly sacrifices" at Nineveh when he had fini.shed his great palace in that city. The Assyrian monarchs in general consid- ered sacrifice a duty, and this was the usual method by which they propitiated the favor of the national deities. The bas-reliefs give us scant information concerning the manner of the Assyrian sac- rifices, but they show that the animal spe- cially sacrificed was the bull. The inscrip- tions inform us that sheep and goats were likewise used for sacrifice, and there is a representation of a ram or wild goat being led to the altar. On Lord Aberdeen's Black Stone, a monument of Esar-haddon's reign, a bull is represented as brought up to a temple by the king. On a nuitilated obe- li.sk of Asshur-bani-pal's time, now in the British Museum, the whole sacrificial scene is presented to our view. The king and six priests, one of whom carries a cup, while the other five are employed about the sacri- ficial animal, advance in procession towards the front of the temple, where the god with the honied cap on his head occupies a throne, while a beardless attendant priest is paying adoration to him. The king pours a libation over a large bowl, fixed in a stand, just in front of a tall fire-altar, from which flames arise. The priest stands close behind with a cup in his hand. The bull's advance is stayed by a bearded priest just in front of the animal. Two priests walk behind the bull and hold him with a rope fastened to one of his front legs near the hoof. These two priests and two others behind them ap- pear, from the position of their heads and arms, to be engaged in a solemn chant. The flame on the altar indicates that the sacrifice is to be burned upon that altar, which is only large enough to buni a part of the animal at a time. Assyrian altars differed in fonn and size. Some were square and not high, with the top ornamented with gradines, below which the sides were plain or fluted. Others about the same height were triangular, with a round top consisting of a plain flat stone, sometimes inscribed round the edge. An altar of this form was di.scovered by M. Botta at Khorsabad. • Another of almost the same shape was found by Mr. Layard at Nimrud, and is now in the British Museum. A third kind of altar resembled a portable RELIGION. 229 stand, narrow hnt rcacliinj; up to a man's head. These kinds of altars the Assyrians carried al)out in their expeditions, and in the entrenched camps priests are sometimes seen officiating at them in their sacerdotal costume. The Assyrian kings deposited in the tem- ples of their gods, as thank-offerings, many precious produces from the countries which they invaded with their annies. \'arious kinds of stones or marbles, rare metals and images of foreign deities, are specially named in the Tiglath-Pileser Inscription as among such offerings. Sih'er and gold — so largely employed in the adonunent of temples that the)- were .said to have been sometimes "as splendid as the sun " — were thus dedicated to the gods. The sculptures, mostly monuments erected by the kings, represent their own religious performances, but not those of the people. The Assyrian kings thus exercised priestly funcflions, and in the religious scenes which illustrate their a(fts of worship no priest is repre.sented as inter\-ening between the king and the god, but all priests occupj' a very un- important position. The king himself stands and worships near the holy tree, pours out li- bations with his own hands, and may himself have slain victims for sacrifice. As the Baby- lonians and all other Oriental nations had their priesthoods, it is likewise probable that the religious affairs of the Assyrian people were conducted under the auspices of their priests, whom the cylinders represent as in- troducing worshipers to the gods, and who are attired in long robes and wearing mitres upon their heads. The worshiper is usually represented as carr\-ing an antelope or a young goat, intended to propitiate the deity. The Assyrian sculptures generally represent the priests without beards. At the Assyrian festivals great multitudes, particular!}' of the chief men, assembled; many sacrifices were offered, and the festivi- ties continued several days. Manj- of the worshipers were afforded accommodations in the royal palace, to which the temple was commonly only an addition, and were fed at the monarch's expense and given lodging in the halls and other apartments. The As- syrian religion also embraced fasting, as at- tested exclusively by the Book of Jonah. When a fast was proclaimed, the king, the nobles and the people attired themselves in sackcloth, sprinkled ashes upon their heads, and abstained from eating and drinking until the fast was ended. The animals within the walls of the cit>- where the fast was ordered were also robed in sackcloth, and were likewise denied food and drink. Business was su.spended, and the entire pop- ulace iniited in prayer to A.sshur, "the Great Lord, "thus imploring his pardon and seek- 23° ANCIENT HISTORY.— ASSYRIA. ing to propitiate his favor. These were not simply formal ceremonies. On the occasion alluded to in the Book of Jonah, the repent- ance of the Ninevites appears to have been sincere. Says this authority: "God saw their works, that the>- turned from their evil way ; and God repented of the evil that he said he would do unto them; and he did it not." Altogether the Assyrians were a strongly- religious people, although not as intensely .so as the Egyptians. Their temples, however, were subordinated to their palaces, and the most imposing emblems of their gods, such as the winged man-headed bulls and lions, symbolizing respecftively Nin and Nergal, were degraded to mere architeeflural orna- ments. Their religion was very^ gross and sensuous in its nature, and its intensely-mate- rialistic chara(fter is attested by the pradlice of image-worship. The Assyrians worshiped more by means of sacrifices and offerings than b}' prayer, though in times of distress and misfortune they could offer prayers of the deepest sincerit)', which goes to prove that tliev were adluated h\ honest motives and purposes concerning their numerous .sol- emn addresses and invocations, as read in their public and private documents. The devotion of the learned to religious subjetfts is shown by the many mythological tablets; and the pietj- of the masses is indicated by the general chara(5ter of their names, and by the almost universal custom of inscribing sacred figures and symbols upon their signets The sensuous nature of the religion con- sequently led to an ostentatious ceremonial, a taste for pompous processions, and the use of gorgeous vestments ; the last being very elaborately represented in the Nimrud sculp- tures. The costume of the priests was mag- nificent, their robes being elegantly em- broidered, mostly with religious figures and emblems, .such as the winged circle, the pine-cone, the pomegranate, the .sacred tree, the winged man-headed lion, etc. The of- ficiating priests wore armlets, bracelets, necklaces and ear-rings; and their heads were encircled with an elegantly-adorned fillet, or covered with a mitre or a showy cap. In the religious processions the musicians performed an imposing part. CHIEF DEITIES OF THE ASSYRIANS. GODS. CORRESPONDING GODDESSES. chief seat of worship. ASSHUR .... Sheruha Throughout the Knipire. H Q f Anu . . S:S BEL. . . Eg Ihoa . . Anuta Beltis (Mylitta) Dav-Kina Asshur. Asshur and Calah. Asshur and Calah. go (Sin . . . P S \ Shamas . w g i VUL . . . "The Great Lady" .... GULA Calah and Dur-Sargina. Dur-Sargina. NiN ■\TkroD\CH "The Queen of the Land." Zir-Banit Calah and Nineveh. Tarbisi. Calah. Nergal .... Nebo Laz Warmita and Ishtar .... CHAPTER IV. THE MEDIAN EMPIRE. SECTION I.— GEOGRAPHY OF MEDIA. i]EDIA occupied an extensive re- gion south and south-west of the Caspian Sea, east of Ar- menia and A.ssj'ria, north of Persia proper, and west of the great salt desert and Parthia. It was about six hundred miles in extent from north to south, and about two hundred and fifty miles from east to west; thus ha\-ing an area of nearly one hundred and fifty thousand .square miles, a greater extent than Assyria and Clialdaea combined. It occupied a tracl in one solid mass, "with no straggling or outh'ing portions ; and it is stronglj- de- fended on almost everj- side by natural bar- riers offering great difficulties to an invader. ' ' The Median territory comprises two re- gions — the northern and western portion being a mountain distridl embracing a series of lofty ridges; and the southern and east- em section forming a part of the great pla- teau of Iran, extending southward to the i Indian Ocean, embracing all of ancient Per- sia and Carmania, the latter being the mod- em Kerman, while eastward this extensive table-land is bounded by the modem Af- i ghanistan. The average elevation of the territory occupied by ancient Media is about three thousand feet above the le\el of the [ sea. I The western part of the moinitain re- gion of Media was ancienth- called the Za- gros, and is part of the modem Kurdistan and Luristan. It is thus spoken of: "Full of torrents, of deep ravines, of rocky sum- mits, abrupt and almost inaccessible ; con- | taining but few pas.ses, and those narrow and easily defensible: secure, moreover, i ( 23 owing to the rigor of its climate, from hos- tile invasion for more than half the year, it has defied all attempts to effect its perma- nent subjugation, whether made by the As- sj-rians, Persians, Greeks, Parthians, or Turks, and remains to this da)- as indepen- dent of the great powers in its neighborhood, as it was when the Assyrian armies first penetrated its recesses. Nature seems to have construcfted it to be a nursery of hardy and vigorous men, a stumbling-block to conquerors, a thorn in the side of everj' powerful empire which arises in this part of the great Eastern continent." The northem part of the mountain region is called Elburz, and contains the lofty, snow-covered peak of Demavend, which overlooks Teheran, the present capital of Persia, and is the highest portion of Asia west of the great Himalaya mountain chain. The Elburz region is not as well watered as the Zagros district, its streams being small, frequently dr\- in summer, and ab- sorbed by the Caspian Sea, which bounds the region on the north. ' ' The elevated plateau which stretches from the foot of these two mountain regions to the south and east, is for the most part a flat, sandj- desert, incapable of sustaining more than a sparse and scantj' population. The northem and western portions are, how- ever, less arid than the east and south, be- ing watered for some distance by the streams that descend fr-om Zagros and Elburz, aud deriving fertility also from the spring rains. Some of the rivers which flow from Zagros on this side are large and strong. One, the Kizil-Uzen, reaches the Caspian. Another, I) • 232 ANCIENT HIST'ORY.— MEDIA. the Zenderud, fertilizes a large districft near Isfahan. A third, the Bendamir, flows by Persepolis and terminates in a sheet of water of some size — Lake Bakhtigan. A tra(5t thus intervenes between the mountain re- gions and the desert, which, though it can- not be called fertile, is fairly produdlive, and can support a large settled population. This forms the chief portion of the region which the ancients called Media." Media was mainly a sterile country, and had an attra<5live appearance only in spring. In the mountain region the climate is severe. On the plateau it is more temperate, but the thermometer does not often reach ninety de- grees in the shade. All in all, the climate is considered healthy. With the aid of irri- gation the great table-land yields ' ' good crops of grain, rice, wheat, barle}'. Indian corn, doiira, millet and sesame. It will like- wise produce cotton, tobacco, saffron, rhu- barb, madder, poppies which give a good opium, senna and asafoetida. Its garden vegetables are excellent, and include pota- toes, cabbages, lentils, kidney-beans, peas, turnips, carrots, spinnach, beet-root and cu- cumbers." Media produced various valuable minerals. Many different kinds of stone are yet found throughout the countr>-, chief of which is the beautiful Tabriz marble. Iron, copper and native steel are still mined. Gold and silver were found in the mountains in ancient times. Sulphur, alum and gypsum are found in different portions of the country, and salt likewise exists in abundant quan- tities. The wild animals of Media were the lion, the tiger, the leopard, the bear, the beaver, the jackal, the wolf, the wild ass, the ibex, or wild goat, the wild sheep, the stag, the antelope, the wild boar, the fox, the hare, the rabbit, the ferret, the rat, the jerboa, the porcupine, the mole and the mannot. The domestic animals were the camel, the horse, the mule, the ass, the cow, the goat, the sheep, the buffalo, the dog and the cat. The .southern part of Media, or Media proper, was called Media Magna ; while the northern, or mountainous, portion was known as Media Atropatene. The capital and metropolis of each of these divisions was a city called Ecbatana. Next to the two Ecbatanas were Rhages, Bagistan, Adrapan, Aspadan and a few other cities. The southern Ecbatana, or Agbatana — the capital and metropolis of Media Magna — was called Hagmatan by the Medes and Persians themselves; and, according to Polyhistor and Diodorus, was situated on a plain at the foot of Mount Orontes, a little west of the Zagros range. The notices of these writers and those of Eratosthenes, Isi- dore, Pliny, Arrian and others, would imply that the site of this famous city was that of the modern town of Hamadan, the name of which is a slight corruption of the ancient name as known by the Medes and Persians. Mount Orontes has been identified as the modern Ellwend, or Erwend, a long and lofty mountain connedled with the Zagros range, and surrounded with fertile plains famed for their rich and abundant vegetation and their dense gjoves of forest trees with their luxu- riant foliage. Hamadan lies at the foot of this mountain. Ecbatana was mainly renowned for its magnificent royal palace, which Diodorus a.scribed to Semiramis. Polybius assigned the edifice a circumference of seven stadia, or 1420 yards, a little over four-fifths of an English mile. The latter writer also spoke of two classes of pillars, those of the main buildings and those which skirted the courts, thus implying that the courts were sur- rounded with colonnades. These wooden pillars, either of cedar or cypress, supported beams of the same wood crossing each other at right angles, leaving square spaces be- tween, which were then filled in with wood- work. Above the whole was a roof sloping at an angle and composed of silver plates in the shape of tiles. The pillars, beams and the other wood-work were also lined with a thin coating of gold and other precious metals. Herodotus described an edifice which he called "the palace of Deioces," but this is believed to apply to the northern Ecbatana. Polybius saj^s that Ecbatana was an unwalled city in his time, which was GEOCRAI'IIY. 233 ill the second century before Christ. The Medes and Persians did not generally sur- round their cities with walls, l)einji satisfied with establishing in each town a fortified citadel or stronghold, around which the houses were clustered. Ecbatana therefore never withstood a siege, and alwaj-s sub- mitted to a conquering foe without resistance. The description in the Apocryphal Book of Judith — which, contradicted by e^■er>^ other evidence, is purely mythical — represents Ecbatana as having walls of hewn stone nine feet long and four and a half feet wide; the walls being one hundred and five feet high and seventy-five feet wide, the gates of the same altitude, and the towers over the gates one hundred and fifty feet high. The chief city of Media Atropatene was the northern Ecbatana, which the Greeks some- times mistook for the southern metropolis and the real capital of Media, and which in later times was known as Gaza, Gazaca, Canzaca, or Vera. The description of Ec- batana accords with the remains of a cit)- in Azerbijan, and not with the local fea- tures of the site of Hamadan; and a city in this region was called by Moses of Chorene "the second Ecbatana, the seven-walled town. ' ' This cit}- was located on and about a conical hill sloping gently down from its summit to its base, interposed bj- seven cir- cuits of wall between the plain and the crest of the hill. The royal palace and the treas- uries were at the top of the hill, within the innermost circle of the defenses; while the fortifications were on the sides, and the dwellings and other edifices of the city were at the base of the hill, outside the circuit of the outermost wall. Herodotus states that the battlements crowning the walls were differently colored ; those of the outer being white, the next black, the third scarlet, the fourth blue, the fifth orange, the sixth sil- ver, and the seventh gold. This gave the citadel towering above the town seven dis- tindl rows of colors. The city thus de- scribed by Herodotus coincides with the ruins at the modeni town of Takht-i-Sulei- man, in the upper vallej- of the Saruk, a tributary of the Jaghetu; and this is believed 1— 15.-U. H. to be the site of the ancient northern Ec- batana, though only one wall can now be traced. Rhages, the Median city next in impor- tance to the two Ecbatanas, was .situated near the Ca.spian Gates, near the eastern ex- tremity of the Median territory. It is men- tioned in the Zend-Avesta among the primi- tive An,an settlements, and in the Rooks of Tobit and Judith. In the Behistun In.scrip- tion, Darius Hysta.spes, the great Persian king, mentioned it as the .scene of the clos- ing struggle of the great Median revolt. Darius Codomannus, the last Persian king, sent thither his heavy baggage and the ladies of his court when he determined to leave Ecbatana and flee eastward after his final defeat by Alexander the Great. The site of this ancient city has sometimes been identified with the ruins of a town called Rhei, or Rhey, though this is uncertain. In the same vicinity, perhaps on the site of the present ruins known as Uewanukif, was the Median city of Charax. The cities of Bagistan, Adrapan, Concobar and Aspa- dan, were in the western part of Media. Bagistan is de.scribed hy Isidore as "a city situated on a hill, where there was a pillar and a statue of Semiramis. ' ' Diodorus gives an account of the arrival of Semiramis at the place ; of a royal park being establi.shed by her in the plain below the mountain, \\hich was watered by an abundant spring; of the face of the rock of the lofty precipice on the side of the mountain, and of her car\ing her own effigy on the surface of this rock with an Assyrian cuneiform inscription. This ancient city has been identified with the celebrated Behistun, where the plain, the fountain, the precipitous rock and the scraped surface are yet to be seen; though the suppo.sed figure of Semiramis, her pillar and her inscription are not visible. The Assyrian, Persian and Parthian monarchs made this rock renowned by giving it the sculptures and inscriptions which showed them to have been the successive lords of Western Asia during a period of a thousand years. The great inscription of Darius Hj-staspes at this place has already been al- 234 ANCIENT HISTORY.— MEDIA. luded to. The Parthian Gotarzes inscribed on this famous rock a record of his viclorj- over his rival Meherdates. Adrapan was mentioned by Isidore as be- ing situated between Bagistan and Ecbatana, at the distance of twelve schoeni — thirty- six Roman, or thirty-four Engli.sh miles — from the latter cit}-. He described it as the site of an ancient city destroyed by Tigranes the Armenian. This place has been iden- tified with the modern village of Arteman, on the southern face of Elwend, near its base. Sir Henn,- Rawlinson sa3^s of this place that ' ' during the .se\'erest winter, when Hamadan and the surrounding country are buried in snow, a warm and sunny climate is to be found; whilst in the summer a thousand rills descending from Elwend diffuse around fertility and fragrance." Professor George Rawlinson, in describing the same place, says: ' 'Groves of trees grow up in rich luxu- riance from the well-irrigated soil, whose thick foliage affords a welcome shelter from the heat of the noonda}' sun. The climate, the gardens, and the manifold bles.sings of the place are proverbial throughout Persia, and naturally caused the choice of the site for a retired palace, to which the court of Ecbatana might adjourn when either the summer heat and dust, or the winter cold, made residence iu the capital irksome." Concobar was in the vicinity of Adrapan, on the road leading to Bagistan, and is be- lieved to be the modern Kungawar. It is also supposed to be the place called Chavon by Diodonis, where he says that Semiramis built a palace and laid out a paradi.se. Isi- dore says that a famous temple to Artemis was at this place. Colossal ruins crown the sinnmit of the acclivitj- on which Kungawar is situated. The Median town of Aspadan — mentioned by Ptolemy — has been identified as the famous modern Persian city of Isfahan, the great capital of the Suffee Kings of Persia several centuries ago. SECTION II.— POLITICAL HISTORY. |HE origin of the Medes is in- A'olved in impenetrable ob- scurity. They were of Aryan ||k^^^^^1^ I descent, and were a kindred people with their southern neighbors, the Persians, from whom they differed but little in race, language, institu- tions and religion. From the little that we know of their primitive historj- it appears that they were an important tribe in verj' early times. The Book of Genesis mentions them under the name of Madai, and Berosus States that they furni.shed a dynasty to Babylon at a period anterior to B. C. 2000. These circtnustances would seem to show that the Medes were a powerful j)rime\-al race, and adlually constituted a ruling power in We.stern Asia as early as the twenty-third century before Christ — long before Abraham migrated from Ur to Harran. Recent linguistic research has satisfac- torily shown that 'Ci\& Arba Lisini, or "Four Tongues," of ancient Chaldaea, so frequently mentioned on the ancient monuments, in- cluded an Arj-an formation, thus confirming Berosus' s account of an Ar>-an conquest of Chaldsea B. C. 2286. There are other evi- dences of the early spread of the Median race, thus implying that tliey were a great nation in Western Asia long prior to the date of the Ar>-an, or Iranic, movements in Bacftria and adjacent regions. Scattered remnants of a great migratory host, which issued from the mountains east of the Tigris and dispersed itself over the regions to the north and north-west in prehistoric times, are plainly visible in such races as the Mat- ieni of Zagros and Cappadocia, the Sauro- matae (or Northern Medes) of the country between the Palus Maeotis and the Caspian Sea, the Maetteor Masotse of the tracft about the mouth of the Don, and the Maedi of Pi. V. / /■/( ■. / r. HIS Ti Vv' ) : 235 Thrace. ^V Iribe mentioned 1)>- Herodotus — the Sigynna.' in the region between the Danube and the Adriatic — claimed to be of Median descent, and this chiim was sub- stantiated by the resemblance of their na- tional dress to that of the Medes. Hero- dotus, in relating these facts, remarks that ' ' nothing is impossible in the long lapse of ages. ' ' Two Greek legends designated the Medes under the two eponyms of Media and Andro- meda, and refer to a period anterior to the age of Homer — no later than B. C. 1000. The.se legends connecfl the Medes with Syria and Colchis — two countries remote from each other — thus showing that the fame of the Medes was great in that part of Asia known to the Greeks. From the.se obsen'ations it would seem that the Medes must have been as great and powerful a people in primitive times as they became in the period of the decline and fall of Assyria. We po.ssess no distindl historical knowledge of the first period of Median greatness, the only traces of early Median preponderance being found in ethnological names and mythological speculations. Recent discoveries show that the Median dynasty which governed Chal- dsea from B. C. 2286 to B. C. 2052 was a Susianian, or Elamite, race of kings. The histor}' of the Medes as a nation be- gins in the latter half of the ninth century before Christ. The Assyrian monarch, Shalmaneser H., the Black Obelisk king, states that in the twenty-fourth year of his reign, B. C. 835, after conquering the Zimri of the Zagros mountain region and reduc- ing the Persians to tribute, he invaded Media Magna, which he plundered after ravaging the country with fire and sword. The Medes were then divided into many tribes ruled b)' petty chieftains, and were thus a weak and insignificant people. The time of this first As.syrian attack on Media, when Assyria was in her prime, and Media was only emerging from weakness and obscurity, was tlie period which Ctesias assigned to the fall of As.sj-ria and the ri.se of Media. The account of Ctesias regard- ing this fadt was accepted until the recent discoveries of the native Assyrian records showed the untrustworthiness of his chro- nology. The Assyrian king, Shamas-V'ul H., the son and successor of Shalmaneser II., al.so invaded Media and devastated the country with fire and sword. Shamas-X'ul's .son and successor, Vul-lush III., reduced the Medes to tribute. Towards the end of the ninth centur>' before Christ the Medes agreed to pay an annual tribute to exempt their coun- try from ravage. A century later, about B. C. 710, the great Assyrian king, Sargon, invaded Media with a large army, overran the countrj-, seized several towns and ' ' annexed them to As- syria, " and also established a number of fortified posts in portions of the countrj-. A standing army was stationed in these posts to overawe the inhabitants and to pre- vent them from making an effectual resist- ance to the arms of the Assyrians. With the same end in view wholesale deportations were resorted to, many of the Medes being colonized in other portions of the Assyrian Empire, while Samaritan captives were set- tled in the Median cities. Bj- waj- of tribute the Medes were required to furnish annually a number of horses to the Assyrian rojal stud. As Ctesias' s account of the Median revolt under Arbaces and the conquest of Nineveh synchronizes almost with the first known A.ssj'rian ravages in Media, so Herodotus' s account of the revolt of the Medes under Deioces corresponds with the date assigned by the Assyrian records for the complete Assyrian subjugation of Media. After Sargon' s conquest of Media Magna the Medes of that region quietly submit- ted to Assyrian domination for almost three-fourths of a centun,-. During this period the Ass>'rian supremacy was extended over the more remote Median tribes, particu- larly those of Azerbijan. Sennacherib boasted that in the beginning of his reign (B. C. 702) he received an embassj- from the more distant portions of Media — "parts of which the kings his fathers had not even heard" — which brought him presents in 236 ANCIEjVT history. — MEDIA. token of submission, and willingly accepted his yoke. Sennacherib's son, Esar-haddon, stated that about his tenth year (B. C. 671) he invaded Bikni, or Bikan, a remote Median province— "whereof the kings his fathers had never heard the name " — and compelled -the cities of this region to acknowledge his dominion. The numerous petty indepen- dent chiefs who ruled the cities of this terri- tory, according to Esar-haddon's account, submitted to his arms and agreed to pay tribute, after he had carried two of them captive to Assyria, and Assyrian officers were admitted into their cities. The Median kings according to Cte.sias, beginning with Arbaces, are regarded by modem writers as fidlitious personages, as is also the Deioces at the head of the list ac- cording to Herodotus. The following is a table of the Median kings according to these two Greek writers: MEDIAN KINGS ACCORDING TO CTESIAS. Arbaces . Maudaces sosarmus . Artycas . Arbianes . Art.€us . . Artynes . Astibaras 28 years. 50 " 30 " 50 ■' 22 " 40 ■' 22 " 40 " MEDIAN KINGS ACCORDING HERODOTUS. TO Interregnum Deioces . . . Interregnum Deioces . . . Phraortes . . Cvaxares . . Phraortes . . Cyax.\res . . 53 years. 53 22 40 22 40 As the time assigned by Herodotus to the reign of Deioces, whom he represents as the founder of a centralized monarchy in Media, is the very period during which Sargon of Assyria was establishing fortified posts in the country and .settling his Israelite cap- tives in the "cities of the Medes" — and as the alleged reign of Deioces according to Herodotus .synchronizes with the brilliant A.ssyrian reigns of Sargon, Sennacherib, Esar-haddon and Asshur-bani-pal — it is evi- dent that the whole story of Deioces is purely mythical, as bis name is not men- tioned in the contemporary annals of As- syria, according to which the Medes were still a w-eak, disorganized and divided peo- ple. Even as late as B. C. 671 Esar-haddon is said to have subdued the more distant Medes, whom he still found inider the gov- ernment of many petty chiefs. According to the e\-idence furnished us by modem in- vestigation and discovery', a consolidated monarchy could not have been organized in Media before B. C. 660, almost a half cen- tur\- sub.sequent to the time a.ssigned by Herodotus. The sudden development of national power and the rise of a centralized monarchy in Media were owing to the recent Aryan migrations from the regions east and south- east of the Caspian sea. Cvaxares, who about B. C. 632 conducfted a Median expe- dition against Nineveh, was known to the Aryan tribes of the North-east, and in the reign of the great Persian king, Darius Hystaspes, a Sagartian headed a revolt in that region, claiming the Sagartian throne as a descendant from Cyaxares. It is sup- posed that Cyaxares and his father, the Phraortes of Herodotus, condu(5led fresh Aryan migrations from Batlria and Sagartia to Media, thus augmenting the strength of the Aryan race in the region just east of the Zagros range, and laying the founda- tions of a powerful consolidated kingdom in that mountain land. Accepted by the Aryan Medes as their chief, Cyaxares reduced the scattered Scythic tribes who occupied the high mountain region, and subdued the Zimri, the Minni, the Hupuska and other small nations occupying the territory between Media Magna and Assyria. Thus Cyaxares is generally regarded as the founder of the great Median Empire; and Phraortes, whom Herodotus represents as the second King of Media and as the father of Cyaxares, is believed to be a fabulous personage. The testimony of ^sclnlus and the Behistun Inscription both make Cyaxares the founder of the Median mon- archy. No .sooner did Cyaxares find hini.self at the head of a powerful centralized monarchy, POLITIC A I. HIS T( Vv' ) ■ 237 and free from all danger of Assyrian cou- (juesl, than he meditated the bold enterprise of attacking the colossal power wliich had for almost seven centuries swayed the desti- nies of Western Asia. The last great As- syrian king, Asshur-bani-pal, was now in his old age, and his declining vigor and energy afforded encouragement to the am- bitious designs of the warlike Median mon- arch. Therefore about B. C. 634, when Cyaxares had reigned thiry-four years, the Medes suddenly issued from the passes of the Zagros and overran the fertile plains of Assyria at the base of the mountains. The Assyrian monarch, in great alarm, placed himself at the head of his troops and took the field against the invaders. The Medes were thoronghlj' defeated in a great battle, their army being entirely cut to pieces, and the father of Cyaxares being among the slain. Thus the first Median attack on Asssyria ended in complete disaster. The Medes had overrated their militarj- strength. Although they had already proven themselves a match for the Assyrians while acting on the defeu- si\-e in their mountain fastnesses, thej- could not withstand their enemy in the open plain while assuming the aggressive. Cyaxares abandoned the struggle until his troops could be properly disciplined to prevail against the armed hosts of A.ssyria. He at once .set about organizing his army into several distinct corps, consisting respedlively of infantn,' and cavalry, of archers, slingers and lancers. Feeling himself able to cope with the As- syrians, Cyaxares renewed the war and led a large anny into Assj-ria, signally defeating the troops of Asshur-bani-pal and forcing them to seek refuge behind the defenses of Nineveh. The victorious Median king pur- sued the fleeing Assyrian hosts to the very walls of their capital, which he at once be- sieged, but he was soon recalled to the de- fense of his own land by the terrible Scythian inundation which .swept ruin and devastation over both Assyria and Media. The Scythians, as we have noticed in the history of Assyria, occupied the vast plains north of the Euxine (now Black Sea), the Caucasus mountains, the Caspian sea. and the Jaxartes, or vSihon river. Their charac- teristics have been described in our account of their invasion of Assyria. After pouring over the Caucasus, the Scyths attacked the Medes under Cyaxares as they were return- ing from the siege of Nineveh to defend their own country from the barbarous hordes of the North. The Medes and the Scyths were fully matched, each being hardy, war- like, adlive and energetic, and each having the cavalry as its chief arm and the bow as its chief weapon. The Medes were doubtless the better disciplined. They had more of a variety of weapons and soldiers, and were personally the more powerful. But the Scythians were by far the more numerous, besides being recklessly brave and masters of tactics which made them well-nigh irre- sistible. The Scyths had overrun Western Asia to plunder and ravage. Madyes, the Scythian leader, defeated Cj-axares and forced him to accept the suzerainty of the Scyths and to pa)- an annual tribute. The Scythian invaders continued to levy contri- butions upon the conquered people and op- pressed them with repeated exadlions. Spreading over all Western Asia the Scythic invaders carried plunder, devastation and massacre wherever they went. The brave and patriotic Medes, with the love of independence so characteristic of mountaineers, and inspired with pride by their sudden rise and their great success in Assyria, took advantage of the gradual weakening of the barbarians, who were con- stantly dispersing their hosts over Assyria, Mesopotamia, Sjria, Palestine, Armenia and Cappadocia, plundering and marauding ever>-where and settling nowhere, conduct- ing sieges and fighting battles, while their numbers were by degrees reduced b>- the sword, by sickness and excesses. Still fear- ing to encounter the Scyths in open battle, the Median king and his court invited the Scythian chiefs to a grand banquet, and, after making them helplessly intoxicated, remorselesslj' massacred them. The Medes at once flew to anns and at- tacked their Scythian oppressors with a fury 238 ANCIENT HIS TOR ) '.—MEDIA. intensified by years of repression. Nothing is known of the duration and circumstances of the war which ensued, and the stories of Ctesias concerning it are utterly without credit. He says that the Parthians united with their Scythian kinsmen, and that the war continued many years, numerous battles being fought with heavy losses on both sides, and the struggle ending without any de- cisive result. This fanciful writer also states that the Sc}-ths were led by a queen of great beauty and Ijraver)' named Zarina, or Zari- naea, who won the hearts of her foes when unable to withstand their arms. A singularly-romantic love storj' is related concerning this beautiful Amazon. She was said to be the wife of Marmareus, the Scythian king, and to have gone with him to the field, participating in all his battles. Being at one time wounded she was in danger of being taken prisoner by Stryangaeus, son-in- law of the Median king, and only escaped by earnestly imploring Str\'ang£eus to permit her to go. When Strj'angseus was shortly afterwards made prisoner by Marmareus and threatened with death by his captor, Zarina interceded for him, and when her entreaties failed she murdered her husband in order to save her preserver's life. By this time Strj'- angaeus and Zarina were in lo\-e with each other; and peace having been arranged be- tween the Scythsand the Medes, Str>-angseus visited Zarina at her court and was received with hospitality; but when he revealed the secret of his love Zarina repulsed him, re- minding him of his wife, Rhastaea, who was famed as being more laeautiful than herself, and entreating him to exhibit sufficient man- hood by conquering an improper passion. Thereupon Stryangseus retired to his cham- ber and conunitted suicide, after having written to reproach Zarina with being the cause of his death. Ctesias mentions Zarina's capital as a town named Roxanace, which is unknown to any other historian or geographer. The same writer mentions Zarina as having founded other towns. He says that the tomb of Zarina was a triangular pyramid, six hun- dred feet high and more than a mile around tlie base, crowned with a gigantic figure of the queen construcfted from solid gold. This strudture is represented as being the prin- cipal architedtural monument of Zarina's capital. But, casting aside these fabulous stories by Ctesias, we only know that the war ended in the utter discomfiture of the Scyth- ians, who were driven from Media and the neighboring coinitries across the Caucasus into their own homeland. The only ves- tiges which they left behind were the names of the Palestinian citj' of Scythopolis and the Annenian province of Sacassene. Herodotus assigned the duration of the Scythian supremacy over Western Asia a period of twenty-eight 5'ears from their de- feat of Cyaxares to his treacherous massacre of their chiefs. But the chronolog\' of He- rodotus is disputed by modern writers, many of whom give the j^ear B. C. 625 as the date of the fall of Nineveh. Accord- ing to Herodotus that event would have occurred B. C. 602. The belief that 625 is the proper date rests upon the statement of Abydenus and Polyhistor, who conne(5t the fall of Nineveh with the accession of Nabo- polassar at Bab\lon, which event the Canon of Ptolemy fixes at B. C. 625. Besides, the Lydian war of Cyaxares, which took place between B. C. 615 and 610, must have oc- curred after the fall of Nineveh. Eusebius gives B. C. 618 as the year of the destru<5lion of Nineveh, and assigns a much shorter period to the Scythian domination over Western Asia than twenty-eight years; and his view is to be preferred to that of Herod- otus. It is more likely that the twenty- eight years covered the entire period from the time of this first Scythian attack on Media to the final expulsion of the Scyths from Western Asia. The weakness of As- syria and the exhaustion of her resources after the Scythian inroad encouraged Cyax- ares to renew his attack on Nineveh, which lay apparently at the mercy of any bold enemy ready to assail her. The gigantic power which had so long dominated Western Asia had thus fallen into decay; her prestige was gone, her glory had departed, her army POL I TICA L HIS ri ) A' ) ' 239 had lost its spirit and organization, her de- fenses had been weakened, her haughty spirit had been broken. While Cyaxares and his Medes were marching against Nineveh from the east, the Susianians rose in revolt and advanced against Assj-ria from the south. The last Assyrian king, Asshur-emid-iliu, or Saracus, with a portion of his army prepared to de- fend his capital against the Medes, and .sent another portion under his general, Nabo- polassar, to check the advance of the Susianians from the south. But Nabopo- lassar, as already related, betrayed his mas- ter and led a revolt of the Babylonians against the A.ssyrian king. He at once sent an embassy to the Median king, and the re- sult was the close alliance between Cyaxares and Nabopolassar, cemented b)- the marriage of the daughter of Cyaxares with Nabopo- lassar' s son Nebuchadnezzar, as also before noted. The united annies of the Medes and the Babylonians besieged Nineveh, which they finally took and destroyed. The fabu- lous account of this siege as narrated by Ctesias has been given in our account of Assyria, to which the reader is referred for its details. Ctesias called the Assyrian king Sardanapalus, the Median commander Arbaces, and the Babylonian Belesis. The self-immolation of the last Assyrian king, as related by Ctesias, is, however, confirmed by Abydenus and Berosus; and the story of Saracus peri.shing in his palace in a funeral pyre lighted with his own hand maj- there- fore be accepted without question. The conquerors divided the Assyrian Em- pire between them, Cyaxares obtaining As- syria proper and all the provinces to the north and north-west, while Nabopolassar obtained Babylonia, Susiana, Upper Meso- potamia, Syria, Phoenicia and Palestine. Thus two great empires — the Median and the Babylonian — arose out of the ashes of the Assyrian. The.se empires were founded by mutual consent, and were united in friend- ship and alliance by treaties and by a royal intermarriage. In all emergencies they were ready to give each other important aid. Thus once in the historj- of the ancient world two powerful monarchies stood beside each other in peace, and without jealousy or hatred. Media and Babylonia were con- tent with sharing the dominion of Western Asia between them, and, considering the world large enough for both, they remained fast friends and allies for more than half a centurj". The overthrow of Assyria did not bring repose to the Median king. Roving bands of Scyths still ravaged Western Asia; while the vassal states of Assyria, released from her yoke by her downfall, made use of the occasion to assert their independence; but they were soon reminded that a new master, as powerful and aggressive as the one from which they had been freed, had arisen to claim as her inheritance the suzerainty' of the vassal states of the fallen Assyrian Em- pire. Cyaxares, encouraged by his succes.ses, was stimulated to fresh conquests. Herod- otus briefly tells us that Cyaxares "sub- dued to him.self all Asia above the Halys. " This would imply the conquest of the coun- tries between Media and Assyria on the east and the river Halys on the west, which would include Armenia and Cappadocia. For centuries had Armenia, strong in its lofty mountains, its deep gorges and its many rapid rivers — the sources of the Ti- gris, the Euphrates, the Kur and the Aras — withstood all efforts at conquest by the Assyrian kings, and had only agreed to a nominal dependence upon Assyria during the reign of the last great Assyrian king. Cappadocia had not even been subjecfl to Assyria in name, and had not thus far come into collision with any great Asiatic power. Other tribes of this region — neighbors of the Armenians and Cappadocians, but more remote from Media — were the Iberians, the Colchians, the Moschians, the Tibarenians, the Mares, the Macrones and the Mosynce- cians ; and were, according to Herodotus, conquered by Cyaxares, who thus extended his dominions to the Caucasus and the Eu.x- ine, or Black Sea, upon the north, and to the Halys river upon the west. But it is likely that the terrible Scythian ravages in Arme- nia and Cappadocia had made the inhabi- 240 ANCIENT HISrORY. — MEDIA. tants of those countries willing to accept the suzerainty of the powerful and civilized Medes, as the various tribes and nations of Asia Minor accepted the yoke of the power- ful Kings of Lydia. Contemporaneously with the great Aryan migration from the East under Cyaxares, or his father, Phraortes, an Aryan wave swept over Armenia and Cappadocia, which had previously been under the supremacy of Turanian tribes. In Armenia the present Aryan language supplanted the former Tu- ranian in the seventh centur>- before Christ, as shown by the cuneiform inscriptions of Van and its ^-icinity. In Cappadocia the Moschians and Tibarenians were forced to yield their habitations to a Medo-Persian tribe called Katapatuka. This spread of Ar\an nations into the region between the Caspian Sea and the Halys prepared the waj^ for Media's supremacy over this part of Western Asia, as Cyaxares was welcomed by the Aryan immigrants, who joined his standard in the wars against the barbarous Scyths and the old Turanian aborigines of these countries. The last remnants of the Scyths were expelled; and within less than ten years from the overthrow of Assyria, Cyaxares enlarged the Median Empire with the addition of the fertile and valuable tradls of Armenia and Cappadocia — coun- tries never really subjecl to Assyria — and also the entire region between Armenia and the Caucasus, and between the Caspian and Euxine seas. The advance of the Median Empire west- ward to the Halys, involving the absorp- tion of Cappadocia, brought the Medes in collision with Lydia, a new power in Asia Minor, which, like Media, had suddenly risen to greatness. Lydia headed a confederacy of all the nations of Asia Minor west of the Halys to resist the further progress of the Median power westward. Cyaxares ob- tained as.sistance from his old allj', Nabo- polassar of Babylon, against the Lydians. With a large army the Median king invaded Asia Minor, and, according to Herodotus, fought many battles with the Lydians with various success. After the war had con- tinued six years it was brought to an end by a remarkable circumstance. On a certain occasion, as the Median and Lydian armies were engaged in battle, a sudden darkness enveloped the combatants and filled them with superstitious awe. The sun was eclipsed, and the two armies, ceasing from the struggle, gazed with dread upon the celestial phenomenon. Amid the general alarm, we are told, a desire for peace seized both armies. Two chiefs, the foremost allies on their respedlive sides, improved the occa- sion to induce the warring monarchs — Cyax- ares of Media and Alyattes of Lydia — to sheathe their swords. Herodotus says that Syennesis, King of Cilicia, as the ally of the Lj'dian king, and Labynetus of Baby- lon, probably either Nabopolassar or Nebu- chadnezzar, as the ally of the Median mon- arch, came to propose an immediate suspen- ,sion of hostilities; and when this propo.sal was accepted a treat}^ of peace was arranged, B. C. 610. Both parties retained the terri- tories they had respedlively held before the war, so that the treaty left ever>'thing in status quo. The Kings of Media and Lydia agreed to .swear a friendship, and to cement the alliance Alyattes agreed to give his daughter in marriage to Astyages, the son of Cyaxares. In accordance with the bar- barous customs of the time and place, the two kings, having met and repeated the words of the formula, puniflured their own arms, and then .sealed their contracft by each suck- ing a part of the blood from the other's wound. By this peace the three great Asiatic em- pires of the time — Media, Lydia and Baby- lonia — became fast friends and allies, and stood side b\- side in peace for fifty years, until each was in turn ab.sorbed in the great Medo-Persian Empire, which for several cen- turies held sway o\-er all Western Asia and Egypt. The crown-princes of Media, Lydia and Babylonia were placed on terms of blood relationship, and "had become brothers." Thus all Western A.sia, from the shores of the ^gean on the west to the Persian Gulf on the east, was now ruled by dynasties united by intermarriages, bound to respecl POLITICAL HISTORY. 241 each otlier's rights and animated by a spirit of mutual friendliness and genuine attach- ment. After more than five centuries of perpetual war and ravage, after fifty years of strife and bloodshed, during which the venerable monarch\- of Assyria, which for seven centuries had ruled Western Asia at her will, had gone to pieces, and the new Median and Bab>lonian Empires had taken her place, that quarter of the globe entered upon a period of repose which contrasted strongly with the previous long period of almost constant struggle. Media, Lydia and Babylonia, as fast friends and allies, pursued their separate courses without <[uar- rel or collision, thus allowing the naticms under their respective dominions a repose which they greatly needed and desired. According to Herodotus, Cyaxares, the founder of the great Median Empire, died B. C. 593, after a reign of forty years, and was succeeded by his son, AsTVAGES, who, as we have ob,served, had received as a bride the daughter of Alyattes, King of Lydia. Cyaxares, as a great warrior and the founder of an empire, was a conqueror after the Asiatic model. He possessed ability, per- severance, energ\', ambition, and force of character, and these qualities made him a successful leader. He was faithful to his friends, but considered treachery permissible to his foes. He did not, however, possess the ability- to organize the empire his con- quests had built up; and his establishment of Magianism as the state religion was the only one of his institutions that appeared to be laid on deep and stable foundations. The empire which he founded was the shortest- lived of all the great ancient Oriental mon- archies, having risen and fallen within the short space of threescore years and ten — the period allotted by the Psalmist as the natural lifetime of an individual. Astj'ages lacked his father's ability and energy-. Boni to the inheritance of a great empire, and bred in the luxur\- of a mag- nificent Oriental court, he was apparently content with the lot which fortune seemed to have assigned him, and had no further ambition. He was said to have been hand- some, cautious, and of an ea.sy and generous temper; but the anecdotes of his manner of living at Ecbatana, as related by He- rodotus, Xenophon and Nicolas of Da- mascus, are mainly legendary and therefore unreliable as material for history. vStill the united testimony of these three writers gi\-es us some idea of the court of Asty- ages, which resembled that of the Assyrian kings in its main features. The Median monarch led a secluded life, and could only be seen by those who asked and ob- tained an audience. He was surrounded by guards and eunuchs, the latter holding most of the offices about the royal person. The court of Ecbatana was celebrated for the magnificence of its apparel, for its banquets and for the number and organization of its attendants. The courtiers wore long flow- ing robes of various colors, red and purple predominating, and adorned their necks with gold chains or collars, and their wrists with bracelets of the same costly material. Their horses frequently had golden bits to their bridles. One royal officer was called "the King's Eye;" another was assigned the privilege of introducing strangers to the sovereign ; a third was his cupbearer ; a fourth his messenger. Guards, torch-bear- ers, serving-men, ushers and sweepers were among the lower attendants. "The king's table-companions" were a privileged class of courtiers of the highest rank. Hunting was the chief pastime in which the court in- dulged. This usually took place in a park, or "paradise," near the capital; but some- times the king and court went out on a grand hunt in the open countni', where lions, leopards, bears, wild boars, wild as.ses, an- telopes, stags and wild sheep abounded, and when the beaters had driven the beasts into a confined space, the hunting parties dis- patched them with arrows and spears. Herodotus tells us that the priestly caste of the Magi, who were held in the highest esteem by both king and people, were in con- stant attendance at the Median court, ready to expound dreams and omens, and to give advice on all matters of state policy. They had charge of the religious ceremonial, and \ 242 ANCIENT HISTORY.— MEDIA. often held high offices of state. They were the only class who possessed auj' real influ- ence over the monarch. The long reign of Astyages was mainly peaceful until near its close. Eusebius con- tradicfts Herodotus by saying that Astyages, and not Cyaxares, conducfted the great war with Alyattes of Lydia; and Moses of Chorene alone states that Astyages carried on a long struggle with Tigranes, an Arme- nian king — neither of which statements de- serve any credit. The Greeks evidently re- garded Astj^ages as an unwarlike king. On the north-eastern frontier of his empire, Asty- ages extended his dominion by the acquisi- tion of the low country' now called Talish and Ghilan, where the powerful tribe of the Cadusians had thus far maintained its inde- pendence. Diodorus alone states that they were able to bring two hundred thousand men into the field — a statement unsupported by any other writer and unworthy of credit. At this time the Cadusian king, Aphenies, or Ornaphemes, uncertain of his position, surrendered his sovereignty to Astyages by a secret treaty, and the Cadusians peacefully passed under the sway of the Median king. Astyages was unhappy in his domestic relations. His ' ' mariage de convenance ' ' with the Lydian princess, Aryenis, brought him no son, and the want of an heir led him to contract those marriages mentioned by Moses of Chorene in his History of Armenia — one with Anusia, and another with the beautiful Tigrania, sister of the Armenian king, Tigranes. Still he had no male off- spring. Herodotus and Xenophon assigned him a daughter named Mandane, whom they considered the mother of Cyrus the Great; but Ctesias denied this, and gave him a daughter named Amytis, whom he regarded as the wife, first of Spitaces the Mede, and afterwards of Cyrus the Persian. These stories, designed to gratify the vanity of the Persians and to flatter the Medes, are entitled to no credit. It is therefore doubtful if the second and last Median king had any child at all. In his old age, B. C. 558, occurred the event which ended the reign of Astyages and the empire of Media. The Persians — the Aryan kinsmen of the Medes — had be- come settled in the region south and south- east of Media, between the 32nd parallel and the Persian Gulf, and had acknowledged the suzerainty of the Median kings during the period of their greatness. But dwelling in their rugged mountains and high upland plains, the Persians had retained the primi- tive simplicity of their manners, and had intermingled but slightly with the Medes, being governed direcftly by their own native kings of the Achsemenian dynasty, whose founder was said to have been the legend- ary Achsemenes. These princes were re- lated bj' marriage with the Cappadocian kings, and their royal house was considered one of the noblest in Western Asia. Herod- otus regarded Persia as absorbed into Me- dia at this time, and the Achsemenidse as simply a noble Persian family. Nicolas of Damascus considered Persia a Median sa- trapy, Atradates, the father of Cyrus, being satrap. Xenophon and Moses of Chorene gave the Achsemenidse their royal rank, and considered Persia as completely independent of Media, while they regarded Cyrus as a great and powerful sovereign during the reign of Astyages; and this view is sustained by the native Persian records. In the Be- histun Inscription, Darius declares: "There are eight of my race who hav-e been kings before me. I am the ninth." In an in- .scription found on a brick brought from Senkereh, Cyrus the Great calls himself ' ' the son of Canibyses, the powerful king. ' ' The residence of Cyrus at the Median court at Ecbatana — which is asserted in almost every narrative of his life before he became king — would seem to imply at least an ac- knowledgment of nominal Median suprem- acy over Persia. During his residence at the Median court Cyrus obser\'ed the unwarlike disposition of that generation of Medes, who had not seen any acflual military- ser\'ice. He had a con- tempt for the personal characfter of Astyages, who .spent his life in luxury-, mainly at Ec- batana, amid euiuichs, concubines and dan- cing-girls. The Persian crown-prince re- POLITICAL HISTOR Y. 243 solved to raise the standard of rebellion, to free his country from Median supremacy, and to vindicate the pure Zoroastrian relig- ion, which the Achoemenians championed, and which the Magi, aided and upheld by the Median monarchs, had corrupted. Cyrus asked pennission from Astyages to visit his father, who was in poor health, but this request was refused by the Median king on the plea that he was too much at- tached to the Persian crown-prince to miss his presence for a single daj\ But on the appli- cation of a favorite eunuch, C3'rus was al- lowed a leave of absence for five months, and with several attendants he left Ecbatana by night, taking the road leading to his native Persia. The next evening, enjoying himself over his wine as usual, in the company of his concubines, singing-girls and dancing-girls, Astyages asked one of them to sing. The girl took her lyre and sang as follows: "The lion had the wild-boar in his power, but let him depart to his own lair; in his lair he will wax in strength, and will cause the lion a world of toil : till at length, although the weaker, he will o\'ercome the stronger." The words of this song caused the king extreme anxiety, as he had already learned of a Chaldaean prophecy designat- ing Cyrus as a future king of the Persians. Astyages at once ordered an officer with a body of horsemen to pursue the Persian crown-prince and bring him back dead or alive. The officer overtook Cyrus and an- nounced his errand, whereupon Cyrus ex- pressed his willingness to return to the Me- dian court, but propo.sed that, as it was late, they should rest for the night. The Medes agreed to this; and Cyrus, feasting them, made them all into.xicated, after which he mounted his horse and rode off at full speed with his attendants, until he arrived at a Persian outpost, where he had arranged with his father to meet a body of Persian troops. After having slept off their drunk- enness and di.scovering that their prisoners had fled, the Medes pursued, and again overtaking Cyrus, who was backed by an armed force, they attacked him, but were defeated with great loss and driven into re- treat; and Cyrus escaped into Persia. Upon hearing of the escape of the Persian crown-prince, Astyages was greatly cha- grined, and, .smiting his thigh, he ex- claimed: "Ah! fool, thou knewest well that it boots not to heap favors on the vile; yet didst thou suffer thy.self to be gulled by smooth words; and so thou hast brought upon thy.self this mischief. But even now he shall not get off scotfree. " Instantly the Median king, in his rage, sent for his gen- erals, who, in pursuance of the royal orders, soon colledled an army of three thousand chariots, two hundred thousand horse, and a million footmen, to reduce Persia to obe- dience. With this immense host Astj^ages invaded the revolted province, and engaged the army which Cyrus and his father, Cam- byses, had assembled for defense. The Persian army consisted of a hundred char- iots, fifty thousand horsemen, and three bundled thousand light-armed foot, who were drawn up in front of a fortified town near the frontier. The first day's battle was sanguinary but indecisive; but on the second day Astyages, by a skillful use of his supe- rior numbers, won a decided vidlorj-. After detaching one hundred thousand men with orders to make a circuit and get into the rear of the town, the Median king renewed the attack; and when the Persians had their whole attention diredled to the battle in their front, the detached Median troops fell on the city and took it, before the garrison was aware. Cambyses, who commanded the garrison, was mortally wounded and taken prisoner. The Persian army in the open field, finding itself attacked in front and rear, broke and fled towards the interior, to defend Pasargadae, the Per- sian capital. After giving Cambyses an honorable burial, Astyages hotly pursued the fleeing Persian ho.st. Between the battle-field and Pasargadae was a barrier of lofty and precipitous hills, penetrated onl)- by a single narrow pass, guarded by ten thousand Persians. Seeing that the pass could not be forced, Astyages sent a detachment along the foot of the 244 ANCIENT HIS TOR ) '.—MEDIA. range till tlie>- found a place where they could ascend the mountain, when they climbed the rugged declivity and seized the heights directly above the defile. Thereupon the Persians were obliged to evacuate their strong position and to fall back to a lower range of hills near Pasargadae, where an- other conflict of two days occurred. On the first day the Medes failed in all their efforts to ascend the low but steep hills, the Per- sians hurling hea\'y masses of stone upon their ascending colunnis. On the second day Astyages had placed a body of troops at the foot of the hills below his attacking columns, with orders to kill all who refused to a.scend, or who, after ascending, endeav- ored to descend the heights. Thus forced to advance, the Medes fought with despera- tion, driving the Persians before them up the slopes of the hill to its summit, where the Persian women and children had been placed for safety. The courage of the Persians was aroused by the taunts and reproaches of their mothers and wi\'es, and, by a sudden furious charge, they overbore the astonished Medes, driving them in headlong flight down the declivity in such confusion that the Persians slew sixty thousand of them. Astyages still persevered, but was deci- sively defeated by Cyrus in a fifth battle near Pasargadas, his anny being routed and his camp taken. All the Median royal insignia fell into the hands of the vicftorious Persian king, who assumed them amid the enthusi- astic shouts of his troops, who saluted him as "King of Media and Persia." Astj'ages sought safety in flight, his army dispersed, and most of his followers deserted him. He was hotly pursued Ijy his triumphant foe, who, forcing him to an engagement, again defeated him and took him prisoner. The Median Empire had now recei\ed its death-blow. Media and all its dependencies at once submitted to Cyrus, who thus lie- came the founder of the great Medo-Persian Empire, which for two centuries swayed the destinies of all Western Asia and North- eastern Africa, after the conquest and al)- sorption of the great Oriental empires con- temporary with Media — namely, Lydia, Ba- bylonia and Egypt. Thus the supremacy of the Aryan race in Asia was transferred from the Medes to their near kinsmen, the Per- sians; and pure Zoroastrianism was restored on the ruins of the corrupt Magian system which the Median kings had allowed to take the place of the primitive faith of the BaCtrian prophet. The law of the new em- pire was .still "the law of the Medes and Persians. ' ' Official employments were open to the people of both the.se kindred Arj-an nations. The Median Empire, in its extent and fertility of territorN', was not inferior to the A.ssyrian. It reached from Rhagas and the Carmanian desert on the east to the river Halys on the west — a distance of about thirteen hundred miles. From its northern confines along the Euxine ( now Black Sea), the Caucasus and the Ca.spian, to its south- ern limits along the Euphrates and the Persian Gulf, its width was about fi\-e hun- dred and forty miles in its eastern portion and about two hundred and forty miles in its western portion. It thus had an area of about half a million .square miles; being as large as Great Britain, France, Spain and Portugal combined. CIVILI/.AI'ION. 245 SECTION 111.— MEDIAN CIVILIZATION. jjLL sacred and profane history classes the Medes and Persians as kindred nations — a fa(fl sus- tained by recent linguistic re- search, which proves them to have been a people similar in race ami lan- guage, as well as in institutions and religion. This fact, along with the express statements of Herodotus and Strabo, shows that the Medes and Persians, the leading Iranic na- tions, belonged to the great Aryan, or Indo- European branch of the Caucasian race. In ancient times all the leading tribes and na- tions of the great plateau of Iran and even bej'ond it in a northerh* direcftion to the Jaxartes (now Sihon ) river, and eastward to the Hyphasis (now Sutlej) — Medes, Per- sians, Sagartians, Chorasmians, Badlrians, Sogdians, Hyrcanians, Rarangians, Ganda- rians and Sanskritic, or Brahmanic Indians — all belonged to a single stock, united by the tie of a common language, common manners and customs, and mainly a com- mon religious faith. The Medes and Per- sians — the two leading Ar},-an nations of Asia — were scarcely distinguishable from each other in an}' ethnic features. The sculptures of the Achtemenian Kings of Persia represent the Medes and Persians as a noble variety of the human species — with a tall, graceful and stately physical form; a handsome and attracftive physiognomy, fre- quentlj' bearing some resemblance to the Greek; a high and straight forehead; the no.se nearly in the same line, long and well- formed, sometimes markedly aquiline; the upper lip short, usually shaded by a mus- tache; the chin rounded and commonlj' cov- ered with a curly beard. The race was proud of their hair, which grew plentifully. On the top of the head the hair was worn smooth, but was drawn back from the fore- head and twisted into a row or two of crisp curls, being also arranged into a large ma.ss of similar small close ringlets at the back of the head over the ears. Xenophon tells us that the Median women were remarkable for their stature and beauty. Plutarch, Anunianus Marcellinus and others say the .same of the Persian women. The ancient Aryan nations appear to have treated women with a s])irit of chivalry, allowing them the full de^'elojiment of their physical powers, and rendering them specially at- tractive to their own husbands and to men of other nations. Says Rawlin.son: "The modern Persian is a very degenerate representative of the ancient Aryan stock. Slight and supple in person, with quick, glancing eyes, delicate features and a vivacious manner, he lacks the dignity and strength, the calm repose and simple grace of the race from which he is sprung. Fourteen centuries of subjet^tion to despotic sway have left their stamp upon his countenance and his frame, which, though still retaining some traces of the original type, have been sadly weakened and lowered by so long a term of subser- vience. Probably the wild Kurd or Lur of the present daj- more nearly corresponds in physique to the ancient Mede than do the softer inhabitants of the great plateau." The ancient Medes were noted for their braverj'. Originally equal, and perhaps su- perior to their Persian kinsmen, they were during the entire period of Persian suprem- acy only second to them in courage and war- like characteristics. When allowed to take his choice out of the vast ho.st of Xerxes during the war with Greece, Mardonius se- lected the Median troops next to the Per- sians. When the battle opened he kept the Medes near him.self, assigning them their place in the line near that of the Persian contingent. Diodorus states that the Medes were chosen to make the first attack upon the Greek position at Thermopylse, where they showed their Aalor, though unsuccess- ful. In the earlier periods of their histoni", before they had been corrupted by wealth and luxun.', their courage and military prowess fully earned them the titles ajiplied to them by the Hebrew jirophet Ezekiel: 246 ANCIENT HISTOR ) '.—MEDIA. "the might J- one of the heathen — the ter- rible of the nations." Median valor was utterlj- merciless. Me- dian armies, we are told, did "dash to pieces" the fighting-men of other nations, giving them no quarter; and inflicfled indignities and cruelties upon the women and children of their enemies. The worst atrocities which lust and hate inspired accompanied the Me- dian conquests, neither the virtue of women nor the innocence of children being any protecflion to them. The infant was slain before its parents' eyes, and the sancftity of the domestic hearth was invaded. Insult and vengeance were allowed full scope, and the brutal Median soldierj- freely indulged their tiger-like thirst for the blood of their foes. The habits of the Medes were at first sim- ple and manly ; but, as with all conquering Oriental nations, success was at once fol- lowed by degeneracy, and the Medes in due time became corrupted and enervated by the luxuries of conquest. After their conquests they relaxed the stringency of their former habits and indulged in the pleasures of soft and luxurious living. Xenophon contrasted in vivid colors the primitive simplicity of Persia proper, where the old Aryan habits, once common to both nations, were still maintained in all their original stringency, with the luxurj- and magnifi- cence prevailing at Ecbatana. Herodotus and vStrabo alluded to the luxury of the Median dress. Thus it appears that the Medes in the later days of their empire were a luxurious people, displaying a pomp and magnificence unknown to their ancestors, affecting splendor in their dre,ss, grandeur and elegant ornamentation in their build- ings, variety in their banquets, and reaching a degree of civilization almo.st equal to that of the Assyrians, though vastly inferior to them in taste and refinement. Their orna- mentation displayed a barbaric magnifi- cence, distinguished by richness of material. Literature and letters received little atten- tion. A stately dress and a new style of architedlure are the onlj' Median inventions. Professor Rawlinson says of the Medes: "They were brave, energetic, enterprising, fond of display, capable of appreciating to some extent the advantages of civilized life; but they had little genius, and the world is scarcely indebted to them for a single im- portant addition to the general stock of its ideas." Herodotus says that in the army of Xerxes the Medes were armed exac5lly like the Persians, and that thej- wore a soft felt cap on the head, a sleeved tunic on tlie body, and trou.sers on the legs. He tells us that their offensive arms were the spear, the bow and the dagger. They had large wicker .shields, and carried their quivers suspended at their backs. The tunic was sometimes made into a coat of mail by adding to it on the outside a number of small iron plates arranged so as to overlap each other like the scales of a fish. They .ser\-ed alike on horseback and on foot, with like equipments in both cases. Strabo and Xenophon, as well as Isaiah and Jeremiah, describe the Median armies as originally simpler in charadler. The primitive Medes were a nation of horse-archers. Trained from early boyhood to a ^•ariety of eques- trian exercises, and skillful in the use of the bow, they dashed upon their enemies with .swarms of horse, like the Scythians, and won their vicflories mainly bj' the skillful discharge of their arrows as they advanced, retreated, or manoeuvred about their foe. The prophet Jeremiah spoke of the sword and the .spear being used by the Medes and Persians. The sculptures of Persepolis represent the bow u.sed by the Medes and Persians as short, and cur\'ed like that of the As.syrians. It was generally carried in a bow-case, either suspended at the back or from the girdle. The arrows, carried in a quiver sus- pended behind the right shoulder, were not over three feet long. The quiver was round, covered at the top and fastened by means of a flap and strap, the last passed over a but- ton. The Median spear, or lance, was six or seven feet long. The sword was short, and was suspended at the right thigh by means of a belt encircling the waist, and CIMI.I/.ATION. 247 was also held h\- a strap fastened to the bot- tom of the sheath and passing; around the right leg just above the knee. Median shields were either round or oval. The sculptures show us the favorite dress of the Medes in peace. The Persian bas- reliefs represent the long flowing robe, with its graceful folds, as the garb of the kings, the chief nobles and the chief officers of the court. This dress is also seen upon the darics and the gems, and is believed to be the celebrated " Median garment" mentioned by Herodotus, Xenophon and Strabo. This garment fitted closely to the chest and shoulders, but hung over the arms in two large loose sleeves open at the bottom. It was fastened at the waist b)- a cincflure. Below it drooped in two clusters of perpen- dicular folds at both sides, and hung between these in festoons like a curtain. It reached to the ankles. The Median robes were of many colors, some being purple, .some scar- let, and others a dark gray or a deep crimson. Procopius .says that they were made of silk. Xenophon .says that the Medes wore under- garments, such as a sleeved shirt, or tunic, of a purple color, and embroidered trousers. The feet were co\'ered with high shoes or low boots, opening in front and fastened with buttons. The Medes wore felt caps like the Persians, or high-crowned hats, made of felt or cloth, and dyed in different hues. Xenophon tells us that the Medes u.sed cos- metics, rubbing them into the skin to im- prove the complexion. They also used false hair in abundance. Like other Oriental na- tions, ancient and modern, they used djes to improve the brilliancy of the eyes and make them appear larger and softer. They also wore golden ornaments, such as chains or collars around the neck, bracelets around the wrists, and ear-rings fastened into the ears. The bits and other parts of the harness of their horses were also frequently of gold. Xenophon also tells us that the Medes were extremely luxurious at their ban- quets. Not only plain meat and various kinds of game, with bread and wine, but manj' side-dishes and different kinds of sauces, were set before their guests. They ate with the hand, as Orientals still do, and used napkins. Each guest had his own dishes. Wine was dnnik at the meal and afterwards, and the feast often ended in tnrmoil and confu.sion. At court the king received his wine at the hands of the cup- bearer, who first tasted it, .so that the king might be certain that it was not poisoned, and then handed it to his master with much pomp and ceremony. The court ceremonial was imposing. He- rodotus tells us that the monarch was ordina- rily kept secluded, and that no person could be admitted to his presence without formally requesting an audience and without being led before the sovereign by the proper offi- cer. Strabo says that when he was admit- ted he prostrated him.self with the same signs of adoration as when he entered a temple. The king, surrounded by his at- tendants, eunuchs and others, maintained a haughty resen'e, and the visitor only saw him from a distance. Business was mainly transacfled by writing. The monarch .sel- dom left his palace, and was informed of the state of his empire through the reports of his officers. The chief court amusement was hunting, but the king himself seldom participated in this pastime. Beasts of the chase were always abundant in Media; and the Median nobles are mentioned by Xenophon as hunt- ing lions, bears, leopards, wild boars, stags, gazelles, wild sheep and wild asses. The first four of these were considered dangerous, the others harmless. These animals were usually pursued on horseback, and aimed at with the bow or the spear. The Median monarch, like other Oriental sovereigns, maintained a seraglio, or harem, of wives and concubines; and polj'gamy was a common cu.stom among the wealth},-. Strabo tells us of a peculiar law among some Median tribes which required everj' man to have at least five wives. The eunuchs, who .swarmed at court, were mostly foreigners purcha.sed in their infancy. This despised class were all-powerful with their royal master near the close of the Median Empire. 248 ANCIENT HIS TOR ) '.—MEDIA. Thus corruption gradually sapped the vitality of the empire; and both the court and people had abandoned the hardy and simple customs of their ancestors, and had become enervated through luxury when the revolt of the Persians inider Cyrus brought the Median Empire to a speedy end. Median architecture was characterized by a barbaric magnificence. It is Ijelieved that the Medes had learned sculpture from the Assyrians and that they taught it to the Persians; as everswhere among the remains of the Achsemeuian kings are seen modifica- tions of A.ssyrian types, such as the carving of winged genii, of colossal figures of bulls and lions, of grotesque monsters, and of clumsy representations of acftual life, in imi- tation from Assyrian bas-reliefs. The only remnant of sculpture remaining that can be assigned to the Medes is a portion of a colos' sal stone lion yet to be seen at Hamadan, greatly injured by time, and consisting of the head and liody of the lion, measuring about twelve feet, the tail and the forelegs being broken off. Its posture indicates some originality in Median art. SECTION IV.— ZOROASTRIANISM AND MAOISM. OHE great Iranic religion — the fiTofyr^l] faith of the BaCtrians, and of --^ ' the Medes and Persians for many centuries — was founded by the ancient BaCtrian sage and prophet, Zoroaster, or Zarathustra ; and its sacred book was the Zend-Avesta. Zoro- a,ster claimed divine inspiration and professed to have occa,sional revelations from the Su- preme Being, delivering them to his people in a mythical form and .securing their accept- ance as divine bj- the Bacftrian people, after which his religion gradually spread among the other Iranic nations. It was the reli- gio!i of the Persians until driven out by the intolerance of Mohammedanism in the seventh century after Christ. It now exists in Guzerat and Bombay in Hindoo.stan, as the creed of the Parsees, descendants of Per- sians who sought refuge there after the Mo- hammedan conquest of Persia. The Median and Persian kings, as servants of Ormazd, worshiped the fire and the sun — .symbols of the god; and resisted the impure grifBn — the creature of Ahriman. The Zend-Avesta teaches that every created being has its Fereuer, or Fravashis, its ideal essence, first created by the thought of Ormazd. Ormazd himself has his F'ravashis, and the angelic e.s.sences are objecfls of adoration e\'er)-where to the disciples of Zoroaster. Plato mentioned Zoroaster about four cen- turies before Christ. In speaking of the education of a Persian prince, Plato says that "one teacher instructs him in the magic of Zoroaster, the son (or priest) of Ormazd (or Oramazes), in which is comprehended all the worship of the gods." Zoroaster is also spoken of by Diodorus, Plutarch, the elder Pliny, and many writers of the first centuries after Christ. The worship of the Magi, the Median and Persian priesthood, is described by Herodotus before Plato. Herodotus gives full accounts of the ritual, the priests, the sacrifices, the purifications, and the mode of burial empUned b>- the Magi in his day, about four and a half centuries before Christ; and his account closely corresponds with the pracflices of the Parsees, or fire- worshipers, yet remaining in a few places in Persia and India. He says: " The Persians have no altars, no temples nor images; they worship on the tops of the mountains. They adore the heavens, and sacrifice to the sun, moon, earth, fire, water and winds." "They do not erecfl altars, nor u.se libations, fillets or cakes. One of the Magi sings an ode concerning the origin of the gods, over the sacrifice, which is laid on a bed of tender gra.ss." "They pay great reverence to all rivers, and must do nothing to defile them; in burj-ing they never put the body in the ZOROA STRIA NfSM AND MAOISM. 249 ground till it has been toni by sotne bird or dog; they cover the body with wax, and then put it in the ground." "The Magi think thej- do a meritorious acft when the}- kill ants, snakes, reptiles." Plutarch gives the following account of Zoroaster and his precepts: "Some believe that there are two Gods — as it were, two rival workmen; the one whereof they make to be the maker of good things, and the other bad. And some call the better of these God, and the other Dae- mon ; as doth Zoroastres, the Magee, whom they report to be five thousand j-ears elder than the Trojan times. This Zoroastres therefore called the one of these Oromazes, and the other Arimanius; and afiBrmed, moreover, that the one of them did, of any- thing sensible, the most resemble light, and the other darkness and ignorance; but that Mithras was in the middle betwixt them. For which cause, the Persians called Mith- ras the mediator. And they tell us that he first taught mankind to make vows and offerings of thanksgiving to the one, and to offer averting and feral sacrifice to the other. For they beat a certain plant called hom- omy in a mortar, and call upon Pluto and the dark; and then mix it with the blood of a sacrificed wolf, and convey it to a certain place where the sun never shines, and there cast it awa>-. For of plants they believe, that some pertain to the good God, and others again to the evil Daemon; and like- wise thej' think that such animals as dogs, fowls, and urchins belong to the good; but water animals to the bad, for which reason they account him happy that kills most of them. These men, moreover, tell us a great many romantic things about these gods, whereof the^e are some: They say that Oromazes, springing from purest light, and Arimanius, on the other hand, from pitchy darkness, these two are therefore at war with one another. And that Oromazes made six gods, whereof the first was the author of benevolence, the second of truth, the third of justice, and the rest, one of wisdom, one of wealth, and a third of that pleasure which accrues from good a(flions; and that 1-16.-U. H. Arimanius likewise made the like number of contrary operations to confront them. After this, Oromazes, having first trebled his own magnitude, mounted up aloft, so far above the sun as the sun it.self above the earth, and .so bespangled the heavens with stars. But one star (called Sirius or the Dog) he set as a kind of .sentinel or scout before all the rest. And after he had made four-and-twenty gods more, he placed them all in an egg-shell. But those that were made by Arimanius ( being them,selves also of the like number) breaking a hole in this beauteous and glazed egg-shell, bad things came b}' this means to be intermixed with good. But the fatal time is now approach- ing, in which Arimanius, who by means of this brings plagues and famines upon the earth, must of necessity be him.self utterly extinguished and destroyed; at which time, the earth, being made plain and level, there will be one life, and one society of mankind, made all happj-, and one speech. But Theo- pompus saith, that, according to the opin- ion of the Magees, each of these gods sub- dues, and is subdued by turns, for the spaca of three thousand years apiece, and that for three thousand years more the)- quarrel and fight and destroy each other's works; but that at last Pluto shall fail, and mankind shall be happy, and neither need food, nor yield a .shadow. And that the god who projects these things doth, for some time, take his repose and rest; but j-et this time is not so much to him although it seems so to man, whose sleep is but short. Such, then, is the mythology of the Magees." This description of the ancient Median and Pensian religion, by Plutarch, corres- ponds with the religion of the modern Par- sees, as it was developed out of the primitive docflrine taught by Zoroaster. A little over a centurj- ago an enterprising, energetic and enthusiastic young French- man, Anquetil du Perron — who had learned the Zend language, in which the Zend- Avesta was written, from the Pansees at Surat, in India — brought one hundred and eighty manu.scripts of that sacred book to Europe and published them in French in 250 ANCIENT HISTOR ) '.—MEDIA. 'iTJ'i, thus giving us a new and clear idea of the religious system and faith of the an- cient Medes and Persians. For the last half centurj' eminent Orientalists — the Frenchman Burnouf, and the Germans Westergaard, Brockhaus, Spiegel, Haug, Windischmann, Hiibschmann — have ana- lyzed the Zend-Avesta, and have found that its different parts belong to different dates. The Gathas, or rhythmical hymns, are found to be very ancient. Modern Orientalists and antiquarians dif- fer widely as to the age of the books of the Zend-Avesta, and as to the period at which Zoroaster lived. Plato spoke of " the magic (or religious docftrines) of Zoroaster the Ormazdian." Plato spoke of his religion as Magism, or the Median system, in Western Iran; while the Zend-Avesta originated in Bacftria, or Eastern Iran, at least no later than the sixth or seventh century before Christ. When the Zend-Avesta was written Bacftria was an independent kingdom, and Zoroaster is represented as teaching under King Vistagpa. Bunsen says that "the date of Zoroaster, as fixed by Aristotle, can- not be said to be verj' irrational. He and Eudoxus, according to Pliny, place him six thousand years before the death of Plato; Hermippus, five thousand j'ears before the Trojan war," which would be about B. C. 6300, or B. C. 6350. Bunsen, however, further says: "At the present stage of the inquiry the question whether this date is set too high cannot be answered either in the negative or affirmative." Spiegel regards Zoroaster as a neighbor and contemporary of Abraham, and thus living about B. C. 2000. DoUinger believes that he may have flourished ' ' somewhat later than Moses, per- haps about B. C. 1300;" but says that "it is impossible to fix precisely" when he did live. Rawlinson alludes only to the facft that Berosus placed him anterior to B. C. 2234. Haug believes the Gathas, the oldest songs of the Zend-Avesta, to have been composed as early as the time of Moses. Duncker and Rapp think Zoroaster lived about B. C. 1200 or 1300; and their view agrees with the period assigned to him by Xanthus of Sardis, a Greek writer of the sixth century before Christ, and by Cepha- lion in the second centun,- after Christ. The place where Zoroaster lived, and the events of his life, are not known with cer- tainty. Most writers think that he lived in Bacftria. Haug holds that the language of the Zend-Avesta is Badlrian. A highly fabulous and mythical life of Zoroaster, translated by Auquetil du Perron, called the Zartusht-Namah, represents him as going to Iran in his thirtieth year, passing twenty years in the desert, performing miracles during ten years, and teaching philosophical lessons in Babjlon, Pythagoras being one of his pupils; but this account is proven to be false. Says Professor Max Miiller: ' ' The language of the Avesta is so much more primitive than the inscriptions of Darius, that many centuries must have passed be- tween the two periods represented by these two strata of language." The Behistun Inscriptions of Darius are in the Achseme- nian dialeifl, a later linguistic development of the Zend. Though nothing is known of the events of his life, Zoroaster, by his essentially moral religion, influenced various Arj^an races over wide regions for many centuries. His religion was in the interest of morality, hu- man freedom, and the progress of mankind. Zoroaster based his law on the eternal dis- tincflion between right and wrong. His law was therefore the law of justice, according to which the supreme good consists in truth, duty and right. Zoroaster taught provi- dence, aimed at holiness, and emphasized creation. He maintained that salvation was only wrought out by an eternal battle be- tween good and evil. The whole religion of the Zend-Avesta revolves around the person of Zoroaster, or Zarathustra. In the Gathas of the Ya^na, the oldest of the second books, he is desig- nated "the pure Zarathustra, good in thought, speech and work." Zarathustra only is said to know the precepts of Ahura- Mazda (Ormazd\ and that he shall be made skillful in speech. In one of the Gathas he asserts his wish to bring knowledge to the ZORO.lSTK/.LyfSM AND 3fAG/SM. 251 pure, in the power ol' ()rnia/.d, to give them happiness, as Spiegel translates it. Haug translates the same passage thus: " I will swear hostility to the liars, but be a strong help to the truthful." He prays for truth, declaring himself the most faithful ,sen-ant in the world of Ormazd the Wise One, and for this reason implores for a knowledge of what is most desirable to do. SaN-s Zoroas- ter, according to Spiegel: "When it came to me through j'our pra3-er, I thought that the spreading abroad of your law through men was something difficult. ' ' Zoroaster was oppressed with the sight of evil. Spiritual evil — the evil having its origin in a depraved heart and a will turned from goodness — tormented him most. His meditations convinced him that all the W'oe of the world had its origin in sin, and that the root of sin was in the demonic world. He maintained that the principles of good struggle with the principles of evil, rulers of darkness, spirits of wickedness in the su- pernatural world. Finnly believing that a great conflict was perpetually in progress between the powers of Light and Darkness, he urged all good men to take part in the war, and battle for Ahura-Mazda, (Ormazd), the good God, against Angra-Mainyus (Ahri- man), the dark and evil tempter. Great natural misfortunes intensified Zoro- aster's convicflion. In his time some geo- logical convulsion changed the climate of Northern Asia, and .suddenly caused bitter cold where there had previously been a tropical heat. Both .Spiegel and Haug have in recent years translated the first Fargard of the Vendidad, which commences by de- scribing a good country, Aryana-Vaejo, which Ahura-Mazda had created as a region of delight. Thereupon the "evil being, Angra-Mainyus, full of death, created a might}- serpent, and winter, the work of the Daevas. Ten months of winter are there, two months of .summer." It is next .stated in the original document: "Seven months of summer are (were) there; five months of winter were there. The latter are cold as to water, cold as to earth, cold as to trees. There is the heart of winter; there all around falls ileep snow. There is the worst of evils." Spiegel and Haug both consider this pas.sage an interpolation, but it doubt- less referred to a great climatic change, by which the primeval home of the Aryans, Aryana-Vaejo, became suddenly very much colder than it had hitherto l)een. Such a change may have induced the migra- tion of the Aryans from Aryana-Vaejo (Old Iran) to Media and Persia (New Iran). Bunsen and Haug believed such a history of migration to be related in the first Fargard (chapter) of the Vendidad. This would carr>' us back to the oldest part of the Veda, and show the movement of the Arjan stream southward from its primitive home in Central Asia, until it divided into two branches, one spreading over Media and Persia, and the other over India. The first verse of this old document represents Or- mazd as declaring that he had created new regions, desirable as homes; thus preventing Aryana-Vaejo becoming over -populated. Thus the very first verse of the Vendidad contains the pleasant remembrance of the migratory races from their Central Asian fatherland, and the Zoroastrian faith in a creative and prote(5live Providence. The terrible convulsion which changed their summer climate into the pre.sent Siberian winter of ten months was a portion of the divine arrangement. The previous attradl- iveness of Old Iran would have over-crowded that Eden with the whole human race. Thus the evil Ahriman was allowed to enter it, as "a new serpent of destrudtion," changing its seven months of summer and five of winter into ten of winter and two of summer. Says the first Fargard of the Vendidad: "Therefore Angra-Mainyus, the death-dealing, created a mighty serpent and snow." The .serpent entering the Iranic Eden is one of the curious coincidences of the Iranic and Hebrew traditions. Bunsen and Haugbeheve Arj'ana-Vaejo, or Old Iran — the original .seat of the great Aryan, or Indo-European race — to have been located on the elevated plains north-east of Samar- cand, between the thirty-seventh and for- tieth parallels of north latitude, and between 252 ANCIENT HISTORY.— MEDIA. the eighty-sixth and ninetieth meridians of east longitude. This region has precisely the climate described — ten months of winter and two of sinnmer. The same is the case with Western Thibet and the greater portion of Central Siberia. Malte-Brun says: " The winter is nine or ten months long through almost the whole of Siberia." The only months free from snow are June aild July. Sir Charles L,yell says that ' ' great oscil- lations of climate have occurred in times immediately antecedent to the peopling of the earth by man." During the present century frozen elephants, or mammoths, have been found in Siberia, in vast numbers and in a perfecfl condition. For this reason Lyell considers it "reasonable to believe that a large region in Central Asia, includ- ing perhaps the southern half of Siberia, enjoyed at no very remote period in the earth's history a temperate climate, suffi- ciently mild to afford food for numerous herds of elephants and rhinoceroses." In the midst of these awful convulsions of nature — these antagonistic forces of ex- ternal good and evil — Zoroaster evolved his belief in the dualism of all things. He be- lieved that the Supreme Being had set all things in opposition to each other, two and two. He did not believe that, "whatever is, is right." Some things appeared woe- fully wrong. The world was a scene of war and turmoil, not one of peace and quiet. Ivife was battle to the good man, not sleep. He believed that the good God watching over all was constantly opposed by a power- ful evil spirit, with whom we are to battle constantly and to whom we are never to yield. In the remote future he perceived the triumph of good; but that triumph could only be attained by fighting the good fight now, not, however, with carnal weapons. The whole dut)- of man was to ha\e ' ' pure thoughts ' ' entering into ' ' true words ' ' and ending in ' ' right acflions. ' ' The Zend-Avesta is a liturgy — a colle{5lion of hymns, prayers, invocations and thanks- givings. It contains prayers to numerous deities, the supreme one of whom is Onuazd, the others being onlv his servants. Says Zarathustra: "I worship and adore the Creator of all things, Ahura-Mazda (Or- mazd), full of light ! I worship the Amgsha- Spentas (Amshaspands, the seven arch- angels, or protedling spirits)! I worship the body of the primal Bull, the soul of the Bull! I invoke thee, O Fire, thou .son of Ormazd, most rapid of the Immortals! I invoke Mithra, the lofty, the immortal, the pure, the sun, the ruler, the quick Horse, the eye of Ormazd! I invoke the holy Sra- osha, gifted with holiness, and Ragnu (spirit of justice), and Arstat (spirit of truth)! I invoke the Fravashi of good men, the Fra- vashi of Ormazd, the Fravashi of my own soul! I praise the good men and women of the whole world of purity! I praise the Haoma, health-bringing, golden, with moist stalks! I praise Sraosha, whom four horses carry, spotless, bright-shining, swifter than the storms, who, without sleeping, protedls the world in darkness!" The Zend-Avesta, as a holy book, was to be read in private by the laity, or to be re- cited in public by the priests. This sacred book of the ancient Medes and Persians con- sists of the Vendidad, of which twentj'-two Fargards, or chapters, have been presented: the Vispered, in twenty-seven; the Yagna, in seventy; and the Khordah-Avesta, or Little- Avesta, containing the Yashts, the Patets, and other prayers for the use of the laity. Spiegel regards the Gathas of the Yagna as the oldest of these, the Vendidad next, and lastly the first part of the Yagna and the Khordah-Avesta. The Bundehesch is a book later than those just mentioned, but, in its contents, it goes back to primitive times. Windischmann, who, in 1863, made a new translation of this book, says: " In regard to the Bundehesch, I am confident that closer study of this re- markable book, and a more exadl compar- ison of it with the original texts, will change the unfavorable opinion hitherto held con- cerning it into one of great confidence. I am justified in believing that its author has given us mainly only the ancient docflrine, taken by him from original texts, most of which are now lost. The more thoroughly /.OROASTRI.\NIS}[ AND I\IA(,IS.U. 253 it is examined tlie more trustworthy it will be found to be." Only the germs of the Parsee system are found in the elder books of the Zend-Avesta. It has been doubted if the doelrinc of Zer- ina-Akerana, or the Monad behind the Duad, is to be found in the Zend-Avesta, though important texts in the Vendidad seem to impl\- a Supreme and Infinite Being, who created both Ormazd and Ahriman. The following is an outline of the Parsee system, as derived from the Hundehesch and the later Parsee writings; In the beginning the Eternal or Absolute Being (Zerana-Akerana) produced two other great divine beings. The first of these, called Ahura-Mazda, or Ormazd, remained true to him and was the King of Light. The other, called Angra-Mainyus, or Ahri- man, was the King of Darkness. Ormazd being in a world of light and Ahriman in a world of darkness, the two became antago- nists. The Infinite Being (Zerana-Akerana) thereupon resolved to create the visible by Ormazd, for the purpose of exterminating the evil which Ahriman had cau.sed; fixing its duration at twelve thousand years, which he divided into four periods of three thou- sand years each. Onnazd was to rule alone during the first period. Ahriman was to be- gin his operations during the second period, still, however, occupying a subordinate posi- tion. Both were to rule together during the third period. Ahriman was to have the as- cendency during the fourth period. Ormazd produced the Fereuers, or Frava- shi, thus beginning the creation. Every- thing, either already created or to be created, has its Fravashi, containing the reason and basis of its existence. Onnazd himself has his Fravashi relating to Zerana-Akerana, the Infinite. A spiritual, invisible world there- fore existed before this visible world of matter. In the creation of the material world, which was simply an incorporation of the spiritual world of Fravashis, Ormazd first made the firm \ault of heaven and the earth on which that vault rests. On the earth he created the lofty mountain Albordj , the mod- ern Elburz, which soared upward through all the spheres of the heaven, till it reached the primal light, and Ormazd established his abode on this summit. From this summit the bridge Chiuevat extends to the vault of heaven and to Gorodman, which is the opening in the vault above Albordj. Gorod- man is the abode of P'rava-shis and of the bles.sed, and the bridge leading to it is di- recflly above the aby.ss Duzahk, the awful gulf beneath the earth, the dwelling-place of Ahriman. Ormazd, knowing that his battle with Ahriman would commence after his first period, armed him.self, and for his aid cre- ated the shining heavenly host — the sini, the moon and the stars — the mighty beings of light which were entirely subserx'ient to him. He first created "the heroic nmner, who never dies, the sun," and made him king and ruler of the material world. From Albordj he starts on his course in the morn- ing, circling the earth in the highest spheres of the heaven, and returns at evening. Or- mazd next created the moon, which "has its own light," which, leaving Albordj, cir- cles the earth in a lower sphere and returns. He then created the five planets then known; also the entire host of fixed stars, in the lowest circle of the heavens. The space between the earth and the firm vault of the heavens is consequenth' divided into three spheres — that of the sun, that of the moon, and that of the stars. The host of stars were common soldiers in the war with Ahriman, and were divided into four troops, each having its appointed leader. Twelve companies were arranged in the twelve signs of the Zodiac. These were all grouped into four great di\-isions, in the east, west, north and south; the planet Tistr>'a (Jupiter) presiding over the eastern division and named "Prince of the Stars," Sitavisa (Saturn) watching over the western division, Vanant (Mercur}') over the .southern, and Hapto-iringa (IMars) over the northern. The great star Mesch, or Meschgah (Venus), is in the middle of the firmament, and leads the heavenly host of stars in the struggle against Ahriman. 254 ANCIENT HISTORY.— MEDIA. The dog Sinus (Sura) is also a watch- man of the heavens, but is fixed to one place, at the bridge Chinevat, standing guard over the abyss out of which Ahri- man comes. After these preparations in the heavens had been finished by Ormazd, the first of the four periods of three thousand years each reached its end, and Ahrinian saw from his gloomy abode what Ornia/.d had done. To antagonize Ormazd, Ahriman created a world of Darkness, a terrible host, as nu- merous and powerful as the beings of Light. Ormazd, knowing all the misery and woe that Ahriman would produce, yet knowing that he himself would triumph in the strug- gle, offered Ahriman peace; but Ahriman chose war. But, blinded by the majesty of Onnazd, and terror-stricken at the sight of the pure Fravashis of holy men, Ahriman was conquered by the strong word of Or- mazd, and fell back into the aby.ss of Dark- ness, lying fettered there during the three thousand years of the second period. Ormazd now finished his creation upon the earth. Sapandomad was guardian spirit of the earth. The earth, as Hethra, was mother of the living. Khordad was chief of the seasons, years, months and days, as well as protedlor of the water, which flowed from the fountain Anduisur, from Albordj. The planet Tistrya was appointed to raise the water in vapor, gather it in clouds, and let it fall in rain, with the aid of the planet Sitavisa. These ' ' cloud-compellers ' ' were regarded with the highest reverence. Amer- dad was the god of vegetation, but the great Mithra was the lord of frudlification and reproducflion in the entire organic world, his duty being to lead the Fravashis to the bodies which they were to occup)^ Everything earthly in Ormazd's world of Light had its protecfling divinity, or guard- ian .spirit. The.se spirits were divided into series and groups, and had their captains and their associated assistants. The seven Amshaspands (in Zend, AmSsha-Spentas) were the principal ones of these series, of whom Ormazd was the first. The other six were Bahman, King of Heaven; Ardibe- hescht. King of Fire; Schariver, King of the Metals; Sapandomad, Queen of the Earth; Amerdad, King of the \'egetables; and Khordad, King of Water. Thus ended the second period of three thousand years; during which Ormazd had likewi.se produced the great primitive Bull, which, being the representative of the ani- mal world, contained the seeds of all living creatures. While Ormazd was thus finishing his cre- ation of Eight, Ahriman, in his gloomy abyss, was ending his antagonistic creation of Darkness — making a corresponding evil being for every good being that Ormazd created. These spirits of Darkness stood in their ranks and orders, with their seven pre- siding evil spirits, or Daevas, corresponding to the seven Amshaspands of the world of Light. The vast preparations for the great war between Ormazd and Ahriman being fin- ished, and the end of the second period of three thousand years now approaching, Ahriman was urged by one of his Daevas to commence the struggle. Having counted his host, and found nothing therein to op- pose to the Fravashis of good men, he fell back dejecfted. When the second period ended, Ahriman sprang aloft fearlessly, knowing that his time had arrived. He was followed by his host, but he only reached the heavens, his troops remaining behind. Seized with a shudder, he .sprang from heaven upon the earth in the form of a serpent, penetrating to the earth's center, and entering into everything which he found upon the earth. Passing into the primal Bull, and even into fire, the visible symbol of Ormazd, he defiled it with smoke and vapor. He then assailed the heavens; and a portion of the stars were already in his power, and enveloped in smoke and mist, when he was attacked by Ormazd, aided by the Fravashis of holy men. After ninety days and ninet>' nights he was thoroughly defeated, and driven back with his troops into the abyss of Duzahk. He did not, however, stay there. He made a way for himself and his companion.^ ZOROASTRIANISM AND MAGTSM. 255 through the iniddk- of the earth, and is now living on the earth with Ornia/.d, in accord- ance with the decree ut the Inhnite. He had procUiced terrible destruction in the world; but the more e\il he attempted to do, the more he unknowingly fulfilled the counsels of the Infinite, and hastened the development of good. He thus entered the Bull, the original animal, and so injured him that he died. But then Kaiomarts, the first man, came out of his right shoulder, and from his left shoulder proceeded Gosh- urun, the soul of the Bull, who now became the guardian spirit of the animal creation. The entire realm of clean animals and plants came from the Bull's body. Ovenvhelmed with rage and fury, Ahriman now created the unclean animals — for every clean beast an unclean one. Ormazd having created the dog, Ahriman produced the wolf. Or- mazd having made all useful animals, Ahri- man made all noxious ones; and likewise of plants. Having nothing to oppose to Kaiomarts, the original man, Ahriman resolved to kill him. Kaiomarts was both man and woman, and after his death a tree grew from his body, bearing ten pair of men and women, Meschia and Meschiane being the first. They were at first pure and innocent and made for heaven, worshiping Ormazd as their creator; but Ahriman tempting them, they drank milk from a goat, thus injuring themselves; and by eating the fruit which Ahriman brought them, they lost a hundred parts of their happiness, only one part re- maining. The woman was the first that sacrificed to the Daevas. After fifty j-ears they had two children, Siamak and \'e.schak. They died at the age of one hundred j-ears. They remain in hell until the resurreclion, in piuiishment for their sins. Thus the human race became mortal by the sin of its first parents. Man stands be- tween the worlds of Light and Darkness, left to his own free will. Being a creature of Ormazd he is able to and should honor him, and aid him in the war with Ahriman; but Ahriman and his Daevas surround him night and day, trying to mislead, so that they nuist thus be able to increa.se the power of Darkness. He was only able to resist these temptations, to which his first parents ,\ielded, hecau.se Ormazd had taken pity on him and given him a revelation of his will in the law of Zoroaster. If he obeys these precepts he is beyond harm from the Daevas, being diredlly protedled by Ormazd. The essence of the law is the command: "Think jHirely, speak purely, act purely." From Ormazd comes all that is pure; from Ahri- man all that is impure. Bodily purity is no less worthy than moral purity. This is the reason for the man}- minute precepts regard- ing bodily cleanliness. The entire liturgic worship hinges vastly on this point. The Fravashis of men originally created by Ormazd are preserved in heaven, in Or- mazd's world of Light. But they must come from hea\-en, to be joined to a human body, and to enter upon a path of probation in this world, called' the "Way of the Two Destinies." At death the souls of those who have chosen the good in this world are received by the good spirits, and guided, under the protei5tion of the dog Sura, to the bridge of Chinevat, where the narrow road conducts to heaven, or paradise. The souls of the wicked are dragged to the bridge bj' the Daevas. Ormazd here holds a tribu- nal and decides the fate of the human souls. The righteous safely pass the bridge into the abode of the blessed, being there welcomed with rejoicing bj' the Amshas- pands. The pious soul is aided in crossing the bridge by the angel Serosh, "the happj', well-formed, swift, tall Serosh," who greets the new comer in his happy journey to the abode of the blessed, where he is greeted by the angel \'ohu-mano, who, rising from his throne, exclaims: "How happy art thou, who hast come here to us, exchanging mortality for immortality!" The good soul then proceeds to the golden throne in paradise. The wicked fall over the bridge of Chinevat, into the abyss of Duzahk, where they find themselves in the realm of Angra-Mainyus, the world of Dark- ness, where thej- are forced to remain in misery and woe, tormented by the Daevas. 256 ANCIENT HISTORY.— MEDIA. Ormazd fixes the duration of the punish- ment, and some are redeemed sooner by means of the prayers and intercessions of their friends, but many must stay until the resurrection of the dead. Ahriman himself eiiecfts this consumma- tion, after having exercised great power over men during the last period of three thousand 5'ears. He made seven comets to autagonize the seven great luminaries created b>' Ormazd — the sun, moon and five planets then known. These comets went on their destructive course through the heavens, filling everv'thing with danger and every human being with terror. But Onnazd put them under the control of his planets to restrain them. The planets will exercise this power until, b}- the decree of the Infinite at the close of the last period, one of the comets will break away from his watchman, the moon, and dash upon the earth, causing a general conflagration. Be- fore this, however, Ormazd will send his Prophet, Sosiofh, and cause the conversion of mankind, to be followed by the general resurre(5tion. Ormazd will clothe the bones of men with new flesh, and friends and relatives will again recognize each other. Then comes the great division of the just from the wicked. When Ahriman causes the comet to fall upon the earth to gratify- his destructive in- clinations he will be really .serving the Infi- nite Being against his own will; as the con- flagration caused Ijy this comet will change the whole earth into a stream like melted iron, which will pour down with fury into the abode of Ahriman. All beings must now pass through this stream. It will feel like warm milk to the righteous, who will pass through to the realm of the just; but the sinners shall be carried along by the stream into the aby.ss of Duzahk, where they will burn three days and nights, after which, being pxu-ified, they will invoke Ormazd and be received into heaven. Ahriman himself and all in the abyss of Duzahk shall afteuwards be purified by this fire; all evil will be consumed and all dark- ne.ss will be banished. A more beautiful earth, pure and perfect, and destined to be eternal, will come from the extincft fire. Ahura-Mazda (Ormazd) was the "all bountiful, the all-wise, living being" or ' ' spirit ' ' who was at the head of all that was good and lovely, of all that was beautiful and delightful. Angra-Mainyus (Ahriman) was the "dark and gloomy intelligence," that had ever been Ahura-Mazda's enemy, and was resolved on foiling and tormenting him. Ahura-Mazda was "the creator of life, the earthly and the spiritual." He had made "the celestial bodies," "earth, water, and trees," "all good creatures," and "all good things." He was "good," "holy, " "pure," "true," "the holy god," "the holiest," "the essence of truth," "the father of truth," "the best being of all," ' ' the master of purity. ' ' He was supremely happy and possessed e^•ery blessing — " health, wealth, virtue, wisdom, immortal- ity." From Ahura-Mazda proceeded all good to mankind. He rewarded the good by granting them everlasting happine.ss, and punished the bad. Angra-Mainyus was the author of all that was evil, and had been engaged in constant warfare with Ahura-Mazda. He corrupted and ruined the good things created by Ahura-Mazda. He was the di.spen.ser of moral and phy.sical evils. He blasted the earth with barrenness, made it produce thorns, thistles and poisonous plants. He sent the earthquake, the tempest, the hail, the thunder-bolt. He caused disease and death, famine and pestilence, wars and tu- mults. He was the inventor of witchraft, murder, unbelief, cannibalism, etc. He cre- ated ferocious wild beasts, serpents, toads, mice, hornets, mo.squitoes, etc. He coutin- ludU- incited the bad against the good, and sought by every device to give vice the vic- tory over virtue. Ahura-Mazda could not always defeat or baffle him. Zoroaster's religion was strictly free from idolatr>-. The only emblems were a winged circle with a human figure, robed and wear- ing a tiara — a symbol of Ahura-Mazda; and a four-winged figure at Murgab, the ancient ZOROASTRIANISM AND A/A(;/SM. 257 Pasargadae, the early capital of Persia, repre- senting Sraosha, orSerosh — "the good, tall, fair Serosh ' '■ — who in the Zoroastrian system corresponds with the Archangel Michael in the Christian. The great Persian king, Darius Hystaspes, placed the emblems of Ahura-Mazda and Mitlira in prominent places on the sculptured tablet abo\'e his tomb, as did all the later monarchs of his race whose sepulchers are yet to be seen. Artaxerxes Mnemon put the image of Mithra in the temple attached to the royal palace at Susa, and in his inscriptions unites Mithra and Ahura-Mazda, prajing for their joint protection. Artaxerxes Ochus does the same a little later. The jiortions of the Zend-Avesta composed at this period ob- ser\-ed the same pradlice. Ahura-Mazda and Mithra are called "the two great ones," "the two great, imperishable and pure." Man was in duty bound to implicitly obey his creator, the Good Being, Ahura-Mazda, and to battle earnestly against Angra- Mainyus and his evil creatures. He was to be pious, pure, truthful and industrious. He was to acknowledge Ahura-Mazda as the One True God, and to reverence the Amesha-Spentas and the Izeds, or lower angels. He was to worship by prayers, praises, thanksgivings, singing of hymns, sacrifices of animals, and the occasional ceremony of the Haoma, or Horaa. This was the extradlion of the juice of the Homa plant by the priests while reciting prayers, the formal presentation of the liquid ex- tracted to the sacrificial fire, the consump- tion of a small part of it bj- the officiating priests, and the division of the most of it among the worshipers. The horse was con- sidered the best sacrificial victim, but oxen, sheep and goats were also ofiFered. The animal being brought before an altar on which the sacred fire was burning, believed to have been originally kindled from heaven, was there killed by a priest, who showed some of the flesh to the sacrificial fire, after which the \'i(5lim was cooked and eaten by the priests and worshipers at a solemn meal. Outward purity was enforced by numer- ous external observances. All impure adls, impure words and impure thoughts were to be abstained from. Ahura-Mazda, "the pure, the master of purity," would not tol- erate impurity in his votaries. Man was placed on earth to preserve Ahura-Mazda's "good creation," which could only be done by carefully tilling the soil, eradicating the thorns and weeds sent by Angra-Mainyus, and reclaiming the tracts which that Evil Being had cursed with barrenness. The cultivation of the soil was thus a religious duty, and all were required to perform agri- cultural labors; and either as proprietor, farmer or laborer, each Zoroastrian was obliged to "further the works of life" by tillage of the soil. Truth was another duty inculcated earn- estly by the Zoroastrian creed. Herodotus tells us that ' ' the Persian youth are taught three things only; to ride the horse, to draw the bow, and to speak the truth." Ahura- Mazda was the "true spirit," and the chief of the AmSsha-Spentas was Asha-vahista, "the best truths The Zend-Avesta and the Persian cuneifonn inscriptions hold up Druj, "falsehood," to detestation, "as the basest, the most contemptible and the most pernicious of vices." After a time the early Iranian religion be- came corrupted by the admixture of foreign superstitions. The followers of Zoroaster, spreading themselves from their primeval seat on the Oxus over the regions to the .south and south-west of the Caspian Sea, came into contact with a religious system vastly different from that which they had previously professed, yet capable of being easily fused with it. This was Magism, or the worship of the elements. The primitive inhabitants of Armenia, Cappadocia and the Zagros mountain-rauge, had, under circum- stances to us unknown, developed this sj'S- tem of religion, associating with its tenets a priest-caste claiming prophetic powers and a highly sacerdotal character. The essentials of Magism were the four elements of Fire, Air, Earth and Water, which were regarded as the only proper objects of human adora- tion. Personal gods, temples, shrines and images were rejedled. The worshipers rev- 258 ANCIENT HIS TOR } '. — MEDIA. erenced not the powers presiding over the elements of nature, but the elements them- selves. Fire, the great ethereal principle and the most powerful agent, was specially regarded ; and on the Magian fire-altars the sacred flame, usually considered to have been kindled from heaven, was kept con- stantly burning year in and year out by bands of priests, whose special duty it was to see that the sacred spark was never per- mitted to die out. It was a capital offense to defile the altar by blowing the fire with one's breath, and it was just as odious to burn a corpse. Only a small part of the fat of the vidlims for sacrifice was consumed in the flames. Water was reverenced next to fire. Sacrifice was offered to rivers, lakes and fountains, the vidtim being brought near to them and then killed, the greatest care being taken that not a drop of blood should touch the water and pollute it. No refuse was permitted to be thrown into a river, nor was it lawful to wash one's hands in one. The earth was reverenced by means of sacrifice, and by abstaining from the common manner of burying the dead. He- rodotus and Strabo are our main authorities for this account of Magism. The Magian prie.st-caste held a high rank. A priest always mediated between the Deity and the worshiper, and inten'ened in every rite of religion. The Magus prepared the sacrificial vicftim and .slew it, chanted the mystic strain giving the sacrifice all its force, poured the propitiatory libation of oil, milk and honey on the ground, and held the bundle of thin tamarisk twigs, the bar- som {barcsma) of the later books of the Zend-Avesta, the u.se of which was neces- sary to all sacrificial ceremonies. "Claim- ing supernatural powers, they explained omens, expounded dreams, and by means of a certain mysterions manipulation of the barsom, 'or bundle of tamarisk twigs, ar- rived at a knowledge of future events, which they would sometimes condescend to communicate to the pious inquirer." With all these pretensions, it is not sur- prising that the Magi assumed a lofty de- meanor, a stately dress, and surroundings of ceremonial splendor. Attired in white robes, and wearing upon their heads tall felt caps, with long lappets at the sides, which are said to have hidden the jaw and the lips, the Magi, with a barsom in their hands, marched in procession to the fire- altars, around which they performed their magical incantations for an hour at a time. The credulous masses, impressed by such scenes and imposed upon by the claims of the Magi to supernatural powers, paid the priest-caste willing homage. The kings and chiefs consulted them; and when the Iranians, in their westward migrations, came into contacft with the nations professing Ma- gism, they found the Magian priesthood all- powerful among most of the Western Asian races. The followers of Zoroaster had at first been intolerant and exclusive, and regarded the faith of their Aryan kinsmen, the Sans- kritic Hindoos, with aversion and contempt. They had fiercely opposed idolatry, and hated with deep animosity every religion but their own. But in the course of ages these feelings had become lax, and the early religious fen'or gradually died away; and in its .stead "an impre.ssible and imitative spirit had developed it.self. " Thus Zoroastrianism, in its contadl with Magism, was impres.sed favorably, and the result was the development of a new system by the fusion of the two. The chief tenets of the two sj-stems harmonized and were thoroughly compatible. Thus the Iranians, though holding fast to their original creed, adopted the main points of the Magian faith and all the more remarkable practices and customs of Magism. This fusion of Zoro- astrianism and Magism occurred in Media. The Magi became a Median tribe and the priest-caste of the Medes. Worship of the elements, divination by means of the bar- som, expounding of dreams, incantations at fire-altars, sacrifices at which a Magus offi- ciated, were made a part of the Zoroastrian creed. Thus a mixed religious system was developed, which finally triumphed over pure Zoroastrianism after a long struggle. The Persians, sometime after their conquest ZOROASTRIANISM AND MAC, ISM. 259 of the Medes, adopted the new faith, ac- cepted the Magian priesthood, and attended the ceremonies at the fire-altars. The introduction of the Magian creed by the Zoroastrians led to a singular pradtice regarding the disposition of the dead. It became unlawful to bum dead bodies, be- cause that would pollute fire; or to bury them, as that would pollute the earth; or to cast them into a river, as that would pollute water; or to place them in a tomb, or in a sarcophagus, as that would pollute the air. The dead were therefore removed to a soli- tary place to be devoured by beasts and birds of pre)- — wolves, jackals, foxes, crows, ravens and vultures. This, as the orthodox pratftice, was employed by the Magi in the disposal of their own dead, and was ur- gently recommended to others. Those who would not adopt this custom were allowed to coat the dead bodies of their friends with wax and then bury them, thus avoiding the pollution of the earth by preventing direcfl conta(ft between it and the corpse. Saj'S Rawlinson, concerning the fusion of Zoroastrianism with Magism: "The mixed religion thus constituted, though less elevated and less pure than the original Zoroastrian creed, must be pro- nounced to have possessed a certain lofti- ness and picfluresqueness which suited it to become the religion of a great and splendid monarch)-. The my.sterious fire-altars upon the mountain-tops, with their prestige of a remote antiquity — the ever-buming flame believed to have been kindled from on high — the worship in the open air under the blue canopy of heaven — the long troops of Ma- gians in their white robes, with their strange caps, and their mystic wands — the frequent prayers, the abundant sacrifices, the low incantations — the suppo.sed prophetic powers of the priest-caste — all this together constituted an imposing whole at once to the eye and to the mind, and was calculated to give additional grandeur to the civil system that should be allied with it. Pure Zoroas- trianism was too spiritual to coalesce readily with Oriental luxury and magnificence, or to lend strength to a government based on the principles of Asiatic despotism. Magism furnished a hierarchy to support the throne and add splendor and dignity to the court, while it overawed the subjecft class by its supposed possession of supernatural powers and of the right of mediating between man and God. It supplied a picturesque wor- .ship, which at once gratified the senses and excited the fancy. It gave .scope to man's passion for the niar\-elous by its incanta- tions, its divining-rods, its omen-reading, and its dream-expoiniding. It gratified the religious scrupulosity which finds a pleasure in making to itself difficulties, by the dis- allowance of a thou.sand natural acts, and the imposition of numberless rules for ex- ternal purity. At the same time it gave no offense to the anti-idolatrous spirit in which the Iranians had alwaj-s gloried, but upheld and encouraged the iconoclasm which they had previously practiced. It thus blended easily with the previous creed of the Iran- ian people, and produced an amalgam that has shown a surprising vitalitj', having lasted above two thousand \-ears — from the time of Xerxes, the son of Darius Hystaspes (B. C. 485-465) to the present day." The follow-ing passages are from the oldest part of the Avesta, the Gathas: "Good is the thought, good the speech, good the work of the pure Zarathustra. ' ' "I desire by my prayer with uplifted hands this joy — the pure works of the Holy Spirit, Mazda ... a disposition to perform good adlions . . . and pure gifts for both worlds, the bodily and spiritual." ' ' I have intrusted my soul to Heaven . . . and I will teach what is pure so long as I can." "I keep forever purity and good-minded- ness. Teach thou me, Ahura-Mazda, out of thyself; from heaven; by lh>- mouth, whereby the world first aro.se." "Thee have I thought, O Mazda, as the first, to prai.se with the soul . . . active Creator . . . Lord of the worlds . . . Lord of good things . . . the first fashioner. . . who made the pure creation . . . who up- holds the best soul with his understanding." "I praise Ahura-Mazda, who has created 26o ANCIENT HISTORY.— MEDIA. cattle, created the water and good trees, the splendor of light, the earth and all good. We praise the Fravashis of the pure men and women — whatever is fairest, purest, immortal." "We honor the good spirit, the good kingdom, the good law — all that is good." ' ' Here we praise the soul and body of the Bull, then our own souls, the souls of the cattle which desire to maintain us in life . . . the good men and women . . . the abode of the water . . . the meeting and parting of the wa\-s . . . the mountains which make the waters flow . . . the strong wind created b}- Ahura-Mazda . . . the Haoma, giver of increase, far from death." " Now give ear to me, and hear! the Wise Ones have created all. Evil docftrine shall not again destroy the world." ' ' In the beginning, the two heavenly Ones spoke — the Good to the Evil — thus: ' Our souls, doctrines, words, works, do not unite together.' " "How shall I satisfy thee, O Mazda, I, who have little wealth, few men? How may I exalt thee according to \\\\ wish! ... I will be contented with your desires; this is the decision of my understanding and of my soul. ' ' The following is from the Khordah- Avesta : ' ' In the name of God, the gi\"er, forgiver, rich in love, prai.se be to the name of Or- mazd, the God with the name, ' Who always was, ■ always is, and alwaj's will be ' ; the heavenly amongst the heavenly, with the name 'From whom alone is derived rule.' Ormazd is the greatest ruler, mighty, wise, creator, supporter, refuge, defender, com- pleter of good works, overseer, pure, good, and just. "With all strength (bring I) thanks; to the great among beings, who created and destroyed, and through his own determina- tion of time, strength, wisdom, is higher than the six Amshaspands, the circumfer- ence of heaven, the .shining sun, the bril- liant moon, the wind, the water, the fire, the earth, the trees, the cattle, the metals, mankind. "Offering atid praise to that Lord, the completer of good works, who made men greater than all earthly beings, and through the gift of speech created them to rule the creatures as warriors against the Daevas. "Prai.se the omniscience of God, who hath sent through the holy Zarathustra peace for the creatures, the wisdom of the law — the enlightening derived from the heavenly understanding, and heard with the ears — wisdom and guidance for all be- ings who are, were, and will be, (and) the wisdom of wisdoms; which effedls freedom from hell for the soul at the bridge, and leads it over to that Paradise, the brilliant, sweet-.smelling of the pure. "All good do I accept at thy command, O God, and think, speak, and do it. I be- lieve in the pure law; by every good work seek I forgiveness for all sins. I keep pure for m3'.self the ser\-iceable work and absti- nence from the unprofitable. I keep pure the six powers — thought, speech, work, memory, mind, and understanding. Accord- ing to thy will am I able to accomplish, O accomplisher of good, th}- honor, with good thoughts, good words, good works. "I enter on the shining way to Paradi.se; may the fearful terror of hell not o\'ercome me! May I step over the bridge Chinevat, may I attain Paradise, with much perfume, and all enjoyments, and all brightness. "Prai.se to the 0\'erseer, the Lord, who rewards those who accomplish good deeds according to his own wi.sh, purifies at last the oI)edient, and at last purifies even the wicked one of hell. All prai.se be to the creator, Ormazd, the all-wise, mighty, rich in might; to the seven Amshaspands; to Ized Bahrani, the victorious annihilator of foes. ' ' The following is a Confession or Patet: "I repent of all sins. All wicked thoughts, words, and works which I have meditated in the world, corporeal, spiritual, earthly, and heavenly, I repent of, in your presence, }-e believers. O Lord, pardon through the three words. "I confess mj^self a Mazdayagnian, a Zar- athustrian, an opponent of the Daevas, de- voted to belief in Ahura, for praise, adora- ZOROASTRIANISM AND AfAG/SM. 261 lion, satisfaction, and laud. As it is tlie will of God, let the Za6ta say to me, Thus an- nounces the Lord, the Pure out of Holiness, let the wise speak. "I praise all good thoughts, words, and works, through thought, word, and deed. I curse all evil thoughts, words, and works away from thought, word, and deed. I lay hold on all good thoughts, words, and works, with thoughts, words, and works, /. c, I perform good actions, I dismiss all evil thoughts, words, and works, from thoughts, words, and works, i. c, I commit no sins. " I give to you, ye who are Amshaspands, offering and praise, with the heart, with the body, with my own vital powers, body and soul. The whole powers which I possess, I possess in dependence on the Yazatas. To possess in dependence upon the Yazatas means (as much as) this: if anj-thing happen so that it behoves to give the body for the sake of the soul, I give it to them. ' ' I praise the best purity, I hunt away the Devs, I am thankful for the good of the Creator Ormazd, with the opposition and unrighteousness which come from Gana- mainyo, am I contented and agreed in the hope of the resurrection. The Zarathustrian law created by Ormazd I take as a plummet. For the sake of this way I repent of all sins. "I repent of the sins which can lay hold of the character of men, or which have laid hold of my character, small and great which are committed amongst men, the meanest sins as much as is (andj can be, yet more than this, namely, all evil thoughts, words, and works which (I have committed) for the sake of others, or others for my sake, or if the hard sin has seized the charadter of an evil-doer on my account — such sins, thoughts, words, and works, corporeal, men- tal, earthly, heavenly, I repent of with the three words: pardon, O Lord, I repent of the sins with Patet. "The sins against father, mother, sister, brother, wife, child, again.st .spouses, against the superiors, against \\\y own relations, against those living with me. against those who possess equal property, against the neighbors, against the inhabitants of the same town, against servants, every un- righteousness through which I have been amongst sinners — of these sins repent I with thoughts, words, and works, corporeal as spiritual, earthly as heavenly, with the three words: pardon, O Lord, I repent of sins. "The defilement with dirt and corpses, the bringing of dirt and corpses to the water and fire, or the bringing of fire and water to dirt and corpses; the omission of reciting the Avesta in mind, of strewing about hair, nails and toothpicks, of not washing the hands, all the rest which belongs to the category of dirt and corpses, if I have there- by come among the sinners, so repent I of all these sins with thoughts, words, and works, corporeal as spiritual, earthly as heavenly, with the three words: pardon, O Lord, I repent of sin. ' ' That which was the wish of Ormazd the Creator, and I ought to have thought, and have not thought, what I ought to have spoken and have not spoken, what I ought to have done and have not done; of these sins repent I with thoughts, words, and works," etc. "That which was the wi.sh of Ahriman, and I ought not to have thought and yet have thought, what I ought not to have spoken and yet have spoken, what I ought not to have done and yet have done; of these sins I repent," etc. "Of all and every kind of sin which I committed against the creatures of Ormazd, as stars, moon, sun, and the red burning fire, the dog, the birds, the five kinds of animals, the other good creatures which are the property of Ormazd, between earth and heaven, if I have become a sinner against any of these, I repent," etc. "Of pride, haughtiness, covetousness, slandering the dead, anger, envy, the evil eye, shamelessness, looking at with evil in- tent, looking at with evil concupiscence, stiff- neckedness, discontent with the godly arrangements, self-willedness, sloth, despis- ing others, mixing in strange matters, unbe- lief, opposing the Divine powers, false wit- ness, false judgment, idol-wor.ship, running 262 ANCIENT HISTORY.— MEDIA. naked, running with one shoe, the breaking of the low (midday) prayer, the omission of the (raiddaj-) prayer, theft, robbery, whore- dom, witchcraft, worshiping with sorcerers, unchastity, tearing the hair, as well as all other kinds of sin which are enumerated in this Patet, or not enumerated, which I am aware of, or not aware of which are appointed or not appointed, which I should have be- wailed with obedience before the Lord, and have not bewailed — of these sins repent I with thoughts, words, and works, corporeal as spiritual, earthly as heavenly. O Lord, pardon, I repent with the three words, with Patet. " If I have taken on myself the Patet for any one and have not performed it, and mis- fortune has thereby come upon his soul or his descendants, I repent of the sin for every one with thoughts," etc. "With all good deeds am I in agreement, with all sins am I not in agreement, for the good am I thankful, with iniquity am I con- tented. With the punishment at the bridge, with the bonds and tormentings and chas- tisements of the mighty of the law, with the puni.shment of the three nights (after) the fifty-seven j^ears am I contented and sat- isfied." The following is a hymn to a star: "The starTistrya praise we, the shining, majestic, with pleasant good dwelling, light, shining conspicuous, going around, health- ful, bestowing joy, great, going round about from afar, with shining beams, the pure, and the water which makes broad .seas, good, far- famed, the name of the bull created by Mazda, the strong kingly majesty, and the F'ravashi of the holy pure, Zarathustra. "For his brightness, for his majesty, will I praise him, the star Tistrya, with audible prai.se. We prai.se the star Tistrya, the brill- iant, majestic, with offerings, with Haoma bound with flesh, with Mauthra which gives wisdom to the tongue, with word and deed, with offerings with right-spoken speech." " The star Tistrya, the brilliant, majestic, we praise, who glides .so softly to the .sea like an arrow, who follows the heavenly will, who is a terrible pliant arrow, a \'ery pliant arrow, worthy of honor among those worthy of honor, who comes from the damp moun- tain to the shining mountain." The following is a hymn to Mithra: " Mithra, whose long arms grasp for- wards here with Mithra strength; that which is in Eastern India he seizes, and that which [is] in the western he smites, and what is on the steppes of Rauha, and what is at the ends of this earth. "Thou, O Mithra, dost .seize the.se, reach- ing out thy arms. The unrighteous de- stroj-ed through the just is gloomj- in soul. Thus thinks the unrighteous: Mithra, the artless, does not see all these evil deeds, all these lies. " But I think in my soul: No earthly man with a hundred-fold strength thinks so much evil as Mithra with heavenly strength thinks good. No earthly man with a hundred- fold strength speaks so much evil as Mithra with heavenly .strength speaks good. No earthly man with a hundred-fold strength does .so much evil as Mithra with heavenl}' strength does good. "With no earthly man is the hundred- fold greater heavenly understanding allied as the heavenly understanding allies it.self to the heavenly Mithra, the heavenly. No earthly man with a hundred- fold strength hears with the ears as the heavenly Mithra, who pos.sesses a hundred strengths, sees even,' liar. Mightily goes forward Mithra, powerful in rule marches he onwards; fair visual power, shining from afar, gives he to the eyes. ' ' The following are inscriptions at Persepo- lis, the Persian capital; "Darius, the King, King of Kings, .son of Hystaspes, successor of the Ruler of the World, Djemchid." "Ahura-Mazda (Ormazd) is a mighty God; who has created the earth, the heaven, and men; who has given glory to men; who has made Xerxes king, the ruler of man>'. I, Xerxes, King of Kings, king of the earth near and far, son of Darius, an Achsemenid. What I have done here, and what I have done elsewhere, I have done by the grace of Ahura-Mazda." ZOROASTRIANISM AND AfAC/SAf. 263 The following is one of the Grulias, and is l)y some assigned to Zoroaster himself: "Now will I speak anil ])!oclaini to all who have come to listen Thy praise, Aluira-Ma/.da, anil thine, O Vohn-mano. Asha ! I ask thai thy grace ni.-iy appear in the lij^hts of heaven. Hear with yonr ears what is best, perceive with your niiuil what is purest, So that each man for himself may, before the great doom comcth. Choose the creed he prefers. May the wise ones be on our side. These two spirits are twins ; they made known in times that are bygone That good and evil, in thought, and word, and aftion. Rightly decided between them the good ; not so the evil. When these Two came together, first of all they created L,ifc and death, that at last there might be for such as are evil Wretchedness, but for the good a happy blest existence. Of these Two the One who was evil chose what was evil ; He who was kind and good, whose robe was the changeless Heaven, Chose what was right ; those, too, whose works pleased Ahura-Mazda. They could not rightly discern who erred and worshipped the Devas ; They the Bad Spirit chose, and, having held counsel together. Turned to Rapine, that so they might make man's life an afHiClion. But to the good came might ; and with might came wisdom and virtue ; Armaiti herself, the eternal, gave to their bodies Vigor; e'eu thou wert enriched by the gifts she scattered, O Mazda. Mazda, the time will come when the crimes of the bad shall be punished ; Then shall thy power be displayed in fitly rewarding the righteous — Them that have bound and delivered up falsehood to Asha the Truth-God. Let us then be of those who advance this world and improve it, O Ahura-Mazda, O Truth-God bliss conferring ! Let our minds be ever there where wisdom abideth ! Then indeed shall be seen the fall of pernicious falsehood ; But in the house where dwell Vohu-mano Mazda, and Asha — Beautiful house — shall be gathered forever such as are worthy. O men, if you but cling to the precepts Mazda has given. Precepts, which to the bad are a torment, but joy to the righteous, Then shall you one day find yourselves vidlorious through them." Another specimen is from the ' ' Yagna, " or " Book on Sacrifice, ' ' and is probably some centuries later than the great bulk of the Gathas : "We worship .A.hura-Mazda, the pure, the master of purity : We worship the Amesha-Spentas, possessors and givers of blessings : We worship the whole creation of Him who is True, the heavenly, With the terrestrial, all that supports the good creation, .Ml that favors the spread of the good Mazd-Va^na religion. We praise whatever is good in thought, in word, or in atflion. Past or future ; we also keep clean whatever is excellent. O Ahura-Mazda, thou true and happy being ! We strive both to think, and to speak, and to do whatever is fittest Both our lives to preserve, aud bring them both to perfeiflion. Holy spirit of earth, for our best works' sake, we entreat thee. Grant us beautiful fertile fields — aye, grant them to all men. Believers and unbelievers, the wealthy and those that have nothing." CHAPTER V. THE BABYLONIAN EMPIRE. SECTION I.— EXTENT AND PRODUCTIONS. ABYLONIA proper being al- most identical in its situation and territorial extent with the old kingdom of Chaldsea, it need not be described here. It was located wholly west of the Tigris, and consisted of two "vast plains, or flats, one situated between the two rivers (the Tigris and the Euphrates), and thus forming the lower portion of the Mesopotamia of the Greeks and Romans — the other interposed between the Euphrates and Arabia, a long but narrow strip along the right bank of that abounding river." In area it was smaller than Scotland or Ireland. The country east of the Tigris constituted no portion of Babj-lonia proper, but was Ci-s.sia, or Susiana — a .separate country' called Elam by the Jews — and was occupied b^- an Ars'an people. The cities of Babylonia have been mentioned in connedtion with Chaldaea. The small kingdom of Babylonia sud- denly became the mistress of an extensive empire in the latter half of the .seventh cen- tury before Christ. When Media and Ba- bylonia overthrew Assyria in B. C. 625, they divided the Assj'rian Empire between them, as already related. Babylonia ob- tained all that part of the Assyrian domin- ions west of the Tigris and south of Ar- menia, along with Elam, or Susiana, east of the Lower Tigris. Thus the countries in- cluded within the Eater Babylonian Empire, besides Babylonia proper, the heart of the empire, were Elam (Elymais), or Susiana (Cissia), Mesopotamia proper, Cilicia, Syria, Phoenicia, Palestine, Edom, Northern Ara- bia and part of Egypt. There was a great variety of climate and produ(5tions in this vast domain. The climate, produdts and animals of Babylonia have been mentioned and described in our account of Chaldaea. The exceeding fertility of its soil, which so richly rewarded the labors of the husband- man, have there been noted. The testimony of Herodotus in that particular was sustained by Theophrastus, Strabo and Pliny, and also by Berosus, who said: "The land of the Babylonians produces wheat as an indig- enous plant, and has also barley, and lentils, and vetches, and .sesame; the banks of the streams and the marshes supply edible roots, called gongce, which have the taste of barley cakes. Palms, too, grow in the country-, and apples, and fruit-trees of vari- ous kinds." The chief article of food for the great mass of the people in Babylonia, as in Egypt, was the date-palm, which flourished in luxuriant abundance. The produ(5ts of Susiana were mainly the same as those of Babylonia proper; the date- palm, wheat and barley growing in abun- dance. The palm-tree also furnished building timber. The modem Khusistan, the ancient Susiana, produces all the fruits which thrive in Persia. In Northern Mesopotamia are found the walnut, the vine and pistachio-nut, while good crops of grain, oranges, pome- granates, and the ordinary fruits are grown. In Northern S>-ria all kinds of trees and shrubs grow in luxuriance, while the pasture is excellent, and nuich of the land is adapted to the growth of cotton. Here the Assyrian kings frequently obtained timber for build- C264) EXTENT AND PRODUCTIONS. 265 iug purposes, and here are yet found dense forests of oak, pine, ilex, walnuts, willows, poplars, ash-trees, birches, larches and locust- trees. Such wild shrubs as the oleander, the myrtle, the bay, the arbutus, the clema- tis, the juniper, and the honeysuckle abound; and such cultivated fruit-trees as the orange, the pomegranate, the pistachio-nut, the vine, the olive and the mulberry also thrive. The adis, an excellent pea, and the Lycopcrdon, or wild potato, grow in the vicinty of Aleppo. The castor-oil plant is cultivated in the plain of Edib. Melons, cucumbers and most of the common vegetables flourish in abundance all over Syria. In Southern Syria and Palestine most of the same vegetable producftions occur. The date-palm flourishes in Syria as far as Bey- reut, and formerly thrived in Palestine. The banana is also found on the Syrian coast. The fig-mulberry, or true sycamore, also thrives in Southern Syria, as do the jujube, the tamarisk, the wild olive, the gum-styrax plant, the egg-plant, the Egyptian papyrus, the sugar-cane, the scarlet mistletoe, the liquorice plant, the yellow-flowered acacia, and the solanum that produces the ' ' Dead Sea apple." Here aLso flourishes the cele- brated cedar of Lebanon, several oaks and junipers, the maple, the mulberry, the ber- berry, the jessamine, the ivy, the butcher's broom, a rhododendron, and the gum-traga- canth plant. The same fruits flourish in Southern Syria that thrive in the North, with the addition of dates, lemons, almonds, shaddocks and limes. The principal mineral produ(5ls of the Babylonian Empire were bitumen, with its concomitants, naphtha and petroleum, salt, sulpher, nitre, copper, iron, perhaps silver, and several kinds of precious stones. The springs of Hit, or Is, were famous in the time of Herodotus for their great abun- dance of bitumen, which was likewise pro- • cured from Ardericca (now Kir-Ab), and probably from Ram Ormuz, in Susiana, and also from the Dead Sea, in Palestine. Salt was procured from the various lakes without outlets, especially from the Sabakhah, the Bahr-el-Melak, the Dead Sea, and a small 1— 17.-U. H. lake near Tadmor, or Palmyra. The Dead Sea perhaps also furnished sulphur and nitre. The hills of Palestine yielded copper and iron. Silver was prol)ably found in Anti-Lebanon. Gems and precious stones were most probably procured from Susiana, and from Syria and Phoenicia. Among these precious stones were agates from Su.si- ana, amethysts from Petra, alabaster from near Damascus, cyanus from Phcenicia, and gems found in the cylinder-seals, such as cornelian, rock-crystal, chalcedony, onyx, jasper, quartz, serpentine, syenite, ha.'matite, green felspar, pyrites, loadstone and ama- zon-stone, from the various provinces. Building stone did not exist in Babylonia and the alluvial districfls of Susiana; but abounded in other parts of the empire, be- ing plentiful in the Euphrates valley above Hit, in the mountain regions of Susiana, and in S)'ria, Palestine and Phoenicia. Near to Babylonia was limestone. In the vicinity of Haddisah, on the Euphrates, was a sili- cious rock alternating with iron-stone, and in the Arabian desert were sandstone and granite. The stone used in the Babylonian cities was conveyed down the Euphrates, or transported by canals from the neighboring distridls of Arabia. But the inexhaustible supply of clay furni.shed by their own conn- try caused the Babylonians to prefer brick almost exclusively for building purposes. The principal wild animals of the Baby- lonian Empire were the lion, the panther, or large leopard, the hunting leopard, the bear, the hyena, the wild ox, the buffalo, the wild ass, the stag, the antelope, the ibex, or wild goat, the wild sheep, the wild boar, the wolf, the jackal, the fox, the hare and the rabbit. Other wild animals were the lynx, the wild cat, the ratel, the sable, the genet, the badger, the otter, the beaver, the polecat, the jerboa, the rat, the mouse, the mannot, the porcupine, the squirrel and the alligator. Great varieties of birds, in- cluding eagles, vultures, falcons, owls, hawks, crows, and many kinds of small birds, abounded. Reptiles of many varieties prevailed. Fi.sh abounded in the Chaldrcan marshes and in most of the fresh-water lakes 266 ANCIENT HIS TOR > \—BAB\ IXINIA. and rivers. The domestic animals were the camel, the horse, the mule, the ass, the cow, the ox, the goat, the sheep and the dog. The summer heat in Babylonia proper, or Chaldcea. in Susiana, or Elam, in Philistia and in Edom was intense, but the winters here were short and mild. In Susiana the cool breezes from the Zagros mountains somewhat modified the heat ; while in Babylonia the sirocco, or hot wind, from the Arabian desert was at times oppressive. In Central Meso- potamia, in the Euphrates valley, in Syria, Palestine and Phoenicia, the winters were longer and colder, but the summer heat was less oppressive. In the northern portion of the empire, along the flanks of the Masius, the Taurus and the Amanus, the climate was like that of Media, the summers being milder, but the winters intensely severe. Thus a variety of climate existed in the Babylonian Empire; although the region as a whole was the hottest and dryest outside the tropics, because of the close proximity of the great Arabian desert, the smallness of the neighboring seas, the absence of mountains, and the scarcity of timber. On the east and north the Babylonian Empire was bounded by the territories of the great Median Empire, including Persia and Media on the east, and Armenia and Cappadocia on the north. On the south lay the desert land of Arabia, and on the we.st was the Mediterranean .sea. The great cities of the empire outside of Babylonia itself were Jerusalem and Sama- ria in Palestine; Tyre and Sidon iii Phoe- nicia; Damascus and Tadmor in Syria; Car- chemish, in the land of the Hittites, on the Euphrates; Ashdod, Ascalon, Ekron and Gaza in Philistia; and Susa in Susiana, or Elam. SECTION II.— POLITICAL HISTORY. HE history of the Babylonian Emjiire begins with Nabopo- lassar, who ascended the throne of Babj'lon in B. C. 625. We have observed in the history of As.syria, that from the time of Tiglathi-Nin's' conquest of Chaldsea, in B. C. 1300, that country sunk into a state of comparative in- significance, and remained, during the whole period of Assj-rian ascendency in Western Asia, subjedl to Assyria, or occupied a secondary po.sition among the Oriental na- tions. The Assyrians at first governed Chal- daea from their own capital, but they .soon placed the country under an A.ssyrian dynasty, over which they claimed and exer- cised a sort of suzerainty, but which was pra(?tically independent and ruled its king- dom without interference. The first monarch of the Assyrian dynasty in Chakkxa was Nkbtichadnezzar I., a con- temporary of Asshur-ris-ilim, King of As- sxria. Xehuchadnezzar twice attacked Nin- eveh; first by way of the Diyaleh and the outlying Zagros hills, the route of the great Persian military road in subsequent times; and secondly by crossing direcftly the Mes- opotamian plain. The Assyrian records sa>- that both these attacks were repulsed, and that after his .second failure the Babylonian king retreated hastily back into his own dominions. Tiglath-Pileser I., King of As- syria, the son and successor of A.sshus-ris- ilini, led an expedition into Babylonia, then ruled by MEROD.'VCH-iDniN-AKHi, the succes- ,sor of Nebuchadnezzar I. After a struggle of two years, and taking Kurri-galzu (now Akkerknf), the two vSipparas, Opis, and even Babylon itself, Tiglath-Pileser returned to Assyria, harassed on his retreat hy the Babj'lonian monarch, who captured the As- syrian baggage, along with certain A,ssyrian idols, which were carried as trophies to- Babylon. Babylonia and A.ssyria continued at war during the following reigns of Mkro- DACH-SHAPiK-ziKi in the former country POLITIC A I. I IIS n Vv' ) ■. 267 and A.ssluir-l)il-kala in the latter, without any important result. The period of these Assyro-Babylonian wars synchronizes with the epoch of the Judges in Israel, and was succeeded by an interval of obscurity in the history of both Assyria and Babylonia. Assyria had sunk into a declining condition; while Babylonia was prosperous, and according to the testi- mony of A.ssliur-izir-pal, the great Assyr- ian monarch of the ninth centur\- before Christ, conquered some of the Assyrian ter- ritories, and according to Macrobius held comnumication with Egypt. But after remaining for two centuries in a state of comparative weakne.ss and unim- portance, Assyria entered upon another pe- riod of prosf)erity and greatness, and made Babylonia feel the effedls of her vengeance. The A.SS3 rian king, Asshur-izir-pal, invaded Babylonia about B. C. 880, and recovered the territories which the Babylonians had held during the period of Assyria's depres- sion. A.ssbur-izir-pal's son and successor, Shalmaneser II., the Black Obelisk king, led an expedition into Baloylonia while that country- was distradled bj^ a civil war be- tween its legitimate sovereig^n, Merodach- SUM-ADIN, and his j^ounger brother. Shal- maneser took a number of Babylonian towns, and was allowed to enter Babylon itself after defeating and slaj-ing the pretender to the Babylonian throne; after which he overran Chaldaea, or the district upon the coast, which seems to have been then independent of Babylon and governed by a number of petty kings. The Chaldaean chiefs were forced to pay tribute; and, having "struck terror as far as the .sea, ' ' the Assyrian king returned to his capital. Thus all of Babj-- lonia and Chaldaea was again under Assyr- ian influence; and Babylonia was once more a .secondary power, dependent on Assyria. About B. C. 821 the As.syrian king, Shamas-Vul II., the son and successor of Shalmaneser II., invaded Babj-lonia, de- feated its king, Merodach-bel.\tzu-ikbi, in two pitched battles, and forced him to sub- mit to Ass3'rian suzerainty; though in the last battle he had been aided bv the Zimri of -Mount Zagros, the Aranueans of the Eu- phrates, and the Chaldseans of the South. Bal)ylon remained under Assyrian suprem- acy until the middle of the eighth century before Christ, when it is supposed that Pui,, seeing his opportunity in Assyria's weak- ness under Asshur-dayan III., about B. C. 770, shook off the hated yoke of Assyria and extended the Babylonian dominion over the Euphrates valle\- and Western Mesopotamia, whence he proceeded to extend his conquests into Syria and Palestine. But such obscur- ity rests upon Pnl that it is not positively known whether he was a Babylonian king. The Jewish Scriptures call him "king of Assyria," and Berosus represents him as ' ' Chaldaeorum rex. ' ' Soon after regaining its independence. Babylonia was disintegrated into a numl:)er of independent sovereignties — Nabonassar governing Babylon; Yakiu, the father of Merodach-Baladan, ruling the Chaldsean coast region; and Nadina, Zakiru and other princes holding sway in pettj- districts in Northern Babylonia. Nabonassar, who be- came King of Babylon in B. C. 747, is re- garded as the restorer of Babylonian inde- pendence; and the j'ear of his accession, known as the ' ' Era of Nabonassar, ' ' was the point from which the Babjdonians there- after reckoned dates of events. According to Berosus, Nabonassar sought to obliterate the memory of the previous epoch of Baby- lonian subjection to Assyria by having "de- stro3'ed the acts of the kings who had pre- ceded him." Nabonassar lived at peace with the coii- temporarj' King of Assyria, Tiglath-Pileser II., who early in his reign invaded the other portions of Babylonia and Chaldsea, forcing Merodach-Baladan, the son and successor of Yakin, to become his tributary-. Nabo- nassar reigned over Babylon fourteen years, from B. C. 747 to B. C. 733. It has been generall}- believed that the time of Nabo- nassar's reign was the .same as that assigned by Herodotus to the reign of Semiraniis, who, as the wife or as the mother of Nabo- nassar, governed Babylon on behalf of her husband or her son. But this is a mere con- 268 ANCIENT HIS TOR Y. — BAB YL ONI A . je<5lure, contradicted by the native records. We have observed in the historj' of Assyria that Semiramis was a Babylonian princess married to the Assyrian king, Vul-lush III., who reigned from B. C. 8io to B. C. 781. Nobonassar was followed on the Babylonian throne by Nadius, who reigned only two years, from B. C. 733 to B. C. 731. Na- dius is supposed to have been one of the independent Babylonian princes reduced to subjedlion by Tiglath-Pileser I. in his ex- pedition into Babylonia. Nadius was suc- ceeded by Chinzinus and PoRUS, who jointly reigned from B. C. 731 to B. C. 726. Their successor was Elul^EUs, identified with the prince of that name called King of Tyre by Menander — the Luliya of the cuneiform in- scriptions ; but Rawlinson considers this theory a mere conjedlure and highly im- probable. Merodach-Baladan — the successor of Elulseus, and the son of Yakin, the prince who established himself in authority over Southern Babylonia, the ancient Chaldsea, and founded a capital city, naming it after himself Beth-Yakin, or Bit- Yakin — inher- ited the dominion of Yakin upon the death of the latter. Being forced to become tributary to the Assyrian king, Tiglath- Pileser II., he remained in comparative obscurity and quiet during the reigns of Tiglath-Pile.ser II. and Shalmaneser IV. in Assyria; but when Sargon usurped the As- syrian throne, B. C. 721, Merodach-Baladan established his sway over Babylonia, of which he was recognized as king. It was some time during his twelve years' reign over Babylon that Merodach-Baladan .sent ambassadors to Hezekiah at Jerusalem to ascertain the particulars of the strange as- tronomical marvel, or miracle, accompany- ing the sickness and recovery of that king. Hezekiah exhibited all his treasures to these ambassadors. A coalition appears to have been formed against A.ssyria by Babylon, Susiana, the Aramaean tribes, Judah and Egypt. In B. C. 711 Sargon, King of As- syria, invaded Egypt and compelled its Ethiopian king, Sabaco, to .sue for peace. In the following year, B. C. 710, Sargon led an army into Babylonia, defeated Merodach- Baladan and his Arama;an and Susianian allies in a great battle, and took Bit-Yakin, making Merodach-Baladan prisoner and gaining possession of all his treasures; whereupon Babylonia submitted to Sargon, who carried Merodach-Baladan captive to Assyria, and himself assumed the title of " King of Babylon." But when Sargon died, B. C. 704, the Babylonians ca.st off the Assyrian yoke. A number of pretenders claimed the Babylon- ian crown. A son of Sargon and a brother of Sennacherib restored Assyrian supremacy for a short time, but the Babylonians again revolted. Hagisa reigned over Babylon about a month. Merodach-Baladan, escap- ing from his Assyrian captivity, murdered Hagisa and seized the Babj'lonian throne, of which he had been deprived seven years before. But Sennacherib, King of Assyria, Sargon's son and successor, led an army into Babylonia in B. C. 703, defeated Merodach- Baladan and drove him into exile, after a reign of six months, and annexed Babylonia to the Assyrian kingdom. Thenceforth, for seventy-eight years, until the revolt of Nabo- polassar, B. C. 625, Babylonia, with a few short intervals, remained an Assyrian de- pendency. During this period the Assyrian monarchs governed Babylonia by means of viceroj's, such as Belibus, Regibelus, Meses- imordachus, and Saos-duchinus, or diredtly and personally, as by Esar-haddon and by A.sshur-bani-pal in his later years. During Sennacherib's reign there were two Baljy- lonian revolts against Assyria, one headed by Merodach-Baladan in Chaldaea, and the other by Susub at Babylon. These were soon suppressed by Sennacherib, as related in the Ass5'rian histor>'. While A.sshur- bani-pal was King of Assyria, his brother, Saiil-Mugina, also called Sammughes, or Saos-duchinus, attempted to make himself independent, but was subdued and burned alive, as also stated in the history of As.syria. Thus ended the second period of Chaldsean, or Babylonian history — the period of Baby- lonian and Chaldsean subjedtion to Assyria, from Tiglathi-Nin's conquest in B. C. 1300 POLITICAL HISTORY. 269 to Nabopolassar's successful revolt in B. C. 625. We will now proceed to the historj' of the Babylonian Ivinpire, first relating the cir- cumstances of its foundation. When the Medes under their valiant king, Cyaxares, a second time crossed the Zagros range and attacked Nineveh from the east, the Susian- ians menaced the great capital from the south. In this extremity the last Assyrian king, Assshur-emid-ilin, or Saracus, divided his forces, retaining a portion under his own command for the defense of his capital against the Medes, and sending a portion under his general, Nabopolassar, or Nabu- pal-uzur, to Babylon to oppose the advance of the Susianians from the south. Taking advantage of the perilous straits of his sov- ereign, Nabopolassar resolved to betray him in order to obtain for himself an independent kingdom. He therefore negotiated an alli- ance with Cyaxares, the Median king, and obtained that king's daughter as a bride for his own .son, Nebuchadnezzar. The united Median and Babylonian annies then be- sieged Nineveh, which was finally taken and destroyed, B. C. 625, as already related in the histories of Assyria and Media. In the division of the Assyrian Empire, which followed the fall of Nineveh, Cyaxares ob- tained Assj'ria proyyer and all Assyria's de- pendencies towards the north and north-west; while the traitor Nabopolassar received Ba- bylonia, Chaldaea, Susiana, Upper Mesopo- tamia, Syria and Palestine. Thus arose the Babylonian Empire. We know very little about the reign of Nabopolassar. The Canon of Ptolemy in- forms us that he dated his accession from the 3'ear B. C. 625, and that his reign lasted twenty-one years, ending in B. C. 604. During most of this time Babylon- ian history is a blank. Babylon had no inclination to jeopardize her position at the head of an empire by aggression, and her peaceful attitude of course provoked no hostility from her neighbors. Media, bound by dj'uastic interests and by formal treaty, could be depended upon as a finn friend. Persia was too feeble, and Lydia too distant. to be formidable. Egypt, though ho.stile and powerful, was ruled by a .sovereign whom misfortune and age prevented engag- ing in any distant military enterprise; so that as long as Psammetichus was living Babylon had comparatively nothing to fear from any quarter, and, in the language of the Jewish prophet Isaiah, could "give herself to pleasure and dwell carelessly." It was only as the ally of Media that Ba- bylon was obliged to exert herself during the first eighteen 3'ears of her empire, being bound by treaty to aid Cyaxares in his wars and conquests after the capture and destrucftion of Nineveh, the Babylonian con- tingents on these occasions being led either by Nabopolassar or by his son, the crown- prince Nebuchadnezzar. In a war betw^een Media and Lydia, as the armies of these two hostile nations were about to engage in battle, an eclipse of the sun excited the superstitious fears of both, so that they were disposed to reconciliation. Thereupon the Babylonian monarch acfted as peace- maker. Having discovered that Syennesis of Cilicia, the leading man of the Lydian side, was disposed to second his friendly offices, Nabopolassar proposed the holding of a peace conference. The result was that a treaty of peace and friendship, cemented by a royal intermarriage, was concluded be- tween Media and Lydia; thus giving West- em Asia almost half a century of peace, after almost perpetual warfare and devasta- tion. After this successful attempt at mediation, Nabopolassar returned to Babylon. He was prevented from ending his last years in peace by the warlike attitude of Neko, King of Egypt, the son and successor of Psammet- ichus, who sought to wrest Syria and Pal- estine from the Babylonian Empire. In B. C. 608 the Eg3'ptian king led an army into Palestine, where the Jewish king Josiah, in fulfillment of his duty as va.ssal monarch to the King of Babylon, had assembled an anuy at Megiddo to oppose his further ad- vance in the territories of Nabopola.ssar. Thereupon Neko .sent an embassy to per- suade Josiah that he had no hostile feelings 270 ANCIENT HIS TOR ) '. — BA B } 7. ON I A . toward the Jews, and claiming divine ap- proval of his enterprise. But Josiah, loyal to his suzerain, remained firm in his opposi- tion to the advance of the invaders; where- upon he was attacked and defeated at Me- giddo, and fled mortally wounded to Jeru- salem, where he died. Neko followed up his vicftory by advancing through Syria to the Euphrates, and extended his authority over the whole region from Egypt on the south-west to the "Great River" on the north-east. Returning three months later, Neko dethroned Jehoahaz, a younger son of Josiah, whom the Jewish people had made king, and bestowed the Jewish crown on Jehoiakim, his elder brother. During this time Neko besieged and took the Philistine city of Gaza. Three years later, in B. C. 605, Nabopo- lassar, now venerable for his age, sent an army under his son, the crown-prince Nebu- chadnezzar, against the conquering hosts of the Egyptian king. The Hittite city of Carchemish, on the right bank of the Eu- phrates, was then the key of Syria; and at this place Nebuchadnezzar thoroughly de- feated and routed the Egyptians, who fled in disma}'. Nebuchadnezzar rapidly rees- tablished the Babjdonian sway over Syria and Palestine, received the submission of Jehoiakim, King of Judah, restored the frontier line, and according to Berosus in- vaded Eg^'pt itself But upon receiving news from Babylon of his father's death, Nebuchadnezzar hastily concluded a peace with Neko, and speedilj' returned to his capital, in fear of a disputed succession. Nebuchadnezzar had no cause for his fears, as the priests had assumed control of affairs in his absence, and the Chief Priest, or Head of the Order, had kept the throne vacant for him until his return, while no pre- tender disputed his claims. Nebuchadnezzar was the great monarch of the Babylonian Empire, which continued but eighty-seven years, from B. C. 625 to B. C. 538, and which for almost half that period was ruled by him. The military glorj' of this empire is mostly attributable to this renowned king, whose charadler and genius gave it the con- stru(ftive enterprise which was its essen- tial charadleristic. To Nebuchadnezzar the prominent place of the Babylonians in his- tory is almost whollj- due. Besides being an able general, Nebuchadnezzar was one of the greatest builders of antiquity. Our knowledge of Nebuchadnezzar's wars is almost entirely derived from the Old Tes- tament. Therefore we are only infonned of his wars in Palestine and its immediate vicinity, as related by the Jewish writers. We only possess a full account of his wars with the Jews, and some knowledge of his campaigns against Egypt and Phoenicia, though Berosus sa^-s he warred against the Arabs and conquered a part of their countrj'. A few years after Nebuchadnezzar's vic- tory over Neko, King of Egy'pt, troubles once more distracfted Syria. Tyre headed a rebellion in Phoenicia, while Jehoiakim, the Jewish king, relying upon the promised aid of the Egyptian monarch, renounced his allegiance to his Babylonian suzerain. Thereupon Nebuchadnezzar, in his seventh year, B. C. 598, led into Palestine an expe- dition, consisting of his own subjedts and his Median allies. Polyhistor says this army numbered 10,000 chariots, 120,000 cavalry, and 180,000 infantry. Having invested Tj're and found that city too strong to assail with success, Nebuchadnez- zar left a part to continue the siege, while he himself marched against Jeru.salem. On the approach of the Babylonian king, Jehoi- akim submitted, as he was not supported by his Egyptian allies; but Nebuchadnez- zar put him to death, in punishment for his rebellion, and treated his body with indig- nity. Says the prophet Jeremiah: "He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem," and again, "His dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat and in the night to the frost." Nebuchadnezzar first placed Jehoiachin, the son of the unfortunate Jehoiakim, upon the Jewish throne. The new Jewish king, a mere youth, was depo.sed three months later by the suspicious Nebuchadnezzar, and carried a captive to Babylon; while his. /'( V. / TIL WL JUS T( )R ) '. 271 uncle, Zedekiah, a brother of Jehoiakiniand Jehoahaz, was placed upon the Jewish throne. The island citj' of Tyre, in the meantime, withstood a siege of thirteen 3'ears against the forces of Nebuchadnezzar; during which Jerusalem perished in a final effort for inde- ]>endeiice. Zedekiah, King of Judah, remained a faithful vassal of the Babylonian king for eight years, after which he sought an alli- ance with Uaphris, King of Egypt, — the Apries of Herodotus — in order to strike for independence. Says the prophet Ezekiel, in speaking of Zedekiah on this occasion: "He rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people." The Egyptian king looked with favor upon the overture of Zedekiah, who at once revolted from Babylon, and prepared to defend himself with vigor. As this was the fourth time the feeble Jewi.sh kingdom revolted against him, Nebuchadnezzar re- solved to crush it b)' a decisi\'e blow. ' ' He and all his host ' ' came against Jerusalem, and, after conquering and pillaging the open country, "built forts" and laid siege to the city. Uaphris led an army from Egypt to the relief of his beleaguered ally, whereupon the Babylonian army raised the siege and took the field against this new foe. Jose- phus says that the Egyptians were defeated in battle, but according to the prophet Jere- miah they avoided an engagement by re- treating to their own land. In either case the attempted relief of the Jewish capital failed. After a short inter\-al the siege was renewed, the city was completely blockaded, and after a siege and investment of eighteen months Jerusalem was taken by the Baby- lonians, B. C. 586. Before the city fell, Nebuchadnezzar withdrew in person to press the siege of Tyre, which, if it fell after its thirteen years' siege, nuist ha\-e fallen the year after the capture of Jerusalem, B. C. 585. By the capture of Jerusalem and Tyre, the Babylonian king secured the quiet posses- sion of Palestine and Phoenicia. Four years after the fall of Tyre, according to Josephus, Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egj'pt, put its king, Uaphris, the friend and ally of Zede- kiah, to death, and bestowed the Egj'ptian crown upon a creature of his own, B. C. 581. Herodotus, however, says that Uaphris was put to death by a rebellious subje(5l, and he is known to have reigned as late as B. C. 569. But Nebuchadnezzar's second inva- sion of Egypt, B. C. 570, ended in the de- position of Uaphris, who.se succcs.sor, A ma- sis, was a mere vassal of the Babylonian king. Thus Nebuchadnezzar defeated Neko, re- co\'ered Syria, suppressed the revolt of Ju- dah, reduced Tyre and humbled Egypt. Megasthenes says that he conquered North Africa, from which he invaded Spain and subdued the Iberians, colonizing his Iberian captives on the shores of the Euxine sea in the region between Armenia and the Cau- casus. Nebuchadnezzar was thus repre- sented as reigning over an empire extending from the Atlantic ocean on the west to the Caspian sea on the east, and from the Cau- ca.sus on the north-east to the great Sahara on the south-west. Nebuchadnezzar's militar>' successes gave him that great command of ' ' naked human strength ' ' by which he was enabled to pros- ecute his great proje(5ls for beautifying and benefiting his kingdom without unnecessa- rily oppressing his own people. From the start he carried out the Assyrian system of forcible deportation of the entire populations of conquered lands, and colonized them in remote portions of his dominions. Multi- tudes of captives taken in his wars — ^Jews, Egyptians, Phoenicians, Syrians, Ammon- ites, Moabites and others — were settled in different parts of Mesopotamia, principally about Babylon. By the forced labor of these capti\'es the great works of Nebuchadnezzar, which were the chief glory of the Babylon- ian Empire, were erecfted. Abydenus and Eusebius say that Nebu- chadnezzar built the great wall of Babylon. se\enty-five feet high, and thirty-two feet wide, with a circumference of three hundred and sixty-five stadia. This wall was of solid brick masonn-, the Baby-Ionian bricks being 272 ANCIENT HISTORY— BABYLONIA. about a foot square and from three to four inches thick. Nebuchadnezzar, in the Standard Inscription, only claims to have repaired the old wall of the city. He eredled a splendid new palace in the vicinity of the old royal residence. He construcfted the famous ' ' Hanging Gardens ' ' to delight his Median wife, Amyitis, the daughter of Cyax- ares. He repaired and beautified the great temple of Bel at Babylon; and all the in- scribed bricks thus far discovered in the Babil mound bear Nebuchadnezzar's legend. He dug the immense reservoir at Sippara, which was said to have been one hundred and forty miles in circumference, and one hundred and eighty feet deep, providing it with flood-gates, through which its waters might be drawn off for purposes of irrigation. He constructed many canals, among which was the Nahr Makha, or "Royal River," a wide and deep channel connedling the Eu- phrates and the Tigris. He built quays and breakwaters along the shores of the Persian Gulf, and founded the city of Diri- dotis, or Teredon, near that gulf. According to Nebuchadnezzar's own in- scriptions, or to existing remains, this re- nowned Babylonian monarch erecfled the Birs-i-Nimrud, or great temple of Nebo, at Borsippa; constru(5led a vast reservoir in Babylon itself, called the Yapur-Shapu, and a brick embankment along the course of the Tigris, near Bagdad, the bricks of which bear his name and have remained undis- turbed; and built many temples, walls and other public buildings at Cutha, Sippara, Borsippa, Babylon, Chilmad, Bit-Digla and other places. This indefatigable king either rebuilt or repaired nearly all the Babylonian cities and temples. No less than a hundred sites in the vicinity of Babylon testify, by inscribed bricks bearing his legend, to his wonderful acflivity and energy. , Nebuchadnezzar is also believed to have construdled the canal called by the Arabs the Kerck Sa'ideh, or canal of Saideh, and as- cribed by them to a wife of Nebuchadnez- zar. This canal, four hundred miles long, extended from Hit, on the Euphrates, along the extreme western edge of the alluvium close to the Arabian frontier, to the head of the Bubian creek, about twenty miles west of the Shat-el-Arab. Traces of this canal j'et remaining attest the magnitude of this great work. The Pallacopas, or canal of Opa, (Palga Opa), which flowed from the Euphrates at Sippara (now Mosaib) to a great lake in the vicinity of Borsippa, whence the neighboring lands were irrigated, is also believed to have been construcfled by this great monarch. It was an old canal, out of repair, in the time of Alexander the Great; and is called the Nahr Abba by the Arabs, who consider it the oldest canal in the country. The Old Testament gives us some knowl- edge of Nebuchadnezzar's private life and personal charadler. The Book of Daniel rep- resents the great monarch at the head of a most magnificent court; surrounded with " princes, governors, captains, judges, treas- urers, councilors, and sheriffs;" waited upon by carefully-chosen eunuchs, "well-favored" and educated with care; attended, at his de- sire, by a host of astrologers and other ' ' wise men, ' ' who sought to reveal to him the di- vine will. He was an absolute monarch, having the lives and properties of his sub- jedls, from the highest to the lowest, at his disposal; and dispensing all offices at his pleasure. He could elevate a foreigner to a second place in the kingdom, and even place him over the whole priesthood. His im- mense wealth is proven by the fadl that he made an image or obelisk of pure gold, ninety feet high and nine feet wide. He wavered in his religion, sometimes acknowl- edging the Jehovah of the Jews as the only real deity, sometimes relapsing into the idolatrous Babylonian polytheism, and for- cing his subjedls to do the same. But his polytheism was characfterized by a special devotion to a particular deity, whom he designates emphatically as " his god. ' ' Neb- uchadnezzar' s inscriptions clearly show that his favorite god was Merodach. Nebuchadnezzar was hasty and violent in temper, but not obstinate. His fierce re- solves were taken suddenly and repented of quickly. He could occasionally give POIJTICAL HISTORY. 273 way to outbursts of gratitude and devotion. He was as vainglorious as Orientals gener- ally, but could bow in humiliation before the divine castigation. He often showed a spirit of sincere piety, self-condemnation and self-abasement, as the following from the Book of Daniel clearly proves: "I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored Him that liveth forever, Whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation; and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as noth- ing, and He doeth according to His will in the anny of heaven, and among the inhab- itants of the earth; and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou ? Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven. Whose works are truth, and His ways judgment; and those that walk in pride He is able to abase." Another Jewish prophet, Jeremiah, gives a darker shade to the character of the illus- trious Babylonian monarch. This writer tells us that Nebuchadnezzar executed Jehoiakim and treated his body with indig- nit)', murdered Zedekiah's sons before his eyes, put out the eyes of Zedekiah himself, and kept Zedekiah and Jehoiachin in pro- longed imprisonment. These acts of bar- barous cruelty imply in the great Babylonian king a disposition as ferocious as that of Sargon or Asshur-bani-pal. Berosus infonns us that Nebuchadnezzar was devotedly attached to his Median wife, Amyitis, whom his father had seledled for him for reasons of state. Solely to please her, he eredled the celebrated ' ' Hanging Gardens" at Babylon. The rocks and trees of this delightful artificial Paradise, where art strove to rival nature, were designed to imitate the beautiful mountain scenery of Media. In his later days Nebuchadnezzar dreamed a strange dream, the meaning of which was interpreted to him by the Jewish prophet Daniel, who, though carried into the Baby- lonian captivity with his nation, had arrived at high honors under the Babylonian king. Daniel told the king that his dream por- tended that he would fof seven years be a vi(5tim to a strange and rare kind of madness. A vi(5lim to this malady, called Lycanthropy, imagines himself a beast, does not talk, re- jedls the usual human food, and sometimes loses the erecft attitude and walks on hands and feet. Within a year of the warning, Nebuchadnezzar was stricken in the very hour in which he had exclaimed in his pride: "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my ma- jesty !" The great monarch became a help- less and wretched madman. He lived in the open air day and night, "and did eat grass as oxen," and went naked "till his hairs v/ere grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws. ' ' After suffering thus for seven years, Nebuchadnezzar re- gained his reason, and his recovery was hailed with rejoicing by his court. His councilors and lords greeted his presence. He again resumed the government of his empire, i.ssued his proclamations, and dis- charged all his royal duties. He had now reached old age, ' ' but ' the glory of his kingdom,' his 'honor and brightness' re- turned;" " his last days were as brilliant as his first; his sun set in an unclouded sky, shorn of none of the rays that had given splendor to its noonday." Nebuchadnezzar died in B. C. 561, in the forty-fourth year of his reign, when almost eighty years old. Nebuchadnezzar was succeeded by his .son Evil-Merodach, of whose short reign of two years but very little is known. He seemed disposed to favor the Jews. Upon his accession, he released Jehoiachin from his thirty-five years' imprisonment, and treated him with kindness and respedl, rec- ognizing his royal rank and giving him pre- cedence over all the captive kings residing- at Babylon. Josephus says that he adlually accepted Jehoiachin as one of his most inti- mate friends. After Evil-Merodach had oc- cupied the Babylonian throne but two years he was accused of lawlessness and intemper- ance, a con.spiracy was formed against him, his own brother-in-law, Neriglis.sar, heading the malcontents; and Evil-Merodach lost both crown and life, B. C. 559. 274 ANCIENT HIS TOR Y.—BAB YL ONI A . Neriglissar was at once recognized as King of Babjlon. His real name, as seen on his bricks, was Nergal-sar-uzur; and he is believed to have been the ' ' Nergal-shar- ezer, Rag-Mag," mentioned bj' the Jewish prophet Jeremiah, and who held an import- ant office among the Babylonian nobles left to press the siege of Jerusalem when Nebu- chadnezzar retired to Riblah. It is known that the king bore the office of Rag-Mag, and that title is also upon his bricks. Ne- riglissar styled himself the son of Bel-sum- iskun, "king of Babylon" — a sovereign whose name is not mentioned by the Canon of Ptolemy, but who was perhaps a chief- tain who took the royal title during the troubles preceding the fall of the Assj-rian Empire. Neriglissar reigned only three years and four months, and was engaged chiefly in the eredtion of the Western Palace at Babylon, an immense edifice at one comer of the fortified enclosure, diredlly opposite the old palace, and abutting on the Euphra- tes. Diodorus described this strucfture as most magnificent, being elaborately orna- mented with painting and sculpture in the best style of Babylonian art, though it may have been smaller than the ancient ro3^al residence on the opposite side of the river. Neriglissar died B. C. 556, after the short reign mentioned, and was succeeded by his .son, Laborosoarchod, so called by Be- rosus and the Canon of Ptolemy. This THonarch, a mere youth, onlj' wore the Baby- lonian crown a few months, when he was accused of showing many signs of a bad disposition, and was deposed and put to death, B. C. 555; and with him ended the ■dynasty of Nabopolassar, which had occu- pied the Babylonian throne seventy j'ears, from B. C. 625 to B. C. 555. Nabonadius, so called by the Canon of Ptolemy, and whom the conspirators chose from among their own number to succeed Eaborosoarchod, was not related to his prede- cessor. He was called Nabonnedus by Bero- sus. Thus Nabonadius, like Neriglissar, was a usurper; and, like his father, held the important office of Rag-Mag, as on his bricks and cylinders he styled himself " Nabonidus, the son of Nabu- * * -dirba, the Rag- Mag." To secure his usurped throne, Na- bonadius married a princess of the royal house of Nabopolassar. Soon after his accession, in B. C. 555, Nabonadius received an embassy from the remote North-west. Three years before, in B. C. 558 — during the reign of Neriglissar at Babylon — Cyrus the Great founded the Medo- Persian Empire by deposing the Median king Astyages and transferring the supremacy of the Aryan race from the Medes to the Persians. Cyrus at once en- tered upon a career of conquest which event- ually brought all of Western Asia under the Medo- Persian dominion. Fearing the rising power of Persia in the East, Lydian ambassadors were sent to Babylon in B. C. 555, the very year in which Nabonadius ascended the Babylonian throne, proposing an alliance against the new power which threatened the existence of the other Oriental monarchies of the time. Nabona- dius decided to unite in the proposed offen- sive and defensive alliance with Lydia and Eg>'pt to check the growing power of his new eastern neighbor. Aware that he thus provoked the hostil- ity' of a powerful foe by this decisive course, and not knowing how soon he might be obliged to defend his kingdom against the whole force of Persia, Nabonadius at once began to strengthen Babylon. Herodotus ascribed these defensive works to Nitocris, a queen whom he calls the mother of Nabona- dius; but Berosus says that they were eredted hy Nabonadius himself. These works con- sisted partly of defenses within the city, intended to secure it against an enemy who .should enter it by the river, partly of hydraulic works designed to obstru<5t the advance of an anny b}' the usual route. The river had thus far flowed in its natural channel through the middle of the city; but Nabonadius confined the stream by a brick embankment extended the whole way along both banks, after which he eredled on the top of the embankment a high wall, pierced at inten'als by gateways, in which were set gates of bronze. He also con- /'( )A / y icA L HIS 1 X ) A' } : 275 276 ANCIENT HIS TOR Y.—BAB YL ONI A. strudted cuttings, reservoirs and sluices at some distance from Babylon towards the north, designed to obstrudl the march of a hostile army. Xenophon likewise spoke of a rampart — known as the "Median Wall" — extending across the tracft between the two rivers — a vast barrier a hundred feet high and twenty feet thick — intended to be insurmountable by an unskillful enemy, but this is doubted by modem writers. Nabonadius was permitted to complete his fortification of Babylon unmolested; but his rash ally, Croesus, the wealthy King of Lydia, rushed impetuously into a war with Persia without asking the assistance of the Babylonian monarch. Cjtus promptly at- tacked Croesus by invading Lydia, defeated him in the battle of Pteria, and besieged and captured Sardis, the Lydian capital, before Nabonadius could render his impulsive ally any aid. For fourteen years Babylon re- mained unmenaced by the Persian king. Finally, in B. C. 559, Nabonadius re- ceived tidings that Cyrus the Great was marching from Ecbatana, the Median cap- ital, in the diredlion of Babylon; but as his defenses were completed and the city amply provisioned, the Babylonian monarch felt perfe(5lly secure behind the walls of his capital. Herodotus says that the Persian invader paused half-way between Ecbatana and Babylon, because one of the sacred white horses which drew the chariot of Orraazd had been drowned in crossing a river. Declaring that he would punish the insolent stream, Cyrus employed his sol- diers during the whole summer and autumn of B. C. 539 in dispersing the waters of the stream into three hundred and sixty channels. Cyrus renewed his march upon Babylon in the spring of B. C. 538, crossing the Tigris without opposition and soon appear- ing before Babylon. The Babylonian army under Nabonadius himself was here drawn up to oppose him. In the battle which en- sued the Babylonian king was thoroughly defeated, the greater part of his army seek- ing refuge inside the walls of the capital, while he himself with a small body of troops fled for safety into the important city of Borsippa, a short distance south-west from Babylon. In the meantime, the Babylonian crown- prince, Belshazzar, or Bel-shar-uzur, the son of Nabonadius, and the grandson of the illustrious Nebuchadnezzar — supported by the counsels of his mother and the officers, of the court — for a time successfully re- sisted all the Persian assaults, so that Cyrus, almost reduced to despair, resorted to a stra- tagem whose failure might have cost him dear. Leaving a corps of observation be- hind him, Cyrus, with the bulk of his army, marched up the course of the Euphrates for some distance, and dug a. new channel, or channels, from the river, by means of which a part of its water could be drawn off. Cyrus awaited the arrival of a certain festi- val at Babylon, when the entire Babylonian population would be engaged in drinking and revelry. The festival on this occasion was held with more than usual pomp and magnificence, and Belshazzar gave himself up entirely to the delights of the season, en- tertaining a thousand dignitaries in his pal- ace. The rest of the population was occu- pied in feasting and dancing; and in the- midst of drunken riot and mad excitement the siege of the city was wholly forgotten, and the usual precautions were negledted. The Babylonians abandoned themselves for the night to orgies charadlerized by a strange mingling of religious frenzy and drunkeiL excess. While this was going on inside the city during this eventful night, the Persians were silently watching outside at the two- points where the Euphrates entered and left the walls. They anxiously and cautiously watched the gradual sinking of the river- bed, to discover if their silent movements- would be observed and cause alann. Had they entered the river channel to find the river-walls manned and the river-gates- locked fast they would have been caught in a trap. Flanked on both sides by an enemy they could neither see nor reach they would have been caught at a terrible disadvantage. In such a case they would have been entirely POLITICAL HISTORY. 277 cut to pieces without being able to make any effectual resistance, or to escape from their perilous position. But as they ob- served no signs of alarm, but only the shouts of riotous revelry, on the part of the unsuspeifting jiopukice, the Persians grew bolder, and, when the revelry was at its height, emerged from the deep river- bed and seized the two undefended gate- ways. The frightened Babylonians at once raised a war-shout and spread the alarm. Swift ruimers hurried off to ".show the King of Babylon that his city was taken at one end ; " so says the Book of Jeremiah. In the darkness and confusion of the night a frightful massacre occurred, says Xenophon. The drunken revelers were unable to resist. Belshazzar, completely surprised and utterly helpless "at the awful handwriting upon the wall," which appeared at this time, was warned of his danger when too late, and could offer no check to the progress of the assailants, who had the paralyzed populace completely at their mercy. A baud of Persians forced their way into the roj'al palace and slew the astonished Belshazzar on the scene of his sacrilegious revelry. Such is the testimony of Herodotus and Xenophon, of Daniel and Jeremiah. Says the Book of Daniel: "In that night was Belshazzar slain." The triumphant Persians destroyed right and left with fire and sword. The dawn found Cyrus undisputed master of the mighty Babylon. After ordering the fortifications of Babylon to be dismantled, Cyrus marched against Nabonadius at Borsippa; but, seeing the folly of resistance, the unfortunate Nabona- dius surrendered himself upon the approach of his triumphant foe. Cyrus kindly treated the captive king, sparing his life, and, ac- cording to Abydenus, conferring on him the govennnent of the important province of Carmania. Thus fell the mighty Babylonian Empire, after an existence of eighty-seven years, from B. C. 625 to B. C. 538. For half a century did Babylon, along with Media and Lydia, control the destines of Western Asia. The Babylonian dominions then became a part of the great Medo- Persian Empire, and the great city which had plaj-ed so import- ant a part in Oriental history for centuries became the winter capital of the Medo- Persian kings. THE K.\SR, KAIIVI.ON. 27S ANCIENT HIS TON ) '.—BAB YL ONI A. KINGS OF BABYLON. B. C. KINGS. Contemporary Kings of Assyria. Remarkable Events. 1300 Assyrian Dynasty Tiglathi-Nin I. . . * -r * Bel-kudur-uzur. The Assyrians contiuer Babylon. / * * * Nin-]5ala-zira. Asshur-davan I. Mutatigil-Nebo. 1 150 1130 Nebuchadnezzar I MERODACH-inDIN-AKHI Asshur-ris-ilim . . Tiglath-Pileser I. . 1 Wars between Assyria and j Babylon. mo Merodach-shapik-ziri Asshur-bil-kala . . Sbanias-Vul I. * -:fr * * ■>, * i TsiBiR (Deboras) ■:c * * Asshur-Mazur . . ■s- * * Asshur-davau II. ) Babylon iu alliance with Egypt. I Takes territory from Assyria. * * * Vul-lush II. 880 Tiglatbi-Niu II. Asshur-izir-pal . . ) Assyria recovers her lost terri- \ tory. 850 Merodach-sum-adin Shalmaneser II. j Civil war in Babylon. Assyria l helps the legitimate king. 820 JlERODACH-UKI,ATZU-IKBI .... Shamas-Vul II. . . 1 Babylon conquered. Passes * -v * Vul-lush III. Shalmaneser III. Asshur-dayan III. I under Assyria. 775 PUL (?) 752 747 745 Asshur-lush. f Babylon reestablishes her iude- 1 pendence. N.\BON,ASSAR Tiglath-Pileser II. 733 731 Nadius Chinzinus and PoRus 726 El.UL.EUS Shalmaneser IV. 721 7i3(?) Mhrodach-Baladan Sargon. / Embassy of Merodach-Baladan \ to He'zekiah. i 709 Arceanus (Sart^ou) Babylon conquered by Sargon. Babylon revolts. Sennacherib conquers Babylon. 704 Interrei^nuin . Sennacherib . 703 1 Hagisa ■) 1 Merodach-Bai.adan (restored) J 702 BeIvIBUS (viceroy) 699 696 (?) AssARANADiu.s (viceroy) SUSUB f Babylon revolts. Revolt put (. down. 694 (?) 693 692 688 Ditto. REGIBELu.S (viceroy) MESE.SIMORDACHUS (viceroy) . . . luterregnuiu Troubles iu Babylon. Inter- regnum of eight years, coin- ciding with last eight years of Sennacherib. 680 Ksar-haddou f Babylon recovered by Esar- \ haddon. ( Babylon revolts and again re- 1, turns to allegiance. 667 647 Saos-duchinus (viceroy) CiNNELADANUS(or Asshur-bani-pal) Asshur-baui-pal . . 626 Nebo-sum-iskun (?) Asshur-emid-iliu. 625 Nabopol.\.ss.\r AssjTian Empire destroyed. ' Nebuchadnezzar carries the \ Jews into captivity. 605 561 Nebuchadnezzar Evil-Merodach 559 Neriglissar 556 Laborosoarchod 555 538 Nabonadiu,s r Babylon taken by Cyrus the I Great of Persia. J Conquest of Babvlou by Cyrus \ I the Great of Pe'rsia. ( aVILlZA TION. 279 SECTION III.— BABYLONIAN CIVILIZATION. AYS Professor Rawlinson: "In its general characfler the Baby- lonian Empire wa.s little more than a reproducflion of the As- syrian. The same loose or- ganization of the provinces nnder native kings rather than satraps almost universally prevailed, with the same duties on the part of suzerain and subjects, and the same re- sults of ever-recurring revolt and re-con- quest. Similar means were employed under both empires to check and discourage rebell- ion — mutilations and executions of chiefs, pillage of the rebellious region, and whole- sale deportation of its population. Baby- lon, equally with Assyria, failed to win the affedtions of the subject nations, and, as a natural result, received no help from them in her hour of need. Her system was to exhaust and oppress the conquered races for the supposed benefit of the conquerors, and to impoverish the provinces for the adorn- ment and enrichment of the capital. The wisest of her monarchs thought it enough to construct works of public utility in Baby- lonia proper, leaving the dependent coun- tries to themselves, and doing nothing to develop their resources. This selfish .sj-stem was, like most selfishness, short-sighted; it alienated those whom it would have been true policy to conciliate and win. When the time of peril came, the subjecfl nations were no source of strength to the menaced empire. On the contrary, it would seem that some even turned against her and made common cause with the assailants. "Babylonian civilization differed in many respedts from Assyrian, to which however it approached more nearly than to any other known type. Its advantages over As.syr- ian were in its greater originality, its su- perior literary charadler, and its com- parative width and flexibility. Babylonia seems to have been the source from which Assyria drew her learning, such as it was, her architecture, the main ideas of her mimetic art, her religious notions, her legal forms, and a vast number of her cus- toms and usages. But Babylonia herself, so far as we know, drew her stores from no foreign country. Hers was apparently the genius which excogitated an alphabet — worked out the simpler problems of arithme- tic — invented implements for measuring the lap.se of time — conceived the idea of raising enormous structures with the poorest of all materials, clay — discovered the art of pol- i.shing, boring, and engraving gem.s — repro- duced with truthfulness the outlines of human and animal forms — attained to high perfedtion in textile fabrics — studied with success the motions of the heavenly bodies — conceived of grammar as a science — elab- orated a system of law — saw the \-alue of an exadt chronology — in almost every branch of science made a beginning, thus rendering it comparatively easy for other nations to proceed with the superstrudture. To Babylonia, far more than to Egypt, we owe the art and learning of the Greeks. It was from the East, not from Egypt, that Greece derived her architedture, her sculp- ture, her .science, her philosophy, her mathe- matical knowledge — in a word, her intelledl- ual life. And Babylon was the .source to which the entire stream of Eastern civiliza- tion may be traced. It is .scarcely too much to say that, but for Babylon, real civilization might not even yet have dawned upon the earth. Mankind might never have advanced beyond that spurious and false form of it which in Egy'pt, India, China, Japan, Mex- ico, and Peru, contented the aspirations of the .species." The later Babylonians were a mixed race, as were the early ChaJdceans, from whom they were mainly descended. The Chaldae- ans of the First Empire were chiefly a mixed Hamitic, or Cushite, and Turanian race, with a slight intenningling of Semitic and Aryan 28o ANCIENT HISTORY.— BABYLONIA. ■elements. But the Babylonians of the later period — called Chaldaeans by the Hebrew prophets — were still more of a composite race, on account of the colonization of for- eigners in Babylonia in accordance with the policy of the Assyrian kings, and because of the influence exerted upon them by their Assyrian conquerors. The conquest of Chaldsea by the Arabian dynasty B. C. 1546, and the Assyrian conquest of the same coun- try B. C. 1300, establishing an Assyrian Toyal race upon the Chaldsean throne, tended to the fusion of new Semitic elements with the old Chaldaean population, as both the Arabs and the Assyrians were prominent branches of the Semitic race. Semitic dynasties reigning in Chaldsea would naturally tend to the introducftion of new Semitic blood into that old land, and bring along Semitic customs and ideas, and causing the old Turano-Cushite language of ancient Chaldasa to give way to a Semitic tongue. The original Chaldaean population gradually became intermingled with the new Semitic settlers, thus tending to the produdtion of a nation composed about equally of Semitic, Turanian and Cushite, or Hamitic elements. The colonizations of the Sargonid dynasty brought, in addition, small proportions of other foreign elements, so that the later Babylonians could more appropriately be called a ' ' mingled people ' ' than any other ancient nation of Western Asia. By the time of the Later Empire the Babylonians had become thoroughly Semi- tized, as the vitality and energy of the Se- mitic elements fused in the population pre- dominated over the original Cushite and Turanian elements; so that the later Baby- lonians were scarcely distinguishable from their northern neighbors, the Assyrians. The Greek writers seem to have regarded the Assyrians and Babylonians as one and the same race of people, and as having a common civilization. The Babylonian cylinders and three or four representations by Babylonian artists give us some scant idea of the physical charatfleristics of this renowned ancient peo- ple. Among these remains is the repre- sentation of a Babylonian king, believed to be Merodach-iddin-ahki, on a black stone in the British Museum ; also representations of the warrior and the priest in the tablet from Sir-Pal-i-Zohab, the man accompanying the Babylonian hound, and some imperfedl fig- ures on a frieze. A few Assyrian bas-reliefs represent Assyrian campaigns in Babylonia. The Babylonian cylinders represent the Babylonians as of far slighter and sparer physical frames than the Assyrians; but the Assyrian sculptures .show the Babylonians as having bodily forms as brawny and mas- sive as their northern neighbors, while the features of the two peoples were very nearly alike. The Assyrian sculptures represent the physiognomy of the Babylonians as dis- tinguished by a low and straight but some- what depressed forehead, full lips, and a well- marked, rounded chin. The few remaining Babylonian sculptures sustain the corre<5t- ness of the Assyrian, but represent the eye as larger and less almond-shaped, the nose as shorter and more depressed, and the gen- eral expression of the countenance as more common-place. These differences are to be ascribed to the influence exerted upon the phj'sicial form of the race by the primitive Cushite Chaldaean element. Herodotus states that the Babylonians wore their hair long, and this statement is sustained by the Babylonian sculptures. These sculptures commonly represent the hair as forming a single stiff and heavy curl at the back of the head, but sometimes they give it the form of long flowing locks depending over the back, or over the back and shoulders, extend- ing almost to the waist. Sometimes we find types closely resembling the Assyrian, the hair forming a round mass behind the head, on which there appears to have been sometimes a slight wave. The style men- tioned by Herodotus was the national fashion, and is represented by the three usual modes. The round mass was an As- syrian style, aped by the Babj'lonians during their subje<5lion to AssjT-ia. The Assyrian sculptures represent the hair of the Baby- lonians as reaching below the shoulders, and as worn smooth on the top of the head and CI VI 1. 1 ZA TION. 281 depending from the ears to the shoulders in many large, smooth, heavy curls. The Babylonians are likewise often repre- sented with a large beard, usually longer than the Assyrian, and reaching almost down to the waist. Sometimes it curls crisply upon the face, but below the chin it depends over the breast in long straight locks, while in other ca.ses it droops perpen- dicularly from the cheeks and the lower lip; but here the Assyrian sculptures represent the Babylonian beard as little longer than the Assyrian, Often there is no beard, as in the case of the priests. The Assyrian sculptures also represent the Babylonian women as tall and large- limbed, with the Assyrian physiognomy, and with not very^ abundant hair; but the Babylonian cylinders make the hair appear long and prominent, while the physical fonns are as spare and meagre as those of the male sex. It is evident that altogether the physical types of the A.ssyrians and Bab3-lonians were very nearly alike, though the Baby- lonians had a somewhat sparer form, longer and more flowing hair, less strong and stern features, and a darker complexion. The last characteristic is to be attributed partly to the infusion of Ethiopian elements in the population, and partly to their more tropi- cal location. Babylonia being four degrees farther south than A.ssyria. The Cha'ab Arabs, who now occupy the southern parts of the ancient Babylonia, are almost black; while the ".black Syrians," mentioned hy Strabo, were probably the Babylonians. The Babylonians were distinguished for their intelledlual ability. They inherited the scientific lore of their predecessors, the early Chaldseans, whose astronomical and mathematical knowledge they not only re- tained, but advanced and enlarged by their exertions. The fame of their ' ' wisdom and learning" is recorded by the Jewish proph- ets. In alluding to them, I.saiah said: "Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath per- verted thee." Says Jeremiah: "A sword is upon the Chald£can,s, saitli the I/)rd, and iipon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon 1— 18,-U. H. her princes, and iijwn her wise men." Daniel alludes to "the learning and the tongue of the Chalda;ans." Herodotus mentions their useful inventions, and Aris- totle was indebted to them for .scientific data. They were celebrated for their observations of astronomical phenomena, and their care- ful records of these observations. They were also famed as mathematicians. But unfortunately their astronomy w'as corrupted by astrology; and they professed to cast na- tivities, interpret dreams, and foretell future occurrences by means of the stars, thus tinging their astronomy with a mystic and unscientific element; though there were al- ways some who confined them.selves to pure science and repudiated all astrological pre- tensions. The Babj'lonians w^ere al.so a ^■en,' enter- prising people. Their adlive spirit led them to engage extensively in manufadlures and connnerce by sea and land. The same com- mercial spirit which so distinguished the ancient Phcenicians, and which has made the modern Jews such successful merchants, charadlerized the Semitized Babylonians, whose land the Jewish prophet Ezekiel called ' ' a land of traffic, ' ' and whose chief city Isaiah described as "a cit}' of mer- chants. " The trading spirit of the Baby- lonians developed in them the opposite vices of avarice and fondness for luxury. They "coveted with an evil covetousness," as we are informed by the Jewish writers Habak- kuk and Jeremiah. The "shameful cus- tom" which Herodotus relates, requiring of every Babylonian woman, rich or poor, high-bom or humble, prostitution as a relig- ious duty in the great temple of Beltis at Babjlon once in her life, w-as probably dic- tated by this spirit of greed, for the purpose of attacling strangers to the capital; as was also the custom of selling the marriageable virgins at public aucftion, which Herod- otus also mentions. Ouintus Curtius, the Roman writer, also says tliat the avarice of husbands and parents induced them to .sell the virtue of their wives and daughters to strangers. Both sacred and profane writers continu- 282 ANCIENT HISTOR Y.—BAB YLONIA. ally dwell upon the luxury of the Babylo- nians. We are informed by Isaiah that the "daughter of the Chaldeans" was "tender and delicate," "given to pleasures," dis- posed to "dwell carelessly." Ezekiel tells us that her young men made them.selves "as princes to look at — exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads." Nicolas of Dama,scus relates that these young men painted their faces, wore ear-rings, and dressed in robes of rich and soft material. Polygamy prevailed extensively. The pleasures of the table were indulged in to excess, and drunkenness was a general vice. Rich unguents, so cele- brated by Posidonius, were likewise in- vented. The tables were loaded with gold and silver plate, according to Nicolas of Damascus. In short, the Babylonians ut- terly abandoned themselves to self-indul- gence and luxurious living. They ne^'ertheless were always brave and skillful in war, and in the height of their glory they were one of the most formidable of the Oriental nations. The Jewish prophet Habakkuk speaks of them as " the Chal- daeans, that bitter and hasty nation," and also as ' ' terrible and dreadful — their horses' hoofs swifter than the leopard's, and more fierce than the evening wolves." Isaiah says that they "smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke," and that they ' ' made the earth to tremble, and did shake kingdoms." In their great enterprises they swept everything before them with irresisti- ble force, in spite of all opposition, and un- moved by the calls of mere}'. Centuries of warfare with the well-armed and well-disci- plined Assyrians made the Babylonians the worthy successors of the nation which had so long held them in subje(5lion, so far as the warlike virtues of energy, valor and mil- iary skill are concerned. They extended their conquests from the Persian Gulf on the east to the Nile on the west. Their invinci- ble hosts of sturdy warriors speedily crushed all resistance and rapidly established the Babylonian dominion, fully deserving the title of "the hammer of the whole earth," given them by the prophet Jeremiah. The Babylonians stained their triumphs in war with useless violence and with the usual Oriental outrages. The Assyrian policy' of wholesale deportation of conquered nations was pratfticed by them, regardless of the sufferings which resulted in conse- quence. Such needless and inexcusable ac- trocities as the mutilation of captives, the long imprisonments, the massacre of non- combatants, the execution of children before the eyes of their fathers, disgraced the mili- tary annals of the Babylonians, and exas- perated more than they terrified the subju- gated nations, thus weakening instead of strengthening the empire. These barbarous punishments indicate the general Asiatic temper — a temper inhuman and savage. The tiger-like thirst for blood which charac- terized the Babylonians led them to sacrifice their national self-interest and the peace of the empire to the promptings of a spirit of vengeance. The Babylonian nobles stood in danger of losing their own heads if by the most trifling fault they aroused the sovereign's displeasure. The venerable ' ' Chaldaeaus, ' ' so famed for their ' ' wisdom and learning, ' ' were at one time threatened with extermi- nation because they failed to interpret a dream forgotten by the king. If a monarch incurred the displeasure of his court, and was considered as showing a bad disposition, he was put to death by torture. Such pun- ishments as cutting to pieces and casting into a fiery furnace prevailed, as related by the prophet Daniel, who also informs us that the houses of offenders were torn down and turned into dung-hills. These harsh practices indicate the height of Eastern cru- elty. When the prophet Habakkuk de- nounced the final judgment against Baby- lon, it was announced as being inflidted "because of men's blood, and for the vio- lence of the land — of the city, and all that dwelt therein." Pride was another fault of the Baby- lonians, as it has ever been the accompani- ment of military success in a nation. The sudden transfer of supremacy in the Meso- potamian region from Assyria to Babylonia awakened a haughty spirit in the hitherto- CIVILIZATION. 283 snhje(!^ kingdom. The Babylonians in the zenith of their power and glory quite natur- ally regarded themselves as the greatest nation on earth; and this spirit was distin(5lly nianifcsted by Nebuchadnezzar, who, when walking in his palace and viewing the splen- did edifices which he had erected on all sides from the plunder of his conquests, and by tbe forced labor of his captives, exclaimed: "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of ray ma- jesty 1" The arrogance of the Babylonians was as intense and as deep-seated as that of the Assyrians, if not so offensive. Truly did Isaiah say, in alluding to this people: "Thou that art given to pleasure, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else besides me. ' ' The Babylonians, in spite of their pride, cruelt}% covetousness, and fondness for luxury, were a ver\- religious people. In Babylonia the temple held nearly the same preeminence over other edifices which it pos- sessed in Egypt. The immense ruins of the Birs-i-Nimrud show the degree of labor ex- pended in the construdlion of sacred build- ings, and the costly oniamentation of these strudlures is more wonderful than their vast dimensions. Immense sums were expended on the idols, and the entire appendages of worship displayed indescribable pomp and magnificence. The kings devoutlj^ wor- .shiped the various deities, and devoted con- .siderable attention to building and repairing temples, erecfling images of the gods, etc. The names given their children showed their religious feeling and their a<5lual faith in the power of the gods to protetft their devotees. Thus Nabu-kuduri-izzir means " Nebo is the protecftor of landmarks;'" Bel-shar-izzir means " Bel protedts the king;" and Evil-Merodacli implies " Merodach is a god." The people in general used names of the same kind, containing in nearly every case the name of a god as an element, such as Belibus, Belesis, Nergal-shar-ezer, vSham- gar-nebo, Nebu-zar-adan, Nabonidus, etc. The .seals and signets worn by each man were almost universally of a religious char- acfter. Even in banquets and entertainments, while drinking, they uttered praises of the deities. Says the prophet Daniel: "They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood and of stone." Nicolas of Damascus tells us that the Babylonians specially cultivated the virtues of honesty and calmness. The facft that their trade was flourishing, that their pro- dudls were everywhere in demand, suffici- ently proves their commercial honest}-. Babylon was perhaps the largest and most splendid city of the ancient Eastern world. On its site great masses of ruins cover a space much larger than those of Nineveh. Beyond this space in all direc- tions are seen detached mounds, showing that there existed in past times vast edifices, while spaces between the mounds indicate that there also were buildings in fonner ages. Modern investigation and exploration give us no definite idea of the size of Babylon. Herodotus says that the enceinte of Baby- lon was a square, one hundred and twenty stadia (about fourteen miles) each waj-, so that the whole circuit of the walls was fifty- six miles, and the area enclosed within them less than two hundred square miles. Ctesias, who, like Herodotus, saw? the city itself, gave the circuit of the walls an extent of three hundred and sixty stadia, or forty- one miles, thus representing the area as little more than one hundred square miles. Cli- tarchus gave the circumference as three hundred and sixty-five stadia; Quintus Cur- tius as three hundred and .sixty-eight stadia; Strabo as three hundred and eighty-five stadia. Quintus Curtius tells us that there was a clear space of a quarter of a mile be- tween the city and the wall. The walls of the cit)' were pierced with a hundred gates, and the streets or roads led direcflly to these portals. The houses were usually three or four stories high, and arc said to have had vaulted roofs, improte(5ted on the outside with an>- tiling, because the dryness of the climate rendered such protecT:ion unneces- sary. The beams of the houses were of 284 ANCIENT HIS TOR }'.— /?. //.' ) 'L ( WIA. palm-wood, the only plentiful timber in the countrj-. The pillars were posts of palm- wood with twisted wisps of rushes around them, covered with plaster and colored. The Euphrates flowed through the city, dividing it into two almost equal parts. Its banks were lined all the way with quays of brick, laid in bitumen, and were also guarded by two brick walls skirting them along their entire extent. Each of these walls had twenty-five gates, corresponding to the num- ber of streets extending upon the river. Outside each gate there was an inclined landing-place, by which the water's edge could be reached. Boats kept at these land- ing-places conveyed 'passengers across the river. The river was also crossed by a bridge consisting of a number of stone piers ere<5ted in the channel, firmly held together with fastenings of iron and lead, and con- necfted only during the day by wooden draw- bridges, on which people passed over, and which were removed at night to prevent the use of the bridge in the dark. Diodorus gives this bridge a length of five stadia (about one thousand yards) and a width of thirty feet. He also says that there was a tunnel under the river, connedting its two sides, and that it was fifteen feet broad and twelve feet high to the spring of its arched roof. The most remarkable edifices of Babylon were its two palaces, one on each side of the river, and the great temple of Bel. Herod- otus describes the great temple as sur- rounded by a square enclosure, two stadia (almost a quarter of a mile) long, and as wide. Its main feature was the ziggurat, or tower, a gigantic solid mass of brick-work, built in the same manner as all other Baby- lonian temple-towers, in stages, with square upon square, thus forming a rude pyramid, with a shrine of the god at the top. The basement platfomi of this temple-tower, Herodotus says, was a stadium, or a little over two hundred yards, each waj'. This tower had eight stages, and the ascent to the highest, which contained the shrine of the god, was on the outside, and consisted of a series of steps, or of an inclined plane. carried round the four sides of the strucflnre, and leading to the top in this way. Strabo says that the tower was a stadium (six hun- dred and six feet and nine inches) high, but this is evidently an exaggeration. About midwa}' up there was a resting-place pro- vided with seats. The shrine on the sum- mit of the stru(5lure was large and elegant. It had no image in the time of Herodotus, but onl}' a golden table and a large couch, covered with an elegant draperj'; but Dio- dorus says that before the Persian conquest of Babylon the shrine contained gigantic golden images of Bel, Beltis and Ishtar re- spedlively. Two golden lions were in front of the images of Beltis, and near these were two colossal .serpents of silver, each weigh- ing thirty talents. The golden table was forty feet long and fifteen feet wide, and was in front of the statues. Two immense drinking-cups, as heavy as the serpents, were upon the golden table. The shrine likewise had two vast censors and three gold- en bowls for the three deities respedtively. There was a second shrine, or chapel, at the base of the tower. In the time of He- rodotus this shrine contained a sitting image of Bel, consisting of gold. There was a golden table before the image, and a golden stand for the image itself The Babylonian priests informed Herodotus that the gold of the image, table and stand together weighed eight hundred talents. Before the Persian conquest this second shrine had a human figure of solid gold tweh'e cubits high. The shrine was also well supplied with private offerings. Within the sacred enclosure out- side the stru(5ture were two altars, the smaller one of gold on which to offer suck- lings, and the larger one of stone on which full-grown victims were sacrificed, and whereon a thousand talents' weight of frank- incense was offered yearly at the festi\-al of the god. The great palace was larger than the great temple. Diodorus says that it was located within a triple enclosure, and that the innermost wall was twenty stadia, the middle forty stadia, and the outermost sixty stadia (almost seven miles) in circumference. 286 ANCIENT HIS TOR ) :~BAB YL ONI A . The outer wall was entirely built of plain baked brick. The other two walls were built of the same kind of brick fronted with enam- eled bricks representing hunting scenes. Quintus Curtius only knew of one enclosure, and this corresponded to the inner wall of Diodorus, having a circuit of twenty stadia. Curtius represented this wall as eighty feet high, and its foundations as lying thirty feet below the surface of the ground. Dio- dorus says that the figures in the hunting scenes were larger than life-size, and that they embraced a large variety of animal forms, and likewi.se of human forms, one of a man thrusting his spear through a lion, and another of a woman on hor.seback aim- ing a javelin at a leopard. These last the later Greeks supposed to represent the myth- ical Ninus and Semiramis. The palace was said to have had three gates, two of bronze, which had to be opened and closed by a machine. The "Hanging Gardens" — regarded by the Greeks as one of the "Seven Wonders of the World" — were the chief glory of the great palace, and constituted its pleasure- ground. This remarkable construcflion was a square, each side measuring four hundred Greek feet, according to Diodorus. It rested upon .several tiers of open arches, built one over the other, and bearing at each stage, or story, a solid platfortn, from which arose the next tier of arches. The strucfture was seventy-five feet high, and at the top it was covered with a vast ma.ss of earth, in which were grown flowers and shrubs, and even the largest trees. Quintus Curtius says that the trunks of some of these trees were twelve feet in diameter, and Strabo states that some of the piers were hollowed and filled with earth to afford nourishment for the roots of the trees. Water, conveyed from the Euphrates through pipes, was said by Strabo to have been raised by a screw working on the principle of Archimedes. There was a layer of reeds mixed with bitu- men, next a double layer of burnt brick cemented with gypsum, and then a coating of sheet- lead, between the bricks and the mass of soil, to protecft the building against gradual decay by the moisture penetrating the brick-work. The garden was reached by steps. Stately apartments were among the arches on which rested the strudlure, on the ascent to the garden. The machinery which raised the water was in a chamber within the stru(5ture. The objecft of the strucfture was to produce an artificial moun- tain. The smaller palace, on the side of the river oppo,site the larger one, was also sur- rounded by a triple enclosure, the whole circuit, according to Diodorus, measuring thirty stadia. This palace contained some bronze statues, believed by the Greeks to represent the god Bel and the legendary king and queen, Ninus and Semiramis, along with their officers. Painted and enameled bricks representing war and hunt- ing scenes covered the walls. The walls of Babylon, in connection with the "Hanging Gardens," were among the "Seven Wonders of the World." Herodo- tus says that they were fifty royal cubits (alx)ut eighty-five English feet) wide. Strabo and Quintus Curtius gave the width as thirty-two feet. Herodotus assigned the walls a height of two hundred royal cubits, or three hundred royal feet (about three hundred and thirty-five English feet). Cte- sias gave the height as fifty fathoms, or three hundred ordinary Greek feet. Pliny and Solinus made the altitude two hundred and thirty-five feet. Philostratus and Quin- tus Curtius assigned the walls a height of one hundred and fifty feet. Clitarchus, ac- cording to Diodorus Siculus, and Strabo gave the height as .seventy-five feet. The walls were made of bricks cemented with bitumen, with occasional layers of reeds between the courses. Outside the walls were protedted bj' a wide and deep moat. Low towers, two hundred and fifty in num- ber according to Diodorus vSiculus, and ris- ing about ten or fifteen feet above the walls according to Quintus Curtius and Strabo, served as guard-rooms for the defenders. Herodotus says the space between the tow- ers was wide "enough for a four-horse char- iot to turn in." The height and thickness CIVILIZATION. 287 of the walls gave them their strength and rendered scaling and inining^ utterly hope- less. Such was the mighty Babylon iu the day of its glory — a great city, irregularly built, surrounded by populous suburbs interspersed among fields and gardens, the whole in- cluded within a large square strongly-forti- fied enceinte, or wall of brick. There are at present few vestiges of this vast and magni- ficent metropolis of the ancient Oriental world. As Jeremiah foretold, "the broad walls of Babylon" are "utterly broken." As Isaiah predicted, "the golden city ceased;" truly is "it a possession for the bitteni, and pools of walls;" it has been swept "with the besom of destnidlion ; ' ' and "Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency," has become "as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah." As Jeremiah prophesied, Babylon has "become heaps," "an aston- ishment," and "without an inhabitant." There are great "heaps" of shapeless and formless mounds scattered at intervals over the whole region where ancient Babylon was located, and the soil between the "heaps" is iu many instances composed of remnants of broken pottery and bricks, and deeply impregnated with nitre, which indis- putably proves that the site was at one time occupied by an immense mass of buildings. On going southward from Bagdad these re- mains gradually increase, and between Mo- hawil and the Euphrates they are continuous, forming a region of immense mounds. These mounds connnence about five miles above the modem town of Hillah, extend- ing more than three miles along the river from north to south, and are located chiefly on the eastern bank. On the eastern side the ruins consist mainly of three vast masses of ruined buildings. The modern Arabs call the most northern of these mounds Babil, which was the real native name of the great ancient city, meaning " the Gate of II," or "the Gate of God." The Babil mound is an immense heap of brick-work shajjed like an irregular quadrilateral, hav- ing precipitous sides with ravines, and being flat on the top. The southern side of the ruin is the most perfed, and extends about two hundred yards direcflly east and west. At its eastern end it forms a right angle with the eastern side, which extends almost due north in a diredl line for about one hundred and eighty yards. The west- ern and northern sides appear to be much worn away, and here are the principal ravines. The Babil mound, whose great- est height is about one hundred and thirtj- or one hundred and forty feet, con- sists chiefly of sun-dried bricks, but ap- pears to have been faced with fire-bumed bricks skillfully cemented with an excellent white mortar. Nebuchadnezzar's name and titles are on the bricks of this outer facing. The little of the building uncovered shows that the lines of the structure were perpen- dicular, and that the side walls were sup- ported by buttresses at inter\'als. This great structure was situated within a square enclosure, the northern and southern sides of which are yet clearly marked. A low line of rampart extends four hundred \'ards parallel to the eastern side of the build- ing, about one hundred and twenty or one hundred and thirty yards distant from it, and a line of mound a little longer runs par- allel to the northern side, but more distant from it. A third line on the western side traced early in the present century is now obliterated. On the western and .southern sides are the remains of an ancient canal. The Babil mound stands isolated from the other ruins, and below it are two mounds, the more northern of which the Arabs call El Kasr, meaning "the Palace," and the more southeni "the mound of Amran," from the tomb of a prophet called Amran- ibn-Ali, crowning its summit. The Kasr mound is an oblong .square, about seven hundred j-ards from north to south, and about six hundred yards from east to west, the sides facing the cardinal points of the compass. The height of this mound above the plain is seventy feet. The rubbi.sh uncovered by exploration is composed of loose bricks, tiles, and frag- meuts of stone. An underground passage, 288 ANCIENT HIS TOR Y. — BAB YL ON I A . seven feet liigli, with floor and walls of baked brick, and arched at the top with huge sandstone blocks, has been discovered, and is believed to have been an immense drain. The Kasr, or "palace" proper, is another important relic, and from it the mound has received its name. This consists of excellent brick masonry, remarkably pre- served, in the form of walls, piers and but- tresses, and in certain places ornamented with pilasters. The bricks are of a pale yellow color and of excellent quality, and every one is stamped with the name and titles of Nebuchadnezzar. The mortar in which they are laid appears like a fine lime cement, which so closely adheres to the bricks that it is not easy to get a specimen whole. Many fragments of brick, painted, and covered with a thick glaze or enamel, are seen in the dust at the foot of the walls. Here, also, have been discovered a few frag- ments of sculptured stone, among which is the frieze discovered by Layard; and slabs giving an account of the ere(5tion of Nebu- chadnezzar's palace have likewise been found. Near the northern edge of the mound, and half-way in its width, is a gi- gantic figure of a lion, rudely carved in black basalt, standing over the prostrate figure of a man with extended arms. A solitary tree has grown out of the great ruin, which the Arabs say is of a species not found elsewhere, and which they consider a rem- nant of the hanging, garden of Bokht-i- nazar. This tree is a tamarisk, with a strange growth and foliage, on account of its great age and its exposed situation. The mound of Amran, or Jumjuma, about eight hundred yards south of the Kasr mound, has an irregular and ill-defined tri- angular shape, with its three sides re.specft- ively a little east of north, a little south of east, and a little south of west. The south- western side, which runs almost parallel with the Euphrates, appears to have been at one time washed by the river, and is over a thousand yards long; while the south-east- ern side is about eight hundred yards long, and the north-western about seven hundred yards. Countless ravines traverse the mound on all sides, extending almost to its center, while the surface is altogether undulating. Sculpture or masonrv' can nowhere be seen, but only a mass of rubbish; no clear out- lines of buildings being thus far discovered. Bricks bearing the names and titles of some of the earlier Babylonian kings are sometimes found, but not the slightest vestige of a wall has been brought to light. Among other remarkable remains are some long lines of rampart on both sides of the Euphrates, outside of the other ruins, enclosing all of them, excepting the Babil mound. On the east bank of the river are traces of a double line of wall, or rampart, running almost diredlly north and south, and situated about a thousand yards east of the Kasr and Amran mounds. Beyond this rampart is a single line of wall to the north- east, which can be traced for about two miles, running in a direcftion almost from north-west to south-east, and a double line of rampart to the south-east, which can be traced for a mile and a half, extending in a direction from north-east to south-west. The two lines of this last rampart are be- tween six hundred and seven hundred yards apart, and diverge from each other as they extend out to the north-east. The inner line connecfls with the north-eastern rampart almost at a right angle, and is a part of the same work. A low line of mounds can be traced be- tween the western side of the Amran and Kasr mounds and the present eastern bank of the Euphrates, enclosing a narrow val- ley, in which the main stream, or a branch of it, appears to have flowed in ancient times. On the west bank of the river are ruins of the same kind. A rampart twenty feet high extends for almost a mile parallel with the general line of the Amran mound, about a thousand yards from the ancient course of the stream. Each end of the line of ram- part turns at a right angle, extending down towards the river, and can be traced towards the north for four hundred yards and to- wards the south for fifty or sixty. There are evidences that before the Euphrates CIVILIZATION. 289 flowed in its present channel there was a redlangular enclosure, a mile long and a thousand yards wide, opposite to the Amran mound; and at the south-east angle of this enclosure appears to have been an import- ant edifice, the bricks here bearing the name of Neriglissar. There are likewise many scattered and ir- regular heaps, or hillocks, on both banks of the Euphrates; most of them on the east bank, among which is the mound called by the Arabs El Homeira, "the Red." This mound is located about eight hundred yards due east of the Kasr mound, and is about three hundred yards long and one hundred wide, and sixty or seventy feet high. It consists of baked bricks of a bright red color, which are inscribed along their edges, and not, as the others, on their lower face. The remains of a brick embankment are also traceable on the east bank of the river be- tween the Babil and Kasr mounds, extending about a thousand yards in a slightly-curved line and a general direcSlion of south by south-west. The bricks of this embank- ment are verj' hard, of a bright red color, and are wholly laid in bitumen. They bear a legend showing that the quay was con- strucfled b\- Nabonidus. All the ruins of Babylon now traceable are found in a space not much over three miles long and a mile and three-fourths wide. These remains are surrounded on all sides by nitrous soil and low mounds which have not been excavated, but which are be- lieved to mark the locations of smaller tem- ples and other public edifices of the re- nowned ancient city. Such masses are most general to the north and east, and often ex- tend for miles. The mass of Babjdonian ruins reaching from Babil to Amran covers an area about as large as the Koyunjik mound on the sight of Nineveh. These Babylonian ruins appear to have been ' ' the heart of the city," "the royal quarter." Says Layard: "Southward of Babil for the distance of three miles there is almost an uninterrupted line of mounds, the ruins of vast edifices, collected together as in the heart of a great city. ' ' Thus Babylon vastly exceeded Nineveh in its dimensions. The Kasr mound indi- cates that it was the site of the great palace of Nebuchadnezzar. Tradition has given the name of Kasr, or "Palace," to this mound, and this is confirmed by the in.scrip- tions upon slabs found here, in which Nebu- chadnezzar calls the stru<5ture his "Grand Palace;" while all the bricks of that portion of the ruin remaining uncovered bear that great king's name. Diodorus says that the walls were ornamented with sculptured rep- resentations of hunting scenes; and modern exploration has brought to light from the soil of the mound vast masses of fragments of enameled bricks with various hues and containing portions of human and animal forms, such as portions of a lion, of a horse, and of a human face. The Amran mound is believed to be the site of the old palace to which Nebuchad- nezzar's structure was an addition. Berosus says that Nebuchadnezzar's edifice adjoined upon the old palace. On the Amran mound monuments of the times previous to Nebu- chadnezzar's day have been found; and as the early Babjdonian kings only left memo- rials in the old palace, it is reasonable to in- fer that this mound is the site of the ancient royal residence. The oblong-square enclos- ure with an important building at its south- east angle is believed to have been the sec- ond or smaller palace of Ctesias. The ruin now known as the Birs-i-Nim- rud, about eleven or twelve miles from the Babil mound, has been supposed by some to be the site of the old temple of Bel; but the cylinders found by Sir Henry Rawlinson in the Birs-i-Nimrud call the stru(flure "the wonder of Borsippa," and all the ancient authorities say that Borsippa was a city by itself — a town wholly distindt from Babylon. It has also been believed that the Babil mound itself is the site of the old temple of Bel — the spot on which was l)uilt the Tower of Babel. The great difficulty in identify- ing this site with the old temple is the state- ment of Herodotus expres.sly asserting that the temple of Bel and the great palace were upon opposite sides of the river, whereas 290 ANCIENT HIS TOR Y. — BAB YL ONI A . the Babil and Kasr mounds are both on the eastern side of the Euphrates. The Babylonians were among the most ingenious of all ancient nations, and made great progress in the arts and sciences. The classical writers usually rank them with the Egyptians in this respeCl. The Babylonians especially excelled in archite(5ture and as- tronomy. The primitive Chaldseans, the ancestors of the later Babylonians, first ap- pear in history as great builders; and Nebu- chadnezzar, the great king of the Later Babylonian Empire, specially prided himself upon his architedlural works. Herodotus, upon visiting Babylon, was mainly im- pressed with its wonderful edifices; and the glowing descriptions of these strucftures by the Greek writers have mainly given to the Babylonians their fame and their high rank among the great nations of ancient Asia. Their architecfture appears to have culmin- ated in the temple. The temple in Baby- lonia occupied the same rank which it held in Egypt and in Greece, and unlike in As- syria, where the temple was a mere append- age of the palace. The temple was the great edifice of a city, or a portion of a city, being higher and more conspicuous than any other building. It rivaled the palace in every respedl, being magnificently adorned, and having offerings of enormous value de- posited in it. It inspired awe by its religious associations, and was not only a place of worship, but a refuge to many on perilous occasions. The Babylonian temple was usually sur- rounded by a walled enclosure, a square of two stadia each way, or an area of thirty acres. The temple commonly consisted of two parts. The siggurat, or tower, was either square or redlangular, and built in stages, as high as seven, or as low as two, in number. A shrine or chapel containing altars and images was at the top of the tower. The towers were ascended on the outside by means of winding steps or an in- clined plane. Either the sides or the angles of the tower faced the cardinal points of the compass. Diodonis Siculus said that the towers were used not only for worship, but also as observatories. There was a second shrine or chapel at the base of the tower, in which the images and furniture were of gold and silver. In the vicinity of this lower shrine was a golden altar, on which were sacrificed various kinds of vi(ftims. The most remarkable of Babylonian ruins is that of the Birs-i-Nimrud, or ancient temple of Nebo at Borsippa. Upon a crude brick platform, a few feet above the level of the alluvial plain, was ere<5led the basement stage of the vast studlure, an exadl square, two hundred and seventy-two feet each way, and twenty-six feet high. The second stage was just as high, and a square of only two hundred and thirty feet, twelve feet from the south-western edge of the first stage, and thirty feet from the north-eastern edge. The third stage was placed the same way upon the second, and was also twenty-six feet high, and a square of one hundred and eighty-eight feet. The fourth stage was fifteen feet high, and was a square of one hundred and forty-six feet, and was placed upon the third in the same way as the others had been upon those below them. The fifth stage was a square of one hundred and four feet, the sixth a square of sixty-two feet, and the seventh a square of twenty feet. These stages were each fifteen feet high. The shrine or tabernacle was on the seventh and highest stage, which was fifteen feet high and square. The entire stru(fture was thus one hundred and fifty-six feet high. This temple was chiefly ornamented by means of color. The seven stages repre- sented the Seven Spheres in which the seven planets were believed to move. Each planet was given a special hue or tint. The sun was golden, the moon silver, the planet Sa- turn black, Jupiter orange, Mars red, Venus a pale yellow. Mercury a deep blue. The basement stage, assigned to Satuni, wa.s blackened with bitumen. The second stage, that of Jupiter, was faced with burned bricks of an orange hue. The third stage, that of Mars, was made red with burned bricks of a bright red clay. The fourth stage, that of the sun, was covered with plates of gold. CIVILIZATION. 291 The fifth stage, that of Venus, was faced with bricks of a pale yellow tint. The sixth stage, that of Mercury, was given an azure tint by vitrifa(5lion, the entire stage having been subje<5led to a great heat after it was erecfled, which gave the bricks a blue color. The seventh stage, that of the moon, was coated with silver plates. The basement stage had a number of square recesses. The third stage was supported by a number of low buttresses. The shrine was of brick, and is believed to have been richly orna- mented. The tower is believed to have fronted to the north-east, on which side was the ascent, believed to have been a broad staircase extending along the entire front of the strudlure. The side platforms, towards the south-east and north-west, were occupied by a series of chambers abutting upon the perpendicular wall. The side chambers communicated with vaulted apartments within the solid mass of the edifice. The Babylonian palace stood upon a high mound or platform, like the Assyrian and the Susianian palace. The palace mound was usuallj' square, elevated about fifty or sixty feet. It was built chieflj^ of sun-dried bricks, enclo.sed on the outside bj' burnt bricks, and also on the inside. The whole was carefully drained, and the waters were conveyed through underground channels to the level of the plain at the base of the mound. The Babylonian palaces are so completely ruined that no full description of them can be given with certainty. The lines of the edifice were straight, the walls arose to a considerable height without win- dows, and numbers of pilasters and but- tresses broke the flatness of the straight line. The palace was often ornamented with sculptured stone slabs, on which were care- fully-wrought figures of a small size. Dio- dorus states that the general ornamentation consisted of colored representations of war- scenes and hunting-scenes on brick. Many such representations have been found on the Kasr mound. They are alternated with cuneiform inscriptions, in white and on a blue ground, or with a patterning of rosettes in the same colors. The ' ' Hanging Gardens ' ' I of Babylon have already l^een described. The Babylonian domestic architecture was of a poor and coarse style, and displayed little taste. The houses were three or four stories high, but were of a rude construcftion; the pillars were palm posts surrounded with wisps of rushes, and then pla.stered and painted. The only Babylonian building material was brick, consisting of two kinds, sun- dried and kiln-burned, as was the case in ancient Chaldsea and in Assyria. The Baby- lonians, however, only applied the sun-dried bricks to the platforms, and to the interior of palace mounds and of very thick walls, and never made that kind the only building ma- terial. In all cases there was at least a rcv^tcmcnt of kiln-dried brick, while the more .splendid edifices were entirely built of that kind. The baked bricks were of sev- eral kinds and .sizes. The finest kind were 3'ellow, another kind were blackish-blue, while the ordinary and coarser kind were pink or red. The bricks were always shaped square, and were twelve or fourteen inches long and wide, and from three to four inches thick. Half-bricks were used in alternate rows at the comers of buildings. They were always made with a mold, and were usually stamped on one face with an inscription. They were commonly laid hor- izontally, though sometimes vertically, sep- arated from one another by single horizontal laj'ers. The Babylonians used three kinds of ce- ment in their buildings. One kind was a crude clay, or mud, mixed with chopped straw. A better material was bitumen; but the niost common kind was mortar, or lime cement. There are few remaining specimens of Babylonian mimetic art, and these are mainly fragmentarj', and worn by time and exposure. Besides the quaint and grotesque intaglios on seals and gems, there are less than a half-dozen .specimens of their mimetic art remaining. There is a sculpture of a lion standing over the prostrate figure of a man, yet seen on the Kasr mound. There arc a few modeled clay figures. One is a 292 ANCIENT HISTOR Y.—BAD YLONIA. statuette of a mother with a child seated on a rough square pedestal. The mother is naked, except a hood on the head, and a narrow apron in front. The child sleeping on her left ann wears a short tunic, gathered into plaits. The statuette is about three and a half inches high. There is a figure of a king, principally remarkable for the elaborate ornamentation of the head-dress and the robes engraved on a large black stone. This figure, supposed to represent Merodach-iddin-akhi, is now in the British Museum. There are engraved animal forms on black stones, such as the figure of a dog sitting and the figure of a bird. The en- gravings on gems and cjdinders are grotesque figures of men and animals, and men and monsters. The most elaborate and artistic of the Babylonian works of art were the enam- elings on brick. According to the prophet Ezekiel "the images of the Chaldasans, por- trayed upon the wall, were vermilion." Other colors were used in the adornment of palaces and public edifices, such as white, blue, yellow, red, brown and black. The Babylonians also made considerable progress in the mechanical arts, such as cut- ting, boring and engraving hard stones, and the arts of agriculture, metallurgy, pottery, weaving, embroidery, etc. Besides the softer stones, such as alabaster, serpentine, and lapis-lazuli, the Babylonian artisans worked the harder kinds, such as agate, quartz, jasper, syenite, cornelian, lodestone, and green felspar, or amazon-stone. The minuteness of the work in some of the Ba- bylonian seals and gems indicates that they must have been engraved with the aid of a powerful maguifying-glass. The art of cut- ting glass was well understood. The Babylonians used gold and silver for statues, furniture and utensils, bronze for gates and images, and iron also for the lat- ter. They used lead and iron in building. The golden images were sometimes solid, and .sometimes only plated. The silver im- ages, ornamental figures and utensils are also believed to have been solid. The city and palace gates were of bronze. The metal-work of personal ornaments, such as bracelets, armlets and dagger-handles, re- sembled the work of the Assyrians. Small bronze figures of dogs, monsters and gro- tesque figures of men, were cast as orna- ments for houses, furniture, etc. The Babylonian pottery was excellent, and the bricks were superior to the Assyr- ian. The earthenware is of fine terra-cotta, usually of a light red color, and slightly baked, but sometimes of a yellow hue, tinged with green; and consists of cups, jars, vases and other vessels, which appear to have been made upon the wheel. The Babylonians had small glass bottles, several of which were found \>y Mr. Laj'ard in the Babil mound. Broken glass is found gener- ally in the rubbish of the mounds. The textile fabrics of the Babjdonians were the most celebrated of all their pro- du(5lions. Their carpets had acquired a wide fame and were largely exported to foreign lands. They were dyed in various colors, and represented griffins and other monsters. They ranked above all others in the ancient world, as tho,se of the Turks and Persians do in the modern. The Babylonian muslins were almost as celebrated as the carpets, and were fonned of the finest cotton and dyed with the most brilliant colors. The Orientals regarded them as the best material for dress, and the Persian monarchs preferred them to their own wear. Borsippa was the chief .seat of the Babylonian linen manufacture. Long linen robes were gen- erally woni by this people. In astronomy the Babylonians far excelled all other ancient nations, as their Chalda^an ancestors were the great pioneers in this sub- lime science. The first Greeks who made any advance in this science acknowledged them- selves the disciples of Babylonian teachers. Hipparchus, the first great Greek astrono- mer, mentioned the Babylonians as astro- nomical observers from a dimly-remote anti- quity. Aristotle confessed that the Greeks were vastly indebted for astronomical infor- mation to the Babylonians and Egyptians. Ptolemy made much u.se of the Babylonian observations of eclipses. vSir Cornwall Lewis says that "the Greeks were in the habit of Cin/JZATION. 293 attributing the invention and original culti- vation of astronomy either to the Babj'lon- ians or to the Egyptians, and represented the earliest scientific Greek astronomers as ha\ ing derived their knowledge from Baby- lonian or from Egyptian priests." We have alluded to tlie progress of the early Chaldseans in astronomy. On the broad, flat plains of Chakkea the clear sky, the dry atmosphere, and the level horizon, afforded facilities for ob.servation and natur- rally first turned man's attention to the celestial hemisphere. At a very early date the fixed stars were distinguished from five larger linninaries which the Greeks called "planets," which are the only movable stars that can be seen without the aid of a telescope of high magnifying power. They also soon discovered that the moon was a wandering luminary, and observed that the sun rose and set in the vicinity of diflferent constellations in different parts of the 3'ear. They arranged the stars in groups, or "constellations," to mark out the courses of the sun and moon among the stars. The names of these constellations were derived from some real or fancied resemblance of the groups to objedls with which the early observers were familiar. This department of astronomy is called uranography. Though these groupings of the fixed stars is mainly fanciful, its utility is inestimable, for by its means only are we enabled to point out indi- vidual stars and retain in the memory a knowledge of their general arrangement and relative positions. This old Chaldsean, or Babylonian, uran- ography is to this day recognized by scientific astronomers, and is represented on our globes and maps. The zodiacal constellations, es- pecially those through which the sun's •course lies, originated, as we have said, with the Chaldasans, and many of them are represented on Babylonian monuments of a stellar charadler. A Babylonian conical black stone now in the Briti.sh Mu.seum, and Ijelonging to the twelfth century l^efore Christ, is an aiTangement of constellations according to the forms assigned them in Ba- bylonian uranography. On this stone are recognized the Ram, the Bull, the Scorpion, the Serpent, the Dog, the Arrow, the Eagle or Vulture. There are similar forms on other monuments of a like characfler. The Babylonians called the zodiacal con- stellations the " Hou.ses of the Sun, " and di.s- tinguished them from another set of a.ster- isms, which they designated the "Houses of the Moon." Thej' obser\'ed and calcu- lated eclipses, but their knowledge was em- pirical. We have noted of the early Chal- dseans that they discovered the period of two hundred and twenty three lunations, or eighteen years and ten days, after which eclipses, particularly those of the moon, recur again in the same order. Their knowledge of this cycle enabled them to foretell lunar eclipses accurately for ages, and solar eclipses with little inaccuracy for the next few cycles. The Babylonians carefully noted and re- corded eclipses. Ptolemy had access to a continuous series of such observations dating back from his own time to B. C. 747. From Babylonian sources Hipparchus described eclipses of the moon for the years B. C. 721, 720, 621 and 523, the first of which was total at Babylon, the others only partial. These obser\'ations are seen to answer every purpose of modern science. We have knowledge of Babylonian observations as far back as Nabonassar, B. C. 747, as that king, according to the account by Berosus, destroyed the previously-existing observa- tions, so that exacft chronology might beg^n with his own reign. The Bab>'lonians arranged a catalogue of the fixed stars, which were employed by the Greeks in compiling their stellar tables. They recorded their obser\-ations upon oc- cultations of the planets by the sun and the moon. They invented two kinds of sun- dials, "Cao. gnomon and \\\q polos, by means of which they could measure time during the day, and accurately establish the exac^ length of the solar day. They discovered the length of the synodic revolution of the moon within a small fracflion. The exa(5l length of the Chaldaean year was three hun- dred and sixty-five days, six hours and 294 ANCIENT HIS TOR 1 '.—BAB YL ONI A. eleven minutes; which is only two seconds longer than the true sidereal year. Thej' obser\'ed comets, and believed them to be permanent bodies, revolving in orbits like those of the planets. They believed eclipses of the sun to be due to the interposition of the moon between the sun and the earth. They knew very nearly the relative dis- tances of the sun, the moon and the planets from the earth. Naturally adopting a geo- centric system, they decided that the moon was nearest to the earth; that Mercury was beyond the moon, \'enus beyond Mercury, Mars bej'oud Venus, Jupiter beyond Mars, and Saturn beyond Jupiter. From the dif- ference in the periodic times of these lumin- aries the Babylonians inferred a correspond- ing difference in the size of the orbits, and therefore their relative distances from the common center. The astronomical achievements of the Babylonians thus far described rest upon the authority of the ancient Greek and Roman writers. There are many Chaldrean and Babylonian astronomical tablets in the Brit- ish Museum, which are not yet thoroughly understood. It is said that there is clear evidence that the Babj'lonians ob.ser\'ed the four satellites of Jupiter, and good reason for believing that thej^ had a knowledge of the seven satellites of Saturn. They .so well understood the general laws of the mo\'e- ments of the celestial bodies that they could foretell the positions of the different planets throughout the year. They must have employed some instru- ments to acquire the knowledge which they possessed. We have observed that they in- vented sun-dials to measure time during the day. The clepsj'dra, or water-clock, com- monly used by the Greeks as early as the fifth century before Christ, is believed to have been a Babylonian invention. The astrolobe, an instrument used to measure the altitude of the stars above the horizon, and which was known to Ptolemy, is likewise believed to have been invented by this peo- ple. If, as believed, the satellites of Saturn are mentioned upon the taljlets, the Baby- lonians must have had optical instruments like the tele.scope; as it is impossible, even in the clear and vaporless sky of Chaldgea, to see the moons of that remote planet with- out the aid of lenses. As we have said, a lens has been discovered among the Assyrian ruins. A people with sufficient ingenuity to discover the magnifj-ing-glass would nat- urally be able to invent its opposite. The existence of two opposite kinds of lenses would furnish the elements of a telescope. Though a class of pure astronomers ex- isted among the Babylonians, most of those engaged in the study of astronomy followed it because thej' believed that the heavenly bodies had some mysterious influence upon the seasons, and also upon the lives and fortunes of individuals, and that this influ- ence could be discovered and foretold by long and careful observation. The ancient Jewish and Greek writers bear witness to this facft, and their testimony is confirmed by existing astronomical remains. Most of the Babylonian tablets are of an astrological chara(5ter, recording the supposed influence of the celestial bodies, singly, in conjunc- tion, or in opposition, upon all earthly affairs, from the fate of kingdoms and em- pires to the washing of hands or the paring of nails. Says Rawlinson : ' ' The modem prophetical almanac is the legitimate de- scendant and the sufficient representative of the ancient Chaldee Ephemeris, which was just as .sill}^ just as pretentious, and just as worthless. ' ' Chaldee astrology was chiefly genethli- alogical, inquiring under what a.specft of the heavens individuals were born or conceived, and pretending to ascertain the entire life and fortunes of men from the position of the heavenly bodies at one or the other of these moments. Diodorus says that it was be- lieved that a particular star or constellation watched over the birth of each individual, and thereafter exercised a special malign or benignant influence over his life. His for- tunes depended on the whole aspe(5l of the heavens, as well as tipon this one star. Casting the horoscope was reproducing this aspecft, and then reading bj' its means the destiny of the individual. CIVILIZATION. 295 The Chaldseaus also pretended to predidl changes of the weather, high winds and storms, great heats, the appearance of com- ets, eclipses, earthquakes, etc., from the stars. They published lists of lucky and unlucky days, and tables indicating what aspe<5l of the heavens portended good or evil to particular nations. Sir Henrj^ Raw- linson has discovered both lists among the tablets. They considered their art as con- fined to the countries occupied by them- selves and their kinsmen; they being able to foretell storm, tempest, good or poor crops, war, famine, etc., for Syria, Babylonia and Susiana; but unable to prophesy concerning Media, Persia, Armenia or other countries. Like our almanacs, their calendars predicfled the weather for stated days. The Chaldsans also possessed consid- erable mathematical learning, and their methods seem to have been geometrical. The Greek mathematicians are said to have quoted the works of such Chaldaeans a.-j Ciden, Naburianus and Sudinus. Herodotus, Diodorus, Strabo and Nicolas of Damascus have given accounts of the Babylonian manners and customs. He- rodotus tells us that this people wore a long linen gown extending down to the feet, a woolen gown or tunic over this, a short cloak or cape of a white color, and shoes like those of the Boeotians. Their hair grew long, but was confined to the head by a head-band or a turban, and they always carried a walking-stick with some kind of a carving on the handle. This description doubtless applies to the higher and wealthier classes. The prophet Ezekiel thus alludes to these people: "Girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldasa, the land of their nativity." The cylinders represent the poor wor- shiper bringing an offering to a god as dressed in a tunic reaching from the shoul- der to the knee, ornamented with a diagonal fringe and confined to the waist by a belt. Rich worshipers usually present a goat, and are attired in a tunic, with a long robe with- out .sleeves over it, and wear a fillet, or head- band. Figures of hunters attacking a lion, a man accompanying a dog, and a warrior condu(5ling six captives, are represented on cj-linders as dres.sed in short tunics. These tunics had no sleeves, and were seldom pat- terned. Rich worshipers are .sometimes rej)- resented dressed in coats without sleeves, fringed down both sides, and extending only a little below the knees. They have also a fillet around the head. The Babylonians are, with few excep- tions, represented with bare feet, though the .soldiers wore low boots, and the king had a kind of check-work patterned shoe. Herodotus, however, mentions them in his time as wearing a "peculiar .shoe." He- rodotus states that every Babylonian man carried a seal and a walking-stick. The king wore a long gown, reaching to the feet, and elaborately patterned and fringed. Over this he had a close-fitting sleeved vest, reaching to the knees, and end- ing in a set of heavy tassels. The girdle was worn outside the outer vest, and in war the king carried besides two cross-belts. Both the upper and under vests were ele- gantly embroidered. From the girdle de- pended in front a heavy tassel fastened by a cord. The Babylonian monarch w^ore a remark- able tiara, it being exceedingl}' high, almost cylindrical, slightly tending to swell out toward the crown, which was adorned with a row of feathers around its whole circum- ference. The space below was patterned with rosettes, sacred trees and mj^thological fig- ures. A projecftion of feathers rose from the middle of the crown, rounded at the top. This head-dress was worn low on the brow, and covered most of the back part of the head. The Babylonian king also wore bracelets. Nicolas of Damascus .says that a Babylonian go\'emor wore necklaces and ear-rings. The jjriests wore a long robe or gown with flounces and stripes, over which they wore an open jacket. A long riband or scarf hung down their backs. They wore an elaborate crown or mitre on their heads, 296 ANCIENT HISTORY.— BABYLONIA. which was likewise assigned to many of the gods. Sometimes a horned cap was worn instead of the mitre. The priests wore their heads uncovered in all sacrificial and cere- monial adls. The Babylonian soldiers were armed with bows and arrows, spears, daggers, maces or clubs, and battle-axes, for weapons of offense; while their defensive armor con- sisted of bronze helmets, linen breast-plates and shields. The prophet Ezekiel mentions the shields and helmets of the Babylonians, and also their battle-axes; while Jeremiah mentions their spears and swords, and their breast-plates. The favorite weapon of the Babylonians was the bow, as attested by the Old Testament and the native monuments. The figure of a king is represented as car- rying a bow; while the soldier conducfling captives has a bow, an arrow and a quiver. An old Chaldsean monument represents a king with a bow and arrow, a club and a dagger. There is a cylinder representing a lion disturbed in the a(5l of feasting off an ox by two rustics, one of whom attacks him in front with a spear, while the other, seizing his tail, assails him from behind with an ax. The Babylonian armies consisted of char- iots, cavalry and infantry. The cylinders .sometimes represent a curious four-wheeled car, drawn by four lior.ses, with a raised platform in front and a seat behind for the driver. The Jewish prophet Habakkuk, in speaking of the Babylonian cavalrj', said: "They are terrible and dreadful." He also said:. "Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves; and their horsemen shall spread them.selves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat." Ezekiel, alluding to "the Babylonians and all of the Chaldas- ans," referred to the " desirable 3-oung men, captains and rulers, great lords and re- nowned; all of them riding upon horses." Jeremiah .spoke of the Babylonian chariots and cavalry thus: "Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind; his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us ! for we are spoiled." In the army of Xerxes the Babylonians were infantry, but Darius, in the Behistun Inscription, alludes to Babylonian horsemen; and the Babylonian armies which overran Syria, Palestine and Egypt consisted chiefly of cavalry. The Babylonian armies, like the Persian, consisted of immense hosts, poorly disciplined, comprising, besidesnative Babylonian troops, contingents from the subjedl nations, such as Susianians, Shu- hites, Assyrians and others. They marched with great noise and tumult, scattering over the country invaded, plundering and de- stroying on every side. They assailed the weaker towns with battering-rams, and raised mounds before the stronger to the top of the walls, which they then easily scaled or broke down. They were noted for their determined persistence and unyielding per- .severance in sieges, only taking Jerusalem in the third year, and Tyre in the fourteenth. Omens often decided which country was to be next attacked. Diodorus described the Babylonian priests as a caste devoted to the service of their gods and to the study of philosophy. He says that they were highly esteemed by the people. They guarded the temples and served at the altars of the gods, to interpret dreams and prodigies, to understand omens, to read the warnings of the stars, and to in- form men how to escape the perils with which they were thus menaced, by purifi- cations, incantations and sacrifices. No one questioned their traditional knowledge transmitted from father to son. The people considered them as in possession of a wis- dom of the highest importance to the human race. The Book of Daniel describes a class of "wise men" at Babylon, chief of which were the Chaldseans, who are noted for a partic- ular "learning" and a particular "tongue," and who expounded dreams and prodigies. They were in high favor with the king, who frequently consulted them. These "wise men" were of four classes, according to their occupations — "Chaldaians, magicians, astrologers and soothsayers." Jews were enrolled among these "wise men, "and the CIMl.I/.ATION. 297 prophet Daniel was made chief of the whole order by King Nebuchadnezzar. As a dis- tinifl order, these ' ' wise men ' ' had consider- able power in the state. They had diredl communication with the king, and were be- lieved to be endowed with a supernatural ])ower to foretell future events, as well as in pos.session of human learning; and some of them held high civil offices. Herodotus mentions the Chaldaeans as "priests;" and Strabo .says that they were "philosophers," employed t:hiefly in as- tronomy. Strabo al.so states that they were divided into secfts, differing from each other in their doctrines. The Babylonian priests were an order, not a caste; and, as in Egypt and Persia, they were an esteemed and im- portant class. Priests may have brought up their sons to their own occupation, but other persons, even foreigners, were admited to the order and to its highest privileges. The Babj'lonian priesthood was a sacerdotal and learned bod}-, having a literature writ- ten in a peculiar language, which its mem- bers were obliged to study. This language and literature were inherited from the times of the earl}' Chaldaean Empire, and were thus transmitted to Assyria and later Baby- lonia. They professed especially a knowledge of astronomy, astrology and mythology, and may have also studied history, chronology, grammar, law and natural science. They were dispersed over the countr}-, but had special seats of learning at Erech, or Orchoe (now Warka), at Borsippa (the site of the present Birs-i-Nimrud), and at other places. They were diligent and ingenious students, divided into se<5ls with different docftrines, and given to speculation. They particularly cultivated astronomy with success, and the value of their knowledge in this science was afterwards acknowledged b}' the Greeks. The priests stood high socially, having access to the king, and being feared and re- spedleu by the people. They were made wealthy by the offerings of the faithful, and their occupation as interpreters of the will of the gods secured them influence. The civil offices frequently conferred upon them 1— i9.-r. H. added to their wealth and to the esteem in which they were held. The Babylonians were a great manufac- turing and commercial people. Their com- merce was both foreign and domestic. Many were engaged in manufadluring the textile fabrics for which the Babylonians were so famous, e.specially carpets and muslins. Many were engaged as engravers on hard stone, with which the seal carried by every Babylonian was adorned. The trades and handicrafts commonly pradliced in the Ea.st also flourished in Babylonia. An acftive and constant import and export trade was kept up. The Jewish prophet Ezekiel called Ba- bylonia ' ' a land of traffic, ' ' and Babylon ' ' a city of merchants." Isaiah said that "the cry of the Chaldseans ' ' was ' ' in their ships. ' ' The monuments show that the primitive Chaldceans navigated the Persian Gulf, and yEschylus calls the Babylonians in the army of Xerxes "navigators of ships." The Babylonians imported frankincense from Arabia; pearls, cotton, and wood for walking-sticks from the Persian Gulf; dogs and gems from India. Strabo says that they had a colony called Gerra, on the Arabian coast of the Persian Gulf and this colony was a great emporium through which the Babylonian trade to the north and the south was conducted. The products of Western Asia were carried down into Babylonia by the courses of the Tigris and Euphrates. Wine, gems, emery and building stone were imported from Armenia and Upper Mesopo- tamia; tin and copper from Phoenicia ; and fine wool, lapis-laziili, silk, gold and ivory from Media and the distant East. But these ar- ticles were brought to Babylon mainly by foreign merchants. The Armenians and Phoenicians, and perhaps also the Greeks, used the route of the Euphrates for the transportation of goods. The Assyrians, the Medes and the Paretaceni floated their goods down the Tigris and its tributaries. A great portion of the Babylonian people were engaged in agriculture. Babylonia was chiefly a grain-producing country, the wonderful fertility of whose soil has been noted in our account of ancient Chaldaca. 298 ANCIENT HISTOR Y.—DAD YLONIA. The deep and rich aUuvium was cultivated with the greatest care. As before mentioned wheat, barley, millet and sesame flourished in luxuriant abundance. Bj- means of ca- nals the countrj' was irrigated. Groves of date-palm furnished the chief article of food. Little beyond a proper water supply was needed for the cultivation of the date. The female palm-tree can only produce fruit by the pollen of the male palm coming in contad; with its blossoms. Herodotus states that the Babylonians tied the branches of the male to those of the female palm. Artificial means increased the yield of the date-palm in Babylonia. The seeds and cut- tings were planted in a sandy soil, to which salt was applied if necessary. Abundant watering was required, and transplantation was resorted to at the close of the first and second year. The ground was broken with a plow drawn by two oxen. Dates were the chief food of the Baby- lonians, and on this fruit and goat's milk the poorer class mainly subsisted. Palm- wine was an occasional beverage. In the marshy regions of the South fish was the principal food of .some tribes of Chaldaeans. The wealthy indulged in luxuries, such as wheat bread, meats, luscious fruits, fish, game and imported wine. The rich also drank to excess. They had magnificent banquets, which usually ended in drunken- ness. Bands of musicians entertained the guests. The display of gold and silver plate, the magnificent dresses of the guests, the beautiful carpets and hangings, the many attendants, all contributed to the splendor of the scene. The Babylonians and Susianians were both fond of music. Ctesias and Daniel testify to the musical taste of the Babylon- ians. Ctesias states that Annarus. or Nan- narus, a Babylonian noble, enlivened a ban- quet with the music of a band of one hun- dred and fifty women, some singing and others playing on the pipe, the harp and the psalter},'. The prophet Daniel assigns the same instruments to the Babylonians, along with the horn, the sambuca and the sym- //w«?^, or "symphony." The Babylonians also used music in their religious ceremonies. Daniel mentions their musical instruments in connedlion with Nebuchadnezzar's dedi- cation of a gigantic idol of gold, when the worshipers were obliged to prostrate them- selves before the idol upon hearing the music begin. Women were not kept in the same seclu- sion in Babylonia as in other Oriental coun- tries, as is apparent from the two curious customs mentioned by Herodotus — the sale of the marriageable maidens at public audlion to the highest bidder, and the relig- ious prostitution enjoined in the worship of Beltis. On the Babylonian cylinders are frequently found images of a goddess suck- ling a child, and also many representations of women engaged in diSerent employments. Sometimes they are represented in a pro- cession visiting the shrine of a goddess, and sometimes thej' are seen among birds and flowers in a garden, plucking the fruit from dwarf palms and handing it to one another. They are dressed in a long but scanty robe extending to the feet, and wear a fillet, or band, round the head, confining the hair, which is turned back behind the head, and tied by a riband, or held up by the fillet. The modeled clay image represents bracelets and ear-rings as woni by the women. A single representation of a priestess exhibits that class as wearing petticoats only, thus exposing the entire bod)' above the waist. A few Babj-lonian cylinders have been found representing saws and hatchets, stools, chairs, tables, and stands for water-jars. The Babylonian furniture was made from the wood of the palm-tree. RELIGION. 299 SECTION IV.— BABYLONIAN RELIGION. dHK later Babylonian religion lieiiii; almost identical with the old Chaldsean, it will not be necessarj' to go into detail upon the subjedl in this con- necftion. The early ChaldEeans, and their successors in the same country, the later Babylonians, worshiped the same gods in the same temples and with the same rites, and had the same cosmogon}', the same re- ligious sj-mbols, and the same priestly cos- tume. If Urukh or Chedorlaomer could have risen from their graves, and again visited the shrines in which thej' had offered sacrifices fourteen centuries before, the}' would have seen little difference between the ceremonies of their own times and those of the ages of Nabopolassar and Nebuchad- nezzar. In the later times the temples and the idols were more magnificent, music was more extensively emploj'ed in the ceremo- nial, and corruption concerning priestlj' im- postures and popular religious customs made some advance; but in other respedls the re- ligion of Nabonadius and Belshazzar was like that of Urukh and Ilgi, the religion of both periods being the same in the objedts and the mode of worship, in the theological ideas entertained and the ceremonial observ- ances and pracflices. The repair and restoration of the ancient temples by Nebuchadnezzar, and their re- dedication to the same deities, attests at once the identity of the gods and goddesses wonshiped, as do likewise the old appella- tions of the gods as elements in the names of the later kings and nobles. But with all this general unifonnity, there was a fludtua- tion of rank and place among the gods at various times, and distindl deities were often confounded with each other. Nebu- chadnezzar showed special devotion to Mero- dach, bestowing upon him titles of honor signifying his supremacy over all the other gods, and identifying him with Bel, the ancient tutelary god of Babylon. Among the titles which Nebuchadnezzar assigned to Merodach were the following; "The great lord," "the first-born of the gods," "the most ancient," " the supporter of sovereignty," "the king of the heavens and the earth." Nabonadius, however, re- stored Bel to his former place among the gods, as distindl from and above Merodach, and showed particular devotion to the for- mer. This is proven bj^ the fa(5l that in his da3' the great temple at Babj-lon was known as the temple of Bel, and by the additional circumstance that Nabonadius named his eldest son Belshazzar, meaning ' ' Bel pro- tects my sou. ' ' In the same way the goddesses Beltis and Ishtar, or Nana, are often confounded, though the same was the case in this in- stance in the old Chaldaean monarch3\ The basis of this confusion of deities was the esoteric docflrine known by the priests and taught b^' them to the kings, showing the acftual identity of the several gods and god- desses, whom the more intelligent and better informed may have considered various phases of the Divine Nature and not as sep- arate and distindl deities. The ancient polythei.sms apparently had this origin among all nations, the various names and titles of the Supreme Being designating His different attributes or His different spheres of adlion gradually coming to be misappre- hended by the ignorant masses, who re- garded this seeming difference as appella- tions of a number of deities. Bel, Merodach and Nebo were the deities chiefly worshiped by the later Bab)-lonians, as attested by the native monuments, and confirmed by the Jewish writers. Nebo, the special deity of Bor.sippa, was considered a kind of powerful patron-.saint, under whose protedlion it was regarded important to place individuals. Nebo's name is the mo.st com- mon divine element in the names of the kings and courtiers of the later Babylonian mon- ; archy. Three of the seven monarchs of the 300 ANCIENT HISTORY.— BABYLONIA. kingdom had names composed with Nebo's — Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar and Na- bonadius. Among courtiers we find such names as Nebu-zar-adaii, Samgar-Nebo and Nebu-shazbau. It is also believed that Nebuchadnezzar's Master of the Eunuchs named one of the young Jewish princes whom he was educating Abed-Nebo, "the servant of Nebo" — a name which the Jews afterwards corrupted into Abed-nego. Nergal was also highly reverenced by the Babylonians. He was worshiped at Cutha as the tutelary divinity of the city, and was also greatly esteemed by the nation in gen- eral. His name is often found on cylinder .seals; and is sometimes an element in the names of men, as in " Nergal-shar-ezer, the Rag-Mag," and in Neriglissar, the king. The Babylonian religion had a strong local charadler. Bel and Merodach were the special gods of Babylon; Nebo of Borsippa; Nergal of Cutha; the Moon-god of Ur, or Hur; Beltis of Niffer; Hea, or Hoa, of Hit; Ana of Erech, or Huruk; the Sun-god of Sippara, etc. These deities were particu- larly honored at their respedlive places, though all were recognized in a general way throughout the land. Each god was speci- ally worshiped in his own city, where was located his most magnificent shrine. A god was only respecfted to any account out of his own city by such as considered him their special personal protedtor. The Babylonians worshiped their deities direcftly through their images, thus giving their religion the same idolatrous charadter bestowed upon it by the Assyrians. Each shrine had one idol at least, and this idol was most impiously reverenced by the igno- rant, who identified it in some way with the god whom it represented. Some of them appear to have believed that the idol ate and drank the offerings; while others regarded the idol as a mere symbol of the god, who was supposed to paj' an occasional visit to the shrine where he was worshiped. Tho.se who held the last docflrine nevertheless enter- tained gross anthropomorphic views, as they regarded the god as coming from heaven to earth to pass the night with the chief priest- ess in the inner .shrine of the temple of Bel, which was furnished by the priests with a magnificent couch and a golden table. Some of the idols were of wood, others of stone, and others again of metal, either solid or plated. The metals used were gold, silver, brass or bronze, and iron. Sometimes the metal was laid over a cla}- model. In some instances images of one metal were overlaid with plates of another, as in the case of one of the great images of Bel, origi- nally of silver, but coated with gold by Nebu- chadnezzar. The Bab\-lonian worship was conducfted with great pomp and magnificence. A body of priests in each temple condu6ted the cer- emonies and held custody of the treasures. The priests were married, and lived with their families in the temple itself or in its immediate vicinity. They were supported by lands belonging to the temple or by the offerings of the faithful. These offerings were usualh' animals, mostly oxen and goats, which are sacrificial animals repre- sented on the cylinders. The priest always inter\'ened between the worshiper and the deities, introducing him to them and mak- ing intercession in his behalf with upraised hands. In the temple of Bel at Babylon, and per- haps in most of the temples throughout Bab)'lonia, a great festival was celebrated once a year. Many vidtims were sacrificed on such occasions, and on the great altar in the precinct of Bel at Babylon it was the cus- tom to burn a thousand talents' weight of frankincense. There were processions ac- companied b}' music and dancing. The priests were magnificently costumed. The people were in holiday attire. Banquets were held, and the city was given up to merry-making. The king entertained his lords in his palace. There was dancing and revelry' in private dwellings. Wine was drunk freely, passion was aroused, and the day often ended in wild orgies, in which the gro.ssest sensual appetites were allowed free indulgence under the san<5lion of religion. In the temples of one deity such excesses occurred daily. Every Babylonian woman RELIGION. was obliged once in her lifetime to visit a shrine of Ikltis, and stay there until some stranger cast money into her lap and took her along with him. Herodotus witnessed this scene, which he described as follows: "Many women of the wealthier sort, who are too jiroud to mix with the others, drive in covered carriages to the precincfl, followed by a goodly train of attendants, and there take their station. But the larger number .seat themselves within the holy enclosure, with wreaths of string about their heads — and here there is always a great crowd, some coming and others going. Lines of cord mark out paths in all dire-gia were constantly changing. Its chief cities were Gordium, the capital, and Celaense in ancient times; but many others were erected when the Mace- donian Greeks became masters of the coun- tr>', the chief of which were Apamca, Lao- dicea and Colossc. Galatia was .so called from a horde of Gauls who entered the country in the third century before the Christian era. Lsauria and Lj-caonia were intersecfted by the Taurus mountain chain. Cappadocia lay between the rivers Halys and Euphrates, and its chief town was Mazaca. Caria was chiefly celebrated for the prcs- perous Greek colonies on its coa.st. Lycia, Pisidia and Pamphylia were mountainous regions in the South. Cilicia was in the South-east, and was separated from Syria by the Amanus mountains; its chief cities be- ing Tarsus and Anchiale, both foimded by Sennacherib, the renowned Ass\-rian mon- arch. SECTION 11.— PHRYGIA AND CILICIA. pN EARLY times Asia Minor was occupied by various Aryan na- tions — Phr>'gians, Cilicians, Lydians, Carians, Paphlago- nians and Cappadocians — who migrated into the country from the East in primitive times, and were almost equal in power. This equality, along with the nat- ural division of the country by mountain ranges, prevented the growth of a powerful empire in Asia Minor, and favored the de- velopment of a number of parallel, inde- pendent kingdoms. Herodotus states that the country contained thirty nations in his time. The Phr>'gians are said to have been the first Aryan immigrants into Asia Minor, and they probabh' at one time occupied the whole peninsula, but successive migrations of other tribes from the east and the west pressed them in from the coast, except in the region just south of the Hellespont, and caused them to settle in the center of the peninsula, where they occupied a large and fertile country, abounding in rich pastures and containing a number of salt lakes. The Phr\-gians were a brave, but brutal race, en- gaged chiefly in agriculture, particularly- in the culture of the vine. They migrated from the mountains of Annenia, bringing with them a tradition of the Deluge and of the resting of the ark on Mount Ararat. In primitive times they lived in caves or habi- tations which they hollowed out of the rocks on the sides of the hills, and many of these rock-cities can yet be found in every portion of Asia Minor. Before the time of Homer, however, the Phrj-gians had well- built towns and a flourishing commerce. Their religion consisted of many dark and mysterious rites, some of which were subse- quently adopted \>y the Greeks. The wor- .ship of Cybele, and of Sabazius, the god of the vine, was accompanied by the wildest music and dancing. The Phrj-gians appear to have had a well- organized monarchy about B. C. 750, or probably earlier, their capital lieing Gor- dium, on the Sangarius river. Their kings were alternately named Gokdi.^s and MiD.\s, 3o8 ANCIENT HISTORY.— ASIA MINOR. but we have no clironological list of these. Phrygia declined as Lydia grew powerful, and was conquered by Lydia and became a province of that monarchy about B. C. 560. Cilicia occupied the south-eastern part of Asia Minor, and was a rich and fertile countrj', whose inhabitants were employed in agriculture. It was an independent mon- archy during the early period of the Assyr- ian kingdom. It was subdued by Sargon, who, about B. C. 711, bestowed the country on Ambris, King of Tubal, as a dowry for his daughter, thus making it tributary to Assyria. Having revolted from Assyria, Cilicia was invaded and ravaged by Sen- nacherib about B. C. 701. That great As- syrian king founded in Cilicia the city of Tarsus, about B. C. 685 — afterwards so re- nowned as the birth-place of St. Paul. Cili- cia having again revolted against Assyrian rule, Esar-haddon invaded and ravaged the country about B. C. 677. A king named Tyennesis ascended the throne of Cilicia about B. C. 616, and thereafter all the CiU- cian monarchs bore that name. Cilicia maintained her independence against Lydia, but was conquered by the Persians and be- came a province of the vast Medo-Persian Empire during the reign of Cambyses, the son and successor of Cyrus the Great. SECTION III.— KINGDOM OP LYDIA. HE most famous, and ulti- mately the most powerful, of all the kingdoms of Asia Minor was Lydia, at first called Mseonia. Its territory varied in geographical extent at different times. Lydia proper was bounded on the north hy Mysia, on the east by Phrj'gia, on the south by Caria, and on the west by the ^Egean sea. It ultimately embraced the whole peninsula, except Lycia, Cilicia and Cappadocia. Sardis, its renowned capital and metropolis, was situated on the Pacflo- lus, at the foot of Mount Tmolus, with its strong citadel on the side of a lofty hill with a perpendicular precipice on one side. The other cities of Lydia were Magnesia, at the foot of Mount Sipylus; Thyatira and Phila- delphia. Ephesus was the chief of the Greek cities on the coast of Lydia. The original territory of Lydia was noted for its wonderful fertility and for its mineral wealth. The Padtolus, a branch of the Hennus, car- ried a rich supply of gold from the sides of Mount Tmolus, and this precious metal was washed into the streets of Sardis. Mounts Tmolus and vSipylus contained rich veins of gold. The Lydians were celebrated for their wealth and culture, and were the first people who coined money. They "were one of the earliest commercial people on the Mediterra- nean, and their scented ointments, rich car- pets, and skilled laborers or slaves were highly celebrated. The Greeks received from them the Lydian flute, and subsequently the cithara of three and of twenty strings, and imitated their harmony. The Homeric poems describe the Lydians, or Masones, as men on horseback, clad in armor, and speak of their commerce and wealth. It seems that the worship of the Lydians resembled that of the Syrians, and was polluted with its immoral pra<5lices. The ancient writers often mention the depravity of the Lj'dians, while admitting their skill and courage in war. When subdued they submitted quietly to their conquerors." According to Josephus, the Lydians were named from Lud, a son of Shem. Herod- otus, however, derives the name from Lydus, an ancient king of the countrJ^ An absolute hereditary monarchy was early established in Lydia. Three successive dy- nasties governed the country — the Atyada^ so called from Atys, the son of Manes, the first of the kings regarding whom no dis- tinct account is given; the Heraclida;, or de- scendants of Hercules; and the Mermnada, LYDIA. 309 under whom Lydia ultimatel}- became a powerful kingdom. Herodotus tells us tliat the Lydian tradi- tions represented Ninus and Belus as going from Lydia to found the cities of Nineveh and Babylon. We also learn from Herod- otus of other Lydian traditions. It is said that in the reign of Atj's, the son and suc- cessor of Planes, the pressure of a se\-ere famine cau.sed the king to compel a portion of the nation to emigrate to the distant Hesperia, under the command of Tyrrheuus, the king's son. After building a fleet at Smyrna, they sailed westward for their new countr>% which proved to be Etruria, in Italy; and thus was founded the Etruscan nation. At another time the Lj'dians pushed their conquests beN-ond the limits of Asia Minor to the very southern extremity of Syria, where their general, Ascalus, is said to have founded the famous city of Ascalon, in the land of the Philistines. Little confidence is to be placed in any of these early Lydian traditions concerning the remote period of the nation. The real historj- of Lydia extends only as far back as the ninth century before Christ. The ruling dynasty of the Heraclidae grew jealous of the Mermnadse and treated them with injustice, whereupon the Mermnadse sought safety in flight; but when they found themselves strong enough they returned, murdered the Heraclide king, and placed their leader, Gyges, upon the throne of Lydia, about B. C. 700. The prosperity of Lydia greatl}- increased under Gyges, and the nation assumed an aggressive at- titude toward its neighbors. The great amount of his revenue made the name of Gyges proverbial, and he spread abroad his fame by sending to the temple of Del- phi, in Greece, presents of such magnifi- cence that they were the admiration of af- ter times. The predecessors of Gyges had been on friendly' terms with the Greek colonists on the western coast of Asia Minor. But Gyges changed this peaceful policy for the purpose of extending his sea-board, and thus made war on the Greek maritime cities, attacking Miletus and Smyrna unsuccess- fully, but capturing the Ionic city of Colo- phon. Herodotus, Eusebius, Nicolas of Damascus, and Xanthus are our main authorities for the history of Lydia thus far related. Some tell us that Gyges also quar- reled with the inland city of Magnesia, and reduced it to submission after many inva- sions of its territory; but Herodotus says nothing about this event. Strabo says that Gj'ges conquered the whole of the Troad, and that the Milesians could only establish their colony of Abydos on the Hellespont after obtaining his permission. The Greeks of Asia Minor and the islands of the yEgean evidently considered Gyges a rich and powerful monarch, and constantly celebrated his wealth, his conquests and his romantic histon,-. At the end of the long reign of Gyges a great calamitj- fell upon Lydia. The Cim- merians, from the peninsula now known as the Crimea, and the adjacent region of the present Southern Russia, pressed on by the Scythians from the steppe region, crossed the Caucasus and entered Asia Minor \>\ way of Cappadocia, spreading terror and desolation all around. Alarmed at this bar- barian invasion, Gyges placed himself under the proteclion of Assyria, and defeated the Cimmerians, taking several of their chiefs prisoners. Grateful for the Assyrian alli- ance, Gyges sent an embassy to Asshur- bani-pal and courted his favor b\- rich gifts and bj' sending him Cimmerian chiefs. These the Assj-rian monarch looked upon as tribute. Gyges, however, afterwards broke with Assyria, and aided the Egyptian rebel, Psammetichus, in reestablishing his independence. Assj'ria thereupon w ithdrew her proteclion from Lydia, and Gyges was left to his own resources, which were totally inadequate when the great crisis came. Sweeping e\"erything before them, the fierce Cimmerian hordes swarmed resistlessly into the western portions of Asia Minor; overrun- ning Paphlagonia, Phrygia, Bithynia, Lydia and Ionia. Gyges was defeated and killed in battle with them. The inhabitants shut themselves up in their walled towns, where they were often besieged by the barbarians. 3JO ANCIENT HISTORY.— ASIA MINOR. Sardis itself, except its citadel, was taken, and a terrible massacre of its inhabitants en- sued. Within a generation Lydia recovered from this terrible blow and renewed her at- tacks on the Greek colonies upon the coast. Gyges was succeeded on the Lydian throne by his son, Ardys, who made war on Miletus. Sadyattes, the son and suc- cessor of Ardys, continued this war. Aly- ATTES, the son and successor of Sadyattes, pursued the same aggressive policy toward Miletus, and besieged and took Smyrna and ravaged the territor>' of Clazomente. He- rodotus, Nicolas of Damascus, Strabo and Eusebius are our main authorities for the e\-ents of these reigns. The great task of the reign of Ah'attes was the expulsion of the Cimmerians from Asia Minor. The barbarian hordes, greatly exhausted by time, by their losses in battle, and by their excesses, had long ceased to be dangerous, but were still able to menace the peace of the country. According to Herod- otus, Alyattes is said to have "driven them out of Asia." This would imply that they were expelled from Paphlagonia, Bithynia, Lydia, Phrygia and Cilicia ; a result which the Lydian king achieved by placing him- self at the head of a league embracing the states of Asia Minor west of the Halys. Thus Alyattes, by freeing A.sia Minor of the presence of the Cimmerian hordes, proved his great military capacity, and laid the founda- tions of the great Lydian Empire. The conquest of Cappadocia by Cyaxares the Mede, who thus extended the western frontier of the Median Empire to the Halys, brought the Median and Lydian monarchs into collision. Coveting the great fertile plains west of the Halys, Cyaxares soon found a pretext for attacking the dominions of Alyattes. Herodotus tells us that a body of nomad Scyths had sen-ed inider the Median king, serving him faithfully for some time, chiefly as hunters; but disliking their position or di.strusting the intentions of their Median mtisters, they finally abandoned Media, and proceeding to Asia Minor, were welcomed by Alyattes. Cyaxares sent an embassy to Sardis demanding of the Lydian king the surrender of the fugitive Scj'ths ; a demand which Alyattes answered with a refusal and immediate preparations for war. The numerous other princes of Asia Minor, alarmed at the rapid advance of the Median dominion westward, willingly placed them- selves under the protedlion of the King of Lydia, to prevent the absorption of their respecftive territories into the powerful Median Empire, as they had previously put themselves under his leadership in the strug- gle which resulted in the expulsion of the Cimmerians. Lydia herself had considerable resources. She was the most fertile country of Asia Minor, which was one of the richest regions of the ancient world. At this time Lydia was producing large quantities of gold, which was foimd in great quantities in the Padlolus, and perhaps in other small streams flowing from Mount Tmolus. The Lydian people were warlike and ingenious. They had invented the art of coining money, say Xenophon, Herodotus and others. They exhibited much taste in their devices. They also claimed to have invented many games familiar to the Greeks. Herodotus also in- fonns us that they were the first who earned a living by shop-keeping. They were skill- ful in the use of musical instruments, and their own peculiar musical style was much favored by the Greeks, though condemned as effeminate by some of the Grecian phi- losophers. The Lydians were also brave and manly. They fought mostly on horse- back, and were good riders, carrying long spears, which they employed very skillfully. Nicolas of Damascus says that, even as early as the time of the Heraclide dynasty, they were able to muster thirty thousand cavalr>\ They found recreation in the chase of the wild-boar. Thus L>-dia was no contemptible enemy, and, with the aid of her allies, she proved herself fully a match for the great Median Empire. For six years, Herodotus tells us, did the war go on between Media and Lydia with various success, until, as we have .seen in the history of Media, it was tenninated by the sudden eclipse of the sun in the LVniA. 3" midst of a battle, which excited the super- stitious fears of both parties and led to the negotiation of a peace. Syeiinesis, King of Cilicia, the ally of the King of Lydia, and Labynetus of Babylon, the ally of the King of Media, proposed an annistice, which being agreed on, a treaty of peace was at once concluded, which left everj'thing in status quo. The Kings of Media and Lydia swore a friendship, which was to be ce- mented by the marriage of Aryenis, the daughter of Alyattes, with Astyages, the son of Cyaxares. By this peace the three great empires of the time — Lydia, Media and Babylonia — became firm friends and allies, and stood side by side in peace for fifty years, pursuing their separate courses with- out jealousy or collision. The crown-princes of the three empires had became brothers, and all Western Asia, from the shores of the ^-Egean on the west to the Persian Gulf on the east, was ruled b}' interconnected dy- nasties, bound b)- treaties to respedl each other's rights, and to assist each other in certain important emergencies; and this quarter of the globe entered upon an era of tranquillity which it had never before known. Relieved from the fear of Median conquest by the treat j- just mentioned, Alyattes re- newed the war against the Greek colonists on the western coast of Asia Minor during the last j^ears of his reign. He captured Smyrna and gained other important suc- cesses. On the death of Alyattes in B. C. 568, his son, Crcesus, became his successor. Croe- sus was the most famous, as well as the last, of the Kings of Lydia. He continued the wars begun by his father against the Asiatic Greeks, and conquered the Ionian, ^ijolian and Dorian Greeks, and all Asia Minor west of the Halys, excepting Lycia and Cilicia; thus enlarging his dominion by the acquisi- tion of Phrygia, Mysia, Paphlagonia, Bi- thynia, Pamphylia and Caria. Herodotus remarks that he was the first conqueror of the Greeks of Asia Minor, who had hitherto never been subjecfl to any foreign power. Under him Ljdia attained the highest pin- nacle of her glorj' and prosperity; but no sooner had she reached this po.sition among the nations of the time than she was over- thrown by a power which made itself master of all the then-known world outside of Europe — the great Medo- Persian Empire, founded by Cyrus the Great on the ruins of the Median limpire, and which ab.sorbed Babylonia and Egypt along with Media and Lydia. The kingdom of Lydia was now one of the great powers of the world and was far more extensive than at any previous period, and may truly be called an empire. Its capital, Sardis, advantageously situated at the foot of Mount Tmolus, on the river Pacftolus, famous for its golden sands, now became famed among the great cities of Asia. Xenophon regarded it as second only to Babylon in riches. Herodotus observes that it was a place of great resort, and was frequented by all Grecians distinguished for their talents and wisdom. CrcEsus was renowned throughout the aticient world for his wealth, and his name be- came proverbial for great riches. His story has furnished a subjeA for moralists of every Subsequent age to illustrate the uncertainty of earthh' prosperity and the vicissitudes of human life. Crcesus considered himself the most fortunate of men. When only crown- prince his father had associated him in the government of the kingdom, and while hold- ing this station, he was visited by Solon, the great sage and lawgiver of Athens, and one of the "Seven Wise Men of Greece." Crcesus entertained his distinguished guest with great hospitality in his palace; but the sage viewed the magnificence of the court with calm indifference, which mortified Crcesus. Solon was conducted to the ro^al treasury to view and admire the riches con- tained therein. Croesus then asked him whom he considered the happiest man in the world, expecting to hear himself named. Solon replied: " Tellus, an Athenian, who, under the protecftion of an excellent form of government, had many virtuous and amia- ble children. He saw their offspring, and the3' all sur\'ived him. At the close of an honorable and prosperous life, on the field 312 ANCIENT HISTORY.— ASIA MINOR. of victon-, he was rewarded by a public funeral by the city." Croesus, disappointed with this reply, then asked Solon whom he regarded as the next happiest person. The sage mentioned two brothers of Argos, who had won the ad- miration of their countrj-men by their devo- tion to their mother, and who had been re- warded by the gods with a pleasant and painless death. Croesus, in astonishment, ssked: "Man of Athens, think you so meanly of my prosperity as to rank me be- low private persons of low condition?" Solon, not willing either to flatter or disap- point Croesus, replied: "King of Lydia, the Greeks have no taste for the splendors of royalty. Moreover, the vicissitudes of life suffer us not to be elated by any present good fortune, or to admire that felicity which is liable to change. He, therefore, whom Heaven smiles upon to the last, is, in our estimation, the happy man!" After giving this answer, the Athenian sage took his departure, leaving Croesus chagrined, but none the wiser, ^sop, the celebrated fabulist, is also said to have visited Croesus at Sardis, and is said to have observed to Solon: "You see that we must either not come near kings, or say only what is agree- able to them." To which the sage replied: "We should either say what is useful, or say nothing." The vicissitudes of fortune, which Solon desired Croesus to ponder upon, were soon exemplified in his own case. Croesus had two sons, one of whom was dumb, but the other, named Atys, was endowed with su- perior accomplishments. Croesus is said to have had a vision warning him that this son would die by the point of an iron spear. The frightened father resolved to settle him in marriage and devote him to a peaceful life. He took away his command in the army, and removed every military weapon from those about his person. About this time a certain Adrastus, who had accident- ally killed his brother, .sought refuge in Sardis, having been banished from home by his father; and, in accordance with ancient pagan custom, sought expiation of a neigh- boring prince. Belonging to the royal familj' of Phrygia, he was received in a friendly manner by Croesus, who allowed him an asylum at his court. Shortly afterward a wild-boar of remarkable size made his ap- pearance near Olympus, in Mysia. The frightened inhabitants requested Croesus to send his son with hunters and dogs to de- stroy the beast. The king, who had not forgotten the vision, kept back his son, but offered them a seledl band of dogs and hunt- ers. The young man, mortified by his father's resolution, remonstrated, until he was per- mitted to go to the cha.se, under the protec- tion of Adrastus. They attacked the boar, and the king's son was killed bj^ an acci- dental thrust from the spear of the Phrj-gian refugee. The unhappy monarch pardoned Adrastus, thinking that he was the instru- ment of an inevitable fatality; but the killer, in the deepest anguish for what he had done, retired, in the darkness of night, to the grave of Atys, confessing himself the most miserable of mankind, and there committitig suicide. Croesus mourned for two years the loss of his son, who was his heir to the throne of I^ydia. Alarmed at the rapid growth of the new Medo-Persian Empire, which had recently been founded by Cyrus the Great on the ruins of the great Median power, and seeing that a struggle for the dominion of Asia Minor was inevitable, Croesus entered into an alliance with Egypt and Babylonia against the new Persian power. Before en- tering upon the struggle, the King of Lydia, who was very superstitious and would never begin any important undertaking without consulting the ministers of the various dei- ties worshiped in those countries, inquired of various oracles as to the result of his en- terprise. But to assure himself of the truth of the answers of the oracles he consulted, he sent messengers to all the most famous oracles of Greece and Egypt, with orders to inquire, every one at his respedlive oracle, what Croesus was doing at such a day and such an hour, before agreed upon. The re- plies are said to have been unsatisfactory to the monarch. But it is said that as soon as as^fe^* •j-^r-- fl^' CROEvSUvS ON THE r'UNERAI, I'VRK. LVniA. 313 the messengers entered the temple of Del- ])hi, the oracle there ga\'e this answer : " I couut the sand; I measure out llic sea; The silent and the dumb are heard by uie ; Even now the odors to my sense that rise, A tortoise boiling with a lamb supplies, Where brass below and brass above it lies." When Croesus heard of this reply, he de- clared that the oracle of Delphi was the only true one; becatise, on the day mentioned, re- solving to do what would be difficult to dis- cover or explain, he had cut a lamb and a tor- toise in pieces and boiled them together in a covered brass vessel. This stor>' is given us by Herodotus. There is no doubt about Croe- sus consulting the oracle, but the marvelous part of the tale was likely an invention of the priests of Delphi to raise the reputation of their oracle. Croesus is represented as being satisfied of the divine charadter of the responses of the Delphic oracle, and as therefore resolved to make a magnificent gift to the oracle. Col- leifling three thousand chosen vicflims, a vast number of couches overlaid with gold and silver, along with goblets of gold and ptirple vests of immense value, he cast all these into a sacrificial pile and burned them. The melted gold ran into a mass, and he made of this a vast number of large tablets, and likewise a lion; and these and a num- ber of vessels of gold and silver he sent to the Delphic oracle. The lyydians conveying these presents were instrudled to inquire whether Croesus could successfully under- take an expedition against the Persians, and whether he should strengthen himself by forming any new alliances. The response of the oracle was, that if Croesus made war on the Persians he would ruin a great em- pire, and that he wotild do well by making alliances with the most powerful of the Grecian states. The Lydian king, regarding this ambigu- ous answer as ftilly satisfadlory, was exceed- ingly elated with the hope of conquering Cyrus the Great. He consulted the Del- phic oracle a third time, wishing to know if his power wotild be permanent. He ob- tained the following reply; "When o'er the Medcs a mule shall sit on high, O'er pebbly Hermus, then soft Lydian fly; Fly with all haste; for safety scorn thy fame, Nor scruple to deserve a coward's name." Fully satisiied with this new answer, Croe- sus advanced against Cyrus, crossing the Halys and marching through Cappadocia into Syria, and laying waste the country as he advanced. After some minor engage- ments, Croesus was decisively defeated in the great battle of Thymbra, in which the army of Croesus is said to have amounted to four hundred thousand men, and that of CyruiJ to one hundred and ninety-six thousand. This is the first pitched battle of which the ancient writers give us any details. The mercenaries in the Lydian army dispersed, returning to their respecflive homes. Croesus, with the remainder, retreated to Sardis, whither he was pursued by the triumphant Persians, who gained a second great vicftorj', this time before the walls of the Lydian capital itself. The hopes of Crcesus now completely vanished, and his capital was taken by storm, B. C. 546. Croesus was taken prisoner by his con- queror, who condemned him to be burned alive. After the captive monarch had been led to execution on the funeral pile, and as the torch was about to be applied, Croesus remembered the admonitions given him by the sage of Athens. Struck with the truth of Solon's words, and overwhelmed with grief and despair, the unhappy monarch exclaimed : ' ' Solon ! Solon ! Solon ! ' ' Cyrus, who was present at the scene, demanded the reason for this exclamation, and the entire story was related to him. Greatly affected by the wisdom of Solon's words, and pon- dering on the vicissitudes of human affairs, the vicflorious Persian king was moved to compassion for his unfortunate captive, and therefore ordered the fire to be extinguished and Croesus to be given his liberty. Upon being restored to freedom, Croesus at once sent to Delphi the fetters by which he had been confined, with the design of thus reproaching the oracle for deceiving him with false promises of vicflory for his arms. The Delphian priests explained the 3^4 ANCIENT HISTORY.— ASIA MINOR. story of the mule as designating Cyrus, wlio had a double nationality, being born both a Persian and a Mede. It was explained that the great empire of which Crcesus was in- formed that he would ruin if he made war on Persia was his own, as that empire had been great, but was now ruined; but Croesus was not comforted hy this explanation of the Delphian priests. In consequence of the o\-erthrow of Croe- sus, Lydia ceased to be an independent na- tion, and became a province of the great Medo-Persian Empire; and Sardis, the Ly- dian capital, became one of the chief cities of that vast empire. Cyrus ever afterward treated Croesus as a friend, and Xenophon tells us that he took him along with him wherever he went. KINGS OF LYDIA. DYNASTIES. KINGS. TIME OF REIGNS, ETC. AtyadjE Ileraclidce Manes Atvs ' . . Known Kin.<;s Before B. C. 1229, According to Herodotus. From B. C. 1229 to B. C. 724 or 698. f Last Six Heraclide Kings. According to / Xauthus and Nicolas of Damascus. LVDUS Meles Mermnadse Adyattes I .^RDYS .\dvattes II Meles Candaules Gyges ...-••... Ardy.s vSadyattes Alyattes Crcesus Time According to HERODOTUS. EUSEBIUS. B. C. 724-686. •• 686-637. " 637-625. " 625-568. " 568-554- B. C. 698-662. " 662-624. " 624-609. ' ' 609-560. " 560-546. CHAPTER VII. PHCENICIA AND SYRIA. SECTION I.— PHCENICIA AND ITS PEOPLE. IHCENICIA was the name an- ciently applied to a narrow .strip of territory- bordered on the east by the mountains of Lebanon, and on the west by the Mediterranean sea, being only about twenty miles wide from east to west, and about one hundred and t%venty miles long from north to south. Near Sidon the Leba- non mountains are only two miles from the sea, and at T>t« the Phoenician plain is only five miles wide. The entire Phoenician plain was exceedingl}- fertile, being abundantly watered. The coast abounded with good harbors, and the cedars of Lebanon furnished material in great abundance for ship-build- ing. The most important and renowned cities upon the Phoenician coast were Tj-re and Sidon. Tyre — " the daughter of Sidon" — was the most southern city, and the only one whose political history can be traced. Sidon, the most ancient citj- of Phoenicia, was twenty miles north of Tyre, and its modem name is Saide. Berv-tus, now Beyreut, was sixteen miles north of Sidon, and is now the principal seaport of Syria. North of Berytus was Byblus, the Gebal of the Bible, inhabited by seamen and caulkers. North of Byblus was Tripolis, now called Tarabu- lus; and the most northern of all Phoenician cities was Aradus, the Ar\-ad of Genesis and Ezekiel. The Phoenicians were a branch of the Semitic race, being therefore a kindred peo- ple with the Hebrews, the Arabs, the Syr- ians, the Assyrians and the later Baby lonians. a-20.-U. H. ( 31 They have sometimes, however, been con- sidered as the Canaanites of the coast and descendants of Canaan, a son of Ham; in which case they would belong to the Ha- mitic nations, but their Semitic language seems to identify them with the other na- tions classed as descended from Shem. The Phoenicians migrated from the plains of Chaldaea soon after the death of Nimrod. Thej' were never united under one govern- ment, being divided into a number of petty states, or kingdoms, each Phoenician city with its adjacent territorj- constituting a small independent state with an hereditarj- sovereign at its head, the political power being shared with the priests and the nobles. In certain emergencies the Phoenician cities would unite in a confederacy, one of the cities being usually recognized as the leader of the confederation. This supremacy was onl}- exercised in war, when a common dan- ger threatened the existence of the separate cities, or when a common interest demanded unity. Each city was at all times allowed to manage its domestic affairs in its own way. Sidon — who.se name is the same as the oldest .son of Canaan, a son of Ham — was the oldest of the Phoenician cities, and the first which became wealthj' and powerful. It early engaged in commercial enterprises with other nations, by land and sea, and was the fir.st to found colonies, a sj'stem which afterwards became a distincflive fea- ture of Phoenician policy. Tyre was the first of Sidon's colonies. Sidon enjoyed the supremacy over the other Phosuician cities 5) 3i6 ANCIENT HISTORY.— PHCENICIA AND SYRIA. L'lJIARS 1)1' M-.liAN' until about B. C. 1050, when the city was taken and destroyed by the Philistines from the South of Palestine. The inhabitants found refuge in Tyre, which became the leading city of Phoenicia, and so remained for seven centuries. It is not known exaclly when Tyre was founded. The city originally was situated on the mainland, but in after years a new city was erected on an island about half a mile from the shore. This insular city soon eclipsed the old Tyre in wealth and splen- dor, and its name became a byword for com- mercial greatness. SECTION 11.— HISTORY OF TYRE. : WING to its geographical situ- ation and its sources of wealth, Phoenicia was a prey to all the great conquerors who made Syria their battle-ground in ancient times. For these reasons Phoenician independence was of short duration, and only in their national infancy were this re- nowned commercial people free from the yoke of foreign masters. At an early period Phoenicia was forced to acknowledge the supremacy of Egypt, and was successively reduced to subjecflion under the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Medo-Persians and the Grasco-Macedonians. In the eleventh century before Christ, Tyre rapidly grew to be the leading city and kingdom of Phoenicia. Under the govern- ment of its own kings it advanced very fast in commercial wealth and internal magnifi- cence. The first known King of Tyre was Abibaal, who was partly contemporary TYRE. 317 ■with King David. On bis death, about B. C. 1025, he was succeeded on the Tj'rian throne by his son Hiram, who rei^^ncd dur- He furnished Solomon with a great part of the materials used in the coustrudlion of the great Jewish Temple at Jerusalem, and w-ith ing the remainder of that ceniur>-. linani was a great friend of the illustrious Hebrew monarchs, David and Solomon, with both of whom he entered into commercial alliances. the workmen bj- whom that grand edifice was erecfted. Hiram's reign of thirty-four years was a period of wonderful prosperity for the great Phoenician cities. Tyre's su- 3i8 ANCIENT HISTORY.— PHCENICIA AND SYRIA. premacy being acknowledged throughout the whole of Phoenicia. The other Phoeni- cian kings, profiting h\ previous experience, entered into a close confederation and rec- ognized the suzeraintj- of the King of Tyre, ' ' the true and only monarch of the nation, ' ' who, in consequence, was called ' ' King of the Sidonians." This title was not to be confounded with that of the King of Sidon, who was the local sovereign of the early Phoenician metropolis. The King of Tyre regulated the general interests of Phoenicia, its commerce and its colonies, concluded treaties with other nations, and diredled the fleets and armies of the confederation. He was aided by deputies from the other Phoe- nician cities. On the death of Hiram, in B. C. 991, his son, BaalEazar, became King of Tyre. He died after a reign of seven years, and was succeeded by his son Abdastartus (or Ab- dastoreth), who, after reigning nine years, fell a vi(51:im to a plot of assassination. A long period of civil wars then distracfted Tyre, in consequence of the claims of a number of pretenders who disputed the throiie in quick succession. Order was re- stored about B. C. 941 when Eth-baal (or Ithobalus), the High- Priest of Astarte, slew the last pretender, Phales, and seated him- self on the throne of Tyre as King of the Sidonians. He gave his daughter Jeze- bel in marriage to Ahab, King of Israel. By her force of charadler, Jezebel controlled her imbecile husband and rendered Phoeni- cian influence predominant in Israel during Ahab's reign. Eth-baal died about B. C. 909, and was succeeded by his son B.\de- ZOR, who reigned six j-ears, dying in B. C. 903, when his sou, Matgen, became his successor. Matgen died in B. C. 871, after a reign of thirty-two j-ears, leaving a son named Pjg- malion and a daughter named Elissar, or l-'li.ssa, but better known as Dido; the daughter being then thirteen and the son eleven years old. Matgen desired that his children .should reign jointly. The people wanting a change in the aristocratic form of government, revolted and proclaimed Pyg- M.ALioN king, excluding his sister, who married Zicharbaal, the Sichaeus of Virgil. Zicharbaal was High-Priest of Melkarth, next in rank to the monarch among the Phoe- nicians, and the head of the aristocratic party. Shortly afterward he was assassin- ated by order of Pygmalion, whereupon Elissar organized a conspiracy of the Phoe- nician nobles to avenge her husband's death and to dethrone her brother, but she was foiled in her design by the vigilance of the popular party. Thereupon the conspirators, several thousand in number, seized a number of ships in the harbor of Tyre and sailed away under the leadership of Elissar, who was thereafter called Dido, "the fugitive." They landed on the northern coast of Af- rica and founded Carthage, a city whose greatness, glory and prosperity eventually eclipsed that of the mother country. In consequence of the migration of the aristocratic party from Tyre the Tyrian king was thereafter an absolute monarch. During Pygmalion's reign the Assj'rians under Asshur-izir-pal first appeared on the Mediterranean coast. The Phoenician cities submitted to the invaders and agreed to pay tribute — a condition of dependence which lasted almost a centur>-. Pygmalion's reign ended in B. C. S24, but we have no record of anj' Phoenician king until the middle of the next centurj-. The Phoenician cities were governed by native sovereigns tribu- tary to As.syria, but this vassalage did not apparently retard the prosperity of Phoe- nicia, or weaken its maritime power. The Phoenicians quietly bore the yoke of Assyrian supremacy until the middle of the eighth centur>' before Christ, when they be- came restive. About B. C. 743, another Hiram, King of Tyre, headed a Phcenician revolt against the Assyrian king, Tiglath- Pileser II., but the Phoenicians were again reduced to submission and tribute when the Assyrians advanced into Palestine. In B. C. 727, Phoenicia, under the leadership of Elul^us, revolted against Shalmaneser IV., King of Assyria; whereupon the As- syrian monarch led an arm>- into the coun- tr>', occupied Old Tyre, on the mainland, TYRE. 319 which made tio opposition, but the Island Tyre withstood a siege. Shalmaneser was unable to assail the insular city from the land without the aid of a fleet, and was obliged to content himself with a simple blockade of the cit\-, the most important feature being the cutting off of the water of the island city which had been supplied by means of aqueducls from the mainland. The besieged are said to have drunk rain- water during the five years that they held out against the besiegers. While the siege was in progress Shalmaneser IV. was to the Assyrians, Tyre emerged from the siege greatly exhausted. Its supremacy had been shaken off by the other Phoenician cities, which had become tributary to Sargon; and finally, in W. C. 708, its flouri-shing colony of Cyprus submitted to the Assyrians. In 15. C. 704, just after Sennacherib had a.scended the Assyrian throne, Hlulaeus reestablished Tyre's supremacy over Phoenicia and pro- claimed the independence of the country. In B. C. 700 Sennacherib led a large Assyr- ian army into Phoenicia, whereupon the Phoenician cities forsook Tyre and submitted SIKGE OF TYRE BY THE BABYLONl.\NS. hurled from the Assyrian throne bj' the usurper Sargon, who continued the siege. The other Phoenician cities had in the meantime submitted to the A.ssyrians, and Sargon collecfted a fleet of sixty ships from these cities and attempted to attack insular Tyre from the sea, but the Tyrians sallied out with twelve ships and defeated and destroyed Sargon's fleet. Finallj% after the siege had lasted five years, the Assyrians relinquished it and retired. Notwithstanding; its successful resistance to the Assyrian king. Elulaeus retired to the Island Tyre, relying upon his usual good fortinie, which, however, deserted him on this occasion. Tyre was taken and IClu- Iseus was obliged to flee for safety. Sen- nacherib spared the city, and made Tubal (or Ethbaal) king, as his vassal and tribu- tary. The capture of Tyre by Sennacherib put an end to the supremacy which that city had for some time exerci.sed so oppressi\-ely over the other Phoenician cities. Tyre had re- 320 ANCIENT HISTORY.— PHCENICI A AND SYRIA. tained most of the profits of Phoenician com- merce for herself, and the other cities will- ingly aided Sennacherib in reducing her to submission. All the cities of Phoenicia were now placed on an equality as tributaries of Assyria. Upon the assassination of Senna- cherib, Sidon rebelled against Assyria, and endeavored to acquire the supremacy over Phoenicia formerly exercised by Tyre. The revolt was mercilesslj^ punished by Esar- haddon, who destroyed Sidon about B. C. 68 1 and reduced its inhabitants to slavery. At Esar-haddon's death the Phoenician cities cast off the Assyrian yoke, and allied themselves with Egypt, the enemy of As- syria. But the next AsS3'rian king, Asshur- bani-pal, after reestablishing the Assyrian dominion over Eg3'pt, suppressed the Phoe- nician revolt. About B. C. 630, or B. C. 629, Phoenicia fell a prey to the ferocious Scyth- ian invaders, who devastated the open coun- try, but did not take any of the fortified cities. The overthrow of the Assyrian Em- pire in B. C. 625 gave the Phcenicians a temporary relief; but about B. C. 608 they submitted to the yoke of Neko, King of Egypt. The Egyptian sway over Phoenicia was ended by the defeat of Neko by Nebu- chadnezzar of Babylon at Carchemish in B. C. 605; and after a short respite from foreign domination, the Phoenician cities found a new master in the Babylonian king, In B. C. 598 Nebuchadnezzar led an army into Phoe- nicia, quickly reducing the country-, and be- sieging Tyre, which resisted him for thirteen years, at the end of which he took the city and reduced it to a heap of ruins. Most of the inhabitants fled to their fleet and sailed to Carthage, carrying with them their wealth and industry, but a miserable remnant of the population remained in the city under a king named Baal, whom the conquering Babylonian monarch had set up as his vas- sal. Some years afterward Uaphris, King of Egypt, attempted to wrest Phoenicia from the dominion of Babylon; but the Phoeni- cians remained loyal to Nebuchadnezzar, and, aided by Cyprus, defeated the Egj'p- tian fleet, which was manned by Greek and Carian mercenaries. Uaphris was checked in his career by this reverse, and after hav- ing taken and sacked Sidon and ravaged the Phoenician coast, he returned to Egypt with a vast amount of spoils. Upon the subversion of the Babj-lonian Empire, in B. C. 538, Phoenicia passed un- der the dominion of the Medo-Persian kings. The greater portion of the naval forces in the expedition of Camby-ses, King of Persia, into Egypt consisted mainly of Phoenician ships and seamen. Phoenicia remained a province of the great Medo-Persian Empire for two centuries; and in B. C. 332 Tyre was taken after a vigorous siege and destroyed by Alexander the Great, who thus put an end to the national existence of Phoenicia, and inflicfled the death-blow upon the Medo- Persian Empire in the memorable battle of Arbela the following j'ear. Phoenicia then be- came a part of Alexander's vast empire and was absorbed in the dominions of his suc- cessors, sometimes falling under the domin- ion of the Ptolemies of Eg>'pt and sometimes under the Seleucidae of Sj'ria. In the first century before Christ it shared the fortunes of Syria in being swallowed up by the over- shadowing power of Rome. It has ever since shared the fortunes of Syria and Pal- estine, and has been under the Turkish do- minion for almost four centuries. ALEXANDER BEFORl': TYRIC. PHOENICIAN COMMERCE AND COLONIES. 321 SECTION III.— PHCENICIAN COMMERCE AND COLONIES. |ARGEIvY because of the phys- ical condition of their country and other circumstances, the Phoenicians devoted their en- tire attention to manufaclures, commerce and colonization; and at a very earl>- period they became the greatest mauu- fadluring, commercial, colonizing and mari- time people of antiquity. The rapid growth of their commerce placed the carrj-ing trade of antiquity almost exclusively in the hands of the Phce- nicians. They extended their trade by establishing colonies and trading stations in distant lands, and many of these became important cities in later times. The location of these colonies indicates to some degree the extent of Phoenician commerce, and the colonies were centers from which ven- tures were made into more remote regions. The Phoenician colonies proceeded from east to west along the Mediterranean coasts, oc- cupying the chief islands. The island of Cyprus — called Kittim, or Chittim, in Scrip- ture — was a province, as well as a colony, of the Tyrians; and vestiges of their establish- ments on the island may yet be seen. Their principal settlements on Cyprus were Pa- phos, Amathus, Tamisus and Ammochosta. In the island of Rhodes were lalj-ssus and Camarius. In the vEgean sea the Phoeni- cians had stations on the islands of Thera and most of the Cyclades, and also on Thasos. In the island of Sicily were the flourishing Phoenician colonies of Lilybaeum and Panormus (Mahaneth). Their est,ab- lishments in Sicily and Sardinia were only naval stations for vessels employed in the trade with Western Europe, especially with Spain, "the Mexico or Peru of the ancient world." Spain — called Tarshish in Scrip- ture — was the country from which the Tyr- ians had the most lucrative trade; and in that country they established on the Mediterranean the colonies of Carteia and Malaca (now Malaga), and beyond the Pillars of Hercules; (now Straits of Gi- braltar) .several flourishing colonies, such as Tartcssus, on the Boetis (now Guadal- quivir), and Gades (now Cadiz), on an island near the Spanish coast; the latter of which is said to be the oldest town in Europe. These colonies soon became inde- pendent states, Tyre preferring a close alli- ance with them to retaining a political su- premacy over them. PVom Gades and Tartessus voyages were made to the west coast of Africa for apes, to the mines of Cornwall in Britain for tin, and to the coasts of the North Sea and the Baltic for amber. The principal Phcenician colonies on the Mediterranean coast in North Africa, in the modern land of Tunis, were Leptis, Hadrum- etum, Utica and Carthage; which attained a degree of splendor not reached by any other Phoenician cities, and eventually rivaled Tyre itself in wealth and magnifi- cence. The Phoenicians formed commercial stations along the coasts of Asia Minor and the shores of the Euxine, or Black Sea, be- fore the Greeks; thus establishing intercourse with Thrace, Colchis and Scythia. In the Persian Gulf the Phoenicians had trading stations on the islands of Tylos and Aradus (perhaps Bahrein), from which their vessels descended the Persian Gulf and traded with India and Ceylon, bringing diamonds and pearls from those Eastern lands. At the head of the Red Sea they had a station at Elath, or Ezion-geber, which was the start- ing-point for voyages to Ophir, a rich coun- try in the distant South or East, believed by some to have been in the South-west of Arabia, or Arabia Felix (now Yemen), by others to have been on the Eastern coast of South Africa, in the modem Sofala, and by others still to have been on the peninsula of Malacca, in the Southern part of Farther India. Ophir was famed for its gold, which the Phoenicians brought from there in large quantities. The land-trade of the Phoenicians was divided into three great branches — the Egyptian and Arabian; the Babylonian to 322 ANCIENT HISTORY.— PHOLNICI A AND SYRIA. Central Asia and the far East; and the Armenian and Scythian. From Arabia Felix (Arabia the Happy) — now called Ye- men — caravans brought through the desert such articles as frankincense, myrrh, cassia, gold and precious stones. Before the Phoe- nicians had a port on the Red Sea they brought by way of Arabia the produdls of Southern India and Africa, particularly cin- namon, ivory and ebony. The Hebrew prophet Ezekiel described this trade. The Arabian trade was mainly carried by cara- present century. vans. The Northern Arabs, especially the princes of Kedar and the Midianites, were great traveling merchants; and the Kingdom of Edom, afterwards Idumasa, in the North of Arabia, reached a high degree of com- mercial prosperity. On the sea-coast the Edomites were in possession of the ports of Elath and Ezion-geber (now Akaba), at the head of the Red Sea; in the interior they had the metropolis of Petra, whose mag- nificent remains were disco-vered in the As is charadleristic of the immutable civilization of Asia, the commer- cial caravans of anti- quity resembled those of the present da}'. Merchants traveled in bands organized like an army, conve3-ing their merchandise on the backs of camels, "the ships of the des- ert." They were es- corted by armed forces, sometimes furnished from home, but more frequently consisting of some plundering [] tribe, hired at a great -^' price, to secure the car- < avan from the exac- ^ tions and attacks of i other like marauding ^ tribes. Most of the PhcEuician trade with Egypt was overland, at least so long as Thebes was the capi- tal and metropolis of Eg)'pt; and when Mem- phis rose to preemi- nence an entire quar- ter of the city was as- signed to the Pliffini- cian merchants, and the trade hy sea to the Del- ta became important. The first brajich ol the Phoenician trade PIKr.NKIAN ARTS AXD CIMUZATION. 323 in the ICast was with Judaea and Syria. The Phcenicians depended on Palestine for their grain, and this explains the cause of their close alliance and friendship with the He- brew nation in the days of David and Solo- mon. The most important branch of Eastern trade was through Babylon with Central Asia. A considerable portion of the route lay through the Syrian desert; and, to facil- itate the passage of the caravans, two of the most remarkable cities of antiquity — Baalath (afterwards Baalbec, or Heliopolis) and Tad- mor (afterwards Palmyra) were founded in the Syrian desert by King Solomon, who de- sired to procure for his subjecfls a share in this lucrative traffic. The Northern land-trade of the Phceni- cians is thus described by the Hebrew pro- phet Ezekiel: "Javan, Tubal and Meshech, they were thj^ merchants; they traded the person-, of men and vessels of brass in thy markets. They of the house of Togarmah, traded in thy fairs with horses and horsemen and mules." But the Mediterranean sea was the great commercial highway of the Phoenicians. Spain was the richest country of the ancient world in the precious metals. The Phoeni- cian colonies reduced the natives to slavery^ and forced them to work in the mines. Saj^s the prophet Ezekiel: "Tar.shish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches; with silver, iron, tin and lead, they traded in thy fairs." From Spain the Phoenicians entered the Atlantic Ocean and proceeded to the British Isles, where they obtained tin from the mines of Cornwall; and probably from the coasts of the Baltic thej' procured amber, which was considered more precious than gold in ancient times. From their trading stations on the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, the Phoenicians traded with the coasts of India and the island of Ceylon, and with Africa. During the reign of Neko, King of Egypt, a Phoenician fleet, in a three years' voyage, discovered the pas- sage around the Cape of Good Hope, re- turning home by way of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, as we have seen in the his- tory of Egypt. Concerning the ancient Phcenicians, a certain writer says: "Though their voyages did not equal in daring those of modem times, yet, when we consider that they were ignorant of the mariner's compass, and of the art of taking accurate astronomical ob- servations, it is wonderful to reflect on the commercial enterprise of a people whose ships were to be seen in the harbors of Britain and Ceylon." SECTION IV.— PHCEXICIAN ARTS AND CIVILIZATION. ESIDES their carrs'lng trade the Phoenicians derived great wealth from their manufac- tures. The textile fabrics of the Sidonians, and the pur- ple cloths of the Tyrians, were celebrated from the most remote antiquitw The "Tyrian purple," the chief product of the Phoenicians, was a famous dye, obtained in minute drops from two shell-fish, the hiicdmun and the murcx. This purple was of a dark red-\-iolet, of various shades, ac- cording to the species of mussel employed. Cotton, linen and silk fabrics were d3-ed with this hue, but the most beautiful effects were obtained from woolen goods. The dye being very costly, it was u.sed only for stuffs of the best qualit)'. The manufadlure and use of this dye prevailed in all the Phoeni- cian cities. Homer represents his heroes as clad in Sidonian robes dyed with Tyrian purple. Vegetable dyes of exceeding beautj^ and variety were also in use, the dyeing being al- ways performed in the raw materials; and the art of producing shot colors by using threads of various tints was only understood by the Phoenicians. The Phcenicians claimed to ANCIENT HISTORY.— PHCENICIA AND SYRIA. be the inventors of glass-blowing; and, though the Eg.vptians have as good a claim to the discovery, the Phoenicians were the first to attain the highest skill in the art. Sidon and Sarepta were the chief seats of the glass-manufacture. The sand used was procured from the banks of the little river Belus, near the promontory of Cannel. Nu- merous specimens of Phoenician glass-ware j-et remain, and bear witness to the skillful workmanship of this renowned ancient peo- ple. The Phoenicians were likewise skilled in potterj-; and the Greeks acquired from them the art of making painted vases, which they afterwards carried to remarkable per- fecflion. They largely exported potterj' in exchange for tin in their vo^^ages to Corn- wall and the Scilly Isles. The Phoenicians likewise achieved great skill in bronze-work and in jewelry. The .specimens of their jewelr\' found by modern explorers testify to the wonderful skill and taste exhibited by these ancient people in this branch of in- dustry. They were also celebrated for their beautiful car\'ings in ivory. The Phoenicians also displayed some skill in agriculture. Excellent wines were pro- duced in the vicinity of Tyre, Berytus and Gebal, and also in the Lebanon mountain region. Silk, then as at present, was an important produdt. The fruits of this region were famed for their excellence and abund- ance. It was once thought that the Phoenicians invented letters, but recent investigations and discoveries throw considerable doubt upon this claim. But, while other ancient Oriental nations had ideographic systems of writing — as for example, the Egyptians — the Phoenicians had an alphabet of twenty- two letters apparently seletfted from the charadlers of the Egyptian hieratic writing. Each letter of this alphabet invariably repre- .sented one articulation, and the Phoenicians seem to have been the first people to use such a system. It is believed that the Phoe- nician alphabet was invented about the time of Avaris, one of the Shepherd Kings of Egypt, several centuries prior to the exodus of the Israelites from that country. It is the first real alphabet which has been thus far discovered; and whether the Phoenicians in- vented letters or not, they w'ere the first people to use them in their proper manner, as a system different from hierogh-phic or ideographic writing. The Phoenicians es- tablished their alphabet wherever they car- ried their commercial enterprises, and thus they instrudled other nations in the use of letters. As M. Renan truly asserts, the alphabet was a Phoenician export. According to the evidence furnished us by the Hebrew Scriptures, the Phoenicians were descended from Canaan, a son of Ham, thus implying that they were a Hamitic people; but they spoke a purely Semitic language — a language akin to that of the Hebrews, the Syrians, the Assyrians and the Semitic Babylonians. Says a certain writer: "It is certain that the Phoenician idiom differed but slightly, and in no important point, from that of the Hebrews. The iden- tity of grammatical forms and of the vocab- ulary are so complete between the Hebrew and the Phoenician, that they cannot be considered as two distindl languages, but merely as two slightly difiering dialecfts of the same language." The Phoenicians were a literar>- people at a very early day. Their written law em- braced the principles of their religion and their social and political systems. They had books treating on religion, agriculture and the pradlical arts; and the different Phoenician cities had regular archives or records in writing, going back to very early times, and preserved with wonderful care. They made remarkable progress in the sci^ ences. The Sidonian architedls were re^ gardcd as the best in Syria. In Phoenicia, particularly in Sidon, did astronomj', arith- metic, geometry, navigation and philosophy flourish; and the Sidonians endeavored to atone for the loss of their political and com- mercial supremacy among the Phoenician cities bj^ their intellecflual glory. The emi- nent charadlers of ancient Plioenicia were the historian, Sanchoniathon, of Tyre, and the philosopher, Moschus, of Sidon; both of whom are said to have flourished about the PHCKN/CIAN ARTS AND CIVILIZA'JION. 325 time of the Trojan war, in the twelfth ceu- tnry before Christ. The character of Phoenician architec- ture is shown by a few remaining buildings. Its prominent characteristic, in the words of M. Renan, " is its massive and imposing strength — a want, indeed, of finish in de- tails, but a general effect of power and grandeur. In short it is a monolithic art." The Phoenician buildings were constructed of enormous stones, similar to those yet to be seen in the lower walls of the temple at Jerusalem, which were built by Phccnician architects and masons, and like those still to be seen in the sea-wall of the ruins of Tyre. The Phoenician tombs were original in design and grand in construction. All their edifices seemed intended to last; and so durable have they been, that, notwith- standing the hard fate to which they have been subjected, many monuments of the daj's of Phoenician glory remain to give us .some light on the antiquities of this famous race of merchants and colonizers. Phoenician statuary seems to be a min- gling of the styles of Egypt and Assyria, the general form being Egyptian, while the execution is Assj-rian. There were few large statues, but many small statuettes, some of which display remarkable artistic skill, and are made of stone, while others are constructed of baked clay and bronze, exhibiting neither taste in design nor ele- gance in execution. Both kinds of statu- ettes were designed as idols, of which one or more were in ever>' Phoenician dwelling. The first class were those belonging to the wealthy; while therougher and coarser sort, made hastily and cheaply, were those found in the possession of the poor. The ancient Egyptian paintings represent the Phoenicians as having dark, florid com- plexions, and well-formed, regular features, approaching the European cast. They are also represented with blue eyes and flaxen hair. The hair, when dressed for ornament, was powdered white and covered with a net- work of blue beads, or a close cap wound around bj- a fillet of scarlet leather, with two long ends hanging down behind, in the Egj'ptian style. The Phoenician dress was usually a short cloak or cape thrown over the shoulders and extending to the elbows, and fastened at the waist by a golden girdle, which, in some ca.ses, encircled the body many times, and was tied in front with a large bow-knot. The inner garment was of fine linen, con- fined to the waist and extending almost down to the feet. The Phoenicians also wore woolen mantles and tunics, of fine tex- ture and edged with gold lace. The Egyptian paintings represent the Sidonians as allies of the Pharaohs in their wars with the Canaanites. The statesmen and merchants are represented as having long hair and beards, and with a fillet around the head. The .soldiers are depicted with short hair and beard. The arms and accouterments of the Sidonians were very elegant. The helmet was of silver, with a peculiar ornament at the crest, consisting of a disk and two horns of a heifer, or of a crescent. The breast-plate was al.so of silver, quilted upon a white linen garment, which was laced in front and extended to the arm- pits, being held by shoulder-straps. The shield was large and round, and made of iron, rimmed and studded with gold. The sword was two-edged and made of bronze. The spear was remarkably long. It is believed that the Hebrews obtained their ornaments of dress and their articles of domestic luxury from their Phoenician neighbors. Says the Jewish prophet Isaiah: ' ' In that day the Lord will take away the bra\erj' of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon; the chains, the brace- lets, and the mufflers; the bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the head-bands, and the tablets, and the ear-rings; the rings, and nose-jewels; the changeable suits of ap- parel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping-pins; the glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the veils." 326 ANCIENT HISTORY.— PHLEN/C/A AND SYRIA. SECTION v.— PHCENICIAN RELIGION. |HE Phcenician religion was a gross polytheism, and is but imperfec^tly understood, as there is no sacred book, like the Old Testament of the He- brews, or like the Zend-Avesta of the Medes and Persians, or the Vedas of the Sanskritic Hindoos, or the Ritual of the Dead of the Egyptians, to spread before us a view of the system. Neither is there any extensive range of sculptures or paintings to give us an idea of the outward aspecft of the wor- ship, as in Egypt, Assyria and Greece. Neither has any ancient writer given us any account of this religion excepting Philo Byblius, a Greek writer of the first or second century after Christ, and who was a native of Byblus. This author is quoted by Eusebius in his ' ' Evangelical Preparation ' ' several centuries later. But the work of Philo Byblius deals exclusively with Phoe- nician cosmogony and mythologj^ and thus gives us no light upon the real characfter of the religion. We are obliged to rely mainly upon the notices of the Phoenician religion bj' the writers of portions of the Old Testa- ment, upon incidental allusions by cla.ssical authors, upon inscriptions, upon the etj-mol- ogy of names, and upon occasional repre- sentations accompanying inscriptions upon stones or coins. These are, however, so disconnedled and vague as to give us but scanty and unsatisfadtory knowledge of the inner nature of the Phoenician religious system. The Phoenician religion evidently was de- rived from the same source from which the religions of Chaldsea and Assyria took their origin. It was based on the conception of one Supreme and Universal Divine Being, ' ' whose person was hardly to be distin- gui.shed from the material world, which had emanated from his substance without any distindl aift of creation." The Universal Supreme Being was usually termed Baal, meaning "the Lord." He represented the sun, which was regarded as the great agent of creative power. He was divided into a number of secondary divinities, named Baalim, who emanated from his substance and were .simply personifications of his var- ious attributes. "The supreme god, con- sidered as the progenitor of different beings, became Baal-Thammuz, called also Adon, 'the Lord,' whence the Grecian Adonis. As a preserver, he was Baal-Chon; as a destroyer, Baal-Moloch; as presiding over the decomposition of those destroyed beings whence new life was again to spring, Baal- Zebub." Other gods were El, Elium, Sadyk, Adonis, Melkarth, Dagon, Eshmuu, Shamas and Kabiri. Each divinity had his female principle, or wife. Each secondary Baal had a corres- ponding Baalath, representing the same god under a different aspedl. The female prin- ciple of the great god Baal at Sidon was Ashtoreth, or A.starte, the representative of the moon, therefore corresponding to the Grecian goddess Artemis, or Diana. The planets were worshiped under the generic title of Cabirim, the "powerful ones." Fire was likewise reverenced, and the sun and star deities were emphatically "fire gods." Movers describes the Phoenician religion as ' ' an apotheosis of the forces and laws of na- ture; an adoration of the obje(5ls in which these forces were seen, and where they ap- peared most acflive." The most cruel and licentious ceremonies accompanied the worship of the Phoenician deities. Children were burnt alive to ap- pease the wrath of Baal- Moloch; a custom carried to great excess in Carthage. There was a systematic oifering of human vi6fims as expiatory sacrifices to El and other gods. The reason for this shocking superstious custom is to be found in the words addressed by Balak to Balaam, as follows: ' 'Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow my- self before the high God ? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves PHCENICIAN RELIGION. 327 of a year old? Will the Lord be jileased \\\\.\\ thousands of rams, or with ten thou- sands of rivers of oil? Shall I give nij- first-born for my transgression, the fruit of ni}- body for the sin of my soul?" Philo Byblius says: "It was customar}- among the ancients, in times of great calamity and danger, that the rulers of the city or nation should offer up the best beloved of their children, as an expiatory sacrifice to the avenging deities; and these vi(5lims were slaughtered mystically." The Phoenicians were instru(5led that at one time the god El himself, under the pressure of extreme peril, had taken his only son, clad him in kingly attire, set him as a victim upon an altar, and killed him with his own hand. Thereafter it was the dut}- of rulers to fol- low this divine example, and private per- sons, when surrounded by diiEculties, might offer up their children to appea,se the divine anger. Porph\-ry saj-s that "the Phoenician history was full of instances, in which that people, when suffering under great calamity from war, or pestilence, or drought, chose by public vote one of those most dear to them, and sacrificed him to Saturn." The W'Orship of Ashtoreth in Phoenicia and Syria was accompanied with licentious rites. The worship of the gjeat Nature-god- dess ' ' tended to encourage dissoluteness in the lelations between the sexes, and even to sanctify impurities of the most abominable description." "This religion silenced all the best feelings of human nature, degraded men's minds bj' a Superstition alternately cruel and profligate, and we may seek in vain for any influence for good it could have ex- ercised on the nation." The religion well illustrated the moral characfter of the Phoe- nicians, who were generally insubordinate, but also ser\'ile, gloomy and cruel, corrupt and fierce, covetous and selfish, vindidlive and treacherous. Being traders in everj'- thing they were devoid of everj' kindly feeling and loftj- impulse. The Phoenicians did not worship images of their deities, and were therefore not idola- ters, in the usual acceptation of the term. In the temple of Melkarth at Gades there was no material emblem of the god whatever, exceping a constantly-burning fire. In other places conical stones, called ba-lvli, were dedicated to the different deities, and were honored with a limited adoration, being con- sidered as possessing a certain mystic virtue. These stones were sometimes replaced by pillars, which were ereefted in front of the temples and had sacrifices offered to thcni. The pillars were mostly of wood, though sometimes of stone or metal, and were called ashcrahs, "uprights," In- the Jews. On festive occasions they were adorned with boughs of trees, flowers and ribbons, and constituted the chief objecft of a worship of a sensual and debasing nature. An emblem in the Assyrian sculptures is regarded as conveying a corredl idea of the usual appear- ance of these ashcralis at such times. Phcenician worship was condudled pub- licly, and included prai.se, prayer and sacri- fice. Animals were generally sacrificed, though, as we have observed, there were frequently human sacrifices. The vidtims were usually consumed entirely upon the altars. Libations of wine were lavishly poured out in honor of the principal deities, and incense was burnt in extravagant pro- fusion. Sometimes an endeavor was made to influence the deity by vociferous and pro- longed cries, and even by self-inflicted wounds and mutilation. Festivals were fre- quently held, particularh- one at the vernal equinox, on which occasion sacrifices on a large scale were made, and vast multitudes of people assembled at the leading temples. Says Rawlinson : ' ' Altogether the religion of the Phoenicians, while possessing some redeeming points, as the absence of images and deep sense of sin which led them to sacrifice what was nearest and dearest to them to appease the divine anger, must be regarded as one of the lowest and most de- basing of the forms of belief and worship prevalent in the ancient world, combining as it did impurity with cruelty, the santftion of licentiousness with the requirement of bloody rites, revolting to the con.science, and destrudtive of anj- right apprehension of the true idea of God." 328 ANCIENT HISTORY.— PHCENICI A AND SYRLA. SECTION VI.— GEOGRAPHY OF SYRIA. |YRIA — at present a province of the Turkish Empire — now em- braces ancient Syria, Palestine and Phoenicia; thus having an area of about seventy- thousand square miles and a population of two mill- ions. It is located between the Arabian desert on the east and the Mediterranean sea on the west. The Greeks regarded Syria as including Palestine and Phoenicia, but the Jews always considered these three countries as distincft from each other. Aram was the Jewish name for Syria. Ancient Syria proper was bounded on the west by the Mediterranean, on the north by Mount Amanus, on the east by the Euphrates and Arabia, and on the south by Arabia. Its principal geographical divisions in the time of the Romans were Syria proper; Coele- Syria, or Hollow-Syria; and Commagene, in the North. The chief mountains of Syria were Ama- nus, now Al lyUcan; Casius, now Cas; Li- banus and Anti-Libanus, the Mount Leb- anon of Scripture, whose .summit is said to be perpetually capped with snow. The princi- pal rivers of Syria are the Euphrates, the Orontes and the Leontes. The small river called Eleutherus was anciently said to be haunted by a dragon, whose immense jaws could receive a mounted horseman. The Sabbatum was represented as ceasing to flow on the Sabbath. The Adonis, tinged with reddi.sh sand in the rain}' .season, was be- lieved to flow with blood on the anniversary of the death of Adonis, who was said to have been killed on its banks by a wild boar. The palm, the plane-tree and the cypress are PUBLIC G.\RDEN, D.-VMASCUS. GEOGRAPHY OF SYRIA. 3^9 among the forest trees of Syria. Grapes are produced in abundance, as are also the dif- ferent kinds of o:rain, and millet. The cli- mate is delightful. The animals of Syria are those usually found in South-western Asia. The S5'rian goat is remarkable for its be the original .seat of paradise. Antioch, the Greek capital of Syria, was celebrated for its beauty and magnificence. In the famous grove of Daphne, near Antioch, Venus was worshiped with licentious cere- monies. Hieropolis was renowned for its P.\I.MVR.\. TKIUMPH.\L .-iRCH. long hair and its pendulous ears, the hair having been a valued article of commerce for many centuries. The wolf, the jackal and the fo.K are seen in the mountains. Damascus — the chief city of ancient, as of modem, Syria — is believed by its people to temple of Venus, which was so rich that the Roman general Crassus was engaged for several days in weighing the spoils when he captured the city. Eme.s.sa had a temple to the sun. Other famous cities of ancient Syria were Tadmor, in the desert, later ANCIENT HISTORY.— PHCENICIA AND SYRIA. known as Pahnjra, and Baalbec, the Greek Heliopolis, or City of the Sun. The earhest inhabitants are beheved to have been the Aramites, or Aramseans, the descendants of Aram, Shem's j-oungest son. Some of the po.sterity of Hamath, a son of Canaan, is also said to have dwelt there in primitive times. The Hebrew Scriptures The history of Syria, like that of Asia Minor, has little political unity. Since its petty ancient states have lost their indepen- dence the countrj' has been under the suc- cessive sway of the Assyriatis, the Babylon- ians, the Medo-Persians, the Graeco-Mace- donians, the Romans, the Saracens, the Sel- juk Turks, the Mongol Tartars, and for the P.\I^MVR.\ MIDDLE CROSSING OF GR.^.ND COLONNADE ; GR.-iNITE MONOLITH. represent primeval Syria as divided into a number of small kingdoms, among which were Damascus, Hamath, Zobah and Geshur. S>ria is believed to be one of the earliest in- habited regions of the globe, and the mod- ern Syrians still have traditions represent- ing their countr}- as the oldest in the world. The vSj'rians were at first governed by numerous petty chiefs, called kings, a title which the ancient writers applied to every ruler or leader, or chief, of a communitj-. last four centuries under the Ottoman Turks. Under its present masters the coun- try has everywhere fallen into decaj-, and can scarcely be said to have any history: though in ancient and mediseval times it was the theater of many important events, having witnessed the prowess and martial deeds of Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, Pompey, Abu-bekir and Omar, Godfrey of Bouillon, Saladin and Richard the Lion- hearted, Zingis-Khan and Tamerlane. ///S/VA'}- OF DAMASCC/S. 331 SECTION VIT,— TTTSTORY OF DAMASCUS. IplREVIOUS to its organization into a satrapy of the Medo- Persian Empire, Syria had never been united under one government. During the pe- riod of Assyrian supremacy the country was divided into no less than five leading states. capital was Hamath (now Haraah); the Southern Hittites, in the region south of Hamath; and the Syrians of Damascus, whose capital was Damascus. Of all these pretty states, the most power- ful and the best-known was Syria of Damas- cus. The citv of Damascus is the oldest '^^^fi^z ARAK Ti.Ml'l.l; AT KXAl.UHC. some of which were mere loose confedera- cies. The five states were the Northern Hittites, whose capital was Carchemish, on the Euphrates; the Patena, on the Lower Orontes, whose capital was Kinalua; the Hamathites, on the Upper Orontes, whose 1— 21.-U. H. known city of the world, its existence dating as far back as the time of Abraham, about four thousand years ago. The kingdom of Damascus arose in the twelfth century be- fore Christ, after the Hebrew king Saul had vanquished the King of Zobah, one of the 332 ANCIENT HISTORY.— PHCENICI A AND SYRIA. GREAT STONE AT BAALlilX. most ancient SjTian kingdoms. Hadad, King of Damascus, assisted Hadadezar, King of Zobah, against the great Hebrew king David, but was defeated in a great battle by David, who captured Damascus, Belah and Berothai; and Hadad submitted to the supremacy of his Hebrew conqueror. Near the close of the reign of Solomon, David's illustrious successor, Rezon, King of Damascus, who had originally been a slave, revolted against the Hebrew rule and reestablished the independence of the king- dom of Damascus. Tab-rimmon, King of Damascus, was contemporary' with Abijah, King of Judah, from about B. C. 960 to B. C. 950. Ben-hadad I., his son and suc- cessor, was contemporary with Baasha in Is- rael and Asa in Judali, about from B. C. 950 to B. C. 920, and warred with Baasha and his successor, Omri. Ben-hadad II., son and successor of Ben-hadad I., was contempo- rary with Ahab, King of Israel, about B. C. goo, and warred with that monarch. He was a powerful monarch, and had thirty- two vassal kings in his army. He adorned Damascus with splendid edifices, and did much to advance the glory of his king- dom. He was finally murdered treacherously by his servant Hazael, who then usurped the throne of Damascus. Hazael was a great warrior and an able monarch, and reigned contemporaneously with Jehu, King of Israel, and Shalmaneser II., the Black Obeli.sk King of Assyria, about B. C. 850. He won several great vidlories over the armies of Israel and Judah, wresting im- portant territories from the kings of both of those nations, and forcing them to pay him tribute. He also seized Elath, on the Red Sea, and largelj^ advanced the commercial prosperity of his dominions. After his death the Syrians deified him, and thus ren- dered him an objedl of wonship. Hazael's .son and successor, Ben-hadad III.,contem- HISTORY OF DAMASCUS. 333 porary with Jehoabaz and Joasli of Israel, about B. C. 840, oppressed the Israelites, but was three times defeated by Joash, and lost the provinces which his father had wrested from the Israelites. The Syrians of Damascus were now for some time trib- utary to Jeroboam II., King of Israel. They, however, recovered their indepen- dence amid the dissensions which prevailed in Israel upon Jeroboam's death. Rezin, the last King of Damascus, became the ally of Pekah, King of Israel, against Ahaz, King of Judah, for the purpose of dethroning the latter, and putting a stranger named Tabael on the throne of David. The allied kings besieged Jerusa- lem, but without success. They, however, carried on a predatorj' war during the fol- lowing year, and the Syrians returned to Damascus with much valuable booty and many captives. Ahaz, in revenge, sent val- uable presents to Tiglath-Pileser II., King of Assyria, for the purpose of securing his aid againgst Damascus. The Assyrian king at once led an army into Sj'ria, took Damas- cus and put Rezin to death. Most of the Damascenes were carried captive to Kir, in Media, and the ancient kingdom of Damas- cus came to an inglorious end, about B. C. 732- KINGS OF DAMASCUS. KNOWN KINGS. TIME OF REIGN. CONTEMPORARY KINGS. Hadad About B. C. 1040 " " 1000 " 960-950 .... " 950-920 .... " 900 "850 "840 " 745-732 .... Da\-id in Israel. Solomon in Israel. Abijah in Judah. Baasha in Israel and Asa in Judah. Ahab in Israel. (Jehu in Israel and Shalmaueser II. \ in Assj'ria. Jehoahaz in Israel. Ahaz in Judah and Pekah in Israel. Rezon Tab-rimmon Ben-hadad I Ben-hadad II Hazaei. Ben-hadad III ***** RJEZIN H Oh 111 -. ^ u. o W W »^ P to H UJ f* 1 J2 u ri a ^ 3 H IT) CO o o DC «s H — - iA i £ Ul « H .*< ^ H z 1- Q O o ci -"s ^ Z < a 1-^ ^ '« CHAPTER Vni THE HEBREW NATION. SECTION I.— THE HEBREW PATRIARCHS. ^HILE the great mass of the vj' population of ancient Chal- dsea about two thousand j-ears , !^! before Christ were polj'theists, worshiping the multitudinous deities of the Chaldasan pantheon, there was a small Semitic band of nomads who were pure monotheists, recognizing Jehovah (or Elohim) as the only God. At this time the leader of this small band was the famous patriarch Abram, the son of Terah, and a native of "Ur of the Chaldees." This patriarch has become celebrated as the foun- der of several Semitic nations, among them the Hebrews, or Israelites, and the Arabs. During the general migration of Semitic and Hamitic tribes from Chaldaea after the death of Nimrod, Abram with his father, Terah, and his flocks and herds, removed from Ur to Haran up the Euphrates. Says the Book of Genesis: "And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Ha- ran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in- law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there." After al- luding to Terah's death in Haran, the Mo- saic narrative further says: "Now the Lord had said unto Abram,- Get thee out of thy countrs', and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee. And I will make thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make tlij' name great; and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be bles.sed." Abram's brother, Nahor, delighted with the beauty and fertility of the Mesopotamian plain, remained at Haran; while Abram, after the burial of his father, migrated with his flocks and herds, and with his wife, Sarai, and his brother's son, Eot, "and all the souls they had gotten in Haran," to the "prom- ised land of Canaan," where the new emi- grants from Mesopotamia received from the inhabitants the name ' ' Hebrews, ' ' meaning ' ' strangers from the other side, " " the men who had crossed the river, " " the emigrants from Mesopotamia." Journeying through the Syrian desert he tarried for some time at Damascus, which was then an old city. At Damascus he met his faithful ser\^ant Eliezer, whom he created "steward of his house." Thence he passed on to the south, crossing the Jordan and entering the ' ' Promised Land," halting in the valle}' of Sichem, or Shechem. The Hebrew record goes on to say: "And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said. Unto thy seed will I give this land; and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him. ' ' Abram proceeded "unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east; and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord." This country — then called Canaan, from one of Ham's sons, whose descendants had peopled it, and afterwards known as Judaea, (337 ) 338 ANCIENT HISTORY.— THE HEBREWS. and now called Palestine — was inhabited by many idolatrous tribes. Abram settled in the mountain region, where he was secure from the Canaanites, who dwelt in the more fertile plains below, but where he had but scant pasturage for his cattle. He pushed on further southward, but was driven by a famine into Egj'pt. Fearing that the Pha- raoh who then reigned over Egj'pt would be tempted by Sarai's beauty to kill him to get her in his possession, Abram passed her off as his sister. Thinking that she was an un- married woman, the Egyptian monarch took her to his house, and bestowed wealth and honors upon Abram with a lavish hand. But says the Mosaic account: "The Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. And Pharoah called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife ? Why saidst thou. She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife ; now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way. And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had." Thereupon Abram left Egypt, with his wife and with Lot, "and all that he had," and returned to Canaan. ' ' And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold." Returning to Bethel, near which he had be- fore erecfled his tent, "Abram called on the name of the Lord." "And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents." The land was not rich enough for their sustenance; and Abram and Lot here separated, because "there was strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle." Abram at first remained on the mountains, while Lot descended to the fertile plain of the Jordan, near Sodom. Abram then removed south- ward to the "oaks of Mamre," near Hebron, and that place thereafter remained his usual abode. Shortly afterward, Chedorlaomer, King of Chaldaea, who had built up the first great empire in Western Asia, invaded the South of Canaan, and conquered the five cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Bela (afterwards called Zoar), which had risen in revolt against him. In this war Lot and all his cattle were captured and carried away by the vidlorious Chaldseans. But Abram, with a band of three hundred and eighteen of his own people and a body of Amorite allies, pursued the hosts of Che- dorlaomer, and routed them near Damascus, rescuing Lot and recovering all the booty that they had taken from the five Canaanite cities. Says the Hebrew record: "After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not Abram; I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. And Abram said. Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus. And Abram said. Behold, to me thou hast given no seed; and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. And, be- hold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying. This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said. Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars if thou be able to number them; and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the Lord and counted it for righteousness. And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inhei-it it. * * * * And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflitft them four hundred years. And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterwards shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a z: 'D JJ < Jj' <. JJ •J 3 'J JJ THE PATRIARCHS. 339 smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. In that same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, sa)-ing, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates." After sojourning ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai began to despair of becom- ing the mother of Abram's heir and advised Abram to take to wife her servant Hagar, an Egyptian woman, by whom Abram had a son. Before the birth of the child, Ha- gar, puffed up with pride, treated her mis- tress with such insolence that Sarai felt con- strained to punish her. Thereupon Hagar fled into the wilderness of Kadesh, south- east of Abram's abode. "And the angel of the lyCrd said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel of the Lord said unto her. Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the lord hath heard thy afHicflion. And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against ever}^ man, and every man's hand against him; he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren." Hagar returned to her mistress before the child was boni, and Abram named the child Ishmael. He is regarded as the progenitor of the Bedouin Arabs, who have always lived in a wild state. Regarding Ishmael as the heir promised him by Jehovah, Abram treated him with fatherly affecflion. We are further told that "when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord ap- peared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfedl. And I will make my cove- nant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face; and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abra- ham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceed- ing fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will estaljlish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their genera- tions for an everla.sting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy .seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an ever- lasting possession; and I will be their God. And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which j'e shall keep, be- tween me and you and thy seed after thee; every man-child among you shall be cir- cumcised. * * * * Afi£j Qod said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her; yea, I will bless her and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. H; * * * * ^jj^ QqjJ said, Sarah thj- wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac; and I will estab- lish my covenant with him for an everlast- ing covenant, and with his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee; Be- hold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceed- ingl}'; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my cov- nant I will establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abra- ham." Abraham and Ishmael and all the males of his hou.sehold were then circum- cised. We are told that some time after this, when Abraham was sitting at the door of his tent, he saw three men approaching. He at once arose and greeted them with a heartj^ welcome, and urged them to remain for the night. They accepted his invitation, and when they had partaken of the meal placed before them they revealed themselves to him, one as the angel Jehovah and the other two as attendant angels. It is said that the angels renewed to Abraham the Lord's promise that Sarah should bear him 340 ANCIENT HISTORY.-- THE HEBREWS. a son within a year; and that Sarah, who was within the tent, hearing them, and be- ing ninety years old, laughed at this predic- tion; whereupon the angel reproved her for her skepticism, and reassured Abraham of the Divine promise. The angels, we are then told, went toward Sodom, accompanied part of the way by Abraham. In consideration of the favor with which the Lord Jehovah re- garded Abraham as the founder of his chosen people, the angels informed him of the Di- vine purpose to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities of the plain as a punishment for their extreme wickedness, and told him that they were on their way to warn Lot and his family to save themselves by flight from the doomed cities. After the depart- ure of the angels, we are told that Abraham vainly interceded for the cities; and that the Lord, in response to the patriarch's prayer, promised that if ten righteous men could be found in the cities he would spare them, but that even so small a number could not be found. Lot and his family, in obedience to the angels' warning, fled from Sodom; but his wife, in disregard of the warning, looked back, and, says the Scrip- tural record, ' ' became a pillar of salt. ' ' Sod- om, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim were destroyed by a dreadful convulsion of nature, not a single individual escaping the terrible doom. Says the Hebrew account: "And the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Go- morrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; and he overthrew all those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabi- tants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground." Lot and his daughters sought refuge in Zoar, which was spared, we are told, in answer to his prayer; but fearing to remain there. Lot fled to the hill country, and found refuge in a cave east of the Dead Sea. There occurred the incestu- ous birth of Moab and Amnion, the respedl- ive ancestors of the Moabites and the Am- monites, whom Moses and Joshua found set- tled in the region east of the Jordan and the Dead Sea. Soon after the destrucflion of the cities of the plain, Abraham proceeded to the south, establishing his abode in the tract between Egypt and Canaan. He concluded a treaty with the king of the country, named Abi- melech, beside a well, which he named Beer- sheba (the Well of the Oath), in memory of the event. During his residence at Beer- sheba, his wife, Sarah, gave birth to the long-promised heir, who was circumcised and called Isaac. When Isaac was weaned the patriarch celebrated the occasion by a feast, during which Sarah observed Ishmael taunting Isaac, thus exciting her anger. She asked her husband to send Hagarand Ishmael away, so that Isaac might have no rival in his father's house. Abraham hesitated, as he had a paternal affecftion for Ishmael. ' ' And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be griev- ous in thy sight because of the lad, and be- cause of thy bond-woman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, harken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy .seed be called. And also of the son of the bond-woman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed." The next morning Hagar and her son were furnished with provisions and sent away. Wandering in the wilderness of Beer-sheba, they were in danger of perishing from thirst, when, it is said, they were rescued bj^ an angel. After growing up in the wilderness, Ishmael became a skillful archer. His mother obtained for him a wife from her own peo- ple, the Egyptians, and from him are de- scended the Bedouin Arabs. The Koreish tribe, which inhabited Mecca, regarded themselves as the direcfl descendants of Ishmael. The chief sancfluary of this tribe was the Caaba, believed by them to have been built by Ishmael and Abraham. Among the descendants of this tribe was Mohammed, the great prophet and founder of I.slam. Abraham seems to have lived at Beer- sheba many years. During his residence there, we are told, his faith in Jehovah was put to its severest test. Says the Scriptural account: "And it came to pass after these things that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham; and he said. Be- hold, here I am. And he said, Take thy son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee THE PATRLIKCIIS. 341 into the land of Moriah; and offer him for a l)urnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." With a sad heart, we are told that Abraham obeyed the Divine command, and taking Isaac with him to the land of Moriah, which is believed to be the hill on which the great temple at Jerusalem afterwards was built, he there built an altar and prepared to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice, when, says the narrative, "the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham; and he said, Here am I. And he said, Laj' not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him; for now, I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me." The patriarch, seeing a ram caught by its honis in the bushes, offered it as a sacrifice instead of his son. "And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord; for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son; That in ble.ssing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall pos.sess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obej^ed my voice." Some time after this Abraham returned to his old home at Mamre, near Hebron, where Sarah died. After purchasing the cave of Machpelah from the Hittites of Hebron, then called Kirjath-Arba, Abraham buried Sarah there; and the cave became his family sepulcher. After Sarah's burial Abraham returned to Beer-sheba. As he felt his end approaching, he determined to secure a wife for his son Isaac; and, in order that Isaac's posterity might be a pure race, he resolved to .secure one of his kindred as a bride for his son. For this reason he .sent his stew- ard, Eliezer, to Mesopotamia, binding him by a solemn oath to seledl from his own family a wife fOr Isaac. Reaching Haran, Eliezer met the family of Bethuel, the son of Nahor, Abraham's brother. He chose Rebekah, the youngest and most beautiful daughter of the house, who, upon hearing of his mission, agreed to leave her own family and become her cou.sin Isaac's wife. Going with Eliezer to Canaan, she was greeted with joy by Isaac and his father. Isaac was said to have been forty years old when he married. After a marriage of twenty years Rebekah gave birth to twin sons — one called Esau and also Edom (the Red), on account of his ruddy complexion; the other name Jacob (the Supplanter). After Isaac's marriage, Abraham took an- other wife, named Keturah, by whom he had six sons, one of whom was Midian, the ancestor of the Midianites, who occupied the region between the Dead Sea and the Elanitic gulf of the Red Sea, to the east of the Nabsetheans. Abraham lavished gifts upon these sons, but sent them out of Canaan, which was reserved exclusively as the inheritance of Isaac, to whom the patri- arch bequeathed all his vast wealth. Abra- ham died at Beer-sheba " in a good old age, and full of years." His .sons, Isaac and Lshmael, buried him in the family tomb in the cave of Machpelah. Thus ended the career of the renowned patriarch who was the ancestor of the Israelites, the Bedouin Arabs, the Edomites and the Midianites. After Abraham's death Isaac continued to dwell by the well of Lahai-roi, in the ex- treme South of Canaan, or Palestine, where his sons grew to manhood. Esau was a reckless man, an expert hunter, and his father's favorite. He was rough and hairy in appearance, and caused his parents much trouble. W'hen forty years old he married two Hittite wives, contrary to his father's wish; thus introducing heathen alliances into the chosen family. Jacob was peaceful and prudent — ready to obtain by cunning and intrigue what Esau sought to procure by violent means. He was smooth-skinned, and fond of the peaceful occupation of the shepherd and the quiet life of the tent. Jacob was his mother's favorite. As Esau came in one day, tired and hun- gry from the chase, he saw Jacob preparing a mess of red lentils, and asked him for 342 ANCIENT HISTORY.— THE HEBREWS. "some of that red." Jacob aSked Esau's birth-right in payment for the mess; and Esau, simply to gratify his appetite for the moment, agreed to the demand, thus "sell- ing his birth-right for a mess of pot- tage." For this proceeding St Paul calls him " a. pfofaitc person, who for one mor.sel of food sold his birthright." Jacob, by his craft, became the head of the cho-sen family, and the progenitor of the chosen race. When, in his old age, Isaac felt that his end was near, he informed Esau of his design of transmitting to him the patri- archal authority, and ordered him to prepare a feast for the occasion. Esau started to obtain venison, of which his father was very fond, whereupon Rebekah informed Jacob of her husband's intention. With her help Jacob craftily passed him.self off upon his father as Esau, thus securing the patriarchal blessing, which made him the head of his family, aud which, when once given, was irrevocable. Esau now returned from the chase, and was apprised of the trick by which he had been defrauded of his inherit- ance. His anger and grief were great. "He cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father. ' ' The spiritual bles.s- ing, having passed to Jacob, could not be recalled, but Isaac blessed Esau by promis- ing him ^reat earthly prosperity, qualified by submisson to his brother, whose yoke he should eventually break. Concerning this promise. Dr. William Smith, in his History of the Bible, says: "The prophecy was ful- filled in the prosperity of the Idumaeans, their martial prowess, and their constant con- flidts with the Israelites, by whom they were subdued under David, over whom they triumphed at the Babylonian captivity, and to whom they at last gave a king in the per- son of Herod the Great. ' ' Thenceforth Esau was resolved to kill Jacob, delaying his design until after Isaac's death. Becoming aware of this, Rebekah induced her husband to send Jacob to her kindred for safety. Isaac was glad to do this, to procure a wife of pure blood for Jacob. Taking his staff Jacob started for Mesopotamia, taking the route by which Abraham had entered Canaan. Upon arriv- ing at Abraham's old encampment at Bethel, he remained there all night, taking a stone for a pillow. "And he dreamed, and be- hold! a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And behold! the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac; the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth; and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And behold I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of." When Jacob awoke he acknowledged the Divine presence by erecfting an altar on the spot, which he named Bethel (the Hou.se of God), and solemnly dedicated himself and all that Jehovah should give him to the .serv- ice of the Almighty. This was the turning point in Jacob's religious life, and occurred when he had reached a good age. Proceeding on his journey, Jacob at length reached the home of his uncle La- ban, his mother's brother, at Padan-Aram. There he was heartily welcomed, and fell in love with his beautiful cousin Rachel, the youngest daughter of Laban. Entering his uncle's ser\'ice as a shepherd for wages, he asked of Laban the hand of Rachel, offering to serve him seven years for her. Laban, more crafty than Jacob, accepted this offer, but, taking advantage of the marriage cus- toms of the country, gave his eldest daugh- ter, Leah, who suffered with sore eyes, and could not easil}' be disposed of, in marriage to his nephew. Jacob was indignant at the fraud pratfticed upon him, but was obliged to submit, and consented to serve Laban seven years longer for his beloved Rachel. In the progress of these years eleven sons and a daughter were born to Jacob. I^eah's THE PATRIARCHS. 343 sons were Reuben, Simeon, I^vi, Judah, Issacliar and Zebulun. Rachacl bore Jacob one son, named Joseph. Leah bore him a daughter, named Dinah. Jacob had four sons with two concubines. Rachacl's hand- maid, Billah, Ijore him Dan and Naphtali; and I^ah's handmaid, Zilpah, bore him Gad and Asher. After the birth of Joseph, Jacob's young- est and favorite child, the son of Rachel, Jacob desired to return to his own countr\-, but Laban prevailed upon him to ser\'e him longer for a part of his flocks, Jacob's por- tion to be distinguished by certain marks. Laban endeavored to defeat this arrange- ment by trickery; but Jacob, more expert in cattle-breeding, foiled him and obtained most of the produce of the flocks. At length Jacob became rich in "cattle, and maidservants and manservants, and camels and asses." After sojourning twenty j-ears with Laban the Scriptural record says, ' ' the Lord said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to th}- kindred; and I will be with thee." Fearing that Laban would de- tain him, Jacob secretly set out on his re- turn to Canaan; and after crossing the Eu- phrates, he passed through the desert by the great fountain of Palmyra, traveled across the eastern portion of the plain of Damas- cus and the plateau of Bashan, and entered the mountain land of Gilead, east of the Jor- dan, which constitutes the frontier between Palestine and the Syrian desert. There La- ban with a considerable force overtook him. Rachel had taken along her father's house- hold efiFecfls, and now, by an ingenious de- vice, succeeded in concealing them. ' ' And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him. Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad." Not finding his idols, Laban made a treaty with Jacob and set up a pile of stones as a witness of it. ' ' And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host; and he called the name of that place Mahanaim." Approaching Mount Seir, of which his brother Esau had become the powerful chieftain, Jacob was .seriously alarmed, fear- ing that Esau might kill him in revenge for the loss of his birthright, and seize his fam- ily and flocks. He sent him a conciliator^' message, and Esau came to him at the head of four hundred warriors. Jacob, in great alarm, prepared to meet the peril which menaced him, dividing his people and his flocks into two portions. Then he prayed to Jehovah, after which he sent rich presents to his brother, and then rested for the night. He arose before day the next morning, and sent his wives and children over the Jabbok. remaining behind to prepare by solitary meditation for the day's trials. While he tarried ' ' a man ' ' made his appearance and wrestled with him until the break of day And when "the man" obser\-ed "that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless nie. And he said unto him, What is thy name ? And he said, Jacob. And he said. Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel; for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked him and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said. Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name ? And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel; for I lia-ve seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. " It is said that Jacob never recovered from the lameness caused by the angel's touch, and in memory of this the Israelites, in after times, would not eat of the sinew in the hollow of the thigh. Descending into the valley of the Jabbok, Jacob met Esau, who gave him a brotherly welcome. He had long before forgiven his brother for defrauding him of the spiritual blessing which his father had designed for him, and was satisfied with the earthly pros- perity' which he had achieved. After a pleasant interview between the brothers, Esau returned to Mount Seir. and Jncob .U4 ANCIENT HISTORY.— THE HEBREWS. proceeded on his journey to the Jordan, crossing the stream at Succoth. Entering Canaan, he moved on to Shechem, which was then a considerable town of the Amor- ites. He bought a piece of land from these people, and this was the first possession of the chosen family in the " Promised Land." There Jacob eredled an altar to the ' ' God of Israel," and renewed his promise to serine Him. He likewise dug a \vell, which is yet .shown there, and known as "Jacob's well." Jacob was now to experience the greatest trials of his life. Shechem, son of Hamor, prince of the Shechemites, carried off and outraged his daughter, Dinah, and notwith- standing he subsequentlj' demanded her in marriage, Jacob's sons resolved to avenge the wrong done to their sister. They agreed to the marriage, and, throwing the Shechem- ites off their guard, treacherously attacked them, killed all the males, pillaged the city, and carried off the women and children, and likewise the flocks and herds. Jacob was intensely indignant at this treacherous act; and, in fear that the Canaanites would en- deavor to avenge the massacre of their brethren, removed with his family and pos- sessions to Bethel, whence he proceeded southward towards Mamre, where his father, Isaac, was yet living. In the vicinity of Bethlehem his beloved wife, Rachel, died in giving birth to Benjamin, and was buried at that place. Her tomb is preserved to this daj\ Jacob then proceeded to Mamre where he rejoined his father. It was some years after this that Isaac died, when his sons, Esau and Jacob, buried him in the cave of Machpelah. He died about thirteen years after Joseph had been sold b}' his brethren. Joseph, Rachel's eldest son, was Jacob's favorite, upon whom his father bestowed such repeated and distinguishing marks of his affe(5lion as to excite the envy of his other sons. By playing the part of a spy upon his brothers, and informing their father of their misdeeds, Joseph won the implacable hatred of his brethren. When yet a mere lad he dreamed several remark- able dreams, which he regarded as por- tending his future greatness at the ex- pense of his bretheni, and he verj' indis- creetly apprised them of these dreams. They at once resolved to put him out of the way; and when Joseph had been sent by his father to visit his brethren, who were feeding their flocks at Shechem, they determined to assassinate him. Reuben, the eldest son, prevailed upon his brothers not to kill Joseph outright, but to cast him into a dry well, where he would perish from hunger; intending to rescue him afterwards. Thej^ agreed to this; but while Reuben was tem- porarily absent, they sold Joseph to a cara- van of Midianitish merchants, who were on their journey to Egypt. Returning to their father, they made him believe that Joseph had been killed by some wild beast. Joseph was carried to Egypt by his pur- chasers, who sold him as a bond-slave to Potiphar, or Petephra, an officer of the Egyptian army. Winning the favor of his master, Joseph was made superintendent of his house. Potiphar' s wife conceiving an unlawful passion for Joseph and being re- pulsed by him, in revenge, brought an in- famous accusation against him, causing him to be cast into prison by his master. His good behavior won for him the fa-\'or of the prison officials, who conferred iipon hini im- portant duties. Among the prisoners were the chief cup- bearer and the chief cook of the reigning Pharaoh, who had been imprisoned for com- plicity in a conspiracy at the court of the king. Each of these prisoners dreamed a dream prophesying his fate. Relating their dreams to Joseph, the latter interpreted them. His interpretation was verified, the chief cupbearer being pardoned and restored to office, and the chief cook being executed, as he had predidled. The fortunate man promised to intercede for Joseph, but forgot him for two years, when the king, having had two dreams which caused him much trouble, and which the wise men of Egypt could not explain, the chief cupbearer re- membered Joseph and informed the Pharaoh of the Hebrew prisoner's interpretation of his own dream and its fulfillment. The Pharaoh thereupon sent for Joseph and told TIIF. PAI'RIARCHS. 345 him of his dreams. Joseph told him that his dreams were prophetic, and were sent by God to warn him that Egypt would be blessed by seven years of rich harvests, which would be followed by seven years of dreadful famine. He urged the monarch to prejiare for the famine by gathering stores of grain at certain points in the country dur- ing the years of abundance. Egypt was then divided into two king- doms, Upper Egypt being governed by a native Egyptian dyna.sty of Theban princes, and Lower Egypt being ruled by those Canaanite or Hittite conquerors known in Egyptian history as the Hyksos, or Shep- herd Kings. These latter had adopted the Egyptian customs and language. The Pharaoh who sent for Joseph was one of this dynast}-, and was called Apophis, or Apepi. As he was himself of foreign origin, this monarch did not indulge in the native Egyptian dislike of foreigners. Impressed with Joseph's interpretations of his dreams, Apepi at once declared that Joseph was the best man in the land to make the provision he had .suggested against the famine. He therefore made the stranger his prime-min- ister, giving him his signet-ring in proof of the royal favor. Joseph was clothed in magnificent apparel, and received the Egyp- tian name of Zaph-n-to, the ' ' Nourisher of the Country;" while all .subje<5ts were com- manded to render him implicit obedience. He also received a bride in the person of Asenath, daughter of Petephra, the High Priest of On (afterwards Heliopolis), by whom he had two sons, Manasseh and Eph- raim. Joseph collecfted vast stores of grain from the abundant harvest in public granaries, which he constructed for the purpose. This he accomplished by doubling the usual royal impost of one-tenth of the grain. When the period of famine commenced he had stores of grain sufficient to supply the Egyp- tian population, and to sell to the neighbor- ing nations which suffered from the famine. He sold to the Egyptian people on very hard conditions, requiring them to surrender, in return for the food which saved them from starvation, the fee simple of their lands, and to pay a quitrent of one-fifth of the produce for the right of occupation. The priests were exempt from this arrangement, and had the right to draw supplies from the public stores. As the famine reached that portion of Ca- naan in w^hich Jacob was living, he sent his sons to Egypt to purchase grain. Thej- did not know Joseph, although he recognized them at once. He subjedled them to a se- ries of trials, partly as a punishment for their condudt towards him, and partly to .subjecT: their affedion for their father and for their brother Benjamin to a test; after which he made him.self known to them, for- gave them for the wrongs which they had infli(5led upon him, and brought them and their father into Egypt, where he would be able to provide for them. The Pharaoh willingly allowed them to .settle in that por- tion of Eow-er Egypt east of the Delta known as "the land of Goshen." In this proceeding the Pharaoh was only carrying out a leading policy of the Shepherd Kings, encouraging the development in Egj'pt of a non-Egyp- tian element to support them in case of a formidable revolt of the native Egyptian population. Jacob died seventeen years later, blessing his sons and declaring that the posteritj- of Judah should inherit the Divine promises to Abraham and should rank as the head of the chosen famil}-; Reuben, Simeon and Levi — the three elder sons of Jacob — having forfeited their succession by their crimes. Jacob's body was embalmed in the usual Egyptian style, and was cairied in great state by Joseph and his brethren, with a formidable escort of Egj'ptian troops, back to Canaan, and was interred in Abraham's tomb at Hebron. Joseph reached a vener- able age, enjoying high honors, and contin- uing to be the protedlor of his family. On his death-bed he exacted a .solemn oath from his brethren that his embalmed body should be conveyed to the land of Canaan when his Hebrew countrymen should lea\-e Egypt. 346 ANCIENT HISTORY.— THE HEBREWS. SECTION IT.— THE EXODUS AND WANDERINGS. v__^ ^| HE real history of the Hebrew ^/l^M'c^\ nation, now called Israelites, only commences with their exodus from Egypt. The three great patriarchs — Abra- ham, Isaac and Jacob — and their posterity, were simply wandering nomads, roaming over the Promised Land of Canaan, but not possessing any portion of it. The Hebrews, or Israelites, remained in the fertile land of Goshen for over two cen- turies, and multiplied so rapidly that the family of seventy persons which had entered Eg>'pt with Jacob grew to be a nation of almost three million people. They consti- tuted a people distin<5l from the Egyptians, having their own language, manners, reli- gion and patriarchal government. Although they had somewhat departed from the pure monotheism of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, they never adopted the Egyptian polytheism. They were governed diredlly by their own patriarchal chiefs, who were responsible to the Egyptian king for the coUedlion of the taxes imposed upon the Hebrew colony. During this period the native Egyptian dynasty reigning at Thebes expelled the Shepherd Kings from Lower Egypt, and united all Egypt into one great kingdom. This native dynasty was one of the greatest that ever occupied the throne of Egypt, and its monarchs appear to have favored the Hebrew colony in the land of Goshen. But when the Eighteenth Dynasty, which had driven out the Shepherd Kings, was succeeded by the Nineteenth Dynasty, the Egyptian policy toward the Hebrews changed. This new dynasty of Pharaohs considered the Hebrews very dangerous on account of their rapid increase and their location, and infli(5led upon them a series of cruel persecutions, with the design of weakening their power and destroying them as a nation. This oppressive policy was in- augurated by Rameses the Great, the most renowned of Egyptian kings, who was a great conqueror and a heartless tyrant. He oppressed the Israelites with overwork, and forced them to labor under brutal taskmasters in building the treasure cities of Pithom and Ramses. In spite of his cruelty and oppress- sion — in spite of the heavy burdens which he imposed upon the Hebrews — their num- bers continued to increase rapidly. Alarmed and enraged at this, the despotic monarch ordered all the Hebrew male children to be cast into the Nile as soon as they were bom. The female children were spared to furnish wives for the Egyptians. By this means the great Pharaoh expecfted to wholly extermin- ate the race of Israel. Amram, a man of the tribe of Levi, had married Jochebed, a woman of the same tribe. They had two children- — a son named Aaron and a daughter named Miriam. Soon after the Pharaoh had issued his cruel edidl, Jochebed gave birth to a second son, and concealed him for three months from the king's ofScers. Not being able to hide him any longer, she put him in a basket, or ark, of bulrushes, covered with pitch, and placed him among the flags on the bank of the Nile, where the infant was discovered by the daughter of the Pharaoh, who had gone down to the river to bathe. Touched with pity, the princess had the child brought to her. She gave it to Jochebed, who offered herself as nurse, and commanded her to rear the boy as ' ' the son of Pharaoh's daughter. ' ' She gave the child the name Moses, mean- ing ' ' drawn out of the water. ' ' When the boy had grown to manhood his mother took him to the princess, who had him educated as one of the royal family, and he became learned "in all the wisdom of the Egyp- tians," and was instrudled in military sci- ence. A tradition represents him when reaching manhood as holding an important command in the Egyptian anny in an expe- dition sent against Ethiopia. Notwithstanding his fortunate lot, and the high favor he enjoyed at court, Moses MOSES. THE EXODUS AND WANDERINGS. 347 felt deeply the wrongs infli(5led upon his Hebrew countrymen. He reflecfted upon their suflferings, and often went among them to cheer them. On one occa.sion, when he was forty years of age, he killed an Egyp- tian whom he had seen cruelly beating a Hebrew. For thi.s homicide Mo.ses was obliged to flee from Egypt for his life. He sought refuge in the peninsula of Sinai, and at length found himself in the laud of Mid- ian, where there was a tribe ruled by a chief and priest named Jethro. By defend- ing Jethro's daughters from the violence of some shepherds who endeavored to drive them away from a well where they were watering their flocks, Moses was invited by the chief to come to his home and was urged to remain with him. Moses accepted Jethro's invitation and received the chiefs daughter, Zipporah, as a wife. Moses remained with Jethro manj- 5-ears, during which Rameses the Great died, and the Pharaoh Menepta as- cended the throne of Egypt. Menepta pur- sued his predecessor's oppressive policy to- ward the Hebrews. In their bitter distress the Hebrews prayed for the aid of the Lord Jehovah, the God of their fathers. At length, Avhen Moses had led his flock to a remote portion of Mount Horeb, we are told that he was startled by what appeared to be a burning bush. The Hebrew record says: "And the angel of the Eord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now- turn aside and see this great sight, whj- the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said. Here am L And he said. Draw not nigh thither; put ofi" thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. "And the Lord said, I have surely seen the I afflidlion of my people, which are in Ivgypt, ' and have heard their cry by reason of theii taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebu- sites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me; and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egj'ptians oppress them. Come now there- fore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou ma5'est bring forth my people the chil- dren of Israel out of Egypt." It is further related that Jehovah revealed to Moses his design of making him the leader and the divine mouthpiece in this great movement. Moses timidly shrank from this position, but it is said that Jehovah reassured him and associated with him his brother, Aaron, who was to be his spokesman to the Egyptian king and to the Hebrews. The whole projedl of Jehovah is said to have been revealed to Moses, who was commanded to make it known to the Elders of the tribes. Jehovah, we are further told, direcfled Moses to return to Egypt, assemble the Elders of his people, disclose his mission to them, and, after secur- ing their obedience, to go before the Pharaoh and demand pennission for the Israelites to depart from Egypt. Jehovah, it is also said, told Moses that the Pharoah would not grant this demand, but that He would displaj- His power over Egypt and avenge the suffering of His ' ' chosen people " b}^ a series of pun- ishments in the nature of plagues such as Egypt had never endured at any other period of its history'. Moses thereupon started on his return to Egypt, meeting on the way his brother Aaron, who is also said to have been di- vinely dire<5led to look for him. The two brothers returned to Egj'pt, and, summoning the Elders of the Israelites, submitted to them the message from Jehovah. The peo- ple consented to obey the Divine will, ami 34^* ANCIENT HISTORY.— THE HEBREWS. promised to faithfull}- execute all the com- mands of Jehovah. We are told that the Pharaoh not only contemptuously refused to permit the Israel- ites to depart, but increased their burdens. Moses, it is said, complained to Jehovah that his effort for their release only brought sorrow and aflSicflion upon his Hebrew coun- trymen; but was encouraged by the predic- tion that, although the Pharaoh would steadily refuse for some time to release the Israelites, and that he would steadily in- crease their hard tasks, y&V Jehovah would break the obstinate pride of the Egyptian king and force bin: to agree to allow the Hebrews to depart. Moses and Aaron again asked repeatedly the Pharaoh Menepta to consent to the departure of the Israelites, but were as often refused. We are further told that Jehovah punished the king's re- fusals by inflidling upon Egypt ten violent plagues. These are enumerated as follows: I. The waters of the Nile, the sacred river of Egypt, and the main support of its water supply, became red like blood and offen- sively putrid. As they were not able to use these waters, the Egyptians were obliged to sink wells along the banks of the river to obtain water to drink. 2. Frogs increased to such an extent as to become a dreadful pest to the Egyptians. 3. Swarms of lice covered the land, producing great suffering alike to man and beast. These increased and were a dreadful anno5^ance to the scru- pulou-sly-cleanly Eg}'ptians, and were like- wise a religious defilement. 4. Clouds of flies, or beetles, covered the countr}', swarmed in the houses, and devoured the harvest and shrubberJ^ The beetle being an objedl of worship to the Egyptians, they were thus scourged through their own gods. 5. An epizootic disease appeared among the cattle, carrying off great numbers of them. 6. A grievous afflicftion of boils and blains broke out on the bodies of the Egyptians and their beasts. Dr. Smith says: "This plague seems to have been the black leprosy, a fear- ful kind of elephantiasis, which was long remembered as the 'blotch of Egypt.' It also rendered the Egyptians religiously un- clean." 7. A fearful hail stonn, accom- panied with thunder and lightning, devas- tated the country, destroying the crops and killing men and beasts. 8. Swarms of locusts overspread the land, devouring what the hail had left. 9. A remarkable darkness en- veloped the country', and for three days the people could not see each other, or follow their daily pursuits. None of these visita- tions afHidled the land of Goshen, the dwell- ing-place of the Hebrews. It is said that the Pharaoh, terrified and humbled by these sufferings, more than once sent for Moses and Aaron, and implored them to in- duce Jehovah to release the Egyptians from these sufferings; but as soon as one plague ceased, the king's obstinate pride returned, and he refused to allow the Israelites to de- part from Egypt. The Mosaic record now tells us that the tenth and most dreadful plague was sent upon the land. It is said that Jehovah ordered Moses to institute the Feast of the Passover, which, marking the commence- ment of the Hebrew national history, was made the beginning of the Jewish year. Minute diredtions were given concerning the manner of celebrating the fea.st, no deviation being permitted from it, and the feast being made an annual celebration — a perpetual memorial of the deliverance of the Hebrew nation from the Egyptian bondage. Then says the Mosaic account: "And it came to pass that at midnight the Lord smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the first-bom of the captive that was in the dungeon ; and all the first-boni of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead." Completely subdued in his haughty spirit by this last terrible visitation upon his sub- jecfts, the Pharaoh Menepta sent for Moses and Aaron and urged them to lead their countrymen out of Egj'pt at once. By or- der of Moses, the Hebrews asked the Egyp- tians for jewels of silver and gold and rai- THE EXODUS AND WANDERINGS. 349 ment, which ck-niaiuls were immediately complied with. The ICgj'ptians were glad to have the Israelites out of the country, fearing that any further delay would cause further suffering. Under the leadership of Mo.ses, the He- brews started upon their march, taking the embalmed body of Joseph along with them. They numbered six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. These, with the multitude following them, and con- sisting probably of other Semitic races, nomadic in their habits, who were doubtless glad of this opportunity to escape from Egj'pt, swelled the Israelite host to almost three millions of people. The Mosaic nar- rative saj-s: "And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way ; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light, to go by day and night; He took not away the pillar of the cloud by da}-, nor the pillar of fire bj' night, from before the people. ' ' After a march of three days the Israelites reached the head of the Red Sea, or Gulf of Suez, which then extended much farther north than at present. Meanwhile the Pharaoh Menepta, regret- ting that he had allowed the Israelites to de- part from Eg^'pt, pursued them with a vast host, and came up with them as they were encamped near the Red Sea. Says the Mosaic account: "And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a stroug east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots and his horsemen. And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians, through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the EgA'ptians. And took off their char- iot wheels, that they drave them heavily; so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them 1-22.-U. H. against the Egyptians. And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters maj- come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters re- turned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. But the chil- dren of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hands of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea- shore. And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians; and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and his .sen-ant Moses." In accordance with the chronology- fixed upon by English Egyptologists the Exodus must have occurred about B. C. 1320. Among the various dates assigned to this great event in Jewish national historj- are the years B. C. 1652 and B. C. 1491. After reaching the eastern shore of the Red Sea, the Israelites proceeded down the peninsula of Sinai towards the mountain peak of the same name, instead of going direcflly to the Promised Land. For forty years, we are told in the Mosaic account, did the Israelites wander in the "Wilder- ness" in the desert region of North-western Arabia. We are also told that Jehovah pro- vided for the temporal wants of his chosen people, sweetening the bitter waters of the region through which they passed, making water gush forth from a rock to appease their thirst, and sending them food, first in the shape of quails, and aftenvard in the form of manna, the latter falling with the dew every morning in the camp. Only a day's supply of manna is said to have been allowed to be gathered, except on the sixth day, when a suflicient quantity was gathered 350 ANCIENT HISTORY.— THE HEBREWS. to last two days, so that the people could scrupulously obsen^ei the Sabbath. This heavenly supply is ^id to have continued every day during the forty years' ' ' Wander- ings in the Wilderness. ' ' When they arrived at Rephidim, believed to be the Wady-Feiran of the present day, the Israelites were attacked by the Amale- kites, who endeavored to stay their advance into the Sinaitic peninsula. The Hebrew army led by Joshua, the future conqueror of Canaan, gained the vic5tory. The Israel- ites then moved on to Mount Sinai, and encamped in the plain and in the ravines in the vicinity of that con.secrated mountain. We are now told that Jehovah descended upon Mount Sinai, and amid thunder and lightning delivered the law to the Hebrew nation. The Mosaic account says that Moses was called up into the mountain by Jehovah, and that the people promised obedi- ence to His Ten Commandments. Says the narrative: ' ' Then went up Moses, and Aaron, and Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the Elders of Israel; and they saw the God of Israel. =i= * * * And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there; and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them. And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua ; and Moses went up into the mount of God. * * * * And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. And the glory of the Lord abode upon Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days; and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount; and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights." During this time we are informed that Jehovah revealed to Moses minute diredtions afterwards embodied in the ' ' Laws of Moses," which constituted the civil and re- ligious systems of the Hebrew nation. The Mosaic record says that the Ten Command- ments were engraven on tablets of stone by the hand of Jehovah himself The Decalogue, or Ten Commandments, and the other Laws of Moses were preserved in the Ark of the Covenant. The affairs of religion were conducfled by the High Priest and Levites. vSacrifices of animals, and the feasts of the Passover, the Pentecost and the Tabernacles, formed the bond between Jehovah and His "chosen people." Every fiftieth year — the j'ear of Jubilee — a new and equal distribution of the lands was made. The civil government established by- Moses for the Hebrew nation was a theo- cratic system, and the Elders of the Twelve Tribes of Israel condudled the government in Jehovah's name. During the long absence of Mo.ses on Mount Sinai the Israelites, in disregard of their covenant with Jehovah, we are told, compelled Aaron to make a golden calf, in imitation of the Egyptian bull-deity Apis. They abandoned themselves to the worship of this idol; and Moses, upon returning to them from the mountain, found them thus occupied. Overcome with anger, he rallied the tribe of Levi, and attacked the idolaters with the sword, killing three thousand of them and destroying the idol. The people acknowledged the justice of their punish- ment, and promised to shun idolatry in the future. In consequence of their loyalty to Jehovah on this occasion, the Levites were constituted the sacerdotal class of the Israel- iti.sh nation. The Israelites sojourned on Mount Sinai eleven months and twenty days, during which the second celebration of the Pass- over was held. This long halt was a busy season in the life of the nation. The He- brews had arrived at Sinai without discipline, without institutions, without laws, almost ignorant of their God, and with no estab- lished form of religious worship. During the stay at Sinai this disorganized mob was converted into a compatfl and powerful nation, with a code of laws which has ever since won the admiration of all ages and of all nations, and which remained in force THE EXODUS AND WANDERINGS. 351 among the Hebrews until the end of their national career. The Tabernacle, or sacred tent, was con- structed in accordance with the mode pre- scribed by God, and all the particulars of the religious ceremonial were minutely ar- ranged. The priesthood was organized, and the succession to the sacred offices were definitely provided for. The prin- ciple at the basis of the whole civil and religious system was the supreme author- ity of Jehovah over the Hebrew nation. "He was, in a literal sense of the word, their sovereign, and all other authority, both in political and civil affairs, was subordi- nate to the continual acknowledgment of His own. The other powers were insti- tuted by God to administer affairs in accord- ance with His laws, but were not ordinarily chosen among the priests, descendants of Aaron, nor from the tribe of Levi, consecra- ted to the various funcliions of public worship. Each tribe had its civil authorities, although certain causes were reser\'ed for the supreme central tribunal; but the unity of the nation was, above all, founded on unitj' in faith and worship, on the mightj- recollecflions recalled each year by the solemn feasts; the Passover, or Feast of Unleavened Bread (commemorating the Exodus from EgA'pt); Pentecost (the promulgation of the law), and the Feast of the Tabernacles, or tents (the sojourn in the desert). The one taber- nacle, where the solemn sacrifices were of- fered, and where was deposited the ark, the symbol and covenant made between God and His people, was equallj' the polit- ical and religious center of the nation. The Mosaic law presents the spectacle, unique in the historj' of the world, of a legislation which was complete from the origin of a nation, and subsisted for long ages. In spite of frequent infractions, it was always restored, even although in its very sublimity it was in direcl opposition to the coarse in- clinations of the people whom it governed. He alone could impose it on the Israelites, who could say: 'I am the Lord thy God,' and confirm the words by forty j-ears of miracles. ' ' We are further told that when everything was arranged, Moses, at the command of Jehovah, took a census of the males of the nation, from and over the age of twenty j'ears, capable of bearing arms. The census was taken on the first day of the second month from the epoch of the Exodus (Jyar — May, 1490, or 1319, B. C), and fixed the number of fighting men at 603,550. This great host was divided into four camps, one being placed on each of the four sides of the tabernacle, which stood in the center of the camp. Being thus organized as a nation and an army, the Israelites broke up their camp at Sinai on the twentieth daj^ of their second year — about May 20, B. C. 1490, or 13 19 — and continued their advance, and, we are informed, were again led by the "pillar of cloud ' ' which was said to have guided them since the memorable night of the E.xodus, and which was to lead them to the ' ' Prom- ised Land." Thus guided, the Israelites were condu% from the Jordan to the Mediterranean. The tribe of Ephraim ob- tained the southern part of this tracT:, and its southern limit ' ' was drawn from the Jor- dan along the north side of the plain of Jericho to Bethel, whence it took a bend .southward to Beth-horon, and thence up again to the .sea near Joppa. The northeni border passed west from the Jordan opposite the mouth of the Jabbok, past Michmethah to the mouth of the river Kanah." It in- cluded the sacred valley of Shechem and the maritime plain of Sharon. The half-tribe of Manasseh occupied the districl north of Ephraim as far as the range of Mount Carmel and the plain of E.sdraelon, from the Jordan westward to the Mediterranean. To Benja- min was assigned the hill country north of Judah and south of Ephraim, from the Jordan west as far as Jerusalem. Dan received the tradl between Ephraim on the north, Judah on the south, Benjamin on the east, and the Mediterranean on the west. The greater part of this region was occupied by the Philistines. For this reason, and because their territory was too small for them, a portion of the peo- ple of Dan migrated northward, and took the cit}^ of Leshem, or Laish, at the source of the Jordan. They named the city Dan, and acquired a considerable tradl around it. This city became the great northeni landmark of the Promised Land, as Beer- sheba was the southern. Hence the phrase "from Dan even to Beer-sheba," so fre- quently used in alluding to the whole ex- tent of the Hebrew couutr\' from north to south. The tribe of Simeon was allotted an inheritance out of Judah's portion, and was seated in the south-western portion of the maritime plain. Their frontier bordered on the desert from Beer-sheba westward to Gaza, and their sea-coa.st extended north to Ascalon. Issachar was given the great and fertile valley of Jezreel, known also as the plain of Esdraelon. Zebulun received the mountain range bordering the plain of Esdraelon on the north, and which in after times constituted the upper part of Lower Galilee. He po.ssessed a small strip of sea-coast north of Mount Cannel, and his eastern border included the Sea of Chinneroth (Sea of Galilee). Asher ob- tained the plain along the Mediterranean from Mount Carmel, in a northerly dire(5lion, including a considerable portion of Phceni- cia. The Israelites never made anj- attempt 36o ANCIENT HISTORY.— THE HEBREWS. to secure the Phceuician portion of their in- heritance, and Asher's northern boundary was adlually the Phoenician border south of Tyre. His territory extended to the east about midwey across Palestine. NaphtaH was assigned the country north of Zebulun to Mount Hermon and between the Jordan and the territory' of Asher. The two tribes and a half east of the Jordan were allowed to rest contented with their share of the spoils of conquest, and were dismissed with blessings, after which they returned to their homes beyond the river. Feeling his end approaching, Joshua as- sembled the representatives of the entire Hebrew nation at Shechem, and after re- minding them of the Divine goodness to the nation, exhorted them to remain faithful to the worship of Jehovah and the laws of Moses, and to continue the war against the Canaanites until they had ultimately ex- pelled them from the whole of the Promised Land. Joshua, who was said to have been divinely commissioned to exterminate the Canaanitish race, because of its crimes, re- minded his people of their duty, and pre- didled great misfortunes for them if they renounced their religion, or neglected to ex- ecute Jehovah's purposes regarding the Ca- naanites, or mingled with them. The people solemnly vowed to obey him and renewed their covenant with Jehovah. Thereupon Joshua set up in the place of the assembly a monumental stone as a witness of this vow of the Hebrew nation. Soon afterward Joshua died at a venerable age, after con- dudling the affairs of Israel for twenty-five years, and was greatly mourned by the whole Hebrew nation. Jo.shua unfortunately failed to appoint a successor, and the nation was thus left with- out a legitimate head. During the lives of the Elders who had been his contemporaries, the Israelites reverenced the laws of Moses and held fast to the worship of Jehovah; but when the.se Elders died dissensions and di- visions distracfted the nation, alienating the different tribes from each other. No earnest effort was made to conquer the cities still held by the Canaanites. The northern tribes began to appear indifferent concern- ing the national ties, and .secured the best terms possible for themselves from the Ca- naanites in their midst. The Israelites were repulsed in their efforts to conquer the land of the Philistines, and the coast cities mostly remained in the possession of that powerful and warlike people. The intercourse which arose between the Israelites and the Canaan- ites soon led to evil results. The great re- ligious center of the Hebrew nation was Shiloh, where the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant had been set up. At this time the Altar of God began constantly to become more and more negledted, and the idolatrous worship of the Canaanites was in- troduced among the Hebrews. Civil wars broke out among the tribes of Israel, and in one of these the tribe of Benjamin was almost exterminated by the other tribes. The Book of Judges describes this condition of affairs in the following words: "There was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes." There was no central or general government to hold the nation together or to enforce civil order; and although, according to the the- ocracy established by Moses, Jehovah was the King of the Hebrews, idolatry spread so rapidly and obtained .so firm a hold on the nation that the moral restraints which had held the Israelites in lo^-alty to their Divine Ruler were utterly disregarded. The result was division and weakness. The Canaan- ites and Philistines were not slow to dis- cover this, and sought to avenge their past grievances by subjecting the Israelites ~to their yoke. We are told that, as a punish- ment for their repealed apostasy from the worship of Jehovah, the Israelites were as repeatedly abandoned to their enemies, who cruelly oppressed them, and thus were blind instruments to execute the Divine judg- ments upon the faithless and rebellious na- tion. When the sufferings of the Israel- ites became unendurable, they realized the enormity of their sins and their ingratitude to Jehovah, and in sorrow and humiliation they became penitent and implored Jehovah for aid against their enemies. We are told CONQUEST OF CANAAN— THE JUDGES. 361 that their prayers were heard aud answered by Jehovah, who raised up valiant and he- roic leaders to deliver His "chosen people" from the cruel >-oke of their oppressors. These leaders delivered Israel by defeating its oppressors and reestablishing the inde- pendence of the Hebrew nation. No sooner, however, were the Israelites liberated from the despotic sway of foreign kings and peo- ples, than they again apostatized to idolatrj% and were again chastised by fresh defeats and subjugation. The deliverers thus said to have been raised up by Jehovah to free His people from the oppressive yoke of their enemies were caW&A Judges. By rescuing the people from their enemies they became their governors or rulers, performing their duties as repre- sentatives or agents of Jehovah, Whose de- sire was ascertained in a prescribed manner. These Judges were not only the civil chiefs of the Hebrews, but were their military commanders and led their armies in battle. The Judge did not rank with a king in power or dignity-. His station was but lit- tle above that of the mass of the nation, and was not hereditars-. The Judge was believed to be supematurally direcfted by revelations from Jehovah, either to himself or to others. The consent of the people was necessary for the exercise of his func- tions, and his authority was not always rec- ognized by the entire nation. He was ap- pointed for life, but his successor was not always seledted after his death. There were sometimes long interregnums between the administration of one Judge and that of another. During these interregnums the Hebrew nation was either without a civil head, or was subjeA to the dominion of some foreign conqueror. The Old Testa- ment gives us the names of fifteen Judges altogether. The period of the Judges cov- ered several centuries, and its chronology is very uncertain. The dates usually assigned for the events of this period are unreliable. During the lifetime of the generation of Hebrews following the conquest of Ca- naan, a King of Western Mesopotamia, called Chushan-rishathaim, extended his dominions from the Euphrates to the borders of Canaan, reduced the Israelites to a con- dition of subje(5lion, and held them tribu- tary for eight years, during which he griev- ously oppressed them. At length Jehovah, we are informed, raised up Othniel, the nephew of Caleb, the contemporary of Moses and Joshua. Othniel, as Judge, de- feated the invaders and recovered the inde- pendence of his countrj-men, who remained undisturbed for fortj- j-ears. At the end of this period of forty j-ears, Eglon,King of Moab, who had formed an alliance with the Ammonites and the Amale- kites, crossed the Jordan, defeated the Israelites, and established himself near the site of Jericho. He held the Israelites in bondage for eighteen years, after which he was assassinated by Ehud, a Benjamite, as the latter was presenting to the king the tribute required of his tribe. Ehud escaped, rallied the Israelites, and drove the Moab- ites beyond the Jordan, inflidling a loss of ten thousand men upon them. This victory secured tranquillity for portions of Palestine for twenty-four years, but this state of peace did not embrace the whole countn,'. The Old Testament names Shamgar as the third of the Judges. He is said to have led a body of laborers armed only with agri- cultural implements, and to have defeated a Philistine army, himself slaying six hun- dred of the enemy with an ox-goad. After the death of Ehud the Israelites again apostatized to idolatry, for which sin Jehovah is said to have delivered them into the power of the Canaanite Jabin, King of Hazor, a descendant of the king whom Joshua had defeated, and like him the chief of a powerful confederacy' in the North of Pales- tine. This monarch had nine hundred iron chariots in his array, which was under the command of a great general named Sisera. Jabin overran the North of Palestine, reduc- ing its inhabitants to slavery. This bondage lasted twenty years. At this time the prophetess Deborah ad- ministered justice to the Israelites under a palm grove between Ramah and Bethel, in Mount Ephraim. Excited by the wrongs 362 AA'CIENT HISTORY.— THE HEBREWS. of her people, she sumnioned Barak, the son of Abinoam, of Kadesh, in Naphtah, to lead in an effort to free the Hebrew na- tion, promising him that Jehovah would give him vicftory. Barak agreed to do so on condition that Deborah should accompany him. She consented, but warned him that he would win no honor from the vidlory, as Jehovah would sell Sisera into the hands of a woman. Barak gathered the forces of Naphtali, Zebulun and Issachar, with a few men from Ephraim, Manasseh and Benja- min, altogether about ten thousand men, and took position on Mount Tabor. Sisera advanced to meet him without delay at the head of Jabin's armj-. Barak attacked him on the banks of the Kishon, and, with the aid of a severe storm which overflowed the stream and destroj'ed a portion of the army of the Canaanites, routed him with frightful lo.ss. Sisera fled on foot and found shelter in the tent of Heber the Kenite, in the North of Palestine. Jael, Heber's wife, killed him in his sleep, thus fulfilling De- borah's prophecy. Barak took the city of Harosheth, Sisera's home, afterwards Hazor, Jabin's capital, and killed Jabin himself. Aided by the other tribes, Barak continued the war until he had liberated the whole Hebrew nation. These triumphs were fol- lowed by forty j-ears of peace for the tribes that had participated in the war. The Israelites were next chastised for laps- ing into idolatry by being delivered into the power of the Midianites, who, aided by the Amalekites and the Bedouin Arab tribes, made repeated raids into Palestine, ravaging the country as far as Gaza, carrjdng off everything they could transport, and de- stroying everything that they could not take along. The Israelites were obliged to con- ceal their cattle and crops in caves in the groimd, and to live in fortified cities. This condition of things lasted seven years, and Anally the Hebrews, in humiliation and penitence, implored Jehovah for deliverance. Jehovah, it is .said, summoned Gideon, the .son of Joash, of the tribe of Mana.sseh, to head the movement for the liberation of the Israelites, and promised success to the enter- prise. Gideon overthrew^ the altar of Baal and collecfted an army of thirty-two thou- sand Israelites. The Midianites and their allies, connnanded by famous leaders, im- mediately took the field to subdue the re- bellious Hebrews. Gideon took his position on Mount Gilboa, while the Arab tribes occupied the vallej^ of Jezreel below. As- sured of vi(5torj% Gideon allowed all of his men to depart who desired to do so, and twenty-two thousand immediately retired, leaving only ten thou.sand to face the foe. The Hebrew account states that Jehovah ordered Gideon to seledt three hundred war- riors by a given test, and to hold the remain- der of his army in reserv^e. Gideon divided the three hundred chosen men into three bands, with which he made a night attack on the camp of the Midianites. He anned his band with trumpets, and torches enclcsed in earthenware pitchers. At a given signal each of his men blew his trumpet, broke his pitcher, and displayed his torch, shouting: "The Sword of the Lord and of Gideon!" The Midianites, aroused from their sleep, and utterly surprised and panic-stricken, turned their swords upon each other, and fled to- ward the Jordan, leaving their camp in pos- session of the Israelites. They were pursued by the remainder of Gideon's arm}^ and were utterly exterminated, scarcely a man escap- ing across the Jordan. This great and de- cisive vicftory utterly broke up the power of the Midianites and liberated Israel from their oppressive yoke. The Israelites, in grati- tude for this brilliant vicftory, offered to make Gideon king, but he refused the profTered dignity, saying: "Not I, nor my son, but Jehovah .shall reign over you." Gideon ruled his countrymen for many years after- ward as Judge. His ride was not fully beneficial to the nation, as he almost openly encouraged idolatrj'. After his death one of his sons, named Abimelech, made him- self King of Shechem and the neighboring territory, but he only reigned three years, when he was killed by a woman while en- gaged in the siege of a town that had re fused to acknowledge his authority. The next Judge was Tola, who admini.'s CONQUEST OF CANAAN— THE JUDGES. 363 tercel the government for twentj'-three years, and was succeeded by Jair, the Gileadite, who ruled for twenty-two years. These two administrations were uneventful; but the Israelites again phniged so deeply into idol- atr>- that Jehovah again, it is said, delivered them into the power of their enemies. The two and a half Hebrew tribes east of the Jordan were subdued by the Ammonites, who held them in bondage for eighteen years. During this period the Ammonites often crossed the Jordan and ravaged the lands of Judah, Benjamin and Ephraim. The tribes east of the Jordan selecfled for their leader a man named Jephthah, the chief of a band of outlaws occupying Mount Gilead. Jephthah defeated the Ammonites in a great battle, and liberated the countrv-. He vowed at the beginning of his campaign that, if Jehovah would give him the vi(ftory, he would sacrifice to Him the first living being that he should meet at the door of his house when he returned home. The first who met him on his return home was his daughter, whom Jephthah, feeling himself bound by his vow, sacrificed after allowing her the respite of two months which she requested. This sacrifice, di- redlly opposed to the laws of Moses, shows how far the Hebrew tribes east of the Jordan had departed from the teachings of the great lawgiver. Jephthah judged Israel for six years after his great vidtorj' over the Am- monites, and was buried on Mount Gilead. Ibzan, the Zebulunite, who was the next Judge, encourage more extensive inter- course with the neighboring nations by mar- rying his children to foreigners. After judg- ing Israel .seven j-ears, Ibzan was succeeded by Elon, also a Zebulunite, whose judgeship lasted ten years and was uneventful. Hillel, the Pirathonite, the next Judge, had an un- eventful term of eight years, and is identi- fied by some writers with Bedan, whom Samuel names among the Judges. The great militarv triumphs of the Judges so completely broke the power of" the Ca- naanites that they are no more heard of. Still the Israelites again offended Jehovah by relapsing into idolatry, for which we are informed He gave them over into the hands of the Philistines, a far more warlike and more powerful enemy than any they had hitherto encountered. As we ha\-e seen, these people occupied the strip of country ^long the sea- coa.st of the South of Palestine. At this time they conquered the whole South of Pal- estine, reducing the Hebrew tribes of vSimeon, Judah, Benjamin and Dan to subjedlion, and held them in the severest bondage for forty years. At this time Eli, of the house of Ithamar, Aaron's youngest son, was Judge of Lsrael. Eli, who was a man of sincere piety, resided at Shiloh, with the tabernacle; and his au- thority was generally acknowleged by the Hebrew nation. The crimes of his vicious and profligate sons disgraced the priesthood, but he pa.ssed them over, allowing his sons to retain their sacred offices. A prophet warned Eli that Jehovah would puni.sh him for his indulgence to his sons, that they would be killed for their wickedness, and that the sacred office would be transferred to another family; but Eli simply remonstrated with his sons, permitting them to continue in their wickedness. During Eli's judgeship, we are informed, Jehovah raised up two great champions for Israel — Samson and Samuel. Samson be- longed to that portion of the tribe of Dan which dwelt to the westward of Judah. It is said that his birth had been foretold by the angel of Jehovah to his parents, and that they had been commanded to rear the child as a Nazarite, to keep him from all unclean food and strong drink, and not to allow a razor to be applied to his head. This child, it was predicfted, was to accomplish wonders for his countrymen against the Philistines when he grew to manhood. Samson was the Hercules of the Israelites, who con- stantly warred with their oppressors; the sturdy warriors of the tribe of Dan living in a fortified camp near Kirjath-jearim, where, we are told, "the spirit of Jehovah began to move Samson at times." Samson is represented to us as possessing more than human strength, and as fearless and in- capable of fatigue. For the purpose of pro- 364 ANCIENT HISTORY.— THE HEBREWS. voicing the Philistines, he asked the hand of a woman of Timnatli, and on his way to seize her, it is said that he killed a lion by seizing it by its mouth and tearing its jaws apart. He left the dead lion by the way- side, and told no one of his exploit. Shorth' afterward returning that way, he observed that a swarm of bees had made their abode in the dead lion's carcass. He ate the honey found there, but told no one. At his marriage feast he propounded a riddle to his thirty young groomsmen, the riddle to be solved during the week of the marriage feast, for the stake of thirty tunics and thirty changes of raiment. The young men induced Samson's wife to ask her husband the answer to the riddle, by threatening to burn her and her family if she refused. Samson, always subjedl to her wiles, told his wife, and she disclosed it to her kinsmen, the Philistines, who solved the riddle prop- erly on the appointed day. Samson, at once seeing through the trick, and openly charging the Philistines with their treach- ery, proceeded to the Philistine city of Ascalon, where he- killed thirty men, sent their clothing to their fellow-countrymen who had given the answer to the riddle, and returned to his people. His wife was given to one of his groomsmen, and he was refused permission to see her. In revenge for this wrong, Samson burned the stand- ing harvests of the Philistines; whereupon they retaliated by burning his wife and her father. He avenged this cruelty by attack- ing them and slaying many of them, after which he took refuge in the territon.- of Judah. Thenceforth Samson was continu- ally at war with the Philistines, and he is represented as repeatedly demonstrating his wonderful strength by a series of remark- able exploits. We are told that on one oc- casion "he .slew a thousand Philistines with the jaw-bone of an ass." As long as Samson remained true to his Nazarite's vow he escaped all the snares set for him, but he ultimately yielded to tempt- ation, and this brought on his ruin. Fall- ing in love with a Philistine woman, named Delilah, living in the valley of Sorek, her countrymen bribed her to betray her lover, and Samson finally yielded to her entreat- ies and informed her of the source of his strength as being in his long hair. As he lay asleep in her arms, the Philistines stole in upon him, cut off his hair, took him prisoner, put out his eyes, bound him in fetters, and took him to Gaza, where they compelled him to grind the prison-mill. When Samson's hair grew long again he recovered his former strength. Soon after this the lords and chief people of the Phil- istines held a great fea.st in the temple of Dagon, at Gaza, and brought out Samson to entertain them with feats of his strength. It is said that they then allowed him to rest between two pillars supporting the roof of the court, which, like the court itself, was filled with people, altogether about three thousand in number. Wildly praying to Jehovah for strength to avenge himself upon his enemies, the blind champion of the Is- raelites seized the two pillars in his arms and bore upon them with all his strength. The account says that the pillars gave wa}^ whereupon the house fell, killing Samson and the whole concourse of people. "So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life." His Israelite kinsmen took his body and in- terred it with the remains of his fathers. Samson is generally considered the thir- teenth of the Judges, but his authority ap- parently only extended over his own tribe, that of Dan. Samuel was the fifteenth and the last Judge of Israel. Like Samson, we are told, he was a child of promise. His father, El- kanah, was a descendant of Korah, and be- longed to the tribe of Levi. He resided at Ramathaim-zophim. He had two wives, Peniimah and Hannah. The first of these was the mother of several children. The family attended regularly the national relig- ious festivals at Shiloh. While they were fea.sting upon the free-will offering, Elkanah bestowed upon Hannah a mark of his affec- tion, thus arou.sing the jealousy of Penin- nah, who reproached Hainiah so bitterly that she retired from the feast weeping. COA'OrjCST OF CAXAAX—TIIE jriHillS. 36S Ilaniuih Weill lo the door of the tabernacle and praj-ed silently for a son, whom she vowed to de\-ote to Jeho\-ah as a Nazarite. The Hii,di Priest, Eli, saw her lips in motion, and thinking that she had drunken at the feast rebuked her sharpl.\-. vShe assured him that she was stricken with sorrow, and was Ijewailing her griefs before Jehovah. There- upon Eli spoke more mildlj- to her, bestowed upon her his blessing, and implored Jehovah to grant her pra}-er. She returned home in a happier state of feeling, and in due time gave birth to a son who was named Samuel. His mother kept him initil he had reached a proper age to be separated from his family, after which she took him to Shiloh, where she solemnly dedicated him to the service of Jehovah, leaving him with the High Priest. Hannah afterwards bore her husband three sons and two daughters. Samuel grew up in the service of the tabernacle, gaining the favor of Jehovah and his Hebrew country- men. We are told that when Samuel was still quite a youth, Jehovah spoke to him in the night, telling him of His design to destroy the house of Eli, and to de- prive it of the office of High Priest in pun- ishment for the sins of Eli's sons and for his own indulgence toward them. Thence- forth Samuel was a prophet of Jehovah. All his predictions are said to have been verified, and his renown and his influence over his countrj'men increased as he grew up. The favor bestowed upon Samuel by Je- hovah inspired the Israelites with the belief that their God would aid them to cast off the Philistine j-oke. They consequently arose in arms, but suffered a defeat in the hill country of Benjamin, a little north of Jerusalem. Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas, lirought the Ark of the Covenant from Shi- loh to the camp of the Israelites, thinking that such sacrilegious u.se of the Ark would give them victory. We are informed that Jehovah punished this sacrilege by per- mitting the Philistines to defeat the Hebrews with a loss of tliirt)- thousand men. Hophni and Phinehas were both among the slain, and the Ark of the Covenant fell into the hands of the Philistines. Upon hearing of this ]— L'S.-U. H. misfortune, Eli, who was then sitting at the gates of the tabernacle, fell backward from his seat, broke his neck and died. The Philistines carried the Ark in triumph into their own country, but the Hebrew rec- ord tells us that Jehovah chastised them so severely by means of a severe plague that they sent the sacred Ark to Bethshemcsh. Excited by curiosity the men of Bethshe- mcsh opened the Ark and looked into it, but Jehovah put 50,070 of them to death in punishment for this .sacrilege. Appalled at this judgment, those who survived .sent for the men of Kirjath-jearira to take the Ark away. These people took it to their own cit}-, where it was kept in the house of Aminidab, a Levite, until David had it con- veyed to Jerusalem. Samuel was Eli's successor as Judge of Lsrael, and his authority was generally ac- knowledged by the Hebrew nation. For twenty years after the loss of the Ark, the Israelites were sorely oppressed by the Philistines. At the end of this time Sam- uel summoned the nation to make a bold strike for their deliverance from the Philis- tine yoke ; and to prepare them for it he con- vened a solemn assembly at Mizpeh, where the Israelites renewed the broken covenant with Jehovah, amid fasting and repentance for their past transgres.sions. Upon hearing of this assembly the Philistines sent an army to disperse it. Samuel incited his countr>-men to attack this Philistine force, and it is said that the Israelites were aided by a violent storm froin heaven, which de- stroyed a great portion of the hostile army. The Philistines fled in dismay, and were pursued by the Israelites, who slaughtered a vast number of them. This great Hebrew victory shattered the power of the Philistines in Palestine, and firmly established Samuel's authoritj' over the Israelites. He made circuits of the country to administer justice, and appointed his sons, Joel and Abiah, as his a.ssistants in the government of the nation. Under Samuel's administration, the Israelites en- joj^ed a period of peace and prosperity which they had never before known. But still 366 ANCIENT HISTORY.— THE HEBREWS. tliej^ were dissatisfied, and longed for a king who should govern them in peace and lead their armies to vicflon,- in war. Thej^ ascribed their past misfortunes to their want of union under a strong central government, and feared that the same cause might sub- jec5l them to similar calamities in the future. Samuel vainly remonstrated with them, and tried to dissuade them from their determin- ation to have an earthly sovereign to gov- ern them, reminding them that Jehovah was their King. But they were deaf to all his arguments and entreaties, replying: "We will have a king over us." We are told that Jehovah therefore authorized Samuel to comply with the demand of his people; and in accordance with the Divine diredlions, Samuel anointed Saul, the son of Kish, a Benjamite, as the first King over Israel, B. C. 1095. SECTION IV.— THE UNITED KINGDOM OF ISRAEL. AUL, the first King of Israel, was about forty 5'ears old when he ascended the throne. The Book of Kings describes him as ' ' taller than any of the peo- ple," and so kingly in bearing that when Samuel presented him to the people as their monarch, they hailed him with rapturous shouts of ' ' God save the king. ' ' He pos- sessed all the vigor of his race and tribe, all their courage and energ3^ but was impulsive and vacillating, and possessed a temper so utterlj' uncontrollable that opposition aroused him to a condition approaching madne.ss. The choice of a sovereign from the smallest of the Hebrew tribes greath- of- fended a considerable portion of the nation, and Samuel thought it prudent to postpone the solemn public installation of Saul until this opposition could be allayed. At this jumfture, Gilead, the Israelitish territories east of the Jordan, suffered an invasion from Nahash, King of the Ammonites. Saul speedily colledled the forces of Israel, cro.ssed the Jordan, annihilated the Ammonites, and rescued Gilead. The valor and military ability displayed by Saul in this campagn utterly silenced the opposition to him, and his authoritj' was acknowledged with enthu- siasm bj' the whole Hebrew nation. Samuel continued to exercise a great in- fluence over the affairs of the Israelites. He considered the king simply a military chief, destitute of power to interfere with the old constitution and laws bequeathed to the na- tion bj' Moses, and entirely unlike the sov- ereigns of the neighboring nations. For some time Saul accepted vSamuel's view of the powers of royalty, and submitted to the prophet's influence; but his ferocious temper could not long pennit him to endure this control, and Saul began to resent the re- straint exercised over him by Samuel, and desired to be king in facft as well as in name. Saul's solemn installation as King of Is- rael occurred at Gilgal on his return from his triumphant campaign against the Am- monites; after which he dismissed the Is- raelites to their homes, and kept a force of only three thousand men in the field, retain- ing two thousand under his own command, and placing the remaining thousand under his son Jonathan, a very worthy young man. Jonathan .surprised and took the Philistine stronghold of Gibeah, in the land of Benja- min, relieving that tribe of a constant an- noyance. Thereupon the Philistines set a powerful army in motion, and Saul sum- moned the forces of Israel to assemble at Gilgal, where Samuel was to join him and offer a solemn sacrifice to Jehovah as the opening adt of the campaign. The Israel- ites assembled at the appointed time, but Samuel did not appear. Saul waited for him seven days, when, seeing that the peo- ple were impatient, he seized the opportu- nity to throw off entirely the control of THE UNITJU) KINGDOM OF ISRAEL. Tfil Sanuicl and usurped the sacerdotal power belonyiujj to tlie High Priest. He oflered the sacrifice himself, thus claiming priestly as well as kingly authority. Soon after- ward Sanuiel arrived, and inunediately per- ceived that Saul's action was directed at putting the Hebrew monarchy on the same level as those of the neighboring nations, giving the king the supreme spiritual power, as well as the chief civil authoritj-, o^'er the Hebrew nation. The prophet rebuked Saul .sharply for his sacrilegious proceeding; and in the name of Jehovah told him that the Divine fa\-or would thenceforth be with- drawn from him, and that at his death the ro3-al dignity would be transferred to another family. The bondage of the Philistines bore heavilj' upon the Southern Hebrew tribes, whose smiths were forbidden to pursue their occupation, in consequence of which weapons were so scarce that Saul found only six hundred armed men in the entire assembly of people. Notwithstanding this drawback, he advanced northward to Michmash to confront the foe; while Jona- than, accompanied oidy by his armor-bearer, surprised the camp of the Philistines, who, seized by a panic, turned their arms against each other, and fled. Saul immediately pursued the flying foe, and was joined by all the Israelites who could obtain arms. He soon found himself at the head of ten thousand men, and pursued the retreating Philistines to Beth-aven, inflicting frightful losses upon them. The Philistines retired into their own ter- ritory, and did not molest the Israelites again for some years. During this time Saul repulsed the attacks of the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Edomites, and the Syr- ians of Zobah, who in succession endeavored to invade the Hebrew dominions. About the same time the Hebrew tribes east of the Jordan conquered the nomadic Arab tribe of the Hagareens and extended their terri- tory in the direction of Damascus. Con- scious that the security of his kingdom depended upon its defensive power against invasion, he made great exertions to organize a standing army, which, though not large, consisted of veterans and was kept in a high state of discipline and thorough efficiency. He assigned the command of this army to his cousin Abner, the son of Ner. The High Priest Samuel, now venerable for his years, came to Saul and ordered him to undertake a war against the Amalekites, the earliest and most implacable foes of Israel. Saul immediately took the field against them and defeated them, but diso- beyed the prophet's command to destro\- everything he captured, carrj-ing away a vast booty and sparing Agag, the Amale- kite king, with the design of receiving a ransom for him. Sanuiel met Saul at Gilgal when he re- turned from the campaign, and severelj' re- poached him for his disobedience of the Di- vine connnand. In Jehovah's name, the prophet pronounced a curse upon the diso- bedient monarch, telling him that Jeho- vah had rejected him from that day. At the same time Samuel slew Agag with his own hand. Samuel then departed from Saul, and the breach between the king and the High Priest of the nation was complete. The Divine protection, it is said, was withdrawn from Saul thenceforth; and Samuel, we are told, was commanded by Jehovah to go to Bethlehem to anoint the future King of Israel. Samuel obeyed the Divine command, ac- cording to the Hebrew account, and going to Bethlehem he solenmly anointed, with .sacred oil, David, the youngest and most gifted son of Jesse, of the tribe of Judah. The newly-anointed King of Israel was de- scended from Nahshon, who had been the chief, or prince, of the tribe of Judah, in the Wilderness, and also from Rahab the harlot of Jericho and from the beautiful Ruth. David had already arrived at man's estate, and had pro\-ed his courage by his many successful defenses of his father's flock against the bandits and the wild beasts of that region. After the breach with Samuel, Saul fell into a state of deep melancholj', amounting sometimes to madness, and which only the 368 AA'CIENT HISTORY— THE HEBREWS. music of David's harp could alleviate; David having been introduced into Saul's palace through the secret influence of vSamuel. Saul cherished a wann affedtion for David, conferring honors upon him and making him his armor-bearer. The war with the Philistines had been re- newed in the meantime, and the armies of Israel and Philistia confronted each other in the South of Palestine. The Philistines brought forward a champion in the person of the giant Goliath, of Gath. No Israel- ite had courage to meet him, until David, after joining the anny, offered to fight him. Saul sought to prevail upon David not to venture upon so dangerous a proceeding, but finding him determined and depending upon Jehovah for vicflorj-, agreed to the encounter. It is said that David was armed only with his shepherd's sling, in the use of which he had become an expert, and that he killed the giant with a stone from this sling, the stone striking him on the forehead. After killing the giant, it is al.so said that David cut off his vidlim's head with his own sword. Appalled at the death of their champion, the Phili.stine army fled in di,smay, and was pursued by Saul's forces to the gates of Gath and Ekron, suffering frightful slaugh- ter during the retreat. Saul, highly delighted with the prowess of David, gave him his daughter Michal in marriage. Saul's son, Jonathan, entertained a deep and permanent affecftion for the youthful hero. But .soon afterward the vacillating Saul suddenly di.splaj'ed a deadlj' jealousy of his young son-in-law, upon hear- ing the praises which were lavished upon him on account of his great feat in slaying the giant champion of the Philistines. Thenceforth Saul sought the life of David, who was at length obliged to flee from the court of Saul, and to seek refuge from his father-in-law's anger by fleeing to the court of the King of Gath, where he feigned mad- ness, in order to escape the vengeance of the Philistines. Soon afterward he became the leader of a band of outlaws, living for some time in Moab, and then establishing him- self in the dens and caves of the mountains in the region of the wilderness of Judaea, in the territory of Judah. Samuel died about this time at Ramah, at an advanced age, and was deeply mourned by all Israel. After Samuel's death Saul gave full vent to his furious temper. He violently persecuted all who supported the laws of Moses, and massacred the High Priest Abimelech, eighty-five priests, and all the inhabitants of the city of Nob, the residence of the High Priest. Abiathar, the .son of Abimelech and the heir to the office of High Priest, escaped the massacre by fleeing to David for protecflion. Saul now turned his anns against David, and hunted him through the South of Pal- estine. On two occasions David liad the king within his power, but magnanimously spared his life. He was finally obliged to take refuge with Achish, King of Gath, who a.ssigned him the city of Ziklag, where he resided for some years, leading many ex- peditions against the Amalekites, the ene- mies of both Israel and Philistia. The war between the Israelites and the Philistines was again resumed, and Achish, King of Gath, ordered David to join the Philistine army and advance against Saul. David was forced to obey, but the Philistine leaders, suspicious of the j^oung Israelite refugee, induced the king to order him to return to Ziklag. The Philistines invaded the Hebrew territory; and in a great battle on Mount Gilboa the Israelites were routed, and Jonathan and two others of Saul's sons were .slain, and Saul himself, being severely wounded, killed himself by falling on his own sword, in order to avoid being made pri.soner by the vi(5lorious Philistines, B. C. 1055. Saul had reigned forty ^ears (B. C. 1095-1055). "Upon hearing of the death of Saul and Jonathan, David returned to his own coun- try, and was acknowledged as king bj' his own tribe of Judah; while all the other tribes adhered to Ishbosheth, the only sur- viving son of Saul, whom Abner had caused to be crowned at Mahanaim. For the next seven years the Hebrew kingdom was rent by a sanguinarj- civil war. When Abner THE I'Niri-.n KiNcno.'if or israiu,. 369 deserted to the side of David, and Ish- bosheth was assassinated bj' two of his guards, the whole Hebrew nation acknowl- edged David as its sovereign, and the civil war was brought to a close. David was solemnly anointed King of Israel at He- bron, his capital, B. C. 1095. David was almost thirty-eight years of age when he began to reign over the entire kingdom of Israel. He soon proved him- self a great warrior and conqueror. His first great military exploit was the capture of Jebus, or Jerusalem, with its strong for- tress. Mount Zion, from the Jebusites. He made this city the capital of his kingdom, and likewise the center of the Hebrew wor- ship by bringing thither the Ark of the Covenant. He organized a standing army, set up a splendid court at his capital, pro- vided himself with a large harem, or se- raglio, after the usual fashion of Oriental monarchs, and introduced a royal magnifi- cence hitherto unknown in I.srael. He is ranked as a faithful servant of Jehovah, whom he delighted to honor and worship. The prophets Gad and Nathan were inti- mate associates of David, who always heard them with deference, even when they re- proached him with the faults of his public and private life. David was the greatest and most powerful monarch that ever reigned over the Hebrew nation. He extended his kingdom in every direction by successful wars. He broke the power of the Philistines by conquering their country as far south as Gaza. He subdued Moab, exterminating two-thirds of its popu- lation, and compelling the remairiing third to pay tribute. He conquered the Ammon- ites and the various Syrian kingdoms be- tween the Jordan and the Euphrates, includ- ing that of Damascus, thus extending his dominions eastward to the Euphrates. He also subdued Edom, and extended the He- brew territory to the Red Sea and the fron- tier of Eg3'pt. Thus David founded an empire extending from the Red Sea to the Euphrates, and from Phcenicia and the Mediterranean to the Arabian and Syrian deserts. He .secured an important and l)()wcrful ally in Hiram, King of Tyre, who furnished hiui with cedars of Lebanon and with workmen and artificers for the con- struction f)f the splendid palace which he creeled at Jerusalem. David proved himself a wise and benefi- cent sovereign. He thoroughly organized the Israelitish army, personally superin- tended the civil administration, inaugurated an admirable internal sen'ice for the de- spatch of public business, and revised and settled the religious institutions upon a per- manent basis. David was a great poet, as well as a successful king and warrior, as is proven by the Psalms, or h3'mns, which he composed, and which have ever since been ranked among the most soul-stirring pro- ducftions of lyric poetrj'. Says a certain writer concerning David's poetry: " Great as was the military glor)' of David, his fame with later times is derived from his psalms and songs. He was the first great poet of Israel, and perhaps the earliest in the world. The freshness of the pastures and mountain-sides among which his youth was passed, the assurance of Di- vine prote(5tion amid the singular and ro- mantic incidents of his varied career, the enlargement of his horizon of thought with the magnificent dominion which was added to him in later life, all gave a richness and depth to his experience, which were repro- duced in sacred melody, and found their fit- ting place in the temple .ser\-ice; and every form of Jewish and Christian worship since his time has been enriched by the poetry of David." David had designed building a gorgeous temple to Jehovah at Jerusalem, but is said to have been forbidden to do .so by Divine com- mand, because his hands had been stained by blood. The temple was to be built by a man of peace, and was therefore to be deferred until the reign of his son and successor. David merely confined his efforts to securing a location and the collection of materials for the grand sacred edifice. David sometimes yielded to temptation and gave way to the baser passions of his nature. During the siege of Rabbah, the 370 ANCIENT HISTORY.— THE HEBREWS. Ammonite capital, David offended Jeho- vah by seducing the beautiful Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, the Hittite, one of his captains, and taking her to himself, giving her husband a dangerous command in which he was treacherously slain. For this crime David was severely repro\'ed b}' the prophet Nathan, and we are told that he humbly confessed his sin and that his remorse and repentance obtained for him the pardon of Jehovah. He took Bathsheba to his harem, but the child which she bore him died in accordance with the predidtion of the prophet Nathan. Another child bom to Bathsheba was the illustrious successor of David. The prosperity of David's reign was inter- rupted by domestic calamities, due direcftly to the evil of polj-gani}', which David had introduced into the kingdom. His sons by different wives tonnented his later years by their jealousies and crimes. Amnion, his eldest son, was slain b)- Absalom in revenge for a gross insult offered to his sister. As soon as Absalom was pardoned and received into favor he conspired to dethrone his in- dulgent father, and raising the standard of rebellion, forced the king to flee from Jeru- salem and take refuge in the country east of the Jordan; but a large armj' under Joab and his brothers took the field against Ab.sa- lom and utterly routed his forces in the forests of Ephraim, and the unfortunate prince, in his endeavors to escape, was entangled by his long hair in the branches of an oak, being slain in that situation by Joab, contrary to the express command of David, who was fondly attached to this re- bellious son. Adonijah also plotted to de- throne his father and rose in rebellion, but atoned for this crime with his life. David thereupon gave orders that Solomon, his son with Bathsheba, should be proclaimed king. The northern tribes revolted under a leader named Sheba, but were soon subdued, and the leader was punished with death. After a glorious but troubled reign of forty years, of which thirty-three were spent in Jerusalem, David died B. C. 1015, at the age of seventy-eight years, leaving to his people the proudest name in their historj', and to his successor a flourishing empire. Solomon — David's son with Bathsheba, and the favorite of his father — succeeded the illustrious warrior and psalmist on the throne of Israel. He began his reign by putting Adonijah, his rebel half-brother, to death. It is said that Jehovah appeared to him in a dream and promised to give him whatever he should ask, and that Solomon chose wisdom, and not only was this granted, but also riches, honor and length of days, on condition of his continued obedience to the Divine command. Solomon's reign was the most splendid period of Jewi.sh histor\-. He began his reign in peace, and all the neigh- boring nations acknowledged his dignity; and the reigning Pharaoh of Egypt gave him his daughter in marriage, and she received as her dowry a part of Canaan which had been conquered by that king. The Israel- ites were now the ruling people in Syria. Many kings were tributary to the Hebrew monarch, and the court of Jerusalem rivaled those of Nineveh and Memphis in its glory and magnificence. The fame and wis- dom of Solomon secured for him the alli- ances of the most powerful Eastern mon- archs; and thus tranquillity was established, and his entire reign was one of peace and prosperity. Solomon's enterprise and luxun,- gave a wonderful impulse to commerce. Hiram, King of Tyre, was as warm a friend of Solo- mon as he had been of his father, David; and cedars were brought from Lebanon for the constru(5tion of the great Temple and a palace at Jerusalem. Through his alliance with Hiram, Solomon was allowed to par- ticipate in the Tyrian trade; and to facilitate commercial intercourse between Central and Western Asia, he founded two cities in the Syrian desert which became great empori- ums for the caravan trade — Tadmor, (after- wards Palmyra), and Baalath (after^^'ards Baalbec, or Heliopolis). Says the Book of Kings: ' ' He founded Baalath and Tadmor in the desert. ' ' Solomon akso opened a lucrative trade with Egypt, and by the influence of the reigning Pharaoh, his father-iu-law, he PHOENICIAN EMBASSY AT THE COURT OI- SOLOMON. THE UMITED KINGDOM OF ISRAEL. 371 obtained from the Edomites the port of Ezion-geber (now Akaba), a convenient harbor on the Gulf of Akaba, at the north- €rn end of the Red Sea, where he construdled a great fleet of merchant vessels, and whence bis subjects, with the aid of the experienced mariners of Tyre, carried on a lucrative traffic with the rich countries of Southern Asia and Africa. Through these various channels of commerce, the rarest produdls of Europe, Asia and Africa were poured into Jerusalem. Gold and precious stones, sandals and spices from India, silver from Spain, ivory- from Africa, and gold from Ophir, increased the wealth and luxury of the court of the great Hebrew monarch. Horses from Egypt, now first introduced into Palestine, filled the royal stables; and by tribute from the dependent monarchs, as well as by commerce, a constant stream of gold and silver flowed into Palestine. Solo- mon was the first to introduce horses and war-chariots into Israel, and these were pro- cured from Egypt, from which linen-yarn and cotton manufadtures were likewise brought into his kingdom. Solomon's greatest work was the grand Temple to Jehovah, which he erecfled on Mount Moriah at Jerusalem, in which the Ark of the Covenant was thenceforth kept, and which has become famous as the sacred spot towards whicii the prayers of Israelites, though for many centuries dispersed in every portion of the world, have ever since been directed. The precincfts of the Temple in- cluded apartments for the priests and towers for defense; and it has been said that the different purposes of forum, fortress, univer- sity and sancfluarj^ were united in this im- mense and magnificent national edifice. Sol- omon enlisted the superior skill of the Phoe- ANCIENT HISTORY.— THE HEBREWS. nicians in wood and metal work in his ser\-ice in the erecftion of the Temple. His warm, roj-al friend and ally, Hiram, King of Tj-re — who was half Tyrian and half Israelite — was the chief architedl and sculptor, and furnished the Hebrew monarch with cedars from Lebanon for the wood-work and witk skilled workmen to build the grand strudture. Seven and a half years were oc- cupied in the ere(?lion of the splendid edifice, and the costliness of its materials was only surpassed by the beauty of its workman- ship, all the resources of wealth and ingenu- ity being expended on the magnificent strucfture. When the work was completed it was solemnly dedicated to Jehovah; and the Feast of the Dedication brought to Jeru- salem an immense multitude from both ends of the Hebrew dominions — "from Hamath to the river of Egypt. " It is .said that on this occasion the Shekinah, or cloud of glor>' hovering over the splendid edifice, an- nounced the visible presence of Jehovah. This ev^ent is of such importance as a turning point in Jewish histor>' as to mark the com- mencement of their connedled record of months and years. Solomon also built a magnificent palace opposite Mount Moriah, on which the Temple was erecfted, and fur- nished it with unrivaled splendor. Solomon's early years were marked by all the virtues which could adorn a prince. Humbly con.scious of the great duties as- signed him, and of the insufficiency of his powers, he preferred wisdom to long life or wealth or kingly dominion, and was re- warded with the possession of even what he had not asked for. His wi.sdom exceeded that of all the philosophers and learned men of the East, and his Proverbs are classed among the wisest maxims of antiquity. His knowledge of natural historj% improved \>y the collections of rare plants and strange animals, which he obtained from every quarter of the world, was regarded as mirac- ulous. All monarchs sought Solomon's al- liance and friendship; and the Queen of Sheba, whose dominion is supposed to have been in the modern Abys.sinia, or Soutli- we.stern Arabia, and who had heard of his fame and wisdom, came to visit him from a far country. But Solomon's character was corrupted by prosperitj-. He had introduced the licentious luxury of an Oriental court into the Holy City of David, and his harem, or seraglio, was vastly augmented, so that it reached a point which has no parallel, as we are told that Solomon had seven hundred wives and three hundred concu- bines. His commerce was a monopoly of the government and did not benefit the people. His enormous and expensive court was maintained by taxes so excessive as to impoverish the nation and arouse general discontent. His great public works with- drew large numbers of men from the tillage of the soil, and from the proper channels of industr\-, thus lessening the resources of the nation. The luxury and sensualitj' of the court had a corrupting influence upon the nation, and the people were estranged from the ancient faith by the encouragement given heathen religions by their luxurious and sensual monarch. Seduced by his many "strange wives," who were taken from all the surrounding nations, Solomon not only permitted them their idolatrous worship, but even participated in the rites of their impious and licentious idolatry', and forsook Jehovah to whose glory he had erected the magnificent sandluarj' on Mount Moriah. Then we are told enemies arose against him on all sides, and the sub- ject kingdoms arose in revolt. Rezon, King of Damascus, threw off the Hebrew yoke. Hadad endeavored to restore the indepen- dence of Edom, but was defeated and com- pelled to flee to Egypt. The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh almost broke out into open rebellion; but the attempt was dis- covered, and Jeroboam, the leader in the conspiracy, was obliged to flee to Egypt, where he found refuge at the court of King Shishak. vSolomon died in B. C. 975, after a reign of forty years, like those of Saul and David. The glory of Solomon's reign dazzled the Hebrew nation and silenced all discontent, but when he was succeeded on the throne 77//-; AVX(,7)(XU OF ISRAEf.. 373 by his son RkhorOam, the smolhcrcd dis- satisfaction assumed the form of open rebell- ion. Rehoboam, instead of f[uietin;4 his subjecfls bj' necessary reforms, exasperated them by his haughty refusal to lessen their burdens. Ten of the twelve tribes therefore at once revolted, under the leadership of Jekoboaji; and the Hebrew kingdom, which had cut such a grand figure under David and Solomon, was rent in twain, B. C. 975. This secession and successful revolution is known as the " Revolt of the Ten Tribes." Thenceforth there were two Hebrew states — the Kingdom o/Judah, embracing the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, which remain- ed true to the House of David represented by Rehoboam and his successors, whose capi- tal was Jerusalem; and the k'higdom of Israel, comprising the ten revolted tribes governed by Jeroboam and his successors, who were idolaters, and whose capital at first was Shechem. SECTION v.— THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL. IKE Kingdom of Israel, estab- lished by the Northern tribes under Jeroboam, extended |K^i\i3^ • from the borders of Damascus to within ten miles of Jerusa- lem, including all the Hebrew territory' east of the Jordan, and held Moab as a trib- utarj'. It had far the more extensive and fertile territorj-, and twice the population of Judah; but its capital was far inferior to Jerusalem, alike in strength, beaut\' "or sacred association. Its successive capitals were Shechem, Tirzah and Samaria. Jeroboam, the first monarch of the new Kingdom of Israel, in order to sever the most powerful tie binding the people to the House of David, made golden calves for idols, setting up two national sanctuaries, one at Dan and the other at Bethel, with idolatrous emblems, saying: "It is too much for you to go to Jerusalem; behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt ! " A new priest- hood was instituted in opposition to that of the Levites, whereupon manj- Levites and other faithful adherents of the religion of Je- hovah migrated into the Kingdom of Judah. The people of the Northern kingdom fell into the snare set for them by their sovereign. A succession of prophets, some of them the greatest in Hebre\\' histors', stro\e to keep the people faithful to Jehovah, but the taint of idolatrj' had become so deeph' rooted into the national life that it could not be eradicated. In the time of Elijah only seven thousand were left who had not "bowed the knee unto Baal;" and even these were not known by the prophet, being forced by persecution to hide their religion. The Kings of Israel belonged to nine diiferent dynasties, only two of which, tho.se of Omri and Jehu, occupied the throne for any considerable time. All but a few of the nineteen kings had short reigns, and eight met with violent deaths. The kingdom was repeatedly at war with Judah, Damascus and Ass^-ria. Jeroboam was aided in his war with Judah by his friend and protecftor in his exile, Shishak, King of Egypt. Jero- boam's reign of twenty-two years was pa.ssed in almost constant war with Judah. He died in B. C. 953; and his son and successor Nad.\b, after a reign of two years, was mur- dered by Baash.\, the commander of the army, who then usurped the throne, Baa- sha removed the capital to Tirzah. He was grossl}' addicted to idolatry. The remnant of the worshipers of Jehovah retired from Israel and settled in Judah, being attracted thither by the piety of its king, Asa. To check this defedtion, Baasha made war upon Judah, and built the fortress of Ramali, by which he designed holding the Jewish fron- tier, but was forced to desist by Ben-hadad of Damascus, whose alliance had been bouijht bv A.sa. 374 ANCIENT HISTORY.— THE HEBREWS. Baasha died in B. C. 930, and was suc- ceeded by his son, Elah, who, while intoxi- cated, was murdered by Zimri, who usurped the throne, but was not acknowledged by the army, which set up its commander, Omri. a civil war of seven years ensued, and Zimri, being defeated, shut himself up in his palace, which he set on fire, himself perishing in the flames. Omri began to reign B. C. 929. At first he had a rival named Tibni, whose claim was supported by half the people, but Omri overcame him and reigned until B. C. 918. Omri built the strong city of Samaria and made it his capi- tal. He made war on Damascus, but was obliged to conclude a humiliating peace. The next king was Ahab, who strength- ened himself by marrying Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, King of Tyre and High Priest of Astarte; and the result of this alliance was the introducftion of the Phoenician religion into Israel. Near the end of this century the prophet Elijah came to denounce upon the king and people of Lsrael the Divine punishment for their sins, and a famine for three years devastated the kingdom. At its close Elijah offered sacri- fice on Mount Carmel, and the priests of Baal were slaughtered, which was regarded as a vindication of Jehovah's power. In the lat- ter part of his reign Ahab waged a success- ful war with Damascus and reestablished the independence of Israel. Three years of peace followed. About B. C. 897 Ahab re- newed the war with Damascus, by miiting with Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, in an effort to seize the strong frontier of Ramoth- Gilead, but in the battle which followed the allied army was routed and Ahab was killed. Ahaziaii, the son of Ahab, became his successor, and reigned a little more than a year, during which Moab revolted. Jeho- ram, Ahaziah's brother and successor, con- tinued the alliance with Judah. He abol- ished the worship of Baal, though he ad- hered to the idolatry of Jeroboam. He waged war with Moab, and was joined in the struggle by Jehoshaphat and by the King of Edom, the va.ssal of the King of Judah. We are told that the allied army was miraculously supplied with water, and that the Moabites met with a decisive de- feat, after which Jehoram ravaged "the land of Moab with fire and sword, ' ' but his cruelties caused the King of Judah to desert his alliance and return to his own kingdom. Before the end of his reign the worship of Baal was restored in Israel. Je- horam renewed the war with the Syrians of Damascus by seizing Ramoth-Gilead. Be- ing wounded in the battle with the Syrians, he went to Jezreel to be healed, and was there visited by his ally, Ahaziah, King of Judah. During his stay at Jezreel, Jehu was proclaimed king hy the army. Jehu went to Jezreel, and slew both Jehoram and Ahaziah, after which he caused Jezebel, Ahab's wicked widow, to be thrown from the walls of Jezreel, thus exterminating all of Ahab's family, in accordance with the prophecy of Elijah. Jehu began to reign B. C. 884. He vio- lently suppressed the worship of Baal, but retained the idolatry of Jereboam. Hazael of Damascus deprived Jehu of his provinces east of the Jordan, and at one time he paid tribute to Shalmaneser II. of Assyria, the Black Obelisk King. Jehoahaz, Jehu's son, became king B. C. 856, and under him the kingdom of Israel was still further weakened by Syrian conquests, the King of Damascus even forcing Jehoahaz to limit the strength of his standing army. Jeho- ash, the son of Jehoahaz, became king B. C. 839, and was a vigorous and warlike monarch. He defeated Ben-hadad III. of Damascus in three successive engagements, and re-conquered a part of the territory wrested from Israel. He likewise defeated Amaziah, King of Judah, and entered Jeru- salem in triumph. He was succeeded by his son, Jeroboam II. B. C. 825. This king raised Israel to the highe.st piimacle of power and glory. He conquered Moab and Amnion, thus recovering all the terri- tory lost by Israel east of the Jordan, and attacked Damascus, which had been weak- ened by the sudden ri.se of A.ssyria, adding THE KINC.DOM OF JUDAH. 375 & large portion of the Syrian territory- to the Kingdom of Israel. Zachariah, the son of Jeroboam II., who succeeded his father about B. C. 772, was assa.ssinated .six months later hy Shallum, who thus put an end to the house of Jehu and usurped the throne of Israel, but was himself murdered after a reign of little over a month by Menahem, who became his successor. Menahem invaded the Assyrian territory east of the Euphrates and took Thapsacus, but the Assj'rian king defeated him and reduced him to tribute. In B. C. 762 Menahem was succeeded by his son Pe- KAHiAH, who was murdered by Pekah, one of his generals, who then usurped the throne, B. C. 760. Pekah's reign of thirty-three years was marked by a .series of calamities. He formed an alliance with Rezin, King of Damascus, to protedl his kingdom against Assyria and to conquer Judah. The allied armies of Pekah and Rezin then invaded Judah and reduced that kingdom to great extremities; but Ahaz, King of Judah, called in the aid of Tiglath-Pileser II., King of As.syria, who came to the rescue of Judah and forced Pe- kah to make peace. The Assyrian monarch again invaded Israel, ravaged its provinces east of the Jordan, and carried the inhabi- tants captive to Assyria. Pekah was assassinated by Hoshea, who then usurped the throne, B. C. 730. Hoshea was the last King of Israel. That mon- arch 3^ was now rapidly Hearing its end. Hoshea vainly endeavored to suppress idol- atry'. He began to reign as a tributary of Assyria, but soon renounced his allegiance to the Assyrian monarch and entered into an alliance with ligypt to recover his coun- try's independence. Thereupon Shalmaneser IV., King of As.syria, invaded Israel, overran the countrj' and besieged Samaria, its capi- tal, which held out heroically for two years, but was taken by Sargon, Shalmanezer's successor; and with its capture ended the Kingdom of Israel, after having lasted t\vo hundred and fifty-five j-ears (B. C. 975-721). In accordance with the policy of the Assyr- ian monarchs, the inhabitants of the con- quered kingdom were carried captive to re- mote portions of the Assyrian Empire; and with the ' ' Assyrian Captivity ' ' the history of the "'ten tribes" is ended forever, B. C. 721. The Israelite territorj^ remained depopu- lated until Esar-haddon, King of Assyria, Sargon's grandson and second successor, in the seventh century before Christ, colonized this fertile region with Babylonians, Susia- niaus and others. These strangers brought their idolatrous worship with them. The de- population of the countrj- rendered it so deso- late that for a time wild beasts multiplied in the cities. The new settlers considered them- selves free to ser\'e their own national gods, and their religion was a strange mixture of the worship of Jehovah with their own polytheism, which the Hebrew Scriptures describe thus: "They feared Jehovah and serv^ed their own gods." The descend- ants of these colonists were known in the later Jewish history as Samaritans, and were the most inveterate enemies of the Hebrew race. We are told that ' ' the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans." SECTION VI.— THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH. HE Kingdom of Judah occupied the southern and least fertile part of the Holy Land. It began its separate national ex- istence at the same time with Israel, but sur\-ived that kingdom one hun- dred and thirty-fi\-e years. It embraced the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, with great numbers of refugees from the ten revolted tribes, who willingly sacrificed home and lands for the religion of Jehovah. The people were thus closely united in bonds of common interest iji the wonderful traditions of the past and the hopes for the future. 376 ANCIENT HISTORY.— THE HEBREW'S. Though territorially smaller and numerically weaker than the Kingdom of Israel, Judah was really the stronger and more important kingdom of the two. Its inhabitants were thoroughly convinced that the}' were the true people of God and the legitimate heirs of Jehovah's promises, and they exhibited remarkable vigor and wonderful recuperative powers. It was less given to apostasy from Jehovah than the Kingdom of Israel, and suffered fewer calamities. The indomitable spirit of its people enabled them to defy suc- cessively the power of Assyria and of Egypt, and required the exertion of the whole force of the Babylonian Empire to crush it. Although exposed to peril from the attacks of many enemies, because of its situation between the two great rival empires of Eg>'pt and Assyria, this little kindom maintained its existence for almost four centuries, and was governed during all that period by monarchs of but one dj-nasty, the House of David. The reign of Rehoboam, the first King of Israel, lasted eighteen years, and was one of disaster. In B. C. 970, Shishak, King of Egypt (called Sheshonk in Egj-ptian his- tory), invaded Judah in support of the ten revolted tribes, captured Jerusalem and plundered the Temple and the palace of their treasures, and, after reducing Judah to trib- ute, retired from the country. Rehoboam was constantly at war with the Kingdom of I-srael, and during his reign a considerable portion of the people lapsed into idolatry. Abijah, the son of Rehoboam, became King of Judah upon his father's death, B. C. 958. He prosecuted the war with Israel with great vigor, defeated Jeroboam at Ze- maraim, in Mount Ephraim, and captured Bethel, Jeshanah and Ephraim, which closed the struggle for ten years. Asa, who suc- ceeded to the throne upon his father Abi- jah's death, in B. C. 955, was a devout follower of Jehovah. He sternly put down idolatry, and replaced the treasures of the Temple carried away hy Shishak with rich offerings of gold and silver. He strength- ened the fortifications of his cities and in- creased his army. About B. C. 941 Judah was invaded by a strong armj- led by ' ' Te- rah the Egyptian," believed to be Osorkon II. of Egj'pt; but Asa routed this army at Mareshah, pursued it to Gerar, and returned to Jerusalem with the spoils of vidlory and of the cities around Gerar. Urged by the prophet Azariah, Asa summoned a convo- cation at Jerusalem in B. C. 940, when the nation entered into a solemn covenant to be faithful to the worship of Jehovah. Many devout Israelites from the Northern kingdom attended this a.s.semblage; and this migration of the worshipers of Jehovah in Israel to Judah so alarmed Baasha, King of Israel, that he fortified Ramah, on the road between Judah and Israel, to check this emigration, and made war upon Asa, who, in alarm, purcha.sed the alliance of Ben-hadad I., King of Damascus, with the treasures of the Temple. Ben-hadad at once invaded Israel, and the Israelitish army was withdrawn from Judah to meet this invasion. Asa was engaged in constant war during the re- mainder of his reign, and died in B. C. 916. A.sa's son and successor, Jehoshaphat, passed much of his reign in crushing out idolatry, and in fortifying the cities of his kingdom, and likewise those captured by his father in Mount Ephraim. Jeho.shaphat reigned twenty-five years. He reduced the Moabites and the Philistines to the condition of tributaries. He contracted an alliance with Ahab, King of Israel, by the marriage of his eldest son Jehoram with Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, a union pro- ducftive of very much trouble for Judah. He aided Ahab in his wars with the Syrians of Damascus, and was with that king at Ramoth-Gilead, where Ahab was defeated and killed in battle. This defeat of the forces of Judah and Israel encouraged the Moabites, the Anunonites and the Edomites to invade Judah in great force. It is said that the invaders were miraculously defeated by Jehovah, in response to the prayer of Je- hoshaphat. This vidlorj- of Judah terrified all the neighboring nations and secured peace for the remainder of Jehoshaphat's reign. Jehoshaphat, in alliance with Aha- ziah. King of Israel, Ahab's successor, en- THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH. deavored to renew the niaritinie enterprises of Solomon h\ way of the Red Sea, but his fleet was wrecked at Eziou-geber, it is said, in punishment for his alHance with Ahaziah, whereupon Jehoshaphat rehnquished the enterprise. Jehoshaphat died B. C. 8S9, and his son Jehokam, whom he had associated with him in the government for three years, became his successor. Jehoram's reign was short and disastrous. He was utterly corrupted by his marriage wtth Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab, and he introduced the worship of Ashtoreth, with all its immoral rites, into Judah. To avoid a disputed succession he murdered all his brothers, but we are told that Jehovah punished his wickedness, in- fli<5ting dire calamities upon his kingdom. Edom successfulh- revolted and recovered its independence under its own kings, and, though afterwards defeated in battle by Judah, it never again became tributar\- to it. The Philistines and the Arabs, who had been tributary- to Jeshoshaphat, invaded Judah and captured and pillaged Jerusalem, and carried away all the king's wives ex- cept Athaliah, and all his children except Ahaziah, the youngest son. Ah.a.zi.\ii came to the throne upon his father's death in B. C. 885. He entered into an alliance with his uncle, Jehoram, King of Israel, the brother of his mother, Athaliah. He was with his uncle in the battle of Ramoth-Gilead, where Jehoram was wounded, and was slain shortly after- ward by Jehu in the revolt which made that warrior King of Israel, B. C. 884. His mother, Athaliah, became his successor and slew all the ro}-al family of Judah. ex- cept Joash, a newly -bom infant, the youngest son of Ahaziah, and made herself queen. Joash was hidden in the Temple by his aunt, the wife of the High Priest, Jehoiada. Athaliah reigned six years, during which Joash remained concealed in the Temple. At length Jehoiada headed a rebellion, and was supported by the army and the people. Joash was proclaimed king and Athaliah was put to death, B. C. 878. Jehoiada be- came regent. For the first twenty-three years of his reign, during whicli period Je- hoiada was his chief coun.selor, Joash admin- istered the government with success, and the kingdom was prosperous. Idolatry- was stamped out and mercilessly punished. Jo- ash repaired the Temple, ami put an end to the peculations of the Levites who had .squandered the sacred funds. After the death of Jehoiada, Joash plunged into idol- atry-. Hazael, King of Damascus, attacked Judah and compelled Joash to purcha,se peace by surrendering all the treasures of the Temple and the palace, including the sacred vessels. In B. C. 839 Joash was murdered by two of his servants and was succeeded by his son Am.azi.\h, who at once executed his father's assassins. Amaziah attempted to reconquer Edom, which had revolted from Jehoram. He defeated the Edomites and took their capital Petra, where he massacred ten thousand Edomites, but he failed to subdue Edom. He made war on Jehoash, King of Israel, but was defeated and taken pri.soner at Beth-shemesh. The King of Israel led his captive in triumph to Jerusa- lem, where he plundered the Temple and the palace, and broke down the north wall of the city. After taking hostages for the future peaceable conduct of Judah, Jehoash returned to Samaria. Amaziah grew so tyraunical and corrupt in his last years that his subjedls hated him, and he was finally assassinated at Lachish, B. C. 809. Amaziah' s successor was his son Uzzi.\H, who was a great and warlike monarch. At the beginning of his reign he recovered and rebuilt the ancient port of Elath, at the head of the ea.steru arm of the Red Sea. He reigned si.Kty-two years, during which his kingdom enjoyed great prosperity. He subdued the greater part of Philistia, and received tribute from Amnion. His arro- gance in assuming sacerdotal functions, we are told, was punished, as he was attacked with lepro.sy while offering incense in the Temple. This obliged him to remain se- cluded, and for the remaining six or .seven years of his reign his son and successor, Jotham, conducted the government. 378 ANCIENT HISrORY.— rHE HEBREWS. JoTHAM became sole sovereign upon his father's death in B. C. 757. He was a pious and prosperoiis monarch, but during his reign the people of Judah grew more and more corrupt. Jotham fortified Jerusalem, and compelled the Ammonites to pay trib- ute. In the latter part of his reign Pekah, King of Israel, and Rezin, King of Damas- cus, began the war with Judah which was eventually so disastrous to them. At his death, in B. C. 742, Jotham was succeeded by his son, Ahaz, who reestab- lished the worship of Baal and corrupted the people. The war began against Judah by the Kings of Israel and Damascus during the reign of Jotham was prosecuted with vigor; and Ahaz prevailed upon Tiglath- Pileser II. to come to his aid, purchasing his powerful help by becoming his tributary. The Assyrians invaded Syria, took Damas- cus, and put an end to the Syrian kingdom. Israel was also severely chastised and forced to make peace. Ahaz died in B. C. 726, and his son Hez- EKiAH became his succes.sor. Hezekiah was one of the best kings of Judah, and began his reign by restoring the pure worship of Jehovah and destroying all the idols. He was a wise and virtuous ruler, and "did that which was right in the sight of Jeho- vah." He defeated the Philistines, and boldly attempted to cast off the Assyrian yoke. Thereupon Sennacherib, King of Assyria, attacked him and forced him to re- main a tributary of Assj^ria; but he soon again revolted against Sennacherib and en- tered into an alliance with Egypt, then at war with Assyria. In B. C. 699 Sennacherib again invaded Judah, with the design of crushing the lit- tle kingdom before invading Egj'pt, which he resolved to chastise severely for assist- ing his rebellious vassal. He marched along the coast to the southern extremity of the Philistine plain, the cities of the low country falling into his possession, and, having captured Lachish, he besieged Lib- nah. In the meantime he sent a message to Hezekiah demanding his unconditional submission, blasphemouslj' asserting that Je- hovah was unable to protecfl him against the vengeance of Assyria. Hezekiah went to the Temple, where he turned in prayer to Jehovah and "spread Sennacherib's letter before the Lord. " It is said that the de- strudlion of "one hundred fourscore and five thousand" of Sennacherib's army at Pelusium, while camping opposite the Egyptian army, was the miraculous an- swer which Jehovah gave to Hezekiah's prayer. Sennacherib hastily returned to Assyria, dismayed and disheartened. The prophet Isaiah is represented as announcing the purposes of Jehovah in advance and as foretelling the fate of Sennacherib's army. Hezekiah, at his death in B. C. 697, was succeeded by his son Manasseh, who reigned fifty-five years, and was one of the most wicked of all the Kings of Judah. He restored everj^ sj'stem of idolatry that had ever been pracfticed in Judah or Israel, and these abominable rites became so firmly rooted in the nation that the Temple was closed and the laws of Moses were almost forgotten by the people, while the worship- ers of Jehovah were actually persecuted in the Holy City itself. The prophets de- nounced this apostasy in the severest terms, and were cruelly persecuted by the idola- trous monarch. Isaiah is believed to have been among the first victims put to death by Manasseh. About B. C. 577 Esar-haddon, King of Assj'ria, suspecting Manasseh of a design to rebel against him, deposed him and carried him captive to Babylon. We are told that Manasseh was brought to repentance by the hardships of his captivity, and that Jehovah was pleased to hear his prayers. Esar- haddon generously pardoned him and re- stored him to his throne as a vassal mon- arch. Thereafter Manasseh had a long and prosperous reign, and exerted himself to his utmost to suppress idolatr}- and to restore the religion of Jehovah. He likewise strength- ened the defenses of Jerusalem. About this time the colonization of the territory of the Kingdom of Israel by direction of the As- syrian monarch took place. Amon, the son of Manasseh, succeeded THE KINCDOM OF Jl 'DA IF. 379 to the throne of Judah upon his father's death in B. C. 642. Anion sought to re- store idolatry, but was assassinated after a short reign of two years, and was succeeded by his son, Jcisiaii, a boy of eight years, B. C. 640. Josiah at once set about up- rooting idolatr\- and restoring the worship of Jehovah. He reigned thirty-one years, and was one of the best of the Kings of Judah. In his reign the Assyrian Empire fell. In B. C. 608 Neko, King of Egj-pt, declared war against Babylon, invaded Pal- estine, conquered the Philistine cities, and advanced along the Mediterranean coast of Palestine to Carmel, thence crossing the great plain of Esdraelon and marching to- ward the Euphrates. Josiah assembled his anny, and, in accordance with his dut}- to his suzerain, the King of Babylon, prepared to resi.st the advance of the Egyptian mon- arch. Neko warned him to desist, as his expedition was simply directed against Ba- bylon; but the Jewish king persisted in his opposition, and was defeated and .slain in the battle of Megiddo, nearly on the verj- spot where Deborah and Barak had won their great vicflorj- over the Caananites about six centuries before. Jehoahaz, the second .son of Josiah, suc- ceeded to the throne of Judah, B. C. 608. Jehoahaz had been made king by the people, but reigned only three months, when he was dethroned by Neko, who bestowed the crown on Jehoi.\kiii, the eldest son of Josiah, B. C. 608. Jehoiakim reigned four years as a tributarj- of the King of Egypt, when Judah was forced to submit to the su- premacy of Bab\lon, in consequence of the great vidtory of the Babylonian crown- prince Nebuchadnezzar over the Egyptian king at Carchemish, B. C. 604. Many He- brew youths, the prophet Daniel being among them, were carried captive to Baby- lon by the conquering Nebuchadnezzar, and were there educated "in all the learning of the Chaldaeans." Daniel arrived at high honors under Nebuchadnezzar,and was made chief of the order of "wise men;" and it was at Bab}-lon that he delivered his pro- phetic visions, and that he foretold the com- ing of the Messiah. In B. C. 602 Jehoiakim revolted against the Babylonian supremacy and endeavored to recover his absolute inde- pendence. The projjhet Jeremiah uttered his first predictions during the reign of Jo- siah, and continued his prophecies during the reigns of his sons, Jehoahaz and Jehoia- kim. Jehoiakim opened his rebellion against Babylon inider favorable auspices. He was promi.sed the aid of Egypt; and Phoe- nicia, under the leadership of Tyre, had also risen in revolt against the power of Babylon. In B. C. 598 Nebuchadnezzar, who had been King of Babylon for six years, took the field against both Phoenicia and Judah, determined to reduce the.se re- bellious provinces to submission. Eirst entering Phoenicia, he laid siege to Tyre, but finding it too strong to be reduced speed- ily, he left a part of his army to continue the siege, while he himself led the remain- der against Judah and moved upon Jerusa- lem, which submitted upon his approach. Jehoiakim was put to death, and his body was treated with indignity, contrarj- to gen- eral Oriental usage, thus fulfilling Jere- miah's prophecy concerning this monarch. JEHOIACHIN, the son of Jehoiakim, a mere youth, was placed upon the throne of Judah b}' Nebuchadnezzar, who allowed him to reign only three months, when, dis- trusting him, he carried him to Babylon, and placed his uncle, Zedekiah, the brother of Jehoiakim and the son of Josiah, upon the throne. Zedekiah remained loyal to the Babylonian monarch for eight years, and then entered into an alliance with Uaphris, King of Egj^pt, who agreed to aid him with a powerful arm>' in his effort to throw off the Babylonian j-oke; and Zedekiah at once rai.sed the standard of rebellion, B. C. 589. The siege of Tyre was still in progress, and Nebuchadnezzar led a large armj'' against Jerusalem, defeating the Eg>'ptian king in his effort to relieve his ally, the King of Judah. and took Jerusalem by storm. Zedekiah and the remnant of his army fled, and were overtaken in the plain of Jericho. Zedekiah was made a pri.soner and his troops ;oo ANCIENT HISrORY.— THE HEBREWS. were cut to pieces. Nebuchadnezzar stained his triumph by the most shocking atrocities, causing Zedekiah's sous to be slain before the eyes of" their father, and the eyes of the unfortunate monarch himself to be put out, after which he was carried captive to Babylon; while the city of Jerusalem and the House of David. This work of destruc- tion was bewailed by the prophet Jeremiah in his Lamentations. Judsea was placed under a Babylonian governor, who was murdered soon afterward. His as.sa.ssins found refuge in Egypt, taking with them the prophet Jeremiah, who had the Temple were then pillaged and burned, and the population, except a small renmaut, were carried into the seventy years' ' ' Baby- lonian Captivity," being transported as col- onists to Chaldaea, B. C. 586. Thus ended the Kingdom of Judah and the dynasty of sought to dissuade them from their danger- ous course. The Jews afterwards became involved in the fate of Egypt, and the rem- nant left in Judsea were carried into captivitj' in Babylon about the same time, thus ahno.st entirely depopulating the coinitry. BABYLONIAN CAPTIl'/rV AND RETURN. HEBREW KINGS. 381 BEGAN TO REIGN. KINGS OF THE UNITED MONARCHY. B. C. 1095 " 1055 " 1015 975 958 956 954 953 930 Saui, — Reigned 40 years. David — Reigned 40 years. Solomon — Reigned 40 years. KINGS OF JUDAH. Rehoboam Abijah. Asa. KINGS OF ISRAEL. Jeroboam. Nad.\b. Baasha. Elah. 929 I ZiMRI. " Omri. 918 I ; AH.\B. 916 I JEHOSHAPHAT. ! S97 ] [ Ahaziah. S96 Jehoram. 892 ! Jehoram. S85 884 878 856 839 838 S23 809 772 762 760 757 742 730 726 721 697 642 640 609 598 597 586 Ah.\ziah. Athaliah JOASH. Amaziah. Azariah, or t'zziAH. Jehu. Jehoahaz. JO.^SH. JOTHAM. Ahaz. Hezekiah. M.\NASSEH. Amon. JOSIAH. JEH0.\H.\Z. jEHOI.\KIM. jehoiachin. Zedekiah. Babylonian Captivity. jEROBO.\M II. Zachariah. Sh.\i.lum. Menahem. Pekahiah. Pekah. Hoshea. Assyrian Capti\-ity. SECTION VII.— BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY AND RETURN. NEBUCHADNEZZAR colonized in Chaldaea the Jews whom he removed from their own homes. They were comforted in their captivity by the promises said to have been made by Jehovah, "through the mouths of his hoh' prophets," that he did not intend to extenninate His "chosen people" as a nation, but simply to chasten ]— 24.-U. H. them for their disobedience and transgres- sions, and that he would restore them to their own laud after they had suffered the chastisement He was then iiiflicling upon them. During the Babylonian captivity of the Jews the Babylonian limpire was over- thrown by Cyrus the Great, and the Baby- lonian dominions were absorbed in the great 382 ANCIENT HISTORY.— THE HEBREWS. Medo-Persian Empire. When Cjtus cap- tured Babylon in B. C. s^S he there found the Jews "an oppressed race, in whose religion he found a considerable resemblance to his own." He became ardently interested in these people, and learning that many of them strongly desired to return to their own land, he issued an edidt pennitting them to do so. In pursuance of this edicfl, a Jewish colony of 42,360 persons, besides their serv^ants, re- turned to Jerusalem from Babylonia in B. C. 535. The}^ proceeded diredlly to Jerusalem under the leadership of Zerubbabel, a de- scendant of the legitimate ro}-al race; and most of them at first settled on the site and in the immediate vicinity of the Holy City. The far greater portion of the Jewish nation yet remained in Chaldaea. The restored Jews under Zerubbabel at once devoted their efforts to rebuilding the Holy City and the Temple and restoring the worship of Jehovah and the Mosaic laws. They began the work in the j'ear of their return, but were stopped by the interference of the Samaritans, who were a mixed race occupying the old territory' of Ephraim and Manasseh and descended from foreign col- onists settled in that country by Esar-had- don. King of Assyria. The Samaritans, when the Jews had returned, offered to unite with them in rebuilding the Temple, desiring to make it a common sancftuary for both races. They claimed to be descendants of the ancient tribes of Israel, but the Jews repudiated their claim and ' ' would have no dealings with the Samaritans." In con- sequence of this refusal to allow them a share in the work of rebuilding the Temple, the Samaritans became the bitter enemies of the Jews, and endeavored by every possible means to thwart their work. They suc- ceeded in delaying the rebuilding of the Tem- ple and the city for a time in B. C. 522, but it was resumed by order of the great Per- sian king, Darius Hj-staspes, in B. C. 519, and the Temple was finished and dedicated in B. C. 515. Through the favor shown them by Darius Hystaspes, the Jews were enabled to firmly establish themselves in their old homes, in spite of the jealousy and hostility of the Sa- maritans and other neighboring nations. Xerxes the Great, the successor of Darius Hystaspes on the throne of Persia, notwith- standing that he was favorably disposed to- wards the Jews, almost caused their exter- mination by weakly giving his consent to a plot with that design formed by his prime- minister, Haman. This plot was detected by Mordecai, a Jew and the uncle of Esther, the favorite wife of Xerxes. Through the efforts of Mordecai and Esther, King Xerxes was prevailed upon to put the Jews on their guard and to pennit them to defend them- selves against their enemies. Consequently the plot resulted in the death of Haman, who was hanged from the same scaffold which he had designed for others, and the Jews successfuUj' defended themselves in every portion of the empire. Taking ad- vantage of the king's permission, they caused their most prominent antagonists to be put to death. This event, which occurred about B. C. 473, is still commemorated in the Feast of Purim. Ezra, a Jewish priest, who enjoj-ed the favor of the King of Persia, led a second colony of his countrymen from Babylon to Jerusalem in B. C. 458. As soon as he ar- rived he stopped the custom of inter- marriages between his countrymen and the neighboring nations, which had already' as- sumed proportions so formidable as to threaten the extincftion of the pure Jewish race. Ezra made other essential reforms in church and state, and had the books of the Old Testament definitely and authori- tatively arranged. Nehemiah, a Jewish favorite of the Per- sian king Artaxerxes Longimanus, the suc- cessor of Xerxes, who had been the king's cupbearer, arrived at Jerusalem, having been given permission to restore the walls and fortifications of the Holy City. In spite of the king's orders, the surrounding nations tried to stop the work, but the vigi- lance of Nehemiah caused his countrj-men to perfonn their labors under arms, and thus thwarted the plans of their enemies. The Jewish people were divided between the llAliYLONIAN CAPTIi-lTY AKD RETURN. 383 Holy Citj- and the royal districts, after the walls and fortifications of Jerusalem were restored. The laws of Moses were now re- established in Judtca. Nehemiah, as High Priest of his people, was appointed gover- nor of Judtea, which had followed the fortunes of the other Babylonian domin- ions in becoming a province of the vast Medo-Persian Empire ; and thenceforth Judaea was usually governed by the High Priest. Judaea was afterwards joined to the Persian satrapy of Syria. The Persian monarchs allowed the Jews to manage their domestic affairs in their own way, so long as they paid their tribute regularly. The Babylonian Captivity thoroughly cured the Jews as a nation of their fondness for idolatn,-, and they were therefore careful thenceforth to shun idolatry and to avoid all intercourse with idolatrous nations. They ever afterwaid remained steadfast in the worship of Jehovah and faithfully observed the laws of Moses. From the time of the return of the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity, the ancient territorj^ of Judah was called //' of the Passover, is also called the Feast of the Weeks, because it followed a succession of weeks. It was a festival of 384 ANCIENT HISTORY.— THE HEBREWS. thanks for the han^est. The Feast of the Tabernacles, celebrated from the fifteenth to the twenty-third of the seventh mouth, was to commemorate the Wanderings in the Wilderness, and was also in honor of the vintage and the gathering of the fruits. It was a season of joy and gladness. The Israelites considered themselves as sacred and holj' — as the special guardians of the only true religion; but the tribe of Levi, and particularly the priests of that tribe, called Levites, were more especially viewed in that light. Aaron and his posterity, who were from this tribe, were consecrated to the priesthood, who were given a close access to the throne of Jehovah, in the Holy Place. The other Levites performed the inferior re- ligious duties, but were allowed sen-ants for the more menial oiSces. The High Priest sustained the most exalted office of the tribe. Among sacred things we may name sacri- fices, of which there were many kinds and for different purposes — purification , the: first- born, ths. first fruits, tithes, oaths and vows. Concerning these there were many particular regulations. One peculiar rite was the sending forth of the scape-goat into the wilderness, in atonement for national sins. After the lustration of the Holy Place, the Tabernacle and the altar, the High Priest was diredted to procure a live goat, lay both hands upon his head, confess over him all the iniquities, transgressions and sins of the nation, putting the blame for them on the goat, and then letting him go free in the desert. The Hebrews were taught that Jehovah is the Only God — the Creator and Ruler of the entire universe, to whom all men owe gratitude and obedience. The^- were only admonished to abstain from such kinds of food as were regarded unclean, to keep them- selves free from moral pollution, and to be pure as God is pure. They were taught to be kind to the poor, to the widow and the orphan. They were forbidden to utter false- hoods and to spread scandal. They were not allowed to curse such magistrates as they disliked. Thus the Laws of Moses generally had a good moral tendency. The laws respecfting circumcision, cleanliness, tithes, usurj', .slaver>', property, marriage, theft, war, and the like, were adapted to the peculiar circumstances of the Hebrew nation. These laws were rigidly enforced. Polygamy was prevalent among the He- brews from the Mosaic times. Moses en- deavored to check this institution by narra- ting the original institution of marriage, and showing the evils resulting from a plu- rality of wives — evils which are very great in all Asiatic countries. There were like- wise some special regulations restraining polygamy, and the e\-il considerably dimin- ished in the progress of time. Agriculture, and likewise the keeping of flocks and herds, prevailed in the primitive ages, and the Mosaic laws speciallj' favored the tillage of the soil. This art was held in high esteem among the Hebrews. The naturally-fertile soil of Palestine was made more fertile bj' the care taken to improve it. Such grains as wheat, millet, spelt, barley, beans, lentils, meadow-cumin, etc., were cultivated; while flax, cotton, melons, cu- cumbers and rice were likewise raised. The beasts of burden used in agriculture were bulls, cows and asses. The vine was ex- tensiveh' cultivated. Agriculture was the chief pursuit of the Hebrews. Every" .seventh year the lands were left untilled, and whatever grew of it- self was to be given to the destitute. The houses were mostly poor and low, and were built of sun-dried mud or unhewn stones until the time of the kings, when more at- tention was devoted to archite(5ture. The street-doors were adorned with inscriptions from the Laws of Moses. The windows had no glass, but were latticed. The roofs were flat, and the people often resorted to them for cool air, and e\-en slept there in summer time. Domestic implements were rare and of simple construcftion. Grain was ground in hand-mills by the women. Olive-oil was used in lamps to give light. The to\\'ns presented a mean appearance, because of the want of public buildings. The Hebrew books, like those of other ancient nations. were in the form of rolls. University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 Return this material to the library from which It was borrowed. sang m SEP 1 1998 SRLF 2 WEEK LOAN ,.,p,OYfl;OL;;' Q 000 006 loo