MANNERS AND CUSTOMS; TRADE AND GOVERNMENT.
The monuments of Assyria do not give us the same assistance as those of
Egypt in learning about the manners and customs of its inhabitants. We
find there no tombs whose pictured walls set before us the daily life
and doings of the people. We have to acquire our knowledge from the
bas-reliefs of the royal palaces, which represent to us rather the pomp
of the court and the conquest of foreign nations than scenes taken from
ordinary Assyrian life. It is only incidentally that the manners and
customs of the lower classes are depicted. It is true that we can learn
a good deal from the contract-tablets and other kinds of what may be
called the private literature of Babylonia and Assyria. At present,
however, but a small portion of these has been examined, and a
literature can never paint so fully and distinctly the manners and
customs of the day as the picture or sculpture on the wall. It is only
in times comparatively modern that the novelist has sought to give a
faithful portrait of the life of the peasant and artisan.
The dress of the upper classes in Assyria did not differ essentially
from that of the well-to-do Oriental of to-day. In time of peace the
king was dressed in a robe which reached to the ankles, bound round the
waist with a broad belt, while a mantle was thrown over his shoulders,
and a tiara or fillet was worn on his head. The tiara sometimes
resembled the triple tiara of the Pope, sometimes was of cone-like
shape, and the fillet was furnished with two long bandelettes which fell
down behind. The robe and mantle were alike richly embroidered and edged
with fringes. The arms were left bare, except in so far as they could be
covered by the mantle, and a heavy pair of bracelets encircled each, the
workmanship of the jewelry being similar to that of the chain which was
worn round the neck. The feet were shod with sandals which had a raised
part behind to protect the heels, and they were fastened to the feet by
a ring through which the great toe passed, and a latchet over the
instep. Sandals of precisely the same character are still used in
Mesopotamia. The monarch's dress in war was similar to that used in time
of peace, except that he carried a belt for daggers, while a fringed
apron took the place of the mantle. Boots laced in front were also
sometimes substituted for the sandals.
The upper classes, and more especially the officials about court, wore a
costume similar to that of the king, only of course, less rich and
costly. In all cases they were distinguished by the long fringed
sleeveless robe which descended to the ankles. The dress of the soldiers
and of the common people generally was quite different. It consisted
only of the tunic, over which in all probability the long robe of the
wealthy was worn, and which did not quite reach the knees. Sometimes a
sort of jacket was put on above it, and, in a few instances, a simple
kilt seems to take its place. The kilt was frequently worn under the
tunic, which was fastened round the waist by a girdle or sword-belt. The
arms, legs, and feet, were bare. Some of the soldiers, however, wore
sandals, and others, more particularly the cavalry, wore boots, which
were laced in front, and came half way up the leg. The upper part of the
legs was occasionally protected by drawers of leather or chain-armour,
and we even find tunics made of the same materials. Helmets were also
employed, but the common soldier usually covered his head with a simple
skull-cap.
The dress of the women consisted of a long tunic and mantle, and a
fillet for confining the hair.
The king and his officers rode in chariots even when on a campaign. In
crossing mountains the chariots often had to be carried on the shoulders
of men or animals, their wheels being sometimes first taken off for the
purpose. The chariot was large enough to contain not only the king but
an umbrella-bearer and a charioteer as well. The latter held the reins
in both hands, each rein being single and fastened to either side of a
snaffle-like bit. When in the field the royal chariot was followed by a
bow-bearer and a quiver-bearer, as well as by led horses, intended to
assist the monarch to escape, should the fortune of battle turn against
him. The chariot was drawn by two horses, a third horse being usually
attached to it by a thong in order to take the place of one of the other
two if an accident occurred.
[Illustration: ASSYRIAN KING IN HIS CHARIOT.]
Beside the chariots the army was accompanied by a corps of cavalry. In
the time of the first Assyrian Empire the cavalry-soldier rode on the
bare back of the horse, with his knees crouched up in front of him;
subsequently saddles were introduced, though not stirrups.
The cavalry was divided into two corps—the heavy and the light-armed.
The latter were armed only with the bow and arrow and a guard for the
wrist, and were chiefly employed in skirmishing. Most of the archers,
however, belonged to the infantry. The Assyrians were particularly
skilled in the use of the bow, and their superiority in war was probably
in great measure due to it. Besides the bow they employed the spear, the
short dagger or dirk, and the sword, which was of two kinds. The
ordinary kind was long and straight, the less usual kind being curved,
like a scimetar. For defence, round shields, of no great size, were
carried.
Only the king and the chief nobles were allowed the luxury of a tent.
The common soldier had to sleep on the ground, wrapped up in a blanket
or plaid. The tent was probably of felt, and had an opening in the
centre through which the smoke of a fire might escape. Not only,
however, was a sleeping-tent carried for the king, a cooking-tent was
carried also. So also was the royal chair, called a _nimedu_, on which
the monarch sat when stationary in camp. The chair may be seen in the
bas-relief, now in the British Museum, which represents Sennacherib
sitting upon it in front of the captured town of Lachish. Above is a
short inscription which tells us that 'Sennacherib, the king of legions,
the king of Assyria, sat on an upright throne, and the spoil of the city
of Lachish passed before him.'
There were various means for assaulting a hostile town. Sometimes
scaling-ladders were used, sometimes the walls were undermined with
crowbars and pickaxes; sometimes a battering-ram was employed armed
with one or two spear-like projections; sometimes fire was applied to
the enemy's gates. Other engines are mentioned in the inscriptions, but
as they have not been found depicted on the monuments it is difficult to
identify them.
[Illustration: SIEGE OF A CITY.]
The barbarities which followed the capture of a town would be almost
incredible, were they not a subject of boast in the inscriptions which
record them. Assur-natsir-pal's cruelties were especially revolting.
Pyramids of human heads marked the path of the conqueror; boys and girls
were burned alive or reserved for a worse fate; men were impaled, flayed
alive, blinded, or deprived of their hands and feet, of their ears and
noses, while the women and children were carried into slavery, the
captured city plundered and reduced to ashes, and the trees in its
neighbourhood cut down. During the second Assyrian Empire warfare was a
little more humane, but the most horrible tortures were still exercised
upon the vanquished. How deeply-seated was the thirst for blood and
vengeance on an enemy is exemplified in a bas-relief which represents
Assur-bani-pal and his queen feasting in their garden while the head of
the conquered Elamite king hangs from a tree above.
The Assyrians made use of chairs, tables, and couches. A piece of
sculpture from Khorsabad introduces us to a scene in which the priests
of the king are seated, two on a chair on either side of a four-legged
table. Their sandals are removed, as was the custom among the Greeks
when eating. In the luxurious days of Assur-bani-pal the couch seems to
have partially taken the place of the chair, since in the scene alluded
to above the king is depicted reclining, though the queen sits in a
chair by his side. The number of different kinds of food mentioned in
the inscriptions seems to imply that the Assyrians were fond of good
living. The common people, it is true, lived mostly on bread, fruit, and
vegetables; but the monuments show us soldiers engaged in slaughtering
and cooking oxen and sheep.
Wine was the usual beverage at a banquet, and the Assyrians appear to
have resembled the Persians in their indulgence in it. Various sorts of
wine are enumerated in the inscriptions, most of which were imported
from abroad. Among the most highly prized was the wine of Khilbun or
Helbon, which is mentioned in Ezek. xxvii. 18, and was grown near
Damascus at a village still called Halbûn. Besides grape-wine,
palm-wine, made from dates, was brought from Babylon, and beer, milk,
cream, butter or ghee, and oil, were all much used. At a feast the wine
was ladled out of a large vase into cups, which were then presented to
the guests.
The table was ornamented with flowers, and musicians were hired to amuse
the banqueters. No less than seven or eight different musical
instruments were known, among them the harp, the lyre, and the
tambourine. The lyre seems to have been specially employed at feasts,
and the harp for the performance of sacred music. The instrumental music
was at times accompanied by the voice, and bands of musicians celebrated
the triumphant return of the king from war.
Polygamy was permitted—at all events to the monarch—and the palace was
accordingly guarded by a whole army of eunuchs. They were generally in
attendance on the sovereign, like the scribes whose offices were
continually needed in both peace and war. Another attendant must not be
forgotten—the servant who stood behind the king armed with a fly-flap,
and was almost a necessity in hot weather. Considering the number of
captives carried away every year to Assyria in the successful campaigns
of its rulers, slaves must have been very plentiful in Nineveh. Indeed,
after the Arabian campaign of Assur-bani-pal we are told that a camel
was sold for half a shekel of silver, and that a man was worth a
correspondingly small sum.
Next to hunting men the chief employment and delight of an Assyrian king
was to hunt wild beasts. Tiglath-Pileser I had hunted elephants in the
land of the Hittites, as the Egyptian Pharaohs had done before him;
subsequently the extinction of the elephant in Western Asia caused his
successors to content themselves with lesser game. The reem or wild bull
and the lion became their favourite sport, smaller animals like the
gazelle, the hare, and the wild ass being left to their subjects to
pursue. It was not until the reign of Assur-bani-pal that the lion-hunt
ceased to be a dangerous and exciting pastime. With Esar-haddon,
however, the old race of warrior kings had come to an end, and the new
king introduced a new style of sport. The lions were now caught and kept
in cages, until they were turned out for a royal _battue_. As they had
to be whipped into activity, neither the monarch nor his companions
could have run much risk of being harmed.
The Assyrians were not an agricultural people like the Babylonians.
Nevertheless, the kings had their paradises or parks, and the wealthier
classes their gardens or shrubberies. The garden was planted with trees
rather than with flowers or herbs, and afforded a shady retreat during
the summer months. Tiglath-Pileser I had even established a sort of
botanical garden, in which he tried to acclimatise some of the trees he
had met with in his campaigns. He tells us of it: 'As for the cedar, the
_likkarin_ tree, and the almug, from the countries I have conquered,
these trees, which none of the kings my fathers that were before me had
planted, I took, and in the gardens of my land I planted, and by the
name of garden I called them; whatsoever in my land there was not I
took, and I established the gardens of Assyria.' The gardens were
abundantly watered from the river or canal, by the side of which they
were usually planted. Summer-houses were built in the midst of them, and
as early as the time of Sennacherib we meet with a 'hanging garden,'
grown on the roof of a building.
Fishing was carried on with a line merely, and without a rod. The
fisherman sat on the bank, or else swam in the water, supporting himself
on an inflated skin.
These inflated skins were largely used in warfare for conveying troops
and animals across a stream. The chief officers, along with their
chariots and commissariat, were ferried across in boats, but the
soldiers had to strip, and with the help of the skins convey themselves,
their arms, the horses, and other baggage to the opposite bank.
At times a pontoon-bridge of boats was constructed, at other times the
Assyrian army was fortunate enough to meet with bridges of stone or
wood. In fact, such bridges existed on all the main roads which it
traversed. Western Asia was more thickly populated then than is at
present the case, and the roads were not only more numerous than they
are to-day, but better kept. Hence the ease and rapidity with which
large bodies of men were moved by the Assyrian kings from one part of
Asia to another. Where a road did not already exist, it was made by the
advancing army, timber being cleared and a highway thrown up for the
purpose.
As road-makers the Assyrians seem to have anticipated the Romans. Both
their military and their trading instincts led them in this direction.
It was only when they came to the water that their career was checked.
Excellent as they were as soldiers, they never became sailors. The boats
of the Tigris and Euphrates were either rafts or circular coracles of
skins stretched on a wooden framework. When Sennacherib wished to attack
the Chaldeans of Bit-Yagina in their place of refuge on the Persian
Gulf, he had to transport Phœnicians from the west to build his galleys,
and to navigate them afterwards. It was the Babylonians 'whose cry was
in their ships;' the Assyrians fought and traded on shore.
It was not until the rise of the Second Assyrian Empire that the trade
of Assyria became important. The earlier kings had gone forth to war for
the sake of booty or out of mere caprice; Tiglath-Pileser II and his
successors aimed at getting the commerce of the world into the hands of
their own subjects. The fall of Carchemish and the overthrow of the
Phœnician cities enabled them to carry out their design. Nineveh became
a busy centre of trade, from whence caravans went and returned north and
south, east and west. The old Hittite standard of weight, called 'the
maneh of Carchemish' by the Assyrians, was made the ordinary legal
standard, and Aramaic became the common language of trade. Not
unfrequently an Aramaic docket accompanies an Assyrian contract tablet,
stating briefly what were its contents and the names of the chief
contracting parties. These contract tablets have to do with the sale and
lease of houses, slaves, and other property, as well as with the amount
of interest to be paid upon loans. We learn from them that the rate of
interest was usually as low as four per cent., and when objects like
bronze were borrowed as three per cent. House property naturally varied
in value. A house sold at Nineveh on the sixteenth of Sivan or May, B.C.
692, fetched one maneh of silver or £9, the average price of a slave.
Thus, three Israelites, as Dr. Oppert believes, were sold by a Phœnician
on the twentieth of Ab or July, B.C. 709, for £27, retractation or
annulment of the sale being subject to a penalty of about £230, part of
which was to go to the temple of Istar of Arbela. Twenty years later,
however, as many as seven slaves, among them an Israelite, Hoshea, and
his two wives, were sold for the same price, while we find a girl handed
over by her parents to an Egyptian lady Nitôkris, who wished to marry
her to her son Takhos, for the small sum of £2 10_s_. The last deed of
sale, by the way, proves that wives in Assyria could sometimes be
bought.
All deeds and contracts were signed and sealed in the presence of a
number of attesting witnesses, who attached their seals, or, if they
were too poor to possess any, their nail-marks, to the documents. It was
then enclosed in an outer coating of clay, on which an abstract of its
contents was given. Sometimes a further document on papyrus was fastened
to it by means of a string.
It was only in the case of the monarch himself that the signatures of
attesting witnesses were dispensed with. The British Museum possesses a
sort of private will made by Sennacherib in favour of Esar-haddon, when
the latter was not as yet heir-apparent to the throne. In this no
witnesses are mentioned, and it is considered sufficient that the
document should be lodged in the imperial archives. It runs as follows:
'I, Sennacherib, king of legions, king of Assyria, bequeathe armlets of
gold, quantities of ivory, a platter of gold, ornaments and chains for
the neck, all these beautiful things of which there are heaps, and three
sorts of precious stones, 1½ manehs and 2½ shekels in weight, to
Esar-haddon, my son, whose name was afterwards changed to
Assur-sar-illik-pal by my wish. I have deposited the treasure in the
house of Amuk. Thine is the kingdom, O Nebo, our light!' Payments, it
must be remembered, were still made by weight, coined money not having
been introduced until after the time of Nebuchadnezzar.
The business-like character of the trading community of Nineveh will
best be gathered from the documents themselves which have been left to
us. It will, therefore, not be out of place to add here translations of
some of the contract tablets:—
I. 'Ten shekels of the best silver for the head of Istar of
Nineveh, which Bil-lubaladh has lent on a loan in the presence
of Mannu-ki-Arbela [here follow three seals]; the silver is to
have interest paid upon it at four per cent. The silver has
been given on the third day of the month. (Dated) the third
day of Sebat, in the eponymy of Rimmon-lid-ani. The witnesses
(are) Khatpi-sumnu, Rahu, Ziru-yukin, Neriglissor, Ebed-Nebo
of Selappa, Musezib-Assur, Nebo-sallim-sunu, Khanni, and
Bel-sad-ili.'
Then follow two lines and a half of Aramaic, the first of which contains
the name of Mannu-ki-Arbela.
II. 'Two talents of bronze, the property of Istar of Arbela, which
Mannu-ki-Arbela gives to the goddess in the month Ab, in the
presence of Samas-akhi-erba; if they are given, interest shall
be paid on them at three per cent. (Dated) the eleventh day of
Sivan, in the eponymy of Bamba (B.C. 676), before the
witnesses: Istar-bab-esses, Kua, Sarru-ikbi, Dumku-pani-sarri,
and Nebo-bilua.'
III. 'Four manehs of silver, according to the standard of
Carchemish, which Neriglissor, in the presence of
Nebo-sum-iddin, son of Nebo-rahim-baladhi, the superintendent
of the Guards at Dur-Sargon (Khorsabad), lends out at five
shekels of silver per month interest. (Dated) the twenty-sixth
day of the month of Iyyar, in the eponymy of Gabbaru (B.C.
667). The witnesses are: Nebo-pal-iddin, Nebo-nirar, the
holder of the two pens, Akhu-ramu of the same office,
Assur-danin-sarri of the same office, Disi the astronomer,
Samas-igir-sumeli (?), Sin-kasid-kala, the executioner, and
Merodach ... the astronomer.'
IV. 'The nail-mark of Sar-ludari, the nail-mark of Atar-suru, the
nail-mark of the woman Amat-Suhla, the wife of Bel-dur,
belonging to the third regiment, owners of the house which is
sold. [Then follow four nail-marks.] The whole house, with its
woodwork and its doors, situated in the city of Nineveh,
adjoining the houses of Mannu-ki-akhi and El-kiya, near the
markets (?), has been sold, and Tsil-Assur, the astronomer, an
Egyptian, has received it for one maneh of silver, according
to the royal standard (£9), in the presence of Sar-ludari,
Atar-suru, and Amat-suhla, the wife of Bel-dur. The full price
has been paid. This house has been bought. Withdrawal from the
contract and agreement is forbidden. Whoever shall act
fraudulently (?) at any time, or from among these men who have
sworn to the contract and agreement with Tsil-Assur, shall be
fined ten manehs of silver (£90). The witnesses are:
Susanku-khatnanis, Kharmaza, the captain; Rasuh, the pilot;
Nebo-dur-sanin, the foreign traveller; Kharmaza, the chief
pilot; Sin-sar-utsur and Zedekiah. (Dated) the sixteenth day
of Sivan, in the eponymy of Zaza (B.C. 692), the Governor of
Arpad. In the presence of Samas-yukin-akhi, Latturu, and
Nebo-sum-utsur.'
V. 'The seal of (Dagon-melech) the master of the slaves.—Imannu,
the woman U ... and Melech-ur [Melchior], three persons, have
been sold, and thou, O Enuma-ili, the holder of the
highplaces which have been erected at the entrance to
Dur-Sargon, hast received them from Dagon-melech for three
manehs of silver (£27) according to the standard of
Carchemish. The full price hast thou paid. These slaves have
been bought and taken. Withdrawal from the contract and
agreement is forbidden. Whoever shall act fraudulently (?) at
any time, and shall deceive and injure me (?), whether
Dagon-melech or his brothers, or the sons of his brothers,
whether small or great, who have sworn to the contract and
agreement on behalf of Enuma-ili, his sons and grandsons,
shall pay ... (manehs) of silver, and one maneh of gold to
Istar of Arbela, and shall return the price to the owners with
ten per cent. interest. Then he will be quit of his contract
and agreement, and will not have bought. The witnesses (are):
Adda the astronomer, Akhu-irame the astronomer, Pakakha
[Pekah] the chief of the ..., Nadbi-Yahu [Nadabiah] the
principal ... Bel-sime-ani, Bin-dikiri, Khim-Istar, and Tabni
the astronomer, the recipient of the document. (Dated) the
twentieth day of Ab, in the eponymy of Mannu-ki-Assur-lih'
(B.C. 709).
It will be noticed that the Israelitish witnesses to the last deed of
sale, Pekah and Nadabiah, hold public offices, though the exact nature
of them is at present unknown. We may conclude from this that some of
the Samaritan captives were allowed to live in Nineveh, and so far from
being in a condition of slavery were able to be in the service of the
state. Among the earliest known examples of Israelitish or Jewish
writing are seals which probably belong to a period anterior to the
Babylonish Exile, and have been found at Diarbekr and other places in
the neighbourhood of the Tigris and Euphrates. It is also possible that
the great banking firm of Egibi, which flourished at Babylon from the
time of Sennacherib and Esar-haddon to that of Darius and Xerxes, and
carried on business transactions as extensive as those of the
Rothschilds of to-day, was of Israelitish origin. At all events the name
Egibi is not Babylonian, while it is a very exact Babylonian transcript
of the Biblical name Jacob.
The contract tablets throw a good deal of light upon Assyrian law. In
its main outlines it did not differ much from our own. Precedents and
previous decisions seem to have been held in as high estimation as among
our own lawyers. The king was the supreme court of appeal, and copies
exist of private petitions preferred to him on a variety of matters.
Judges were appointed under the king, and prisons were established in
the towns. An old Babylonian code of moral precepts addressed to princes
denounces the ruler who listens to the evil advice of his courtiers, and
does not deliver judgment 'according to the statutes,' 'the law-book,'
and 'the writing of the god Ea.' The earliest existing code of laws is
one which goes back to the Accadian epoch, and contains an express
enactment for protecting the slave against his master. How far it was
made the basis of subsequent Semitic legislation it is difficult to say;
in one respect, at all events, it differed considerably from the law
which followed it. This was in the position it assigned to women. Among
the Accadians, the woman was the equal of man; in fact, she ranked
before the husband in matters relating to the family; whereas among the
Semites she was degraded to a very inferior rank. It is curious to find
the Semitic translator of an Accadian text invariably changing the order
in which the words for man and woman, male and female occur in the
original. In the Accadian the order is 'woman and man,' in the
Assyro-Babylonian translation, 'man and woman.'
The high-roads were placed under the charge of commissioners, and in
Babylonia, where brick-making was an important occupation, the
brick-yards as well. Certain of the taxes, which were raised alike from
citizens and aliens, were devoted to the maintenance of them.
Unfortunately we know but little at present of the precise way in which
the taxes were levied, and the principle on which they were distributed
among the various classes of the population. In Babylonia, however, the
tenant does not seem to have paid much to the government, since we are
told of him that after handing over one-third of the produce of an
estate to his landlord, he might keep the rest of it for himself. There
is no hint that any portion of it was distrained for the state.
As in modern Turkey, the imperial exchequer after the time of
Tiglath-Pileser II was supplied by fixed contributions from the separate
provinces and large towns. Thus Nineveh itself was assessed at thirty
talents. The best way, however, of giving an idea of the assessment is
by a translation of the few fragments of the assessment lists of the
Second Empire which have been preserved to us.
I. 'To be expended on linen cloths. Fifty (talents).
Thirty talents. The tribute of Nineveh. Ten talents
for firewood (?).
Twenty talents of Assyria, from the same city, for the
equipment of the fleet.
Ten talents of Assyria, a fresh assessment. In all
(from Assyria) 274 talents.
Twenty talents for the harem of the palace. Expended
on linen cloths.
* * * * *
Five talents. The tribute of Calah. To be expended
on firewood (?).
Four talents of Assyria, from the same city. Thirty
talents for the highlands.
Ten talents from the city of Enil, for the lowlands.
... talents from the city of Nisibis. Twenty
talents for 600....
( ... talents) from the city of Alikhu, for 600
dresses.
( ... talents) for six vestures of linen. Three
talents for _epâ_.
( ... talents ...) for keeping the gates in
repair.
( ... talents) for the tax-gatherer. Two talents
from the city of Alikhu.
( ... talents) for chariots and for wheels.
( ... talents) for the astronomer. Three talents for
women's robes.
( ... talents) for the throne of the palace in the
middle of the city. Two talents for gala dresses.
( ... talents) for the throne of the palace (in the
middle of the city). Two talents ten manehs 500
(shekels).
... in the city of Assur ... again.
... the city of Kalzu[7], two talents (for)
three conduits.
( ... talents) from the city of Enil, for the persons
of the overseers.
(Assessment of) the country of Assyria; two talents for
the house of the tax-gatherer; two talents for the
right side (of the house); five talents for the
completion (of the assessment).
( ... talents) from the nobles, and two talents from
the librarians, for firewood (?) each year.
[7] Now Shamameh, south-west Arbela.
* * * * *
To be expended on linen cloths: ten talents from the
land of Risu.
(For) the servants of the palace and the people of
Nineveh.
* * * * *
... (for) seats, five talents from their attendants
(Levied) every year from the lowlands.
The payment to be made by the tax-gatherer: two
talents for the male and female spinners.
* * * * *
(For) the house of the Master of the Singers: one
talent for their coverings.
Also for the house of the singing men themselves.
... for the keep of the war-chariot. In all 190
talents ten manehs.
* * * * *
... manehs for his awning. To be expended in
full.
... manehs for the broad streets of the public
road: seven talents ten manehs besides.
Forty manehs and a shekel and (?) a sleeved dress;
twenty-two talents for wood.
At six per cent. on each shekel let him put out the
money at triple interest.
* * * * *
Two talents without the linen. Fifteen talents ten
manehs for the same personage.
* * * * *
Three talents ten manehs for the custom-house.
Thirty talents ten manehs on (?) slaves.
Two manehs for wine-presses. The money to be put
out at double interest.
* * * * *
For rods: one talent (levied on) the north side (of
the city). In all, twenty-two talents to be invested.
Altogether thirty talents twenty-one manehs out of
fifty-three talents.
In the presence of the princes the money raised on the
slaves to be invested.
* * * * *
[Here follows the endorsement of the tax-collectors:]
We receive no bribes: we give what we take.'
II. 'Thirty talents (are annually received) from Arpad.
One hundred talents from Carchemish.
Thirty talents from the city of the Kuans.[8]
Fifteen talents from Megiddo.
Fifteen talents from Mannutsuate.
... talents from Zemar (Gen. x. 18).
... talents from Hadrach (Zech. ix. 1).
[8] The Kue or Kuans inhabited the northern and eastern
shores of the Gulf of Antioch. M. François Lenormant
has ingeniously suggested that in 1 Kings x. 28, we
ought to read (with a slight change of vowel punctuation),
'And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and out
of Kue the king's merchants received a drove at a price.'
* * * * *
... talents to be put out at interest; fifty talents
to be melted into bronze.
It is weighed in the presence of the princes.
(The tribute) of Damascus, Arpad, Carchemish, Kue,
Tsubud, Zemar, and Meon-Zemar.'
In spite of the fragmentary character of these lists, and the difficulty
of understanding them perfectly in consequence of their brevity and the
omission of prepositions, we may nevertheless glean from them a fair
idea of the method in which the imperial exchequer of Assyria was
replenished, and the objects to which the taxes and tribute were
devoted. A considerable amount must have gone to the great army of
officials by whom the Second Empire was administered. 'The great king,'
it was true, was autocratic like the Russian Czar, but like the Russian
Czar he was also controlled by a bureaucracy which managed the
government under him. In military matters alone he was supreme, though
even here two commanders-in-chief stood at his side, ready to take his
place in the command of the troops whenever age or disinclination
detained him at home. The lists of Assyrian officials which we possess
are very lengthy, and their titles seem almost endless. At the head came
the two commanders-in-chief, the Turtannu or Tartan of the right, and
the Turtannu of the left, doubtless so called from their position on the
right and left of the king. Next to them were the Chamberlain or
superintendent of the singing men and women, and then after five other
officials whose posts are obscure, the 'Rab-sak' or 'Rab-shakeh.' His
title means literally 'chief of the princes,' and he corresponded to the
Vizier or Prime Minister of the Turkish Empire. Among other public
offices we may notice that of the astronomer, who was supported by the
state like the rest, and who ranked immediately after the
'superintendent of the camel-stables.' The latter again was inferior in
rank to the 'captain of the watch,' 'the captain of fifty,' 'the
overseer of the vineyards,' and 'the overseer of the quays.'
Such, then, was the constitution of the great Assyrian Empire, which
first endeavoured to organise Western Asia into a single homogeneous
whole, and in effecting its purpose cared neither for justice nor for
humanity. Nineveh was 'full of lies and robbery,' but it was God's
instrument in chastising His chosen people, and in preparing the way for
the ages that were to come, and for a while, therefore, it was allowed
to 'make the earth empty' and 'waste.' But the day came when its work
was accomplished, and the measure of its iniquity was full. Nineveh,
'the bloody city,' fell, never to rise again and the doom pronounced by
Nahum was fulfilled. For centuries the very site of the imperial city
remained unknown, and the traveller and historian alike put the vain
question: 'Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the feeding-place of
the young lions, where the lion, even the old lion, walked, and the
lion's whelp, and none made them afraid?'
[Illustration]
* * * * *
APPENDIX.
TRANSLATIONS FROM ASSYRIAN TEXTS RELATING TO THE HISTORY OF THE
KINGDOMS OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH.
_From the inscription of Shalmaneser II, found at Kurkh, on the right
bank of the Tigris, to the south-east of Diarbekr._
'In the eponymy of Dayan-Assur (B.C. 854) on the 14th of the month Iyyar
I left the city of Nineveh. The river Tigris I crossed. I approached the
cities of Giammu on the river Balikh. The fear of my lordship, the sight
of my strong weapons they feared, and in the service of themselves they
slew Giammu their lord. I descended into the cities of Kitlala and
Tul-sa-abil-akhi [the mound of the son of the brother]; I caused my gods
to enter his palaces; a plundering in his palaces I made. I opened his
store-chambers; his treasures I seized. His goods, his spoil, I carried
off; to my city of Assur I brought (them). From the city of Kitlala I
departed; to the city of the Fort of Shalmaneser [Tul-Barsip, the
Barsampsê of Ptolemy] I approached. In boats of inflated skins for the
second time I crossed the Euphrates at its flood. The tribute of the
kings of the further bank of the Euphrates; of Sangar of Carchemish; of
Kundaspi of Komagênê; of Arame the son of Gusi; of Lalli of Malatiyeh;
of Khayani, the son of Gabari; of Girparuda of the Patinians; and of
Girparuda of the Gamgumians; silver, gold, lead, bronze, and vases of
bronze (in) the city of Assur-tamsukha-atsbat, on the further bank of
the Euphrates, and above the river Saguri [the Sajur], which the
Hittites call the city of Pethor, in the midst (of it) I received. From
the Euphrates I departed. The city of Khalman [Aleppo] I approached;
they feared battle; they embraced my feet. Silver and gold I received as
their tribute; I offered sacrifices before the god Rimmon of Khalman.
From the city of Khalman I departed; to two cities of Irkhulena of
Hamath I approached. The cities of Adennu [the Eden of Amos i. 5], Barga
and Argana his royal city I captured.[9] His spoil, his goods, and the
treasures of his palaces I brought out. To his palaces I set fire. From
the city of Argana I departed, the city of Karkar [Aroer] I approached.
(His) royal city of Karkar I threw down, dug up, and burned with fire.
1,200 chariots, 1,200 horsemen, and 20,000 men of Hadadezer of Damascus,
700 chariots, 700 horsemen, and 10,000 men of Ahab [Akhabbu] of Israel,
500 men of Kue, 1,000 men from Egypt, 10 chariots, and 10,000 men from
the land of Irkanat, 200 men of Matinu-Baal of Arvad, 200 men from the
land of Usanat, 30 chariots, and 10,000 men of Adon-Baal of Sizan, 1,000
camels of Gindibuh of the land of the Arabians [Arba'â], 200 men of
Bahsa son of Rukhubi [Rehob] of Ammon, these twelve kings (Irkhulena)
brought to his help, and to (make) war and battle against me they had
come. With the exalted help which Assur the lord rendered, with the
mighty weapons which the great protector who goes before me bestowed, I
fought with them. From the city of Karkar to the city of Guzau I
overthrew them. 14,000 of their troops I slew with weapons. Like Rimmon,
the air-god, I caused the storm to come forth upon them. I filled the
surface of the water with their (wrecks). I laid low their wide-spread
forces with weapons. The low ground of the district received (?) their
corpses. To give life to its inhabitants I have enlarged its border (?);
that it might support them I divided (it) among its people. The river
Orontes I reached close to the banks. In the midst of this battle I took
from them their chariots, their horsemen, their horses and their teams.'
[9] On the bronze gates of Balawât Adennu is written Adâ and Barga
Parga.
_From the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser II._
'In my eighteenth year for the sixteenth time I crossed the Euphrates.
Hazael, of Damascus, advanced to battle; 1,121 of his chariots, 470 of
his horsemen, along with his camp I took from him.'
_From a Fragment of the Annals of Shalmaneser II._
'In my eighteenth year for the sixteenth time I crossed the Euphrates.
Hazael, of Damascus, trusted in the might of his army, and assembled his
army without number. He made Mount Shenir, the highest peak of the
mountains which are as you come to Mount Lebanon, his fortress. I fought
with him; I overthrew him; 16,000 of his fighting men I slew with
weapons, 1,121 of his chariots, 470 of his horsemen, along with his
camp, I took from him. To save his life he ascended (the country); I
pursued after him. In Damascus, his royal city, I shut him up; his
plantations I cut down. To the mountains of the Hauran I went; cities
innumerable I threw down, I dug up, I burned with fire; their spoil
innumerable I carried away. To the mountains of Baal-rosh at the
promontory of the sea I went; I made an image of my majesty there. At
that time I received the tribute of the Tyrians, of the Sidonians, and
of Jehu, son of Omri.'
_From the Inscription of Rimmon-nirari III._
'Conqueror from the highroad of the rising sun, of the lands of Kip,
Ellip [Ekbatana], Kharkhar, Arazias, Mesu, the Medes, Girubbunda to its
whole extent, Munna, Barsua, Allabria, Abdadana, Nahri to its extreme
frontiers, and Andiu, whose situation is remote, the mountainous
border-land to its extreme frontiers, as far as the great sea of the
rising sun [the Persian Gulf], from the Euphrates, and the lands of the
Hittites, of Phœnicia to its whole extent, of Tyre, of Sidon, of Omri
[Samaria], of Edom, and of Philistia as far as the great sea of the
setting sun [the Mediterranean], to my yoke I subjected (them), payment
of tribute I imposed upon them. To the land of Damascus I went; I shut
up Marih, king of Syria, in Damascus, his royal city. The fear of the
brilliance of Assur, his lord, overwhelmed him, and he took my feet; he
offered homage. 2,300 talents of silver, 20 talents of gold, 3,000
talents of bronze, 5,000 talents of iron, garments of damask and linen,
a couch of ivory, a sun-shade of ivory, I took, I carried to (Assyria).
His spoil, his goods innumerable, I received in Damascus, his royal
city, in the midst of his palace.'
_From Fragments of the Annals of Tiglath-Pileser II._
I. 'They had embraced the mountain of Baal-tsephon [Mount Kasios] as far
as the range of Amanus, the land of Zittu (?), the land of Sau to its
whole extent, the province of the cities of Kar-Rimmon and Hadrach
(Zech. ix. 1), the province of the city of Nukudina, the land of Khazu
[Huz] as far as the cities in the circuit of the city of Arâ, the
cities, all of them, the cities in their circuit, the mountain of Sarbua
to its whole extent, the cities of Askhan and Yadab, Mount Yaraku to its
whole extent, the cities of ... ri, Ellitarbi, and Zitânu as far as the
midst of the city of Atinni ... and the city of Buname, nineteen
districts belonging to Hamath, together with the cities in their circuit
in the direction of the sea of the setting sun [the Mediterranean],
which in their faithlessness made revolt to Azariah, I turned into the
territory of Assyria. My governors and officers I appointed over them.'
II. 'The tribute of Kustaspi of Komagênê, Rezon of Damascus, Menahem of
Samaria, Hiram of Tyre, Sibitti-Baal of Gebal, Urikki of Kue, Pisiris of
Carchemish, Eniel of Hamath, Parammu of Samahla, Tarkhu-lara of Gamgum,
Sulumal of Milid [Malatiyeh], Dadilu of Kolkhis, Vas-surme of Tubal,
Uskhitti of Tuna, Urpalla of Tukhan, Tukhamme of Istunda, Urimme of
Khusimna, and Zabibieh, queen of the Arabians, gold, silver, lead, iron,
elephants' hides, elephants' tusks, tapestries of blue and purple,
oak-wood, weapons for service, a royal tent, sheep with bundles of their
wool, purple dye, the dyed feathers of flying birds, nine of their wings
coloured blue, horses, mules, oxen, sheep, and wethers, camels and
she-camels, together with their young ones, I received. In my ninth year
Assur my lord regarded me and to the countries of Kipsi, Irangi,
Tazakki, Media, Zualzas, Matti, and Umliyas I went.'
III. 'The towns of Gil(ead) and Abel-(beth-Maachah) in the province of
Beth-Omri [Samaria], the widespread (district of Naphta)li to its whole
extent I turned into the territory of Assyria. My (governors) and
officers I appointed (over them). Khanun of Gaza who had fled before my
weapons escaped (to the land) of Egypt. The city of Gaza (his royal city
I captured. Its spoils), its gods (I carried away. My name) and the
image of my majesty (I set up) in the midst of the temple of ... the
gods of their land I counted (as a spoil) and ... like a bird ... to his
land I restored him and (imposed tribute upon him. Gold), silver,
garments of damask and linen (along with other objects) I received. The
land of Beth-Omri ... a selection of its inhabitants (with their goods)
I transported to Assyria. Pekah their king I put to death, and I
appointed Hosea to the sovereignty over them. Ten (talents of gold, ...
of silver as) their tribute I received, and I transported them (to
Assyria).'
_From the Inscriptions of Sargon._
I. '(In the beginning of my reign) the city of Samaria I besieged, I
captured; 27,280 of its inhabitants I carried away; fifty chariots in
the midst of them I collected, and the rest of their goods I seized; I
set my governor over them and laid upon them the tribute of the former
king (Hosea).'
II. '(Sargon) the conqueror of the Thamudites, the Ibadidites, the
Marsimanites, and the Khapayans,[10] the remainder of whom was carried
away and whom he transported to the midst of the land of Beth-Omri.'
[10] Identified by Delitzsch with the Ephah of Gen. xxv. 4, and
Is. lx. 6.
III. 'The Thamudites, the (Ibadidites), the Marsimanites and the
Khapayans, distant Arab tribes, who inhabit the desert, of whom no
scholar or envoy knew, and who had never brought their tribute to the
kings my (fathers), I slaughtered in the service of Assur, and
transported what was left of them, setting them in the city of Samaria.'
IV. '(In my ninth expedition and eleventh year) the people of the
Philistines, Judah, Edom and the Moabites who dwell by the sea, who owed
tribute and presents to Assur my lord, plotted rebellion, men of
insolence, who in order to revolt against me carried their bribes for
alliance to Pharaoh king of Egypt, a prince who could not save them, and
sent him homage. I, Sargon, the established prince, the reverer of the
worship of Assur and Merodach, the protector of the renown of Assur,
caused the warriors who belonged to me entirely to pass the rivers
Tigris and Euphrates during full flood, and that same Yavan [of Ashdod],
their king, who trusted in his (forces), and did not (reverence) my
sovereignty, heard of the progress of my expedition to the land of the
Hittites [Syria], and the fear of (Assur) my (lord) overwhelmed him, and
to the border of Egypt ... he fled away.'
_From a Cylinder of Esar-haddon._
'I assembled the kings of Syria and the land beyond the [Mediterranean]
sea, Baal king of Tyre, Manasseh king of Judah, Kaus-gabri king of Edom,
Mizri[11] king of Moab, Zil-Baal king of Gaza, Metinti king of Ashkelon,
Ikausu king of Ekron, Melech-asaph king of Gebal, Matan-Baal king of
Arvad, Abi-Baal king, of Shamesh-merom, Pedael king of Beth-Ammon, and
Ahimelech king of Ashdod, twelve kings of the sea-coast; Ekistor king of
Idalion, Pylagoras king of Khytros, Kissos king of Salamis, Ithuander
king of Paphos, Eriêsos king of Soloi, Damasos king of Kurion, Rumesu
king of Tamassos, Damusi king of Carthage, Unasagusu king of Lidir, and
Butsusu king of Nurê, ten kings of the land of Cyprus in the middle of
the sea.'
[11] That is 'the Egyptian;' cf. 2 Sam. xxiii. 20, 21.
* * * * *
INDEX
A.
Accadians, invented the cuneiform system of writing, founded the chief
cities and civilisation of Babylonia; erected the earliest known
monuments; the language may be called the Latin of Asia, 24; the
Accadians first used hieroglyphics or pictures painted on papyrus
leaves, from which the cuneiform characters were formed; afterwards soft
clay was stamped with cuneitic symbols, and then sun-dried; general use
of writing and materials employed; characters changed, 93-95; Sarzec's
recent discovery at Tel-Loh, 95.
Adar, a solar deity; pronunciation of name not quite certain; it forms a
part of the name Adrammelech, 66.
Adrammelech, one of the gods of Sepharvaim brought to Samaria by the
colonists settled there; probably representing some particular attribute
of the Sun-god; also the name of one of Sennacherib's regicide sons, 46,
66.
Ahaz, king of Judah, called Jehoahaz in the inscriptions; bribed Pul to
attack the Syrians and Israelites; and himself became tributary, 36.
Allat, the goddess queen of the underworld, 76.
APPENDIX.—Translations from Assyrian texts relating to the kingdoms of
Israel and Judah:
I. Inscription of Shalmaneser II, found at Kurkh, 146-8.
II. The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser II, 148.
III. From a Fragment of Shalmaneser II, 148.
IV. From the Inscription of Rimmon-nirari III, 148-9.
V. From Fragments of the Annals of Tiglath-Pileser II, 149-151.
VI. From the Inscriptions of Sargon, 151-2.
VII. From a Cylinder of Esar-haddon, 152.
Aramaic, commonly used by the Jews, after the captivity, and became the
common language of trade, 132-3.
Ararat or Armenia, long a dangerous neighbour; Tiglath-Pileser II
invaded the country, invested Van, and devastated the surrounding
country, 35.
Armies composed of charioteers, light and heavy armed cavalry and
infantry, and were variously equipped with bows, swords, and daggers,
126.
Armies crossing streams; the common soldiers on inflated skins; the
chief officers, chariots, and commissariat in boats, or on pontoon
bridges, 131.
Assessment lists of the provinces and large towns after the time of
Tiglath-Pileser II; the places and amounts paid to the imperial
exchequer, 140-3.
Assur, the name of a city on the western bank of the Tigris, and the
capital of the country or district named after it; Assur was a
descriptive appellation signifying 'water-boundary' at first, but was
slightly changed by the Semitic conquerors so as to mean 'gracious;' the
name of Sar, the god of the firmament, in time, was confused with that
of the patron deity, and Assur thus came to signify the city, country,
and the deity; hence Assur represented at the same time the power and
constitution of Assyria, the 'gracious' god, and the primeval firmament;
ruins now called Kalah Sherghat, 21-2.
Assur-bani-pal, probably 'the great and noble Asnapper;' succeeded his
father, Esar-haddon, 48; he was luxurious, ambitious, and cruel, but a
most magnificent patron of literature; he kept scribes constantly
engaged on new editions of rare or older works; entrusted his armies to
his generals, and before his death found the empire irretrievably
weakened; his lion hunts compared with those of his warlike
predecessors; Egyptian revolt crushed, and Tirhakah again a fugitive,
No-Amon plundered, and two obelisks carried as trophies to Nineveh, 51;
Tyre surrendered and the Lydians paid tribute; fall of Elam, Shushan
razed, and captive kings compelled to drag Assur-bani-pal's chariot
through Nineveh, 51-2; the Arabs severely punished, and the Armenians of
Van sought an alliance; rebellion headed by his brother the Babylonian
viceroy, with the assistance of Egypt, Palestine, and Arabia, and hired
Karian and Ionian mercenaries; Egypt now threw off the yoke; Cuthah was
reduced by famine, and Samas-yukin perished in the flames of his palace;
Elam ravaged again and the last king became a fugitive, 52.
Assur-natsir, one of the most energetic and ferocious warrior kings,
also a great builder of palaces; restored Calah, formed a library, and
made the city his favourite residence, 28-9.
Assur-nirari, the last of his line, ascended the throne in troublous
time; Assur, the capital, rose in revolt; the cities and outlying
districts were surging with discontent; ten years later the army
rebelled, and the monarch and his dynasty fell together, 33.
Assyrian book, with illustration from the original in the British
Museum, 98.
Assyrian _campaigns_ at first undertaken for the sake of plunder and
exacting tribute; made but little effort to retain their conquests, till
the time of the Second Empire, 33.
Assyrian _history_ scarcely known till Bel-kapkapi became king; decline
of Assyrian power and influence, and revived by Assur-dayan II and his
warlike successors, who conquered the Babylonians, Hittites, and
Phœnicians, 34-7.
Assyrian _law_ relied greatly on precedents and decisions; the king
supreme, and appointed the judges; in its general principles resembled
the English; earliest code, Accadian, 138.
Assyrian _literature_, wide range of subjects, included history, legend,
poetry, astronomy, and astrology, &c.; letters of the king, reports of
astronomers and generals, 102.
Assyrian _palace_, built of brick on a raised platform; description,
extent of courts and royal chambers; the observatory built in stages on
the west side; exaggerated forms of columnar architecture used;
apertures which served as windows protected in winter by heavy folds of
tapestry, 86-8.
Assyrian _sculptures_, mostly in relief; three periods traceable;
characteristics and comparison with Egyptian art; colour used on the
bas-reliefs, 89-90.
Assyrian _Semites_, allied in blood and language to the Hebrews,
Aramæans, and Arabs; the Babylonians a mixed race, partly Semites and
Accadians, the original possessors of the soil of Chaldea, 24.
Assyrians and Babylonians contrasted, 66-7.
Assyro-Babylonians excelled in a knowledge of mathematics; tables of
squares and cubes and geometrical figures have been found at Senkereh,
and the plan of an estate at Babylon, 118.
B.
Babel, tower of, and the dispersion, 82-3.
Babylonian _myth_ of the seven evil spirits warring against the moon;
flight of Samas and Istar; and the demons put to flight by Merodach;
explanation of the myth, 78.
Babylonian _story_ of the god Zu stealing the lightning of Bel compared
with that of the Greek Prometheus, 78.
Balawât, colossal doors of, the work of native artists, description of
the bronze framework and reliefs; explanatory texts relating to
Shalmaneser's campaigns; Carchemish and Armenian warriors depicted, 30.
Banquets, wines of various kinds used; those of Helbon most highly
prized; other luxuries common; the tables ornamented with flowers, and
musicians hired to entertain the guests, 128-9.
Bel-kapkapi, the founder of the kingdom of Assur; its extent and varying
frontiers; the inhabitants Semites, 27.
Bêrôssus' great work of seventy-two books translated into Greek, 102.
Blissful lot of the spirit of Ea-bani described in the epic of
Gisdhubar, 76-7.
Botta and Layard's excavation brought to light Dur-Sargon and Nineveh,
26.
Bridges common on all the great roads through Western Asia in the
earliest ages; used for war and trade; the country then more populous,
and the roads numerous and well kept, 131-2.
C.
Calah founded by Shalmaneser I, whose descendants reigned six
generations; it became the seat of royalty under Assur-natsir-pal and
Shalmaneser II, 27-9; the palace rebuilt by Assur-etil-ilani, son of
Assur-bani-pal, 53.
Chairs, tables, and couches used at meals, 128.
Chaldæan account of the Deluge, and its relation to the Scriptural
narrative; the two compared and contrasted, 81-2.
Chariots often carried across mountains on the shoulders of men, or
animals; the royal chariot contained the king and two attendants, and
was followed by a guard and led horses, 124.
Charms and exorcisms used for curing diseases; the knotted cord and
leaves from a sacred book; repute of the witch and wizard, 120-1.
Code of moral precepts addressed to princes and courtiers; earliest
Accadian law book expressly protected slaves, 138.
Colossi dragged from the quarries on land by means of sledges, and on
rivers and canals by rafts; Sennacherib directed the removal of winged
bulls and deities from Balad, 90-3.
Contract tablets relating to loans, sales, leases of houses, and other
property: tablets translated: i. Loan of silver and interest paid on it;
ii. Loan of bronze; iii. Loan of silver; iv. Sale of a house; v. Sale of
slaves, 135-7.
Contrasts between the Assyrians and Babylonians, 66-7.
Creation legend from Cuthah, described chaos, and the formation of
monsters, followed by more perfect creatures; the legend from
Assur-bani-pal's library and its remarkable resemblance to the account
in Genesis; Assyrian account, 79, 80-1.
Cylinder, part of, containing Hezekiah's name, transcribed into
ordinary characters, 104-5; compared with one of Nebuchadnezzar's
inscriptions; transliteration and translation of part of the
inscription, 107-8.
Cyrus permitted the Assyrians to return to their old capital, and
released the Jewish exiles from Babylon, 53-4.
D.
Datilla, the river of death, at the mouth of the Euphrates, where
Gisdhubar saw the Chaldæan Noah after his translation; but in later
times the entrance to Hades and the site of the earthly Paradise were
removed to more unknown regions, 76.
Death of Tammuz lamented by Jewish females in the temple at Jerusalem,
65.
Deeds and contracts signed and sealed in the presence of witness, or
nail marks made by those unable to write, and the documents carefully
preserved, 133.
Defects in the tablets caused by the ignorance of the scribes, 112-3.
Deluge sent as a punishment for the wickedness of mankind, 82.
Descent of Istar into Hades in search of Tammuz, one of the most popular
old Babylonian myths; her passage through the seven gates of the
underworld, and appearance before Allat; the myth explained, 64-5.
Dread of witchcraft and magic; referred to in hymn to the Sun-god,
113-5.
Dress of all classes; the king in time of peace; the upper classes,
soldiers, common people, and women, 123-4.
Dur-Sargina, the modern Khorsabad, built by Sargon, in the form of a
square, surrounded by walls forty-six feet thick; the outer wall was
flanked with towers; description of the palace and its courts; the royal
chambers; the observatory built in stages, 86-7.
E.
Ea (the god), the deep, or ocean-stream, supposed to surround the earth
like a serpent; his symbol, attributes, and title; Eridu the chief seat
of his worship, near the sacred grove where the tree of life and
knowledge had its roots; Ea, a benevolent deity, who taught the art of
healing and culture to mankind; his wife, Dav-kina, presided over the
lower world, 59.
Eclipse of the sun and revolt of city of Assur, 33.
Educated Assyrians and traders conversant with several languages, 101.
Education widely diffused throughout Babylonia; few unable to read and
write, 95.
Egibi, eminent bankers during the reigns of Sennacherib and Esar-haddon,
to Darius and Xerxes; the name a very exact transcript of the Biblical
Jacob, 138.
Eponyms, officers after whom the year was named; lists determine both
the Assyrian and Biblical chronology, 102.
Erimenas, king of Armenia, completely defeated near Malatiyeh in
Kappadokia, 46.
Esar-haddon, shortly after his father's murder, defeated his insurgent
brothers and Erimenas, near Malatiyeh, and was then proclaimed king; he
possessed military genius and political tact, and was the first king who
conciliated the conquered nations; Egypt was subdued; Babylon rebuilt,
and the plunder and the gods returned to the inhabitants; Manasseh
brought captive before him; trade diverted into Assyrian channels, and
secured by a daring march to Huz and Buz; terrified the Arabs; drove
Teispes westwards; worked the copper mines of Media; exacted tribute
from Cyprus, where he obtained some of the materials of his palace at
Nineveh, 46-8; he completely overran Egypt, divided the country into 27
satrapies placed under governors watched by Assyrian garrisons, 48.
Esar-haddon II, called Sarakos by the Greeks, on ascending the throne
was surrounded by foes; the frontier towns fell quickly, and a public
fast was proclaimed and prayers offered to the gods to ward off the doom
of Nineveh, but the city was besieged, captured, and destroyed, 53.
Etana, the Babylonian Titan, and his exploits, 83; legend ascribed to
Nis-Sin, 110.
F.
Fables, riddles, and proverbs anciently, as now, the delight of
Orientals; riddle propounded to Nergal and the other gods, 109.
Fate of Nineveh after its iniquity was full; the very site unknown for
ages, 53.
Fishing carried on with a line merely, 131.
Forbidden foods; fasts and humiliations in times of public calamity,
73.
G.
Gisdhubar epic; structure and contents; each of its twelve books
corresponded to one of the signs of the zodiac; history of the Deluge
contained in the eleventh book; Gisdhubar a solar hero, and his
adventures compared with the labours of Hêraclês; resemblance of
Accadian and Greek myths; date of the epic more than 2000 years before
Christ; formed of older lays put together to form a single poem, 110-12.
Goyim, over which Tidal was king, probably comprised in Gutium, or
Kurdistan, 23.
H.
Hadadezer (the Biblical Benhadad) of Damascus formed a confederacy with
Hamath and Israel against the Assyrians; Ahab's contingent; rout of the
allies at Karkar, or Aroer, 31.
Hades a dreary abode, where spirits flitted, like bats, among the
crowned phantoms of heroes; palace of Allat, where the waters of life,
near the golden throne, restored to life and the upper air those who
drank of them; entrance, the River Datilla, 75-6.
Hanging gardens, watered by means of a screw, 118.
Hazael utterly routed by Shalmaneser II on the heights of Shenir; camp,
chariots, and carriages captured, and siege laid to Damascus, 31.
Helbon noted for its wines; still called Halbûn, 127.
Highroads and brickyards placed under commissioners, 131-2.
Human sacrifices an Accadian institution; children burnt to death as
expiatory offerings by their fathers, 75.
Hymn to the Sun-god, a mixture of exalted thought and debasing
superstition, 113-5.
Hymns in honour of the different deities collected into a sacred book;
Semitic translations made, but the hymns recited long afterwards in the
original Accadian language, 67-8.
I.
Inferior deities classed among 'the 300 spirits of heaven' and 'the 600
spirits of earth,' 57.
Inscription containing Hezekiah's name transliterated and translated,
101-8.
Israelite officials witnesses of deed of sale, 137.
Istar, the great Accadian goddess, unlike the Beltis or Bilat, wife of
Baal, had independent attributes as strongly marked as those of the
gods, and was known as the evening star, 57; she became the Semitic
Ashtoreth, and was the goddess of love, war, and the chase; she was
associated with Tammuz; her different attributes, temples, and worship
in different places, 62-4.
J.
Jehu's tribute to Shalmaneser II, gold and silver drinking vessels, a
sceptre, and spear handles, 32.
Jewish seals probably earlier than the Babylonish exile found at
Diarbekr and other places near the Tigris and Euphrates, 138.
K.
Kandalanu, viceroy of Babylon twenty-two years; the father of
Nabopolassar, 53.
Karkar or Aroer, battle of, and defeat of Benhadad and his allies, 31.
Khumbaba the tyrant, slain by Gisdhubar 'in the land of the pine trees,'
111.
King only supreme in military affairs, and assisted by two
commanders-in-chief; lists of officials, their titles and duties, 144.
L.
Legend of Lubara, the plague demon, smiting the evil-doers of Babylon
and Erech, and its partial resemblance to the angel of the Lord standing
with a drawn sword over Jerusalem as a punishment of David's sins, 78.
Libraries early established in all the great cities, as Assur, Calah,
and Nineveh; the last filled by Assur-bani-pal with copies of the
plundered books of Babylonia, 99; lexical and grammatical phrase books,
and lists of the names of animals, birds, reptiles, fish, stones,
vegetables, and titles of military and civil officers, were contained in
the different books stored up for reference, 100-1; all the branches of
learning then known were included; also dispatches of generals, reports
of astronomers, royal letters, and lists of eponyms, 102.
Library of Nineveh, rich in poetical literature, comprised epics, hymns
to the gods, psalms, and songs; songs to Assur of Assyrian origin, the
epics, Babylonian, Accadian, and partly Semitic, by native poets,
109-10.
Liturgy contained rubrics for particular days, and direction of the
priests, 68.
M.
March, order of, in a campaign; the king and his attendants,
charioteers, heavy and light cavalry, bowmen and infantry variously
equipped, 125-6; king and nobles only allowed tents; a royal chair
called a _nimedu_ carried for the king's use; bas-relief of Sennacherib
seated on one, before Lachish, 126.
Medicines, classification of diseases, prescriptions, and incantations,
119-20.
Merodach, originally a form of the Sun-god; a benevolent and
intercessory deity, represented as continually passing between earth and
heaven, informing Ea of the sufferings of mankind, and striving to
alleviate them; he destroyed the demon Tiamat, and was commonly
addressed as 'Bel' or 'Lord;' his star Jupiter; and his wife Zir-panitu,
60.
Merodach-Baladan's envoys induced Hezekiah to join the confederacy of
Phœnicia, Moab, Edom, Philistia, and Egypt, against the Assyrians; but
Sargon's rapid movements surprised them; Phœnicia and Judah were
overrun, and Ashdod burnt before the arrival of the Egyptians;
Merodach-Baladan in his own country made vigorous efforts to repel the
attack of the conqueror on his return; but the Elamite allies were put
to flight, and Sargon entered Babylon in triumph; the following year
Merodach-Baladan was pursued to Beth-Yagina, which was taken by storm,
and the defenders sent in chains to Nineveh; Merodach-Baladan escaped,
and two years afterwards again seized Babylon, but was defeated at the
battle of Kis, and a second time became a fugitive, 40-1.
Modes of assaulting fortified towns, and fearful atrocities committed by
the conquerors, 126-8.
Monotheists who flourished in Chaldæa in pre-Semitic times, resolved the
various deities into manifestations of one supreme god, Anu; old hymns
refer to 'the one god,' 58-9.
Myths common to all old forms of faith, 77-8.
N.
Nabopolassar renounced his allegiance to Nineveh, and prepared the way
for his son Nebuchadnezzar's empire, 53.
Names of Assyrian kings explained, 54.
Nebo the god of oratory and literature, said to have invented the
cuneiform system of writing; great temple at Borsippa dedicated to him;
his worship carried to Canaan, as seen in the names of a city and a
mountain; had a temple at Bahrein under the name of Enzak; as a
planetary deity he represented Mercury, and was often adored as Nusku,
perhaps, the Nisroch of the Bible, 61.
Nergal, the god of hunting and war, also presided with Anu over the
regions of the dead, 65.
Nineveh, probably coeval with the city of Assur, but only became the
capital at a much later period; after the fall of the Assyrian Empire
its site was forgotten for ages; Rich's conjecture verified by Layard's
excavations, and its buried treasures again brought to light, 25-6.
O.
'Observations of Bel,' the great work on astronomy and astrology,
compiled at Accad for Sargon, mostly a record of eclipses of the sun and
moon, conjunctions and phases of Venus and Mars; the time of the new
year; the zodiacal signs named, and the divisions of the year, 102,
115-6.
Observatories in all the great cities; specimens of the astronomers'
fortnightly reports, 117-8.
Official lists and titles almost endless; rank and office of the
principal, 144.
Omens, work on, in 137 books compiled for Sargon, known to the last days
of the Empire, 102.
Ox-driver's labour song in the fields, 109.
P.
Paradises or parks planted by the kings; gardens and shrubberies
containing summer-houses by the wealthy; hanging garden, 130-1.
Penitential psalms composed at a very remote period, one of the finest
addressed to Istar, 71-3.
Phœnician galley builders and sailors employed by Sennacherib on the
Persian Gulf in his attack on the last refuge of the Chaldæans, 132.
Planisphere from Nineveh, and a table of lunar longitudes, 116-7.
Polygamy practised by the king, and the palace guarded by eunuchs, 129.
Prayer after a bad dream, 70.
Prayer of an Assyrian court for the king, 76.
Prayers to Bel and various deities on different occasions, 68-70.
Private will of Sennacherib in favour of Esar-haddon, 134.
Proud boast of the Babylonian monarch about exalting his throne above
the stars, and sitting in the assembly of the gods, 77.
Pul, a military adventurer, seized the crown, B.C. 743, and assumed the
name of Tiglath-Pileser II; he was an able ruler, a good general, and a
skilful administrator, and consolidated the empire by deporting the
turbulent populations to distant homes, and importing others; he divided
the empire into provinces, and fixed the annual tribute; he endeavoured
to subvert the power of the Hittites of Carchemish, and turn the trade
of Asia Minor into Assyrian channels, and render Syria and Phœnicia
tributary, 34; he annexed Northern Babylonia, punished the Kurds,
utterly defeated Sarduris and his confederates, and captured Arpad after
a siege of two years; he stormed Hamath, and transplanted part of the
inhabitants to Armenia; he received tribute from the Syrian kings, and
Menahem, Rezon, Hiram, and Pisiris; he blockaded Van, and ravaged the
surrounding country, 35-6; he was heavily bribed by Ahaz to attack Rezon
and Pekah; Damascus was invested and forced to surrender through famine,
and forces were sent against the Ammonites, Moabites, and Philistines;
on the fall of Damascus it was plundered and the inhabitants
transplanted to Kir; Babylonia was reduced, and under his original name
of Pul, he assumed the title of King of Sumir (Shinar) and Accad, 37.
R.
Relative rank of women in Accadian and Babylonian times, 139.
Religion of Assyria, including deities and beliefs borrowed from
Babylonia; but the Semites had greatly modified the original Accadian
conceptions; belief of the _Zi_, evil and good spirits; diseases caused
by demoniacal possession, and only curable by exorcisms and charms; the
spirits most dreaded those who had been raised to the position of gods,
as Anu, Mul-ge, and Ea; spirits of the heavenly bodies, 55-6; curious
contrasts: polytheism and monotheism, 83-4; victories ascribed to Assur,
and wars undertaken in his name: inconsistency and changes in the cult
explained; inferiority to the faith of Israel, 84-5.
Rents paid by tenants of land in Babylonia, 139.
Repetition of the names of the gods, and its efficacy, 73.
Resen, name found in the inscriptions, but the site not yet determined;
its meaning, 22-3.
Rimmon or Ramman, 'the thunderer,' the god of the atmosphere, rain, and
storms; his cult extended to Syria, and he appears to have been the
chief deity of Damascus, where he was known as Hadad or Dadda, 61.
Rimmon-nirari I, inscriptions of: his wars against the Babylonians,
Kurds, and Shuites, 27.
Roads formed and kept in good condition, 131-2.
Rowandiz, where the ark is supposed to have rested; a snow-clad peak,
'the mountain of the world,' and 'the mountain of the East;' thought to
be the abode of the gods, and the support of the vault of heaven, 77,
82.
Royal hunts, at first wild elephants and lions; but under Esar-haddon
had degenerated into a _battue_ of tamed animals kept in cages for the
purpose, 129, 130.
S.
Sabbath early known, but confounded with the feast of the New Moon; kept
on the seventh, fourteenth, twenty-first, and twenty-eighth day of the
lunar month, 73-4.
Sale of Israelitish slaves by a Phœnician; another sale afterwards of
seven persons included an Israelite called Hoshea and his two wives,
133.
Samas, the Sun-god, was the son of Sin, in accordance with the
astronomical view of the old Babylonians; he was really only a form of
Merodach, though in historical times the two were separated, and
received different cults; originally identical with Tammuz, through the
myth of Istar, separate attributes were assigned to him, and Tammuz
became a deity distinct from Samas, 61-2.
Samas-Rimmon, Shalmaneser's second son, quelled the revolt against his
father, and succeeded him as king of Assyria, 32.
Sar, the god of the firmament; afterwards confused with the name of the
patron deity of the capital of the country, 22. (_See_ Assur.)
Sargon, a usurper, claimed royal descent; was an able general, but a
rough and energetic ruler, 37-8; two years after his accession captured
Samaria, and removed the inhabitants to Gozan; he found the task of
cementing together the empire formed by Tiglath-Pileser by no means
easy; Babylonia had thrown off the yoke, and submitted to
Merodach-Baladan; Elam threatened him on the south; the Kurds renewed
their depredations on the east; the Hittites of Carchemish were
unsubdued, Syria held with difficulty, and Egypt appeared as a new
enemy, 38; he drove the Elamites back into their own country, suppressed
the revolt of Hamath, and burnt the city; put Yahu-bihdi or Ilu-bihdi to
a horrible death, marched along the coast of Palestine, and roused the
Egyptian army at Raphia, taking its ally the king of Gaza captive, 38-9;
he stormed Carchemish, took Pisiris prisoner, and the allies fled
northward; the city was plundered, and an Assyrian satrap appointed over
it; he had now gained the high road of the caravan trade between Eastern
and Western Asia; the Hittite allies continued the struggle six years,
when Van submitted, and its king Ursa committed suicide; Cilicia and
Tubal were placed under an Assyrian governor, and the city of Malatiyeh
was razed to the ground, 39; Merodach-Baladan had formed a powerful
combination against Sargon in the west, of Judah, Phœnicia, Edom,
Philistia, and Egypt, but before the confederates were ready to act
together, Sargon overran Palestine, captured Jerusalem, and burnt
Ashdod; he next hurled his forces against Babylonia, compelled the
Elamites to retire, and entered the capital in triumph; the following
year he pursued Merodach-Baladan to Beth-Yagin, which was taken by
storm, and the defenders sent in chains to Nineveh, but Merodach-Baladan
escaped, 40-1; extent of Sargon's empire, and conquests; murdered by his
own soldiers in Dur-Sargon, his new city, 41; succeeded by his son
Sennacherib, 41.
Science mixed with superstition; astronomy with astrology: the
observation of nature with augury, 115; modes of measuring time and
determining the beginning of the year, 116.
Script characters generally used for official and private documents;
this mode of writing clear, well-defined, and continued nearly the same
till the fall of Nineveh; clay tablets small, but well baked in a kiln;
characters sometimes very minute, and must have been formed with the aid
of a magnifying glass, 96-7.
Sennacherib had been brought up in the purple; was weak, boastful, and
cruel, and only preserved the empire by the help of his father's
veterans and generals; Merodach-Baladan escaped from captivity, and
again seized Babylon, but was driven from the country after the battle
of Kis, 41-2; Sennacherib next invaded Phœnicia and Judah and the
neighbouring countries; Assyrian account of the battle of Eltekeh;
capture of illustrious persons and spoil; his boast of cities taken and
tribute; but entire silence about the terrible disaster he sustained
near Jerusalem, and his precipitate flight; the following year he
suppressed Nergal-yusezib's revolt, and appointed Assur Nadin-sumi
viceroy of Babylon, 42-5; pursued the Chaldæan refugees and destroyed
their last settlements on the Persian Gulf, 45; Elam next invaded
Babylonia, and placed Nergal-yusezib on the throne; defeated the
Assyrians near Nipur, but died soon afterwards; he was succeeded by
Musezib, who defied the power of Assyria nearly four years, but was
beaten in the decisive battle of Khalule; the following year Sennacherib
captured Babylon, and gave it up to fire and the sword; the inhabitants
were sold into slavery, and the waters of the Araxes canal overflowed
the ruined city; his Cilician campaign the last; the rest of his life
spent in constructing canals, aqueducts, and rebuilding the palace at
Nineveh; he was murdered by his two elder sons whilst worshipping in the
temple of his god, 46.
Shalmaneser I said to have built Calah, and his descendants reigned
uninterruptedly six generations, 27.
Shalmaneser II, his great military successes and long reign, the climax
of the first Assyrian empire; his annals contained on a monolith near
Diarbekr, a small obelisk, and on the bronze framework of the gates of
Balawât; Jehu one of his tributaries; his campaign against the Kurds,
Van, and the Manna or Minni; compelled the Hittites to sue for peace,
and recaptured Pethor, 29-31; defeated Benhadad and his allies at Aroer
or Karkar, and twelve years afterwards completely crushed the power of
Hazael on the heights of Shenir, laid siege to Damascus, ravaged the
Hauran, and marched to Baal-rosh, where his image was carved on the
rocky promontory, 31-2; little further attempted by the king, besides
exacting tribute from distant regions; revolt of his eldest son, joined
by twenty-seven cities, put down by the energy and military capacity of
Samas-Rimmon, 31-2.
Shalmaneser III, a usurper of Tinu; he attempted the capture of Tyre,
began a war against Israel, but had scarcely laid siege to Samaria when
he died or was murdered, and was succeeded by Sargon, another usurper,
37.
Sin, the Moon-god, called Agu or Acu by the Accadians, was the patron
deity of Ur; had a famous temple in the ancient city of Harran, where he
was symbolised by an upright cone of stone; his emblem was the crescent
moon, 62.
T.
Table of Semitic Babylonian kings arranged in dynasties, which traces
them back to B.C. 2330; a recent discovery, 102.
Tables of squares and cubes found at Larsa, also geometrical figures
used for augury; the mathematical unit, and mode of expression, 132-3.
Temple, Assyro-Babylonian, and its points of resemblance to Solomon's,
74-5; entrances to temples and palaces guarded by colossal figures of
winged bulls; temples filled with images of the gods, great and small,
which were supposed to confer special sanctity on the place; offerings
of two kinds, sacrifices and meal offerings; no traces of human
sacrifices among the Assyrians, although an Accadian institution;
referred to in an old astrological work, where children were allowed to
be offered by the fathers as expiatory sacrifices, 74-5.
Tiamat, the dragon, destroyed by Merodach, 60, 78-9.
Tiglath-Pileser I, his conquests in Cilicia, Kurdistan; defeated the
Moschi, Hittites, and their Colchian allies, and erected a memorial of
his exploits near the sources of the Tigris; he garrisoned Pethor with
Assyrian soldiers, and on his return to Nineveh planted a park with
strange trees brought back with him during his campaigns; he invaded
Babylonia, and was at first repulsed, but was victorious afterwards,
ravaged the country, and captured Babylon, 28.
Tower of Babel, building destroyed by winds in the night, and 'great and
small,' as well as their speech confounded by Anu, 82-3.
Trade, its rise and growth under the Second Empire; fall of Carchemish
and the Phœnician cities; the standard of weight, 'the maneh,' and
Aramaic, the language of commerce, 132-3.
V.
Van, the capital of Ararat, successfully resisted the Assyrians, whilst
the country far and near was wasted for a space of 450 miles, 36;
submitted to Sargon, and its king Ursa committed suicide, 39; Van sought
an alliance with Assur-bani-pal, 52.
W.
Witches and wizards held in high repute, 121.
Woman's position in Accad and Babylonia, 139.
X.
Xisuthros, the Chaldæan Noah, sails in a ship containing others beside
his own family, steered by a pilot; whilst the flood was at its height,
sent out a raven, dove, and swallow, to ascertain how far the waters had
abated; his vessel rested on Rowandiz, and Xisuthros, immediately after
his descent, sacrificed to the gods, and was translated to the land of
immortality, 81-2.
Z.
Zu, 'the divine storm bird,' who stole the lightning of Bel, the
parallel of the Greek story of Prometheus, 78.
* * * * *
INDEX OF SCRIPTURE REFERENCES.
Page
Gen. x. 11 22
Gen. x. 18 143
Gen. xiv. 1 23
Deut. iii. 9 31
Deut. xxii. 49 61
Josh. xv. 59 58
Josh. xix. 38 58
1 Kings viii. 13 12
1 Kings x. 28 143
2 Kings xv. 19 35
2 Kings xvi. 10 37
2 Kings xvii. 30 60, 65
2 Kings xvii. 31 66
2 Kings xviii. 26 101
2 Kings xviii. 30 101
2 Kings xix. 37 61
2 Kings xx. 11 116
2 Chron. xxxiii. 11 47
Ezra ii. 29 61
Ezra iv. 10 48
Is. x. 34 13
Is. xiv. 9 76
Is. xiv. 13, 14 77
Is. xix. 25 14
Is. xx. 1 40
Is. xxii. 14 14
Is. xliv. 17 64
Is. li. 27 30
Is. li. 30 30
Ezek. viii. 14 65
Ezek. xxiii. 14 86
Ezek. xxvii. 18 128
Nahum i. 8 25
Nahum ii. 6, 8, 12 25
Nahum iii. 8 15, 51
Zech. ix. 1 143
HARRISON & SONS, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St. Martin's Lane
* * * * *
Transcriber's note:
Table of Contents edited with additional entries for user convenience.
Punctuation has been standardised.
Page references to pages 104 and 105 are to illustrations on the
two previous pages.
Ditto marks in the Indexes have been replaced with the actual words.
This book was written in a period when many words had not become
standarized in their spelling. Numerous words have multiple spelling
variations in the text. These have been left unchanged unless noted
below:
Page 6 - added hyphen for consistency (Assur-bani-pal and his
Queen).
Page 49 - missing '(' added to caption (From the original in the
British Museum.).
Page 54 - removed extraneous open single quotation mark
(Solomon, the god of peace).
Page 115 - missing "'" added ('Post hoc, ergo propter hoc.').
Page 132 - Beth-Yagina is called Bit-Yagina, left unchanged.
Page 149 - typographical error 'eities' corrected (the cities in their).
Page 160 - typographical error 'Assyriam' corrected (of the Assyrian).
Page 162 - typographical error 'Merodoch' corrected (Merodach-Baladan had
formed).