CONTRIBUTIONS OF BABYLONIA, ASSYRIA AND PERSIA TO MODERN CIVILIZATION.
It is often difficult to correctly estimate the power exerted by a
statesman upon his country. The movements he has espoused, the reforms
he may have championed, the institutions he helped to call into being,
all stand as monuments to his memory. But the subtle effects of his
influence, his personality and character upon his own generation and
others still to come, are seldom understood or adequately judged. In the
case of a nation the task becomes still more complicated, and we cannot
today know how many of our ideas, inventions, and attainments have been
shaped by nations whose light went out long centuries ago. Nevertheless,
our inability to estimate these various inheritances aright need not
deter us from an attempt to classify such bequeathments as are
universally acknowledged, and we may be sure that the present world owes
much to the earliest nations of Western Asia. Their contributions,
however, have not come down to us directly, but have been passed along,
like legends, from one people to another, until their present form
scarcely suggests their origins.
Let us consider first our indebtedness to Babylonia. In recent years
discoveries in the Euphrates valley and the mastery of the cuneiform
style of writing have given us masses of material wherefrom to
reconstruct the past. Not only has light thus been thrown upon the early
history of Babylonia and Assyria, but aid has been rendered biblical
study. The tribal life of the Hebrews, and the civilization of other
contemporary peoples has been better understood because of these
revelations. However, acquisitions of the last century have had no part
in molding modern civilization, and we pass on to matters of earlier
significance.
No people could have worked as diligently in the field of science as the
Babylonians did and failed to leave important results of their
investigations. "In _Geometry_ the Chaldeans made about the same
progress as the Egyptians; in _Arithmetic_ more. Their notation
combined the decimal and duodecimal systems. Sixty was a favorite unit,
used as the hundred is by us. Scientific _Medicine_ was hindered by the
belief in charms and amulets; and even _Astronomy_ was studied chiefly
as a means of fortune-telling by the stars,--so that in Europe through
the Middle Ages an astrologer was known as a Chaldean. However, the
level plains and clear skies, as in Egypt, invited to an early study of
the constellations, and some important progress was made. As we get from
the Egyptians our year and months, so from the Chaldeans we get the
week, with its 'day of rest for the heart,' as they called the seventh
day, and the division of day and night into twelve hours each, with the
subdivisions into minutes. They also invented the water clock and the
sundial. They foretold eclipses, made star maps, and marked out on the
heavens the apparent yearly path of the sun. The zodiacal 'signs' of our
almanacs commemorate these early astronomers. Every great city had its
lofty observatory and its royal astronomer; and in Babylon, in 331 B.C.,
Alexander the Great found a continuous series of observations running
back nineteen hundred and three years.
"To a degree peculiar among the ancients, the men of the Euphrates made
practical use of their science. They understood the lever and pulley,
and used the arch in vaulted drains and aqueducts. They invented the
potter's wheel, and an excellent system of weights and measures. Their
treatises on agriculture passed on their knowledge in that subject to
the later Greeks and Arabs. They had surpassing skill in cutting gems,
and in enameling and inlaying; and their looms produced the finest of
muslins and of fleecy woolens, to which the dyer gave the most brilliant
colors. In many such industries little advance has been made since, so
far as results are concerned."[1]
Certain unfortunate bequests were left by them. Babylonian belief in
demons was handed down through the Hebrews, and in the Middle Ages took
the form of the devil, with horns and a cloven foot. Their faith in
magic and incantations also descended to Mediæval times, and as
scientific interest superseded religious fervor, inspired men to search
for the "philosopher's stone."
The intensely practical turn of mind in Mesopotamia revealed itself in
the literature, which was bare of imagery. Material beauty--artistic
carpets, tapestries, and rugs, was developed, but for beauty of
conceptions, we must turn to the Greeks.
What did the war-loving, blood-thirsting Assyrians leave for future
ages? At first the question seems not to be easily answered. One calls
to mind their ravaging raids and unparalleled carnage, and remembering
that their palaces and stores of inscribed tablets were recovered only
within the last fifty years, their contributions are not so apparent.
Yet, having studied the government enforced by Darius upon his empire,
we are compelled to admit that he but improved upon the system evolved
by the Assyrian kings, unknown before their time in Asia. Again, the
very conquests themselves were helpful, in spite of their cruelty, for
they brought the best civilization of their day to half-barbarous tribes
who otherwise might have passed century after century before reaching
the degree of progress so rudely thrust upon them. These conquests
opened up routes of commerce, and trade has always exceeded all other
factors as a civilizing force.
To science the Assyrians appear to have made no contributions whatever.
Coming to ancient Persia, we find a wholly different culture. The people
of this country lacked the practical turn of mind so characteristic of
the Babylonian, and his mercenary point of view was quite unknown to
them. Persian literature, while scanty, embodied poetical conceptions,
and several of the ancient poems possess much art. "The Persians had
fancy and imagination, a relish for poetry and art, and they were not
without a certain power of political combination. Yet we cannot justly
ascribe to them any high degree of intellectual excellence. If the great
work of Firdausi represents to us, as it probably does, the true spirit
of their ancient poetry, their efforts were but of moderate merit. A
tone of exaggeration, an imagination exuberant and unrestrained, a
preference for glitter over solid excellence, a love of far-fetched
conceits, characterize the Shahnameh; and, though we may ascribe
something of this to the individuality of the poet, still the conviction
presses upon us that there was a childish and grotesque character in
the mass of old Persian poetry, which marked it as the creation of
moderate rather than of high intellectual power, and prevents us from
regarding it with the respect with which we view the labors of the
Greeks and Romans, or again, of the Hebrews, in this department. A want
of seriousness, a want of reality, and, again, a want of depth,
characterize the poetry of Iran, whose bards do not touch the chords
which rouse what is noblest and highest in our nature. They give us
sparkle, prettiness, quaint and ingenious fancies, grotesque marvels, an
inflated kind of human heroism; but they have none of the higher
excellences of the poetic art, none of the divine fire which renders the
true poet, and the true prophet, one."[2]
The Persian religion was both noble and sublime, and its teaching
concerning the two opposing forces of good and evil, affected the
philosophy of the Greeks, and indirectly, the thought of the later
Christian world.
By carrying the plan of Assyrian conquest further, the Persians opened
districts remote from social centers and helped the course of
civilization. Their systematic government improved upon the one
developed by Assyria in this particular: each governor was made supreme
in his province under Assyrian administration, none other being
accountable to the king for conditions in his territory. An opportunity
thus offered for the governor to seize any favorable moment to shake off
allegiance to the state and attempt to establish his own supremacy.
Darius, on the other hand, posted troops in each satrapy, and both the
commander of these troops and the governor were required to submit
reports, and to act jointly in certain matters. In this way, one served
as a check upon the other.
Fine roads were built to allow rapid communication between the capital
and distant provinces; these naturally facilitated commerce, and made
travel safe--as one has graphically expressed it, "helped set the world
a-mixing."
A new day was dawning for humanity, and an age coming when one might
look back to the infancy of the world, likening its progress to that of
a man who has gained some perceptions, some ideas and experiences in
childhood days which unconsciously but surely, influence his later life,
illuminated by wider experiences and deeper truths.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] West: Ancient History.
[2] Rawlinson: Persia.
THE BOOK-STAMP OF SARDANAPALUS.
Assurbanipal, or, as the Greeks called him, Sardanapalus, is supposed to
have stored in his palace at Nineveh not less than 30,000 tablets. Upon
every work in his library his ownership was stamped as follows:
THE PALACE OF ASSURBANIPAL, KING OF REGIONS, KING OF MULTITUDES,
KING OF ASSYRIA, TO WHOM THE GOD NEBO AND THE GODDESS TASMETI HAVE
GRANTED ATTENTIVE EARS AND OPEN EYES TO DISCOVER THE WRITINGS OF
THE SCRIBES OF MY KINGDOM, WHOM THE KINGS MY PREDECESSORS HAVE
EMPLOYED. IN MY RESPECT FOR NEBO, THE GOD OF INTELLIGENCE, I HAVE
COLLECTED THESE TABLETS; I HAVE HAD THEM COPIED; I HAVE MARKED THEM
WITH MY NAME; AND I HAVE DEPOSITED THEM IN MY PALACE.
THE CHALDEAN ACCOUNT OF THE DELUGE.
This account was first translated by George Smith from the eleventh of a
series of tablets describing the adventures of the mythical hero,
Izdubar (or Gilgamish), supposed to be the same as Nimrod. The whole
series of tablets relates his early life and exploits in hunting, his
friendship with the faun Iabani, his victory over the tyrant Humbaba,
the love of the Goddess Ishtar, his illness, the death of Iabani, his
wanderings to find his ancestor, Hasisadra (or Pir-napishtim), who for
his piety had been translated to the fellowship of the gods. This
ancestor relates to Gilgamish the story of a great flood resembling in
general outline the narrative in Genesis, but stamped with the impress
of the Chaldean religion. Shamas was the Sun-god.
The early literature of many nations contains stories of a universal
flood, from which a favored family or individual alone escapes. None is
more striking than the one deciphered from the clay tablets of Chaldea,
or more nearly parallel to that of the Hebrew Scriptures.
TABLET XI. OF THE GILGAMISH EPIC.
The following translation is from Professor Craig:
THE BABYLONIAN STORY OF THE DELUGE.
Pir-napishtim saith to him, even to Gilgamish;
I will relate to thee, Gilgamish, a secret story,
And the decision of the gods I will tell thee.
The city Shurippak, which thou knowest,
Is situated on the shore of the Euphrates.
This city was old when the gods within it
Were moved to produce a flood, even the great gods.
They were Anu, their father,
The warrior Bel, their counsellor,
Their throne-bearer, Ninib,
Their leader, Ennugi,
Ninigiazag (the god Ea) had spoken with them
And their decree he repeated to the reed-house (saying):
"Reed-house! reed-house! house-wall! house-wall![1]
Reed-house, hear! and house-wall, consider!
O man of Shurippak, son of Ubar-Tutu!
Construct a house, build a ship,
Abandon possessions, seek life,
Property despise, and life save,
Put seed of life of every kind into the ship.
The ship which thou shalt build, even thou,
Let be measured her dimensions:
Let her breadth and length be equal,
Upon the ocean launch her."
I understood, and said to Ea, my lord:
"Behold, my lord, what thou hast commanded
I hold in reverence, I shall do.
(But what) shall I answer the city, the people, and the elders?"
Ea opened his mouth and speaketh,
Saith unto his servant, unto me:
"O man! Thus shalt thou say unto them:
Bel has rejected me and cursed me.
I shall dwell no more in your city,
And upon Bel's ground I shall not set my face.
But to the ocean shall I descend; with Ea, my lord, I shall dwell.
Upon you he shall cause to pour out abundance,
Game of birds and game of fishes,
(Animals of all kinds); field-fruits in plenty,
When in the evening the ruler of the darkness (?)
Shall cause to rain upon you a heavy rain."
As soon as dawn began to appear,
(Five or six lines wanting)
The weak (?) . . . . . . . . . . .
The strong brought to (the building-place) what was necessary.
On the fifth day I laid down her form.
_Ina Kar-Hi-Sa_ one hundred and twenty cubits high were her walls,
One hundred and twenty cubits likewise was the extent of her roof.
Its outer frame I constructed, enclosed it.[2]
I . . . . . . her six times.
I divided . . . . . seven times.
Its interior I divided nine times.
Water plugs I beat into it on its inside.
I provided a rudder (?) and what was needed I added.
Six _sars_ of bitumen I spread on the outside (?).
Three _sars_ of pitch (I spread) on the inside.
Three _sars_ of basket-bearers brought oil.
I left one _sar_ of oil which the offering consumed,
Two _sars_ of oil the shipman stowed away.
For the people I slaughtered oxen,
I killed . . . . . every day.
New w(ine, sesame) wine, oil and wine,
Like the waters of the river (I gave the people to drink)
And (held) a religious feast like unto the New-Year's Feast.
I opened (?) . . . of anointing oil, my hand applied (it).
(In the month) of Shamash, the great god, the ship was completed.
Because . . . . . were difficult
(Untranslatable) they brought above and below.
. . . . . . two-thirds of it.
All that I had I put on board of it.
All that I had of silver I put on board of it.
All that I had of gold I put on board of it.
All that I had of seed of life of every kind I put on board of it.
I caused to go up into the ship all my family and relatives.
Cattle of the field, beasts of the field, all the craftsmen, I caused
to go up.
A definite time the god Shamash had appointed:
The ruler of the darkness (?) at even-tide shall cause to rain a heavy
rain,
Enter thou (then) within the ship and close thy door."
That appointed time came.
The ruler of the darkness (?) at eventide rained a heavy rain.
The appearance of that day I (fore)saw.
To behold the day I had fear.
I entered into the ship and closed my door.
For the control of the ship to Puzur-Bel
The great-house I gave over together with its store.
With the first appearing of dawn
There rises from the foundation of the heavens a black cloud,
Ramman within it thunders.
Nebo and Marduk march in front;
Over mountain and plain march the throne-bearers.
The _tar-kul-li_ the great Dibbarra tore away.
Ninib advances, ruin he pours out.
The Anunnaki bear aloft torches,
With their brightness they set the land aflame.
The dread of Ramman reaches to heaven.
Everything bright he turneth to darkness.
. . . the land like . . . he covered (?)
One day the hurricane (raged),
Violently it blew, the waters (covered?) the mountains.
Like the (onslaught of) battle over mankind (they) came.
Brother sees not (his) brother.
Men are not discerned in heaven (_i. e._, by the gods).
The gods were terrified by the flood, and
Withdrew and ascended to the heaven of Anu.
The gods dog-like cower, crouch on the wall (of heaven).
Ishtar screams like a woman in travail.
She cries aloud the lady of the gods, the sweet-voiced:
"Verily the former race is turned to clay.
Just as I in the assembly of the gods proclaimed evil,
As I proclaimed in the assembly of the gods evil
For the destruction of my people war I foretold,
So, verily, will I bring forth my people
Tho' like the fry of fishes they fill the sea."
The gods, the highest of the Anunnaki weep with her.
The gods are downcast, sit, and weep,
Covered were their lips ...
Six days and nights
The wind prevailed, flood and storm overwhelmed the land.
When the seventh day came the storm abated, the flood was overcome,
Which had battled like a warring host;
The sea calmed, the hurricane ceased, the flood was restrained,
I beheld the sea, uttering a lamentation,
Seeing that all mankind was turned to clay.
When the light had fully dawned I prayed.
I opened an airhole and light fell upon my cheeks.
I bowed myself, I sat down, I wept.
Over my cheeks ran my tears.
I looked upon the far-spread waters of the sea.
After twelve double-hours a peak arose,
Towards the mountain of Nitsir the ship took its course.
The mountain of Nitsir held the ship and let it not rise.
One day, a second day, the mountain of Nitsir, _ditto_
A third day, a fourth day the " " " "
A fifth day, a sixth day " " " " "
When the seventh day arrived
I brought forth a _dove_ and let it go.
The dove went forth, flew to and fro, but
A resting-place there was not, so it returned.
Then I brought forth a _swallow_ and let it go,
The swallow went forth, flew to and fro, but
A resting-place there was not so it returned.
(Then) I brought forth a _raven_ and let it go.
The raven went forth, the disappearance of the waters he saw,
He eats, caws, flies to and fro, and returns not.
(Then) I brought forth to the four winds, I offered a sacrifice.
I made an incense-offering on the top-most peak of the mountain.
Seven and seven _adagur_-vessels I placed.
Into them I cast reeds, cedar-wood, and
The gods inhaled the good odour.
The gods like flies swarmed about the offerer.
As soon as the mistress of the gods arrived
She lifted up the great jewels (?) that the god Anu had devised and
made for her (and said)
"These gods, by my _lapis lazuli_ necklace I shall not forget.
These days, verily I shall reflect upon and never forget.
The gods, let them go to the incense-offering.
(But) let not Bel go to the incense-offering,
Seeing that he did not reflect but caused the flood.
And my people he counted for destruction.
As soon as Bel arrived
He saw the ship and Bel was sore angry,
He waxed wroth against the gods, the Igigi.
"Some soul has escaped" (he said),
"Let no man survive the destruction."
Ninib openeth his mouth and speaketh,
He speaks to the warrior Bel:
"Who but Ea doeth (this) thing?
But Ea is wise in every undertaking."
Ea openeth his mouth and speaketh,
Saith to the warrior Bel:
"Thou sage of the gods, warrior!
Verily, verily, thou didst not reflect, and didst make a flood:
Upon the sinner lay his sins,
Upon the impious his impiety.[3]
Spare, let him not be cut off, have mercy, let him (not be utterly
destroyed).
Instead of bringing on a flood,
Let the lion come and reduce mankind.
Instead of bringing on a flood,
Let the hyaena come and reduce mankind.
Instead of bringing on a flood,
Let famine be sent and the land (reduced).
Instead of bringing on a flood,
Let the Pest-god come and destroy the land.
As for me, I have not revealed the secret of the gods.
I caused Atrahasis to see a vision and thus he learned the secret of
the gods."
Thereupon his counsel was taken
And Bel ascended within the ship. Seized me by the hands and brought
me up (to a point still higher).
He brought up and made to bow beside me my wife,
Turned us face to face, stood between us and blessed us:
"In former times Pir-napishtim was human
But henceforth Pir-napishtim and his wife shall be like us gods
And Pir-napishtim shall dwell afar off at the mouth of the rivers."
Then they took me and afar off at the mouth of the rivers they caused
me to dwell.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The house for its inhabitants. Compare Isaiah 1, 2: Hear, O heavens,
and give ear, O earth.
[2] The meaning here and in the next four lines is not clear.
[3] This is evidence that the deluge, as in the Old Testament, was a
punishment for sin, which some writers (not Assyriologists) have denied
in the interest of an outgrown view of the Bible.
THE DESCENT OF ISHTAR TO HADES.
Ishtar was the Babylonian Venus or goddess of love. The story of her
descent to Hades and return to the world of the living is found on a
tablet now in the British Museum, and is perhaps the most poetical
legend of the recovered Assyrian literature. It has been suggested
that the story is the text of a religious drama, resembling the
miracle-plays of mediaeval Europe. The legend shows no reason for
Ishtar's desire to enter Hades, but it is easy to suppose that she
went thither to rescue some beloved person. This supplies a connection
with the familiar story of Venus and Adonis (or Tammuz), which the
Greek writers declare to be of Syrian origin. The drama, if such it
were, was probably part of the annual celebration of the return of
Spring. Ninkigal, the Queen of Hades, corresponds to the Greek
Persephone, and Latin Proserpina, the wife of Pluto. In like manner,
Ea, the king of the gods, corresponds to Zeus or Jupiter, and the
divine messenger to Hermes or Mercury.
A BABYLONIAN EPIC--ISHTAR'S DESCENT TO HADES.
(Translation by Professor Craig.)
On the land without regress, the land (that thou knowest),
Ishtar, Sin's daughter, did fix her attention,
The daughter of Sin did fix her attention,
On the dwelling of darkness, the abode of Irkalla,
On the dwelling whose inhabitant comes no more out,
On the road whose advancing knows no returning,
On the house whose inhabitants removed from the light,
Where they're nourished with dust and clay is their food,
Where they see not the light, but in darkness are dwelling,
And are clad like the birds with a covering of wings;
On door and on bars lies the dust thickly gathered.
Arrived at the door of the land without regress,
To the porter in keeping, this order she giveth:
Thou watcher of waters, throw open thy portal!
Throw open thy portal, within will I enter!
If the door be not opened that I may pass through it,
The door will I shatter, its bolt break in pieces,
Its sills will I burst, its doors tear asunder,
The dead will I raise up, devourers and living,
Even more than the living the dead will I raise up.
The porter then opened his mouth and made answer,
To the great goddess Ishtar, made answer the porter:
"Withhold! O my lady, do not break it away,
I go to Allatu, thy name to announce."
The porter announced to the queen, to Allatu:
"Thy sister, Ishtar, is come over these waters
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ."
When Allatu these tidings received (from the porter),
Like a tamarisk cut she (bowed herself down) (?).
Like a reed that is broken she (bent to the ground) (?).
"What bringeth her heart to me, pray? What trouble?
With this one forsooth (shall I share my dwelling?)
As food eat the clay and as wine drink the water,
Weep over men who their wives have abandoned,
O'er maidens who mourn the embrace of their lovers,
Weep o'er the infants destroyed e'er their day?
Go! porter, throw open thy door--open to her!
And treat her according to olden-time law."
The porter departed, threw open his door;
"O enter, my lady, a welcome in Hades!
Palace of the land, that knows no returning,
O let it rejoice in thy presence."
The first door he caused her to enter, and halting,
Removed the great crown from her head.
"Why tak'st thou the great crown from my head, O porter?"
"O enter, my lady, 'tis the law of Allatu."
The next door he caused her to enter, and halting,
The rings were removed from her ears.
"Why tak'st thou the rings from my ears, O porter?"
"O enter, my lady, 'tis the law of Allatu."
The third door he caused her to enter, and halting,
The necklace removed from her neck.
"Why tak'st thou from my neck the necklace, O porter?"
"O enter, my lady, 'tis the law of Allatu."
The fourth door he caused her to enter, and halting,
Her jewels removed from her breast.
"Why tak'st thou from my breast the jewels, O porter?"
"O enter, my lady, 'tis the law of Allatu."
The fifth door he caused her to enter, and halting,
The bearing-stone girdle he took off from her waist.
"Why tak'st thou from my waist my gemmed-girdle, O porter?"
"O enter, my lady, 'tis the law of Allatu."
The sixth door he caused her to enter, and halting,
Took the rings from her hands and her feet.
"Why from hands and from feet take the rings, pray, O porter?"
"O enter, my lady, 'tis the law of Allatu."
The seventh door he caused her to enter, and halting,
From her body her cincture removed.
"Why take from my body my cincture, O porter?"
"O enter, my lady, 'tis the law of Allatu."
To the land without regress when Ishtar descended,
Allatu beheld her and raged in her presence;
Imprudently, boldly, did Ishtar attack her.
Then opened Allatu her mouth and commanded,
To Namtar, her servant, the order was given:
"Go Namtar, confine her....
With disease of the eye, and the hip, and the foot,
With disease of the heart, and the scalp, go smite Ishtar,
Afflict her whole person!"
After Ishtar, the goddess, had (been thus afflicted) (?)
The bull no more covered the cow, nor ass gendered;
No more in the street lay the man with the maiden;
The man went asleep in his place,
In her place slept the maiden.
The god's-servant, Pap-su-kal, face down and sad-visaged,
Was clothed in the garb of deep mourning.
Shamash went, sorely wept before Sin, his father,
His tears ran down before the king, Ea,
Saying: "Ishtar's gone down to the land, and returns not.
Since Ishtar's descent to the land without regress
The bull no more covers the cow, nor ass genders;
No more in the street lies the man with the maiden.
The man falls asleep in his place,
In her place sleeps the maiden."
Then Ea created a male in his wisdom,
The god's-servant, Uddushu-namir, created.
"Go! Uddushu-namir, to land without regress,
Seven doors of the land without regress be opened!
Allatu behold thee, rejoice in thy presence!
Her heart when at ease, and her spirit when joyful;
In name of the great gods do thou adjure her:
'Thy head raise, to Hal-skin direct thy attention,
O lady, I pray thee, Halziqu-skin give me;
I desire to drink of the waters within it.'"
This hearing, Allatu her sides smote, her nails bit.
"Of me thou hast asked an impossible favor.
Hence! Uddushu-namir, with curse will I curse thee;
Thy food it shall be the foul mud of the city,
From drains of the city shalt thou drink the water,
The shade of the wall shall be thy dwelling,
Thy place of abiding a stone-block shall build it.
Confinement, privation, thy strength let them shatter."
Allatu then opened her mouth and commanded,
To Namtar, her servant, the order was given:
"Go! Namtar, beat on the palace eternal!
Go! rap on the stone slabs, those made out of _pa_-stone.
Go! lead forth the spirits, on golden thrones set them,
With water-of-life sprinkle Ishtar, the goddess,
Lead her forth from my presence."
Then went Namtar, beat on the palace eternal,
And shook the stone slabs those made out of _pa_-stone;
He led forth the spirits, on golden thrones set them,
With water-of-life sprinkled Ishtar the goddess.
Led her forth from her presence.
Through first door he led her, gave to her her cincture.
Through second door he led her, her rings he gave to her.
Through third door he led her, gave back her gemmed-girdle.
Through fourth door he led her, gave back her breast-jewels.
Through fifth door he led her, gave to her her necklace.
Through sixth door he led her, gave to her her ear-rings.
Through seventh door he led her, the great crown gave to her.
Here ends the descent of Ishtar. The priest continues:
"If free she'll not free her, return with her to her
And for Tammuz, her bridegroom in years that were youthful,
Pour water e'en purest, with sweet balm (anoint him)
And clothe him with garments, a flute (give unto him),
Companions of Ishtar, let them wail with loud (wailing),
The goddess, Belili, her treasure completed,
High heaped are the eye-stones, her knees now supporteth,
Her brother's complaint she then understanding,
The great goddess Belili her treasures outpouring,
She fills with the eye-stones the floor round about her (saying)
'My only one, brother mine, do me no evil.'
When Tammuz with flute of fine lapiz discourseth,
Then play with him joyfully flute of fine beryl,
And play with him joyfully men mourners and women,
The dead may arise the sweet incense inhaling."
NOTE.--See Jastoon, "Religion of Babylonia and Assyria," page 563 ff.,
for a full discussion of this epic.
[Illustration]
GYGES AND ASSURBANIPAL.
Gyges, king of Lydia, reigned B.C. 716-678. The Greek historian
Herodotus has given an interesting account of him, but still more
interesting is the following extract showing how he was regarded by
the great king of Assyria, Assurbanipal (Sardanapalus).
Gyges was the king of Lydia, a country beyond the seas, a distant land,
of which the kings, my fathers, had never even heard the name. Assur, my
divine generator, revealed my name to him in a dream, saying:
"Assurbanipal, the king of Assyria; place thyself at his feet, and thou
shalt conquer thy enemies in his name." The same day that he dreamed
this dream, Gyges sent horsemen to salute me, and related to me the
dream which he had had, by the mouth of his messengers. When the latter
reached the frontiers of my empire and encountered the people of my
empire, they said to him, "Who then art thou, stranger, whose land has
never yet been visited by one of our couriers?"
They sent him to Nineveh, the seat of my royalty, and brought him before
me. The languages of the East and of the West, which Assur had given
into my hand, none of those who spoke them could understand his
language, and none of those who surrounded me had ever heard speech like
unto it. In the space of my empire at last I found one who understood
it, and he told me the dream. The same day that he placed himself at the
feet of me, the king Assurbanipal, he defeated the Cimmerians, who
oppressed the people of his land, who had not feared the kings, my
fathers, and had not placed themselves at my feet. By the grace of
Assur and Ishtar, the gods my masters, they took amidst the chiefs of
the Cimmerians, whom he had defeated, two chiefs whom he chained heavily
with manacles and fetters of iron, and he sent them to me with a rich
present.
Nevertheless the horsemen that he at first sent regularly to pay homage
to me, he soon ceased to send. He would not obey the commands of Assur,
my divine generator, but foolishly trusted in his own strength, and in
the wishes of his heart. He sent his troops to the assistance of
Psammetichus, king of Egypt, who had contemptuously thrown off my yoke.
I heard this, and prayed to Assur and Ishtar: "May his body be thrown
down before his enemies, and may his bones be dispersed." The
Cimmerians, whom he had crushed in my name, reappeared and subjugated
his whole land, and his son succeeded him upon the throne. The
punishment which the gods, who are my strength, had drawn upon his
father at my request, he told me by his messengers, and he placed
himself at my feet, saying: "Thou art a king acknowledged by the gods.
Thou cursedst my father, and misfortune fell upon him. Send me thy
blessing, for I am thy servant, who fears thee, and will wear thy yoke."
[Illustration]
PURITY.
"Purity is the best of all things; purity is the fairest of all things,
even as thou hast said, O righteous Zarathustra." With these words the
holy Ahura-Mazda rejoiced the holy Zarathustra: "Purity is for man, next
to life, the greatest good; that purity which is procured by the law of
Mazda to him who cleanses his own self with good thoughts, words and
deeds."
O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! This law, this
fiend-destroying law of Zarathustra, by what greatness, goodness, and
fairness is it great, good, and fair above all other utterances?
Ahura-Mazda answered: "As much above all other floods as is the sea, so
much above all other utterances in greatness, goodness, and fairness is
this law, this fiend-destroying law of Zarathustra. As much as a great
stream flows swifter than a slender rivulet, so much above all other
utterances in greatness, goodness, and fairness is this law, this
fiend-destroying law of Zarathustra. As high as the great cypress tree
stands above the small plants it overshadows, so high above all other
utterances in greatness, goodness, and fairness is this law, this
fiend-destroying law of Zarathustra. As high as heaven is above the
earth that it compasses around, so high above all other utterances is
this law, this fiend-destroying law of Zarathustra.
"Therefore when the high priest has been applied to by a penitent, when
any of the Magi has been applied to, whether for draona-service[A] that
has been undertaken or that has not been undertaken, the priest has
power to remit one-third of the penalty he had to pay: if he has
committed any other evil deed, it is remitted by his repentance; if he
has committed no other evil deed, he is absolved by his repentance
forever and ever."
[A] A service in honor of spirits or deceased persons in which
small cakes (_draona_) are blessed in their name and eaten
by those present.
ZOROASTER'S PRAYER.
This Gatha or hymn is supposed to be a prayer prescribed by
Zoroaster for the teachers of his religion. The first verse is the
prelude always used before reciting or chanting any of the Gathas in
the Parsi religious service.
A strengthening blessing is the thought, a blessing is the word, a
blessing is the deed of the righteous Zarathustra. May the Bountiful
Immortals accept and help on the chants. Homage to you, O sacred Gathas!
With venerating desire for this gift of gracious help, O Mazda, and
stretching forth my hands to Thee I pray for the first blessing of Thy
bountiful Spirit; that is, I beseech of Thee that my actions toward all
may be performed in Righteousness; and with this I implore from Thee the
understanding of Thy Good Spirit, in order that I may propitiate the
Soul of the Kine.
And therefore, O Great Creator, the Living Lord! inspired by Thy Good
Spirit, I approach You, and beseech of Thee to grant me as a bountiful
gift for both the worlds, that of the body and that of mind, those
attainments which are to be derived from the Divine Righteousness, and
by means of which those who receive it may enter into beatitude and
glory!
O thou Divine Righteousness, and thou Good Spirit of Deity! I will
worship you, and Ahura Mazda the first, for all of whom the pious ready
mind within us is causing the imperishable Kingdom to advance. And while
I thus utter my supplications to You, come Ye to my calls to help!
Yea, I will approach You with my supplications, I who am delivering up
my mind and soul to that heavenly Mount whither all the redeemed at last
must pass, knowing full well the holy characteristics and rewards of the
actions prescribed by Ahura Mazda. And so long as I am able and may have
the power, so long will I teach Your people concerning these holy deeds
to be done by them with faith toward God, and in the desire for the
coming of the Divine Righteousness within their souls.
And, thou Righteousness! when shall I see thee, knowing the Good Mind of
God, and above all the Obedience of our lives which constitutes the way
to the most beneficent Ahura Mazda? Asking this, I thus beseech thee,
for with this holy word of supplication we best keep off with tongue the
flesh-devouring fiends, the very sign and power of all spiritual
foulness!
* * * * *
THE HEBREWS AND THEIR NEIGHBORS.
CHAPTER I.
SYRIA.
Syria is the northern extremity of the Arabian peninsula. The word
_Syria_ is a shortened form of _Assyria_, and was given by the Greeks,
at first to the whole Assyrian empire, and later restricted to the strip
of land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Euphrates valley. Today
the name is applied to the region east of Palestine, reaching to the
Taurus mountains on the north and on the south and west bounded by
deserts.
Its very location determined that this should never become the home of a
united, homogeneous people. It has always been a highway connecting Asia
and Africa and trade routes have extended through it since the earliest
recorded ages. Egyptian armies pressing into Asia in an early day
traversed its midst and so did those of somewhat later times pushing
westward from Mesopotamia, bound upon foreign conquest.
"Syria lies between two continents--Asia and Africa; between two
primeval homes of men--the valleys of the Euphrates and the Nile;
between two great centers of empire--Western Asia and Egypt; between all
these, representing the Eastern and ancient world, and the
Mediterranean, which is the gateway to the Western and modern world.
Syria has been likened to a bridge between Asia and Africa--a bridge
with the desert on one side and the sea upon the other; and, in truth,
all the great invasions of Syria, with two exceptions, have been
delivered across her northern and southern ends.... Syria is not only
the bridge between Asia and Africa: she is the refuge of the drifting
populations of Arabia. She has not only been the highroad of
civilizations and the battle-field of empires, but the pasture and the
school of innumerable little tribes. She has been not merely an open
channel of war and commerce for nearly the whole world, but the
vantage-ground and opportunity of the world's highest religions. In this
strange mingling of bridge and harbour, of highroad and field, of
battle-ground and sanctuary, of seclusion and opportunity--rendered
possible through the striking division of her surface into mountain and
plain--lies all the secret of Syria's history, under the religion which
has lifted her fame to glory."[1]
The country falls naturally into many small districts in which petty
states have arisen but which never developed into strong kingdoms. These
have left but scanty remains of their civilizations.
We know nothing of Syria prior to 3500 B.C. There are evidences that
this region, like Chaldea, was occupied first by a primitive people,
probably belonging to the Turanian race. When a great Semitic outpouring
from Arabia caused the ancient Chaldean nation to be engulfed by a
vigorous people, Syria as well suffered an invasion.
During years of Babylonian dominance, Syria fell to the share of
Babylonian kings. "The land of the setting sun," as they called it, was
named with their possessions.
When Thutmose III. led his armies into Asia to avenge the insult done
Egyptian honor when the Hyksos kings ruled the valley of the Nile, he
established a certain supremacy over Syria which lasted for perhaps two
centuries. He established several royal cities, or "halting places"--so
called because his majesty tarried in them and directed the construction
of fortifications. Tribute was exacted and was paid with some regularity
until the time of Amenhotep IV. He was too occupied with religious
reformation and the exaltation of the Solar Disk faith to give attention
to his foreign possessions. The Tell-el-Amarna letters in many instances
portray the condition of Syria when Egypt's name was no longer a
protection and incoming tribes were plundering right and left.[2]
The spirit of unrest was again abroad among the nations and the Hittites
now invaded Western Asia. Who they were and from whence they came has
never been satisfactorily settled. Certain it is they were not Semitic.
They belonged to the great white race, but their history is still to be
written. Part of the natives sided with them; part remained loyal to
Egypt, and the rest attempted to establish their own independence.
Commerce was interrupted, caravans were plundered, and civil strife was
general throughout the land. In a brief time the Hittites made
themselves supreme in Syria, which became known as the Land of the
Hittites.
About 1200 B.C. a fresh invasion brought several new tribes, among
others, the Philistines. They again were probably not Semitics but of
the Aryan race. The Hittite nation was now broken up into several small
states, none of which became as powerful as the original nation. With
the weakening of Hittite strength, opportunity arose for petty states to
develop. The great powers left the country in peace for three or four
hundred years, and Syrian states prospered and grew strong.
The era of the Judges in Israel fell into this period, and between the
Hebrews and certain Syrian tribes there was intermittent war.
With the reign of Tiglath-Pileser I. Assyria launched forth on her
career of conquest. In a westward march made by this conqueror, northern
Syria yielded to Assyrian arms and offered tribute. Damascus alone was
left undisturbed, for opposition was sure to be strong on the part of
this ancient city. With some intervening years during which tribute
could not be collected and when allegiance to Nineveh was denied,
Assyrian influence dominated Syria, and frequently vigorous rule was
enforced. When Assyria fell, the New Babylonian empire kept guard over
the west. With the end of Babylonian rule, and the ascendency of Persia,
Semitic dominance came to an end. Under Persia, and later under Greece,
new states came into existence and Aryan rule began.
In the ages with which we are at present concerned, however, Syria
remained to the portion of Semitic tribes. We have found Arabia the
original home of this race. Providing at best but a scanty living for
her children, when tribes multiplied rapidly Arabia seems to have cast
out a portion of her inhabitants to make room for the rest.
Chaldea--later Babylonia--was peopled by such an outpouring, while at
the same time tribes spread into Syria and settled spots which promised
adequate food and pasturage. Later comers were compelled to journey past
these occupied lands and seek lands farther west, or to overcome the
natives and supplant them. Some one has aptly said that different tribes
fitted themselves into the "shelves and corners of Syria," and that is
just what they did. It would have been as impossible for Syria, with its
irregular surfaces, to have produced one united nation as for Greece or
Switzerland to have contained a people whose national concerns
outweighed their local interests. Highland and lowland, plateau and
plain, mountain range and valley--these at length were occupied by
little clans or more numerous tribes, while the more exposed regions
were open to the nomads who came like birds for a season, or tarried a
few brief years and penetrated farther west, or who perhaps merely
loitered on their way to Egypt--the land of water and abundant grain.
"Syria is the northern and most fertile end of the great Semitic
home--the peninsula of Arabia. But the Semitic home is distinguished by
its central position in geography--between Asia and Africa, and between
the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean, which is Europe; and the _role_
in history of the Semitic race has been also intermediary. The Semitics
have been the great middlemen of the world. Not second-rate in war, they
have risen to the first rank in commerce and religion. They have been
the carriers between East and West, they have stood between the great
ancient civilizations and those which go to make up the modern world;
while by a higher gift, for which their conditions neither in place nor
in time fully account, they have been mediary between God and man, and
proved the religious teachers of the world, through whom have come its
three highest faiths, its only universal religions. Syria's history is
her share in this great function of intermedium, which has endured from
the earliest times to the present day."[3]
"The head of Syria is Damascus," wrote Isaiah two thousand years ago. So
it has since continued to be, with short periods of change. The
venerable city, made possible and beautiful by the waters of the Abana,
has survived many sacks and slaughters. It is sometimes called the
oldest city in the world, meaning of course, the one of greatest age
yet standing. Still it has few relics of antiquity. Old material has
constantly been utilized in the construction of new buildings and
monuments. Its position has often been commented upon. "It is an
astonishing site for what is said to be the oldest, and is certainly the
most enduring, city of the world. For it is utterly incapable of
defence; it is remote from the sea and the great natural lines of
commerce. From the coast of Syria it is double barred by those ranges of
snow-capped mountains whose populations enjoy more tempting prospects to
the north and west. But look east and you understand Damascus.
"You would as soon think of questioning the site of New York or of San
Francisco. Damascus is a great harbour of refuge upon the earliest sea
man ever learned to navigate. It is because there is nothing but desert
beyond, or immediately behind this site; because this river, the Abana,
instead of wasting her waters on a slight extension of the fringe of
fertile Syria, saves them in her narrow gorge till she can fling them
well out upon the desert, and there, instead of slowly expending them on
the doubtful possibilities of a province, lavishes all her life at once
in the creation of a single great city, and straightway dies in face of
the desert--it is because of all this that Damascus, so remote and so
defenceless, has endured throughout human history, and must endure.
Nineveh, Babylon and Memphis easily conquered her--she probably preceded
them, and she has outlived them. She has been twice supplanted--by
Antioch, and she has seen Antioch decay, by Baghdad, and Baghdad is
forgotten. She has been many times sacked, and twice at least the
effective classes of her population have been swept into captivity, but
this has not broken the chain of her history. She was once capital of
the world from the Atlantic to the Bay of Bengal, but the vast empire
went from her and the city continued to flourish as before. Standing on
the utmost edge of fertility, on the shore of the much-voyaged desert,
Damascus is indispensable alike to civilization and to the nomads.
Moreover, she is the city of the Mediterranean world which lies nearest
to the far East, and Islam has made her the western port of Mecca."[4]
Having traversed the desert wastes, the city of Damascus lies invitingly
before the wearied traveller. There is an old tradition that Mohammet
once approached the town and viewed it from neighboring hills. Before
him lay its grateful shade and restful streets, its tide of busy life,
its wealth, its diversions--behind him lay the monotonous sea of sand,
its parching heat and treeless plains. The great religious teacher was
apparently afraid to trust himself to the enticing influences of the
city. He turned away, saying: "Man can enter Paradise but once; if I
pass into Damascus I shall be excluded from the other Paradise reserved
for the faithful."
Our word _damask_ stands today in memory of the age when damask or
Damascus silk, embroidered in richest colors, with threads of silver and
gold, stood forth unmatched by fabrics of other lands. Today the word is
ordinarily applied to round linen thread, woven in fruit, flower, or
conventional designs, as was the silk originally.
The swords of Damascus also gained world-renown. They were so thin that
they could be tied into knots without injuring them in the least, and so
strong that they would cut through iron or wood without being marred. A
certain watery steel, more true and resistable than ordinary, made the
"trusty sword of Damascus" popular in many lands.
It lies beyond our province to trace the comings and goings of tribes
within the land of Syria. At best Syrian history is fragmentary and is
suited for the student of the Semitic race rather than the general
reader. We shall happen upon facts connected with it as we study the
history of the Hebrews, and the empire age of the Mesopotamian states.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] George Adam Smith: Historical Geog. of the Holy Land, 6.
[2] Tell-el-Amarna Letters described in The Story of Babylonia and
Assyria.
[3] Smith: Hist. Geog. of Holy Land, 5.
[4] Smith: Hist. Geog. of Holy Land, 642.
CHAPTER II.
THE LAND OF PHOENICIA.
Geographically, Phoenicia was a small state. It lay between a spur of
the Taurus mountains--Mt. Casius--on the north and Carmel on the south;
washed by the Mediterranean Sea on the west, it was protected by a lofty
mountain range on the east. These natural boundaries were important,
since they shut in the land and sheltered it in a great measure from
invasions and plundering raids.
About 200 miles in length, Phoenicia ranged from one to thirty-five
miles in width. A narrow sandy coast-belt skirted the western side and
was covered with date-palms, which gave the region its name. Greek
sailors, coasting along the eastern shore of the sea, saw the luxuriant
palms from afar, and called the whole eastern coast Phoenike--Land of
Palms. Later, learning more particularly of the various nations which
dwelt therein, they restricted the name to the country we are now
studying.
East of the palm belt extend the fertile plains of Phoenicia. Here
grew gardens, orchards and fields of grain, which made the district a
veritable paradise. "'The cultivated tract presents for the most part an
unbroken mass of corn, out of which rise here and there slight eminences
in the midst of gardens and orchards--the sites of cities.' The gardens
are gay with scarlet blossoms of the pomegranate, the orchards famous
for the enormous oranges which diversify the green foliage of their
shady groves."[1] Here was grown the food supply which supported the
whole population of the country, generally speaking, while on the low
hills which bounded the plain on the east, the vine, olive and mulberry
were cultivated. At last, the high mountains arose, bare in spots and
elsewhere covered with forest trees--oaks, chestnuts and the mighty
cedars.
Several streams, mountain-born, rushed down steep sides, furnished
moisture and added fertility to the plains, then found their way to the
sea. Chief of these in early times, as today, was the Litany. This river
rises 10,000 feet above the sea, and "forces its way through Lebanon by
a deep and narrow gorge, in which it frets and chafes many hundred feet
below the eye of the spectator, descending precipitously, and at last
debouching upon the plain by a ravine, about five miles northeast of
Tyre. It has been compared to a 'monster serpent chained in the yawning
gulf, where she writhes and struggles evermore to escape from her dark
and narrow prison, but always in vain, save only near the sea-shore,
where her windings reach a close.'"[2]
Irregularities of the coast supplied harbors which would be quite
inadequate for modern ships, but sufficed for the vessels of antiquity.
Fringes of islets, near the shore, made refuge for sailors in time of
storm in an age when no boats drew deep water, and when even the largest
might be drawn up on the beach if necessary.
The climate of Phoenicia varied according to the locality. That of the
plain was mild and pleasant, while snow lay most of the year upon the
mountain peaks rising easterly. The scenery of the narrow strip changes
constantly as one journeys east or west. Islands of the Mediterranean
invited the sailor to venture far out from his native shore, and at an
early period the sea was dotted over by the merchant-ships of the
Phoenicians. East, north and south high mountains offer a varied
aspect to the traveller. The Lebanon range has always been notably
beautiful. "The elevation rises gradually as we proceed north-ward,
until the range culminates in the peaks above the cedars, which are
estimated to attain a height of from nine thousand to ten thousand
feet.... Garden cultivation carpets the base of the mountain; above this
is, for the most part, a broad fringe of olive groves; higher up, the
hill sides are carefully terraced, not an inch of ground being wasted;
and among sharp cliffs and pointed rocks of a grey-white hue are strips
of cornfields, long rows of dwarf mulberries, figs, apricots, apples,
walnuts, and other fruit trees. Gorges, ravines, charming glens, deep
valleys, diversify the mountain sides; here and there are tremendous
chasms, with precipices that go sheer down for a thousand feet; tiny
rivulets bound and leap from rock to rock and from terrace to terrace,
forming chains of cascades, refreshing and fertilizing all around. In
the deep gorges flow copious streams, shaded by overhanging woods of
pines or cedars; and towards the summit are in several places
magnificent cedar groves, remnants of the primeval forest which once
clothed the greater part of the mountain. Above all towers the bare
limestone of the dorsal ridge, always white enough to justify the name
Lebanon (White Mountain), and for eight months of the year clothed with
a mantle of snow."[3]
Semitic tribes, journeying out of Arabia at a remote period, crossed
into Chaldea, and after a sojourn which cannot now be estimated, worked
their way westward to the region just described. In all probability
Turanians held the territory. With these they intermingled and
inter-married, while kinsmen coming later from the old Arabian home,
kept the stock nearly pure Semitic.
One of the oldest settlements was made at Sidon, the name of the town
commemorating the earliest occupation of its people. _Sidon_ signifies
_fishery_, and it is supposed that the first comers were fishermen. In
later years when Sidon was the wealthiest city in Western Asia, and when
her proud merchantmen had left nets to the portion of the humblest born,
the early name stood in memory of primitive days.
Sidon was built on the shore, while her natural harbor consisted of a
little circlet of islands which afforded shelter for sailing crafts. An
excellent harbor was constructed with this breakwater, but it is
significant to note that Sidon's strongholds were on the shore.
Some of her inhabitants at length departed from the mother-city and
settled at Tyre, near the southern part of the Phoenician coast. The
word _Tyre_ means _rock_, and while settlements were made on the shore
as well, the famous city of antiquity was built on an island, half a
mile from the mainland. This island was about two and one-half miles in
width and was completely surrounded by a wall, one hundred feet high.
With water around her and mighty walls as well, Tyre was wellnigh
impregnable in times of siege.
The little town of Dora grew up where shell-fish abounded. These were
valued for a secretion they yielded which was made up into a dye of
royal purple, world-renowned in ancient times. Gebal became famous for
its shipyards. Tripolis gained celebrity as head of a league of cities
made up of Tyre, Aradus and Tripolis.
The Phoenicians left no history of their country. No other ancient
people came in contact with so many nations and none had more material
at hand from which to formulate a record of their time, but they were a
nation of traders and appear to have been quite lacking in literature of
their own and in chroniclers of any sort. Not only is there utter dearth
of writings, but ruins and remains of Phoenician civilization are
comparatively few. The Phoenicians built well, but their structures
were either torn down by ruthless conquerors, or, like those of
Carthage, became quarries for other nations. We are consequently forced
to reconstruct their history from other sources--from writings of men of
other lands, often hostile to them and so prejudiced in their point of
view. The characteristic life of the Phoenicians led into the busy
marts of men--not to the library or cloister, and a study of their
history involves a study of the commerce of their time.
It is doubtful whether the future can produce material for any complete
history of Phoenicia. We know practically nothing of the prehistoric
period in the country, and when reports of the nation begin, the people
had already reached a high proficiency on the sea and possessed wealthy
cities. The commercial spirit, so strong in the Semitic race seems to
have reached its extreme expression in the people of this little state.
If they possessed any aptitude for pursuits other than trading, we know
little of them. In the periods known to us there was no national life
nor government. Each city developed independently and appears to have
had only commercial ambitions.
The natural contour of the land allowed the people to build up a mighty
system of trade which penetrated into every country known to antiquity,
while their sea-ports remained long protected from aggressive rulers of
Egypt and Mesopotamia.
The Phoenician cities were mentioned as early as 1475 B.C., when
Thutmose III. made his strength felt in Western Asia. They united with
the Hittite nation against him, but were defeated and made gifts of
submission.
Sidon was the older city, and tradition has it that about 1200 B.C. the
Philistines--earlier inhabitants of the country--fought a battle with
Sidon and defeated her, whereupon some of her citizens escaped and
founded Tyre. Quite as probable is a more recent supposition that Sidon,
wealthy and given over to ease and pleasure, gradually weakened, while
the younger and more vigorous town of Tyre became the leader.
Hiram seems to have been the most renowned king of Tyre. He enlarged the
island upon which the city stood. Filling in the lagoon between two
islands, he joined them together, forming thus one large island. Being a
prolific builder, he erected huge structures of stone, which together
with wood, made up the building material of Phoenicia.
For some time previous to his reign, Judah had been growing in strength.
She had held out against the Philistines, and was being welded into a
well organized state. Hiram considered it good policy to seek the
friendship of Judah's king, and he and King David remained good friends.
This same friendship was offered to Solomon when he succeeded his father
as ruler of the Hebrews, and aid was given the Hebrews in the
construction of their temple, Phoenician timber and skilled workmen
being supplied. An account of the matter has come to us from the
Hebrews: "And Hiram, king of Tyre, sent his servants unto Solomon; for
he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father:
for Hiram was ever a lover of David. And Solomon sent to Hiram saying:
'Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the
name of the Lord his God for the wars which were about him on every
side, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. But now the
Lord my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither
adversary nor evil occurrent. And behold, I purpose to build an house
unto the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spake unto David, my
father, saying: 'Thy son whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he
shall build an house unto my name. Now therefore command thou that they
hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy
servants; and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to
all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us
any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.'
"And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he
rejoiced greatly, and said: 'Blessed be the Lord this day, which hath
given unto David a wise son over this great people.' And Hiram sent to
Solomon, saying: 'I have considered the things which thou sentest to me
for; and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar and
concerning timber of fir. My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon
unto the sea: and I will convey them by sea in floats unto the place
that thou shalt appoint me, and I will cause them to be discharged
there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire,
in giving food for my household.'
"So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his
desire. And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for
food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave
Solomon to Hiram year by year.... And there was peace between Hiram and
Solomon; and they two made a league together.... And the king commanded
and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay
the foundation of the house. And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders
did hew them, and the stonequarriers: so they prepared timber and stones
to build the house."[4]
The temple stood at last a memorial to the skillful workmanship of
Phoenicia as well as a tribute of honor to Jehovah, God of Israel.
After the death of Hiram, during whose reign the country had prospered,
the government soon passed from his family. A class of wealthy merchants
had arisen in Tyre and they demanded official positions for themselves.
The king they crowned became king of Sidon as well. Before 1000 B.C.
exiles from Tyre, driven out for political reasons, founded Carthage,
best known of all Phoenicia's colonies.
As early as 880 B.C. danger threatened Phoenicia from Assyria.
Protected by the efficient barrier of a mountain range, the commercial
ports had been free to develop their trade without serious interruption.
They immediately offered to pay tribute rather than fight, and Assyrian
tablets recount products sent by them.
By 727 B.C. the yoke of Assyria had become oppressive and Tyre revolted.
A siege of five years followed and was at length raised with no result,
for Tyre could not be cut off from the sea. About 680 B.C. Baal was
crowned king of Tyre with the consent of the Assyrian ruler.
Nevertheless, he shortly announced his independence and became a sturdy
opponent of Assyrian aggression. In 668 B.C. Asshurbanipal led an army
against the sea-coast cities, especially against the most powerful,
Tyre.
"Against Baal, King of Tyre, dwelling in the midst of the sea, I went,
because my royal will he disregarded, and did not harken unto the words
of my mouth. Towers round about him I raised, and over his people I
strengthened the watch. On land and sea his forts I took; his going out
I stopped. Brackish water and sea water their mouths drank to preserve
their lives. With a strong blockade, which removed not, I besieged them;
their spirits I humbled and caused to melt away; to my yoke I made them
submissive." When Assyria was threatened by Median power, the cities on
the coast again shook themselves free from the hated tribute and at this
juncture Tyre rose to her greatest influence. About 600 B.C. Egypt tried
to bring Western Asia under her dominance and under her direction
Phoenician sailors circumnavigated Africa.
Nebuchadnezzar determined to end rebellions in the west for all time and
to bring the coast under Babylonian rule. Tyre held out against him and
a siege of thirteen years ensued. The Hebrew prophet Ezekiel foretold
the result:
"Behold I am against thee, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come
up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up. And they shall
destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers: I will also scrape
her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock....
"Behold I will bring upon Tyre Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, a king
of kings, from the north with horses, and with chariots and with
horsemen, and companies, and much people. He shall slay with the sword
thy daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against thee, and
cast a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee. And he
shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall
break down thy towers. By reason of the abundance of his horses their
dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the
horsemen, and of the wheels and of the chariots, when he shall enter
into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach. With
the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall
slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to
the ground. And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey
of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy
pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy
dust in the midst of the water.
"And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy
harps shall be no more heard. And I will make thee like the top of a
rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon."[5]
These prophecies were fulfilled, and having rallied again, and once more
sent forth their merchant vessels, these cities fell shortly to the
share of Persia. Cambyses depended wholly upon their navy, so that when
Phoenician sailors refused to sweep down upon Carthage, he was obliged
to abandon his idea of subduing that colony.[6]
In 362 B.C. Sidon revolted against Persian oppression. When at last the
fall of their city was at hand, 40,000 Sidonians shut themselves in
their houses and set fire to them rather than become spoils for the
conqueror.
Some years later, when the young Macedonia conqueror, Alexander the
Great, reached this district in course of his brief conquest, the
Phoenician cities, wearied of Persian taxes, hailed his coming with
joy. One after another, the towns sent presents until it was left for
Tyre alone to do homage to the young monarch. Her citizens sent an
embassy to meet him with a crown of gold and announced their willingness
to do his bidding. Alexander replied that he was pleased by their action
and would visit their city to offer sacrifices in their temple--for the
Greeks identified the god of the Phoenicians with their Hercules. The
reply being made known in the city, the people feared that some hidden
purpose prompted the Greek to seek their island home, and they sent to
him again saying that they would pay whatever tribute he exacted, but
that they did not wish the Greek army to march through their streets.
This angered Alexander and he announced that if the gates of Tyre did
not open to him, he would open them by force. Tyre had withstood many a
siege and she did not hesitate to take a firm stand. Carthaginians who
chanced to be within her walls advised that help would be forthcoming
were it needed, and it was supposed furthermore, that Persia would never
see her empire turned over to the Greeks without a struggle. Above all,
Tyre had faith in the strength of her walls and in her fleet.
Sieges in the past had often failed because Tyre could not be approached
by battering rams and engines of war. As has already been said, the
island upon which the city stood lay one-half mile from the shore. Her
harbors were the best on the Phoenician coast. One lay on the north
side and was called the Sidonian harbor because it looked towards Sidon;
the other was on the south side, and was called the Egyptian harbor
since it faced the land of the pyramids. Stone piers ran out some
considerable distance in the sea and made safe refuge for vessels in
stormy weather. Rough winds might have made entrance to the port
impossible had the harbor extended on one side only, hence the two
harbors were early constructed and were connected by a canal, extending
through the city, making it thus possible for a ship to enter by one
harbor and clear port from the other.
Now Alexander conceived the bold design of building a broad bridge or
mole from the continent to the island, that he might bring his war
engines up to the city walls. Forthwith, operations were started on the
shore, in shallow water. Two rows of piles were driven 200 feet from
each other and the intervening distance was filled in with earth and
stone. When the mole reached out where the force of the current was
felt, however, the earthwork was carried away as rapidly as it was
built. Moreover, the Tyrians grasped his plan and harried the laborers
continually. They brought their boats near enough to attack them and
compel them to abandon their undertaking. The Greeks met this obstacle
by preparing a curtain of hides to cover the workmen, and raised two
lofty wooden towers wherein soldiers were stationed to charge upon ships
interfering with the work. The citizens of Tyre thereupon equipped one
of their largest transports as a fire-ship, and filling it with all
sorts of combustible material, sent it floating against the Greek
towers, a mass of fire. This was effectual, and Alexander returned from
a temporary absence to find the work of weeks obliterated. This general
never allowed confronting obstacles to baffle him, and under his
personal supervision the labor began anew. The struggle had come to mean
more than the subjection of an independent city--it signified Greek
capacity and ingenuity against Asiatic opposition on the very threshold
of a coveted continent.
Earth, trees and stones were hurled rapidly into the sea, but Tyrian
divers with grappling hooks dragged out whole trees and brush,
destroying the solidity of the mass. Then Alexander realized that he
could accomplish nothing without a navy. Without aid of a fleet he might
be detained indefinitely with one obstinate city. He immediately levied
vessels and crews from those towns which had already surrendered to him.
As fate would have it, the Persian fleet came voluntarily into his hands
and shortly 224 vessels were ready to move against Tyre. Under their
protection the construction of the mole went on rapidly. Tyre soon
understood that her only hope lay in chancing a sea battle. The number
of ships against her was overwhelming, and after a gallant start, she
was defeated.
"The last chance was over--the last effort had failed--but the Tyrians
would not give in any the more. They still met every attack upon the
walls with a determined resistance, and with a fertility of resource
that was admirable. To deaden the blows of the battering-ram, and the
force of the stones hurled from the catapults, leather bags filled with
sea-weed were let down from the walls at the point assailed. Wheels set
in rapid motion intercepted the darts and javelins thrown into the town,
turning them aside, or blunting, or sometimes breaking them. When the
towers erected upon the mole were brought close up to the defences, and
an attempt was made to throw bridges from them to the battlements, and
thus to pass soldiers into the city, the Tyrians flung grappling-hooks
among the soldiers on the bridges, which caught in the bodies of some,
mangling them terribly, dragging their shields from others, and hauled
some bodily into the air, dashing them against the wall or upon the
ground. Masses of red-hot metal were prepared and hurled against the
towers and against the scaling parties. Sand was heated to a glow and
showered upon all who approached the foot of the walls: it penetrated
through the joints of the armour, and caused such intolerable pain, that
the coats of mail were torn off and flung aside, whereupon the sufferers
were soon put _hors de combat_ by lance thrusts and missiles. The
battering-rams were attacked by engines constructed for the purpose,
which brought sharp scythes, attached to long poles, into contact with
the ropes and thongs used in working them, and cut them through.
Further, wherever the wall showed signs of giving way, the defenders
began to construct an inner wall, to take the place of the outer one,
when it should be demolished."[7]
When the walls at length gave way and soldiers made an entrance into the
town, they had to fight a battle in every house and win their ground in
street and building, foot by foot. Ten thousand were massacred and
thirty thousand women and children were sold into slavery. The city was
left in 332 B.C. in a half-ruined condition with few inhabitants. In a
few years Tyre rose again but the days of her greatness were gone.
We have seen that during the first part of her history Phoenicia was
left practically alone and during the later portion suffered repeated
attacks. How can we account for the frequent despoiling of her proud
cities during her later years? Owing to their position and consequent
trade, the Phoenician cities became wealthy rapidly. They naturally
attracted the notice of kings who were trying to carry on extensive
projects at home. Those who conquered them, or who sought to do so,
coveted their riches for the adornment of their own capitals or for some
personal enterprise at home. So advantageous was the situation of these
cities that, left crippled and in ruins by the enemy, or under less
severe circumstances, forced to pay a heavy tribute, losses were quickly
made good, and the stricken towns would soon again be amassing wealth.
Having control of the greater portion of the commerce of their day, they
were able to exchange commodities of slight value with nations who
possessed gold or other precious wares and knew nothing of their value,
save that they were thereby enabled to procure articles they desired.
"Gold for brass, the worth of a hundred oxen for the value of nine,"--it
was this opportunity, recognized and seized upon, which made it possible
for this little strip of land to become the store-house of riches
coveted by nations on all sides.
Concerning the political history of Phoenicia we know little, as has
already been said. When her wealthy cities were attacked by foreigners,
these strangers have sometimes told the story from their own point of
view, but so far as government in times of peace, local administration
and kindred matters, material has not survived to allow its course of
progress to be reconstructed.
[Illustration: GROWTH OF THE ALPHABET.]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Rawlinson: Phoenicia, 3.
[2] Rawlinson: Phoenicia, 11.
[3] Rawlinson: Phoenicia, 17.
[4] I Kings, 5, 1-18.
[5] Ezekiel 26, 3-14.
[6] See The Story of the Persians.
[7] Rawlinson; Phoenicia, 231.
CHAPTER III.
PHOENICIAN COLONIES AND COMMERCE.
It is natural to consider Phoenicia's colonies in connection with her
commerce, for while many nations have colonized regions remote for the
purpose of extending their territory or perpetuating a faith, her
outposts were opened solely for the benefit of trade. Phoenicia's
colonies may be said to have been the outgrowth of her mercantile
concerns, although in some instances, dissatisfaction with political
conditions in the home city proved an additional incentive.
Probably the first foreign settlement was made in Egypt. Desiring to
control routes of trade in the valley of the Nile, Tyrians obtained
permission to settle in Memphis. This settlement could hardly be called
a colony in the ordinary sense of the word, for the home city exercised
no political control over those of its subjects dwelling in Egypt--nor
did it seek to do so. Phoenicia excelled in trade--not government.
With this station at Memphis, Tyre was able to obtain not only products
of the valley but those also which were brought into Egypt from the
south. Ivory, ebony, skins, ostrich feathers, grain, pottery,
glass--these and other commodities here available were shipped away for
consumption in Italy, Greece and Asia Minor. The Egyptians, so resentful
of foreigners ordinarily, appear to have found the Phoenicians
unobjectionable and of actual service to them. The little colony was
allowed to maintain its own customs, and it is supposed that a temple
sacred to Astoreth was erected here as early as 1250 B.C.
The islands west of Tyre were early peopled by Phoenicians, or, at
least, contained Phoenician settlements. Timber suitable for
ship-building was obtained in Cilicia, copper and precious stones in
Cyprus, pine lumber and figs in Rhodes.
Utica, on the Gulf of Tunis, was an early colony on the African side of
the Mediterranean. Coasting alone this shore, the sea-farers came to
Spain, where they established important trading points. They penetrated
as far west as the Cornwall mines, which supplied an inexhaustible
amount of tin. The islands off the Cornish coast they called the
"Cassiterides" or Tin Islands.
"Phoenician colonization--or colonization from Phoenicia Proper--was
in all probability limited within the extremes of the Dardanelles to the
north, Memphis to the south, and Gadeira and the Cassiterides to the
west. It was less widely diffused than the Greek, and less generally
spread over the coasts accessible to it. With a few exceptions, the
colonies fall into three groups--first, those of the Eastern
Mediterranean and Aegean, beginning with Cyprus and terminating with
Cythera; secondly those of the Central Mediterranean, in North Africa,
Sicily, and the adjacent islands; and thirdly, those of the Western
Mediterranean, chiefly on the south coast of Spain, with perhaps a few
on the opposite (African) shore. The other settlements, commonly called
Phoenician on the eastern coast of Spain, in the Balearic Islands, in
Corsica and Elba; and again those on the Western Africa coast, between
the Straits of Gibraltar and the Cape de Verde, were Punic or
Carthaginian, rather than Phoenician."[1]
Finally something must be said of Carthage, for while her palmy days as
well as her decline, were closely related to Roman history, her
beginnings were inseparable with the mother-country.
The word Carthage signifies _New City_, and the settlement was so named
in all probability to distinguish it from Utica, founded 300 years
before. 850 B.C. has been considered the latest possible date for the
founding of the town, while many hold that it was settled as early as
1000 B.C. It matters little which is accepted, since the place was
neither strong nor influential for many years after either date. Its
citizens came originally from Tyre. The "New City" was built on what is
now the Bay of Tunis, a little to the north-west of the present town of
Tunis. Nothing, practically, is known of its early history. Kings ruled
at first, but were later abolished. Polybius, a Greek historian, stated
that he had seen a treaty made between Rome and Carthage as early as 509
B.C., by which the Carthaginians bound themselves not to injure any
Latin city while the Romans were pledged not to interfere with
Carthaginian markets in the western Mediterranean. Because of its
fortunate position the city became very prosperous. The Greeks tried to
divert some of its trade into their own channels, and later, Rome was
its hated rival and continued to struggle with the city until she
effected its downfall.
"From the time when the first adventurers from the Syrian coast entered
the sheltered inlets of the African shore--a remote period, even before
Saul was made king of Israel and while Priam sat on the throne of
Troy--down to the seventh century of the Christian era, when the Arabs
passed over it like a whirlwind, this land has been the battlefield
where destinies of nations have been sealed, and where heroes and
warriors have sought their last resting place. The myths that surround
its earliest development and shed a halo of romance over the career of
its primitive races are somewhat obscured by the sterner facts of later
times--by wars innumerable, wars of invasion and local disturbances,
succeeded by a long period of piracy and power insured, and finally by
neglect, abandonment, and decay. The legend of Dido still hangs over
Carthage hill. The spirit of Hannibal haunts the fateful Zanca, and the
banks of the Midjerda hold in everlasting memory the story of Regulus
and his affrighted array. The air is full of myths and old-world stories
which faithfully represent the traditions of the country in its varying
fortunes; and slight as may be their connection with events in
prehistoric times, yet they serve as foundations for a historic
superstructure of never-failing interest. The earliest records are
fragmentary, but we learn that the library of the Carthaginians, written
in Phoenician characters, was presented by the Romans, after the fall
of Carthage, to one of the kings of Numidia; and that Sallust, as
pro-consul of that province in the time of Julius Cæsar, borrowed
largely from it while writing his history of the Jugarthine war....
There is little doubt, however, that most of the earliest records passed
to Alexandria, which became the rival of Athens as a seat of learning.
With the burning of its library by the fanatical Arabs in the seventh
century many a link between the old world and the new was severed, and
reliable information concerning the laws and traditions, and the manners
and customs of a people, who were the fathers of navigation and the
founders of commerce, was swept away."[2]
[Illustration: THE RIVER JORDAN.]
Phoenician commerce was facilitated by the establishment of many
out-posts, and while none other reached such size and importance as
Carthage, several controlled routes which were almost as valuable. No
modern account of that vast commerce approaches the one written long ago
by the prophet Ezekiel, when Tyre was, or had just been, at the zenith
of her power.
"O thou that dwellest at the entry of the sea, which art the merchant of
the people unto many isles, O Tyre, thou hast said: 'I am of perfect
beauty.'
"Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected
thy beauty. They have made all thy ship boards of fir trees of Senir:
they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee. Of the oaks
of Bashan have they made thine oars; the company of the Ashurites have
made thy benches of ivory, brought out of the isles of Chittim. Fine
linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth
to be thy sail; blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was that which
covered thee.
"The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O
Tyre, that were in thee, were thy pilots.
"The ancients of Gabal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy
calkers: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to
occupy thy merchandise. They of Persia and of Lud and of Phut were in
thine army, thy men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in thee;
they set forth thy comeliness....
"Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of all kinds of riches; with
silver, iron, tin and lead, they traded in thy fairs.
"Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the
persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market. They of the house of
Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horses and horsemen and mules. The men
of Dedan were thy merchants; many isles were the merchandise of thine
hand: they brought thee for a present horns of ivory and ebony. Syria
was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of the wares of thy making:
they occupied in thy fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work,
and fine linen, and coral, and agate.
"Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy merchants: they traded in
thy market wheat of Minnith, and Pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm.
Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy making,
for the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool.
Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy fairs; bright iron,
cassia, and calamus, were in thy market. Dedan was thy merchant in
precious cloths for chariots. Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they
occupied with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats: in these were they thy
merchants. The merchants of Sheba and Raamah ... occupied in thy fairs
with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold.
"Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and
Chilmad, were thy merchants. These were thy merchants in all sorts of
things, in blue clothes, and broidered work, and in chests of rich
apparel, bound with cords, and made of cedar, among thy merchandise. The
ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market: and thou wast made
very glorious in the midst of the seas....
"When thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many people;
thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy
riches and of thy merchandise."[3]
The produce of the ancient world passed through routes controlled by
Phoenicia, and she acted as middleman in its distribution. Commerce
was of two kinds, overland, and by sea. Traffic by water greatly
exceeded that by land, yet both were necessary and were mutually
dependent upon one another.
The products of interior Asia were brought, then as now, by caravans.
Even today it is possible to see trains of caravans similar to those in
the service of ancient Tyre, laden with costly wares, crossing the
desert. Not only were spices and wares of Western Asia taken to
Phoenician sea-ports for distribution, but Mesopotamia was supplied
with articles from Europe and Africa by the same overland travel.
"Imagine the arrival of a Tyrian caravan at Babylon. The travellers have
been on the march for three or four months.... They have arrived weary,
dusty, travel-stained. Their tents are pitched outside the town, not far
from the banks of the river, or of a water-course derived from it,
under the pleasant shadow of a grove of palms, near the northern gate
of the great city. The tall necks of their camels are seen from a
distance by the keen-eyed watchers of the gate-towers, and reported by
them to the civic authorities, whence the secret soon oozes out and
creates a bustle in the town. All are anxious to obtain some object of
their desire from the long expected traders; but especially anxious are
the great storekeepers and shopkeepers, who look to the occasion for the
replenishing of their stock-in-trade for the next six months, or, it may
be, even for the next year. But the weary travellers must have a night's
rest ere they can be ready to open their market, must unload their
camels and their mules, dispose their bales of goods as seems most
convenient, and prepare themselves for the fatigues of commercial
dealing by a light supper and a sound sleep ensuing thereupon. How glad
are the camels to have the loads removed from their galled backs, to
repose their weary limbs upon the green grass of the yellow sand, and to
lay their tired necks along the ground! Not a moan is heard, scarcely a
grunt, unless it be one of satisfaction. The mules, and the camels, and
the horses of the wealthier sort, enjoy themselves equally. We hear the
tinkling of their bells, as they shake themselves, freed from all their
trappings but the head stall. Some are picketed about where the turf is
richest, others contentedly munch the barley that has been placed before
them in portable mangers, to reward them for the toils that they have
gone through. Many prefer sleeping to eating, and, leaving their food
untouched, stretch themselves upon the sward. Night falls--the stars
come out--the traders sleep in their tents, with a stone or a bale of
goods for their pillow--a profound hush sinks upon the camp, except for
the occasional squeal of a skittish pair of mules, which have exchanged
bites under cover of the darkness.
"The camp, however, wakes up with the first gleam of dawn in the eastern
sky. Each man busily sets about his proper work. Mules and horses are
groomed and are arranged in rows, with their mangers in front, and their
pack-saddles and trappings near at hand. Bales of goods are opened, and
a display made of a portion of their contents. Meantime, the town gates
have been unclosed, and in holiday apparel a gay crowd streams forth
from them. Foremost come the loafers, hoping to make an honest penny by
'lending a hand,' or to make a dishonest one by filching some unguarded
article. Then follow the ordinary customers and the petty traders whose
arrangements have not been made beforehand. The last to appear are the
agents of the great merchants, whose correspondents at Tyre have made
them consignments of goods and sent the goods by the caravan to their
destination; these clamor for invoices and bills of lading. But the
noisiest and most pressing are the petty traders and the mere chance
customers, who have a special need to supply, or covet a good bargain.
With them what a chaffering there is! What a screaming and apparent
quarrelling! One buyer wants a purple robe for half its value, another a
Damascene blade for next to nothing, a third, a Greek statuette for half
a shekel of silver. The seller asks at least four times the sum that he
intends to take; the buyer exclaims, swears perhaps by the beard of his
grandfather that he will not give a farthing more than he has offered;
then relents, and doubtless doubles his bid; the seller comes down a
little, but they are still 'miles apart,' so to speak; it takes an hour
of talking, swearing, screaming, raving, before the _juste milieu_ is
hit off, an agreement come to, and buyer and seller alike made happy by
a conviction on the part of each that he has over-reached the other."[4]
The companion picture to the caravan would be the merchant vessel on the
seas, together with the eager anticipation that attended its arrival in
port. The earliest portrayal of Phoenician boats show them to have
been provided with oars and sails. From small crafts, partially cabined,
built of unseasoned timber and poorly caulked, were gradually evolved
the stately biremes, perfect in construction and equipment. The
testimony of an eye-witness is vastly preferable to descriptions of
moderns, however scholarly. The following description of Xenophon, a
Greek general who often saw Phoenician vessels, contains valuable
information regarding the degree of skill reached by these sea-farers in
the equipment of their ships: