Assyria, Its Princes, Priests and People Part 8

IV. '(In my ninth expedition and eleventh year) the people of the Philistines, Judah, Edom and the Moabites who dwell by the sea, who owed tribute and presents to a.s.sur my lord, plotted rebellion, men of insolence, who in order to revolt against me carried their bribes for alliance to Pharaoh king of Egypt, a prince who could not save them, and sent him homage. I, Sargon, the established prince, the reverer of the worship of a.s.sur and Merodach, the protector of the renown of a.s.sur, caused the warriors who belonged to me entirely to pa.s.s the rivers Tigris and Euphrates during full flood, and that same Yavan [of Ashdod], their king, who trusted in his (forces), and did not (reverence) my sovereignty, heard of the progress of my expedition to the land of the Hitt.i.tes [Syria], and the fear of (a.s.sur) my (lord) overwhelmed him, and to the border of Egypt ... he fled away.'

_From a Cylinder of Esar-haddon._

'I a.s.sembled the kings of Syria and the land beyond the [Mediterranean]

sea, Baal king of Tyre, Mana.s.seh king of Judah, Kaus-gabri king of Edom, Mizri[11] king of Moab, Zil-Baal king of Gaza, Metinti king of Ashkelon, Ikausu king of Ekron, Melech-asaph king of Gebal, Matan-Baal king of Arvad, Abi-Baal king, of Shamesh-merom, Pedael king of Beth-Ammon, and Ahimelech king of Ashdod, twelve kings of the sea-coast; Ekistor king of Idalion, Pylagoras king of Khytros, Kissos king of Salamis, Ithuander king of Paphos, Eriesos king of Soloi, Damasos king of Kurion, Rumesu king of Tama.s.sos, Damusi king of Carthage, Unasagusu king of Lidir, and Butsusu king of Nure, ten kings of the land of Cyprus in the middle of the sea.'

[11] That is 'the Egyptian;' cf. 2 Sam. xxiii. 20, 21.

INDEX

A.

Accadians, invented the cuneiform system of writing, founded the chief cities and civilisation of Babylonia; erected the earliest known monuments; the language may be called the Latin of Asia, 24; the Accadians first used hieroglyphics or pictures painted on papyrus leaves, from which the cuneiform characters were formed; afterwards soft clay was stamped with cuneitic symbols, and then sun-dried; general use of writing and materials employed; characters changed, 93-95; Sarzec's recent discovery at Tel-Loh, 95.

Adar, a solar deity; p.r.o.nunciation of name not quite certain; it forms a part of the name Adrammelech, 66.

Adrammelech, one of the G.o.ds of Sepharvaim brought to Samaria by the colonists settled there; probably representing some particular attribute of the Sun-G.o.d; also the name of one of Sennacherib's regicide sons, 46, 66.

Ahaz, king of Judah, called Jehoahaz in the inscriptions; bribed Pul to attack the Syrians and Israelites; and himself became tributary, 36.

Allat, the G.o.ddess queen of the underworld, 76.

APPENDIX.-Translations from a.s.syrian texts relating to the kingdoms of Israel and Judah:

I. Inscription of Shalmaneser II, found at Kurkh, 146-8.

II. The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser II, 148.

III. From a Fragment of Shalmaneser II, 148.

IV. From the Inscription of Rimmon-nirari III, 148-9.

V. From Fragments of the Annals of Tiglath-Pileser II, 149-151.

VI. From the Inscriptions of Sargon, 151-2.

VII. From a Cylinder of Esar-haddon, 152.

Aramaic, commonly used by the Jews, after the captivity, and became the common language of trade, 132-3.

Ararat or Armenia, long a dangerous neighbour; Tiglath-Pileser II invaded the country, invested Van, and devastated the surrounding country, 35.

Armies composed of charioteers, light and heavy armed cavalry and infantry, and were variously equipped with bows, swords, and daggers, 126.

Armies crossing streams; the common soldiers on inflated skins; the chief officers, chariots, and commissariat in boats, or on pontoon bridges, 131.

a.s.sessment lists of the provinces and large towns after the time of Tiglath-Pileser II; the places and amounts paid to the imperial exchequer, 140-3.

a.s.sur, the name of a city on the western bank of the Tigris, and the capital of the country or district named after it; a.s.sur was a descriptive appellation signifying 'water-boundary' at first, but was slightly changed by the Semitic conquerors so as to mean 'gracious;' the name of Sar, the G.o.d of the firmament, in time, was confused with that of the patron deity, and a.s.sur thus came to signify the city, country, and the deity; hence a.s.sur represented at the same time the power and const.i.tution of a.s.syria, the 'gracious' G.o.d, and the primeval firmament; ruins now called Kalah Sherghat, 21-2.

a.s.sur-bani-pal, probably 'the great and n.o.ble Asnapper;' succeeded his father, Esar-haddon, 48; he was luxurious, ambitious, and cruel, but a most magnificent patron of literature; he kept scribes constantly engaged on new editions of rare or older works; entrusted his armies to his generals, and before his death found the empire irretrievably weakened; his lion hunts compared with those of his warlike predecessors; Egyptian revolt crushed, and Tirhakah again a fugitive, No-Amon plundered, and two obelisks carried as trophies to Nineveh, 51; Tyre surrendered and the Lydians paid tribute; fall of Elam, Shushan razed, and captive kings compelled to drag a.s.sur-bani-pal's chariot through Nineveh, 51-2; the Arabs severely punished, and the Armenians of Van sought an alliance; rebellion headed by his brother the Babylonian viceroy, with the a.s.sistance of Egypt, Palestine, and Arabia, and hired Karian and Ionian mercenaries; Egypt now threw off the yoke; Cuthah was reduced by famine, and Samas-yukin perished in the flames of his palace; Elam ravaged again and the last king became a fugitive, 52.

a.s.sur-natsir, one of the most energetic and ferocious warrior kings, also a great builder of palaces; restored Calah, formed a library, and made the city his favourite residence, 28-9.

a.s.sur-nirari, the last of his line, ascended the throne in troublous time; a.s.sur, the capital, rose in revolt; the cities and outlying districts were surging with discontent; ten years later the army rebelled, and the monarch and his dynasty fell together, 33.

a.s.syrian book, with ill.u.s.tration from the original in the British Museum, 98.

a.s.syrian _campaigns_ at first undertaken for the sake of plunder and exacting tribute; made but little effort to retain their conquests, till the time of the Second Empire, 33.

a.s.syrian _history_ scarcely known till Bel-kapkapi became king; decline of a.s.syrian power and influence, and revived by a.s.sur-dayan II and his warlike successors, who conquered the Babylonians, Hitt.i.tes, and Phnicians, 34-7.

a.s.syrian _law_ relied greatly on precedents and decisions; the king supreme, and appointed the judges; in its general principles resembled the English; earliest code, Accadian, 138.

a.s.syrian _literature_, wide range of subjects, included history, legend, poetry, astronomy, and astrology, &c.; letters of the king, reports of astronomers and generals, 102.

a.s.syrian _palace_, built of brick on a raised platform; description, extent of courts and royal chambers; the observatory built in stages on the west side; exaggerated forms of columnar architecture used; apertures which served as windows protected in winter by heavy folds of tapestry, 86-8.

a.s.syrian _sculptures_, mostly in relief; three periods traceable; characteristics and comparison with Egyptian art; colour used on the bas-reliefs, 89-90.

a.s.syrian _Semites_, allied in blood and language to the Hebrews, Aramaeans, and Arabs; the Babylonians a mixed race, partly Semites and Accadians, the original possessors of the soil of Chaldea, 24.

a.s.syrians and Babylonians contrasted, 66-7.

a.s.syro-Babylonians excelled in a knowledge of mathematics; tables of squares and cubes and geometrical figures have been found at Senkereh, and the plan of an estate at Babylon, 118.

B.

Babel, tower of, and the dispersion, 82-3.

Babylonian _myth_ of the seven evil spirits warring against the moon; flight of Samas and Istar; and the demons put to flight by Merodach; explanation of the myth, 78.

Babylonian _story_ of the G.o.d Zu stealing the lightning of Bel compared with that of the Greek Prometheus, 78.

Balawat, colossal doors of, the work of native artists, description of the bronze framework and reliefs; explanatory texts relating to Shalmaneser's campaigns; Carchemish and Armenian warriors depicted, 30.

Banquets, wines of various kinds used; those of Helbon most highly prized; other luxuries common; the tables ornamented with flowers, and musicians hired to entertain the guests, 128-9.

Bel-kapkapi, the founder of the kingdom of a.s.sur; its extent and varying frontiers; the inhabitants Semites, 27.

Berossus' great work of seventy-two books translated into Greek, 102.

Blissful lot of the spirit of Ea-bani described in the epic of Gisdhubar, 76-7.

Botta and Layard's excavation brought to light Dur-Sargon and Nineveh, 26.