Part 4 (2/2)

II. THE a.s.sYRIAN EMPIRE.

GROWTH OF ITS POWER.--a.s.syria was even greater, as a conquering power, than Babylon. In the legends current among the Greeks, the building-up of the monarchy, and of Nineveh its capital, as well as of Babylon, is referred to the legendary heroes, _Ninus_ and his queen _Semiramis_. The name of Ninus is not recorded on the monuments, and is, perhaps, a kind of mythical personification of a.s.syrian conquests and grandeur; and the name of Semiramis does not appear until the ninth century B.C. She may have been a princess or even queen. a.s.syrian independence began before 2300 B.C. Between 1500 and 1400 B.C., a.s.syria was a weak state. It gained a brief mastery over Babylon through a conquest by _Tukulti-Ninib_ (1300 B.C.). _Tiglath-Pileser I_. (1100 B.C.) spread his conquests to the Mediterranean and the Caspian on the west, and south to the Persian Gulf. But these early acquisitions of a.s.syria were transient. There ensued a long interval, until the middle of the tenth century, when the monarchy was mostly confined within its own proper borders. A new series of strong and aggressive princes arose. The conflicts of Damascus and of the nations of Palestine with one another left room for the growth of the a.s.syrian might and for the spread of a.s.syrian dominion. _a.s.shur-nasir-pal_ (formerly called _Sardanapalus I._) levied tribute upon Tyre, and the other rich cities of the Syrian coast, and founded the a.s.syrian rule in _Cilicia_. About the middle of the eighth century, the kingdom of Israel, having renounced its va.s.salage to a.s.syria, in league with _Rezin_ of Damascus, the ruler of Syria, made war upon the kingdom of Judah. _Ahaz_, the Judaean king, against the protest of the prophet _Isaiah_, invoked the aid of the a.s.syrian monarch, _Tiglath-Pileser II_. The call was answered. The league was overthrown by him in a great battle fought near the Euphrates, and numerous captives, according to the a.s.syrian practice, were carried away from Samaria and Damascus. We are told that _Ahaz_, seeing the offerings made by Tiglath-Pileser at Damascus, commanded his priests at Jerusalem, despite the remonstrance of Isaiah, to make offerings to the a.s.syrian G.o.ds. Judah, as the result of these events, became tributary to a.s.syria. All Syria, together with Babylonia, which was then made up of several states, western Iran, and Armenia, were subdued by this a.s.syrian conqueror. He formally a.s.sumed the t.i.tle of ”King of Babylon.” _Shalmaneser IV._ (727-722 B.C.), bent on completing the subjugation of Syria, subdued anew the revolted cities, and conquered, as it would seem, the island of _Cyprus_. Tyre alone, that is, the insular city of that name, withstood a siege of five years. _Hoshea_, the king of Israel (733-722 B.C.), in order to throw off the a.s.syrian yoke, sent an emba.s.sy to _Shabak_, the king of Egypt, to procure his a.s.sistance. Hearing of this, _Shalmaneser_ attacked Israel. After a siege of three years, Samaria, the capital, fell into the hands of _Sargon_, who had succeeded him, the kingdom of Israel was subverted, and a great part of the people dragged off into captivity. In 720 B.C., _Sargon_ encountered _Shabak_, in the great battle of _Raphia_, in southern Palestine, whom he defeated, and put to flight. He received tribute from Egypt, conquered a part of Arabia, and received the homage of the king of _Meroe_, who made a journey from Ethiopia to bow before him. The reign of _Sennacherib_ (705-681 B.C.) was an eventful one, both for a.s.syria and for the neighboring countries. _Hezekiah_, king of Judah, hoped with the aid of Egypt to achieve his independence. Sennacherib was obliged to raise the siege of Jerusalem, after Hezekiah had vainly sought to propitiate him with large offerings of silver and gold; but the a.s.syrian was prevented from engaging in battle with _Tirhaka_ of Egypt by a great calamity that befell his army. Against Babylon, which frequently revolted, he was more successful. ”Berodach-baladan,” as he is called in Scripture (2 Kings, chap. 20), who at an earlier day had sent an emba.s.sy from Babylon to Hezekiah, was overcome, and a new ruler enthroned in his place. _Esarhaddon_ (681-668 B.C.) not only restored the a.s.syrian sway over Syria, Phoenicia, Cyprus, Judah, and a part of Arabia, countries that lost no opportunity to shake off the cruel and hateful rule of Nineveh, but also conquered Egypt, and parceled it out among twenty governors. By Esarhaddon, or by his successor, _Mana.s.seh_, king of Judah, was conquered, and carried off as a captive, but afterwards restored to his throne. a.s.syria was now at the summit of its power. _a.s.shur-bani-pal V._ (668-626 B.C.), called Sardanapalus, although he lost Egypt, confirmed the a.s.syrian power in the other subject states, and received tribute from _Lydia_, on the western border of Asia Minor. Under him, a.s.syrian art made its farthest advance. He was the builder of magnificent palaces. It is his library, dug up from the grave in which it had been buried for two and a half decades of centuries, that has yielded a vast amount of welcome information concerning a.s.syrian and Babylonian history far back into the Sumerian period.

RELIGION AND ART.--It has been stated that the a.s.syrian culture was transplanted from Babylon. The religion was substantially the same, except that _a.s.shur_, the tutelary deity of the country, was made supreme. The a.s.syrians from the start were devoted to war, pillage, and conquest. Their unsparing cruelty and brutal treatment of their enemies are abundantly witnessed by their own monuments. They lacked the productive power in literature and art which belonged to the Babylonians. Although they might have built their edifices of stone, they generally made use of brick. Their sculptures in relief were much better than the full figures. They laid color upon their works in sculpture. But their art was merely a pictorial record of events. The sense of beauty and creative power were wanting. The more religious character of the Babylonians created a difference in the architecture of the two peoples. In gem-cutting both were singularly expert. The a.s.syrians gave less attention to the burial of the dead. They showed an apt.i.tude for trade; and Nineveh, in the eighth and seventh centuries, was a busy mart.

THE FALL OF a.s.sYRIA.--The first important blow at the a.s.syrian imperial rule was struck by the _Medes_. After nearly a century of resistance, they had been subdued (710 B.C.), and were subject to a.s.syria for a century after. In 640 B.C., they rose in revolt, under _Phraortes_, one of their native chiefs, who fell in battle. The struggle was continued by his son, _Cyaxares_. His plans were interrupted, however, by

THE IRRUPTION OF THE SCYTHIANS (623 B.C.).--More than a century before, these wandering Asiatic tribes had begun to make predatory incursions into Asia Minor. When _Cyaxares_ was before Nineveh, they came down in greater force, and a horde of them, moving southward from the river Halys, invaded Syria. Jerusalem and the stronger cities held out against them, but the open country was devastated. They were met by _Psammeticus I._, king of Egypt, and bribed to turn back. They entered Babylonia; but _Nabopola.s.sar_, the viceroy of a.s.shur-bani-pal (Sardanapalus), successfully defended the city of Babylon against their attacks. By _Cyaxares_, either these or another horde were defeated; but it was not until 605 B.C. that the region south of the Black Sea was cleared of them. The kingdom of _Lydia_ had now come to play an important part in the affairs of western Asia.

Our first knowledge of the peoples of Asia Minor is from the Homeric poems (about 900 B.C.). The _Chalybeans_ were in Pontus; west of them, the _Amazonians_ and _Paphlagonians_; west of these, the _Mysians_; on the h.e.l.lespont, small tribes related to the _Trojans_; on the aegean, the _Dardanians_ and the _Trojans_ (on the north), the _Carians_ and the _Lycians_ (on the south); on the north-east of these last, the _Phrygians_.

A large portion of the early inhabitants of Asia Minor were _Semitic_, and closely related to the Syrians. Semitic divinities were wors.h.i.+ped; a G.o.ddess, _Mylitta_, under other names, was adored in Pontus, at Ephesus, in Phrygia, and in Lydia.

The Lydians were of the Semitic race. _Cybele_, the female divinity whom they served, was the same deity whose altars were at Babylon, Nineveh, and Tyre. The rulers of the dynasty of the _Mermnadae, Gyges_ and his successors, spread the Lydian dominion until it extended to the h.e.l.lespont, and included Mysia and Phrygia. _Alyattes_ was able to extirpate the Cimmerian hordes from the Sea of Azoff, who had overrun the western part of Asia Minor, and to make the Halys his eastern boundary. Gyges had been slain in the contest with those fierce barbarians, called in the Old Testament _Gomer_. At first he had sought help from the a.s.syrians, but he broke away from this dependence.

Liberated from the troubles of the Scythian irruption, _Cyaxares_ formed an alliance with _Nabopola.s.sar_, the viceroy in Babylon, who had revolted, and gained his independence. The Median ruler had subdued Armenia, and established his control as far as the Halys, making a treaty with Lydia. Now ensued the desperate conflict on which hung the fate of the a.s.syrian Empire. Nineveh was taken (606 B.C.) by the Medes under _Cyaxares_, and the Babylonians under _Nebuchadnezzar_, the son of Nabopola.s.sar. The Grecian story of Sardanapalus burning himself on a lofty bier, is a myth. a.s.syria was divided by the _Tigris_ between the _Medes_ and _Babylonians._

THE THREE POWERS: EGYPT.--On the fall of Nineveh, there were three princ.i.p.al powers left on the stage of action, which were bound together by treaty, _Lydia, Media,_ and _Babylon._ Egypt proved itself unable to cope with Babylonian power. _Necho,_ during the siege of Nineveh, had attacked Syria, and defeated the Jews on the plain of Esdraelon, where king _Josiah_ was slain. He dethroned _Jehoahaz,_ Josiah's son, and enthroned _Jehoiakim_ in his stead. But when, in 605 B.C., he confronted Nebuchadnezzar at _Carchemish,_ and was defeated, he was compelled to give up Syria, and to retire within the boundaries of Egypt.

III. THE NEW BABYLONIAN EMPIRE.

TRIUMPS OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR.--Syria was now at the mercy of Nebuchadnezzar. He captured Jerusalem (597 B.C.), despoiled the temple and palace, and led away Jehoiakim as a captive. He placed on the throne of Judah Jehoiakim's uncle, _Zedekiah._ But this king, having arranged an alliance between Egypt and the Phoenician cities, revolted (590 B.C.), refusing to pay his tribute. Again Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem, but raised the siege, in order to drive home _Apries II._ (Hophra), the Egyptian ally of Zedekiah. The city was taken, the king's sons were killed in his presence, his own eyes were put out; and, after the temple and palace had been burned and the city sacked, he, with all the families of the upper cla.s.s who had not escaped to the desert, was carried away to Babylon (586 B.C.). Tyre (the old city) in like manner was taken by a.s.sault (585 B.C.).

By Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon was enlarged, and adorned on a scale of unequaled splendor. The new palace, with its ”hanging gardens,” the bridge over the Euphrates, the Median wall connecting the Euphrates and the Tigris on his northern boundary, and magnificent waterworks, are famous structures which belong to this reign. Wealth and luxury abounded. But vigor of administration fell away under his successors; and Babylon, after a dominion short when compared with the long sway of Nineveh, was conquered by _Cyrus,_ the Medo-Persian king, in 538 B.C. The last king was _Nabonetus._

THE CITY OF BABYLON.--Babylon was a city of the highest antiquity. The name (_Bab-ili,_ ”Gate of G.o.d”) is Semitic. The city is mentioned in the earliest cuneiform records, and from the time of Hammurabi was the chief city of the land. Destroyed by Sennacherib (690 B.C.), it was rebuilt by Esarhaddon, but not fully restored and adorned until the reigns of Nabopola.s.sar and Nebuchadnezzar.

Babylon surpa.s.sed all ancient cities in size and magnificence. Its walls were forty miles in circ.u.mference. This extent of wall probably included Borsippa, or ”Babylon the Second,” on the right bank of the river. Babylon proper was mainly on the left. Within the walls were inclosed gardens, orchards, and fields: the s.p.a.ce was only filled in part by buildings; but the whole area was laid out with straight streets intersecting one another at right angles, like the streets of Philadelphia. The wall was pierced by a hundred gates, probably twenty-five in each face. The Euphrates, lined with quays on both sides, and spanned with drawbridges, ran through the town, dividing it into two nearly equal parts. The city was protected without by a deep and wide moat. The wall was at least seventy or eighty feet in height, and of vast and unusual thickness. On the summit were two hundred and fifty towers, placed along the outer and inner edges, opposite to one another, but so far apart, according to Herodotus, that there was room for a four-horse chariot to pa.s.s between. The temple of _Bel_ was in a square inclosure, about a quarter of a mile both in length and breadth. The tower of the temple was ascended on the outside by an inclined plane carried around the four sides. An exaggerated statement of _Strabo_ makes its height six hundred and six feet. Possibly, this represents the length of the inclined plane. In the shrine on the top were a golden table and a couch; according to _Diodorus_, before the Persian conquest there were colossal golden images of three divinities, with two golden lions, and two enormous serpents of silver. It is thought that Herodotus may have described the splendid temple of _Nebo_ (now _Birs Nimrud_), and have mistaken it, by reason of its enormous ruins, for the temple of _Bel_, which it rivaled in magnificence. The great palace is represented to have been larger than the temple of Bel, the outermost of its three inclosing walls being three miles in circ.u.mference. Its exterior was of baked brick. The ”Hanging Gardens” was a structure built on a square, consisting of stages or stories, one above another, each supported by arches, and covered on the top, at the height of at least seventy-five feet, with a great ma.s.s of earth in which grew flowers and shrubs, and even large trees. The ascent to the top was by steps. On the way up were stately and elegant apartments. The smaller palace was on the other side of the river.

LITERATURE.--Works on Oriental History mentioned on p. 42. Tiele, _Babylonisch-a.s.syrische Geschichte_ (1888); Kaulen, _a.s.syrien und Babylonien_ (5th ed., 1899); Rogers, _History of Babylonia and a.s.syria_ (1901); Goodspeed, _History of the Babylonians and a.s.syrians_ (1902); King, Articles _a.s.syria_ and _Babylonia_ in the _Encyclopedia Biblica_; Sayce, _Babylonians and a.s.syrians: Life and Customs_ (1899); Schrader, _The Cuneiform Inscriptions and the Old Testament_; Jastrow, _Religion of Babylonia and a.s.syria_ (1898); Perrot & Chipiez, _Histoire de l'art dans l'antiquite_, vol. ii., _Chaldee et a.s.syrie_.

CHAPTER III. THE PHOENICIANS AND CARTHAGINIANS.

PHOENICIA.--A narrow strip of territory separates the mountains of Syria and Palestine from the Mediterranean. Of this belt the northern part, west of Lebanon, about one hundred and fifty miles long, varies in width from five to fourteen miles. In some places the cliffs approach close to the sea. This belt of land was occupied by the first of the great maritime and commercial peoples of antiquity, the Phoenicians. Their language was Semitic, closely akin to Hebrew.

COMMERCE AND PROSPERITY OF THE PHOENICIANS.--The most important of the Phoenician cities were Sidon--which was the first of them to rise to distinction and power--and Tyre, which became more famous as a mart, and comprised, besides the town on the coast, New Tyre, the city built on the neighboring rocky island. In New Tyre was the sanctuary of the tutelary G.o.d, _Melkart_. The spirit of trade stimulated ingenuity. The Phoenicians were noted for their gla.s.s, their purple dyes, their improved alphabet, and knowledge of the art of writing. In mining and in casting metals, in the manufacture of cloth, in architecture, and in other arts, they were not less proficient. From their situation they naturally became a seafaring race. Not only did they transport their cargoes of merchandise to the islands and sh.o.r.es of the Mediterranean, conveying thither not merely the fruits of their own industry and skill, but also the productions of the East: they ventured to steer their vessels beyond the Strait of Gibraltar; and, if they did not procure amber directly from the North Sea, they brought tin either directly from Cornwall or from the Scilly Islands. Through the hands of Phoenician merchants ”pa.s.sed the gold and pearls of the East, the purple of Tyre, slaves, ivory, lions' and panthers' skins from the interior of Africa, frankincense from Arabia, the linen of Egypt, the pottery and fine wares of Greece, the copper of Cyprus, the silver of Spain, tin from England, and iron from Elba.”

These products were carried wherever a market could be found for them. At the instigation of Necho, king of Egypt (610-594 B.C.), they are said to have made a three years' voyage round the southern cape of Africa.

COLONIES: OPULENCE.-The Phoenicians were the first great colonizing nation of antiquity. It was the fas.h.i.+on of a.s.syrians and other conquerors to transport to their own lands mult.i.tudes of people, whom they carried away as captives from their homes. The Phoenicians--in this particular the forerunners of the Greeks and of the Dutch and the English--planted trading settlements in Cyprus and Crete, on the islands of the aegean Sea, in southern Spain, and in North Africa. _Cadiz_, one of the oldest towns in Europe, was founded by these enterprising traders (about 1100 B.C.). _Tars.h.i.+sh_ was another of their Spanish settlements. ”s.h.i.+ps of Tars.h.i.+sh,” like the modern ”East Indiamen,” came to signify vessels capable of making long voyages. The coast of modern Andalusia and Granada belonged to the Phoenicians. Through caravans their intercourse was not less lively with the states on the Euphrates, with Nineveh and Babylon, as well as with Egypt. Tyre was a link between the East and the West.

HIRAM: SETTLEMENT OF CARTHAGE.--The Tyrian power attained to its height under King _Hiram I._, the contemporary and ally of _Solomon_. Two Greek historians make his reign to extend from 969 to 936 B.C. The alliance with Solomon extended the traffic of Tyre, and increased its wealth. Hiram connected old and New Tyre by a bridge. The Tyrians adorned their city with stately palaces and temples, and built strong fortifications. Engrossed in manufactures and commerce, and delighting in the affluence thus engendered, the Phoenicians were not ambitious of conquest. Although conquerors upon the sea, they were not a martial people: like commercial states generally, they preferred peace. Of the people of Laish (Dan), it is said in the Book of Judges (xviii. 7), ”They dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure.” This pacific temper was coupled with a fervent attachment to their own land and to their countrymen wherever they went. But they lacked the political instinct. They did not appreciate liberty, and their love of traffic and of gain often made them prefer to pay tribute rather than to fight. Their colonies were factories, but were not centers of further conquest, or germs of political communities. When, the family of _Hiram_ was exterminated (about 850 B.C.) by the high-priest of the G.o.ddess Astarte, who seized on power, civil strife and disorder ensued. _Pygmalion_, the great-grandson of the high-priest, as it is related by a Grecian authority, slew his uncle, who was to marry Pygmalion's sister, _Elissa_. On account of this internal conflict, and from dread of the a.s.syrian power, a large number of the old families emigrated to North Africa, and founded Carthage (about 814 B.C.).

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