its name to the later Nină or Nineveh-was rebuilt, and canals | governor of the land of the Amorites, as Syria and Palestine were and reservoirs were excavated. He was succeeded by his brother called by the Babylonians. It is probable that the first collection En-anna-tum I., under whom Gis-ukh once more became the of astronomical observations and terrestrial omens was made for dominant power. As En-anna-tum has the title only of high- a library established by Sargon. priest, it is probable that he acknowledged Ur-lumma of Gis-ukh as his suzerain. His son and successor Entemena restored the prestige of Lagash. Gis-ukh was subdued and a priest named Illi was made its governor. A tripod of silver dedicated by Entemena to his god is now in the Louvre. A fricze of lions devouring ibexes and deer, and incised with great artistic skill, runs round the neck, while the eagle crest of Lagash adorns the globular part. The vase is a proof of the high degree of excellence to which the goldsmith's art had already attained. A vase of calcite, also dedicated by Entemena, has been found at Nippur. The eighth successor of Ur-Nina was Uru-duggina, who was overthrown and his city captured by Lugal-zaggisi, the highpriest of Gis-ukh. Lugal-zaggisi was the founder of the first empire in Asia of which we know. He made Erech his capital and calls himself king of Kengi. In a long inscription which he caused to be engraved on hundreds of stone vases dedicated to El-lil of Nippur, he declares that his kingdom extended "from the Lower Sea of the Tigris and Euphrates," or Persian Gulf, to "the Upper Sea" or Mediterranean. It was at this time that Erech received the name of "the City," which it continued to bear when written ideographically, Bingani-sar-ali was the son of Naram-Sin, but we do not yet know whether he followed his father on the throne. Another son was high-priest of the city of Tutu, and in the name of Ur his daughter, Lipus-Eaum, a priestess of Sin, some dynasty. scholars have seen that of the Hebrew deity Yahweh. The Babylonian god Ea, however, is more likely to be meant. The fall of Sargon's empire seems to have been as sudden as its rise. The scat of supreme power in Babylonia was shifted southwards to Isin and Ur. It is generally assumed that two dynasties reigned at Ur and claimed suzerainty over the other Babylonian states, though there is as yet no clear proof that there was more than one. It was probably Gungunu who succeeded in transferring the capital of Babylonia from Isin to Ur, but his place in the dynasty (or dynasties) is still uncertain. One of his successors was Ur-Gur, a great builder, who built or restored the temples of the Moon-god at Ur, of the Sun-god at Larsa, of Ishtar at Erech and of Bel at Nippur. His son and successor was Dungi, whose reign lasted more than 51 years, and among whose vassals was Gudea, the patesi or high-priest of Lagash. Gudea was also a great builder, and the materials for his buildings and statues were brought from all parts of western Semitic Empire of Sargon of Akkad.-The next empire founded Asia, cedar wood from the Amanus mountains, quarried stones in western Asia was Semitic. Semitic princes had already from Lebanon, copper from northern Arabia, gold and precious established themselves at Kis, and a long inscription stones from the desert between Palestine and Egypt, dolerite from Sargon. has been discovered at Susa by J. de Morgan, belonging Magan (the Sinaitic peninsula) and timber from Dilmun in the to one of them, Manistusu, who like Lugal-zaggisi was a con- Persian Gulf. Some of his statues, now in the Louvre, are carved temporary of Uru-duggina. Another Semitic ruler of Kis of the out of Sinaitic dolerite, and on the lap of one of them (statue E) same period was Alusarsid (or Urumus) who“ subdued Elam and is the plan of his palace, with the scale of measurement attached. Barahse." But the fame of these early establishers of Semitic Six of the statues bore special names, and offerings were made to supremacy was far eclipsed by that of Sargon of Akkad and his them as to the statues of the gods. Gudea claims to have conson, Naram-Sin. The date of Sargon is placed by Nabonidus atquered Anshan in Elam, and was succeeded by his son Ur-Ningirsu. 3800 B.C. He was the son of Itti-Bel, and a legend related how His date may be provisionally fixed at 2700 B.C. he had been born in concealment and sent adrift in an ark of bulrushes on the waters of the Euphrates. Here he had been rescued and brought up by" Akki the husbandman "; but the day arrived at length when his true origin became known, the crown of Babylonia was set upon his head and he entered upon a carcer of foreign conquest. Four times he invaded Syria and Palestine, and spent three years in thoroughly subduing the countries of "the west," and in uniting them with Babylonia "into a single empire." Images of himself were erected on the shores of the Mediterranean in token of his victories, and cities and palaces were built at home out of the spoils of the conquered lands. Elam and the northern part of Mesopotamia were also subjugated, and rebellions were put down both in Kazalla and in Babylonia itself. Contract tablets have been found dated in the years of the campaigns against Palestine and Sarlak, king of Gutium or Kurdistan, and copper is mentioned as being brought from Magan or the Sinaitic peninsula. This dynasty of Ur was Semitic, not Sumerian, notwithstanding the name of Dungi. Dungi was followed by Bur-Sin, Gimil-Sin, and Ibi-Sin. Their power extended to the Mediterranean, and we possess a large number of contemporaneous monuments in the shape of contracts and similar business documents, as well as chronological tables, which belong to their reigns. After the fall of the dynasty, Babylonia passed under foreign influence. Sumuabi ("Shem is my father"), from southern Arabia (or perhaps Canaan), made himself master of northern Babylonia, while Elamite invaders occupied the south. After a reign of 14 years Sumuabi was succeeded by his son Sumu-la-ilu, in the fifth year of whose reign the fortress of Babylon was built, and the city became for the first time a capital. Rival kings, Pungunilaand Immerum, are mentioned in the contract tablets as reigning at the same time as Sumu-la-ilu (or Samu-la-ilu); and under Sin-muballidh, the great-grandson of Sumu-la-ilu, the Elamites laid the whole of the country under tribute, and made Eri-Aku Sargon's son and successor, Naram-Sin, followed up the or Arioch, called Rim-Sin by his Semitic subjects, king of Larsa. successes of his father by marching into Magan, whose king he Eri-Aku was the son of Kudur-Mabug, who was prince of took captive. He assumed the imperial title of “king Yamutbal, on the castern border of Babylonia, and also “governor Naram of the four zones," and, like his father, was addressed of Syria." The Elamite supremacy was at last shaken off by as a god. He is even called "the god of Agadé " the son and successor of Sin-muballidh, Khammurabi, (Akkad), reminding us of the divine honours claimed by the whose name is also written Ammurapi and KhamPharaohs of Egypt, whose territory now adjoined that of Baby-muram, and who was the Amraphel of Gen. xiv. 1. lonia. A finely executed bas-relief, representing Naram-Sin, and bearing a striking resemblance to early Egyptian art in many of its features, has been found at Diarbekr. Babylonian art, however, had already attained a high degree of excellence; two scal cylinders of the time of Sargon are among the most beautiful specimens of the gem-cutter's art ever discovered. The empire was bound together by roads, along which there was a regular postal service; and clay seals, which took the place of stamps, are now in the Louvre bearing the names of Sargon and his son. A cadastral survey seems also to have been instituted, and one of the documents relating to it states that a certain Uru-Malik, whose name appears to indicate his Canaanitish origin, was Kham. murabl. The Elamites, under their king Kudur-Lagamar or Chedorlaomer, seem to have taken Babylon and destroyed the temple of Bel-Merodach; but Khammurabi retrieved his fortunes, and in the thirtieth year of his reign (in 2340 B.C.) he overthrew the Elamite forces in a decisive battle and drove them out of Babylonia. The next two years were occupied in adding Larsa and Yamutbal to his dominion, and in forming Babylonia into a single monarchy, the head of which was Babylon. A great literary revival followed the recovery of Babylonian independence, and the rule of Babylon was obeyed as far as the shores of the Mediterranean. Vast numbers of contract tablets, dated in the reigns of Khammurabi and other kings of the dynasty, have Tiglathpileserl. Assur pal III. Shalma neser il been discovered, as well as autograph letters of the kings them- son, Assur-nazir-pal I., and Hadad-nadin-akhi made king of selves, more especially of Khammurabi. Among the latter is one Babylonia. But it was not until several years later, in the reign ordering the despatch of 240 soldiers from Assyria and Situllum, of the Assyrian king Tukulti-Assur, that a reconciliation was a proof that Assyria was at the time a Babylonian dependency effected between the two rival kingdoms. The next Assyrian Constant intercourse was kept up between Babylonia and the monarch, Bel-kudur-uzur, was the last of the old royal line. He west, Babylonian officials and troops passing to Syria and seems to have been slain fighting against the Babylonians, who Canaan, while “ Amorite " colonists were established in Baby- were still under the rule of Hadad-nadin-akhi , and a new dynasty lonia for the purposes of trade. One of these Amorites, Abi-ramu was established at Assur by In-aristi-pileser, who claimed to be or Abram by name, is the father of a witness to a deed dated a descendant of the ancient prince Erba-Raman. His in the reign of Khammurabi's grandfather. Ammi-ditana, the fourth successor was Tiglath-pileser I., one of the great great-grandson of Khammurabi, still entitles himself “ king of conquerors of Assyria, who carried his arms towards the land of the Amorites," and both his father and son bear the Armenia on the north and Cappadocia on the west; he hunted Canaanitish (and south Arabian) names of Abēsukh or Abishua wild bulls in the Lebanon and was presented with a crocodile and Ammi-zadok. by the Egyptian king. In 1107 B.C., however, he sustained a One of the most important works of this “ First Dynasty of temporary defeat at the hands of Merodach-nadin-akhi (MardukBabylon,” as it was called by the native historians, was the nadin-akhē) of Babylonia, where the Kassite dynasty had finally compilation of a code of laws (see BABYLONIAN LAW). This was succumbed to Elamite attacks and a new line of kings was on the made by order of Khammurabi after the expulsion of the Elamites throne. and the settlement of his kingdom. A copy of the Code has been of the immediate successors of Tiglath-pileser I. we know found at Susa by J. de Morgan and is now in the Louvre. The little, and it is with Assur-nazir-pal III. (883-858 B.c.) that our last king of the dynasty was Samsu-ditana the son of Ammi- knowledge of Assyrian history begins once more to zadok. He was followed by a dynasty of 11 Sumerian kings, be fairly full. The empire of Assyria was again exwho are said to have reigned for 368 years, a number which must tended in all directions, and the palaces, temples and be much exaggerated. As yet the name of only one of them has other buildings raised by him bear witness to a conbeen found in a contemporaneous document. They were over-siderable development of wealth and art. Calah became the thrown and Babylonia was conquered by Kassites or Kossaeans favourite residence of a monarch who was distinguished even from the mountains of Elam, with whom Samsu-iluna had already among Assyrian conquerors for his revolting cruelties. His come into conflict in his oth year. The Kassite dynasty was son Shalmaneser II. had a long reign of 35 years, founded by Kandis, Gandis or Gaddas (about 1780 B.C.), and during which the Assyrian capital was converted into lasted for 5764 years. Under this foreign dominion, which offers a sort of armed camp. Each year the Assyrian armies a striking analogy to the contemporary rule of the Hyksos in marched out of it to plunder and destroy. Babylon was occupied Egypt, Babylonia lost its empire over western Asia, Syria and and the country reduced to vassalage. In the west the conPalestine became independent, and the high-priests of Assur federacy of Syrian princes headed by Benhadad of Damascus and made themselves kings of Assyria. The divine attributes with including Ahab of Israel (see Jews, $ 10) was shattered in 853 B.C., which the Semitic kings of Babylonia had been invested dis- and twelve years later the forces of Hazael were annihilated and appeared at the same time; the title of "god" is never given to the ambassadors of Jehu of Samaria brought tribute to "the a Kassite sovereign. Babylon, however, remained the capital great king." The last few years of his life, however, were disof the kingdom and the holy city of western Asia, where the turbed by the rebellion of his eldest son, which weil-nigh proved priests were all-powerful, and the right to the inheritance of the fatal. Assur, Arbela and other places joined the pretender, and old Babylonian empire could alone be conferred. the revolt was with difficulty put down by Samsi-Raman (or Rise of Assyria.-Under Khammurabi a Samsi-Hadad (or Samsi-Hadad), Shalmaneser's second son, who soon afterwards Samsi-Raman) seems to have been vassal-prince at Assur, and succeeded him (824 B.c.). In 804 B.c. Damascus was captured the names of several of the high-priests of Assur who succeeded by his successor Hadad-nirari IV., to whom tribute was paid by him have been made known to us by the recent German excava-Samaria. tions. The foundation of the monarchy was ascribed 10 Zulilu, With Nabu-nazir, the Nabonassar of classical writers, the sowho is described as living after Bel-kapkapi or Belkabi (1900 B.C.), called Canon of Ptolemy begins. When he ascended the throne the ancestor of Shalmaneser I. Assyria grew in power at the of Babylon in 747 B.C. Assyria was in the throcs of a expense of Babylonia, and a time came when the Kassite king of revolution. Civil war and pestilence were devastatBabylonia was glad to marry the daughter of Assur-yuballidh of ing the country, and its northern provinces had been Assyria, whose letters to Amenophis (Amon-hotep) IV. of Egypt wrested from it by Ararat. In 746 B.C. Calah joined the rebels, have been found at Tell el-Amarna. The marriage, however, led and on the 13th of Iyyar in the following year, Pulu or Pul, who to disastrous results, as the Kassite faction at court murdered took the name of Tiglath-pileser III., seized the crown and the king and placed a pretender on the thronc. Assur-yuballidh inaugurated a new and vigorous policy. promptly marched into Babylonia and avenged his son-in-law, Sccond Assyrian Empire.—Under Tiglath-pileser III. arose the making Burna-buryas of the royal line king in his stead. Burna second Assyrian cmpire, which differed from the first in its greater buryas, who reigned 22 years, carried on a correspondence with consolidation. For the first time in history the idea Amenophis IV. of Egypt. After his death, the Assyrians, who of centralization was introduced into politics; the ዜ were still nominally the vassals of Babylonia, threw off conquered provinces were organized under an elaborate all disguise, and Shalmaneser I. (1300 B.C.), the great-bureaucracy at the head of which was the king, each district great-grandson of Assur-yuballidh, openly claimed the paying a fixed tribute and providing a military contingent. The supremacy in western Asia. Shalmaneser was the founder of Assyrian forces became a standing army, which, by successive Calah, and his annals, which have recently been discovered at improvements and careful discipline, was moulded into an Assur, show how widely extended the Assyrian empire already irresistible fighting machine, and Assyrian policy was directed was. Campaign after campaign was carried on against the towards the definite object of reducing the whole civilized world Hittites and the wild tribes of the north-west, and Assyrian into a single empire and thereby throwing its trade and wealth colonists were settled in Cappadocia. His son Tukulti-In-aristi into Assyrian hands: With this object, after terrorizing Armenia conquered Babylon, putting its king Bitilyasu to death, and and the Medes and breaking the power of the Hittites, Tiglaththereby made Assyria the mistress of the oriental world. Assyria pileser III. secured the high-roads of commerce to the Medihad taken the place of Babylonia. terranean together with the Phoenician seaports and then made For 7 years Tukulti-In-aristi ruled at Babylon with the himself master of Babylonia. In 729 B.C. the summit of his old imperial title of "king of Sumer and Akkad." Then the ambition was attained, and he was invested with the sovereignty Babylonians revolted. The Assyrian king was murdered by his l of Asia in the holy city of Babylon. Two years later, in Tebet Nabunazir. Tiglath. Shalmaneser Merodach. baladan. 727 B.C., be died, but his successor Ulula, who took the name of Shalmaneser IV., continued the policy he had begun. Shalmaneser died suddenly in Tebet 722 B.C., while pressing the siege of Samaria, and the seizure of the throne by another general, Sargon, on the 12th of the month, gave the Babylonians an opportunity to revolt. In Nisan the Kalda prince, Merodach (Marduk)-baladan, entered Babylon and was there crowned legitimate king. For twelve years be successfully resisted the Assyrians; but the failure of his allies in the west to act in concert with him, and the overthrow of the Elamites, eventually compelled him to fly to his ancestral domains in the marshes of southern Babylonia. Sargon, who meanwhile had crushed the confederacy of the northern nations, had taken (717 B.C.) the Hittite stronghold of Carchemish and had annexed the future kingdom of Ecbatana, was now accepted as king by the Babylonian priests and his claim to be the successor of Sargon of Akkad acknowledged up to the time of his murder in 705 B.C. His son Sennacherib, who succeeded Scopahim on the 12th of Ab, did not possess the military or cherib. administrative abilities of his father, and the success of his reign was not commensurate with the vanity of the ruler. He was never crowned at Babylon, which was in a perpetual state of revolt until, in 691 B.C., he shocked the religious and political conscience of Asia by razing the holy city of Babylon to the ground. His campaign against Hezekiah of Judah was as much a failure as his policy in Babylonia, and in his murder by his sons on the 20th of Tebet 681 B.C. both Babylonians and Jews saw the judgment of heaven. Esar haddon. Esar-haddon, who succeeded him, was of different calibre from his father. He was commanding the army in a campaign against Ararat at the time of the murder; forty-two days later the murderers fled from Nineveh and took refuge at the court of Ararat. But the Armenian army was utterly defeated near Malatia on the 12th of Iyyar, and at the end of the day Esar-haddon was saluted by his soldiers as king. He thereupon returned to Nineveh and on the 8th of Sivan formally ascended the throne. Egypt had already recovered its independence (660 B.C.) with the help of mercenaries sent by Gyges of Lydia, who had vainly solicited aid from Assyria against his Cimmerian enemies. Next followed the contest with Elam, in spite of the efforts of Assurbani-pal to ward it off. Assyria, however, was aided by civil war in Elam itself; the country was wasted with fire and sword, and its capital Susa or Shushan levelled with the ground. But the long struggle left Assyria maimed and exhausted. It had been drained of both wealth and fighting population; the devastated provinces of Elam and Babylonia could yield nothing with which to supply the needs of the imperial exchequer, and it was difficult to find sufficient troops even to garrison the conquered populations. Assyria, therefore, was ill prepared to face the hordes of Scythians-or Manda, as they were called by the Babylonians-who now began to harass the frontiers. A Scythian power had grown up in the old kingdom of Ellip, to the east of Assyria, where Ecbatana was built by a " Manda " prince; Asia Minor was infested by the Scythian tribe of Cimmerians, and the death of the Scythian leader Dugdamme (the Lygdamis of Strabo i. 3. 16) was regarded by Assur-bani-pal as a special mark of divine favour. Scythian Influence. When Assur-bani-pal died, his empire was fast breaking up. Under his successor, Assur-etil-ilani, the Scythians penetrated into Assyria and made their way as far as the borders of Egypt. Calah was burned, though the strong walls of Nineveh protected the relics of the Assyrian army which had taken refuge behind them; and when the raiders had passed on to other fields of booty, a new palace was erected among the ruins of the neighbouring city. But its architectural poverty and small size show that the resources of Assyria were at a low ebb. A contract has been found at Sippara, dated in the fourth year of Assur-etil-ilani, though it is possible that his rule in Babylonia was disputed by his Rab-shakeh (vizier), Assur-sum-lisir, whose accession year as king of Assyria occurs on a contract from Nippur (Niffer). The last king of Assyria was probably the brother of Assur-etil-ilani, Sin-sar - iskun (Sin-sarra-uzur), who seems to have been the Sarakos (Saracus) of Berossus. He was still reigning in Babylonia in his seventh year, as a contract dated in that year has been discovered at Erech, and an inscription of his, in which he speaks of restoring the ruined temples and their priests, couples Merodach of Babylon with Assur of Nineveh. Babylonia, however, was again restless. After the over throw of Samas - sum - yukin, Kandalanu, the Chineladanos of Ptolemy's canon, had been appointed viceroy. His successor was Nabopolassar, between whom and the last king of Assyria war broke out. The Scythian king of Ecbatana, the Cyaxares of the Greeks, came to the help of the Babylonians. Nineveh was captured and destroyed by the Scythian army, along with those cities of northern Babylonia which had sided with Babylonia, and the Assyrian empire was at an end. Nabopo lassar. Nabo. aidus. One of his first acts was to restore Babylon, to send back the image of Bel-Merodach (Bel-Marduk) to its old home, and to re-people the city with such of the priests and the former population as had survived massacre. Then he was solemnly declared king in the temple of Bel-Merodach, which had again risen from its rains, and Babylon became the second capital of the empire. Esar-haddon's policy was successful and Babylonia remained contentedly quiet throughout his reign. In February (674 B.C.) the Assyrians entered upon their invasion of Egypt (see also EGYPT: History), and in Nisan (or March) 670 B.C. an expedition on an unusually large scale set out from Nineveh. The Egyptian frontier was crossed on the 3rd of Tammuz (June), and Tirhaka, at the head of the Egyptian forces, was driven to Memphis after fifteen days of continuous fighting, during which the Egyptians were thrice defeated with heavy loss and Tirhaka himself was The seat of empire was now transferred to Babylonia. Nabopowounded. On the 22nd of the month Memphis was entered by lassar was followed by his son Nebuchadrezzar II., whose reign the victorious army and Tirhaka fled to the south. A stele, of 43 years made Babylon once more the mistress of commemorating the victory and representing Tirhaka with the the civilized world. Only a small fragment of his features of a negro, was set up at Sinjirli (north of the Gulf of annals has been discovered relating to his invasion of Antioch) and is now in the Berlin Museum. Two years later Egypt in 567 B.C., and referring to "Phut of the Ionians." Of (668 B.C.) Egypt revolted, and while on the march to reduce it, the reign of the last Babylonian king, Nabonidus, however, and Esar-haddon fell ill and died (on the roth of Marchesvan or the conquest of Babylonia by Cyrus, we now have a fair amount October). Assur-bani-pal succeeded him as king of of information. This is chiefly derived from a chronological ban-pal. Assyria and its empire, while his brother, Samas-sum- tablet containing the annals of Nabonidus, which is supplemented yukin, was made viceroy of Babylonia. The arrange-by an inscription of Nabonidus, in which he recounts his restora ment was evidently intended to flatter the Babylonians by giving tion of the temple of the Moon-god at Harran, as well as by a them once more the semblance of independence. But it failed to proclamation of Cyrus issued shortly after his formal recognition work. Samas-sum-yukin became more Babylonian than his as king of Babylonia. It was in the sixth year of Nabonidus subjects; the viceroy claimed to be the successor of the monarchs (549 B.C.) or perhaps in 553-that Cyrus, "king of Anshan whose empire had once stretched to the Mediterranean; even in Elam, revolted against his suzerain Astyages, king of "the the Sumerian language was revived as the official tongue, and a Manda" or Scythians, at Ecbatana. The army of Astyages revolt broke out which shook the Assyrian empire to its founda- betrayed him to his enemy, and Cyrus (q.v.) established himself tions. After several years of struggle, during which Egypt re- at Ecbatana, thus putting an end to the empire of the Scythians, covered its independence, Babylon was starved into surrender, and the rebel viceroy and his supporters were put to death. Assure For the events leading up to the conquests of Cyrus, see PERSIA: Ancient History, § v. The chronology is not absolutely certain. Invasion by Cyrus. which the Greek writers called that of the Medes, through a confusion of Madā or "Medes" with Manda. Three years later we find that Cyrus has become king of Persia and is engaged in a campaign in the north of Mesopotamia. Meanwhile Nabonidus has established a camp at Sippara, near the northern frontier of his kingdom, his son-probably the Belshazzar of other inscriptions-being in command of the army. In 538 B.C. Cyrus invaded Babylonia. A battle was fought at Opis in the month of June, in which the Babylonians were defeated, and immediately afterwards Sippara surrendered to the invader. Nabonidus fled to Babylon, whither he was pursued by Gobryas, the governor of Kurdistan, and on the 16th of Tammuz, two days after the capture of Sippara," the soldiers of Cyrus entered Babylon without fighting." Nabonidus was dragged out of his hiding-place, and Kurdish guards were placed at the gates of the great temple of Bel, where the services continued without intermission. Cyrus did not arrive till the 3rd of Marchesvan (October), Gobryas having acted for him in his absence. Gobryas was now made governor of the province of Babylon, and a few days afterwards the son of Nabonidus, according to the most probable reading, died. A public mourning followed, which lasted six days, and Cambyses accompanied the corpse to the tomb. Cyrus now claimed to be the legitimate successor of the ancient Babylonian kings and the avenger of Bel-Merodach, who was wrathful at the impiety of Nabonidus in removing the images of the local gods from their ancestral shrines to his capital Babylon. Nabonidus, in fact, had excited a strong feeling against himself by attempting to centralize the religion of Babylonia in the temple of Merodach (Marduk) at Babylon, and while he had thus alienated the local priesthoods the military party despised him on account of his antiquarian tastes. He seems to have left the defence of his kingdom to others, occupying himself with the more congenial work of excavating the foundation records of the temples and determining the dates of their builders. The invasion of Babylonia by Cyrus was doubtless facilitated by the existence of a disaffected party in the state, as well as by the presence of foreign exiles like the Jews, who had The following is a list of the later dynasties and kings of Babylonia and Assyria so far as they are known at present. For the views of other writers on the chronology, see § viii., Chronological Systems. | been planted in the midst of the country. One of the first acts of Cyrus accordingly was to allow these exiles to return to their own homes, carrying with them the images of their gods and their sacred vessels. The permission to do so was embodied in a proclamation, in which the conqueror endeavoured to justify his claim to the Babylonian throne. The feeling was still strong that none had a right to rule over western Asia until he had been consecrated to the office by Bel and his priests; and from henceforth, accordingly, Cyrus assumed the imperial title of "king of Babylon." A year before his death, in 529 B.C., he associated his son Cambyses (q.v.) in the government, making him king of Babylon, while he reserved for himself the fuller title of "king of the (other) provinces " of the empire. It was only when Darius Hystaspis, the representative of the Aryan race and the Zoroastrian religion, had re-conquered the empire of Cyrus, that the old tradition was broken and the claim of Babylon to confer legitimacy on the rulers of western Asia ceased to be acknowledged (see DARIUS). Darius, in fact, entered Babylon as a conqueror; after the murder of the Magian it had recovered its independence under Nidinta-Bel, who took the name of Nebuchadrezzar III., and reigned from October 521 B.C. to August 520 B.C., when the Persians took it by storm. A few years later, probably 514 B.C., Babylon again revolted under the Armenian Arakha; on this occasion, after its capture by the Persians, the walls were partly destroyed. E-Saggila, the great temple of Bel, however, still continued to be kept in repair and to be a centre of Babylonian patriotism, until at last the foundation of Seleucia diverted the population to the new capital of Babylonia and the ruins of the old city became a quarry for the builders of the new seat of government.' VI. Assyria and Babylonia contrasted.-The sister-states of Babylonia and Assyria differed essentially in character. Babylonia was a land of merchants and agriculturists; Assyria was an organized camp. The Assyrian dynasties were founded Dynasty of Isin of 11 kings for 132 years. 1203 B.C. Merodach.... 18 years. Nebuchadrezzar I. Merodach-nadin-akhi, 22 years. years. Dynasty of the Sea-coast. 1070 B.C. 1030 B.C. Dynasty of Sape. Yukin-zera or Chinziros, 3 B.C. years Pulu (Pul or Poros), called Tiglath-pileser III. in Assyria, 2 years Sargon of Assyria Merodach-zakir-sumi, Bel-ebus of Babylon Sennacherib destroys 730 727 Ulula, called Shalmaneser IV. in Assyria Merodach-baladan II. the 725 12 Chaldaean 721 709 705 702 702 Assur-nadin-sumi, son of 693 Babylon 689. Esar-haddon, his son 681 The Babylonian Dynasties from cir. 2500 B.C. Ur-Gur. Dungi, more than 51 years. Bur-Sin, more than 12 years. Idin-Dagan. First Dynasty of Babylon. 2350 B.C. Sumu-abi, 14 years. Kassite Dynasty of 36 kings for Kara-indas. Dynasty of Bit-Bari. 1050 B.C. Burna-buryas, his son, 22 years. Dynasty of Sisku (?) for 368 years. Bitilyasu II., 8 years. 2160 B.C. Anman, 60 years. Ki-Nigas, 56 years. Damki-ilisu, 26 years. Iskipal, 15 years. Sussi, 27 years. Tukulti-In-aristi of Assyria (1272 Merodach-baladan I., his son, 13 years. Zamama-sum-iddin, I year. Nebo-sum-iskun Nebo-baladan chadrezzar II.) Amil-Marduk (Evil-Mero dach), his son cir. 920 Nergal-sarra-uzur (Ner Cir. 900 gal-sharezer) cir. 880 Labasi-Marduk, his son, 3 Merodach-nadin-sumi cir. 860 Nebo-sum-yukin, his son, cir. 760 End of the zand dynasty.731 months Nabu-nahid (Nabonidus) Darius, son of Hystaspes Nebuchadrezzar IV., rebel king Darius restored composed by a certain Sin-liqi-unninni, and arranged upon an astronomical principle. Each division contains the story of a single adventure in the career of Gilgamesh. The whole story is a composite product, and it is possible that some of the stories are artificially attached to the central figure. (See GILGAMESH, EPIC OF.) by successful generals; in Babylonia it was the priests whom | most famous of these was the Epic of Gilgamesh, in twelve books, a revolution raised to the throne. The Babylonian king remained a priest to the last, under the control of a powerful hierarchy; the Assyrian king was the autocratic general of an army, at whose side stood in early days a feudal nobility, and from the reign of Tiglath-pileser III. onwards an elaborate bureaucracy. His palace was more sumptuous than the temples of the gods, from which it was quite separate. The people were soldiers and little else; even the sailor belonged to Babylonia. Hence the sudden collapse of Assyria when drained of its fighting population in the age of Assur-bani-pal. VII. Assyro-Babylonian Culture.-Assyrian culture came from Babylonia, but even here there was a difference between the two countries. There was little in Assyrian literature that was original, and education, which was general in Babylonia, was in the northern kingdom confined for the most part to a single class. In Babylonia it was of very old standing. There were libraries in most of the towns and temples; an old Sumerian proverb averred that " he who would excel in the school of the scribes must rise with the dawn." Women as well as men learned to read and write, and in Semitic times this involved a knowledge of the extinct Sumerian as well as of a most complicated and extensive syllabary A considerable amount of Semitic Babylonian literature was translated from Sumerian originals, and the language of religion and law long continued to be the old agglutinative language of Chaldaca. Vocabularies, grammars and interlinear translations were compiled for the use of students as well as commentaries on the older texts and explanations of obscure words and phrases. The characters of the syllabary were all arranged and named, and elaborate lists of them were drawn up. The literature was for the most part inscribed with a metal stylus on tablets of clay, called laterculae coctiles by Pliny; the papyrus which seems to have been also employed has perished. Under the second Assyrian empire, when Nineveh had become a great centre of trade, Aramaic-the language of commerce and diplomacy-was added to the number of subjects which the educated class was required to learn. Under the Seleucids Greek was introduced into Babylon, and fragments of tablets have been found with Sumerian and Assyrian (i.e. Semitic Babylonian) words transcribed in Greek letters. Babylonian Literature and Science.-There were many literary works the titles of which have come down to us. One of the Kings of Assyria. B.C. Assur-nazir-pal III., his cir. 1450 son Assur-bil-nisi-su 1440 Shalmaneser II., his son 1330 Hadad-nirari IV., his son. B.C. 1070 1060 960 950 930 911 889 883 823 810 781 Another epic was that of the Creation, the object of which was to glorify Bel-Merodach by describing his contest with Tiamat, the dragon of chaos. In the first book an account is given of the creation of the world out of the primeval deep and the birth of the gods of light. Then comes the story of the struggle between the gods of light and the powers of darkness, and the final victory of Merodach, who clove Tiamat asunder, forming the heaven out of one half of her body and the earth out of the other. Merodach next arranged the stars in order, along with the sun and moon, and gave them laws which they were never to transgress. After this the plants and animals were created, and finally man. Merodach here takes the place of Ea, who appears as the creator in the older legends, and is said to have fashioned man out of the clay. The legend of Adapa, the first man, a portion of which was found in the record-office of the Egyptian king Amenophis IV. (Akhenaton) at Tell-el-Amarna, explains the origin of death. Adapa while fishing had broken the wings of the south wind, and was accordingly summoned before the tribunal of Anu in heaven. Ea counselled him not to eat or drink there. He followed the advice, and thus refused the food which would have made him and his descendants immortal. Among the other legends of Babylonia may be mentioned those of Namtar, the plague-demon, of Urra, the pestilence, of Etanna and of Zu. Hades, the abode of Nin-erisgal or Allat, had been entered by Nergal, who, angered by a message sent to her by the gods of the upper world, ordered Namtar to strike off her head. She, however, declared that she would submit to any conditions imposed on her and would give Nergal the sovereignty of the earth. Nergal accordingly relented, and Allatu became the queen of the infernal world. Etanna conspired with the eagle to fly to the highest heaven. The first gate, that of Anu, was successfully reached; but in ascending still farther to the gate of Ishtar the strength of the eagle gave way, and Etanna was dashed to the ground. As for the storm-god Zu, we are told that he stole the tablets of destiny, and therewith the prerogatives of Bel. God after god was ordered to pursue him and recover them, but it would seem that it was only by a stratagem that they were finally regained. Besides the purely literary works there were others of the most varied nature, including collections of letters, partly official, partly private. Among them the most interesting are the letters of Khammurabi, which have been edited by L. W. King. Astronomy and astrology, moreover, occupy a conspicuous place. Astronomy was of old standing in Babylonia, and the standard work on the subject, written from an astrological point of view, which was translated into Greek by Berossus, was believed to go back to the age of Sargon of Akkad. The zodiac was a 825 Babylonian invention of great antiquity; and eclipses of the sun as well as of the moon could be foretold. Observatories were attached to the temples, and reports were regularly sent by the astronomers to the king. The stars had been numbered and named at an early date, and we possess tables of lunar longitudes and observations of the phases of Venus. In Seleucid and Parthian times the astronomical reports were of a thoroughly scientific character, how far the advanced knowledge and method they display may reach back we do not yet know. Great attention was naturally paid to the calendar, and we find a week of seven and another of five days in use. The development of astronomy implies considerable progress in mathematics; it is not surprising, therefore, that the Babylonians should have invented an extremely simple method of ciphering or have discovered the convenience of the duodecimal system. The ner of 600 and the sar of 3600 were formed from the soss or unit 606 of 60, which corresponded with a degree of the equator. Tablets 771 753 1310 Assur-dan III. 1270 Pulu, usurper, takes the III. 745 1250 Ulula, usurper, takes the 727 722 705 681 668 ? 1200 Assur-bani-pal, his son 1140 Assur-sum-lisir ? |