Myths of Babylonia and Assyria Part 33

Advocates of the Totemic theory, on the other hand, may hold that the a.s.sociation of doves with snake G.o.ddesses and fish G.o.ddesses of fertility was due to the fusion of tribes who had various animal totems. "The Pelew Islanders believed", says Professor Frazer, "that the souls of their forefathers lived in certain species of animals, which accordingly they held sacred and would not injure. For this reason one man would not kill snakes, another would not harm pigeons, and so on; but everyone was quite ready to kill and eat the sacred animals of his neighbours."[491] That the Egyptians had similar customs is suggested by what Herodotus tells us regarding their sacred animals: "Those who live near Thebes and the lake Moeris hold the crocodile in religious veneration.... Those who live in or near Elephantine, so far from considering these beasts as sacred, make them an article of food.... The hippopotamus is esteemed sacred in the district of Papremis, but in no other part of Egypt.... They roast and boil ... birds and fishes ... excepting those which are preserved for sacred purposes."[492] Totemic animals controlled the destinies of tribes and families. "Grose tells us", says Brand, "that, besides general notices of death, many families have particular warnings or notices: some by the appearance of a bird, and others by the figure of a tall woman, dressed all in white.... Pennant says that many of the great families in Scotland had their demon or genius, who gave them monitions of future events."[493] Members of tribes which venerated the pigeon therefore invoked it like the Egyptian love poet and drew omens from its notes, or saw one appearing as the soul of the dead like the lover in the ballad of "The b.l.o.o.d.y Gardener". They refrained also from killing the pigeon except sacrificially, and suffered agonies on a deathbed which contained pigeon feathers, the "taboo"

having been broken.

Some such explanation is necessary to account for the specialization of certain G.o.ddesses as fish, snake, cat, or bird deities. Aphrodite, who like Ishtar absorbed the attributes of several G.o.ddesses of fertility and fate, had attached to her the various animal symbols which were prominent in districts or among tribes brought into close contact, while the poppy, rose, myrtle, &c., which were used as love charms, or for making love potions, were also consecrated to her.

Anthropomorphic deities were decorated with the symbols and flowers of folk religion.

From the comparative evidence acc.u.mulated here, it will be seen that the theory of the mythical Semiramis's Median or Persian origin is somewhat narrow. It is possible that the dove was venerated in Cyprus, as it certainly was in Crete, long centuries before a.s.syrian and Babylonian influence filtered westward through Phoenician and Hitt.i.te channels. In another connection Sir Arthur Evans shows that the resemblance between Cretan and early Semitic beliefs "points rather to some remote common element, the nature of which is at present obscure, than to any definite borrowing by one side or another".[494]

From the evidence afforded by the Semiramis legends and the inscriptions of the latter half of the a.s.syrian Middle Empire period, it may be inferred that a renascence of "mother worship" was favoured by the social and political changes which were taking place. In the first place the influence of Babylon must have been strongly felt in this connection. The fact that Adadnirari found it necessary to win the support of the Babylonians by proclaiming his descent from one of their ancient royal families, suggests that he was not only concerned about the att.i.tude a.s.sumed by the scholars of the southern kingdom, but also that of the ma.s.ses of old Sumerian and Akkadian stocks who continued to bake cakes to the Queen of Heaven so as to ensure good harvests. In the second place it is not improbable that even in a.s.syria the introduction of Nebo and his spouse made widespread appeal. That country had become largely peopled by an alien population; many of these aliens came from districts where "mother worship" prevailed, and had no traditional respect for Ashur, while they regarded with hostility the military aristocracy who conquered and ruled in the name of that dreaded deity. Perhaps, too, the influence of the Aramaeans, who in Babylonia wrecked the temples of the sun G.o.d, tended to revive the ancient religion of the Mediterranean race. Jehu's religious revolt in Israel, which established once again the cult of Ashtoreth, occurred after he came under the sway of Damascus, and may have not been unconnected with the political ascendancy elsewhere of the G.o.ddess cult.

Nebo, whom Adad-nirari exalted at Kalkhi, was more than a local G.o.d of Borsippa. "The most satisfactory view", says Jastrow, "is to regard him as a counterpart of Ea. Like Ea, he is the embodiment and source of wisdom.... The study of the heavens formed part of the wisdom which is traced back to Nebo, and the temple school at Borsippa became one of the chief centres for the astrological, and, subsequently, for the astronomical lore of Babylonia.... Like Nebo, Ea is also a.s.sociated with the irrigation of the fields and with their consequent fertility.

A hymn praises him as the one who fills the ca.n.a.ls and the dikes, who protects the fields and brings the crops to maturity." Nebo links with Merodach (Marduk), who is sometimes referred to as his father. Jastrow a.s.sumes that the close partnership between Nebo and Merodach "had as a consequence a transfer of some of the father Marduk's attributes as a solar deity to Nebo,[495] his son, just as Ea pa.s.sed his traits on to his son, Marduk".[496]

As the "recorder" or "scribe" among the G.o.ds, Nebo resembles the Egyptian G.o.d Thoth, who links with Khonsu, the lunar and spring sun G.o.d of love and fertility, and with Osiris. In Borsippa he had, like Merodach in Babylon, p.r.o.nounced Tammuz traits. Nebo, in fact, appears to be the Tammuz of the new age, the son of the ancient G.o.ddess, who became "Husband of his Mother". If Nebo had no connection with Great Mother worship, it is unlikely that his statue would have borne an inscription referring to King Adad-nirari and Queen Sammu-rammat on equal terms. The a.s.syrian spouse of Nebo was called Tashmit. This "G.o.ddess of supplication and love" had a lunar significance. A prayer addressed to her in a.s.sociation with Nannar (Sin) and Ishtar, proceeds:

In the evil of the eclipse of the moon which ... has taken place, In the evil of the powers, of the portents, evil and not good, which are in my palace and my land, (I) have turned towards thee!...

Before Nabu (Nebo) thy spouse, thy lord, the prince, the first-born of E-sagila, intercede for me!

May he hearken to my cry at the word of thy mouth; may he remove my sighing, may he learn my supplication!

Damkina is similarly addressed in another prayer:

O Damkina, mighty queen of all the G.o.ds, O wife of Ea, valiant art thou, O Ir-nina, mighty queen of all the G.o.ds ...

Thou that dwellest in the Abyss, O lady of heaven and earth!...

In the evil of the eclipse of the moon, etc.

Bau is also prayed in a similar connection as "mighty lady that dwellest in the bright heavens", i.e. "Queen of heaven".[497]

Tashmit, whose name signifies "Obedience", according to Jastrow, or "Hearing", according to Sayce, carried the prayers of worshippers to Nebo, her spouse. As Isis interceded with Osiris, she interceded with Nebo, on behalf of mankind. But this did not signify that she was the least influential of the divine pair. A G.o.ddess played many parts: she was at once mother, daughter, and wife of the G.o.d; the servant of one G.o.d or the "mighty queen of all the G.o.ds". The Great Mother was, as has been indicated, regarded as the eternal and undecaying one; the G.o.ds pa.s.sed away, son succeeding father; she alone remained. Thus, too, did Semiramis survive in the popular memory, as the queen-G.o.ddess of widespread legends, after kings and G.o.ds had been forgotten. To her was ascribed all the mighty works of other days in the lands where the indigenous peoples first worshipped the Great Mother as Damkina, Nina, Bau, Ishtar, or Tashmit, because the G.o.ddess was anciently believed to be the First Cause, the creatrix, the mighty one who invested the ruling G.o.d with the powers he possessed--the G.o.d who held sway because he was her husband, as did Nergal as the husband of Eresh-ki-gal, queen of Hades.

The multiplication of well-defined G.o.ddesses was partly due to the tendency to symbolize the attributes of the Great Mother, and partly due to the development of the great "Lady" in a particular district where she reflected local phenomena and where the political influence achieved by her worshippers emphasized her greatness. Legends regarding a famous G.o.ddess were in time attached to other G.o.ddesses, and in Aphrodite and Derceto we appear to have mother deities who absorbed the traditions of more than one local "lady" of river and plain, forest and mountain. Semiramis, on the other hand, survived as a link between the old world and the new, between the country from which emanated the stream of ancient culture and the regions which received it. As the high priestess of the cult, she became identified with the G.o.ddess whose bird name she bore, as Gilgamesh and Etana became identified with the primitive culture-hero or patriarch of the ancient Sumerians, and Sargon became identified with Tammuz. No doubt the fame of Semiramis was specially emphasized because of her close a.s.sociation, as Queen Sammu-rammat, with the religious innovations which disturbed the land of the G.o.d Ashur during the Middle Empire period.

Adad-nirari IV, the son or husband of Sammu-rammat, was a vigorous and successful campaigner. He was the a.s.syrian king who became the "saviour" of Israel. Although it is not possible to give a detailed account of his various expeditions, we find from the list of these which survives in the Eponym Chronicle that he included in the a.s.syrian Empire a larger extent of territory than any of his predecessors. In the north-east he overcame the Median and other tribes, and acquired a large portion of the Iranian plateau; he compelled Edom to pay tribute, and established his hold in Babylonia by restricting the power of the Chaldaeans in Sealand. In the north he swayed--at least, so he claimed--the wide domains of the Nairi people.

He also confirmed his supremacy over the Hitt.i.tes.

The Aramaean state of Damascus, which had withstood the attack of the great Shalmaneser and afterwards oppressed, as we have seen, the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, was completely overpowered by Adad-nirari. The old king, Hazael, died when a.s.syria's power was being strengthened and increased along his frontiers. He was succeeded by his son Mari, who is believed to be identical with the Biblical Ben-Hadad III.[498]

Shortly after this new monarch came to the throne, Adad-nirari IV led a great army against him. The Syrian ruler appears to have been taken by surprise; probably his kingdom was suffering from the three defeats which had been previously administered by the revolting Israelites.[499] At any rate Mari was unable to gather together an army of allies to resist the a.s.syrian advance, and took refuge behind the walls of Damascus. This strongly fortified city was closely invested, and Mari had at length to submit and acknowledge Adad-nirari as his overlord. The price of peace included 23,000 talents of silver, 20 of gold, 3000 of copper, and 5000 of iron, as well as ivory ornaments and furniture, embroidered materials, and other goods "to a countless amount". Thus "the Lord gave Israel a saviour, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians: and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents, as beforetime". This significant reference to the conquest of Damascus by the a.s.syrian king is followed by another which throws light on the religious phenomena of the period: "Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but walked therein: and there remained the grove also in Samaria".[500] Ashtoreth and her golden calf continued to be venerated, and doves were sacrificed to the local Adonis.

It is not certain whether Adad-nirari penetrated farther than Damascus. Possibly all the states which owed allegiance to the king of that city became at once the willing va.s.sals of a.s.syria, their protector. The tribute received by Adad-nirari from Tyre, Sidon, the land of Omri (Israel), Edom, and Palastu (Philistia) may have been gifted as a formal acknowledgment of his suzerainty and with purpose to bring them directly under a.s.syrian control, so that Damascus might be prevented from taking vengeance against them.

Meagre details survive regarding the reign of the next king, Shalmaneser IV (781-772 B.C). These are, however, supplemented by the Urartian inscriptions. Although Adad-nirari boasted that he had subdued the kingdom of Urartu in the north, he appears to have done no more than limit its southern expansion for a time.

The Urarti were, like the Mitanni, a military aristocracy[501] who welded together by conquest the tribes of the eastern and northern Highlands which several a.s.syrian monarchs included in their Empire.

They acquired the elements of a.s.syrian culture, and used the a.s.syrian script for their own language. Their G.o.d was named Khaldis, and they called their nation Khaldia. During the reign of Ashur-natsir-pal their area of control was confined to the banks of the river Araxes, but it was gradually extended under a succession of vigorous kings towards the south-west until they became supreme round the sh.o.r.es of Lake Van. Three of their early kings were Lutipris, Sharduris I, and Arame.

During the reign of Shamshi-Adad the a.s.syrians came into conflict with the Urarti, who were governed at the time by "Ushpina of Nairi"

(Ishpuinis, son of Sharduris II). The Urartian kingdom had extended rapidly and bordered on a.s.syrian territory. To the west were the tribes known as the Mannai, the northern enemies of the Medes, a people of Indo-European speech.

When Adad-nirari IV waged war against the Urarti, their king was Menuas, the son of Ishpuinis. Menuas was a great war-lord, and was able to measure his strength against a.s.syria on equal terms. He had nearly doubled by conquest the area controlled by his predecessors.

Adad-nirari endeavoured to drive his rival northward, but all along the a.s.syrian frontier from the Euphrates to the Lower Zab, Menuas forced the outposts of Adad-nirari to retreat southward. The a.s.syrians, in short, were unable to hold their own.

Having extended his kingdom towards the south, Menuas invaded Hitt.i.te territory, subdued Malatia and compelled its king to pay tribute. He also conquered the Mannai and other tribes. Towards the north and north-west he added a considerable area to his kingdom, which became as large as a.s.syria.

Menuas's capital was the city of Turushpa or Dhuspas (Van), which was called Khaldinas[502] after the national G.o.d. For a century it was the seat of Urartian administration. The buildings erected there by Menuas and his successors became a.s.sociated in after-time with the traditions of Semiramis, who, as Queen Sammu-rammat of a.s.syria, was a contemporary of the great Urartian conqueror. Similarly a sculptured representation of the Hitt.i.te G.o.d was referred to by Herodotus as a memorial of the Egyptian king Sesostris.

The strongest fortification at Dhuspas was the citadel, which was erected on a rocky promontory jutting into Lake Van. A small garrison could there resist a prolonged siege. The water supply of the city was a.s.sured by the construction of subterranean aqueducts. Menuas erected a magnificent palace, which rivalled that of the a.s.syrian monarch at Kalkhi, and furnished it with the rich booty brought back from victorious campaigns. He was a lover of trees and planted many, and he laid out gardens which bloomed with brilliant Asian flowers. The palace commanded a n.o.ble prospect of hill and valley scenery on the south-western sh.o.r.e of beautiful Lake Van.

Menuas was succeeded by his son Argistis, who ascended the throne during the lifetime of Adad-nirari of a.s.syria. During the early part of his reign he conducted military expeditions to the north beyond the river Araxes. He afterwards came into conflict with a.s.syria, and acquired more territory on its northern frontier. He also subdued the Mannai, who had risen in revolt.

For three years (781-778 B.C.) the general of Shalmaneser IV waged war constantly with Urartu, and again in 776 B.C. and 774 B.C. attempts were made to prevent the southern expansion of that Power. On more than one occasion the a.s.syrians were defeated and compelled to retreat.

a.s.syria suffered serious loss of prestige on account of its inability to hold in check its northern rival. Damascus rose in revolt and had to be subdued, and northern Syria was greatly disturbed. Hadrach was visited in the last year of the king's reign.

Ashur-dan III (771-763 B.C.) occupied the a.s.syrian throne during a period of great unrest. He was unable to attack Urartu. His army had to operate instead on his eastern and southern frontiers. A great plague broke out in 765 B.C., the year in which Hadrach had again to be dealt with. On June 15, 763 B.C., there was a total eclipse of the sun, and that dread event was followed by a revolt at a.s.shur which was no doubt of priestly origin. The king's son Adad-nirari was involved in it, but it is not certain whether or not he displaced his father for a time. In 758 B.C. Ashur-dan again showed signs of activity by endeavouring to suppress the revolts which during the period of civil war had broken out in Syria.

Adad-nirari V came to the throne in 763 B.C. He had to deal with revolts in a.s.shur in other cities. Indeed for the greater part of his reign he seems to have been kept fully engaged endeavouring to establish his authority within the a.s.syrian borders. The Syrian provinces regained their independence.

During the first four years of his successor Ashurnirari IV (753-746 B.C.) the army never left a.s.syria. Namri was visited in 749-748 B.C., but it is not certain whether he fought against the Urartians, or the Aramaeans who had become active during this period of a.s.syrian decline. In 746 B.C. a revolt broke out in the city of Kalkhi and the king had to leave it. Soon afterwards he died--perhaps he was a.s.sa.s.sinated--and none of his sons came to the throne. A year previously Nabu-natsir, known to the Greeks as Nabona.s.sar, was crowned king of Babylonia.

Ashur-nirari IV appears to have been a monarch of somewhat like character to the famous Akhenaton of Egypt--an idealist for whom war had no attractions. He kept his army at home while his foreign possessions rose in revolt one after another. Apparently he had dreams of guarding a.s.syria against attack by means of treaties of peace. He arranged one with a Mesopotamian king, Mati-ilu of Agusi, who pledged himself not to go to war without the consent of his a.s.syrian overlord, and it is possible that there were other doc.u.ments of like character which have not survived to us. During his leisure hours the king engaged himself in studious pursuits and made additions to the royal library. In the end his disappointed soldiers found a worthy leader in one of its generals who seized the throne and a.s.sumed the royal name of Tiglath-pileser.

Ashur-nirari IV was the last king of the Middle Empire of a.s.syria. He may have been a man of high character and refinement and worthy of our esteem, although an unsuitable ruler for a predatory State.

CHAPTER XIX.

a.s.sYRIA'S AGE OF SPLENDOUR

Tiglath-pileser IV, the Biblical Pul--Babylonian Campaign--Urartian Ambitions in North Syria--Battle of Two Kings and Flight of Sharduris--Conquest of Syro-Cappadocian States--Hebrew History from Jehu to Menahem--Israel subject to a.s.syria--Urartu's Power broken--Ahaz's Appeal to a.s.syria--Damascus and Israel subdued--Babylonia united to a.s.syria--Shalmaneser and Hoshea--Sargon deports the "Lost Ten Tribes"--Merodach Baladan King of Babylonia--Egyptian Army of Allies routed--Ahaz and Isaiah--Frontier Campaigns--Merodach Baladan overthrown--Sennacherib and the Hitt.i.te States--Merodach Baladan's second and brief Reign--Hezekiah and Sennacherib--Destruction of a.s.syrian Army--Sack of Babylon-- Esarhaddon--A Second Semiramis--Raids of Elamites, Cimmerians, Scythians, and Medes--Sack of Sidon--Mana.s.seh and Isaiah's Fate--Esarhaddon conquers Lower Egypt--Revolt of a.s.syrian n.o.bles--Ashurbanipal.

We now enter upon the last and most brilliant phase of a.s.syrian civilization--the period of the Third or New Empire during which flourished Tiglath-pileser IV, the mighty conqueror; the Shalmaneser of the Bible; "Sargon the Later", who transported the "lost ten tribes" of Israel; Sennacherib, the destroyer of Babylon, and Esarhaddon, who made Lower Egypt an a.s.syrian province. We also meet with notable figures of Biblical fame, including Ahaz, Hezekiah, Isaiah, and the idolatrous Mana.s.seh.

Tiglath-pileser IV, who deposed Ashur-nirari IV, was known to the Babylonians as Pulu, which, some think, was a term of contempt signifying "wild animal". In the Bible he is referred to as Pul, Tiglath-pilneser, and Tiglath-pileser.[503] He came to the a.s.syrian throne towards the end of April in 745 B.C. and reigned until 727 B.C.

We know nothing regarding his origin, but it seems clear that he was not of royal descent. He appears to have been a popular leader of the revolt against Ashur-nirari, who, like certain of his predecessors, had p.r.o.nounced pro-Babylonian tendencies. It is significant to note in this connection that the new king was an unswerving adherent of the cult of Ashur, by the adherents of which he was probably strongly supported.

Tiglath-pileser combined in equal measure those qualities of generalship and statesmanship which were necessary for the reorganization of the a.s.syrian state and the revival of its military prestige. At the beginning of his reign there was much social discontent and suffering. The national exchequer had been exhausted by the loss of tribute from revolting provinces, trade was paralysed, and the industries were in a languishing condition. Plundering bands of Aramaeans were menacing the western frontiers and had overrun part of northern Babylonia. New political confederacies in Syria kept the north-west regions in a constant state of unrest, and the now powerful Urartian kingdom was threatening the Syro-Cappadocian states as if its rulers had dreams of building up a great world empire on the ruins of that of a.s.syria.

Tiglath-pileser first paid attention to Babylonia, and extinguished the resistance of the Aramaeans in Akkad. He appears to have been welcomed by Nabona.s.sar, who became his va.s.sal, and he offered sacrifices in the cities of Babylon, Sippar, Cuthah, and Nippur.

Sippar had been occupied by Aramaeans, as on a previous occasion when they destroyed the temple of the sun G.o.d Shamash which was restored by Nabu-aplu-iddina of Babylon.

Tiglath-pileser did not overrun Chaldaea, but he destroyed its capital, Sarrabanu, and impaled King Nabu-ushabshi. He proclaimed himself "King of Sumer and Akkad" and "King of the Four Quarters". The frontier states of Elam and Media were visited and subdued.

Having disposed of the Aramaeans and other raiders, the a.s.syrian monarch had next to deal with his most powerful rival, Urartu.

Argistis I had been succeeded by Sharduris III, who had formed an alliance with the north Mesopotamian king, Mati-ilu of Agusi, on whom Ashur-nirari had reposed his faith. Ere long Sharduris pressed southward from Malatia and compelled the north Syrian Hitt.i.te states, including Carchemish, to acknowledge his suzerainty. A struggle then ensued between Urartu and a.s.syria for the possession of the Syro-Cappadocian states.