Part 36 (2/2)

During his absence from home the old a.s.syrian party, who disliked the emperor because of Babylonian sympathies, had been intriguing regarding the succession to the throne. According to the Babylonian Chronicle, ”the king remained in a.s.syria” during 669 B.C., ”and he slew with the sword many n.o.ble men”. Ashur-bani-pal was evidently concerned in the conspiracy, and it is significant to find that he pleaded on behalf of certain of the conspirators. The crown prince Sinidinabal was dead: perhaps he had been a.s.sa.s.sinated.

At the feast of the G.o.ddess Gula (identical with Bau, consort of Ninip), towards the end of April in 668 B.C., Esarhaddon divided his empire between two of his sons. Ashur-bani-pal was selected to be King of a.s.syria, and Shamash-shum-ukin to be King of Babylon and the va.s.sal of Ashur-banipal. Other sons received important priestly appointments.

Soon after these arrangements were completed Esarhaddon, who was suffering from bad health, set out for Egypt. He died towards the end of October, and the early incidents of his campaign were included in the records of Ashur-bani-pal's reign. Taharka was defeated at Memphis, and retreated southward to Thebes.

So pa.s.sed away the man who has been eulogized as ”the n.o.blest and most sympathetic figure among the a.s.syrian kings”. There was certainly much which was attractive in his character. He inaugurated many social reforms, and appears to have held in check his overbearing n.o.bles.

Trade flourished during his reign. He did not undertake the erection of a new city, like his father, but won the grat.i.tude of the priesthood by his activities as a builder and restorer of temples. He founded a new ”house of Ashur” at Nineveh, and reconstructed several temples in Babylonia. His son Ashur-bani-pal was the last great a.s.syrian ruler.

CHAPTER XX.

THE LAST DAYS OF a.s.sYRIA AND BABYLONIA

Doom of Nineveh and Babylon--Babylonian Monotheism--Ashur-banipal and his Brother, King of Babylon--Ceremony of ”Taking the Hands of Bel”--Merodach restored to E-sagila--a.s.syrian Invasion of Egypt and Sack of Thebes--Lydia's Appeal to a.s.syria--Elam subdued--Revolt of Babylon--Death of Babylonian King--Sack of Susa--Psamtik of Egypt--Cimmerians crushed--Ashur-bani-pal's Literary Activities--The Sardanapalus Legend--Last Kings of a.s.syria--Fall of Nineveh--The New Babylonian Empire--Necho of Egypt expelled from Syria--King Jehoaikin of Judah deposed--Zedekiah's Revolt and Punishment--Fall of Jerusalem and Hebrew Captivity--Jeremiah laments over Jerusalem--Babylonia's Last Independent King--Rise of Cyrus the Conqueror--The Persian Patriarch and Eagle Legend--Cyrus conquers Lydia--Fall of Babylon--Jews return to Judah--Babylon from Cyrus to Alexander the Great.

The burden of Nineveh.... The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.... He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face.... The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved. And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be brought up, and her maids shall lead her as with the voice of doves, tabering upon their b.r.e.a.s.t.s.... Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the morter, make strong the brick-kiln. There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off.... Thy shepherds slumber, O king of a.s.syria: thy n.o.bles shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them. There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness pa.s.sed continually?[544]

The doom of Babylon was also foretold:

Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth.... Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans.... Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the mult.i.tude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail. Thou art wearied in the mult.i.tude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the star-gazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them.... Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee.[545]

Against a gloomy background, dark and ominous as a thundercloud, we have revealed in the last century of Mesopotamian glory the splendour of a.s.syria and the beauty of Babylon. The ancient civilizations ripened quickly before the end came. Kings still revelled in pomp and luxury. Cities resounded with ”the noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the prancing horses, and of the jumping chariots. The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear.... The valiant men are in scarlet.”[546] But the minds of cultured men were more deeply occupied than ever with the mysteries of life and creation. In the libraries, the temples, and observatories, philosophers and scientists were shattering the unsubstantial fabric of immemorial superst.i.tion; they attained to higher conceptions of the duties and responsibilities of mankind; they conceived of divine love and divine guidance; they discovered, like Wordsworth, that the soul has--

An obscure sense Of possible sublimity, whereto With growing faculties she doth aspire.

One of the last kings of Babylon, Nebuchadrezzar, recorded a prayer which reveals the loftiness of religious thought and feeling attained by men to whom graven images were no longer worthy of adoration and reverence--men whose G.o.d was not made by human hands--

O eternal prince! Lord of all being!

As for the king whom thou lovest, and Whose name thou hast proclaimed As was pleasing to thee, Do thou lead aright his life, Guide him in a straight path.

I am the prince, obedient to thee, The creature of thy hand; Thou hast created me, and With dominion over all people Thou hast entrusted me.

According to thy grace, O Lord, Which thou dost bestow on All people, Cause me to love thy supreme dominion, And create in my heart The wors.h.i.+p of thy G.o.dhead And grant whatever is pleasing to thee, Because thou hast fas.h.i.+oned my life.[547]

The ”star-gazers” had become scientists, and foretold eclipses: in every sphere of intellectual activity great men were sifting out truth from the debris of superst.i.tion. It seemed as if Babylon and a.s.syria were about to cross the threshold of a new age, when their doom was sounded and their power was shattered for ever. Nineveh perished with dramatic suddenness: Babylon died of ”senile decay”.

When, in 668 B.C., intelligence reached Nineveh that Esarhaddon had pa.s.sed away, on the march through Egypt, the arrangements which he had made for the succession were carried out smoothly and quickly. Naki'a, the queen mother, was acting as regent, and completed her lifework by issuing a proclamation exhorting all loyal subjects and va.s.sals to obey the new rulers, her grandsons, Ashur-bani-pal, Emperor of a.s.syria, and Shamash-shum-ukin, King of Babylon. Peace prevailed in the capital, and there was little or no friction throughout the provinces: new rulers were appointed to administer the States of Arvad and Ammon, but there were no changes elsewhere.

Babylon welcomed its new king--a Babylonian by birth and the son of a Babylonian princess. The ancient kingdom rejoiced that it was no longer to be ruled as a province; its ancient dignities and privileges were being partially restored. But one great and deep-seated grievance remained. The G.o.d Merodach was still a captive in the temple of Ashur.

No king could reign aright if Merodach were not restored to E-sagila.

Indeed he could not be regarded as the lord of the land until he had ”taken the hands of Bel”.

The ceremony of taking the G.o.d's hands was an act of homage. When it was consummated the king became the steward or va.s.sal of Merodach, and every day he appeared before the divine one to receive instructions and wors.h.i.+p him. The welfare of the whole kingdom depended on the manner in which the king acted towards the G.o.d. If Merodach was satisfied with the king he sent blessings to the land; if he was angry he sent calamities. A pious and faithful monarch was therefore the protector of the people.

This close a.s.sociation of the king with the G.o.d gave the priests great influence in Babylon. They were the power behind the throne. The destinies of the royal house were placed in their hands; they could strengthen the position of a royal monarch, or cause him to be deposed if he did not satisfy their demands. A king who reigned over Babylon without the priestly party on his side occupied an insecure position.

Nor could he secure the co-operation of the priests unless the image of the G.o.d was placed in the temple. Where king was, there Merodach had to be also.

Shamash-shum-ukin pleaded with his royal brother and overlord to restore Bel Merodach to Babylon. Ashur-bani-pal hesitated for a time; he was unwilling to occupy a less dignified position, as the representative of Ashur, than his distinguished predecessor, in his relation to the southern kingdom. At length, however, he was prevailed upon to consult the oracle of Shamash, the solar lawgiver, the revealer of destiny. The G.o.d was accordingly asked if Shamash-shum-ukin could ”take the hands of Bel” in Ashur's temple, and then proceed to Babylon as his representative. In response, the priests of Shamash informed the emperor that Bel Merodach could not exercise sway as sovereign lord so long as he remained a prisoner in a city which was not his own.

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