Assyria, Its Princes, Priests and People Part 9

Bridges common on all the great roads through Western Asia in the earliest ages; used for war and trade; the country then more populous, and the roads numerous and well kept, 131-2.

C.

Calah founded by Shalmaneser I, whose descendants reigned six generations; it became the seat of royalty under a.s.sur-natsir-pal and Shalmaneser II, 27-9; the palace rebuilt by a.s.sur-etil-ilani, son of a.s.sur-bani-pal, 53.

Chairs, tables, and couches used at meals, 128.

Chaldaean account of the Deluge, and its relation to the Scriptural narrative; the two compared and contrasted, 81-2.

Chariots often carried across mountains on the shoulders of men, or animals; the royal chariot contained the king and two attendants, and was followed by a guard and led horses, 124.

Charms and exorcisms used for curing diseases; the knotted cord and leaves from a sacred book; repute of the witch and wizard, 120-1.

Code of moral precepts addressed to princes and courtiers; earliest Accadian law book expressly protected slaves, 138.

Colossi dragged from the quarries on land by means of sledges, and on rivers and ca.n.a.ls by rafts; Sennacherib directed the removal of winged bulls and deities from Balad, 90-3.

Contract tablets relating to loans, sales, leases of houses, and other property: tablets translated: i. Loan of silver and interest paid on it; ii. Loan of bronze; iii. Loan of silver; iv. Sale of a house; v. Sale of slaves, 135-7.

Contrasts between the a.s.syrians and Babylonians, 66-7.

Creation legend from Cuthah, described chaos, and the formation of monsters, followed by more perfect creatures; the legend from a.s.sur-bani-pal's library and its remarkable resemblance to the account in Genesis; a.s.syrian account, 79, 80-1.

Cylinder, part of, containing Hezekiah's name, transcribed into ordinary characters, 104-5; compared with one of Nebuchadnezzar's inscriptions; transliteration and translation of part of the inscription, 107-8.

Cyrus permitted the a.s.syrians to return to their old capital, and released the Jewish exiles from Babylon, 53-4.

D.

Datilla, the river of death, at the mouth of the Euphrates, where Gisdhubar saw the Chaldaean Noah after his translation; but in later times the entrance to Hades and the site of the earthly Paradise were removed to more unknown regions, 76.

Death of Tammuz lamented by Jewish females in the temple at Jerusalem, 65.

Deeds and contracts signed and sealed in the presence of witness, or nail marks made by those unable to write, and the doc.u.ments carefully preserved, 133.

Defects in the tablets caused by the ignorance of the scribes, 112-3.

Deluge sent as a punishment for the wickedness of mankind, 82.

Descent of Istar into Hades in search of Tammuz, one of the most popular old Babylonian myths; her pa.s.sage through the seven gates of the underworld, and appearance before Allat; the myth explained, 64-5.

Dread of witchcraft and magic; referred to in hymn to the Sun-G.o.d, 113-5.

Dress of all cla.s.ses; the king in time of peace; the upper cla.s.ses, soldiers, common people, and women, 123-4.

Dur-Sargina, the modern Khorsabad, built by Sargon, in the form of a square, surrounded by walls forty-six feet thick; the outer wall was flanked with towers; description of the palace and its courts; the royal chambers; the observatory built in stages, 86-7.

E.

Ea (the G.o.d), the deep, or ocean-stream, supposed to surround the earth like a serpent; his symbol, attributes, and t.i.tle; Eridu the chief seat of his worship, near the sacred grove where the tree of life and knowledge had its roots; Ea, a benevolent deity, who taught the art of healing and culture to mankind; his wife, Dav-kina, presided over the lower world, 59.

Eclipse of the sun and revolt of city of a.s.sur, 33.

Educated a.s.syrians and traders conversant with several languages, 101.

Education widely diffused throughout Babylonia; few unable to read and write, 95.

Egibi, eminent bankers during the reigns of Sennacherib and Esar-haddon, to Darius and Xerxes; the name a very exact transcript of the Biblical Jacob, 138.

Eponyms, officers after whom the year was named; lists determine both the a.s.syrian and Biblical chronology, 102.

Erimenas, king of Armenia, completely defeated near Malatiyeh in Kappadokia, 46.

Esar-haddon, shortly after his father's murder, defeated his insurgent brothers and Erimenas, near Malatiyeh, and was then proclaimed king; he possessed military genius and political tact, and was the first king who conciliated the conquered nations; Egypt was subdued; Babylon rebuilt, and the plunder and the G.o.ds returned to the inhabitants; Mana.s.seh brought captive before him; trade diverted into a.s.syrian channels, and secured by a daring march to Huz and Buz; terrified the Arabs; drove Teispes westwards; worked the copper mines of Media; exacted tribute from Cyprus, where he obtained some of the materials of his palace at Nineveh, 46-8; he completely overran Egypt, divided the country into 27 satrapies placed under governors watched by a.s.syrian garrisons, 48.

Esar-haddon II, called Sarakos by the Greeks, on ascending the throne was surrounded by foes; the frontier towns fell quickly, and a public fast was proclaimed and prayers offered to the G.o.ds to ward off the doom of Nineveh, but the city was besieged, captured, and destroyed, 53.

Etana, the Babylonian t.i.tan, and his exploits, 83; legend ascribed to Nis-Sin, 110.

F.

Fables, riddles, and proverbs anciently, as now, the delight of Orientals; riddle propounded to Nergal and the other G.o.ds, 109.

Fate of Nineveh after its iniquity was full; the very site unknown for ages, 53.

Fishing carried on with a line merely, 131.

Forbidden foods; fasts and humiliations in times of public calamity, 73.

G.

Gisdhubar epic; structure and contents; each of its twelve books corresponded to one of the signs of the zodiac; history of the Deluge contained in the eleventh book; Gisdhubar a solar hero, and his adventures compared with the labours of Heracles; resemblance of Accadian and Greek myths; date of the epic more than 2000 years before Christ; formed of older lays put together to form a single poem, 110-12.

Goyim, over which Tidal was king, probably comprised in Gutium, or Kurdistan, 23.

H.

Hadadezer (the Biblical Benhadad) of Damascus formed a confederacy with Hamath and Israel against the a.s.syrians; Ahab's contingent; rout of the allies at Karkar, or Aroer, 31.

Hades a dreary abode, where spirits flitted, like bats, among the crowned phantoms of heroes; palace of Allat, where the waters of life, near the golden throne, restored to life and the upper air those who drank of them; entrance, the River Datilla, 75-6.

Hanging gardens, watered by means of a screw, 118.