Part 7 (2/2)
Since the early spring of 1903 excavations have been conducted at Kuyunjik, the site of the city of Nineveh, by Messrs. L. W. King and R.
C. Thompson on behalf of the Trustees of the British Museum, and have resulted in the discovery of many early remains in the lower strata of the mound, in addition to the finding of new portions of the two palaces already known and partly excavated, the identification of a third palace, and the finding of an ancient temple dedicated to Nab, whose existence had already been inferred from a study of the a.s.syrian inscriptions.* All these diggings at Babylon, at Ashur, and at Nineveh throw more light upon the history of the country during the a.s.syrian and Neo-Babylonian periods, and will be referred to later in the volume.
* It may be noted that excavations are also being actively carried on in Palestine at the present time. Mr. Macalister has for some years been working for the Palestine Exploration Fund at Gezer; Dr. Schumacher is digging at Megiddo for the German Palestine Society; and Prof. Sellin is at present excavating at Taanach (Ta'annak) and will shortly start work at Dothan. Good work on remains of later historical periods is also being carried on under the auspices of the Deutsch-Orient Gesellschaft at Ba'albek and in Galilee. It would be tempting to include here a summary of the very interesting results that have recently been achieved in this fruitful field of archaeological research, for it is true that these excavations may strictly be said to bear on the history of a portion of Western Asia. But the problems which they raise would more naturally be discussed in a work dealing with recent excavation and research in relation to the Bible, and to have summarized them adequately would have increased the size of the present volume considerably beyond its natural limits. They have therefore not been included within the scope of the present work.
[Ill.u.s.tration: 168.jpg THE PRINc.i.p.aL MOUND AT SHEKGHAT, WHICH MARKS THE SITE OF ASHUK, THE ANCIENT CAPITAL OF THE a.s.sYRIANS.]
Meanwhile, we will return to the diggings described at the beginning of this chapter, as affording new information concerning the earliest periods of Chaldaean history.
A most interesting inscription has recently been discovered by Capt.
Cros at Telloh, which throws considerable light on the rivalry which existed between the cities of s.h.i.+rpurla and Gishkhu, and at the same time furnishes valuable material for settling the chronology of the earliest rulers whose inscriptions have been found at Mppur and their relations to contemporary rulers in s.h.i.+rpurla.
[Ill.u.s.tration: 169.jpg THE MOUND OF KUYUNJIK, WHICH FORMED ONE OF THE PALACE MOUNDS OF THE ANCIENT a.s.sYRIAN CITY OF NINEVEH.]
The cities of Gishkhu and s.h.i.+rpurla were probably situated not far from one another, and their rivalry is typical of the history of the early city-states of Babylonia. The site of the latter city, as has already been said, is marked by the mounds of Telloh on the east bank of the Shatt el-Hai, the natural stream joining the Tigris and Euphrates, which has been improved and ca.n.a.lized by the dwellers in Southern Babylonia from the earliest period.
[Ill.u.s.tration: 170.jpg WINGED BULL IN THE PALACE OF SENNACHERIB ON KUYUNJIK, THE PRINc.i.p.aL MOUND MARKING THE SITE OF NINEVEH.]
The site of Gishkhu may be set with considerable probability not far to the north of Telloh on the opposite bank of the Shatt el-Hai. These two cities, situated so close to one another, exercised considerable political influence, and though less is known of Gishkhu than of the more famous Babylonian cities such as Ur, Brech, and Larsam, her proximity to s.h.i.+rpurla gave her an importance which she might not otherwise have possessed. The earliest knowledge we possess of the relations existing between Gishkhu and s.h.i.+rpurla refers to the reign of Mesilim, King of Kish, the period of whose rule may be provisionally set before that of Sargon of Agade, i.e, about 4000 B.C.
At this period there was rivalry between the two cities, in consequence of which Mesilim, King of Kish, was called in as arbitrator. A record of the treaty of delimitation that was drawn up on this occasion has been preserved upon the recently discovered cone of Entemena. This doc.u.ment tells us that at the command of the G.o.d Enlil, described as ”the king of the countries,” Ningirsu, the chief G.o.d of s.h.i.+rpurla, and the G.o.d of Gishkhu decided to draw up a line of division between their respective territories, and that Mesilim, King of Kish, acting under the direction of his own G.o.d Kadi, marked out the frontier and set up a stele between the two territories to commemorate the fixing of the boundary.
This policy of fixing the boundary by arbitration seems to have been successful, and to have secured peace between s.h.i.+rpurla and Gishkhu for some generations. But after a period which cannot be accurately determined a certain patesi of Gishkhu, named Ush, was filled with ambition to extend his territory at the expense of s.h.i.+rpurla. He therefore removed the stele which Mesilim had set up, and, invading the plain of s.h.i.+rpurla, succeeded in conquering and holding a district named Gu-edin. But Ush's successful raid was not of any permanent benefit to his city, for he was in his turn defeated by the forces of s.h.i.+rpurla, and his successor upon the throne, a patesi named Enakalli, abandoned a policy of aggression, and concluded with Eannadu, patesi of s.h.i.+rpurla, a solemn treaty concerning the boundary between their realms, the text of which has been preserved to us upon the famous Stele of Vultures in the Louvre.*
* A fragment of this stele is also preserved in the British Museum. It is published in Cuneiform Texts in the British Museum, Pt. vii.
According to this treaty Gu-edin was restored to s.h.i.+rpurla, and a deep ditch was dug between the two territories which should permanently indicate the line of demarcation. The stele of Mesilim was restored to its place, and a second stele was inscribed and set up as a memorial of the new treaty. Enakalli did not negotiate the treaty on equal terms with Eannadu, for he only secured its ratification by consenting to pay heavy tribute in grain for the supply of the great temples of Nin-girsu and Nina in s.h.i.+rpurla. It would appear that under Eannadu the power and influence of s.h.i.+rpurla were extended over the whole of Southern Babylonia, and reached even to the borders of Elam. At any rate, it is clear that during his lifetime the city of Gishkhu was content to remain in a state of subjection to its more powerful neighbour. But it was always ready to seize any opportunity of a.s.serting itself and of attempting to regain its independence.
[Ill.u.s.tration: 172.jpg CLAY MEMORIAL-TABLET OF EANNADU.]
The characters of the inscription well ill.u.s.trate the pictorial origin of the Sumerian system of writing.
Photograph by Messrs. Mansell & Co.
Accordingly, after Eannadu's death the men of Gishkhu again took the offensive. At this time Urlumma, the son and successor of Enakalli, was on the throne of Gishkhu, and he organized the forces of the city and led them out to battle. His first act was to destroy the frontier ditches named after Ningirsu and Nina, the princ.i.p.al G.o.d and G.o.ddess of s.h.i.+rpurla, which Eannadu, the powerful foe of Gishkhu, had caused to be dug. He then tore down the stele on which the terms of Eannadu's treaty had been engraved and broke it into pieces by casting it into the fire, and the shrines which Eannadu had built near the frontier, and had consecrated to the G.o.ds of s.h.i.+rpurla, he razed to the ground. But again s.h.i.+rpurla in the end proved too strong for Gishkhu. The ruler in s.h.i.+rpurla at this time was Enannadu, who had succeeded his brother Eannadu upon the throne. He marched out to meet the invading forces of the men of Gishkhu, and a battle was fought in the territory of s.h.i.+rpurla. According to one account, the forces of s.h.i.+rpurla were victorious, while on the cone of Ente-mena no mention is made of the issue of the combat. The result may not have been decisive, but Enannadu's action at least checked Urlumma's encroachments for the time.
It would appear that the death of the reigning patesi in s.h.i.+rpurla was always the signal for an attack upon that city by the men of Gishkhu.
They may have hoped that the new ruler would prove a less successful leader than the last, or that the accession of a new monarch might give rise to internal dissensions in the city which would weaken s.h.i.+rpurla's power of resisting a sudden attack. As Eannadu's death had encouraged Urlumma to lead out the men of Gishkhu, so the death of Enannadu seemed to him a good opportunity to make another bid for victory. But this time the result of the battle was not indecisive. Entemena had succeeded his father Enannadu, and he led out to victory the forces of s.h.i.+r-purla. The battle was fought near the ca.n.a.l Lumma-girnun-ta, and when the men of Gishkhu were put to flight they left sixty of their fellows lying dead upon the banks of the ca.n.a.l. Entemena tells us that the bones of these warriors were left to bleach in the open plain, but he seems to have buried those of the men of Gishkhu who fell in the pursuit, for he records that in five separate places he piled up burial-mounds in which the bodies of the slain were interred. Entemena was not content with merely inflicting a defeat upon the army of Gishkhu and driving it back within its own borders, for he followed up his initial advantage and captured the capital itself. He deposed and imprisoned Urlumma, and chose one of his own adherents to rule as patesi of Gishkhu in his stead. The man he appointed for this high office was named Hi, and he had up to that time been priest in Ninab. Entemena summoned him to his presence, and, after marching in a triumphal procession from Girsu in the neighbourhood of s.h.i.+rpurla to the conquered city, proceeded to invest him with the office of patesi of Gishkhu.
Entemena also repaired the frontier ditches named after Ningirsu and Nina, which had been employed for purposes of irrigation as well as for marking the frontier; and he gave instructions to Hi to employ the men dwelling in the district of Karkar on this work, as a punishment for the active part they had taken in the recent raid into the territory of s.h.i.+rpurla. Entemena also restored and extended the system of ca.n.a.ls in the region between the Tigris and the Euphrates, lining one of the princ.i.p.al channels with stone.
[Ill.u.s.tration: 175.jpg MARBLE GATE]
Socket Bearing An Inscription Of Entemena, A Powerful Patesi, Or Viceroy, Of s.h.i.+rpurla. In the photograph the gate-socket is resting on its side so as to show the inscription, but when in use it was set flat upon the ground and partly buried below the level of the pavement of the building in which it was used. It was fixed at the side of a gateway and the pivot of the heavy gate revolved in the shallow hole or depression in its centre. As stone is not found in the alluvial soil of Babylonia, the blocks for gate-sockets had to be brought from great distances and they were consequently highly prized. The kings and patesis who used them in their buildings generally had their names and t.i.tles engraved upon them, and they thus form a valuable cla.s.s of inscriptions for the study of the early history.
Photograph by Messrs. Man-sell & Co.
He thus added greatly to the wealth of s.h.i.+rpurla by increasing the area of territory under cultivation, and he continued to exercise authority in Gishkhu by means of officers appointed by himself. A record of his victory over Gishkhu was inscribed by Entemena upon a number of clay cones, that the fame of it might be preserved in future days to the honour of Ningirsu and the G.o.ddess Nina. He ends this record with a prayer for the preservation of the frontier. If ever in time to come the men of Gishkhu should break out across the frontier-ditch of Ningirsu, or the frontier-ditch of Nina, in order to seize or lay waste the lands of s.h.i.+rpurla, whether they be men of the city of Gishkhu itself or men of the mountains, he prays that Enlil may destroy them and that Ningirsu may lay his curse upon them; and if ever the warriors of his own city should be called upon to defend it, he prays that they may be full of courage and ardour for their task.
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