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diff --git a/16161-h/16161-h.htm b/16161-h/16161-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a2298e3 --- /dev/null +++ b/16161-h/16161-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,6301 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + The Seven Great Monarchies, by George Rawlinson + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 2em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 20%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 25%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + pre { font-family: Times; font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient +Eastern World, Vol 1. (of 7): Chaldaea, by George Rawlinson + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 1. (of 7): Chaldaea + The History, Geography, And Antiquities Of Chaldaea, + Assyria, Babylon, Media, Persia, Parthia, And Sassanian + or New Persian Empire; With Maps and Illustrations. + +Author: George Rawlinson + +Illustrator: George Rawlinson + +Release Date: July 1, 2005 [EBook #16161] +Last Updated: September 6, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SEVEN GREAT MONARCHIES *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h1> + THE SEVEN GREAT MONARCHIES + </h1> + <p> + OF THE ANCIENT EASTERN WORLD; OR, THE HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY, AND ANTIQUITIES + OF CHALDAEA, ASSYRIA BABYLON, MEDIA, PERSIA, PARTHIA, AND SASSANIAN, OR + NEW PERSIAN EMPIRE. <b> BY </b> <b> GEORGE RAWLINSON, M.A., </b> CAMDEN + PROFESSOR OF ANCIENT HISTORY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD IN THREE VOLUMES. + <br /> <br /> <a href="images/map_top.jpg">ENLARGE TO FULL SIZE</a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img alt="map_top_th (118K)" src="images/map_top_th.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <a href="images/map_bottom.jpg">ENLARGE TO FULL + SIZE</a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img alt="map_bottom_th (92K)" src="images/map_bottom_th.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <h2> + CONTENTS + </h2> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PREF"> PREFACE TO FIVE GREAT MONARCHIES. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PREF2"> PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PREF3"> PREFACE TO THE SIXTH MONARCHY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PREF4"> PREFACE TO SEVENTH MONARCHY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkreferences">REFERENCES</a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> THE FIRST MONARCHY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> CHALDAEA. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> <a href="#link2HCH0001">CHAPTER I.</a> GENERAL VIEW OF + THE COUNTRY<br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0002">CHAPTER II.</a> + CLIMATE AND PRODUCTIONS<br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0003">CHAPTER III.</a> + THE PEOPLE<br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0004">CHAPTER IV.</a> + LANGUAGE AND WRITING<br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0005">CHAPTER V.</a> + ARTS AND SCIENCES<br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0006">CHAPTER VI.</a> + MANNERS AND CUSTOMS<br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0007">CHAPTER VII.</a> + RELIGION<br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0008">CHAPTER VIII.</a> + HISTORY AND CHRONOLOGY <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + List of Illustrations + </h2> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0001"> Plate 1 </a> + </p> + <p> + 1. Plan of Mugheir ruins (after Taylor)<br /> <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0002"> Plate 2 </a> + </p> + <p> + 2. Ruins of Warka (Erech) (after Loftus)<br /> <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0003"> Plate 3 </a> + </p> + <p> + 3. Akkerkuf (after Ker Porter)<br /> 4. Hamman (after Loftus)<br /> <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0004"> Plate 4 </a> + </p> + <p> + 5. Tel-Ede (ditto)<br /> 6. Palms (after Oppert)<br /> <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0005"> Plate 5 </a> + </p> + <p> + 7. Chaldaean reeds, from an Assyrian sculpture (after Layard)<br /> <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0006"> Plate 6 </a> + </p> + <p> + 8. Wild sow and pigs, from Koyunjik (Layard)<br /> 9. Ethiopians (after + Prichard)<br /> 10. Cuneiform inscriptions (drawn by the Author, from + bricks in the British Museum)<br /> <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0007"> Page 42 </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0008"> Plate 7 </a> + </p> + <p> + 10. Cuneiform inscriptions (drawn by the Author, from bricks in the + British Museum)<br /> 11. Chaldaean tablet (after Layard)<br /> 12. + Signet-cylinder (after Ker Porter)<br /> <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0009"> Page 44 </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0010"> Plate 8 </a> + </p> + <p> + 13. Bowariyeh (after Loftus)<br /> 14. Mugheir Temple (ditto)<br /> <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0011"> Plate 9 </a> + </p> + <p> + 15. Ground-plan of ditto (ditto)<br /> 16. Mugheir Temple, restored (by + the Author)<br /> 17. Terra-cotta cone, actual size (after Loftus)<br /> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0013"> Plate 10 </a> + </p> + <p> + 18. Plan and wall of building patterned with cones (after Loftus)<br /> + 19. Ground-plan of chambers excavated at Abu-Shahrein (after Taylor)<br /> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0015"> Plate 11 </a> + </p> + <p> + 20. Brick vault at Mugheir (ditto)<br /> 21. Chaldaean dish-cover tombs + (ditto)<br /> <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0016"> Plate 12 </a> + </p> + <p> + 21. Chaldaean dish-cover tombs (ditto)<br /> 22. Chaldaean jar-coffin + (ditto)<br /> 23. Section of drain (ditto)<br /> <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0017"> Plate 13 </a> + </p> + <p> + 24. Chaldaean vases of the first period (drawn by the Author from vases + in the<br /> British Museum)<br /> 25. Chaldaean vases, drinking-vessels, + and amphora of the second period (ditto)<br /> 26. Chaldaean lamps of the + second period (ditto)<br /> <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0018"> Plate 14 </a> + </p> + <p> + 27. Seal-cylinder on metal axis (drawn and partly restored by the + Author)<br /> 28. Signet-cylinder of King Urukh (after Ker Porter)<br /> + 29. Flint knives (drawn by the Author from the originals in the British + Museum)<br /> <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0019"> Plate 15 </a> + </p> + <p> + 30. Stone hammer, hatchet, adze, and nail (chiefly after Taylor)<br /> + 31. Chaldaean bronze spear and arrow-heads<br /> (drawn by the Author + from the originals in the British Museum)<br /> <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0020"> Plate 16 </a> + </p> + <p> + 32. Bronze implements (ditto)<br /> 33. Flint implement (after Taylor)<br /> + 34. Ear-rings (drawn by the Author from the originals<br /> in the + British Museum) 16<br /><br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0021"> Plate 17 </a> + </p> + <p> + 35. Leaden pipe and jar (ditto)<br /> 36. Bronze bangles (ditto)<br /> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0022"> Plate 18 </a> + </p> + <p> + 37. Senkareh table of squares<br /> <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0023"> Page 66 </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0024"> Plate 19 </a> + </p> + <p> + 38. Costumes of Chaldaeans from the cylinders (after Cullimore and Rich)<br /> + 39. Serpent symbol (after Cullimore)<br /> 40. Flaming Sword (ditto)<br /> + 41. Figure of Nin. the Fish-God (Layard)<br /> 42. Nin’s emblem. the Man + Bull (ditto)<br /> 43. Fish symbols (after Cullimore)<br /> 44. Bel-Mer + dash (ditto)<br /> <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0025"> Page 81 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0026"> Page 83 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0027"> Page 84 </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0028"> Plate 20 </a> + </p> + <p> + 45. Nergal’s emblem, the Ilan-Lion (Layard)<br /> <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0029"> Plate 21 </a> + </p> + <p> + 46. 47. Clay images of Ishtar (after Cullimore and Layard)<br /> 48. Nebo + (drawn by the Author from a statue in the British Museum)<br /> <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0031"> Page 99 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkpage0113"> Page 113—Table of Chaldaean Kings </a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VOLUME I. + </h2> + <h3> + With Maps and Illustrations + </h3> + <p> + <a name="link2H_PREF" id="link2H_PREF"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PREFACE TO FIVE GREAT MONARCHIES. + </h2> + <p> + The history of Antiquity requires from time to time to be rewritten. + Historical knowledge continually extends, in part from the advance of + critical science, which teaches us little by little the true value of + ancient authors, but also, and more especially, from the new discoveries + which the enterprise of travellers and the patient toil of students are + continually bringing to light, whereby the stock of our information as to + the condition of the ancient world receives constant augmentation. The + extremest scepticism cannot deny that recent researches in Mesopotamia and + the adjacent countries have recovered a series of “monuments” belonging to + very early times, capable of throwing considerable light on the + Antiquities of the nations which produced them. The author of these + volumes believes that, together with these remains, the languages of the + ancient nations have been to a large extent recovered, and that a vast + mass of written historical matter of a very high value is thereby added to + the materials at the Historian’s disposal. This is, clearly, not the place + where so difficult and complicated a subject can be properly argued. The + author is himself content with the judgment of “experts,” and believes it + would be as difficult to impose a fabricated language on Professor Lassen + of Bonn and Professor Max Miller of Oxford, as to palm off a fictitious + for a real animal form on Professor Owen of London. The best linguists in + Europe have accepted the decipherment of the cuneiform inscriptions as a + thing actually accomplished. Until some good linguist, having carefully + examined into the matter, declares himself of contrary opinion, the author + cannot think that any serious doubt rests on the subject. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [Some writers allow that the Persian cuneiform inscriptions have + been successfully deciphered and interpreted, but appear to doubt + the interpretation of the Assyrian records. (See Edinburgh Review + for July, 1862, Art Ill., p. 108.) Are they aware that the Persian + inscriptions are accompanied in almost every instance by an Assyrian + transcript, and that Assyrian interpretation thus follows upon + Persian, without involving any additional “guess-work”] +</pre> + <p> + The present volumes aim at accomplishing for the Five Nations of which + they treat what Movers and Kenrick have accomplished for Phoenicia, or + (still more exactly) what Wilkinson has accomplished for Ancient Egypt. + Assuming the interpretation of the historical inscriptions as, in general, + sufficiently ascertained, and the various ancient remains as assigned on + sufficient grounds to certain peoples and epochs, they seek to unite with + our previous knowledge of the five nations, whether derived from Biblical + or classical sources, the new information obtained from modern discovery. + They address themselves in a great measure to the eye; and it is hoped + that even those who doubt the certainty of the linguistic discoveries in + which the author believes, will admit the advantage of illustrating the + life of the ancient peoples by representations of their productions. + Unfortunately, the materials of this kind which recent explorations have + brought to light are very unequally spread among the several nations of + which it is proposed to treat, and even where they are most copious, fall + short of the abundance of Egypt. Still in every case there is some + illustration possible; and in one—Assyria—both the “Arts” and + the “Manners” of the people admit of being illustrated very largely from + the remains still extant.—[See Chapters VI. and VII. of the Second + Monarchy] + </p> + <p> + The Author is bound to express his obligations to the following writers, + from whose published works he has drawn freely: MM. Botta and Flandin, Mr. + Layard, Mr. James Fergusson, Mr. Loftus, Mr. Cullimore, and Mr. Birch. He + is glad to take this occasion of acknowledging himself also greatly + beholden to the constant help of his brother, Sir Henry Rawlinson, and to + the liberality of Mr. Faux, of the British Museum. The latter gentleman + kindly placed at his disposal, for the purposes of the present work, the + entire series of unpublished drawings made by the artists who accompanied + Mr. Loftus in the last Mesopotamian Expedition, besides securing him + undisturbed access to the Museum sculptures, thus enabling him to enrich + the present volume with a large number of most interesting illustrations + never previously given to the public. In the subjoined list these + illustrations are carefully distinguished from such as, in one shape or + another, have appeared previously. + </p> + <p> + Oxford, September, 1862. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_PREF2" id="link2H_PREF2"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. + </h2> + <p> + In preparing for the press, after an interval of seven years, a second + edition of this work, the author has found it unnecessary to make, + excepting in two chapters, any important or exensive alterations. The + exceptions are the chapters on the History and Chronology of Chaldaea and + Assyria. So much fresh light has been thrown on these two subjects by + additional discoveries, made partly by Sir Henry Rawlinson, partly by his + assistant, Mr. George Smith, through the laborious study of fragmentary + inscriptions now in the British Museum, that many pages of the two + chapters in question required to be written afresh, and the Chronological + Schemes required, in the one case a complete, and in the other a partial, + revision. In making this revision, both of the Chronology and the History, + the author has received the most valuable assistance both from the + published papers and from the private communications of Mr. Smith—an + assistance for which he desires to make in this place the warmest and most + hearty acknowledgment. He is also beholden to a recent Eastern traveller, + Mr. A. D. Berrington, for some valuable notes on the physical geography + and productions of Mesopotamia, which have been embodied in the accounts + given of those subjects. A few corrections have likewise been made of + errors pointed out by anonymous critics. Substantially, however, the work + continues such as it was on its first appearance, the author having found + that time only deepened his conviction of the reality of cuneiform + decipherment, and of the authenticity of the history obtained by means of + it. + </p> + <p> + OXFORD, November, 1870. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_PREF3" id="link2H_PREF3"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PREFACE TO THE SIXTH MONARCHY. + </h2> + <p> + The following work is intended, in part, as a continuation of the ancient + History of the East, already treated by the Author at some length in his + “Five Great Monarchies”; but it is also, and more expressly, intended as a + supplement to the ancient History of the West, as that history is + ordinarily presented to moderns under its two recognized divisions of + “Histories of Greece” and “Histories of Rome.” Especially, it seemed to + the writer that the picture of the world during the Roman period, commonly + put before students in “Histories of Rome,” was defective, not to say + false, in its omission to recognize the real position of Parthia during + the three most interesting centuries of that period, as a counterpoise to + the power of Rome, a second figure in the picture not much inferior to the + first, a rival state dividing with Rome the attention of mankind and the + sovereignty of the known earth. Writers of Roman history have been too + much in the habit of representing the later Republic and early Empire as, + practically, a Universal Monarchy, a Power unchecked, unbalanced, having + no other limits than those of the civilized world, engrossing consequently + the whole attention of all thinking men, and free to act exactly as it + pleased without any regard to opinion beyond its own borders. One of the + most popular enlarges on the idea—an idea quite inconsistent with + the fact—that for the man who provoked the hostility of the ruler of + Rome there was no refuge upon the whole face of the earth but some wild + and barbarous region, where refinement was unknown, and life would not + have been worth having. To the present writer the truth seems to be that + Rome never was in the position supposed—that from first to last, + from the time of Pompey’s Eastern Conquests to the Fall of the Empire, + there was always in the world a Second Power, civilized or semi-civilized, + which in a true sense balanced Rome, acted as a counterpoise and a check, + had to be consulted or considered, held a place in all men’s thoughts, and + finally furnished a not intolerable refuge to such as had provoked Rome’s + master beyond forgiveness. + </p> + <p> + This Power for nearly three centuries (B.C. 64 - A.D. 225) was Parthia, + after which it was Persia under the Sassanian kings. In the hope of + gradually vindicating to Parthia her true place in the world’s history, + the Author has in his “Manual of Ancient History” (published by the + Delegates of the Clarendon Press) placed the Parthians alongside of the + Romans, and treated of their history at a moderate length. But it has + seemed to him that something more was requisite. He could not expect that + students would be able to give Parthia her proper place in their thoughts + unless her history were collected and put forth in a readable form with + some fulness. He has, therefore, employed most of his leisure during the + last two years in writing the present work, which he commends to students + of the later Greek and Roman periods as supplemental to the modern Greek + and Roman histories in which those periods are commonly studied. + </p> + <p> + The Parthian Chronology depends very much upon coins. In preparing this + portion of his work the Author has been greatly indebted to aid kindly + rendered him by M. R. Stuart Poole and Mr. Gardiner of the British Museum. + The representations of coins in the work have been, with one exception, + taken by the Author from the originals in the National Collection. For the + illustrations of Parthian architecture and art he is indebted to the + published works of Mr. Ainsworth, Mr. Ross, the late Mr. Loftus, and MM. + Flandin and Coste. He feels also bound to express his obligations to the + late Mr. Lindsay, the numismatic portion of whose work on Parthia he has + found of much service. + </p> + <p> + CANTERBURY, December, 1872. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_PREF4" id="link2H_PREF4"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PREFACE TO SEVENTH MONARCHY. + </h2> + <p> + This work completes the Ancient History of the East, to which the author + has devoted his main attention during the last eighteen years. It is a + sequel to his “Parthians,” published in 1873; and carries down the History + of Western Asia from the third century of our era to the middle of the + seventh. So far as the present writer is aware, no European author has + previously treated this period from the Oriental stand-point, in any work + aspiring to be more than a mere sketch or outline. Very many such sketches + have been published; but they have been scanty in the extreme, and the + greater number of them have been based on the authority of a single class + of writers. It has been the present author’s aim to combine the various + classes of authorities which are now accessible to the historical student, + and to give their due weight to each of them. The labors of M. C. Muller, + of the Abbe Gregoire Kabaragy Garabed, and of M. J. St. Martin have opened + to us the stores of ancient Armenian literature, which were previously a + sealed volume to all but a small class of students. The early Arab + historians have been translated or analyzed by Kosegarten, Zotenberg, M. + Jules Mohl, and others. The coinage of the Sassanians has been elaborately—almost + exhaustively—treated by Mordtmann and Thomas. Mr. Fergusson has + applied his acute and practised powers to the elucidation of the Sassanian + architecture. By combining the results thus obtained with the old sources + of information—the classical, especially the Byzantine writers—it + has become possible to compose a history of the Sassanian Empire which is + at once consecutive, and not absolutely meagre. How the author has + performed his task, he must leave it to the public to judge; he will only + venture to say that he has spared no labor, but has gone carefully through + the entire series of the Byzantine writers who treat of the time, besides + availing himself of the various modern works to which reference has been + made above. If he has been sometimes obliged to draw conclusions from his + authorities other than those drawn by Gibbon, and has deemed it right, in + the interests of historic truth, to express occasionally his dissent from + that writer’s views, he must not be thought blind to the many and great + excellencies which render the “Decline and Fall” one of the best, if not + the best, of our histories. The mistakes of a writer less eminent and less + popular might have been left unnoticed without ill results. Those of an + historian generally regarded as an authority from whom there is no appeal + could not be so lightly treated. + </p> + <p> + The author begs to acknowledge his great obligations, especially, to the + following living writers: M. Patkanian, M. Jules Mohl, Dr. Haug, Herr + Spiegel, Herr Windischmann, Herr Mordtmann, Canon Tristram, Mr. James + Fergusson, and Mr. E. Thomas. He is also largely beholden to the works of + M. Texier and of MM. Flandin and Coste for the illustrations, which he has + been able to give, of Sassanian sculpture and architecture. The + photographic illustrations of the newly-discovered palace at Mashita are + due to the liberality of Mr. R. C. Johnson (the amateur artist who + accompanied Canon Tristram in his exploration of the “Land of Moab”), who, + with Canon Tristram’s kind consent, has allowed them to appear in the + present volume. The numismatic illustrations are chiefly derived from + Longperier; but one or two have been borrowed from other sources. For his + frontispiece the author is indebted to his brother, Sir Henry Rawlinson, + who has permitted it to be taken from an original drawing in his + possession, which he believed to be a truthful representation of the great + Sassanian building. + </p> + <p> + CANTERBURY: December 1875. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE FIRST MONARCHY. + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHALDAEA. + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I. + </h2> + <h3> + GENERAL VIEW OF THE COUNTRY. + </h3> + <p> + “Behold the land of the Chaldaeans.”—ISAIAH xxiii. 13. + </p> + <p> + The broad belt of desert which traverses the eastern hemisphere, in a + general direction from west to east (or, speaking more exactly, of W. S. + W. to N. E. E.), reaching from the Atlantic on the one hand nearly to the + Yellow Sea on the other, is interrupted about its centre by a strip of + rich vegetation, which at once breaks the continuity of the arid region, + and serves also to mark the point where the desert changes its character + from that of a plain at a low level to that of an elevated plateau or + table-land. West of the favored district, the Arabian and African wastes + are seas of sand, seldom raised much above, often sinking below, the level + of the ocean; while east of the same, in Persia, Kerman, Seistan, Chinese + Tartary, and Mongolia, the desert consists of a series of plateaus, having + from 3000 to nearly 10,000 feet of elevation. The green and fertile + region, which is thus interposed between the “highland” and the “lowland” + deserts, participates, curiously enough, in both characters. Where the + belt of sand is intersected by the valley of the Nile, no marked change of + elevation occurs; and the continuous low desert is merely interrupted by a + few miles of green and cultivable surface, the whole of which is just as + smooth and as flat as the waste on either side of it. But it is otherwise + at the more eastern interruption. There the verdant and productive country + divides itself into two tracts, running parallel to each other, of which + the western presents features not unlike those that characterize the Nile + valley, but on a far larger scale; while the eastern is a lofty mountain + region, consisting for the most part of five or six parallel ranges, and + mounting in many places far above the level of perpetual snow. + </p> + <p> + It is with the western or plain tract that we are here concerned. Between + the outer limits of the Syro-Arabian desert and the foot of the great + mountain range of Kurdistan and Luristan intervenes a territory long + famous in the world’s history, and the chief site of three out of the five + empires of whose history, geography, and antiquities it is proposed to + treat in the present volumes. Known to the Jews as Aram-Naharaim, or + “Syria of the two rivers;” to the Greeks and Romans as Mesopotamia, or + “the between-river country;” to the Arabs as Al-Jezireh, or “the island,” + this district has always taken its name from the streams, which constitute + its most striking feature, and to which, in fact, it owes its existence. + If it were not for the two great rivers—the Tigris and Euphrates—with + their tributaries, the more northern part of the Mesopotamian lowland + would in no respect differ from the Syro-Arabian desert on which it + adjoins, and which in latitude, elevation, and general geological + character it exactly resembles. Towards the south, the importance of the + rivers is still greater; for of Lower Mesopotamia it may be said, with + more truth than of Egypt, that it is “an acquired land,” the actual “gift” + of the two streams which wash it on either side; being, as it is, entirely + a recent formation—a deposit which the streams have made in the + shallow waters of a gulf into which they have flowed for many ages. + </p> + <p> + The division, which has here forced itself upon our notice, between the + Upper and the Lower Mesopotamian country, is one very necessary to engage + our attention in connection with the ancient Chaldaea. There is no reason + to think that the terns Chaldaea had at anytime the extensive + signification of Mesopotamia, much less that it applied to the entire flat + country between the desert and the mountains. Chaldaea was not the whole, + but a part of, the great Mesopotamian plain; which was ample enough to + contain within it three or four considerable monarchies. According to the + combined testimony of geographers and historians, Chaldaea lay towards the + south, for it bordered upon the Persian Gulf; and towards the west, for it + adjoined Arabia. If we are called upon to fix more accurately its + boundaries, which, like those of most countries without strong natural + frontiers, suffered many fluctuations, we are perhaps entitled to say that + the Persian Gulf on the south, the Tigris on the east, the Arabian desert + on the west, and the limit between Upper and Lower Mesopotamia on the + north, formed the natural bounds, which were never greatly exceeded and + never much infringed upon. These boundaries are for the most part + tolerably clear, though the northern only is invariable. Natural causes, + hereafter to be mentioned more particularly, are perpetually varying the + course of the Tigris, the shore of the Persian Gulf, and the line of + demarcation between the sands of Arabia and the verdure of the Euphrates + valley. But nature has set a permanent mark, half way down the + Mesopotamian lowland, by a difference of geological structure, which is + very conspicuous. Near Hit on the Euphrates, and a little below Samarah on + the Tigris, the traveller who descends the streams, bids adieu to a + somewhat waving and slightly elevated plain of secondary formation, and + enters on the dead flat and low level of the mere alluvium. The line thus + formed is marked and invariable; it constitutes the only natural division + between the upper and lower portions of the valley; and both probability + and history point to it as the actual boundary between Chaldaea and her + northern neighbor. + </p> + <p> + The extent of ancient Chaldaea is, even after we have fixed its + boundaries, a question of some difficulty. From the edge of the alluvium a + little below Hit, to the present coast of the Persian Gulf at the mouth of + the Shat-el-Arab, is a distance of above 430 miles; while from the western + shore of the Bahr-i-Nedjif to the Tigris at Serut is a direct distance of + 185 miles. The present area of the alluvium west of the Tigris and the + Shat-el-Arab maybe estimated at about 30,000 square miles. But the extent + of ancient Chaldaea can scarcely have been so great. It is certain that + the alluvium at the head of the Persian Gulf now grows with extraordinary + rapidity, and not improbable that the growth may in ancient times have + been even more rapid than it is at present. Accurate observations have + shown that the present rate of increase amounts to as much as a mile each + seventy years, while it is the opinion of those best qualified to judge + that the average progress during the historic period has been as much as a + mile in every thirty years! Traces of post-tertiary deposits have been + found as far up the country as Tel Ede and Hammam, 10 or more than 200 + miles from the embouchure of the Shat-el-Arab; and there is ample reason + for believing that at the time when the first Chaldaean monarchy was + established, the Persian Gulf reached inland, 120 or 130 miles further + than at present. We must deduct therefore from the estimate of extent + grounded upon the existing state of things, a tract of land 130 miles long + and some 60 or 70 broad, which has been gained from the sea in the course + of about forty centuries. This deduction will reduce Chaldaea to a kingdom + of somewhat narrow limits; for it will contain no more than about 23,000 + square miles. This, it is true, exceeds the area of all ancient Greece, + including Thessaly, Acarnania, and the islands; it nearly equals that of + the Low Countries, to which Chaldaea presents some analogy; it is almost + exactly that of the modern kingdom of Denmark; but it is less than + Scotland, or Ireland, or Portugal, or Bavaria; it is more than doubled by + England, more than quadrupled by Prussia, and more than octupled by Spain, + France, and European Turkey. Certainly, therefore, it was not in + consequence of its size that Chaldaea became so important a country in the + early ages, but rather in consequence of certain advantages of the soil, + climate, and position, which will be considered in the next chapter. + </p> + <p> + It has been already noticed that in the ancient Chaldaea, the chief—almost + the sole-geographical features, were the rivers. Nothing is more + remarkable even now than the featureless character of the region, although + in the course of ages it has received from man some interruptions of the + original uniformity. On all sides a dead level extends itself, broken only + by single solitary mounds, the remains of ancient temples or cities, by + long lines of slightly elevated embankment marking the course of canals, + ancient or recent, and towards the south—by a few sand-hills. The + only further variety is that of color; for while the banks of the streams, + the marsh-grounds, and the country for a short distance on each side of + the canals in actual operation, present to the eye a pleasing, and in some + cases a luxuriant verdure; the rest, except in early spring, is parched + and arid, having little to distinguish it from the most desolate districts + of Arabia. Anciently, except for this difference, the tract must have + possessed all the wearisome uniformity of the steppe region; the level + horizon must have shown itself on all sides unbroken by a single + irregularity; all places must have appeared alike, and the traveller can + scarcely have perceived his progress, or have known whither or how to + direct his steps. The rivers alone, with their broad sweeps and bold + reaches, their periodical changes of swell and fall, their strength, + motion, and life-giving power, can have been objects of thought and + interest to the first inhabitants; and it is still to these that the + modern must turn who wishes to represent, to himself or others, the + general aspect and chief geographical divisions of the country. + </p> + <p> + The Tigris and Euphrates rise from opposite sides of the same + mountain-chain. This is the ancient range of Niphates (a prolongation of + Taurus), the loftiest of the many parallel ridges which intervene between + the Euxine and the Mesopotamian plain, and the only one which transcends + in many places the limits of perpetual snow. Hence its ancient + appellation, and hence its power to sustain unfailingly the two + magnificent streams which flow from it. The line of the Niphates is from + east to west, with a very slight deflection to the south of west; and the + streams thrown off from its opposite flanks, run at first in valleys + parallel to the chain itself, but in opposite directions, the Euphrates + flowing westward from its source near Ararat to Malatiyeh, while the + Tigris from Diarbekr “goes eastward to Assyria.” The rivers thus appear as + if never about to meet; but at Malatiyeh, the course of the Euphrates is + changed. Sweeping suddenly to the south-east, this stream passes within a + few miles of the source of the Tigris below Lake Goljik, and forces a way + through the mountains towards the south, pursuing a tortuous course, but + still seeming as if it intended ultimately to mingle its waters with those + of the Mediterranean. It is not till about Balis, in lat. 36 deg., that + this intention appears to be finally relinquished, and the convergence of + the two streams begins. The Euphrates at first flows nearly due east, but + soon takes a course which is, with few and unimportant deflections, about + south-east, as far as Suk-es-Sheioukh, after which it runs a little north + of east to Kurnah. The Tigris from Til to Mosul pursues also a + south-easterly course, and draws but a very little nearer to the + Euphrates. From Mosul, however, to Samarah, its course is only a point + east of south; and though, after that, for some miles it flows off to the + east, yet resuming, a little below the thirty-fourth parallel, its + southerly direction, it is brought about Baghdad within twenty miles of + the sister stream. From this point there is again a divergence. The course + of the Euphrates, which from Hit to the mounds of Mohammed (long. 44 deg.) + had been E.S.E., becomes much more southerly, while that of the Tigris—which, + as we have seen, was for awhile due south—becomes once more only + slightly south of east, till near Serut, where the distance between the + rivers has increased from twenty to a hundred miles. After passing + respectively Serut and El Khitr, the two streams converge rapidly. The + flow of the Euphrates is at first E. S. E., and then a little north of + east to Kurnah, while that of the Tigris is S.S.E. to the same point. The + lines of the streams in this last portion of their course, together with + that which may be drawn across from stream to stream, form nearly an + equilateral triangle, the distance being respectively 104, 110, and 115 + miles. So rapid is the final convergence of the two great rivers. + </p> + <p> + The Tigris and Euphrates are both streams of the first order. The + estimated length of the former, including main windings, is 1146 miles; + that of the latter is 1780 miles. Like most rivers that have their sources + in high mountain regions, they are strong from the first, and, receiving + in their early course a vast number of important tributaries, become broad + and deep streams before they issue upon the plains. The Euphrates is + navigable from Sumeisat (the ancient Samosata), 1200 miles above its + embouchure; and even 180 miles higher up, is a river “of imposing + appearance,” 120 yards wide and very deep. The Tigris is often 250 yards + wide at Diarbekr, which is not a hundred miles from its source, and is + navigable in the flood time from the bridge of Diarbekr to Mosul, from + which place it is descended at all seasons to Baghdad, and thence to the + sea. Its average width below Mosul is 200 yards, with a depth which allows + the ascent of light steamers, unless when there is an artificial + obstruction. Above Mosul the width rarely exceeds 150 yards, and the depth + is not more in places than three or four feet. The Euphrates is 250 yards + wide at Balbi, and averages 350 yards from its junction with the Khabour + to Hit: its depth is commonly from fifteen to twenty feet. Small steamers + have descended its entire course from Bir to the sea. The volume of the + Euphrates in places is, however, somewhat less than that of the Tigris, + which is a swifter and in its latter course a deeper stream. It has been + calculated that the quantity of water discharged every second by the + Tigris at Baghdad is 164,103 cubic feet, while that discharged by the + Euphrates at Hit is 72,804 feet. + </p> + <p> + The Tigris and Euphrates are very differently circumstanced with respect + to tributaries. So long as it runs among the Armenian mountains, the + Euphrates has indeed no lack of affluents; but these, except the Kara Su, + or northern Euphrates, are streams of no great volume, being chiefly + mountain-torrents which collect the drainage of very limited basins. After + it leaves the mountains and enters upon a low country at Sumefsat, the + affluents almost entirely cease; one, the river of Sajur, is received from + the right, in about lat. 36 deg. 40’; and two of more importance flow in + from the left-the Belik (ancient Bilichus), which joins it in long. 39 + deg. 9’; and the Khabour (ancient Habor or Chaboras), which effects a + junction in long. 40 deg. 30’, lat. 35 deg. 7’. The Belik and Khabour + collect the waters which flow from the southern flank of the mountain + range above Orfa, Mardin, and Nisibin, best known as the “Mons Masius” of + Strabo. They are not, however, streams of equal importance. The Belik has + a course which is nearly straight, and does not much exceed 120 miles. The + Khabour, on the contrary, is sufficiently sinuous, and its course may be + reckoned at fully 200 miles. It is navigable by rafts from the junction of + its two main branches near the volcanic cone of Koukab, and adds a + considerable body of water to the Euphrates. Below its confluence with + this stream, or during the last 800 miles of its course, the Euphrates + does not receive a single tributary. On the contrary, it soon begins to + give off its waters right and left, throwing out branches, which either + terminate in marshes, or else empty themselves into the Tigris. After + awhile, indeed, it receives compensation, by means of the Shat-el-Hie and + other branch streams, which bring back to it from the Tigris, between + Mugheir and Kurnah, the greater portion of the borrowed fluid. The Tigris, + on the contrary, is largely enriched throughout the whole of its course by + the waters of tributary streams. It is formed originally of three main + branches: the Diarbekr stream, or true Tigris, the Myafarekin River, and + the Bitlis Chai, or Centrites of Xenophon, which carries a greater body + than either of the other two. From its entry on the low country near + Jezireh to the termination of its course at Kurnah, it is continually + receiving from the left a series of most important additions. The chain of + Zagros, which, running parallel to the two main springs, shuts in the + Mesopotamian plain upon the east, abounds with springs, which are well + supplied during the whole summer from its snows, and these when collected + form rivers of large size and most refreshing coolness. The principal are, + the eastern Khabour, which joins the Tigris in lat. 37 deg. 12’: the Upper + Zabo which falls in by the ruins of Nimrud: the Lower Zab, which joins + some way below Kileh Sherghat: the Adhem, which unites its waters half way + between Samarah and Baghdad: and the Diyaleh (ancient Gyndes), which is + received between Baghdad and the ruins of Ctesiphon. + </p> + <p> + By the influx of these streams the Tigris continues to grow in depth and + strength as it nears the sea, and becomes at last (as we have seen) a + greater river than the Euphrates, which shrinks during the latter part of + its course, and is reduced to a volume very inferior to that which it once + boasted. The Euphrates at its junction with the Khabour, 700 miles above + Kurnah, is 400 yards wide and 18 feet deep; at Irzah or Verdi, 75 miles + lower down, it is 350 yards wide and of the same depth; at Hadiseh, 140 + miles below Werdi, it is 300 yards wide, and still of the same depth; at + Hit, 50 miles below Hadiseh, its width has increased to 350 yards, but its + depth has diminished to 16 feet; at Felujiah, 75 miles from Hit, the depth + is 20 feet, but the width has diminished to 250 yards. From this point the + contraction is very rapid and striking. The Saklawiyeh canal is given out + upon the left, and some way further down the Hindiyeh branches off upon + the right, each carrying, when the Euphrates is full, a large body of + water. The consequence is that at Hillah, 90 miles-below Felujiah, the + stream is no more than 200 yards wide and 15 feet deep; at Diwaniyeh, 65 + miles further down, it is only 160 yards wide; and at Lamlun, 20 miles + below Diwaniyeh, it is reduced to 120 yards wide, with a depth of no more + than 12 feet! Soon after, however, it begins to recover itself. The water, + which left it by the Hindiyeh, returns to it upon the one side, while the + Shat-el-Hie and numerous other branch streams from the Tigris flow in upon + the other; but still the Euphrates never recovers itself entirely, nor + even approaches in its later course to the standard of its earlier + greatness. The channel from Kurnah to El Khitr was found by Colonel + Chesney to have an average width of only 200 yards, and a depth of about + 18 or 19 feet, which implies a body of water far inferior to that carried + between the junction with the Khabour and Hit. More recently, the decline + of the stream in its latter course has been found to be even greater. + Neglect of the banks has allowed the river to spread itself more and more + widely over the land: and it is said that, except in the flood time, very + little of the Euphrates water reaches the sea. Nor is this an + unprecedented or very unusual state of things. From the circumstance + (probably) that it has been formed by the deposits of streams flowing from + the east as well as from the north, the lower Mesopotamian plain slopes + not only to the south, but to the west. The Euphrates, which has low + banks, is hence at all times inclined to leave its bed, and to flow off to + the right, where large tracts are below its ordinary level. Over these it + spreads itself, forming the well-known “Chaldaean marshes,” which absorb + the chief proportion of the water that flows into them, and in which the + “great river” seems at various times to have wholly, or almost wholly, + lost itself. No such misfortune can befall the Tigris, which runs in a + deep bed, and seldom varies its channel, offering a strong contrast to the + sister stream. + </p> + <p> + Frequent allusion has been made, in the course of this description of the + Tigris and Euphrates, to the fact of their having each a flood season. + Herodotus is scarcely correct when he says that in Babylonia “the river + does not, as in Egypt, overflow the corn-lands of its own accord, but is + spread over them by the help of engines.” Both the Tigris and Euphrates + rise many feet each spring, and overflow their banks in various places. + The rise is caused by the melting of the snows in the mountain regions + from which the two rivers and their affluents spring. As the Tigris drains + the southern, and the Euphrates the northern side of the same mountain + range, the flood of the former stream is earlier and briefer than that of + the latter. The Tigris commonly begins to rise early in March, and reaches + its greatest height in the first or second week of May, after which it + rapidly declines, and returns to its natural level by the middle of June. + The Euphrates first swells about the middle of March, and is not in full + flood till quite the end of May or the beginning of June; it then + continues high for above a month, and does not sink much till the middle + of July, after which it gradually falls till September. The country + inundated by the Tigris is chiefly that on its lower course, between the + 32d and 31st parallels, the territory of the Beni Lam Arabs. The territory + which the Euphrates floods is far more extensive. As high up as its + junction with the Khabour, that stream is described as, in the month of + April, “spreading over the surrounding country like a sea.” From Hit + downwards, it inundates both its banks, more especially the country above + Baghdad (to which it is carried by the Saklawiyeh canal), the tract west + of the Birs Nimrud and extending thence by way of Nedjif to Samava and the + territory of the Affej Arabs, between the rivers above and below the 32d + parallel. Its flood is, however, very irregular, owing to the nature of + its banks, and the general inclination of the plain, whereof mention was + made above. If care is taken, the inundation may be pretty equally distrib + uted on either side of the stream; but if the river banks are neglected, + it is sure to flow mainly to the west, rendering the whole country on that + side the river a swamp, and leaving the territory on the left bank almost + without water. This state of things may be traced historically from the + age of Alexander to the present day, and has probably prevailed more or + less since the time when Chaldaea received its first inhabitants. + </p> + <p> + The floods of the Tigris and Euphrates combine with the ordinary action of + their streams upon their banks to produce a constant variation in their + courses, which in a long period of time might amount to something very + considerable. It is impossible to say, with respect to any portion of the + alluvial plain, that it may not at some former period have been the bed of + one or the other river. Still it would seem that, on the whole, a law of + compensation prevails, with the result that the general position of the + streams in the valley is not very different now from what it was 4000 + years ago. Certainly between the present condition of things and that in + the time of Alexander, or even of Herodotus, no great difference can be + pointed out, except in the region immediately adjoining on the gulf, where + the alluvium has grown, and the streams, which were formerly separate, + have united their waters. The Euphrates still flows by Hit and through + Babylon; the Tigris passes near Opis, and at Baghdad runs at the foot of + an embankment made to confine it by Nebuchadnezzar. The changes traceable + are less in the main courses than in the branch streams, which perpetually + vary, being sometimes left dry within a few years of the time that they + have been navigable channels. + </p> + <p> + The most important variations of this kind are on the side of Arabia. Here + the desert is always ready to encroach; and the limits of Chaldaea itself + depend upon the distance from the main river, to which some branch stream + conveys the Euphrates water. In the most flourishing times of the country, + a wide and deep channel, branching off near Hit, at the very commencement + of the alluvium, has skirted the Arabian rock and gravel for a distance of + several hundred miles, and has entered the Persian Gulf by a mouth of its + own. In this way the extent of Chaldaea has been at times largely + increased, a vast tract being rendered cultivable, which is otherwise + either swamp or desert. + </p> + <p> + Such are the chief points of interest connected with the two great + Mesopotamian rivers. These form, as has been already observed, the only + marked and striking characteristics of the country, which, except for + them, and for one further feature, which now requires notice, would be + absolutely unvaried and uniform. On the Arabian side of the Euphrates, 50 + miles south of the ruins of Babylon, and 25 or 30 miles from the river, is + a fresh-water lake of very considerable dimensions—the + Bahr-i-Nedjif, the “Assyrium stagnum” of Justin. This is a natural basin, + 40 miles long, and from 10 to 20 miles broad, enclosed on three sides by + sandstone cliffs, varying from 20 to 200 feet in height, and shut in on + the fourth side—the north-east—by a rocky ridge, which + intervenes between the valley of the Euphrates and this inland sea. The + cliffs are water-worn, presenting distinct indications of more than one + level at which the water has rested in former times. At the season of the + inundation this lake is liable to be confounded with the extensive floods + and marshes which extend continuously from the country west of the Birs + Nimrud to Samava. But at other tines the distinction between the Bahr and + the marshes is very evident, the former remaining when the latter + disappear altogether, and not diminishing very greatly in size even in the + driest season. The water of the lake is fresh and sweet, so long as it + communicates with the Euphrates; when the communication is cut off it + becomes very unpalatable, and those who dwell in the vicinity are no + longer able to drink it. This result is attributed to the connection of + the lake with rocks of the gypsiferous series. + </p> + <p> + It is obvious that the only natural divisions of Chaldaea a proper are + those made by the river-courses. The principal tract must always have been + that which intervenes between the two streams. This was anciently a + district some 300 miles in length, varying from 20 to 100 miles in + breadth, and perhaps averaging 50 miles, which must thus have contained an + area of about 15,000 square miles. The tract between the Euphrates and + Arabia was at all times smaller than this, and in the most flourishing + period of Chaldaea must have fallen short of 10,000 square miles. + </p> + <p> + We have no evidence that the natural division of Chaldaea here indicated + was ever employed in ancient times for political purposes. The division + which appears to have been so employed was one into northern and southern + Chaldaea, the first extending from Hit to a little below Babylon, the + second from Niffer to the shores of the Persian Gulf. In each of these + districts we have a sort of tetrarchy, or special pre-eminence of four + cities, such as appears to be indicated by the words—“The beginning + of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad and Calneh, in the land of + Shinar.” The southern tetrarchy is composed of the four cities, Ur or Hur, + Huruk, Nipur, and Larsa or Larancha, which are probably identified with + the Scriptural “Ur of the Chaldees,” Erech, Calneh, and Ellasar. The + northern consists of Babel or Babylon, Borsippa, Cutha, and Sippara, of + which all except Borsippa are mentioned in Scripture. Besides these cities + the country contained many others,—as Chilmad, Dur-Kurri-galzu, Ihi + or Ahava, Rubesi, Duran, Tel-Humba, etc. It is not possible at present to + locate with accuracy all these places. We may, however, in the more + important instances, fix either certainly, or with a very high degree of + probability, their position. + </p> + <p> + Hur or Ur, the most important of the early capitals, was situated on the + Euphrates, probably at no great distance from its mouth. It was probably + the chief commercial emporium in the early times; as in the bilingual + vocabularies its ships are mentioned in connection with those of Ethiopia. + The name is found to have attached to the extensive ruins (now about six + miles from the river, on its right bank, and nearly opposite its junction + with the Shat-el-Hie) which are known by the name of Mugheir, or “the + bitumened.” Hereon a dead flat, broken only by a few sand-hills, are + traces of a considerable town, consisting chiefly of a series of low + mounds, disposed in an oval shape, the largest diameter of which runs from + north to south, and measures somewhat more than half a mile. The chief + building is a temple, hereafter to be more particularly described, which + is a very conspicuous object even at a considerable distance, its greatest + height above the plain being about seventy feet. It is built in a very + rude fashion, of large bricks, cemented with bitumen, whence the name by + which the Arabs designate the ruins. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0001" id="linkimage-0001"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/plate001.jpg" width="100%" alt="Plate 1 " /> + </div> + <p> + About thirty miles from Hur, in a north-westerly direction, and on the + other side of the Euphrates, from which it is distant eight or nine miles, + are the ruins of a town, called in the inscriptions Larrak, or Larsa, in + which some of the best Orientalists have recognized at once the Biblical + Ellasar, the Laranchue of Berosus, and the Larissa of Apollodorus, where + the king held his court who sent Memnon to the siege of Troy. The + identification is perhaps doubtful; but, at any rate, we have here the + remains of a second Chaldaean capital, dating from the very earliest + times. The ruins, which bear now the name of Senkereh or Sinkara, consist + of a low circular platform, about four and a half miles in circumference, + rising gradually from the level of the plain to a central mound, the + highest point of which attains an elevation of seventy feet above the + plain itself, and is distinctly visible from a distance of fifteen miles. + The material used consists of the ordinary sun-dried and baked bricks; and + the basement platforms bear the inscriptions of the same king who appears + to have been the original founder of the chief buildings at Ur or Mugheir. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0002" id="linkimage-0002"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/plate002.jpg" width="100%" alt="Plate 2 " /> + </div> + <p> + Fifteen miles from Larsa, in a direction a little north of west, and on + the same side of the river, are ruins considerably more extensive than + those of either Ur or Larsa, to which the natives apply the name of Warka, + which is no doubt a corruption of the original appellation. The Erech, or + Orech, of the Hebrews, which appears as Huruk in the cuneiform + geographical lists, became known to the Greeks as Orchoe; and this + appellation, probably continuing in use to the time of the Arab conquest, + was then corrupted into Urka or Warka, in which shape the name given by + Nimrod still attaches to the second of his cities. The ruins stand in lat. + 31 deg. 19’, long. 45 deg. 40’, about four miles from the nearest bend of + the Euphrates, on its left or east bank. They form an irregular circle, + nearly six miles in circumference, which is defined by the traces of an + earthen rampart, in some places forty feet high. A vast mass of undulating + mounds, intersected by innumerable channels and ravines, extends almost + entirely across the circular space, in a direction, which is nearly north + and south, abutting at either end upon the rampart. East and west of this + mass is a comparatively open space, where the mounds are scattered and + infrequent; while outside the rampart are not only a number of detached + hillocks marking the site of ancient buildings, but in one direction—towards + the east—the city may be traced continuously by means of ruined + edifices, mounds, and pottery, fully three miles beyond the rampart into + the desert. The greatest height of the ruins is about 100 feet; their + construction is very rude and primitive, the date of some buildings being + evidently as early as that of the most ancient structures of either + Mugheir or Senkereh. + </p> + <p> + Sixty miles to the north-west of these ruins, still on the left or eastern + bank of the Euphrates, but at the distance of thirty miles from its + present course, are the remains of another city, the only Chaldaean ruins + which can dispute, with those already described, the palm of antiquity. + They consist of a number of separate and distinct heaps, which seem to be + the remains of different buildings, and are divided into two nearly equal + groups by a deep ravine or channel 120 feet wide, apparently the dry bed + of a river which once ran through the town. Conspicuous among the other + hillocks is a conical heap, occupying a central position on the eastern + side of the river-bed, and rising to the height of about seventy feet + above the general level of the plain. Further on in this direction is a + low continuous mound, which seems to be a portion of the outer wall of the + city. The ruins are of considerable extent, but scarcely so large as those + at either Senkereh or Warka. The name which now attaches to them is + Niffer: and it appears, from the inscriptions at the place, that the + ancient Semitic appellation was but slightly different. This name, as read + on the bilingual tablets, was Nipur; and as there can be little doubt that + it is this word which appears in the Talmud as Nopher, we are perhaps + entitled, on the authority of that treasure-house of Hebrew traditions, to + identify these ruins with the Calneh of Moses, and the Calno of Isaiah. + </p> + <p> + About sixty-five miles from Niffer, on the opposite side of the Euphrates, + and in a direction only slightly north of west, are the remains of the + ancient Borsippa. These consist of little more than the ruins of a single + building—the great temple of Merodach—which was entirely + rebuilt by Nebuchadnezzar. They have been sometimes regarded as really a + portion of the ancient Babylon; but this view is wholly incompatible with + the cuneiform records, which distinctly assign to the ruins in question + the name of Borsip or Borsippa, a place known with certainty to have been + distinct from, though in the neighborhood of, the capital. A remnant of + the ancient name appears to be contained in the modern appellation, + Birs-Nimrud or Birsi-Nimrud, which does not admit of any explanation from + the existing language of the country. + </p> + <p> + Fifteen miles from thence, to the north-east, chiefly but not entirely on + the left or east bank of the Euphrates, are the remains of “Babylon the + Great,” which have been so frequently described by travellers, that little + need be said of them in this place. The chief ruins cover a space about + three miles long, and from one to two broad, and consist mainly of three + great masses: the first a square mound, called “Babil” by the Arabs, lying + towards the north at some distance from the other remains; the second or + central mound, a pile called the “Kasr” or Palace; and the third, a great + irregular heap lying towards the south, known as the “mound of Amram,” + from a tomb which crowns its summit. The “Kasr” and “Amram” mounds are + enclosed within two lines of rampart, lying at right angles to each other, + and forming, with the river, a sort of triangle, within which all the + principal ruins are comprised, except the mound called “Babil”. Beyond the + rampart, towards the north, south, and east, and also across the river to + the west, are various smaller detached ruins, while the whole ground, in + every direction, is covered with fragments of brick and with nitre, the + sure marks of former habitations. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0003" id="linkimage-0003"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/plate003.jpg" width="100%" alt="Plate 3 " /> + </div> + <p> + The other cities of ancient Chaldaea which may be located with an approach + to certainty, are Cutha, now Ibrahim, fifteen miles north-east by north of + Hymar; Sippara or Sepharvaim, which was at Sura, near Mosaib on the + Euphrates, about twenty miles above Babylon by the direct route; and + Dur-Kurri-galzu, now Akkerkuf, on the Saklawiyeh canal, six miles from + Baghdad, and thirty from Mosaib, in a direction a little west of north. <a + href="#linkimage-0003">[PLATE III., Fig. 1.]</a> Ihi, or Ahava, is + probably Hit, ninety miles above Mosaib, on the right bank of the river; + Chilmad may be Kalwadha, near Baghdad; and Rubesi is perhaps Zerghul, near + the left bank of the Shat-el-Hie, a little above its confluence with the + Euphrates. Chaldaean cities appear likewise to have existed at Hymar, ten + miles from Babylon towards the east; at Sherifeh and Im Khithr, south and + south-east of Hymar; at Zibbliyeh, on the line of the Nil canal, fifteen + miles north-west of Niffer; at Delayhim and Bisrniya, in the Affej + marshes, beyond Niffer, to the south-east; at Phara and Jidr, in the same + region, to the south-west and south-east of Bismiya; at Hammam <a + href="#linkimage-0003">[PLATE III., Fig. 2]</a>, sixteen miles south-east + of Phara, between the Affej and the Shatra marshes; at Tel-Ede, six miles + from Hammam, to the south-south-west <a href="#linkimage-0004">[PLATE IV., + Fig. 2]</a>; at Tel-Medineh and Tel-Sifr, in the Shatra marshes, to the + south-east of Tel-Ede and the north-east of Senkereh; at Yokha, east of + Hammam, and Nuffdyji, north of Warka; at Lethami, near Niffer; at + Iskhuriyeh, north of Zibbliyeh, near the Tigris; at Tel-Kheir and + Tel-Dhalab, in the upper part of the alluvium, to the north of Akkerkuf; + at Duair, on the right bank of the Euphrates, south of Hilleh and + south-east of the Birs-Nimrud; at Jeb Mehari, south of the Bahr-i-Nedjif; + at Mal Battush, near Swaje; at Tel-el-Lahm, nine or ten miles south of + Suk-es-Sheioukh, and at Abu Shahrein, in the same neighborhood, on the + very border of the Arabian Desert. Further investigation will probably add + largely to this catalogue, for many parts of Babylonia are still to some + extent unexplored. This is especially true of the tract between the + Shat-el-Hie and the lower Tigris, a district which, according to the + geographers, abounds with ruins. No doubt the most extensive and most + striking of the old cities have been visited; for of these Europeans are + sure to hear through the reports of natives. But it is more than probable + that a number of the most interesting sites remain unexplored, and even + unvisited; for these are not always either very extensive or very + conspicuous. The process of gradual disintegration is continually lowering + the height of the Chaldaean ruins; and depressed mounds are commonly the + sign of an ancient and long-deserted city. Such remains give us an insight + into the character of the early people, which it is impossible to obtain + from ruins where various populations have raised their fabrics in + succession upon the same spot. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0004" id="linkimage-0004"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/plate004.jpg" width="100%" alt="Plate 4 " /> + </div> + <p> + The cities here enumerated may not perhaps, in all cases, have existed in + the Chaldaean period. The evidence hitherto obtained connects distinctly + with that period only the following—Babylon, Ur or Hur, Larrak or + Larsa, Erech or Huruk, Calneh or Nopher, Sippara, Dur-Kurri-galzu, + Chilmad, and the places now called Abu Shahrein and Tel-Sifr. These sites, + it will be observed, were scattered over the whole territory from the + extreme south almost to the extreme north, and show the extent of the + kingdom to have been that above assigned to it. They are connected + together by a similarity in building arrangements and materials, in + language, in form of type and writing, and sometimes in actual names of + monarchs. The most ancient, apparently, are those towards the south, at + Warka, Senkereh, Mugheir, and Niffer; and here, in the neighborhood of the + sea, which then probably reached inland as far as Suk-es-Sheioukh, there + is sufficient reason to place the primitive seat of Chaldaean power. The + capital of the whole region was at first Ur or Hur, but afterwards became + Nipur, and finally Babel or Babylon. + </p> + <p> + The geography of Chaldaea is scarcely complete without a glance at the + countries which adjoin upon it. On the west, approaching generally within + twenty or thirty miles of the present course of the Euphrates, is the + Arabian Desert, consisting in this place of tertiary sand and gravels, + having a general elevation of a few feet above the Mesopotamian plain, and + occasionally rising into ridges of no great height, whose direction is + parallel to the course of the great stream. Such are the Hazem and the + Qassaim, in the country between the Bahr-i-Nedjif and the Persian Gulf, + low pebbly ridges which skirt the valley from the Bahr to below + Suk-es-Sheioukh. Further west the desert becomes more stony, its surface + being strewn with numerous blocks of black granite, from which it derives + its appellation of Hejerra. No permanent streams water this region; + occasional “wadys” or torrent-courses, only full after heavy rains, are + found; but the scattered inhabitants depend for water chiefly on their + wells, which are deep and numerous, but yield only a scanty supply of a + brackish and unpalatable fluid. No settled population can at any time have + found subsistence in this region, which produces only a few dates, and in + places a poor and unsucculent herbage. Sandstorms are frequent, and at + times the baleful simoon sweeps across the entire tract, destroying with + its pestilential breath both men and animals. + </p> + <p> + Towards the north Chaldaea adjoined upon Assyria. From the foot of that + moderately lofty range already described which the Greeks call Masius, and + the modern Turks know as Jebel Tur and Karajah Dagh, extends, for above + 300 miles, a plain of low elevation, slightly undulating in places, and + crossed about its centre by an important limestone ridge, known as the + Sinjar hills, which have a direction nearly east and west, beginning about + Mosul, and terminating a little below Rakkah. This track differs from the + Chaldaean lowland, by being at once less flat and more elevated. + Geologically it is of secondary formation, while Chaldaea proper is + tertiary or post-tertiary. It is fairly watered towards the north, but + below the Sinjar is only very scantily supplied. In modern times it is for + nine months in the year a desert, but anciently it was well inhabited, + means having apparently been found to bring the whole into cultivation. As + a complete account of this entire region must be given in another part of + the present volume, this outline (it is thought) may suffice for our + present purpose. + </p> + <p> + Eastward of Chaldaea, separated from it by the Tigris, which in its lower + course is a stream of more body than the Euphrates, was the country known + to the Jews as Elam, to the early Greeks as Cissia, and to the later + Greeks as Susis or Susiana. This territory comprised a portion of the + mountain country which separates Mesopotamia from Persia; but it was + chiefly composed of the broad and rich flats intervening between the + mountains and the Tigris, along the courses of the Kerkhah, Kuran, and + Jerahi rivers. It was a rich and fertile tract, resembling Chaldaea in its + general character, with the exception that the vicinity of the mountains + lent it freshness, giving it cooler streams, more frequent rains, and + pleasanter breezes. + </p> + <p> + Capable of maintaining with ease a dense population, it was likely, in the + early times, to be a powerful rival to the Mesopotamian kingdom, over + which we shall find that in fact it sometimes exercised supremacy. + </p> + <p> + On the south Chaldaea had no neighbor. Here a spacious sea, with few + shoals, land-locked, and therefore protected from the violent storms of + the Indian Ocean, invited to commerce, offering a ready communication with + India and Ceylon, as well as with Arabia Felix, Ethiopia, and Egypt. It is + perhaps to this circumstance of her geographical position, as much as to + any other, that ancient Chaldaea owes her superiority over her neighbors, + and her right to be regarded as one of the five great monarchies of the + ancient world. Commanding at once the sea, which reaches here deep into + the land, and the great rivers by means of which the commodities of the + land were most conveniently brought down to the sea, she lay in the + highway of trade, and could scarcely fail to profit by her position. There + is sufficient reason to believe that Ur, the first capital, was a great + maritime emporium; and if so, it can scarcely be doubted that to commerce + and trade, at the least in part, the early development of Chaldaean + greatness was owing. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II. + </h2> + <h3> + CLIMATE AND PRODUCTIONS. + </h3> + <p> + “Ager totius Asiae fertilissimus.”—PLIN. H. N. vi. 26. + </p> + <p> + Lower Mesopotamia, or Chaldaea, which lies in the same latitude with + Central China, the Punjab, Palestine, Marocco, Georgia, Texas, and Central + California, has a climate the warmth of which is at least equal to that of + any of those regions. Even in the more northern part of the country, the + district about Baghdad, the thermometer often rises during the summer to + 120 deg. of Fahrenheit in the shade; and the inhabitants are forced to + retreat to their <i>serdabs</i> or cellars, where they remain during the + day, in an atmosphere which, by the entire exclusion of the sun’s rays, is + reduced to about 100 deg. Lower down the valley, at Zobair, Busrah, and + Mohammrah, the summer temperature is still higher; and, owing to the + moisture of the atmosphere, consequent on the vicinity of the sea, the + heat is of that peculiarly oppressive character which prevails on the + sea-coast of Hindustan, in Ceylon, in the West Indian Islands, at New + Orleans, and in other places whose situation is similar. The vital powers + languish under this oppression, which produces in the European a lassitude + of body and a prostration of mind that wholly unfit him for active duties. + On the Asiatic, however, these influences seem to have little effect. The + Cha’b Arabs, who at present inhabit the region, are a tall and warlike + race, strong-limbed, and muscular; they appear to enjoy the climate, and + are as active, as healthy, and as long-lived as any tribe of their nation. + But if man by long residence becomes thoroughly inured to the intense heat + of these regions, it is otherwise with the animal creation. Camels sicken, + and birds are so distressed by the high temperature that they sit in the + date-trees about Baghdad, with their mouths open, panting for fresh air. + </p> + <p> + The evils proceeding from a burning temperature are augmented in places + under the influence of winds, which, arising suddenly, fill the air with + an impalpable sand, sometimes circling about a point, sometimes driving + with furious force across a wide extent of country. The heated particles, + by their contact with the atmosphere, increase its fervid glow, and, + penetrating by the nose and mouth, dry up the moisture of the tongue, + parch the throat, and irritate or even choke the lungs. Earth and sky are + alike concealed by the dusty storm, through which no object can be + distinguished that is removed many yards; a lurid gleam surrounds the + traveller, and seems to accompany him as he moves: every landmark is hid + from view; and to the danger of suffocation is added that of becoming + bewildered and losing all knowledge of the road. Such are the perils + encountered in the present condition of the country. It may be doubted, + however, if in the times with which we are here concerned the evils just + described had an existence. The sands of Chaldaea, which are still + progressive and advancing, seem to have reached it from the Arabian + Desert, to which they properly belong: year by year the drifts gain upon + the alluvium, and threaten to spread over the whole country. If we may + calculate the earlier by the present rate of progress, we must conclude + that anciently these shifting sands had at any rate not crossed the + Euphrates. + </p> + <p> + If the heat of summer be thus fierce and trying, the cold of winter must + be pronounced to be very moderate. Frost, indeed, is not unknown in the + country: but the frosts are only slight. Keen winds blow from the north, + and in the morning the ground is often whitened by the congelation of the + dew; the Arabs, impatient of a low temperature, droop and flag; but there + is at no time any severity of cold; ice rarely forms in the marshes; snow + is unknown; and the thermometer, even on the grass, does not often sink + below 30 deg. The Persian kings passed their winter in Babylon, on account + of the mildness of the climate; and Indian princes, expelled from the + Peninsula, are wont, from a similar cause, to fix their residence at + Busrah or Baghdad. The cold of which travellers speak is relative rather + than positive. The range of the thermometer in Lower Chaldoea is perhaps + 100 deg., whereas in England it is scarcely 80 deg., there is thus a + greater difference between the heat of summer and the cold of winter there + than here; but the actual greatest cold—that which benumbs the Arabs + and makes them fall from their horses—is no more than we often + experience in April, or even in May. + </p> + <p> + The rainy season of Chaldaea is in the winter time. Heavy showers fall in + November, and still more in December, which sensibly raise the level of + the rivers. As the spring advances the showers become lighter and less + frequent; but still they recur from time to time, until the summer sets + in, about May. From May to November rain is very rare indeed. The sky + continues for weeks or even months without a cloud; and the sun’s rays are + only tempered for a short time at morning and at evening by a gray mist or + haze. It is during these months that the phenomenon of the mirage is most + remarkable. The strata of air, unequally heated, and therefore differing + in rarity, refract the rays of light, fantastically enlarging and + distorting the objects seen through them, which frequently appear raised + from the ground and hanging in mid-air, or else, by a repetition of their + image, which is reflected in a lower stratum, give the impression that + they stand up out of a lake. Hence the delusion which has so often driven + the traveller to desperation—the “image of a cool, rippling, watery + mirror,” which flies before him as he advances, and at once provokes and + mocks his thirst. + </p> + <p> + The fertility of Chaldaea in ancient times was proverbial. + </p> + <p> + “Of all countries that we know,” says Herodotus, “there is none that is so + fruitful in grain. It makes no pretension, indeed, of growing the fig, the + olive, the vine, or any other tree of the kind; but in grain it is so + fruitful as to yield commonly two hundred-fold, and when the production is + at the greatest, even three hundred-fold. The blade of the wheat-plant and + of the barley-plant is often four fingers in breadth. As for the millet + and the sesame, I shall not say to what height they grow, though within my + own knowledge; for I am not ignorant that what I have already written + concerning the fruitfulness of Babylonia must seem incredible to those who + have not visited the country.” Theophrastus, the disciple of Aristotle, + remarks—“In Babylon the wheat-fields are regularly mown twice, and + then fed off with beasts, to keep down the luxuriance of the leaf; + otherwise the plant does not run to ear. When this is done, the return, in + lands that are badly cultivated, is fifty-fold; while, in those that are + well farmed, it is a hundred-fold.” Strabo observes—“The country + produces barley on a scale not known elsewhere, for the return is said to + be three hundred-fold. All other wants are supplied by the palm, which + furnishes not only bread, but wine, vinegar, honey, and meal.” Pliny + follows Theophrastus, with the exception that he makes the return of the + wheat-crop, where the land is well farmed, a hundred and fifty-fold. The + wealth of the region was strikingly exhibited by the heavy demands which + were made upon it by the Persian kings, as well as by the riches which, + notwithstanding these demands, were accumulated in the hands of those who + administered its government. The money-tribute paid by Babylonia and + Assyria to the Persians was a thousand talents of silver (nearly a quarter + of a million of our money) annually; while the tribute in kind was + reckoned at one third part of the contributions of the whole empire. Yet, + despite this drain on its resources, the government was regarded as the + best that the Persian king had to bestow, and the wealth accumulated by + Babylonian satraps was extraordinary. Herodotus tells us of a certain + Tritanteechmes, a governor, who, to his own knowledge, derived from his + province nearly two bushels of silver daily! This fortunate individual had + a “stud of sixteen thousand mares, with a proportionate number of horses.” + Another evidence of the fertility of the region may be traced in the fear + of Artaxerxes Mnemon, after the battle of Cunaxa, lest the Ten Thousand + should determine to settle permanently in the vicinity of Sittace upon the + Tigris. Whatever opinion may be held as to the exact position of this + place, and of the district intended by Xenophon, it is certain that it was + in the alluvial plain and so contained within the limits of the ancient + Chaldaea. + </p> + <p> + Modern travellers, speaking of Chaldaea in its present condition, express + themselves less enthusiastically than the ancients; but, on the whole, + agree with them as to the natural capabilities of the country. “The soil,” + says one of the most judicious, “is extremely fertile, producing great + quantities of rice, dates, and grain of different kinds, though it is not + cultivated to above half the degree of which it is susceptible.” “The soil + is rich,” says another, “not less bountiful than that on the banks of the + Egyptian Nile.” “Although greatly changed by the neglect of man,” observes + a third, “those portions of Mesopotamia which are still cultivated, as the + country about Hillah, show that the region has all the fertility ascribed + to it by Herodotus.” There is a general recognition of the productive + qualities of the district, combined with a general lamentation over the + existing neglect and apathy which allow such gifts of Nature to run to + waste. Cultivation, we are told, is now the exception, instead of the + rule. “Instead of the luxuriant fields, the groves and gardens of former + times, nothing now meets the eye but an arid waste.” Many parts of + Chaldaea, naturally as productive as any others, are at present pictures + of desolation. Large tracts are covered by unwholesome marshes, producing + nothing but enormous reeds; others lie waste and bare, parched up by the + fierce heat of the sun, and utterly destitute of water; in some places, as + has been already mentioned, sand-drifts accumulate, and threaten to make + the whole region a mere portion of the desert. + </p> + <p> + The great cause of this difference between ancient and modern Chaldaea is + the neglect of the water-courses. Left to themselves, the rivers tend to + desert some portions of the alluvium wholly, which then become utterly + unproductive; while they spread themselves out over others, which are + converted thereby into pestilential swamps. A well-arranged system of + embankments and irrigating canals is necessary in order to develop the + natural capabilities of the country, and to derive from the rich soil of + this vast alluvium the valuable and varied products which it can be made + to furnish. + </p> + <p> + Among the natural products of the region two stand out as pre-eminently + important-the wheat-plant and the date-palm. <a href="#linkimage-0004">[PLATE + IV., Fig. 2.]</a> According to the native tradition, wheat was indigenous + in Chaldaea; and the first comers thus found themselves provided by the + bountiful hand of Nature with the chief necessary of life. The luxuriance + of the plant was excessive. Its leaves were as broad as the palm of a + man’s hand, and its tendency to grow leaves was so great that (as we have + seen) the Babylonians used to mow it twice and then pasture their cattle + on it for awhile, to keep down the blade and induce the plant to run to + ear. The ultimate return was enormous; on the most moderate computation it + amounted to fifty-fold at the least, and often to a hundred-fold. The + modern oriental is content, even in the case of a rich soil, with a + tenfold return. + </p> + <p> + The date-palm was at once one of the most valuable and one of the most + ornamental products of the country. “Of all vegetable forms,” says the + greatest of modern naturalists, “the palm is that to which the prize of + beauty has been assigned by the concurrent voice of nations in all ages.” + And though the date-palm is in form perhaps less graceful and lovely than + some of its sister species, it possesses in the dates themselves a beauty + which they lack. These charming yellow clusters, semi-transparent, which + the Greeks likened to amber, and moderns compare to gold, contrast, both + in shade and tint, with the green feathery branches beneath whose shade + they hang, and give a richness to the landscape they adorn which adds + greatly to its attractions. And the utility of the palm has been at all + times proverbial. A Persian poem celebrated its three hundred and sixty + uses. The Greeks, with more moderation, spoke of it as furnishing the + Babylonians with bread, wine, vinegar, honey, groats, string and ropes of + all kinds, firing, and a mash for fattening cattle. The fruit was + excellent, and has formed at all times an important article of nourishment + in the country. It was eaten both fresh and dried, forming in the latter + case a delicious sweetmeat. The wine, “sweet but headachy,” was probably + not the spirit which it is at present customary to distil from the dates, + but the slightly intoxicating drink called <i>lagby</i> in North Africa, + which may be drawn from the tree itself by decapitating it, and suffering + the juice to flow. The vinegar was perhaps the same fluid corrupted, or it + may have been obtained from the dates. The honey was palm-sugar, likewise + procurable from the sap. How the groats were obtained we do not know; but + it appears that the pith of the palm was eaten formerly in Babylonia, and + was thought to have a very agreeable flavor. Ropes were made from the + fibres of the bark; and the wood was employed for building and furniture. + It was soft, light and easily worked; but tough, strong and fibrous. + </p> + <p> + The cultivation of the date-palm was widely extended in Chaldaea, probably + from very early times. The combination of sand, moisture, and a moderately + saline soil, in which it delights, was there found in perfection, more + especially in the lower country, which had but recently been reclaimed + from the sea. Even now, when cultivation is almost wholly laid aside, a + thick forest of luxuriant date-trees clothes the banks of the Euphrates on + either side, from the vicinity of Mugheir to its embouchure at the head of + the Persian Gulf. Anciently the tract was much more generally wooded with + them. “Palm-trees grow in numbers over the whole of the flat country,” + says one of the most observant and truthful of travellers—Herodotus. + According to the historians of Julian, a forest of verdure extended from + the upper edge of the alluvium, which he crossed, to Mesene, and the + shores of the sea. When the Arabian conquerors settled themselves in the + lower country, they were so charmed with the luxuriant vegetation and the + abundant date-groves, that they compared the region with the country about + Damascus and reckoned it among their four earthly paradises. The + propagation of the date-palm was chiefly from seed. In Chaldaea, however, + it was increased sometimes from suckers or offshoots thrown up from the + stem of the old tree; at other times by a species of cutting, the entire + head being struck off with about three feet of stem, notched, and then + planted in moist ground. Several varieties of the tree were cultivated; + but one was esteemed above all the rest, both for the size and flavor of + the fruit. It bore the name of “Royal,” and grew only in one place near + Babylon. + </p> + <p> + Beside these two precious products, Chaldaea produced excellent barley, + millet, sesame, vetches and fruits of all kinds. It was, however, + deficient in variety of trees, possessing scarcely any but the palm and + the cypress. Pomegranates, tamarisks, poplars, and acacias are even now + almost the only trees besides the two above mentioned, to be found between + Samarah and the Persian Gulf. The tamarisk grows chiefly as a shrub along + the rivers, but sometimes attains the dimensions of a tree, as in the case + of the “solitary tree” still growing upon the ruins of Babylon. The + pomegranates with their scarlet flowers, and the acacias with their light + and graceful foliage, ornament the banks of the streams, generally + intermingled with the far more frequent palm, while oranges, apples, + pears, and vines are successfully cultivated in the gardens and orchards. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0005" id="linkimage-0005"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/plate005.jpg" width="100%" alt="Plate 5 " /> + </div> + <p> + Among the vegetable products of Chaldaea must be noticed, as almost + peculiar to the region, its enormous reeds. <a href="#linkimage-0005">[PLATE + V.]</a> These, which are represented with much spirit in the sculptures of + Sennacherib, cover the marshes in the summer-time, rising often to the + height of fourteen or fifteen feet. The Arabs of the marsh region form + their houses of this material, binding the stems of the reeds together, + and bending them into arches, to make the skeleton of their buildings; + while, to form the walls, they stretch across from arch to arch mats made + of the leaves. From the same fragile substance they construct their <i>terradas</i> + or light boats, which, when rendered waterproof by means of bitumen, will + support the weight of three or four men. + </p> + <p> + In mineral products Chaldaea was very deficient indeed. The alluvium is + wholly destitute of metals, and even of stone, which must be obtained, if + wanted, from the adjacent countries. The neighboring parts of Arabia could + furnish sandstone and the more distant basalt; which appears to have been + in fact transported occasionally to the Chaldaean Cities. Probably, + however, the chief importation of stone was by the rivers, whose waters + would readily convey it to almost any part of Chaldaea from the regions + above the alluvium. This we know to have been done in some cases, but the + evidence of the ruins makes it clear that such importation was very + limited. The Chaldaeans found, in default of stone, a very tolerable + material in their own country; which produced an inexhaustible supply of + excellent clay, easily moulded into bricks, and not even requiring to be + baked in order to fit it for the builder. Exposure to the heat of the + summer sun hardened the clay sufficiently for most purposes, while a few + hours in a kiln made it as firm and durable as freestone, or even granite. + Chaldaea, again, yielded various substances suitable for mortar. + Calcareous earths abound on the western side of the Euphrates towards the + Arabian frontier; while everywhere a tenacious slime or mud is easily + procurable, which, though imperfect as a cement, can serve the purpose, + and has the advantage of being always at hand. Bitumen is also produced + largely in some parts, particularly at Hit, where are the inexhaustible + springs which have made that spot famous in all ages. Naphtha and bitumen + are here given forth separately in equal abundance; and these two + substances, boiled together in certain proportions, form a third kind of + cement, superior to the slime or mud, but inferior to lime-mortar. + Petroleum, called by the Orientals <i>mumia</i>, is another product of the + bitumen-pits. + </p> + <p> + The wild animals indigenous in Babylonia appear to be chiefly the + following:—the lion, the leopard, the hyeena, the lynx, the + wild-cat, the wolf, the jackal, the wild-boar, the buffalo, the stag, the + gazelle, the jerboa, the fox, the hare, the badger, and the porcupine. The + Mesopotamian lion is a noble animal. Taller and larger than a Mount St. + Bernard dog, he wanders over the plains their undisputed lord, unless when + an European ventures to question his pre-eminence. The Arabs tremble at + his approach, and willingly surrender to him the choicest of their flocks + and herds. Unless urged by hunger, he seldom attacks man, but contents + himself with the destruction of buffaloes, camels, dogs, and sheep. When + taken young, he is easily tamed, and then manifests considerable + attachment to his master. In his wild state he haunts the marshes and the + banks of the various streams and canals, concealing himself during the + day, and at night wandering abroad in search of his prey, to obtain which + he will approach with boldness to the very skirts of an Arab encampment. + His roar is not deep or terrible, but like the cry of a child in pain, or + the first wail of the jackal after sunset, only louder, clearer and more + prolonged. Two varieties of the lion appear to exist: the one is maneless, + while the other has a long mane, which is black and shaggy. The former is + now the more common in the country; but the latter, which is the fiercer + of the two, is the one ordinarily represented upon the sculptures. The + lioness is nearly as much feared as the lion; when her young are attacked, + or when she has lost them, she is perhaps even more terrible. Her roar is + said to be deeper and far more imposing than of the male. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0006" id="linkimage-0006"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/plate006.jpg" width="100%" alt="Plate 6 " /> + </div> + <p> + The other animals require but few remarks. Gazelles are plentiful in the + more sandy regions; buffaloes abound in the marshes of the south, where + they are domesticated, and form the chief wealth of the inhabitants; + troops of jackals are common, while the hyaena and wolf are comparatively + rare; the wild-boar frequents the river banks and marshes, as depicted in + the Assyrian sculptures <a href="#linkimage-0006">[PLATE VI., Fig. 1]</a>; + hares abound in the country about Baghdad; porcupines and badgers are + found in most places—leopards, lynxes, wild-cats, and deer, are + somewhat uncommon. + </p> + <p> + Chaldaea possesses a great variety of birds. Falcons, vultures, kites, + owls, hawks and crows of various kinds, francolins or black partridges, + pelicans, wild-geese, ducks, teal, cranes, herons, kingfishers, and + pigeons, are among the most common. The sand-grouse (Pterocles arenarius) + is occasionally found, as also are the eagle and the bee-eater. Fish are + abundant in the rivers and marshes, principally barbel and carp, which + latter grow to a great size in the Euphrates. Barbel form an important + element in the food of the Arabs inhabiting the Affej marshes, who take + them commonly by means of a fish-spear. In the Shat-el-Arab, which is + wholly within the influence of the tides, there is a species of goby, + which is amphibious. This fish lies in myriads on the mud-banks left + uncovered by the ebb of the tide, and moves with great agility on the + approach of birds. Nature seems to have made the goby in one of her most + freakish moods. It is equally at home in the earth, the air, and the + water; and at different times in the day may be observed swimming in the + stream, basking upon the surface of the tidal banks, and burrowing deep in + the mud. + </p> + <p> + The domestic animals are camels, horses, buffaloes, cows and oxen, goats, + sheep, and dogs. The most valuable of the last mentioned are grayhounds, + which are employed to course the gazelle and the hare. The camels, horses, + and buffaloes are of superior quality; but the cows and oxen seem to be a + very inferior breed. The goats and the sheep are small, and yield a scanty + supply of a somewhat coarse wool. Still their flocks and herds constitute + the chief wealth of the people, who have nearly forsaken the agriculture + which anciently gave Chaldaea its pre-eminence, and have relapsed very + generally into a nomadic or semi-nomadic condition. The insecurity of + property consequent upon bad government has in a great measure caused this + change, which render; the bounty of Nature useless, and allows immense + capabilities to run to waste. The present condition of Babylonia gives a + most imperfect idea of its former state, which must be estimated not from + modern statistics, but from the accounts of ancient writers and the + evidences which he country itself presents. From them we conclude that + this region was among the most productive upon the face of the earth, + spontaneously producing some of the best gifts of God to man, and capable, + under careful management, of being made one continuous garden. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III. + </h2> + <h3> + THE PEOPLE. + </h3> + <p> + “A mighty nation, an ancient nation.”—JEREM. v. 15. + </p> + <p> + That the great alluvial plain at the mouth of the Euphrates and Tigris was + among the countries first occupied by man after the Deluge, is affirmed by + Scripture, and generally allowed by writers upon ancient history. + Scripture places the original occupation at a time when language had not + yet broken up into its different forms, and when, consequently, races, as + we now understand the term, can scarcely have existed. It is not, however, + into the character of these primeval inhabitants that we have here to + inquire, but into the ethnic affinities and characteristics of that race, + whatever it was, which first established an important kingdom in the lower + part of the plain—a kingdom which eventually became an empire. + According to the ordinary theory, this race was Aramaic or Semitic. “The + name of Aramaeans, Syrians, or Assyrians,” says Niebuhr, “comprises the + nations extending from the mouth of the Euphrates and Tigris to the + Euxine, the river Halys, and Palestine. They applied to themselves the + name of Aram, and the Greeks called them Assyrians, which is the same as + Syrians(?). Within that great extent of country there existed, of course, + various dialectic differences of language; and there can be little doubt + but that in some places the nation was mixed with other races.” The early + inhabitants of Lower Mesopotamia, however, he considers to have been pure + Aramaeans, closely akin to the Assyrians, from whom, indeed, he regards + them as only separate politically. + </p> + <p> + Similar views are entertained by most modern writers. Baron Bunsen, in one + of his latest works, regards the fact as completely established by the + results of recent researches in Babylonia. Professor M. Muller, though + expressing himself with more caution, inclines to the same conclusion. + Popular works, in the shape of Cyclopaedias and short general histories, + diffuse the impression. Hence a difficulty is felt with regard to the + Scriptural statement concerning the first kingdom in these parts, which is + expressly said to have been Cushite or Ethiopian. “And <i>Cush begat + Nimrod:</i> (he began to be a mighty one in the earth; he was a mighty + hunter before the Lord; wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod, the mighty + hunter before the Lord;) and the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and + Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.” According to this + passage the early Chaldaeans should be Hamites, not Semites—Ethiopians, + not Aramaans; they should present analogies and points of connection with + the inhabitants of Egypt and Abyssinia, of Southern Arabia and Mekran, not + with those of Upper Mesopotamia, Syria, Phoenicia, and Palestine. It will + be one of the objects of this chapter to show that the Mosaical narrative + conveys the exact truth—a truth alike in accordance with the + earliest classical traditions, and with the latest results of modern + comparative philology. + </p> + <p> + It will be desirable, however, before proceeding to establish the + correctness of these assertions, to examine the grounds on which the + opposite belief has been held so long and so confidently. Heeren draws his + chief argument from the supposed character of the language. Assuming the + form of speech called Chaldee to be the original tongue of the people, he + remarks that it is “an Aramaean dialect, differing but slightly from the + proper Syriac.” Chaldee is known partly from the Jewish Scriptures, in + which it is used occasionally, partly from the Targums (or Chaldaean + paraphrases of different portions of the Sacred Volume), some of which + belong to about the time of the Apostles. and partly from the two Talmuds, + or collections of Jewish traditions, made in the third and fifth centuries + of our era. It has been commonly regarded as the language of Babylon at + the time of the Captivity, which the Jews, as captives, were forced to + learn, and which thenceforth took the place of their own tongue. But it is + extremely doubtful whether this is a true account of the matter. The + Babylonian language of the age of Nebuchadnezzar is found to be far nearer + to Hebrew than to Chaldee, which appears therefore to be misnamed, and to + represent the western rather than the eastern Aramaic. The Chaldee + argument thus falls to the ground: but in refuting it an admission has + been made which may be thought to furnish fully as good proof of early + Babylonian Semitism as the rejected theory. + </p> + <p> + It has been said that the Babylonian language in the time of + Nebuchadnezzar is found to be far nearer to Hebrew than to Chaldee. It is, + in fact, very close indeed to the Hebrew. The Babylonians of that period, + although they did not speak the tongue known to modern linguists as + Chaldee, did certainly employ a Semitic or Aramaean dialect, and so far + may be set down as Semites. And this is the ground upon which such modern + philologists as still maintain the Semitic character of the primitive + Chaldaeans principally rely. But it can be proved from the inscriptions of + the country, that between the date of the first establishment of a + Chaldaean kingdom and the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, the language of Lower + Mesopotamia underwent an entire change. To whatever causes this may have + been owing—a subject which will be hereafter investigated—the + fact is certain; and it entirely destroys the force of the argument from + the language of the Babylonians at the later period. + </p> + <p> + Another ground, and that which seems to have had the chief weight with + Niebuhr, is the supposed identity or intimate connection of the + Babylonians with the Assyrians. That the latter people were Semites has + never been denied; and, indeed, it is a point supported by such an amount + of evidence as renders it quite unassailable. If, therefore the primitive + Babylonians were once proved to be a mere portion of the far greater + Assyrian nation, locally and politically, but not ethnically separate from + them, their Semitic character would thereupon be fully established. Now + that this was the belief of Herodotus must be at once allowed. Not only + does that writer regard the later Babylonians as Assyrians—“Assyrians + of Babylon,” as he expresses it—and look on Babylonia as a mere + “district of Assyria,” but, by adopting the mythic genealogy, which made + Ninus the son of Belus, he throws back the connection to the very origin + of the two nations, and distinctly pronounces it a connection of race. But + Herodotus is a very weak authority on the antiquities of any nation, even + his own; and it is not surprising that he should have carried back to a + remote period a state of things which he saw existing in his own age. If + the later Babylonians were, in manners and customs, in religion and in + language, a close, counterpart of the Assyrians, he would naturally + suppose them descended from the same stock. It is his habit to transfer + back to former times the condition of things in his own day. Thus he calls + the inhabitants of the Peloponnese before the Dorian invasion “Dorians,” + regards Athens as the second city in Greece when Creesus sent his + embassies, and describes as the ancient Persian religion that corrupted + form which existed under Artaxerxes Longimanus. He is an excellent + authority for what he had himself seen, or for what he had laboriously + collected by inquiry from eye witnesses; but he had neither the critical + acumen nor the linguistic knowledge necessary for the formation of a trust + worthy opinion on a matter belonging to the remote history of a distant + people. And the opinion of Herodotus as to the ethnic identity of the two + nations is certainly not confirmed by other ancient writers. Berosus seems + to have very carefully distinguished between the Assyrians and the + Babylonians or Chaldaeans, as may be seen even through the + doubly-distorting medium of Polyhistor and the Armenian Eusebius. Diodorus + Siculus made the two nations separate and hostile in very early times. + Pliny draws a clear line between the “Chaldaean races,” of which Babylon + was the head, and the Assyrians of the region above them. Even Herodotus + in one place admits a certain amount of ethnic difference; for, in his + list of the nations forming the army of Xerxes, he mentions the Chaldaeans + as serving with, but not included among, the Assyrians. + </p> + <p> + The grounds, then, upon which the supposed Semitic character of the + ancient Chaldaeans has been based, fail, one and all; and it remains to + consider whether we have data sufficient to justify us in determinately + assigning them to any other stock. + </p> + <p> + Now a large amount of tradition—classical and other—brings + Ethiopians into these parts, and connects, more or less distinctly, the + early dwellers upon the Persian Gulf with the inhabitants of the Nile + valley, especially with those upon its upper course. Homer, speaking of + the Ethiopians, says that they were “divided,” and dwelt “at the ends of + earth, towards the setting and the rising sun.” This passage has been + variously apprehended. It has been supposed to mean the mere division of + the Ethiopians south of Egypt by the river Nile, whereby some inhabited + its eastern and some its western bank. Again it has been explained as + referring to the east and west coasts of Africa, both found by voyagers to + be in the possession of Ethiopians, who were “divided” by the vast extent + of continent that lay between them. But the most satisfactory explanation + is that which Strabo gives from Ephorus, that the Ethiopians were + considered as occupying all the south coast both of Asia and Africa, and + as “divided” by the Arabian Gulf (which separated the two continents) into + eastern and western-Asiatic and African. This was an “old opinion” of the + Greeks, we are told; and, though Strabo thinks it indicated their + ignorance, we may perhaps be excused for holding it that it might not + improbably have arisen from real, though imperfect, knowledge. + </p> + <p> + The traditions with respect to Memnon serve very closely to connect Egypt + and Ethiopia with the country at the head of the Persian Gulf. Memnon, + King of Ethiopia, according to Hesiod and Pindar, is regarded by ‘Eschylus + as the son of a Cissian woman, and by Herodotus and others as the founder + of Susa. He leads an army of combined Susianians and Ethiopians to the + assistance of Priam, his father’s brother, and, after greatly + distinguishing himself, perishes in one of the battles before Troy. At the + same time he is claimed as one of their monarchs by the Ethiopians upon + the Nile, and identified by the Egyptians with their king, Amunoph III., + whose statue became known as “the vocal Memnon.” Sometimes his expedition + is supposed to have started from the African Ethiopia, and to have + proceeded by way of Egypt to its destination. There were palaces, called + “Memnonia,” and supposed to have been built by him, both in Egypt and at + Susa; and there was a tribe, called Memnones, near Meroe. Memnon thus + unites the Eastern and the Western Ethiopians; and the less we regard him + as an historical personage, the more must we view him as personifying the + ethnic identity of the two races. + </p> + <p> + The ordinary genealogies containing the name of Belus point in the same + direction, and serve more definitely to connect the Babylonians with the + Cushites of the Nile. Pherecydes, who is an earlier writer than Herodotus, + makes Agenor, the son of Neptune, marry Damno, the daughter of Belus, and + have issue Phoenix, Isaea, and Melia, of whom Melia marries Danaus, and + Isaea Aegyptus. Apollodorus, the disciple of Eratosthenes, expresses the + connection thus:—“Neptune took to wife Libya (or Africa), and had + issue Belus and Agenor. Belus married Anchinoe, daughter of Nile, who gave + birth to AEgyptus, Danaus, Cepheus, and Phineus. Agenor married + Telephassa, and had issue Europa, Cadmus, Phoenix, and Cilix.” Eupolemus, + who professes to record the Babylonian tradition on the subject, tells us + that the first Belus, whom he identifies with Saturn, had two sons, Belus + and Canaan. Canaan begat the progenitor of the Phoenicians (Phoenix?), who + had two sons, Chum and Mestraim, the ancestors respectively of the + Ethiopians and the Egyptians. Charax of Pergamus spoke of AEgyptus as the + son of Belus. John of Antioch agrees with Apollodorus, but makes certain + additions. According to him, Neptune and Lybia had three children, Agenor, + Belus, and Enyalius or Mars. Belus married Sida, and had issue AEgyptus + and Danaus; while Agenor married Tyro, and became the father of five + children—Cadmus, Phoenix, Syrus, Cilix, and Europa. + </p> + <p> + Many further proofs might be adduced, were they needed, of the Greek + belief in an Asiatic Ethiopia, situated somewhere between Arabia and + India, on the shores of the Erythraean Sea. Herodotus twice speaks of the + Ethiopians of Asia, whom he very carefully distinguishes from those of + Africa, and who can only be sought in this position. Ephorus, as we have + already seen, extended the Ethiopians along the whole of the coast washed + by the Southern Ocean. Eusebius has preserved a tradition that, in the + reign of Amenophis III., a body of Ethiopians migrated from the country + about the Indus, and settled in the valley of the Nile. Hesiod and + Apollodorus, by making Memnon, the Ethiopian king, son of the Dawn (Greek) + imply their belief in an Ethiopia situated to the east rather than to the + south of Greece. These are a few out of the many similar notices which it + would be easy to produce from classical writers, establishing, if not the + fact itself, yet at any rate a full belief in the fact on the part of the + best informed among the ancient Greeks. + </p> + <p> + The traditions of the Armenians are in accordance with those of the + Greeks. The Armenian Geography applies the name of Cush, or Ethiopia, to + the four great regions, Media, Persia, Susiana or Elymais, and Aria, or to + the whole territory between the Indus and the Tigris. Moses of Chorene, + the great Armenian historian, identifies Belus, King of Babylon, with + Nimrod; while at the same time he adopts for him a genealogy only slightly + different from that in our present copies of Genesis, making Nimrod the + grandson of Cush, and the son of Mizraim. He thus connects, in the closest + way, Babylonia, Egypt, and Ethiopia Proper, uniting moreover, by his + identification of Nimrod with Belus, the Babylonians of later times who + worshipped Belus as their hero-founder, with the primitive population + introduced into the country by Nimrod. + </p> + <p> + The names of Belus and Cush, thus brought into juxtaposition, have + remained attached to some portion or other of the region in question from + ancient times to the present day. The tract immediately east of the Tigris + was known to the Greeks as Cissia or Cossaea, no less than as Elymais or + Elam. The country east of Kerman was named Kusan throughout the Sassanian + period. The same region is now Beloochistan, the country of the Belooches + or Belus, while adjoining it on the east is Cutch, or Kooch, a term + standing to Cush is Belooch stands to Belus. Again, Cissia or Cossaea is + now Khuzistan, or the land of Khuz a name not very remote from Cush; but + perhaps this is only a coincidence. + </p> + <p> + To the traditions and traces here enumerated must be added, as of primary + importance, the Biblical tradition, which is delivered to us very simply + and plainly in that precious document the “Toldoth Beni Noah,” or “Book of + the Generations of the Sons of Noah,” which well deserves to be called + “the most authentic record that we possess for the affiliation of + nations.” “The sons of Ham,” we are told, “were Cush, and Mizraim, and + Phut, and Canaan . . . . And Cush begat Nimrod . . . . And the beginning + of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of + Shinar.” Here a primitive Babylonian kingdom is assigned to a people + distinctly said to have been Cushite by blood, and to have stood in close + connection with Mizraim, or the people of Egypt, Phut, or those of Central + Africa, and Canaan, or those of Palestine. It is the simplest and the best + interpretation of this passage to understand it as asserting that the four + races—the Egyptians, Ethiopians, Libyans, and Canaanites—were + ethnically connected, being all descended from Ham; and further, that the + primitive people of Babylon were a subdivision of one of these races, + namely of the Cushites or Ethiopians, connected in some degree with the + Canaanites, Egyptians, and Libyans, but still more closely with the people + which dwelt anciently upon the Upper Nile. + </p> + <p> + The conclusions thus recommended to us by the consentient primitive + traditions of so many races, have lately received most important and + unexpected confirmation from the results of linguistic research. After the + most remarkable of the Mesopotamian mounds had yielded their treasures, + and supplied the historical student with numerous and copious documents + bearing upon the history of the great Assyrian and Babylonian empires, it + was determined to explore Chaldaea Proper, where mounds of less + pretension, but still of considerable height, marked the sites of a number + of ancient cities. The excavations conducted at these places, especially + at Niffer, Senkereh, Warka, and Mugheir, were eminently successful. Among + their other unexpected results was the discovery, in the most ancient + remains, of a new form of speech, differing greatly from the later + Babylonian language and presenting analogies with the early language of + Susiana, as well as with that of the second column of the Achoemenian + inscriptions. In grammatical structure this ancient tongue resembles + dialects of the Turanian family, but its vocabulary has been pronounced to + be “decidedly Cushite or Ethiopian;” and the modern languages to which it + approaches the nearest are thought to be the Mahra of Southern Arabia and + the Galla of Abyssinia. Thus comparative philology appears to confirm the + old traditions. An Eastern Ethiopia instead of being the invention of + bewildered ignorance, is rather a reality which henceforth it will require + a good deal of scepticism to doubt; and the primitive race which bore sway + in Chaldaea Proper is with much probability assigned to this ethnic type. + The most striking physical characteristics of the African Ethiopians were + their swart complexions, and their crisp or frizzled hair. According to + Herodotus the Asiatic Ethiopian: were equally dark, but their hair was + straight and not frizzled. Probably in neither case was the complexion + what we understand by black, but rather a dark red-brown or copper color, + which is the tint of the modern Gallas and Abyssinians, as well as of the + Cha’b and Montefik Arabs and the Belooches. The hair was no doubt + abundant; but it was certainly not woolly like that of the negroes. There + is a marked distinction between the negro hair and that of the Ethiopian + race, which is sometimes straight, sometimes crisp, but never woolly. This + distinction is carefully marked in the Egyptian monuments, as is also the + distinction between the Ethiopian and negro complexions; whence we may + conclude that there was as much difference between the two races in + ancient as in modern times. The African races descended from the + Ethiopians are on the whole a handsome rather than an ugly people; their + figure is slender and well shaped; their features are regular, and have + some delicacy; the forehead is straight and fairly high; the nose long, + straight, and fine, but scarcely so prominent as that of Europeans; the + chin is pointed and good. <a href="#linkimage-0006">[PLATE VI., Fig. 2.]</a> + </p> + <p> + The principal defect is in the mouth, which has lips too thick and full + for beauty, though they are not turned out like a negro’s. We do not + possess any representations of the ancient people which can be distinctly + assigned to the early Cushite period. Abundant hair has been noticed in an + early tomb; and this in the later Babylonians, who must have been + descended in great part from the earlier, was very conspicuous; but + otherwise we have as yet no direct evidence with respect to the physical + characteristics of the primitive race. That they were brave and warlike, + ingenious, energetic, and persevering, we have ample evidence, which will + appear in later chapters of this work; but we can do little more than + conjecture their physical appearance, which, however, we may fairly + suppose to have resembled that of other Ethiopian nations. + </p> + <p> + When the early inhabitants of ChaldAea are pronounced to have belonged to + the same race with the dwellers upon the Upper Nile, the question + naturally arises, which were the primitive people, and which the + colonists? Is the country at the head of the Persian Gulf to be regarded + as the original abode of the Cushite race, whence it spread eastward and + westward, on the one hand to Susiana, Persia Proper, Carmania, Gedrosia, + and India itself; on the other to Arabia and the east coast of Africa? Or + are we to suppose that the migration proceeded in one direction only—that + the Cushites, having occupied the country immediately to the south of + Egypt, sent their colonies along the south coast of Arabia, whence they + crept on into the Persian Gulf, occupying Chaldaea and Susiana, and thence + spreading into Mekran, Kerman, and the regions bordering upon the Indus? + Plausible reasons maybe adduced in support of either hypothesis. The + situation of Babylonia, and its proximity to that mountain region where + man must have first “increased and multiplied” after the Flood, are in + favor of its being the original centre from which the other Cushite races + were derived. The Biblical genealogy of the sons of Ham points, however, + the other way; for it derives Nimrod from Cush, not Cush from Nimrod. + Indeed this document seems to follow the Hamites from Africa—emphatically + “the land of Ham”—in one line along Southern Arabia to Shinar or + Babylonia, in another from Egypt through Canaan into Syria. The antiquity + of civilization in the valley of the Nile, which preceded by many + centuries that even of primitive Chaldaea, is another argument in favor of + the migration having been from west to east; and the monuments and + traditions of the Chaldaeans themselves have been thought to present some + curious indications of an East African origin. On the whole, therefore, it + seems most probable that the race designated in Scripture by the + hero-founder Nimrod, and among the Greeks by the eponym of Belus, passed + from East Africa, by way of Arabia, to the valley of the Euphrates, + shortly before the opening of the historical period. + </p> + <p> + Upon the ethnic basis here indicated, there was grafted, it would seem, at + a very early period, a second, probably Turanian, element, which very + importantly affected the character and composition of the people. The <i>Burbur</i> + or <i>Akkad,</i> who are found to have been a principal tribe under the + early kings, are connected by name, religion, and in some degree by + language, with an important people of Armenia, called <i>Burbur</i> and <i>Urarda,</i> + the Alarodians (apparently) of Herodotus. It has been conjectured that + this race at a very remote date descended upon the plain country, + conquering the original Cushite inhabitants, and by degrees blending with + them, though the fusion remained incomplete to the time of Abraham. The + language of the early inscriptions, though Cushite in its vocabulary, is + Turanian in many points of its grammatical structure, as in its use of + post-positions, particles, and pronominal suffixes; and it would seem, + therefore, scarcely to admit of a doubt that the Cushites of Lower Babylon + must in some way or other have become mixed with a Turanian people. The + mode and time of the commixture are matters altogether beyond our + knowledge. We can only note the fact as indicated by the phenomena, and + form, or abstain from forming, as we please, hypotheses with respect to + its accompanying circumstances. + </p> + <p> + Besides these two main constituents of the Chaldaean race, there is reason + to believe that both a Semitic and an Arian element existed in the early + population of the country. The subjects of the early kings are continually + designated in the inscriptions by the title of <i>kiprat-arbat,</i> “the + four nations,” or <i>arba lisun,</i> “the four tongues.” In Abraham’s + time, again, the league of four kings seems correspondent to a fourfold + ethnic division, Cushite, Turanian, Semitic, and Arian, the chief + authority and ethnic preponderance being with the Cushites. The language + also of the early inscriptions is thought to contain traces of Semitic and + Arian influence; so that it is at least probable that the “four tongues” + intended were not mere local dialects, but distinct languages, the + representatives respectively of the four great families of human speech. + </p> + <p> + It would result from this review of the linguistic facts and other ethnic + indications, that the Chaldaeans were not a pure, but a very mixed people. + Like the Romans in ancient and the English in modern Europe, they were a + “colluvio gentium omnium,” a union of various races between which there + was marked and violent contrast. It is now generally admitted that such + races are among those which play the most distinguished part in the + world’s history, and most vitally affect its progress. + </p> + <p> + With respect to the name of Chaldaean, under which it has been customary + to designate this mixed people, it is curious to find that in the native + documents of the early period it does not occur at all. Indeed it first + appears in the Assyrian inscriptions of the ninth century before our era, + being then used as the name of the dominant race in the country about + Babylon. Still, as Berosus, who cannot easily have been ignorant of the + ancient appellation of his race, applies the term Chaldaean to the + primitive people, and as Scripture assigns Ur to the Chaldees as early as + the time of Abraham, we are entitled to assume that this term, whenever it + came historically into use, is in fact no unfit designation for the early + inhabitants of the country. Perhaps the most probable account of the + origin of the word is that it designates properly the inhabitants of the + ancient capital, Ur or Hur-Khaldi being in the Burbur dialect the exact + equivalent of Hur, which was the proper name of the Moon-God, and + Chaldaeans being thus either “Moon-worshippers,” or simply “inhabitants of + the town dedicated to, and called after, the Moon.” Like the term + “Babylonian,” it would at first have designated simply the dwellers in the + capital, and would subsequently have been extended to the people + generally. + </p> + <p> + A different theory has of late years been usually maintained with respect + to the Chaldaeans. It has been supposed that they were a race entirely + distinct from the early Babylonians—Armenians, Arabs, Kurds, or + Sclaves —who came down from the north long after the historical + period, and settled as the dominant race in the lower Mesopotamian valley. + Philological arguments of the weakest and most unsatisfactory character + were confidently adduced in support of these views; but they obtained + acceptance chiefly on account of certain passages of Scripture, which were + thought to imply that the Chaldaeans first colonized Babylonia in the + seventh or eighth century before Christ. The most important of these + passages is in Isaiah. That prophet, in his denunciation of woe upon Tyre, + says, according to our translation,—“Behold the land of the + Chaldaeans this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that + dwell in the wilderness; they set up the towers thereof, they raised up + the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin;” or, according to Bishop + Lowth, “Behold the land of the Chaldaeans. This people was of no account. + (The Assyrians founded it for the inhabitants of the desert, they raised + the watch-towers, they setup the palaces thereof.) This people hath + reduced her and shall reduce her to ruin.” It was argued that we had here + a plain declaration that, till a little before Isaiah’s time, the + Chaldaeans had never existed as a nation. Then, it was said, they obtained + for the first time fixed habitations from one of the Assyrian kings, who + settled them in a city, probably Babylon. Shortly afterwards, following + the analogy of so many Eastern races, they suddenly sprang up to power. + Here another passage of Scripture was thought to have an important bearing + on their history. “Lo! I raise up the Chaldaeans,” says Habakkuk, “that + bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land + to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs. They are terrible and + dreadful; their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves; + their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than + the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their + horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as an eagle that hasteth to + eat; they shall come all for violence; their faces shall nip as the east + wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand. And they shall + scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them; they shall + deride every stronghold; they shall heap dust and take it.” The + Chaldaeans, recent occupants of Lower Mesopotamia, and there only a + dominant race, like the Normans in England or the Lombards in North Italy, + were, on a sudden, “raised” elevated from their low estate of Assyrian + colonists to the conquering people which they became under Nebuchadnezzar. + </p> + <p> + Such was the theory, originally advanced by Gesenius, which, variously + modified by other writers, held its ground on the whole as the established + view, until the recent cuneiform discoveries. It was, from the first, a + theory full of difficulty. The mention of the Chaldaeans in Job, and even + in Genesis, as a well-known people, was in contradiction to the supposed + recent origin of the race. The explanation of the obscure passage in the + 23d chapter of Isaiah, on which the theory was mainly based, was at + variance with other clearer passages of the same prophet. Babylon is + called by Isaiah the “<i>daughter</i> of the Chaldaeans,” and is spoken of + as an ancient city, long “the glory of kingdoms,” the oppressor of + nations, the power that “smote the people in wrath with a continual + stroke.” She is “the lady of kingdoms,” and “the beauty of the Chaldees’ + excellency.” The Chaldaeans are thus in Isaiah, as elsewhere generally in + Scripture, the people of Babylonia, the term “Babylonians” not being used + by him; Babylon is their chief city, not one which they have conquered and + occupied, but their “daughter”—“the beauty of their excellency;” and + so all the antiquity and glory which is assigned to Babylon belong + necessarily in Isaiah’s mind to the Chaldaeans. The verse, therefore, in + the 23d chapter, on which so much has been built, can at most refer to + some temporary depression of the Chaldaeans, which made it a greater + disgrace to Tyre that she should be conquered by them. Again, the theory + of Gesenius took no account of the native historian, who is (next to + Scripture) the best literary authority for the facts of Babylonian + history. Berosus not only said nothing of any influx of an alien race into + Babylonia shortly before the time of Nebuchadnezzar, but pointedly + identified the Chaldaeans of that period with the primitive people of the + country. Nor can it be said that he would do this from national vanity, to + avoid the confession of a conquest, for he admits no fewer than three + conquests of Babylon, a “Midian, an Arabian, and an Assyrian.” Thus, even + apart from the monuments, the theory in question would be untenable. It + really originated in linguistic speculations, which turn out to have been + altogether mistaken. + </p> + <p> + The joint authority of Scripture and of Berosus will probably be accepted + as sufficient to justify the adoption of a term which, if not strictly + correct, is yet familiar to us, and which will conveniently serve to + distinguish the primitive monarchy, whose chief seats were in Chaldaea + Proper (or the tract immediately bordering upon the Persian Gulf), from + the later Babylonian Empire, which had its head-quarters further to the + north. The people of this first kingdom will therefore be called + Chaldaeans, although there is no evidence that they applied the name to + themselves, or that it was even known to them in primitive times. + </p> + <p> + The general character of this remarkable people will best appear from the + account, presently to be given, of their manners, their mode of life, + their arts, their science, their religion, and their history. It is not + convenient to forestall in this place the results of almost all our coming + inquiries. Suffice it to observe that, though possessed of not many + natural advantages, the Chaldaean people exhibited a fertility of + invention, a genius, and an energy which place them high in the scale of + nations, and more especially in the list of those descended from a Hamitic + stock. For the last 3000 years the world has been mainly indebted for its + advancement to the Semitic and Indo-European races; but it was otherwise + in the first ages. Egypt and Babylon—Mizraim and Nimrod—both + descendants of Ham—led the way, and acted as the pioneers of mankind + in the various untrodden fields of art, literature, and science. + Alphabetic writing, astronomy, history, chronology, architecture, plastic + art, sculpture, navigation, agriculture, textile industry, seem, all of + them, to have had their origin in one or other of these two countries. The + beginnings may have been often humble enough. We may laugh at the rude + picture-writing, the uncouth brick pyramid, the coarse fabric, the homely + and ill-shapen instruments, as they present themselves to our notice in + the remains of these ancient nations; but they are really worthier of our + admiration than of our ridicule. The first inventors of any art are among + the greatest benefactors of their race; and the bold step which they take + from the unknown to the known, from blank ignorance to discovery, is equal + to many steps of subsequent progress. “The commencement,” says Aristotle, + “is more than half of the whole.” This is a sound judgment; and it will be + well that we should bear it in mind during the review, on which we are + about to enter, of the language, writing, useful and ornamental art, + science, and literature of the Chaldaeans. “The child is father of the + man,” both in the individual and the species; and the human race at the + present day lies under infinite obligations to the genius and industry of + early ages. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV. + </h2> + <h3> + LANGUAGE AND WRITING. + </h3> + <p> + It was noted in the preceding chapter that Chaldaea, in the earliest times + to which we can go back, seems to have been inhabited by four principal + tribes. The early kings are continually represented on the monuments as + sovereigns over the Kiprat-arbat, or, Four Races. These “Four Races” are + called sometimes the Arba Lisun, or “Four Tongues,” whence we may conclude + that they were distinguished from one another, among other differences, by + a variety in their forms of speech. The extent and nature of the variety + could not, of course, be determined merely from this expression; but the + opinion of those who have most closely studied the subject appears to be + that the differences were great and marked-the languages in fact belonging + to the four great varieties of human speech—Hamitic, Semitic, Arian, + and Turanian. + </p> + <p> + The language which the early inscriptions have revealed to us is not, of + course, composed equally of these four elements. It does, however, contain + strong marks of admixture. It is predominantly Cushite in its vocabulary, + Turanian in its structure. Its closest analogies are with such dialects as + the <i>Mahra</i> of Arabia, the <i>Galla</i> and <i>Wolaitsa</i> of + Abyssinia, and the ancient language of Egypt, but in certain cases it more + resembles the Turkish. Tatar, and Magyar (Turanian) dialects; while in + some it presents Semitic and in others Arian affinities. This will appear + sufficiently from the following list: + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0007" id="linkimage-0007"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/page0042.jpg" width="100%" alt="Page 42 " /> + </div> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +<i>Dingir, or Dimir,</i> “God.” Compare Turkish <i>Tengri</i>. +<i>Atta,</i> “father.” Compare Turkish atta. <i>Etea</i> is “father” in the +Wolaitsa (Abyssinian) dialect. +<i>Sis,</i> “brother.” Compare Wolaitsa and Woratta <i>isha</i>. +<i>Tur,</i> “a youth,” “a son,” Compare the <i>tur-khan</i> of the Parthians + (Turanians), who was the Crown Prince. +<i>E,</i> “a house.” Compare ancient Egyptian <i>e,</i> and Turkish <i>ev</i>. +<i>Ka,</i> “a gate.” Compare Turkish <i>kapi</i>. +<i>Kharran,</i> “a road.” Compare Galla <i>kara</i>. +<i>Huru,</i> “a town.” Compare Heb. [—] +<i>Ar,</i> “a river.” Compare Heb. [—] , Arab. <i>nahr</i>. +<i>Gabri</i>, “a mountain.” Compare Arabic <i>jabal</i>. +<i>Ki,</i> “the earth.” + <i>Kingi,</i> “a country.” + <i>San,</i> “the sun.” + <i>Kha,</i> “a fish"(?). +<i>Kurra,</i> “a horse.” Compare Arabic <i>gurra</i>. +<i>Guski,</i> “gold.” Compare Galla <i>irerke</i>. <i>Guski</i> means also “red” and +“the evening.” + <i>Babar,</i> “silver,” “white,” “the morning.” Compare Agau <i>ber,</i> Tigre + <i>burrur</i>. +<i>Zabar,</i> “copper.” Compare Arabic <i>sifr</i>. +<i>Hurud,</i> “iron.” Compare Arabic <i>hadid</i>. +<i>Zakad,</i> “the head.” Compare Gonga <i>toko</i>. +<i>Kat,</i> “the hand.” Compare Gonga <i>kiso</i>. +<i>Si,</i> “the eye.” + <i>Pi,</i> “the ear.” Compare Magyar <i>ful</i>. +<i>Gula,</i> “great.” Compare Galla <i>guda</i>. +<i>Tura,</i> “little.” Compare Gonga <i>tu</i> and Galla <i>tina</i>. +<i>Kelga,</i> “powerful.” + <i>Ginn,</i> “first.” + <i>Mis,</i> “many.” Compare Agau <i>minch</i> or <i>mench</i>. +<i>Gar,</i> “to do.” + <i>Egir,</i> “after.” Compare Hhamara (Abyssinian) <i>igria</i>. +</pre> + <p> + The grammar of this language is still but very little known. The + conjugations of verbs are said to be very intricate and difficult, a great + variety of verbal forms being from the same root as in Hebrew, by means of + preformatives. Number and person in the verbs are marked by suffixes—the + third person singular (masculine) by <i>bi</i> (compare Gonga <i>bi,</i> + “he”), or <i>ani</i> (compare Galla <i>enni,</i> “he”), the third person + plural by <i>bi-nini</i>. + </p> + <p> + The accusative case in nouns is marked by a postposition, <i>ku</i>, as in + Hindustani. The plural of pronouns and substantives is formed sometimes by + reduplication. Thus <i>ni</i> is “him,” while <i>nini</i> is “them;” and + <i>Chanaan, Yavnan, Libnan</i> seem to be plural forms from <i>Chna, Yavan</i> + and <i>Liban</i>. + </p> + <p> + A curious anomaly occurs in the declension of pronouns.’ When accompanied + by the preposition kita, “with,” there is a tmesis of the preposition, and + the pronouns are placed between its first and second syllable; e.g. vi, + him“’-ki-ni-ta, “with him.” This takes place in every number and person, + as the following scheme will show:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 1st person. 2d person. 3d person. + + Sing. <i>ki-mu-ta</i> <i>ki-zu-ta</i> <i>ki-ni-ta</i> + (with me) (with thee) (with him) + + Plur. <i>ki mi-ta</i> <i>ki zu-nini-ta</i> <i>ki-nini-ta</i> + (with us) (with you) (with them) +</pre> + <p> + N. B.—The formation of the second person plural deserves attention. + The word <i>zu-nini</i> is, clearly, composed of the two elements, <i>zu,</i> + “thee,” and <i>nini,</i> “them”—so that instead of having a word for + “you,” the Chaldaeans employed for it the periphrasis “thee-them”! There + is, I believe, no known language which presents a parallel anomaly. + </p> + <p> + Such are the chief known features of this interesting but difficult form + of speech. A specimen may now be given of the mode in which it was + written. Among the earliests of the monuments hitherto discovered are a + set of bricks bearing the following cuneiform inscription <a + href="#linkimage-0006">[PLATE VI., Fig. 3]</a>: + </p> + <p> + This inscription is explained to mean:—“Beltis, his lady, has caused + Urukh (?), the pious chief, King of Hur, and King of the land (?) of the + Akkad, to build a temple to her.” In the same locality where it occurs, + bricks are also found bearing evidently the same inscription, but written + in a different manner. Instead of the wedge and arrow-head being the + elements of the writing, the whole is formed by straight lines of almost + uniform thickness, and the impression seems to have been made by a single + stamp. <a href="#linkimage-0008">[PLATE VII., Fig. 1.]</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0008" id="linkimage-0008"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/plate007.jpg" width="100%" alt="Plate 7 " /> + </div> + <p> + This mode of writing, which has been called without much reason “the + hieratic,” and of which we have but a small number of instances, has + confirmed a conjecture, originally suggested by the early cuneiform + writing itself, that the characters were at first the pictures of objects. + In some cases the pictorial representation is very plain and palpable. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [Etext Editor’s Note: the next two pages contain many examples + of heiratic symbols [—] which can be seen only in the html file + or the jpg image (page0044.jpg)] +</pre> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0009" id="linkimage-0009"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/page0044.jpg" width="100%" alt="Page 44 " /> + </div> + <p> + For instance, the “determinative” of a god—the sign that is, which + marks that the name of a god is about to follow, in this early rectilinear + writing is [—] an eight-rayed star. The archaic cuneiform keeps + closely to this type, merely changing the lines into wedges, thus [—], + while the later cuneiform first unites the oblique wedges in one [—] + , and then omits them as unnecessary, retaining only the perpendicular and + the horizontal ones [—] . Again, the character representing the word + “hand” is, in the rectilinear writing [—] , in the archaic cuneiform + [—] , in the later cuneiform [—] . The five lines (afterwards + reduced to four) clearly represent the thumb and the four fingers. So the + character ordinarily representing “a house” is evidently formed from the + original —, the ground-plan of a house; and that denoting “the sun” + [—] , comes from [—] , through [—] , and [—] , the + original [—] being the best representation that straight lines could + give of the sun. In the case of <i>ka,</i> “a gate,” we have not the + original design; but we may see posts, bars, and hinges in [—] , the + ordinary character. + </p> + <p> + Another curious example of the pictorial origin of the letters is + furnished by the character [—] , which is the French <i>une,</i> the + feminine of “one.” This character may be traced up through several known + forms to an original picture, which is thus given on a Koyunjik tablet [—] + . It has been conjectured that the object here represented is “a + sarcophagus.” But the true account seems to be that it is a <i>double-toothed + comb,</i> a toilet article peculiar to women, and therefore one which + might well be taken to express “a woman,” or more generally the feminine + gender. It is worth notice that the emblem is the very one still in use + among the Lurs, in the mountains overhanging Babylonia. And it is further + remarkable that the phonetic power of the character here spoken of is <i>it</i> + (or <i>yat</i>)the ordinary Semitic feminine ending. + </p> + <p> + The original writing, it would therefore seem, was a picture-writing as + rude as that of the Mexicans. Objects were themselves represented, but + coarsely and grotesquely—and, which is especially remarkable, + without any curved lines. This would seem to indicate that the system grew + up where a hard material, probably stone, was alone used. The cuneiform + writing arose when clay took the place of stone as a material. A small + tool with a square or triangular point, impressed, by a series of distinct + touches, the outline of the old pictured objects on the soft clay of + tablets and bricks. In course of time simplifications took place. The less + important wedges were omitted. One stroke took the place of two, or + sometimes of three. In this way the old form of objects became, in all but + a few cases, very indistinct; while generally it was lost altogether. + </p> + <p> + Originally each character had, it would seem, the phonetic power of the + name borne by the object which it represented. But, as this namee was + different in the languages of the different tribes inhabiting the country, + the same character came often to have several distinct phonetic values. + For instance, the character [—] representing “a house,” had the + phonetic values of <i>e, bit,</i> and <i>mal,</i> because those were the + words expressive of “a house,” among the Hamitic, Semitic, and Arian + populations respectively. Again, characters did not always retain their + original phonetic powers, but abbreviated them. Thus the character which + originally stood for <i>Assur,</i> “Assyria,” came to have the sound of <i>as,</i> + that denoting <i>bil</i>, “a lord,” had in addition the sound of <i>bi,</i> + and so on. Under these circumstances it is almost impossible to feel any + certainty in regard to the phonetic representation of a single line of + these old inscriptions. The meaning of each word may be well known; but + the articulate sounds which were in the old times attached to them may be + matter almost of conjecture. + </p> + <p> + The Chaldaean characters are of three kinds-letters proper, monograms, and + determinatives. With regard to the letters proper, there is nothing + particular to remark, except that they have almost always a syllabic + force. The monograms represent in a brief way, by a wedge or a group of + wedges, an entire word, often of two or three syllables, as Nebo, Babil, + Merodach, etc. The determinatives mark that the word which they accompany + is a word of a certain class, as a god, a man, a country, a town, etc. + These last, it is probable, were not sounded at all when the word was + read. They served, in some degree, the purpose of our capital letters, in + the middle of sentences, but gave more exact notice of the nature of the + coming word. Curiously enough, they are retained sometimes, where the word + which they accompany has merely its phonetic power, as (generally) when + the names of gods form a part of the names of monarchs. + </p> + <p> + It has been noticed already that the chief material on which the ancient + Chaldaeans wrote was moist clay, in the two forms of tablets and bricks. + On bricks are found only royal inscriptions, having reference to the + building in which the bricks were used, commonly designating its purpose, + and giving the name and titles of the-monarch who erected it. The + inscription does not occupy the whole brick, but a square or rectangular + space towards its centre. It is in some cases stamped, in some impressed + with a tool. The writing—as in all cuneiform inscriptions, excepting + those upon seals—is from left to right, and the lines are carefully + separated from one another. Some specimens have been already given. + </p> + <p> + The tablets of the Chaldaeans are among the most remarkable of their + remains, and will probably one day throw great additional light on the + manners and customs, the religion, and even, perhaps, the science and + learning, of the people. They are small pieces of clay, somewhat rudely + shaped into a form resembling a pillow, and thickly inscribed with + cuneiform characters, which are sometimes accompanied by impressions of + the cylindrical seals so common in the museums of Europe. The seals are + rolled across the body of the document, as in the accompanying figure. <a + href="#linkimage-0008">[PLATE VII., Fig. 2.]</a> Except where these + impressions occur, the clay is commonly covered on both sides with minute + writing. What is most curious, however, is that the documents thus duly + attested have in general been enveloped, after they were baked, in a cover + of moist clay, upon which their contents have been again inscribed, so as + to present externally a duplicate of the writing within; and the tablet in + its cover has then been baked afresh. That this was the process employed + is evident from the fact that the inner side of the envelope bears a cast, + in relief, of the inscription beneath it. Probably the object in view was + greater security—that if the external cover became illegible, or was + tampered with, there might be a means of proving beyond a doubt what the + document actually contained. The tablets in question have in a + considerable number of cases been deciphered; they are for the most part + deeds, contracts, or engagements, entered into by private persons and + preserved among the archives of families. + </p> + <p> + Besides their writings on clay, the Chaldaeans were in the habit, from + very early times, of engraving inscriptions on gems. The signet cylinder + of a very ancient king exhibits that archaic formation of letters which + has been already noted as appearing upon some of the earliest bricks. <a + href="#linkimage-0008">[PLATE VII., Fig. 3.]</a> That it belongs to the + same period is evident, not only from the resemblance of the literal type, + but from the fact that the same king’s name appears upon both. This signet + inscription—so far as it has been hitherto deciphered—is read + as follows:—“The signet of Urukh, the pious chief, king of Ur, . . . + . High-Priest (?) of . . . . Niffer.” Another similar relic, belonging to + a son of this monarch, has the inscription, “To the manifestation of + Nergal, king of Bit-Zida, of Zurgulla, for the saving of the life of Ilgi, + the powerful hero, the king of Ur, . . . . son of Urukh . . . . May his + name be preserved.” A third signet, which belongs to a later king in the + series, bears the following legend: “—<i>sin</i>, the powerful + chief, the king of Ur, the king of the Kiprat-arbat (or four races) . . . + . his seal.” The cylinders, however, of this period are more usually + without inscriptions, being often plain, and often engraved with figures, + but without a legend. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V. + </h2> + <h3> + ARTS AND SCIENCES. + </h3> + <p> + “Chaldaei cognitione astrorum sollertiaque ingeniorum antecellunt.” Cic. + <i>de Div.</i> i. 41. + </p> + <p> + Among the arts which the first Ethiopic settlers on the shores of the + Persian Gulf either brought with them from their former homes, or very + early invented in their new abode, must undoubtedly have been the two + whereby they were especially characterized in the time of their greatest + power—architecture and agriculture. Chaldaea is not a country + disposing men to nomadic habits. The productive powers of the soil would + at once obtrude themselves on the notice of the new comers, and would + tempt to cultivation and permanency of residence. If the immigrants came + by sea, and settled first in the tract immediately bordering upon the + gulf, as seems to have been the notion of Berosus, their earliest abodes + may have been of that simple character which can even now be witnessed in + the Affej and Montefik marshes—that is to say, reed cabins, + supported by the tall stems of the growing plants bent into arches, and + walled with mats composed of flags or sedge. Houses of this description + last for forty or fifty years and would satisfy the ideas of a primitive + race. When greater permanency began to be required, palm-beams might take + the place of the reed supports, and wattles plastered with mud that of the + rush mats; in this way habitations would soon be produced quite equal to + those in which the bulk of mankind reside, even at the present day. + </p> + <p> + In process of time however, a fresh want would be felt. Architecture, as + has been well observed, has its origin, not in nature only, but in + religion. The common worship of God requires temples; and it is soon + desired to give to these sacred edifices a grandeur, a dignity, and a + permanency corresponding to the nature of the Being worshipped in them. + Hence in most countries recourse is had to stone, as the material of + greatest strength and durability; and by its means buildings are raised + which seem almost to reach the heaven whereof they witness. In Babylonia, + as it has been already observed, this material was entirely wanting. + Nowhere within the limits of the alluvium was a quarry to be found; and + though at no very great distance, on the Arabian border, a coarse + sandstone might have been obtained, yet in primitive times, before many + canals were made, the difficulty of transporting this weighty substance + across the soft and oozy soil of the plain would necessarily have + prevented its adoption generally, or, indeed, anywhere, except in the + immediate vicinity of the rocky region. Accordingly we find that stone was + never adopted in Babylonia as a building material, except to an extremely + small extent; and that the natives were forced, in its default, to seek + for the grand edifices, which they desired to build, a different + substance. + </p> + <p> + The earliest traditions, and the existing remains of the earliest + buildings, alike inform us that the material adopted was brick. An + excellent clay is readily procurable in all parts of the alluvium; and + this, when merely exposed to the intense heat of an Eastern sun for a + sufficient period, or still more when kiln-dried, constitutes a very + tolerable substitute for the stone employed by most nations. The baked + bricks, even of the earliest tines, are still sound and hard; while the + sun-dried bricks, though they have often crumbled to dust or blended + together in one solid earthen mass, yet sometimes retain their shape and + original character almost unchanged, and offer a stubborn resistance to + the excavator. In the most ancient of the Chaldaean edifices we + occasionally find, as in the Bowariyeh ruin at Warka, the entire structure + composed of the inferior material; but the more ordinary practice is to + construct the mass of the building in this way, and then to cover it + completely with a facing of burnt brick, which sometimes extends to as + much as ten feet in thickness. The burnt brick was thus made to protect + the unburnt from the influence of the weather, while labor and fuel—were + greatly economized by the employment to so large an extent of the natural + substance. The size and color of the bricks vary. The general shape is + square, or nearly so, while the thickness is, to modern ideas, + disproportionately small; it is not, however, so small as in the bricks of + the Romans. The earliest of the baked bricks hitherto discovered in + Chaldaea are 11 1/4 inches square, and 2 1/2 inches thick, while the Roman + are often 15 inches square, and only an inch and a quarter thick. The + baked bricks of later date are of larger size than the earlier; they are + commonly about 13 inches square, with a thickness of three inches. The + best quality of baked brick is of a yellowish-white tint, and very much + resembles our Stourbridge or fire brick; another kind, extremely hard, but + brittle, is of a blackish blue; a third, the coarsest of all, is + slack-dried, and of a pale red. The earliest baked bricks are of this last + color. The sun-dried bricks have even more variety of size than the baked + ones. They are sometimes as large as 16 inches square and seven inches + thick, sometimes as small as six inches square by two thick. Occasionally, + though not very often, bricks are found differing altogether in shape from + those above described, being formed for special purposes. Of this kind are + the triangular bricks used at the corners of walls, intended to give + greater regularity to the angles than would otherwise be attained; and the + wedge-shaped bricks, formed to be employed in arches, which were known and + used by this primitive people. + </p> + <p> + The modes of applying these materials to building purposes were various. + Sometimes the crude and the burnt brick were used in alternate layers, + each layer being several feet in thickness; more commonly the crude brick + was used (as already noticed) for the internal parts of the building, and + a facing of burnt brick protected the whole from the weather. Occasionally + the mass of an edifice was composed entirely of crude brick; but in such + cases special precautions had to be taken to secure the stability of this + comparatively frail material. In the first place, at intervals of four or + five feet, a thick layer of reed matting was interposed along the whole + extent of the building, which appears to have been intended to protect the + earthy mass from disintegration, by its protection beyond the rest of the + external surface. The readers of Herodotus are familiar with this feature, + which (according to him) occurred in the massive walls whereby Babylon was + surrounded. If this was really the case, we may conclude that those walls + were not composed of burnt brick, as he imagined, but of the sun-dried + material. Reeds were never employed in buildings composed of burnt brick, + being useless in such cases; where their impression is found, as not + unfrequently happens, on bricks of this kind, the brick has been laid upon + reed matting when in a soft state, and afterwards submitted to the action + of fire. In edifices of crude brick, the reeds were no doubt of great + service, and have enabled some buildings of the kind to endure to the + present day. They are very strikingly conspicuous where they occur, since + they stripe the whole building with continuous horizontal lines, having at + a distance somewhat the effect of the courses of dark marble in an Italian + structure of the Byzantine period. + </p> + <p> + Another characteristic of the edifices in which crude brick is thus + largely employed, is the addition externally of solid and massive + buttresses of the burnt material. These buttresses have sometimes a very + considerable projection; they are broad, but not high, extending less than + half way up the walls against which they are placed. + </p> + <p> + Two kinds of cement are used in the early structures. One is a coarse clay + or mud, which is sometimes mixed with chopped straw; the other is bitumen. + This last is of an excellent quality, and the bricks which it unites + adhere often so firmly together that they can with difficulty be + separated. As a gen eral rule, in the early buildings, the crude brick is + laid in mud, while the bitumen is used to cement together the burnt + bricks. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0010" id="linkimage-0010"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/plate008.jpg" width="100%" alt="Plate 8 " /> + </div> + <p> + These general remarks will receive their best illustration from a detailed + description of the principal early edifices which recent researches in + Lower Mesopotamia have revealed to us. These are for the most part + temples; but in one or two cases the edifice explored is thought to have + been a residence, so that the domestic architecture of the period may be + regarded as known to us, at least in some degree. The temples most + carefully examined hitherto are those at Warka, Mugheir, and Abu-Shahrein, + the first of which was explored by Mr. Loftus in 1854, the second by Mr. + Taylor in the same year, and the third by the same traveller in 1855. The + Warka ruin is called by the natives Bowariyeh, which signifies “reed + mats,” in allusion to a peculiarity, already noticed, in its construction. + <a href="#linkimage-0010">[PLATE VIII., Fig. 1.]</a> It is at once the + most central and the loftiest ruin in the place. At first sight it appears + to have been a cone or pyramid; but further examination proves that it was + in reality a tower, 200 feet square at the base, built in two stories, the + lower story being composed entirely of sun-dried bricks laid in mud, and + protected at intervals of four or five feet by layers of reeds, while the + upper one was composed of the same material, faced with burnt brick. Of + the upper stage very little remains; and this little is of a later date + than the inferior story, which bears marks of a very high antiquity. The + sundried bricks whereof the lower story is composed are “rudely moulded of + very incoherent earth, mixed with fragments of pottery and fresh-water + shells,” and vary in size and shape, being sometimes square, seven inches + each way; sometimes oblong, nine inches by seven, and from three to three + and a half inches thick. The whole present height of the building is + estimated at 100 feet above the level of the plain. Its summit, except + where some slight remains of the second story constitute an interruption, + is “perfectly flat,” and probably continues very much in the condition in + which it was when the lower stage was first built. This stage, being built + of crude brick, was necessarily weak; it is therefore supported by four + massive buttresses of baked brick, each placed exactly in the centre of + one of the sides, and carried to about one-third of the height. Each + buttress is nineteen feet high, six feet one inch wide, and seven and a + half feet in depth; and each is divided down the middle by a receding + space, one foot nine inches in width. All the bricks composing the + buttresses are inscribed, and are very firmly cemented together with + bitumen, in thick layers. The buttresses were entirely hidden under the + mass of rubbish which had fallen from the building, chiefly from the upper + story, and only became apparent when Mr. Loftus made his excavations. + </p> + <p> + It is impossible to reconstruct the Bowariyeh ruin from the facts and + measurements hitherto supplied to us even the height of the first story is + at present uncertain; and we have no means of so much as conjecturing the + height of the second. The exact emplacement of the second upon the first + is also doubtful, while the original mode of access is undiscovered; and + thus the plan of the building is in many respects still defective. We only + know that it was a square; that it had two stories at the least; and that + its entire height above the plain considerably exceeded 100 feet. The + temple at Mugheir has been more accurately examined. <a + href="#linkimage-0010">[PLATE VIII., Fig. 2.]</a> On a mound or platform + of some size, raised about twenty feet above the level of the plain, there + stands a rectangular edifice, consisting at present of two stories, both + of them ruined in parts, and buried to a considerable extent in piles of + rubbish composed of their debris. The angles of the building exactly face + the four cardinal points. It is not a square, but a parallelogram, having + two longer and two shorter sides. <a href="#linkimage-0011">[PLATE IX., + Fig. 1.]</a> The longer sides front to the north-east and south-west + respectively, and measure 198 feet; while the shorter sides, which face + the north-west and south-east, measure 133 feet. The present height of the + basement story is 27 feet; but, allowing for the concealment of the lower + part by the rubbish, and the destruction of the upper part by the hand of + time, we may presume that the original height was little, if at all, short + of 40 feet. The interior of this story is built of crude or sun-dried + bricks of small size, laid in bitumen; but it is faced through out with a + wall, ten feet in thickness, composed of red kiln dried bricks, likewise + cemented with bitumen. This external wall is at once strengthened and + diversified to the eye by a number of shallow buttresses or pilasters in + the same material; of these there are nine, including the corner ones, on + the longer, and six on the shorter sides. The width of the buttresses is + eight feet, and their projection a little more than a foot. The walls and + buttresses alike slope inwards at an angle of nine degrees. On the + north-eastern side of the building there is a staircase nine feet wide, + with sides or balustrades three feet wide, which leads up from the + platform to the top of the first story. It has also been conjectured that + there was a second or grand staircase on the south-east face, equal in + width to the second story of the building, and thus occupying nearly the + whole breadth of the structure on that side. A number of narrow slits or + air-holes are carried through the building from side to side; they + penetrate alike the walls and buttresses, and must have tended to preserve + the dryness of the structure. The second story is, like the first, a + parallelogram, and not of very different proportions. Its longer sides + measure 119 feet, and its shorter ones 75 feet at the base. Its + emplacement upon the first story is exact as respects the angles, but not + central as regards the four sides. While it is removed from the + south-eastern edge a distance of 47 feet, from the northwestern it is + distant only 30 feet. From the two remaining sides its distance is + apparently about 28 feet. The present height of the second story, + including the rubbish upon its top, is 19 feet; but we may reasonably + suppose that the original height was much greater. The material of which + its inner structure is composed, seems to be chiefly (or wholly) + partially-burnt brick, of a light red color, laid in a cement composed of + lime and ashes. This central mass is faced with kiln-dried bricks of large + size and excellent quality, also laid, except on the north-west face, in + lime mortar. No buttresses and no staircase are traceable on this story; + though it is possible that on the south-east side the grand staircase may + have run the whole height of both stories. + </p> + <p> + According to information received by Mr. Taylor from the Arabs of the + vicinity, there existed, less than half a century ago, some remains of a + third story, on the summit of the rubbish which now crowns the second. + This building is described as a room or chamber, and was probably the + actual shrine of the god in whose honor the whole structure was erected. + Mr. Taylor discovered a number of bricks or tiles glazed with a blue + enamel, and also a number of large copper nails, at such a height in the + rubbish which covers up much of the second story, that he thinks they + could only have come from this upper chamber. The analogy of later + Babylonian buildings, as of the Birs-Nimrud and the temple of Belus at + Babylon confirms this view, and makes it probable that the early Chaldaean + temple was a building in three stages, of which the first and second were + solid masses of brickwork, ascended by steps on the outside, while the + third was a small house or chamber highly ornamented, containing the image + and shrine of the god. <a href="#linkimage-0011">[PLATE IX., Fig. 2.]</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0011" id="linkimage-0011"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/plate009.jpg" width="100%" alt="Plate 9 " /> + </div> + <p> + In conclusion, it must be observed that only the lower story of the + Mugheir temple exhibits the workmanship of the old or Chaldaean period. + Clay cylinders found in the upper story inform us that in its present + condition this story is the work of Nabonidus, the last of the Babylonian + kings; and most of its bricks bear his stamp. Some, however, have the + stamp of the same monarch who built the lower story and this is sufficient + to show that the two stories are a part of the original design, and + therefore that the idea of building in stages belongs to the first kingdom + and to primitive times. There is no evidence to prove whether the original + edifice had, or had not, a third story; since the chamber seen by the + Arabs was no doubt a late Babylonian work. The third story of the + accompanying sketch must therefore be regarded as conjectural. + </p> + <p> + It is not necessary for our present purpose to detain the reader with a + minute description of the ancient temple at Abu-Shahrein. The general + character of this building seems to have very closely resembled that of + the Mugheir temple. Its angles fronted the cardinal points: it had two + stories, and an ornamented chamber at the top; it was faced with burnt + brick, and strengthened by buttresses; and in most other respects followed + the type of the Mugheir edifice. Its only very notable peculiarities are + the partial use of stone in the construction, and the occurrence of a + species of pillar, very curiously composed. The artificial platform on + which the temple stands is made of beaten clay, cased with a massive wall + of sandstone and limestone, in some places twenty feet thick. There is + also a stone or rather marble, staircase which leads up from the platform + to the summit of the first story, composed of small polished blocks, + twenty-two inches long, thirteen broad, and four and a half thick. The bed + of the staircase is made of sun dried brick, and the marble was fastened + to this substratum by copper bolts, some portion of which was found by Mr. + Taylor still adhering to the blocks. At the foot of the staircase there + appear to have stood two columns, one on either side of it. The + construction of these columns is very singular. A circular nucleus + composed of sandstone slabs and small cylindrical pieces of marble + disposed in alternate layers, was coated externally with coarse lime, + mixed with small stones and pebbles, until by means of many successive + layers the pillar had attained the desired bulk and thickness. Thus the + stone and marble were entirely concealed under a thick coating of plaster; + and a smoothness was given to the outer surface which it would have + otherwise been difficult to obtain. The date of the Abu-Shahrein temple is + thought to be considerably later than that of the other buildings above + described; and the pillars would seem to be a refinement on the simplicity + of the earlier times. The use of stone is to be accounted for, not so much + by the advance of architectural science, as by the near vicinity of the + Arabian hills, from which that material could be readily derived. + </p> + <p> + It is evident, that if the Chaldaean temples were of the character and + construction which we have gathered from their remains, they could have + possessed no great architectural beauty, though they may not have lacked a + certain grandeur. In the dead level of Babylonia, an elevation even of 100 + or 150 feet must have been impressive; and the plain massiveness of the + structures no doubt added to their grand effect on the beholder. But there + was singularly little in the buildings, architecturally viewed, to please + the eye or gratify the sense of beauty. No edifices in the world —not + even the Pyramids—are more deficient in external ornament. The + buttresses and the air-holes, which alone break the flat uniformity of the + walls, are intended simply for utility, and can scarcely be said to be + much embellishment. If any efforts were made to delight by the ordinary + resources of ornamental art, it seems clear that such efforts did not + extend to the whole edifice, but were confined to the shrine itself—the + actual abode of the god—the chamber which crowned the whole, and was + alone, strictly speaking, “the temple.” Even here there is no reason to + believe that the building had externally much beauty. No fragments of + architraves or capitals, no sculptured ornaments of any kind, have been + found among the heaps of rubbish in which Chaldaean monuments are + three-parts buried. + </p> + <p> + The ornaments which have been actually discovered, are such as suggest the + idea of internal rather than external decoration; and they render it + probable that such decoration was, at least in some cases, extremely rich. + The copper nails and blue enamelled tiles found high up in the Mugheir + mound, have been already noticed. At Abu-Shahrein the ground about the + basement of the second story was covered with small pieces of agate, + alabaster, and marble, finely cut and polished, from half an inch to two + inches long, and half an inch (or somewhat less) in breadth, each with a + hole drilled through its back, containing often a fragment of a copper + bolt. + </p> + <p> + It was strewn less thickly with small plates of pure gold, and with a + number of gold-headed or gilt, headed nails, used apparently to attach the + gold plates to the internal plaster or wood-work. These fragments seem to + attest the high ornamentation of the shrine in this instance, which we + have no reason to regard is singular or in any way exceptional. + </p> + <p> + The Chaldaean remains which throw light upon the domestic architecture of + the people are few and scanty. A small house was disinterred by Mr. Taylor + at Mugheir, and the plan of some chambers was made out at Abu-Shahrein; + but these are hitherto the only specimens which can be confidently + assigned to the Chaldaean period. The house stood on a platform of + sundried bricks, paved on the top with burnt bricks. It was built in the + form of a cross, but with a good deal of irregularity, every wall being + somewhat longer or shorter than the others. The material used in its + construction was burnt brick, the outer layer imbedded in bitumen, and the + remainder in a cement of mud. Externally the house was ornamented with + perpendicular stepped recesses, while internally the bricks had often a + thin coating of gypsum or enamel, upon which characters were inscribed. + The floors of the chambers were paved with burnt brick, laid in bitumen. + Two of the doorways were arched, the arch extending through the whole + thickness of the walls; it was semicircular, and was constructed with + bricks made wedge-shaped for the purpose. A good deal of charred date-wood + was found in the house, probably the remains of rafters which had + supported the roof. + </p> + <p> + The chambers at Abu-Shahrein were of sun-dried brick, with an internal + covering of fine plaster, ornamented with paint. In one the ornamentation + consisted of a series of red, black, and white bands, three inches in + breadth; in another was represented, but very rudely, the figure of a man + holding a bird on his wrist, with a smaller figure near him, in red paint. + The favorite external ornamentation for houses seems to have been by means + of colored cones in terra cotta, which were imbedded in moist mud or + plaster, and arranged into a variety of patterns. <a href="#linkimage-0011">[PLATE + IX., Fig. 3.]</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0013" id="linkimage-0013"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/plate010.jpg" width="100%" alt="Plate 10 " /> + </div> + <p> + But little can be said as to the plan on which houses were built. + </p> + <p> + Next to their edifices, the most remarkable of the remains which the + Chaldaeans have left to after-ages, are their burial-places. While ancient + tombs are of very rare occurrence in Assyria and Upper Babylonia, Chaldaea + Proper abounds with them. It has been conjectured, with some show of + reason, that the Assyrians, in the time of their power, may have made the + sacred land of Chai the general depository of their dead, much in the same + way as the Persians even now use Kerbela and Nedjif or Meshed Ali as + special cemetery cities, to which thousands of corpses are brought + annually. At any rate, the quantity of human relics accumulated upon + certain Chaldaean sites is enormous, and seems to be quite beyond what the + mere population of the surrounding district could furnish. At Warka, for + instance, excepting the triangular space between the three principal + ruins, the whole remainder of the platform, the whole space within the + walls, and an unknown extent of desert beyond them, are everywhere filled + with human bones and sepulchres. In places coffins are piled upon coffins, + certainly to the depth of 30, probably to the depth of 60 feet; and for + miles on every side of the ruins the traveller walks upon a soil teeming + with the relics of ancient, and now probably extinct, races. Sometimes + these relics manifestly belong to a number of distinct and widely separate + eras; but there are places where it is otherwise. However we may account + for it—and no account has been yet given which is altogether + satisfactory—it seems clear, from the comparative homogeneousness of + the remains in some places, that they belong to a single race, and if not + to a single period, at any rate to only two, or, at the most, three + distinct periods, so that it is no longer very difficult to distinguish + the more ancient from the later relics. Such is the character of the + remains at Mugheir, which are thought to contain nothing of later date + than the close of the Babylonian period, B. C. 538; and such is, still + more remarkably, the character of the ruins at Abu-Shahrein and + Tel-el-Lahm, which seem to be entirely, or almost entirely, Chaldaean. In + the following account of the coffins and mode of burial employed by the + early Chaldaeans, examples will be drawn from these places only; since + otherwise we should be liable to confound together the productions of very + different ages and peoples. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0015" id="linkimage-0015"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/plate011.jpg" width="100%" alt="Plate 11 " /> + </div> + <p> + The tombs to which an archaic character most certainly attaches are of + three kinds-brick vaults, clay coffins shaped like a dish-cover, and + coffins in the same material, formed of two large jars placed mouth to + mouth, and cemented together with bitumen. The brick vaults are found + chiefly at Mugheir. <a href="#linkimage-0015">[PLATE XI., Fig. 1.]</a> + They are seven feet long, three feet seven inches broad, and five feet + high, composed of sun-dried bricks imbedded in mud, and exhibit a very + remarkable form and construction of the arch. The side walls of the vaults + slope outwards as they ascend; and the arch is formed, like those in + Egyptian buildings and Scythian tombs, by each successive layer of bricks, + from the point where the arch begins, a little overlapping the last, till + the two sides of the roof are brought so near together that the aperture + may be closed by a single brick. The floor of the vaults was paved with + brick similar to that used for the roof and sides; on this floor was + commonly spread a matting of reeds, and the body was laid upon the + matting. It was commonly turned on its left side, the right arm falling + towards the left, and the fingers resting on the edge of a copper bowl, + usually placed on the palm of the left hand. The head was pillowed on a + single sun-dried brick. Various articles of ornament and use were interred + with each body, which will be more particularly described hereafter. Food + seems often to have been placed in the tombs, and jars or other drinking + vessels are universal. The brick vaults appear to have been family + sepulchres; they have often received three or four bodies, and in one case + a single vault contained eleven skeletons. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0016" id="linkimage-0016"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/plate012.jpg" width="100%" alt="Plate 12 " /> + </div> + <p> + The clay coffins, shaped like a dish-cover, are among the most curious of + the sepulchral remains of antiquity. <a href="#linkimage-0015">[PLATE XI., + Fig. 2;]</a> <a href="#linkimage-0016">[PLATE XII., Fig. 1.]</a> On a + platform of sun-dried brick is laid a mat exactly similar to those in + common use among the Arabs of the country at the present day; and hereon + lies the skeleton disposed as in the brick vaults, and surrounded by + utensils and ornaments. Mat, skeleton, and utensils are then concealed by + a huge cover in burnt clay, formed of a single piece, which is commonly + seven feet long, two or three feet high, and two feet and a half broad at + the bottom. It is rarely that modern potters produce articles of half the + size. Externally the covers have commonly some slight ornament, such as + rims and shallow indentations, as represented in the sketch (No. 1). + Internally they are plain. Not more than two skeletons have ever been + found under a single cover; and in these cases they were the skeletons of + a male and a female. Children were interred separately, under covers about + half the size of those for adults. Tombs of this kind commonly occur at + some considerable depth. None were discovered at Mugheir nearer the + surface than seven or eight feet. + </p> + <p> + The third kind of tomb, common both at Mugheir and at Telel-Lahm, is + almost as eccentric as the preceding. Two large open-mouthed jars (a and + b), shaped like the largest of the water-jars at present in use at + Baghdad, are taken, and the body is disposed inside them with the usual + accompaniments of dishes, vases, and ornaments. <a href="#linkimage-0016">[PLATE + XII. Fig. 2.]</a> The jars average from two and a half feet to three feet + in depth, and have a diameter of about two feet; so that they would + readily contain a full-sized corpse if it was slightly bent at the knees. + </p> + <p> + Sometimes the two jars are of equal size, and are simply united at their + mouths by a layer of bitumen (dd); but more commonly one is slightly + larger than the other, and the smaller mouth is inserted into the larger + one for a depth of three or four inches, while a coating of bitumen is + still applied externally at the juncture. In each coffin there is an + air-hole at one extremity (c) to allow the escape of the gases generated + during decomposition. + </p> + <p> + Besides the coffins themselves, some other curious features are found in + the burial-places. The dead are commonly buried, not underneath the + natural surface of the ground, but in extensive artificial mounds, each + mound containing a vast number of coffins. The coffins are arranged side + by side, often in several layers; and occasionally strips of masonry, + crossing each other at right angles, separate the sets of coffins from + their neighbors. The surface of the mounds is sometimes paved with brick; + and a similar pavement often separates the layers of coffins one from + another. But the most remarkable feature in the tomb-mounds is their + system of drainage. Long shafts of baked clay extend from the surface of + the mound to its base, composed of a succession of rings two feet in + diameter, and about a foot and a half in breadth, joined together by thin + layers of bitumen. <a href="#linkimage-0016">[PLATE XII., Fig. 3.]</a> To + give the rings additional strength, the sides have a slight concave curve + and, still further to resist external pressure, the shafts are filled from + bottom to top with a loose mass of broken pottery. At the top the shaft + contracts rapidly by means of a ring of a peculiar shape, and above this + ring are a series of perforated bricks leading up to the top of the mound, + the surface of which is so arranged as to conduct the rain-water into + these orifices. For the still more effectual drainage of the mound, the + top-piece of the shaft immediately below the perforated bricks, and also + the first rings, are full of small holes to admit any stray moisture; and + besides this, for the space of a foot every way, the shafts are surrounded + with broken pottery, so that the real diameter of each drain is as much as + four feet. By these arrangements the piles have been kept perfectly dry; + and the consequence is the preservation, to the present day, not only of + the utensils and ornaments placed in the tombs, but of the very skeletons + themselves, which are seen perfect on opening a tomb, though they + generally crumble to dust at the first touch. + </p> + <p> + The skill of the Chaldaeans as potters has received considerable + illustration in the foregoing pages. No ordinary ingenuity was needed to + model and bake the large vases, and still larger covers, which were the + ordinary receptacles of the Chaldaean dead. The rings and top-pieces of + the drainage-shafts also exhibit much skill and knowledge of principles. + Hitherto, however, the reader has not been brought into contact with any + specimens of Chaldaean fictile art which can be regarded as exhibiting + elegance of form, or, indeed, any sense of beauty as distinguished from + utility. Such specimens are, in fact, somewhat scarce, but they are not + wholly wanting. Among the vases and drinking vessels with which the + Chaldaean tombs abound, while the majority are characterized by a certain + rudeness both of shape and material, we occasionally meet with specimens + of a higher character, which would not shrink from a comparison with the + ordinary productions of Greek fictile art. A number of these are + represented in the second figure <a href="#linkimage-0017">[PLATE XIII., + Fig 2]</a>, which exhibits several forms not hitherto published-some taken + from drawings by Mr. Churchill, the artist who accompanied Mr. Loftus on + his first journey; others drawn for the present work from vases now in the + British Museum. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0017" id="linkimage-0017"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/plate013.jpg" width="100%" alt="Plate 13 " /> + </div> + <p> + It is evident that, while the vases of the first group are roughly moulded + by the hand, the vases and lamps of the second have been carefully shaped + by the aid of the potter’s wheel. These last are formed of a far finer + clay than the early specimens, and have sometimes a slight glaze upon + them, which adds much to their beauty. + </p> + <p> + In a few instances the works of the Chaldaeans in this material belong to + mimetic art, of which they are rude but interesting specimens. Some of the + primitive graves at Senkareh yielded tablets of baked clay, on which were + represented, in low relief, sometimes single figures of men, sometimes + groups, sometimes men in combination with animals. A scene in which a lion + is disturbed in its feast off a bullock, by a man armed with a club and a + mace or hatchet, possesses remarkable spirit, and, were it not for the + strange drawing of the lion’s unlifted leg, might be regarded as a very + creditable performance. In another, a lion is represented devouring a + prostrate human being; while a third exhibits a pugilistic encounter after + the most approved fashion of modern England. It is perhaps uncertain + whether these tablets belong to the Chaldaean or to the Babylonian period, + but on the whole their rudeness and simplicity favor the earlier rather + than the later date. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0018" id="linkimage-0018"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/plate014.jpg" width="100%" alt="Plate 14 " /> + </div> + <p> + The only other works having anything of an artistic character, that can be + distinctly assigned to the primitive period, are a certain number of + engraved cylinders, some of which are very curious. <a + href="#linkimage-0018">[PLATE XIV., Fig. 1]</a> It is clearly established + that the cylinders in question, which are generally of serpentine, + meteoric stone, jasper, chalcedony, or other similar substance, were the + seals or signets of their possessors, who impressed them upon the moist + clay which formed the ordinary material for writing. They are round, or + nearly so, and measure from half an inch to three inches in length; + ordinarily they are about one-third of their length in diameter. A hole is + bored through the stone from end to end, so that it could be worn upon a + string; and cylinders are found in some of the earliest tombs which have + been worn round the wrist in this way. In early times they may have been + impressed by the hand; but afterwards it was common to place them upon a + bronze or copper axis attached to a handle, by means of which they were + rolled across the clay from one end to the other. The cylinders are + frequently unengraved, and this is most commonly their condition in the + primitive tombs; out there is some very curious evidence, from which it + appears that the art of engraving them was really known and practised + (though doubtless in rare instances) at a very early date. The signet + cylinder of the monarch who founded the most ancient of the buildings at + Mugheir, Warka, Senkareh, and Niffer, and who thus stands at the head of + the monumental kings, was in the possession of Sir R. Porter; and though + it is now lost, an engraving made from it is preserved in his “Travels.” + <a href="#linkimage-0018">[PLATE XIV., Fig. 2.]</a> The signet cylinder of + this monarch’s son has been recently recovered, and is now in the British + Museum. We are entitled to conclude from the data thus in our possession + that the art of cylinder-engraving had, even at this early period, made + considerable progress. The letters of the inscriptions, which give the + names of the kings and their titles, are indeed somewhat rudely formed, as + they are on the stamped bricks of the period; but the figures have been as + well cut, and as flowingly traced, as those of a later date. It was + thought possible that the artist employed by Sir R. Porter had given a + flattering representation of his original, but the newly recovered relic, + known as the “cylinder of Ilgi,” bears upon it figures of quite as great + excellence: and we are thus led to the conclusion that both mechanical and + artistic skill had reached a very surprising degree of excellence at the + most remote period to which the Chaldaean records carry us back. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0019" id="linkimage-0019"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/plate015.jpg" width="100%" alt="Plate 15 " /> + </div> + <p> + It increases the surprise which we naturally feel at the discovery of + these relics to reflect upon the rudeness of the implements with which + such results would seem to have been accomplished. In the primitive + Chaldaean ruins, the implements which have been discovered are either in + stone or bronze. Iron in the early times is seemingly unknown, and when it + first appears is wrought into ornaments for the person. Knives of flint or + chert <a href="#linkimage-0018">[PLATE XIV., Fig. 3]</a>, stone hatchets, + hammers, adzes, and nails, are common in the most ancient mounds, which + contain also a number of clay models, the centres, as it is thought, of + moulds into which molten bronze was run, and also occasionally the bronze + instruments themselves, as (in addition to spear heads and arrow-heads) + hammers, adzes, hatchets, knives, and sickles. It will be seen by the + engraved representations that these instruments are one and all of a rude + and coarse character. <a href="#linkimage-0019">[PLATE XV.]</a>, <a + href="#linkimage-0020">[PLATE XVI.]</a> The flint and stone knives, axes, + and hammers, which abound in all the true Chaldaean mounds, are somewhat + more advanced indeed than those very primitive implements which have been + found in a drift; but they are of a workmanship at least as unskilled as + that of the ordinary stone celts of Western and Northern Europe, which + till the discoveries of M. Perthes were regarded as the most ancient human + remains in our quarter of the globe. They indicate some practical + knowledge of the cleavage of silicious rocks, but they show no power of + producing even such finish as the celts frequently exhibit. In one case + only has a flint instrument been discovered perfectly regular in form, and + presenting a sharp angular exactness. The instrument, which is figured <a + href="#linkimage-0020">[PLATE XVI., Fig. 2]</a>, is a sort of long + parallelogram, round at the back, and with a deep impression down its + face. Its use is uncertain; but, according to a reasonable conjecture, it + may have been designed for impressing characters upon the moist clay of + tablets and cylinders—a purpose for which it is said to be + excellently fitted. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0020" id="linkimage-0020"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/plate016.jpg" width="100%" alt="Plate 16 " /> + </div> + <p> + The metallurgy of the Chaldaeans, though indicative of a higher state of + civilization and a greater knowledge of the useful arts than their stone + weapons, is still of a somewhat rude character, and indicates a nation but + just emerging out of an almost barbaric simplicity. Metal seems to be + scarce, and not many kinds are found. There is no silver, zinc, or + platinum; but only gold, copper, tin, lead, and iron. Gold is found in + beads, ear-rings, and other ornaments, which are in some instances of a + fashion that is not inelegant. <a href="#linkimage-0020">[PLATE XVI., Fig. + 3.]</a> Copper occurs pure, but is more often hardened by means of an + alloy of tin, whereby it becomes bronze, and is rendered suitable for + implements and weapons. Lead is rare, occurring only in a very few + specimens, as in one jar or bottle, and in what seems to be a portion of a + pipe, brought by Mr. Loftus from Mugheir. <a href="#linkimage-0021">[PLATE + XVII., Fig. 1.]</a> Iron, as already observed, is extremely uncommon; and + when it occurs, is chiefly used for the rings and bangles which seem to + have been among the favorite adornments of the people. Bronze is, however, + even for these, the more common material. <a href="#linkimage-0021">[PLATE + XVII, Fig. 2.]</a> It is sometimes wrought into thin and elegant shapes, + tapering to a point at either extremity; sometimes the form into which it + is cast is coarse and massive, resembling a solid bar twisted into a rude + circle. For all ordinary purposes of utility it is the common metal used. + A bronze or copper bowl is found in almost every tomb; bronze bolts remain + in the pieces of marble used for tesselating; bronze rings sometimes + strengthen the cones used for ornamenting walls; bronze weapons and + instruments are, as we have seen, common, and in the same material have + been found chains, nails, toe and finger rings, armlets, bracelets, and + fish-hooks. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0021" id="linkimage-0021"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/plate017.jpg" width="100%" alt="Plate 17 " /> + </div> + <p> + No long or detailed account can be given of the textile fabrics of the + ancient Chaldaeans; but there is reason to believe that this was a branch + of industry in which they particularly excelled. We know that as early as + the time of Joshua a Babylonian garment had been imported into Palestine, + and was of so rare a beauty as to attract the covetous regards of Achan, + in common with certain large masses of the precious metals. The very + ancient cylinder figured above must belong to a time at least five or six + centuries earlier; upon it we observe flounced and fringed garments, + delicately striped, and indicative apparently of an advanced state of + textile manufacture. Recent researches do not throw much light on this + subject. The frail materials of which human apparel is composed can only + under peculiar circumstances resist the destructive power of thirty or + forty centuries; and consequently we have but few traces of the actual + fabrics in use among the primitive people. Pieces of linen are said to + have been found attaching to some of the skeletons in the tombs; and the + sun-dried brick which supports the head is sometimes covered with the + remains of a “tasselled cushion of tapestry;” but otherwise we are without + direct evidence either as to the material in use, or as to the character + of the fabric. In later times Babylon was especially celebrated for its + robes and its carpets. Such evidence as we have would seem to make it + probable that both manufactures had attained to considerable excellence in + Chaldaean times. + </p> + <p> + The only sciences in which the early Chaldaeans can at present be proved + to have excelled are the cognate ones of arithmetic and astronomy. On the + broad and monotonous plains of Lower Mesopotamia, where the earth has + little upon it to suggest thought or please by variety, the “variegated + heaven,” ever changing with the hours and with the seasons, would early + attract attention, while the clear sky, dry atmosphere, and level horizon + would afford facilities for observations, so soon as the idea of them + suggested itself to the minds of the inhabitants. The “Chaldaean learning” + of a later age appears to have been originated, in all its branches, by + the primitive people; in whose language it continued to be written even in + Semitic times. + </p> + <p> + We are informed by Simplicius that Callisthenes, who accompanied Alexander + to Babylon, sent to Aristotle from that capital a series of astronomical + observations, which he had found preserved there, extending back to a + period of 1903 years from Alexander’s conquest of the city. Epigenes + related that these observations were recorded upon tablets of baked clay, + which is quite in accordance with all that we know of the literary habits + of the people. They must have extended, according to Simplicius, as far + back as B.C. 2234, and would therefore seem to have been commenced and + carried on for many centuries by the primitive Chaldaean people. We have + no means of determining their exact nature or value, as none of them have + been preserved to us: no doubt they were at first extremely simple; but we + have every reason to conclude that they were of a real and substantial + character. There is nothing fanciful, or (so to speak) astrological, in + the early astronomy of the Babylonians. Their careful emplacement of their + chief buildings, which were probably used from the earliest times for + astronomical purposes, their invention of different kinds of dials, and + their division of the day into those hours which we still use, are all + solid, though not perhaps very brilliant, achievements. It was only in + later times that the Chaldaeans were fairly taxed with imposture and + charlatanism; in early ages they seem to have really deserved the eulogy + bestowed on them by Cicero. + </p> + <p> + It may have been the astronomical knowledge of the Chaldaeans which gave + them the confidence to adventure on important voyages. Scripture tells us + of the later people, that “their cry was in the ships;” and the early + inscriptions not only make frequent mention of the “ships of Ur,” but by + connecting these vessels with those of Ethiopia seem to imply that they + were navigated to considerable distances. Unfortunately we possess no + materials from which to form any idea either of the make and character of + the Chaldaean vessels, or of the nature of the trade in which they were + employed. We may perhaps assume that at first they were either canoes + hollowed out of a palm-trunk, or reed fabrics made water-tight by a + coating of bitumen. The Chaldaea trading operations lay no doubt, chiefly + in the Persian Gulf; but it is quite possible that even in very early + times they were not confined to this sheltered basin. The gold, which was + so lavishly used in decoration, could only have been obtained in the + necessary quantities from Africa or India; and it is therefore probable + that one, if not both, of these countries was visited by the Chaldaean + traders. + </p> + <p> + Astronomical investigations could not be conducted without a fair + proficiency in the science of numbers. It would be reasonable to conclude, + from the admitted character of the Chaldaeans as astronomers, that they + were familiar with most arithmetical processes, even had we no evidence + upon the subject. Evidence, however, to a certain extent, does exist. On a + tablet found at Senkareh, and belonging probably to an early period, a + table of squares is given, correctly calculated from one to sixty. The + system of notation, which is here used, is very curious. Berosus informs + us that, in their computations of time, the Chaldaeans employed an + alternate sexagesimal and decimal notation, reckoning the years by the <i>soss,</i> + the <i>ner,</i> and the <i>sar</i>—the <i>soss</i> being a term of + 60 years, the <i>ner</i> one of 600, and the <i>sar</i> one of 3600 (or 60 + <i>sosses</i>). It appears from the Senkareh monument, that they + occasionally pursued the same practice in mere numerical calculations, as + will be evident from the illustration. <a href="#linkimage-0022">[PLATE + XVIII., Figs. 1, 2.]</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0022" id="linkimage-0022"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/plate018.jpg" width="100%" alt="Plate 18 " /> + </div> + <p> + In Arabic numerals this table may be expressed as follows: + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0023" id="linkimage-0023"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/page0066.jpg" width="100%" alt="Page 66 " /> + </div> + <p> + The calculation is in every case correct; and the notation is by means of + two signs—the simple wedge [—] , and the arrowhead [—] ; + the wedge representing the unit, the soss (60), and the sar (3600), while + the arrowhead expresses the decades of each series, or the numbers 10 and + 600. The notation is cumbrous, but scarcely more so than that of the + Romans. It would be awkward to use, from the paucity in the number of + signs, which could scarcely fail to give rise to confusion,—more + especially as it does not appear that there was any way of expressing a + cipher. It is not probable that at any time it was the notation in + ordinary use. Numbers were commonly expressed in a manner not unlike the + Roman, as will be seen by the subjoined table. <a href="#linkimage-0022">[PLATE + XVIII., Fig. 3.]</a> One, ten, a hundred, and a thousand, had distinct + signs. Fifty had the same sign as the unit—a simple wedge. The other + numbers were composed from these elements. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI. + </h2> + <h3> + MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. + </h3> + <p> + Chaldaea, unlike Egypt, has preserved to our day but few records of the + private or domestic life of its inhabitants. Beyond the funereal customs, + to which reference was made in the last chapter, we can obtain from the + monuments but a very scanty account of their general mode of life, + manners, and usages. Some attempt, however, must be made to throw together + the few points of this nature on which we have obtained any light from + recent researches in Mesopotamia. + </p> + <p> + The ordinary dress of the common people among the Chaldaeans seems to have + consisted of a single garment, a short tunic, tied round the waist, and + reaching thence to the knees, a costume very similar to that worn by the + Madan Arabs at the present day. To this may sometimes have been added an + <i>abba,</i> or cloak, thrown over the shoulders, and falling below the + tunic, about half-way down the calf of the leg. The material of the former + we may perhaps presume to have been linen, which best suits the climate, + and is a fabric found in the ancient tombs. The outer cloak was most + likely of woollen, and served to protect hunters and others against the + occasional inclemency of the air. The feet were unprotected by either + shoes or sandals; on the head was worn a skull-cap, or else a band of + camel’s hairs—the germ of the turban which has now become universal + throughout the East. + </p> + <p> + The costume of the richer class was more elaborate. A high mitre, of a + very peculiar appearance, or else a low cap ornamented with two curved + horns, covered the head. <a href="#linkimage-0024">[PLATE XIX. Fig. 1.]</a> + The neck and arms were bare. The chief garment was a long gown or robe, + extending from the neck to the feet, commonly either striped or flounced, + or both; and sometimes also adorned with fringe. This robe, which was + scanty according to modern notions, appears not to have been fastened by + any girdle or cincture round the waist, but to have been kept in place by + passing over one shoulder, a slit or hole being made for the arm on one + side of the dress only. In some cases the upper part of the dress seems to + have been detached from the lower, and to have formed a sort of jacket, + which reached about to the hips. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0024" id="linkimage-0024"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/plate019.jpg" width="100%" alt="Plate 19 " /> + </div> + <p> + The beard was commonly worn straight and long, not in crisp curls, as by + the Assyrians. <a href="#linkimage-0024">[PLATE XIX., Fig. 2.]</a> The + hair was also worn long, either gathered together into a club behind the + head, or depending in long spiral curls on either side the face and down + the back. Ornaments were much affected, especially by the women. Bronze + and iron bangles and armlets, and bracelets of rings or beads, ear-rings, + and rings for the toes, are common in the tombs, and few female skeletons + are without them. The material of the ornaments is generally of small + value. Many of the rings are formed by grinding down a small kind of + shell; the others are of bronze or iron. Agate beads, however, are not + uncommon, and gold beads have been found in a few tombs, as well as some + other small ornaments in the same material. The men seem to have carried + generally an engraved cylinder in agate or other hard stone, which was + used as a seal or signet, and was probably worn round the wrist. Sometimes + rings, and even bracelets, formed also a part of their adornment. The + latter were occasionally in gold—they consisted of bands or fillets + of the pure beaten metal, and were as much as an inch in breadth. + </p> + <p> + The food of the early Chaldaeans consisted probably of the various + esculents which have already been mentioned as products of the territory. + The chief support, however, of the mass of the population was, beyond a + doubt, the dates, which still form the main sustenance of those who + inhabit the country. It is clear that in Babylonia, as in Scythia, the + practice existed of burying with a man a quantity of the food to which he + had been accustomed during life. In the Chaldaean sepulchres a number of + dishes are always ranged round the skeleton, containing the viaticum of + the deceased person, and in these dishes are almost invariably found a + number of date-stones. They are most commonly unaccompanied by any traces + of other kinds of food; occasionally, however, besides date-stones, the + bones of fish and of chickens have been discovered, from which we may + conclude that those animals were eaten, at any rate by the upper classes. + Herodotus tells us that in his day three tribes of Babylonians subsisted + on fish alone; and the present inhabitants of Lower Mesopotamia make it a + principal article of their diet. The rivers and the marshes produce it in + great abundance, while the sea is also at hand, if the fresh-water supply + should fail. Carp and barbel are the principal fresh-water sorts, and of + these the former grows to a very great size in the Euphrates. An early + tablet, now in the British Museum, represents a man carrying a large fish + by the head, which may be a carp, though the species can scarcely be + identified. There is evidence that the wild-boar was also eaten by the + primitive people; for Mr. Loftus found a jaw of this animal, with the tusk + still remaining, lying in a shallow clay dish in one of the tombs. Perhaps + we may be justified in concluding, from the comparative rarity of any + remains of animal food in the early sepulchres, that the primitive + Chaldaeans subsisted chiefly on vegetable productions. The variety and + excellence of such esculents are prominently put forward by Berosus in his + account of the original condition of the country; and they still form the + principal support of those who now inhabit it. + </p> + <p> + We are told that Nimrod was “a mighty hunter before the Lord;” and it is + evident, from the account already given of the animals indigenous in Lower + Mesopotainia, that there was abundant room for the display of a + sportsman’s skill and daring when men first settled in that region. The + Senkareh tablets show the boldness and voracity of the Chaldaean lion, + which not only levied contributions on the settlers’ cattle, but + occasionally ventured to attack man himself. We have not as yet any + hunting scenes belonging to these early times; but there can be little + doubt that the bow was the chief weapon used against the king of beasts, + whose assailants commonly prefer remaining at a respectful distance from + him. The wild-boar may have been hunted in the same way, or he may have + been attacked with a spear—a weapon equally well known with the bow + to the early settlers. Fish were certainly taken with the hook; for + fish-hooks have been found in the tombs; but probably they were also + captured in nets, which are among the earliest of human inventions. + </p> + <p> + A considerable portion of the primitive population must have been engaged + in maritime pursuits. In the earliest inscriptions we find constant + mention of the “ships of Ur,” which appear to have traded with Ethiopia + —a country whence may have been derived the gold, which—as has + been already shown—was so largely used by the Chaldaeans in + ornamentation. It would be interesting could we regard it as proved that + they traded also with the Indian peninsula; but the “rough logs of wood, + apparently teak,” which Mr. Taylor discovered in the great temple at + Mugheir, belong more probably to the time of its repair by Nabonidus than + to that of its original construction by a Chaldaean monarch. The Sea-God + was one of the chief objects of veneration at Ur and elsewhere; and + Berosus appears to have preserved an authentic tradition, where he makes + the primitive people of the country derive their arts and civilization + from “the Red Sea.” Even if their commercial dealings did not bring them + into contact with any more advanced people, they must have increased the + intelligence, as well as the material resources, of those employed in + them, and so have advanced their civilization. + </p> + <p> + Such are the few conclusions concerning the manners of the Chaldaeans + which alone we seem to have any right to form with our present means of + information. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VII. + </h2> + <h3> + RELIGION. + </h3> + <p> + The religion of the Chaldaeans, from the very earliest times to which the + monuments carry us back, was, in its outward aspect, a polytheism of a + very elaborate character. It is quite possible that there may have been + esoteric explanations, known to the priests and the more learned, which, + resolving the personages of the Pantheon into the powers of nature, + reconciled the apparent multiplicity of gods with monotheism, or even with + atheism. So far, however, as outward appearances were concerned, the + worship was grossly polytheistic. Various deities, whom it was not + considered at all necessary to trace to a single stock, divided the + allegiance of the people, and even of the kings, who regarded with equal + respect, and glorified with equally exalted epithets, some fifteen or + sixteen personages. Next to these principal gods were a far more numerous + assemblage of inferior or secondary divinities, less often mentioned, and + regarded as less worthy of honor, but still recognized generally through + the country. Finally, the Pantheon contained a host of mere local gods or + genii, every town and almost every village in Babylonia being under the + protection of its own particular divinity. + </p> + <p> + It will be impossible to give a complete account of this vast and + complicated system. The subject is still but partially worked out by + cuneiform scholars; the difficulties in the way of understanding it are + great; and in many portions to which special attention has been paid it is + strangely perplexing and bewildering. All that will be attempted in the + present place is to convey an idea of the general character of the + Chaldaean religion, and to give some information with regard to the + principal deities. + </p> + <p> + In the first place, it must be noticed that the religion was to a certain + extent astral. The heaven itself, the sun, the moon, and the five planets, + have each their representative in the Chaldaean Pantheon among the chief + objects of worship. At the same time it is to be observed that the astral + element is not universal, but partial; and that, even where it has place, + it is but one aspect of the mythology, not by any means its full and + complete exposition. The Chaldaean religion even here is far from being + mere Sabaeanism—the simple worship of the “host of heaven.” The + aether, the sun, the moon, and still more the five planetary gods, are + something above and beyond those parts of nature. Like the classical + Apollo and Diana, Mars and Venus, they are real persons, with a life and a + history, a power and an influence, which no ingenuity can translate into a + metaphorical representation of phenomena attaching to the air and to the + heavenly bodies. It is doubtful, indeed, whether the gods of this class + are really of astronomical origin, and not rather primitive deities, whose + character and attributes were, to a great extent, fixed and settled before + the notion arose of connecting them with certain parts of nature. + Occasionally they seem to represent heroes rather than celestial bodies; + and they have all attributes quite distinct from their physical or + astronomical character. + </p> + <p> + Secondly, the striking resemblance of the Chaldaean system to that of the + Classical Mythology seems worthy of particular attention. This resemblance + is too general, and too close in some respects, to allow of the + supposition that mere accident has produced the coincidence. In the + Pantheons of Greece and Rome, and in that of Chaldaea, the same general + grouping is to be recognized; the same genealogical succession is not + unfrequently to be traced; and in some cases even the familiar names and + titles of classical divinities admit of the most curious illustration and + explanation from Chaldaean sources. We can scarcely doubt but that, in + some way or other, there was a communication of beliefs—a passage in + very early times, from the shores of the Persian Gulf to the lands washed + by the Mediterranean, of mythological notions and ideas. It is a probable + conjecture that among the primitive tribes who dwelt on the Tigris and + Euphrates, when the cuneiform alphabet was invented and when such writing + was first applied to the purposes of religion, a Scythic or Scytho-Arian + race existed, who subsequently migrated to Europe, and brought with them + those mythical traditions which, as objects of popular belief, had been + mixed up in the nascent literature of their native country, and that these + traditions were passed on to the classical nations, who were in part + descended from this Scythic or Scytho-Arian people. + </p> + <p> + The grouping of the principal Chalda an deities is as follows. At the head + of the Pantheon stands a god, Il or Ra, of whom but little is known. Next + to him is a Triad, <i>Ana, Bil</i> or <i>Belus,</i> and <i>Hea</i> or <i>Hoa,</i> + who correspond closely to the classical Pluto, Jupiter, and Neptune. Each + of these is accompanied by a female principle or wife, <i>Ana</i> by <i>Anat, + Bil</i> (or Bel) by <i>Mulita</i> or <i>Beltis,</i> and <i>Hea</i> (or <i>Hoa</i>) + by <i>Davkina</i>. Then follows a further Triad, consisting of <i>Sin</i> + or <i>Hurki,</i> the Moon-god; <i>San</i> or <i>Sansi,</i> the Sun; and <i>Vul</i> + the god of the atmosphere. The members of this Triad are again accompanied + by female powers or wives,—<i>Vul</i> by a goddess called <i>Shala</i> + or <i>Tala, San</i> (the Sun) by <i>Gula</i> or <i>Anunit,</i> and <i>Hurki</i> + (the Moon) by a goddess whose name is wholly uncertain, but whose common + title is “the great lady.” + </p> + <p> + Such are the gods at the head of the Pantheon. Next in order to them we + find a group of five minor deities, the representatives of the five + planets,—Nin or Ninip (Saturn), Merodach (Jupiter), Nergal (Mars), + Ishtar (Venus), and Nebo (Mercury). These together constitute what we have + called the <i>principal</i> gods; after them are to be placed the numerous + divinities of the second and third order. + </p> + <p> + These principal gods do not appear to have been connected, like the + Egyptian and the classical divinities, into a single genealogical scheme: + yet still a certain amount of relationship was considered to exist among + them. Ana and Bel, for instance, were brothers, the sons of Il or Ra; Vul + was son of Ana; Hurki, the Moon-god, of Bel; Nebo and Merodach were sons + of Hea or Hoa. Many deities, however, are without parentage, as not only + Il or Ra, but Hea, San (the Sun), Ishtar, and Nergal. Sometimes the + relationship alleged is confused, and even contradictory, as in the case + of Nin or Ninip, who is at one time the son, at another the father of Bel, + and who is at once the son and the husband of Beltis. It is evident that + the genealogical aspect is not that upon which much stress is intended to + be laid, or which is looked upon as having much reality. The great gods + are viewed habitually rather as a hierarchy of coequal powers, than as + united by ties implying on the one hand pre-eminence and on the other + subordination. + </p> + <p> + We may now consider briefly the characters and attributes of the several + deities so far as they can be made out, either from the native records, or + from classical tradition. And, first, concerning the god who stands in + some sense at the head of the Chaldaean Pantheon. + </p> + <p> + IL, or RA. + </p> + <p> + The form Ra represents probably the native Chaldaean name of this deity, + while <i>Il</i> is the Semitic equivalent. <i>Il,</i> of course, is but a + variant of <i>El,</i> the root of the well-known Biblical <i>Elohim</i> as + well as of the Arabic <i>Allah</i>. It is this name which Diodorus + represents under the form of Elms (‘H??oc), 7 and Sanchoniathon, or rather + Philo-Byblius, under that of <i>Elus</i> or <i>Ilus</i>. The meaning of + the word is simply “God,” or perhaps “the god” emphatically. <i>Ra,</i> + the Cushite equivalent, must be considered to have had the same force + originally, though in Egypt it received a special application to the sun, + and became the proper name of that particular deity. The word is lost in + the modern Ethiopic. It formed an element in the native name of Babylon, + which was <i>Ka-ra,</i> the Cushite equivalent of the Semitic <i>Bab-il,</i> + an expression signifying “the gate of God.” + </p> + <p> + Ra is a god with few peculiar attributes. He is a sort of fount and origin + of deity, too remote from man to be much worshipped or to excite any warm + interest. There is no evidence of his having had any temple in Chaldaea + during the early times. A belief in his existence is implied rather than + expressed in inscriptions of the primitive kings, where the Moon-god is + said to be “brother’s son of Ana, and eldest son of Bil, or Belus.” We + gather from this that Bel and Ana were considered to have a common father; + and later documents sufficiently indicate that that common father was Il + or Ra. We must conclude from the name <i>Babil,</i> that Babylon was + originally under his protection, though the god specially worshipped in + the great temple there seems to have been in early times Bel, and in later + times Merodach. The identification of the Chaldaean, Il or Ra with Saturn, + which Diodorus makes, and which may seem to derive some confirmation from + Philo-Byblius, is certainly incorrect, so far as the planet Saturn, which + Diodorus especially mentions, is concerned; but it may be regarded as + having a basis of truth, inasmuch as Saturn was in one sense the chief of + the gods, and was the father of Jupiter and Pluto, as Ra was of Bil and + Ana. + </p> + <p> + ANA. + </p> + <p> + <i>Ana,</i> like Il and Ra, is thought to have been a word originally + signifying “God,” in the highest sense. The root occurs probably in the + Annedotus and Oannes of Berosus, as well as in Philo-Byblius’s Anobret. In + its origin it is probably Cushite: but it was adopted by the Assyrians, + who inflected the word which was indeclinable in the Chaldaean tongue, + making the nominative Anu, the genitive Ani, and the accusative Ana. + </p> + <p> + Ana is the head of the first Triad, which follows immediately after the + obscure god Ra. His position is well marked by Damascius, who gives the + three gods, Anus, Illinus, and Aus, as next in succession to the primeval + pair, Assorus and Missara. He corresponds in many respects to the + classical Hades or Pluto, who, like him, heads the triad to which he + belongs. His epithets are chiefly such as mark priority and antiquity. He + is called “the old Ana,” “the original chief,” perhaps in one place “the + father of the gods,” and also “the Lord of spirits and demons.” Again, he + bears a number of titles which serve to connect him with the infernal + regions. He is “the king of the lower world,” the “Lord of darkness” or + “death,” “the ruler of the far-off city,” and the like. The chief seat of + his worship is Huruk or Erech—the modern Warka—which becomes + the favorite Chaldaean burying city, as being under his protection. There + are some grounds for thinking that one of his names was <i>Dis.</i> If + this was indeed so, it would seem to follow, almost beyond a doubt, that + <i>Dis,</i> the lord of Orcus in Roman mythology, must have been a + reminiscence brought from the East—a lingering recollection of <i>Dis</i> + or Ana, patron god of Erech (<i>Opex</i> of the LXX), the great city of + the dead, the necropolis of Lower Babylonia. Further, curiously enough, we + have, in connection with this god, an illustration of the classical + confusion between Pluto and Plutus; for Ana is “the layer-up of treasures”—the + “lord of the earth” and of the “mountains,” whence the precious metals are + derived. + </p> + <p> + The worship of Ana by the kings of the Chaldaean series is certain. Not + only did Shanias-vul, the son of Ismi-dagon, raise a temple to the honor + of Ana and his son Vul at Kileh-Shergat (or Asshur) about B.C. 1830— + whence that city appears in later times to have borne the name of Telane, + or “the mound of Ana”—but Urukh himself mentions him as a god in an + inscription quoted above; and there is reason to believe that from at + least as early a date he was recognized as the presiding deity at Erech or + Warka. This is evident from the fact, that though the worship of Beltis + superseded that of Ana in the great temple at that place from a very + remote epoch, yet the temple itself always retained the title of Bit-Ana + (or Beth-Ana), “the house of Ana;” and Beltis herself was known commonly + as “the lady of Bit-Ana,” from the previous dedication to this god of the + shrine in question. Ana must also have been worshipped tolerably early at + Nipur (Rifer), or that city could scarcely have acquired, by the time of + Moses, the appellation of Calneh in the Septuagint translation, which is + clearly Kal Ana, “the fort of Ana.” + </p> + <p> + Ana was supposed to have a wife, Anata, of whom a few words will be said + below. She bore her husband a numerous progeny. One tablet shows a list of + nine of their children, among which, however, no name occurs of any + celebrity. But there are two sons of Ana mentioned elsewhere, who seem + entitled to notice. One is the god of the atmosphere, Vul (?), of whom a + full account will be hereafter given. The other bears the name of Martu, + and may be identified with the <i>Brathy</i> of Sanchoniathon. He + represents “Darkness,” or “the West,” corresponding to the Erebus of the + Greeks. + </p> + <p> + ANATA. + </p> + <p> + Anat or Anata has no peculiar characteristics. As her name is nothing but + the feminine form of the masculine Ana, so she herself is a mere + reflection of her husband. All his epithets are applied to her, with a + simple difference of gender. She has really no personality separate from + his, resembling Amente in Egyptian mythology, who is a mere feminine + Ammon. She is rarely, if ever, mentioned in the historical and + geographical inscriptions. + </p> + <p> + BIL, or ENU. + </p> + <p> + Bil or Enu is the second god of the first Triad. He is, probably, the + Illinus (<i>Il-Enu</i> or “God Enu “) of Damascius. His name, which seems + to mean merely “lord,” is usually followed by a qualificative adjunct, + possessing great interest. It is proposed to read this term as <i>Nipru,</i> + or in the feminine <i>Niprut,</i> a word which cannot fail to recall the + Scriptural Nimrod, who is in the Septuagint Nebroth. The term nipru seems + to be formed from the root napar, which is in Syriac to “pursue,” to “make + to flee,” and which has in Assyrian nearly the same meaning. Thus + Bil-Nipru would be aptly translated as “the Hunter Lord,” or “the god + presiding over the chase,” while, at the same time, it might combine the + meaning of “the Conquering Lord” or “the Great Conqueror.” + </p> + <p> + On these grounds it is reasonable to conclude that we have, in this + instance, an admixture of hero-worship in the Chaldaean religion. + Bil-Nipru is probably the Biblical Nimrod, the original founder of the + monarchy, the “mighty hunter” and conqueror. At the same time, however, + that he is this hero deified, he represents also, as the second god of the + first Triad, the classical Jupiter. He is “the supreme,” “the father of + the gods,” “the procreator,” “the Lord,” <i>par excellence,</i> “the king + of all the spirits,” “the lord of the world,” and again, “the lord of all + the countries.” There is some question whether he is altogether to be + identified with the Belus of the Greek writers, who in certain respects + rather corresponds to Merodach. When Belus, however, is called the first + king, the founder of the empire, or the builder of Babylon, it seems + necessary to understand Bil-Nipru or Bel-Nimrod. Nimrod, we know, built + Babylon; and Babylon was called in Assyrian times “the city of Bil-Nipru,” + while its famous defences—the outer and the inner wall—were + known, even under Nebuchadnezzar, by the name of the same god.—Nimrod, + again, was certainly the founder of the kingdom; and, therefore, if + Bil-Nipru is his representative, he would be Belus under that point of + view. + </p> + <p> + The chief seat of Bel-Nimrod’s worship was undoubtedly Nipur (Niffer) or + Calneh. Not only was this city designated by the very same name as the + god, and specially dedicated to him and to his wife Beltis, but Bel-Nimrod + is called “Lord of Nipra,” and his wife “Lady of Nipra,” in evident + allusion to this city or the tract wherein it was placed. Various + traditions, as will be hereafter shown, connect Nimrod with Niffer, which + may fairly be regarded as his principal capital. Here then he would be + naturally first worshipped upon his decease; and here seems to have been + situated his famous temple called Kharris-Nipra, so noted for its wealth, + splendor, and antiquity, which was an object of intense veneration to the + Assyrian kings. Besides this celebrated shrine, he does not appear to have + possessed many others. He is sometimes said to have had four “arks” or + “tabernacles;” but the only places besides Niffer, where we know that he + had buildings dedicated to him, are Calah (Nimrud) and Dur-Kurri-galzu + (Akkerkuf). At the same time he is a god almost universally acknowledged + in the invocations of the Babylonian and Assyrian kings, in which he has a + most conspicuous place. In Assyria he seems to be inferior only to Asshur; + in Chaldaea to Ra and Ana. + </p> + <p> + Of Beltis, the wife of Bel-Nimrod, a full account will be given presently. + Nin or Ninip—the Assyrian Hercules—was universally regarded as + their son; and he is frequently joined with Bel-Nimrod in the invocations. + Another famous deity, the Moon-god, Sin or Hurki, is also declared to be + Bel-Nimrod’s son in some inscriptions. Indeed, as “the father of the + gods,” Bel-Nimrod might evidently claim an almost infinite paternity. + </p> + <p> + The worship of Bel-Nimrod in Chaldaea extends through the whole time of + the monarchy. It has been shown that he was probably the deified Nimrod, + whose apotheosis would take place shortly after his decease. Urukh, the + earliest monumental king, built him a temple at Niffer; and Kurri-galzu, + one of the latest, paid him the same honor at Akkerkuf. Urukh also + frequently mentions him in his inscriptions in connection with Hurki, the + Moon-god, whom he calls his “eldest son.” + </p> + <p> + BELTIS. + </p> + <p> + Beltis, the wife of Bel-Nimrod, presents a strong contrast to Anata, the + wife of Ana. She is far more than the mere female power of Bel-Nimrod, + being in fact a separate and very important deity. Her common title is + “the Great Goddess.” In Chaldaea her name was Mulita or Enuta—both + words signifying “the Lady;” in Assyria she was Bilta or Bilta-Nipruta, + the feminine forms of Bil and Bilu-Nipru. Her favorite title was “the + Mother of the Gods,” or “the Mother of the Great Gods:” whence it is + tolerably clear that she was the “Dea Syria” worshipped at Hierapolis + under the Arian appellation of Mabog. Though commonly represented as the + wife of Bel-Nimrod, and mother of his son Nin or Ninip, she is also called + “the wife of Nin,” and in one place “the wife of Asshur.” Her other titles + are “the lady of Bit-Ana,” “the lady of Nipur,” “the Queen of the land” or + “of the lands,” “the great lady,” “the goddess of war and battle,” and the + “queen of fecundity.” She seems thus to have united the attributes of the + Juno, the Ceres or Demeter, the Bellona, and even the Diana of the + classical nations: for she was at once the queen of heaven, the goddess + who makes the earth fertile, the goddess of war and battle, and the + goddess of hunting. In these latter capacities she appears, however, to + have been gradually superseded by Ishtar, who sometimes even appropriates + her higher and more distinctive appellations. + </p> + <p> + The worship of Beltis was wide-spread, and her temples were very numerous. + At Erech (Warka) she was worshipped on the same platform, if not even in + the same building with Ana. At Calneh or Nipur (Niffer), she shared fully + in her husband’s honors. She had a shrine at Ur (Mugheir), another at + Rubesi, and another outside the walls of Babylon. Some of these temples + were very ancient, those at Warka and Niffer being built by Urukh, while + that at Mugheir was either built or repaired by Ismi-dagon. + </p> + <p> + According to one record, Beltis was a daughter of Ana. It was especially + as “Queen of Nipur” that she was the wife of her son Nin. Perhaps this + idea grew up out of the fact that at Nipur the two were associated + together in a common worship. It appears to have given rise to some of the + Greek traditions with respect to Semiramis, who was made to contract an + incestuous marriage with her own son Ninyas, although no explanation can + at present be given of the application to Beltis of that name. + </p> + <p> + HEA, or HOA. + </p> + <p> + The third god of the first Triad was Hea, or Hoa, probably the Aus of + Damascus. His appellation is perhaps best rendered into Greek by the [—] + of Helladius—the name given to the mystic animal, half man, half + fish, which came up from the Persian Gulf to teach astronomy and letters + to the first settlers on the Euphrates and Tigris. It is perhaps contained + also in the word by which Berosus designates this same creature—Oannes—which + may be explained as <i>Hoa-ana,</i> or “the god Hoa.” There are no means + of strictly determining the precise meaning of the word in Babylonian; but + it is perhaps allowable to connect it, provisionally, with the Arabic + Hiya, which is at once life and “a serpent,” since, according to the best + authority, there are very strong grounds for connecting Hea or Hoa with + the serpent of Scripture and the Paradisaical traditions of the tree of + knowledge and the tree of life. + </p> + <p> + Hoa occupies, in the first Triad, the position which in the classical + mythology is filled by Poseidon or Neptune, and in some respects he + corresponds to him. He is “the lord of the earth,” just as Neptune is + [Greek]; he is “the king of rivers;” and he comes from the sea to teach + the Babylonians; but he is never called “the lord of the sea.” That title + belongs to Nin or Ninip. Hoa is “the lord of the abyss,” or of “the great + deep,” which does not seem to be the sea, but something distinct from it. + His most important titles are those which invest him with the character, + so prominently brought out in Oe and Oannes, of the god of science and + knowledge. He is “the intelligent guide,” or, according to another + interpretation, “the intelligent fish,” “the teacher of mankind,” “the + lord of understanding.” One of his emblems is the “wedge” or “arrowhead,” + the essential element of cuneiform writing, which seems to be assigned to + him as the inventor, or at least the patron of the Chaldaean alphabet. + Another is the serpent which occupies so conspicuous a place among the + symbols of the gods on the black stones recording benefactions, and which + sometimes appears upon the cylinders. <a href="#linkimage-0024">[PLATE + XIX., Fig. 3.]</a> This symbol, here as elsewhere, is emblematic of + superhuman knowledge—a record of the primeval belief that the + serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field. The stellar name of + Hoa was Kimmut; and it is suspected that in this aspect he was identified + with the constellation Draco, which is perhaps the Kimah of Scripture. + Besides his chief character of “god of knowledge,” Hoa is also “god of + life,” a capacity in which the serpent would again fitly symbolize him. He + was likewise “god of glory,” and “god of giving,” being, as Berosus said, + the great giver of good gifts to man. + </p> + <p> + The monuments do not contain much evidence of the early worship of Hoa. + His name appears on a very ancient stone tablet brought from Mugheir (Ur); + but otherwise his claim to be accounted one of the primeval gods must rest + on the testimony of Berosus and Helladius, who represent him as known to + the first settlers. He seems to have been the tutelary god of Is or Hit, + which Isidore of Charax calls Aeipolis, or “Hea’s city;” but there is no + evidence that this was a very ancient place. The Assyrian kings built him + temples at Asshur and Calah. + </p> + <p> + Hoa had a wife Dav-Kina, of whom a few words will be said presently. Their + most celebrated son was Merodach or Bel-Merodach, the Belus of Babylonian + times. As Kimmut, Hoa was also the father of Nebo, whose functions bear a + general resemblance to his own. + </p> + <p> + DAV-KINA. + </p> + <p> + Dav-Kina, the wife of Hoa, is clearly the Dauke or Davke of Damascius who + was the wife of Ails and mother of Belus (Bel-Merodach). Her name is + thought to signify “the chief lady.” She has no distinctive titles or + important position in the Pantheon, but, like Anata, takes her husband’s + epithets with a mere distinction of gender. + </p> + <p> + SIN, or HURKI. + </p> + <p> + The first god of the second Triad is Sin, or Hurki, the moon-deity. It is + in condescension to Greek notions that Berosus inverts the true Chaldaean + order, and places the sun before the moon in his enumeration of the + heavenly bodies. Chaldaean mythology gives a very decided preference to + the lesser luminary, perhaps because the nights are more pleasant than the + days in hot countries. With respect to the names of the god, we may + observe that Sin, the Assyrian or Semitic term, is a word of quite + uncertain etymology, which, however, is found applied to the moon in many + Semitic languages; while Hurki, which is the Chaldaean or Hamitic name, is + probably from a root cognate to the Hebrew <i>Ur</i>, “vigilare,” whence + is derived the term sometimes used to signify “an angel” <i>Ir,</i> “a + watcher.” + </p> + <p> + The titles of Hurki are usually somewhat vague. He is “the chief,” “the + powerful,” “the lord of the spirits,” “he who dwells in the great + heavens;” or, hyperbolically, “the chief of the gods of heaven and earth,” + “the king of the gods,” and even “the god of the gods.” Sometimes, + however, his titles are more definite and particular: as, firstly, when + they belong to him in respect of his being the celestial luminary—e.g., + “the bright,” “the shining,” “the lord of the month;” and, secondly, when + they represent him as presiding over buildings and architecture, which the + Chaldaeans appear to have placed under his special superintendence. In + this connection he is called “the supporting architect,” “the strengthener + of fortifications,” and, more generally, “the lord of building” + (Bel-zuna). Bricks, the Chaldaean building material, were of course under + his protection; and the sign which designates them is also the sign of the + month over which he was considered to exert particular care. His ordinary + symbol is the crescent or new moon, which is commonly represented as + large, but of extreme thinness: though not without a certain variety in + the forms. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0025" id="linkimage-0025"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/page0081.jpg" width="100%" alt="Page 81 " /> + </div> + <p> + The most curious and the most purely conventional representations are a + linear semicircle, and an imitation of this semicircle formed by three + straight lines. The illuminated part of the moon’s disk is always turned + directly towards the horizon, a position but rarely seen in nature. + </p> + <p> + The chief Chaldaean temple to the moon-god was at Ur or Hur (Mugheir), a + city which probably derived its name from him, and which was under his + special protection. He had also shrines at Babylon and Borsippa, and + likewise at Calah and Dur-Sargina (Khorsabad). Few deities appear to have + been worshipped with such constancy by the Chaldaean kings. His great + temple at Ur was begun by Urukh, and finished by his son Ilgi—the + two most ancient of all the monarchs. Later in the series we find him in + such honor that every king’s name during some centuries comprise the name + of the moon-god in it. On the restoration of the Chaldaean power he is + again in high repute. Nebuchadnezzar mentions him with respect; and + Nabonidus, the last native monarch, restores his shrine at Ur, and + accumulates upon him the most high-sounding titles. + </p> + <p> + The moon-god is called, in more than one inscription, the eldest son of + Bel-Ninnod. He had a wife (the moon-goddess) whose title was “the great + lady,” and who is frequently associated with him in the lists. She and her + husband were conjointly the tutelary deities of Ur or Hur; and a + particular portion of the great temple there was dedicated to her honor + especially.—Her “ark” or “tabernacle,” which was separate from that + of her husband was probably, as well as his, deposited in this sanctuary. + It bore the title of “the lesser light,” while his was called, + emphatically, “the light.” + </p> + <p> + SAN, or SANSI. + </p> + <p> + San, or Sansi, the sun-god, was the second member of the second Triad. The + main element of this name is probably connected with the root <i>shani</i> + which is in Arabic, and perhaps in Hebrew, “bright.” Hence we may perhaps + compare our own word “sun” with the Chaldaean “San;” for “sun” is most + likely connected etymologically with “sheen” and “shine.” Shamas or + Shemesh, the Semitic title of the god, is altogether separate and + distinct, signifying as it does, the Ministering office of the sun, and + not the brilliancy of his light. A trace of the Hamitic name appears in + the well-known city Bethsain, whose appellation is declared by Eugesippus + to signify “domus Solis,” “the house of the sun.” + </p> + <p> + The titles applied to the sun-god have not often much direct reference to + his physical powers or attributes. He is called indeed, in some places, + “the lord of fire,” “the light of the gods,” “the ruler of the day,” and + “he who illumines the expanse of heaven and earth.” But commonly he is + either spoken of in a more general way, as “the regent of all things,” + “the establisher of heaven and earth;” or, if special functions are + assigned to him, they are connected with his supposed “motive” power, as + inspiring warlike thoughts in the minds of the kings, directing and + favorably influencing their expeditions; or again, as helping them to + discharge any of the other active duties of royalty. San is “the supreme + ruler who casts a favorable eye on expeditions,” “the vanquisher of the + king’s enemies,” “the breaker-up of opposition.” He “casts his motive + influence” over the monarchs, and causes them to “assemble their chariots + and warriors”—he goes forth with their armies, and enables them to + extend their dominions—he chases their enemies before them, causes + opposition to cease, and brings them back with victory to their own + countries. Besides this, he helps them to sway the sceptre of power, and + to rule over their subjects with authority. It seems that, from observing + the manifest agency of the material sun in stimulating all the functions + of nature, the Chaldaeans came to the conclusion that the sun-god exerted + a similar influence on the minds of men, and was the great motive agent in + human history. + </p> + <p> + The chief seats of the sun-god’s worship in Chaldaea appear to have been + the two famous cities of Larsa (Ellasar?) and Sippara. The great temple of + the Sun, called Bit-Parra, at the former place, was erected by Urukh, + repaired by more than one of the later Chaldaean monarchs, and completely + restored by Nebuchadnezzar. At Sippara, the worship of the sun-god was so + predominant, that Abydenus, probably following Berosus, calls the town + Heliopolis. There can be little doubt that the Adrammelech, or + “Fire-king,” whose worship the Sepharvites (or people of Sippara) + introduced into Samaria, was this deity. Sippara is called Tsipar sha + Shamas, “Sippara of the Sun,” in various inscriptions, and possessed a + temple of the god which was repaired and adorned by many of the ancient + Chaldaean kings, as well as by Nebuchadnezzar and Nabonidus. + </p> + <p> + The general prevalence of San’s worship is indicated most clearly by the + cylinders. Few comparatively of those which have any divine symbol upon + them are without his. The symbol is either a simple circle, a quartered + disk a four-rayed orb of a more elaborate character. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0026" id="linkimage-0026"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/page0083.jpg" width="100%" alt="Page 83 " /> + </div> + <p> + San or Sansi had a wife, Ai, Gula, or Anunit, of whom it now follows to + speak. + </p> + <p> + Al, GULA, or ANUNIT. + </p> + <p> + Ai, Gula, or Anunit, was the female power of the sun, and was commonly + associated with San in temples and invocations. Her names are of uncertain + signification, except the second, Gula, which undoubtedly means “great,” + being so translated in the vocabularies. It is suspected that the three + terms may have been attached respectively to the “rising,” the + “culminating,” and the “setting sun,” since they do not appear to + interchange; while the name Gula is distinctly stated in one inscription + to belong to the “great” goddess, “the wife of the meridian Sun.” It is + perhaps an objection to this view, that the male Sun, who is decidedly the + superior deity, does not appear to be manifested in Chaldaea under any + such threefold representation. + </p> + <p> + As a substantive deity, distinct from her husband, Gula’s characteristics + are that she presides over life and over fecundity. It is not quite clear + whether these offices belong to her alone, or whether she is associated in + each of them with a sister goddess. There is a “Mistress of Life,” who + must be regarded as the special dispenser of that blessing; and there is a + “Mistress of the Gods,” who is expressly said to “preside over births.” + Concerning these two personages we cannot at present determine whether + they are really distinct deities, or whether they are not rather aspects + of Gula, sufficiently marked to be represented in the temples by distinct + idols. + </p> + <p> + Gula was worshipped in close combination with her husband, both at Larsa + and Sippara. Her name appears in the inscriptions connected with both + places; and she is probably the “Anammelech,” whom the Sepharvites honored + in conjunction with Adrammelech, the “Fire-King.” In later times she had + also temples independent of her husband, at Babylon and Borsippa, as well + as at Calah Asshur. + </p> + <p> + The emblem now commonly regarded as symbolizing Gula is the eight-rayed + disk or orb, which frequently accompanies the orb with four rays in the + Babylonian representations. In lieu of a disk, we have sometimes an + eight-rayed star and even occasionally a star with six rays only. It is + curious that the eight-rayed star became at an early period the universal + emblem of divinity: but perhaps we can only conclude from this the stellar + origin of the worship generally, and not any special pre-eminence or + priority of Anunit over other deities. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0027" id="linkimage-0027"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/page0084.jpg" width="100%" alt="Page 84 " /> + </div> + <p> + VUL, OR IVA + </p> + <p> + The third member of the second Triad is the god of the atmosphere, whose + name it has been proposed to render phonetically in a great variety of + ways. Until a general agreement shall be established, it is thought best + to retain a name with which readers are familiar; and the form Vul will + therefore be used in these volumes. Were Iva the correct articulation, we + might regard the term as simply the old Hamitic name for “the air,” and + illustrate it by the Arabic <i>heva,</i> which has still that meaning. + </p> + <p> + The importance of Vul in the Chaldaean mythology, and his strong positive + character, contrast remarkably with the weak and shadowy features of + Uranus, or AEther, in the classical system. Vul indeed corresponds in + great measure with the classical Zeus or Jupiter, being, like him, the + real “Prince of the power of the air,” the lord of the whirlwind and the + tempest, and the wielder of the thunderbolt. His standard titles are “the + minister of heaven and earth,” “the Lord of the air,” “he who makes the + tempest to rage.” He is regarded as the destroyer of crops, the rooter-up + of trees, the scatterer of the harvest. Famine, scarcity, and even their + consequence, pestilence, are assigned to him. He is said to have in his + hand a “flaming sword,” with which he effects his works of destruction; + and this “flaming sword,” which probably represents lightning, becomes his + emblem upon the tablets and cylinders, where it is figured as a double or + triple bolt. <a href="#linkimage-0024">[PLATE XIX., Fig. 4.]</a> Vul + again, as the god of the atmosphere, gives the rain; and hence he is “the + careful and beneficent chief,” “the giver of abundance,” “the lord of + fecundity.” In this capacity he is naturally chosen to preside over + canals, the great fertilizers of Babylonia; and we find among his titles + “the lord of canals,” and “the establisher of works of irrigation.” + </p> + <p> + There is not much evidence of the worship of Vul in Chaldaea during the + early times. That he must have been known appears from the fact of his + name forming an element in the name of Shamas-Vul, son of Ismi-dagon, who + ruled over Chaldaea about B.C. 1850. It is also certain that this + Shamas-Vul set up his worship at Asshur (Kileh-Sherghat) in Assyria, + associating him there with his father Ana, and building to them conjointly + a great temple. Further than this we have no proof that he was an object + of worship in the time of the first monarchy; though in the time of + Assyrian preponderance, as well as in that of the later Babylonian Empire, + there were few gods more venerated. + </p> + <p> + Vul is sometimes associated with a goddess, Shala or Tala, who is probably + the Salambo or Salambas of the lexicographers. The meaning of her name is + uncertain; and her epithets are for the most part obscure. Her ordinary + title is sacrat or sharrat, “queen,” the feminine of the common word sar, + which means “Chief,” “King,” or “Sovereign.” + </p> + <p> + BAR, NIN, or NINIP. + </p> + <p> + If we are right in regarding the five gods who stand next to the Triad + formed of the Moon, the Sun, and the Atmosphere, as representatives of the + five planets visible to the naked eye, the god Nin, or Ninip, should be + Saturn. His names, Bar and Nin, are respectively a Semitic and a Hamitic + term signifying “lord” or “master.” Nin-ip, his full Hamitic appellation, + signifies “Nin, by name,” or “he whose name is Nin;” and similarly, his + full Semitic appellation seems to have been Barshem, “Bar, by name,” or + “he whose name is Bar”—a term which is not indeed found in the + inscriptions, but which appears to have been well known to the early + Syrians and Armenians, and which was probably the origin of the title + Barsemii, borne by the kings of Hatra (Hadhr near Kileh-Sherghat) in Roman + times. + </p> + <p> + In character and attributes the classical god whom Nin most closely + resembles is, however, not Saturn, but Hercules. An indication of this + connection is perhaps contained in the Herodotean genealogy, which makes + Hercules an ancestor of Ninus. Many classical traditions, we must + remember, identified Hercules with Saturn; and it seems certain that in + the East at any rate this identification was common. So Nin, in the + inscriptions, is the god of strength and courage. He is “the lord of the + brave,” “the champion,” “the warrior who subdues foes,” “he who + strengthens the heart of his followers;” and again, “the destroyer of + enemies,” “the reducer of the disobedient,” “the exterminator of rebels,” + “he whose sword is good.” In many respects he bears a close resemblance to + Nergal or Mars. Like him, he is a god of battle and of the chase, + presiding over the king’s expeditions, whether for war or hunting, and + giving success in both alike. At the same time he has qualities which seem + wholly unconnected with any that have been hitherto mentioned. He is the + true “Fish-God” of Berosus, and is fig ured as such in the sculptures. <a + href="#linkimage-0024">[PLATE XIX., Fig. 5.]</a> In this point of view he + is called “the god of the sea,” “he who dwells in the sea,” and again, + somewhat curiously, “the opener of aqueducts.” Besides these epithets, he + has many of a more general character, as “the powerful chief,” “the + supreme,” “the first of the gods,” “the favorite of the gods,” “the chief + of the spirits,” and the like. Again, he has a set of epithets which seem + to point to his stellar character, very difficult to reconcile with the + notion that, as a celestial luminary, he was Saturn. We find him called + “the light of heaven and earth,” “he who, like the sun, the light of the + gods, irradiates the nations.” These phrases appear to point to the Moon, + or to some very brilliant star, and are scarcely reconcilable with the + notion that he was the dark and distant Saturn. + </p> + <p> + Nin’s emblem in Assyria is the Man-bull, the impersonation of strength and + power. <a href="#linkimage-0024">[PLATE XIX., Fig. 6.]</a> He guards the + palaces of the Assyrian kings, who reckon him their tutelary god, and give + his name to their capital city. We may conjecture that in Babylonia his + emblem was the sacred fish, which is often seen under different forms upon + the cylinders. <a href="#linkimage-0024">[PLATE XIX., Fig. 7.]</a> + </p> + <p> + The monuments furnish no evidence of the early worship of Nin in Chaldaea. + We may perhaps gather the fact from Berosus’ account of the Fish-God as an + early object of veneration in that region, as well as from the Hamitic + etymology of the name by which he was ordinarily known even in Assyria. + There he was always one of the most important deities. His temple at + Nineveh was very famous, and is noticed by Tacitus in his “Annals;” and he + had likewise two temples at Calah (Nimrud), both of them buildings of some + pretension. + </p> + <p> + It has been already mentioned that Nin was the son of Bel-Nimrod, and that + Beltis was both his wife and his mother. These relationships are well + established, since they are repeatedly asserted. One tablet, however, + inverts the genealogy, and makes Bel-Nimrod the son of Nin, instead of his + father. The contradiction perhaps springs from the double character of + this divinity, who, as Saturn, is the father, but, as Hercules, the son of + Jupiter. + </p> + <p> + BEL-MERODACH. + </p> + <p> + Bel-Merodach is, beyond all doubt, the planet Jupiter, which is still + called Bel by the Mendaeans. The name Merodach is of uncertain etymology + and meaning. It has been compared with the Persian <i>Mardak,</i> the + diminutive of <i>mard,</i> “a man,” and with the Arabic <i>Mirrich,</i> + which is the name of the planet Mars. But, as there is every reason to + believe that the term belongs to the Hamitic Babylonian, it is in vain to + have recourse to Arian or Semitic tongues for its derivation. Most likely + the word is a descriptive epithet, originally attached to the name Bel, in + the same way as <i>Nipru,</i> but ultimately usurping its place and coming + to be regarded as the proper name of the deity. It is doubtful whether any + phonetic representative of Merodach has been found on the monuments; if + so, the pronunciation should, apparently, be <i>Amardak,</i> whence we + might derive the Amordacia of Ptolemy. + </p> + <p> + The titles and attributes of Merodach are of more than usual vagueness. In + the most ancient monuments which mention him, he seems to be called “the + old man of the gods,” and “the judge;” he also certainly has the gates, + which in early times were the seats of justice, under his special + protection. Thus he would seem to be the god of justice and judgment—an + idea which may have given rise to the Hebrew name of the planet Jupiter, + viz. <i>sedek,</i> “justitia.” Bel-Merodach was worshipped in the early + Chaldaean kingdom, as appears from the Tel-Sifr tablets. He was probably + from a very remote time the tutelary god of the city of Babylon; and + hence, as that city grew into importance, the worship of Merodach became + more prominent. The Assyrian monarchs always especially associate Babylon + with this god; and in the later Babylonian empire he becomes by far the + chief object of worship. It is his temple which Herodotus describes so + elaborately, and his image, which, according to the Apocryphal Daniel, the + Babylonians worshipped with so much devotion. Nebuchadnezzar calls him + “the king of the heavens and the earth,” “the great lord,” “the senior of + the gods,” “the most ancient,” “the supporter of sovereignty,” “the + layer-up of treasures,” etc., and ascribes to him all his glory and + success. + </p> + <p> + We have no means of determining which among the emblems of the gods is to + be assigned to Bel-Merodach; nor is there any sculptured form which can be + certainly attached to him. According to Diodorus, the great statue of + Bel-Merodach at Babylon was a figure “standing and walking.” Such a form + appears more often than any other upon the cylinders of the Babylonians; + and it is perhaps allowable to conjecture that it may represent this + favorite deity. <a href="#linkimage-0024">[PLATE XIX., Fig. 8.]</a> + </p> + <p> + ZIR-BANIT. + </p> + <p> + Bel-Merodach has a wife, with whom he is commonly associated, called + Zir-banit. She had a temple at Babylon, probably attached to her + husband’s, and is perhaps the Babylonian Juno (Hera) of Diodorus. The + essential element of her name seems to be Zir, which is an old Hamitic + root of uncertain meaning, while the accompanying <i>banit</i> is a + descriptive epithet, which may be rendered by “genetrix.” Zir-banit was + probably the goddess whose worship the Babylonian settlers carried to + Samaria, and who is called Succoth-benoth in Scripture. + </p> + <p> + NERGAL. + </p> + <p> + Nergal, the planet Mars, whose name was continued to a late date, under + the form of Nerig in the astronomical system of the Mendaeans, is a god + whose character and attributes are tolerably clear and definite. His name + is evidently compounded of the two Hamitic roots <i>nir,</i> “a man,” and + <i>gala,</i> “great;” so that he is “the great man,” or “the great hero.” + He is the special god of war and of hunting, more particularly of the + latter. His titles are “the king of battle,” “the champion of the gods,” + “the storm ruler,” “the strong begetter,” “the tutelar god of Babylonia,” + and “the god of the chase.” He is usually coupled with Nin, who likewise + presides over battles and over hunting; but while Nin is at least his + equal in the former sphere, Nergal has a decided pre-eminence in the + latter. + </p> + <p> + We have no distinct evidence that Nergal was worshipped in the primitive + times. He is first mentioned by some of the early Assyrian kings, who + regard him as their ancestor. It has, however, been conjectured that, like + Bil-Nipru, he represented the deified hero, Nimrod, who may have been + worshipped in different parts of Chaldaea under different titles. + </p> + <p> + The city peculiarly dedicated to Nergal was Cutha or Tiggaba, which is + constantly called his city in the inscriptions. He was worshipped also at + Tarbisa, near Nineveh, but in Tiggaba he was said to “live,” and his + shrine there was one of great celebrity. Hence “the men of Cuth,” when + transported to Samaria by the Assyrians, naturally enough “made Nergal + their god,” carrying his worship with them into their new country. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0028" id="linkimage-0028"> + <!-- IMG --></a><br /> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/plate020.jpg" width="100%" alt="Plate 20" /> + </div> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p> + It is probable that Nergal’s symbol was the Man Lion. <a + href="#linkimage-0028">[PLATE XX.]</a> Nir is sometimes used in the + inscriptions in the meaning of “lion;” and the Semitic name for the god + himself is “Aria”—the ordinary term for the king of beasts both in + Hebrew and in Syriac. Perhaps we have here the true derivation of the + Greek name for the god of war, <i>Ares,</i> which has long puzzled + classical scholars. The lion would symbolize both the fighting and the + hunting propensities of the god, for he not only engages in combats upon + occasions, but often chases his prey and runs it down like a hunter. + Again, if Nergal is the Man-Lion, his association in the buildings with + the Man-Bull would be exactly parallel with the conjunction, which we so + constantly find, between him and Nin in the inscriptions. + </p> + <p> + Nergal had a wife, called Laz, of whom, however, nothing is known beyond + her name. It is uncertain which among the emblems of the gods appertains + to him. + </p> + <p> + ISHTAR, or NANA. + </p> + <p> + Ishtar, or Nana, is the planetary Venus, and in general features + corresponds with the classical goddess. Her name Ishtar is that by which + she was known in Assyria; and the same term prevailed with slight + modifications among the Semitic races generally. The Phoenician form was + Astarte, the Hebrew Ashtoreth; the later Mendaean form was Ashtar. In + Babylonia the goddess was known as Nana, which seems to be the Naneea of + the second book of Maccabees, and the Nani of the modern Syrians. No + satisfactory account can at present be given of the etymology of either + name; for the proposal to connect Ishtar with the Greek (Zend <i>starann,</i> + Sanscrit <i>tara,</i> English <i>star,</i> Latin <i>stella</i>), though it + has great names in its favor, is not worthy of much attention. + </p> + <p> + Ishtar’s aphrodisiac character, though it can scarcely be doubted, does + not appear very clearly in the inscriptions. She is “the goddess who + rejoices mankind,” and her most common epithet is “Asurah,” “the + fortunate,” or “the happy.” But otherwise her epithets are vague and + general, insomuch that she is often scarcely distinguishable from Beltis. + She is called “the mistress of heaven and earth,” “the great goddess,” + “the queen of all the gods,” and again “the goddess of war and battle,” + “the queen of victory,” “she who arranges battles,” and “she who defends + from attacks.” She is also represented in the inscriptions of one king as + the goddess of the chase. + </p> + <p> + The worship of Ishtar was wide-spread, and her shrines were numerous. She + is often called “the queen of Babylon,” and must certainly have had a + temple in that city. She had also temples at Asshur (Kileh-Sherghat), at + Arbela, and at Nineveh. It may be suspected that her symbol was the naked + female form, which is not uncommon upon the cylinders. <a + href="#linkimage-0029">[PLATE XXI., Figs. 1, 2.]</a> She may also be + represented by the rude images in baked clay so common throughout the + Mesopotamian ruins, which are generally regarded as images of Mylitta. + Ishtar is sometimes coupled with Nebo in such a way as to suggest the + notion that she was his wife. This, however, can hardly have been her real + position in the mythology, since Nebo had, as will presently appear, + another wife, Varamit, whom there is no reason to believe identical with + Ishtar. It is most probable that the conjunction is casual and accidental, + being due to special and temporary causes. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0029" id="linkimage-0029"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/plate021.jpg" width="100%" alt="Plate 21 " /> + </div> + <p> + NEBO. + </p> + <p> + The last of the five planetary gods is Nebo, who undoubtedly represents + the planet Mercury. <a href="#linkimage-0029">[PLATE XXI., Fig. 3.]</a> + His name is the same, or nearly so, both in Babylonian and Assyrian; and + we may perhaps assign it a Semitic derivation, from the root <i>nibbah,</i> + “to prophesy.” It is his special function to preside over knowledge and + learning. He is called “the god who possesses intelligence,” “he who hears + from afar,” “he who teaches,” or “he who teaches and instructs.” In this + point of view, he of course approximates to Hoa, whose son he is called in + some inscriptions, and to whom he bears a general resemblance. Like Hoa, + he is symbolized by the simple wedge or “arrowhead,” the primary and + essential element of cuneiform writing, to mark his joint presidency with + that God over writing and literature. At the same time Nebo has, like so + many of the Chaldaean gods, a number of general titles, implying divine + power, which, if they had belonged to him only, would have seemed to prove + him the supreme deity. He is “the Lord of lords, who has no equal in + power,” “the supreme chief,” “the sustainer,” “the supporter,” “the ever + ready,” “the guardian over the heavens and the earth,” “the lord of the + constellations,” “the holder of the sceptre of power,” “he who grants to + kings the sceptre of royalty for the governance of their people.” It is + chiefly by his omission from many lists, and his humble place when he is + mentioned together with the really great gods, that we know he was + mythologically a deity of no very great eminence. + </p> + <p> + There is nothing to prove the early—worship of Nebo. His name does + not appear as an element in any royal appellation belonging to the + Chaldaean series. Nor is there any reference to him in the records of the + primeval times. Still, as he is probably of Babylonian rather than + Assyrian origin, and as an Assyrian king is named after him in the twelfth + century B.C., we may assume that he was not unknown to the primitive + people of Chaldaea, though at present their remains have furnished us with + no mention of him. In later ages the chief seat of his worship was + Borsippa, where the great and famous temple, known at present as the + Birs-Nimrud, was dedicated to his honor. He had also a shrine at Calah + (Nimrud), whence were procured the statues representing him which are now + in the British Museum. He was in special favor with the kings of the great + Babylonian empire, who were mostly named after him, and viewed him as + presiding over their house. His symbol has not yet been recognized. + </p> + <p> + The wife of Nebo, as already observed, was Varamit or Urmit—a word + which perhaps means “exalted,” from the root on, “to be lifted up.” No + special attributes are ascribed to this goddess, who merely accompanies + her husband in most of the places where he is mentioned by name. + </p> + <p> + Such, then, seem to have been the chief gods worshipped by the early + Chaldaeans. It would be an endless as well as an unprofitable task to give + an account of the inferior deities. Their name is “Legion;” and they are, + for the most part, too vague and shadowy for effective description. A vast + number are merely local; and it may be suspected that where this is the + case the great gods of the Pantheon come before us repeatedly, disguised + under rustic titles. We have, moreover, no clue at present to this + labyrinth, on which, even with greater knowledge, it would perhaps be best + for us to forbear to enter; since there is no reason to expect that we + should obtain any really valuable results from its exploration. + </p> + <p> + A few words, however, may be added upon the subject of the Chaldaean + cosmogony. Although the only knowledge that we possess on this point is + derived from Berosus, and therefore we cannot be sure that we have really + the belief of the ancient people, yet, judging from internal evidence of + character, we may safely pronounce Berosus’ account not only archaic, but + in its groundwork and essence a primeval tradition, more ancient probably + than most of the gods whom we have been considering. + </p> + <p> + “In the beginning,” says this ancient legend, “all was darkness and water, + and therein were generated monstrous animals of strange and peculiar + forms. There were men with two wings, and some even with four, and with + two faces; and others with two heads, a man’s and a woman’s on one body; + and there were men with the heads and horns of goats, and men with hoofs + like horses, and some with the upper parts of a man joined to the lower + parts of a horse, like centaurs; and there were bulls with human heads, + dogs with four bodies and with fishes’ tails, men and horses with dogs’ + heads, creatures with the heads and bodies of horses, but with the tails + of fish, and other animals mixing the forms of various beasts. Moreover + there were monstrous fish and reptiles and serpents, and divers other + creatures, which had borrowed something from each other’s shapes; of all + which the likenesses are still preserved in the temple of Belus. A woman + ruleth them all, by name Omorka, which is in Chaldee Thalatth, and in + Greek Thalassa (or “the sea”). Then Belus appeared, and split the woman in + twain; and of the one half of her he made the heaven, and of the other + half the earth; and the beasts that were in her he caused to perish. And + he split the darkness, and divided the heaven and the earth asunder, and + put the world in order; and the animals that could not bear the light + perished. Belus, upon this, seeing that the earth was desolate, yet + teeming with productive power, commanded one of the gods to cut off his + head, and to mix the blood which flowed forth with earth, and form men + therewith, and beasts that could bear the light. So man was made, and was + intelligent, being a partaker of the divine wisdom. Likewise Belus made + the stars, and the sun and moon, and the five planets.” + </p> + <p> + It has been generally seen that this cosmogony bears a remarkable + resemblance to the history of Creation contained in the opening chapters + of the book of Genesis. Some have gone so far as to argue that the Mosaic + account was derived from it. Others, who reject this notion, suggest that + a certain “old Chaldee tradition” was “the basis of them both.” If we drop + out the word “Chaldee” from this statement, it may be regarded as fairly + expressing the truth. The Babylonian legend embodies a primeval tradition, + common to all mankind, of which an inspired author has given us the true + groundwork in the first and second chapters of Genesis. What is especially + remarkable is the fidelity, comparatively speaking, with which the + Babylonian legend reports the facts. While the whole tone and spirit of + the two accounts, and even the point of view from which they are taken, + differ, the general outline of the narrative in each is nearly the same. + In both we have the earth at first “without form and void,” and “darkness + upon the face of the deep.” In both the first step taken towards creation + is the separation of the mixed mass, and the formation of the heavens and + the earth as the consequence of such separation. In both we have light + mentioned before the creation of the sun and moon; in both we have the + existence of animals before man; and in both we have a divine element + infused into man at his birth, and his formation “from the dust of the + ground.” The only points in which the narratives can be said to be at + variance are points of order. The Babylonians apparently made the + formation of man and of the animals which at present inhabit the earth + simultaneous, and placed the creation of the sun, moon, and planets after, + instead of before, that of men and animals. In other respects the + Babylonian narrative either adds to the Mosaic account, as in its + description of the monsters and their destruction, or clothes in mythic + language, that could never have been understood literally, the truth which + in Scripture is put forth with severe simplicity. The cleaving of the + woman Thalatth in twain, and the beheading of Belus, are embellishments of + this latter character; they are plainly and evidently mythological; nor + can we suppose them to have been at any time regarded as facts. The + existence of the monsters, on the other hand, may well have been an actual + belief. All men are prone to believe in such marvels; and it is quite + possible, as Niebuhr supposes, that some discoveries of the remains of + mammoths and other monstrous forms embedded in the crust of the earth, may + have given definiteness and prominency to the Chaldaean notions on this + subject. + </p> + <p> + Besides their correct notions on the subject of creation, the primitive + Chaldaeans seem also to have been aware of the general destruction of + mankind, on account of their wickedness, by a Flood; and of the rebellious + attempt which was made soon after the Flood to concentrate themselves in + one place, instead of obeying the command to “replenish the earth” an + attempt which was thwarted by means of the confusion of their speech. The + Chaldaean legends embodying these primitive traditions were as follows:— + </p> + <p> + “God appeared to Xisuthrus (Noah) in a dream, and warned him that on the + fifteenth day of the month Daesius, mankind would be destroyed by a + deluge. He bade him bury in Sippara, the City of the Sun, the extant + writings, first and last; and build a ship, and enter therein with his + family and his close friends; and furnish it with meat and drink; and + place on board winged fowl, and four-footed beasts of the earth; and when + all was ready, set sail. Xisuthrus asked ‘Whither he was to sail?’ and was + told, ‘To the gods, with a prayer that it might fare well with mankind.’ + Then Xisuthrus was not disobedient to the vision, but built a ship five + furlongs (3125 feet) in length, and two furlongs (1250 feet) in breadth; + and collected all that had been commanded him, and put his wife and + children and close friends on board. The flood came; and as soon as it + ceased, Xisuthrus let loose some birds, which, finding neither food nor a + place where they could rest, came back to the ark. After some days he + again sent out the birds, which again returned to the ark, but with feet + covered with mud. Sent out a third time, the birds returned no more, and + Xisuthrus knew that land had reappeared: so he removed some of the + covering of the ark, and looked, and behold! the vessel had grounded on a + mountain. Then Xisuthrus went forth with his wife and his daughter, and + his pilot, and fell down and worshipped the earth, and built an altar, and + offered sacrifice to the gods; after which he disappeared from sight, + together with those who had accompanied him. They who had remained in the + ark and not gone forth with Xisuthrus, now left it and searched for him, + and shouted out his name; but Xisuthrus was not seen any more. Only his + voice answered them out of the air, saying, ‘Worship God; for because I + worshipped God, am I gone to dwell with the gods; and they who were with + me have shared the same honor.’ And he bade them return to Babylon, and + recover the writings buried at Sippara, and make them known among men; and + he told them that the land in which they then were was Armenia. So they, + when they had heard all, sacrificed to the gods and went their way on foot + to Babylon, and, having reached it, recovered the buried writings from + Sippara, and built many cities and temples, and restored Babylon. Some + portion of the ark still continues in Armenia, in the Gordiaean (Kurdish) + Mountains; and persons scrape off the bitumen from it to bring away, and + this they use as a remedy to avert misfortunes.” + </p> + <p> + “The earth was still of one language, when the primitive men, who were + proud of their strength and stature, and despised the gods as their + inferiors, erected a tower of vast height, in order than they might mount + to heaven. And the tower was now near to heaven, when the gods (or God) + caused the winds to blow and overturned the structure upon the men, and + made them speak with divers tongues; wherefore the city was called + Babylon.” + </p> + <p> + Here again we have a harmony with Scripture of the most remarkable kind—a + harmony not confined to the main facts, but reaching even to the minuter + points, and one which is altogether most curious and interesting. The + Babylonians have not only, in common with the great majority of nations, + handed down from age to age the general tradition of the Flood, but they + are acquainted with most of the particulars of the occurrence. They know + of the divine warning to a single man, the direction to construct a huge + ship or ark, the command to take into it a chosen few of mankind only, and + to devote the chief space to “winged fowl and four-footed beasts of the + earth.” They are aware of the tentative sending out of birds from it, and + of their returning twice, but when sent out a third time returning no + more. They know of the egress from the ark by removal of some of its + covering, and of the altar built and the sacrifice offered immediately + afterwards. They know that the ark rested in Armenia; that those who + escaped by means of it, or their descendants, journeyed towards Babylon; + that there a tower was begun, but not, completed, the building being + stopped by divine interposition and a miraculous confusion of tongues. As + before, they are not content with the plain truth, but must amplify and + embellish it. The size of the ark is exaggerated to an absurdity, and its + proportions are misrepresented in such a way as to outrage all the + principles of naval architecture. The translation of Xisuthrus, his wife, + his daughter, and his pilot—a reminiscence possibly of the + translation of Enoch—is unfitly as well as falsely introduced just + after they have been miraculously saved from destruction. The story of the + Tower is given with less departure from the actual truth. The building is, + however, absurdly represented as an actual attempt to scale heaven; and a + storm of wind is somewhat unnecessarily introduced to destroy the Tower, + which from the Scripture narrative seems to have been left standing. It is + also especially to be noticed that in the Chaldaean legends the whole + interest is made narrow and local. The Flood appears as a circumstance in + the history of Babylonia; and the priestly traditionists, who have put the + legend into shape, are chiefly anxious to make the event redound to the + glory of their sacred books, which they boast to have been the special + objects of divine care, and represent as a legacy from the antediluvian + ages. The general interests of mankind are nothing to the Chaldaean + priests, who see in the story of the Tower simply a local etymology, and + in the Deluge an event which made the Babylonians the sole possessors of + primeval wisdom. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VIII. + </h2> + <h3> + HISTORY AND CHRONOLOGY. + </h3> + <p> + “The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, + in the land of Shinar.”—GEN. X. 10. + </p> + <p> + The establishment of a Cushite kingdom in Lower Babylonia dates probably + from (at least) the twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth century before our era. + Greek traditions’ assigned to the city of Babylon an antiquity nearly as + remote; and the native historian, Berosus, spoke of a Chaldaean dynasty as + bearing rule anterior to B.C. 2250. Unfortunately the works of this great + authority have been lost; and even the general outline of his + chronological scheme, whereof some writers have left us an account, is to + a certain extent imperfect; so that, in order to obtain a definite + chronology for the early times, we are forced to have recourse, in some + degree, to conjecture. Berosus declared that six dynasties had reigned in + Chaldaea since the great flood of Xisuthrus, or Noah. To the first, which + consisted of 86 kings, he allowed the extravagant period of 34,080 years. + Evechous, the founder of the dynasty, had enjoyed the royal dignity for + 2400 years, and Chomasbelus, his son and successor, had reigned 300 years + longer than his father. The other 84 monarchs had filled up the remaining + space of 28,980 years—their reigns thus averaging 345 years apiece. + It is clear that these numbers are unhistoric; and though it would be easy + to reduce them within the limits of credibility by arbitrary suppositions—as + for instance, that the years of the narrative represent months or days—yet + it may reasonably be doubted whether we should in this way be doing any + service to the cause of historic truth. The names Evechous and Chomasbelus + seem mythic rather than real; they represent personages in the Babylonian + Pantheon, and can scarcely have been borne by men. It is likely that the + entire series of names partook of the same character, and that, if we + possessed them, their bearing would be found to be, not historic, but + mythological. We may parallel this dynasty of Berosus, where he reckons + king’s reigns by the cyclical periods of <i>sosses</i> and <i>ners,</i> + with Manetho’s dynasties of Gods and Demigods in Egypt, where the sum of + the years is nearly as great. + </p> + <p> + It is necessary, then, to discard as unhistorical the names and numbers + assigned to his first dynasty by Berosus, and to retain from this part of + his scheme nothing but the fact which he lays down of an ancient Chaldaean + dynasty having ruled in Babylonia, prior to a conquest, which led to the + establishment of a second dynasty, termed by him Median. + </p> + <p> + The scheme of Berosus then, setting aside his numbers for the first + period, is—according to the best extant authorities, as follows:— + </p> + <p> + It will be observed that this table contains certain defects and + weaknesses, which greatly impair its value, and prevent us from + constructing upon it, without further aid, an exact scheme of chronology. + Not only does a doubt attach to one or two of the numbers—to the + years, i.e., of the second and third dynasty—but in two cases we + have no numbers at all set down for us, and must supply them from + conjecture, or from extraneous sources, before we can make the scheme + available. Fortunately in the more important case, that of the seventh + dynasty, the number of years can be exactly supplied without any + difficulty. The Canon of Ptolemy covers, in fact, the whole interval + between the reign of Pul and the close of the Babylonian Empire, giving + for the period of the seventh dynasty 13 reigns in 122 years, and for that + of the eighth 5 reigns in 87 years. The length of the reign of Pul can, + however, only be supplied from conjecture. As it is not an unreasonable + supposition that he may have reigned 28 years, and as this number + harmonizes well with the chronological notices of the monuments, we shall + venture to assume it, and thus complete the scheme which the fragments of + Berosus imperfect. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0031" id="linkimage-0031"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/page0099.jpg" width="100%" alt="Page 99 " /> + </div> + <p> + This scheme, in which there is nothing conjectural except the length of + the reign of Pul, receives very remarkable confirmation from the Assyrian + monuments. These inform us, first, that there was a conquest of Babylon by + a Susianian monarch 1635 yers before the capture of Susa by Asshurbanipal, + the son of Esarhaddon; and, secondly, that there was a second conquest by + an Assyrian monarch 600 years before the occupation of Babylon by + Esarhaddon’s father, Sennacherib. Now Sennacherib’s occupation of Babylon + was in B.C. 702; and 600 years before this brings us to B.C. 1302, within + a year of the date which the scheme assigns to the accession of the + seventh dynasty. Susa was taken by Asshur-bani-pal probably in B.C. 651; + and 1635 years before this is B.C. 2286, or the exact year marked in the + scheme for the accession of the second (Median) dynasty. This double + coincidence can scarcely be accidental; and we may conclude, therefore, + that we have in the above table at any rate a near approach to the scheme + of Babylonian chronology as received among both the Babylonians and + Assyrians in the seventh century before our era. + </p> + <p> + Whether the chronology is wholly trustworthy is another question. The + evidence both of the classical writers and of the monuments is to the + effect that exact chronology was a subject to which the Babylonians and + Assyrians paid great attention. The “Canon of Ptolemy,” which contained an + exact Babylonian computation of time from B.C. 747 to B.C. 331, is + generally allowed to be a most authentic document, and one on which we may + place complete reliance. The “Assyrian Canon,” which gives the years of + the Assyrian monarchs from B.C. 911 to B.C. 660, appears to be equally + trustworthy. How much further exact notation went back, it is impossible + to say. All that we know is, first, that the later Assyrian monarchs + believed they had means of fixing the exact date of events in their own + history and in that of Babylon up to a time distant from their own as much + as sixteen or seventeen hundred years; and secondly, that the chronology + which result from their statements and those of Berosus is moderate, + probably, and in harmony with all the knowledge which we obtain of the + East from other sources. It is proposed therefore, in the present volumes, + to accept the general scheme of Berosus as, in all probability, not + seriously in error; and to arrange the Chaldaean, Assyrian, and Babylonian + history on the framework which it furnishes. + </p> + <p> + Chaldaean history may therefore be regarded as opening upon us at a time + anterior, at any rate by a century or two, to B.C. 2286. It was then that + Nimrod, the son or descendant of Cush, set up a kingdom in Lower + Mesopotamia, which attracted the attention of surrounding nations. The + people, whom he led, came probably by sea; at any rate, their earliest + settlements were on the coast; and Ur or Hur, on the right bank of the + Euphrates, at a very short distance from its embouchure, was the primitive + capital. The “mighty hunter” rapidly spread his dominion inland, subduing + or expelling the various tribes by which the country was previously + occupied. His kingdom extended northwards, at least as far as Babylon,—which + (as well as Erech or Huruk, Accad, and Calneh) was first founded by this + monarch. Further historical details of his reign are wanting; but the + strength of his character and the greatness of his achievements are + remarkably indicated by a variety of testimonies, which place him among + the foremost men of the Old World, and guarantee him a never-ending + remembrance. At least as early as the time of Moses his name had passed + into a proverb. He was known as “the mighty hunter before the Lord”—an + expression which had probably a double meaning, implying at once skill and + bravery in the pursuit and destruction of wild beasts, and also a genius + for war and success in his aggressions upon men. In his own nation he + seems to have been deified, and to have continued down to the latest times + one of the leading objects of worship, under the title of Bilu-Nipru or + Bel-Nimrod, which may be translated “the god of the chase,” or “the great + hunter.” + </p> + <p> + One of his capitals, Calneh, which was regarded as his special city, + appears afterwards to have been known by his name (probably as being the + chief seat of his worship in the early times); and this name it still + retains, slightly corrupted. In the modern Niffer we may recognize the + Talmudical Nopher, and the Assyrian Nipur which is Nipru, with a mere + metathesis of the two final letters. The fame of Nimrod has always been + rife in the country of his domination. Arab writers record a number of + remarkable traditions, in which he plays a conspicuous part; and there is + little doubt but that it is in honor of his apotheosis that the + constellation Orion bears in Arabian astronomy the title of El Jabbar, or + “the giant.” Even at the present day his name lives in the mouth of the + people inhabiting Chaldaea and the adjacent regions, whose memory of + ancient heroes is almost confined to three—Nimrod, Solomon, and + Alexander. Wherever a mound of ashes is to be seen in Babylonia or the + adjoining countries, the local traditions attach to it the name of Niinrud + or Nimrod; and the most striking ruins now existing in the Mesopotamian + valley, whether in its upper or its lower portion, are made in this way + monuments of his glory. + </p> + <p> + Of the immediate successors of Nimrod we have no account that even the + most lenient criticism can view as historical. It appears that his + conquest was followed rapidly by a Semitic emigration from the country—an + emigration which took a northerly direction. The Assyrians withdrew from + Babylonia, which they still always regarded as their parent land, and, + occupying the upper or non-alluvial portion of the Mesopotamian plain, + commenced the building of great cities in a tract upon the middle Tigris. + The Phoenicians removed from the shores of the Persian Gulf, and, + journeying towards the northwest, formed settlements upon the coast of + Canaan, where they became a rich and prosperous people. The family of + Abraham, and probably other Aramaean families, ascended the Euphrates, + withdrawing from a yoke which was oppressive, or at any rate unpleasant. + Abundant room was thus made for the Cushite immigrants, who rapidly + established their preponderance over the whole of the southern region. As + war ceased to be the necessary daily occupation of the newcomers, + civilization and the arts of life began to appear. The reign of the + “Hunter” was followed, after no long time, by that of the “Builder.” A + monumental king, whose name is read doubtfully as Urkham or Urukh, belongs + almost certainly to this early dynasty, and may be placed next in + succession, though at what interval we cannot say, to Nimrod. He is beyond + question the earliest Chaldaean monarch of whom any remains have been + obtained in the country. Not only are his bricks found in a lower position + than any others, at the very foundations of buildings, but they are of a + rude and coarse make, and the inscriptions upon them contrast most + remarkably, in the simplicity of the style of writing used and in their + general archaic type, with the elaborate and often complicated symbols of + the later monarchs. The style of Urukh’s buildings is also primitive and + simple in the extreme; his bricks are of many sizes, and ill fitted + together; he belongs to a time when even the baking of bricks seems to + have been comparatively rare, for sometimes he employs only the sun-dried + material; and he is altogether unacquainted with the use of lime mortar, + for which his substitute is moist mud, or else bitumen. There can be + little doubt that he stands at the head of the present series of + monumental kings, another of whom probably reigned as early as B.C. 2286. + As he was succeeded by a son, whose reign seems to have been of the + average length, we must place his accession at least as early as B.C. + 2326. Possibly it may have fallen a century earlier. + </p> + <p> + It is as a builder of gigantic works that Urukh is chiefly known to us. + The basement platforms of his temples are of an enormous size; and though + they cannot seriously be compared with the Egyptian pyramids, yet indicate + the employment for many years of a vast amount of human labor in a very + unproductive sort of industry. The Bowariyeh mound at Warka is 200 feet + square, and about 100 feet high. Its cubic contents, as originally built, + can have been little, if at all, under 3,000,000 feet; and above + 30,000,000 of bricks must have been used in its construction. + Constructions of a similar character, and not very different in their + dimensions, are proved by the bricks composing them to have been raised by + the same monarch at Ur, Calneh or Nipur, and Larancha or Larsa, which is + perhaps Ellasar. It is evident, from the size and number of these works, + that their erector had the command of a vast amount of “naked human + strength,” and did not scruple to employ that strength in constructions + from which no material benefit was derivable, but which were probably + designed chiefly to extend his own fame and perpetuate his glory. We may + gather from this that he was either an oppressor of his people, like some + of the Pyramid Kings in Egypt, or else a conqueror, who thus employed the + numerous captives carried off in his expeditions. Perhaps the latter is + the more probable supposition; for the builders of the great fabrics in + Babylonia and Chaldaea do not seem to have left behind them any character + of oppressiveness, such as attaches commonly to those monarchs who have + ground down their own people by servile labor. + </p> + <p> + The great buildings of Urukh appear to have been all designed for temples. + They are carefully placed with their angles facing the cardinal points, + and are dedicated to the Sun, the Moon, to Belus (Bel-Nimrod), or to + Beltis. The temple at Mugheir was built in honor of the Moon-god, Sin or + Hiuki, who was the tutelary deity of the city. The Warka temple was + dedicated to Beltis. At Calneh or Nipur, Urukh erected two temples, one to + Beltis and one to Belus. At Larsa or Ellasar the object of his worship was + the Sun-god, San or Sansi. He would thus seem to have been no special + devotee of a single god, but to have divided out his favors very fairly + among the chief personages of the Pantheon. + </p> + <p> + It has been observed that both the inscriptions of this king, and his + architecture, are of a rude and primitive type. Still in neither case do + we seem to be brought to the earliest dawn of civilization or of art. The + writing of Urukh has passed out of the first or hieroglyphic stage, and + entered the second or transition one, when pictures are no longer + attempted, but the lines or wedges follow roughly the old outline of the + objects in his architecture, again, though there is much that is rude and + simple, there is also a good deal which indicates knowledge and + experience. The use of the buttress is understood; and the buttress is + varied according to the material. The importance of sloping the walls of + buildings inwards to resist interior pressure is thoroughly recognized. + Drains are introduced to carry off moisture, which must otherwise have + been very destructive to buildings composed mainly, or entirely, of crude + brick. It is evident that the builders whom the king employs, though they + do not possess much genius, have still such a knowledge of the most + important principles of their art as is only obtained gradually by a good + deal of practice. Indeed, the very fact of the continued existence of + their works at the distance of forty centuries is sufficient evidence that + they possessed a considerable amount of architectural skill and knowledge. + We are further, perhaps, justified in concluding, from the careful + emplacement of Urukh’s temples, that the science of astronomy was already + cultivated in his reign, and was regarded as having a certain connection + with religion. We have seen that the early worship of the Chaldaeans was + to a great extent astral—a fact which naturally made the heavenly + bodies special objects of attention. If the series of observations which + Callisthenes sent to Aristotle, dating from B.C. 2234, was in reality a + record, and not a mere calculation backwards of the dates at which certain + celestial phenomena must have taken place, astronomical studies must have + been pretty well advanced at a period not long subsequent to Urukh. + </p> + <p> + Nor must we omit to notice, if we would estimate aright the condition of + Chaldaean art under this king, the indications furnished by his + signet-cylinder. So far as we can judge from the representation, which is + all that we possess of this relic, the drawing on the cylinder was as good + and the engraving as well executed as any work of the kind, either of the + Assyrian or of the later Babylonian period. Apart from the inscription + this work of art has nothing about it that is rude or primitive. The + elaboration of the dresses and headgear of the figures has been already + noticed. It is also worthy of remark, that the principal figure sits on an + ornamental throne or chair, of particularly tasteful construction, two + legs of which appear to have been modelled after those of the bull or ox. + We may conclude, without much danger of mistake, that in the time of the + monarch who owned this seal, dresses of delicate fabric and elaborate + pattern, and furniture of a recherche and elegant shape, were in use among + the people over whom he exercised dominion. + </p> + <p> + The chief capital city of Urukh appears to have been Ur. He calls himself + “King of Ur and Kingi Accad;” and it is at Ur that he raises his principal + buildings. Ur, too, has furnished the great bulk of his inscriptions. + Babylon was not yet a place of much importance, though it was probably + built by Nimrod. The second city of the Empire was Huruk or Erech: other + places of importance were Larsa (Ellasar?) and Nipur or Calneh. + </p> + <p> + Urukh appears to have been succeeded in the kingdom by a son, whose name + it is proposed to read as Elgi or Ilgi. Of this prince our knowledge is + somewhat scanty. Bricks bearing his name have been found at Ur (Mugheir) + and at Tel Eid, near Erech, or Warka; and his signet-cylinder has been + recovered, and is now in the British Museum. We learn from inscriptions of + Nabonidus that he completed some of the buildings at Ur, which had been + left unfinished by his father; while his own bricks inform us that he + built or repaired two of the principal temples at Erech. On his + signet-cylinder he takes the title of “King of Ur.” + </p> + <p> + After the death of Ilgi, Chaldaean history is for a time a blank. It would + seem, however, that while the Cushites were establishing themselves in the + alluvial plain towards the mouths of the two great rivers, there was + growing up a rival power, Turanian, or Ario-Turanian, in the neighboring + tract at the foot of the Zagros mountain-chain. One of the most ancient, + perhaps the most ancient, of all the Asiatic cities was Susa, the Elamitic + capital, which formed the centre of a nationality that endured from the + twenty-third century B.C. to the time of Darius Hystaspis (B.C. 520) when + it sank finally under the Persians. A king of Elam, whose court was held + at Susa, led, in the year B.C. 2286 (or a little earlier), an expedition + against the cities of Chaldaea, succeeded in carrying all before him, + ravaged the country, took the towns, plundered the temples, and bore off + into his own country, as the most striking evidence of victory, the images + of the deities which the Babylonians especially reverenced. This king’s + name, which was Kudur-Nakhunta, is thought to be the exact equivalent of + one which has a world-wide celebrity, to wit, Zoroaster. Now, according to + Polyhistor (who here certainly repeats Berosus), Zoroaster was the first + of those eight Median kings who composed the second dynasty in Chaldaea, + and occupied the throne from about B. C. 2286 to 2052. The Medes are + represented by him as capturing Babylon at this time, and imposing + themselves as rulers upon the country. Eight kings reigned in space of 234 + (or 224) years, after which we hear no more of Medes, the sovereignty + being (as it would seem) recovered by the natives. The coincidences of the + conquest the date, the foreign sovereignty and the name Zoroaster, tend to + identify the Median dynasty of Berosus with a period of Susianian + supremacy, which the monuments show to have been established it Chaldaea + at a date not long subsequent to the reigns of Urukh and Ilgi, and to have + lasted for a considerable period. + </p> + <p> + There are five monarchs known to us who may be assigned to this dynasty. + The first is the Kudur-Nakhunta above named, who conquered Babylonia and + established his influence there, but continued to hold his court at Susa, + governing his conquest probably by means of a viceroy or tributary king. + Next to him, at no great interval, may be placed Kudur-Lagamer, the + Chedor-laomer of Scripture, who held a similar position to Kudur-Nakhunta, + reigning himself in Elam, while his vassals, Amraphel, Arioch, and Tidal + (or Turgal) held the governments respectfully of Shinar (or Upper + Babylonia), Ellasar (Lower Babylonia or Chaldaea), and the Goim or the + nomadic races. Possessing thus an authority over the whole of the alluvial + plain, and being able to collect together a formidable army, Kudur-Lagamer + resolved on a expedition up the Euphrates, with the object of extending + his dominion to the Mediterranean Sea and to the borders of Egypt. At + first his endeavors were successful. Together with his confederate kings, + he marched as far as Palestine, where he was opposed by the native + princes, Bera, king of Sodom, Birsha, king of Gomorrah, Shinab, king of + Admah, Shemeber, king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela or Zoar. A great + battle was fought between the two confederated armies in the vale of + Siddim towards the lower end of the Dead Sea. The invaders were + victorious; and for twelve years Bera and his allies were content to own + themselves subjects of the Elamitic king, whom they “served” for that + period. In the thirteenth year they rebelled: a general rising of the + western nations seems to have taken place; and in order to maintain his + conquest it was necessary for the conqueror to make a fresh effort. Once + more the four eastern kings entered Syria, and, after various successes + against minor powers, engaged a second time in the valley of Siddim with + their old antagonists, whom they defeated with great slaughter; after + which they plundered the chief cities belonging to them. It was on this + occasion that Lot, the nephew of Abraham, was taken prisoner. Laden with + booty of various kinds, and encumbered with a number of captives, male and + female, the conquering army set out upon its march home, and had reached + the neighborhood of Damascus, when it was attacked and defeated by + Abraham, who with a small band ventured under cover of night to fall upon + the retreating host, which he routed and pursued to some distance. The + actual slaughter can scarcely have been great; but the prisoners and the + booty taken had to be surrendered; the prestige of victory was lost; and + the result appears to have been that the Mesopotamian monarch relinquished + his projects, and, contenting himself with the fame acquired by such + distant expeditions, made no further attempt to carry his empire beyond + the Euphrates. + </p> + <p> + The other three kings who may be assigned to the Elamitic dynasty are a + father, son, and grandson, whose names appear upon the native monuments of + Chaldaea in a position which is thought to imply that they were posterior + to the kings Urukh and Ilgi, but of greater antiquity than any other + monarchs who have left memorials in the country. Their names are read as + Sinti-shil-khak, Kudur-Mabuk, and Arid-Sin. Of Sinti-shil khak nothing is + known beyond the name. Kudur-Mabuk is said in the inscriptions of his son + to have “enlarged the dominions of the city of Ur;” and on his own bricks + he bears the title of Apda Martu, which probably means “Conqueror of the + West.” We may presume therefore that he was a warlike prince, like + Kudur-Nakhunta and Kudur-Lagamer; and that, like the latter of these two + kings, he made war in the direction of Syria, though he may not have + carried his arms so far as his great predecessor. He and his son both held + their court at Ur, and, though of foreign origin, maintained the Chaldaean + religion unchanged, making additions to the ancient temples, and + worshipping the Chaldaean gods under the old titles. + </p> + <p> + The circumstances which brought the Elamitic dynasty to a close, and + restored the Chaldaean throne to a line of native princes, and unrecorded + by any historian; nor have the monuments hitherto thrown any light upon + them. If we may trust the numbers of the Armenian Eusebius, the dynasty + which succeeded, ab. B.C. 2052, to the Susianian (or Median), though it + counted eleven kings, bore rule for the short space of forty-eight years + only. This would seem to imply either a state of great internal + disturbance, or a time during which viceroys, removable at pleasure and + often removed, governed the country under some foreign suzerain. In either + case, the third dynasty of Berosus may be said to mark a transition period + between the time of foreign subjection and that of the recovery by the + native Chaldaeans of complete independence. + </p> + <p> + To the fourth Berosian dynasty, which held the throne for 458 years, from + about B. C. 2004 to B. C. 1546, the monuments enable us to assign some + eight or ten monarchs, whose inscriptions are characterized by a general + resemblance, and by a character intermediate between the extreme rudeness + of the more ancient and the comparative elegance and neatness of the later + legends. Of these kings one of the earliest was a certain Ismidagon, the + date of whose reign we are able to fix with a near approach to exactness. + Sennacherib, in a rock inscription at Bavian, relates that in his tenth + year (which was B. C. 692) he recovered from Babylon certain images of the + gods which had been carried thither by Merodach-iddin-akhi, King of + Babylon, after his defeat of Tiglath-Pileser, King of Assyria, 418 years + previously. And the same Tiglath-Pileser relates that he rebuilt a temple + in Assyria, which had been taken down 60 years before, after it had lasted + 641 years from its foundation by Shamas-Vul, sun of Ismi-dagon. It results + from these numbers that Ismi-dagon was king as early as B.C. 1850, or, + probably a little earlier. + </p> + <p> + The monuments furnish little information concerning Ismidagon beyond the + evidence which they afford of the extension of this king’s dominion into + the upper part of the Mesopotamian valley, and especially into the country + known in later times as Assyria. The fact that Shamas-Vul, the son of + Ismi-dagon, built a temple at Kileh-Sherghat, implies necessarily that the + Chaldaans at this time bore sway in the upper region. Shamas-Vul appears + to have been, not the eldest, but the second son of the monarch, and must + be viewed as ruling over Assyria in the capacity of viceroy, either for + his father or his brother. Such evidence as we possess of the condition of + Assyria about this period seems to show that it was weak and + insignificant, administered ordinarily by Babylonian satraps or governors, + whose office was one of no great rank or dignity. + </p> + <p> + In Chaldaea, Ismi-dagon was succeeded by a son, whose name is read, + somewhat doubtfully, as Gunguna or Gurguna. This prince is known to us + especially as the builder of the great public cemeteries which now form + the most conspicuous objects among the ruins of Mugheir, and the + construction of which is so remarkable. Ismi-dagon and his son must have + occupied the Chaldaean throne during most of the latter half of the + nineteenth century before our era-from about B.C. 1850 to B.C. 1800. + </p> + <p> + Hitherto there has been no great difficulty in determining the order of + the monumental kings, from the position of their bricks in the principal + Chaldaean ruins and the general character of their inscriptions. But the + relative place occupied in the series by the later monarchs is rendered + very doubtful by their records being scattered and unconnected, while + their styles of inscription vary but slightly. It is most unfortunate that + no writer has left us a list corresponding in Babylonian history with that + which Manetho put on record for Egyptian; since we are thus compelled to + arrange our names in an order which rests on little more than conjecture. + </p> + <p> + The monumental king who is thought to have approached the nearest to + Gurguna is Naram-Sin, of whom a record has been discovered at Babylon, and + who is mentioned in a late inscription as the builder, in conjunction with + his father, of a temple at the city of Agana. His date is probably about + B.C. 1750. The seat of his court may be conjectured to have been Babylon, + which had by this time risen into metropolitan conse quence. It is evident + that, as time went on, the tendency was to remove the seat of government + and empire to a greater distance from the sea. The early monarchs reign at + Ur (Mugheir), and leave no traces of themselves further north than Niffer. + Sin-Shada holds his court at Erech (Warka), twenty-five miles above + Mugheir; while Naram-Sin is connected with the still more northern city of + Babylon. We shall find a similar tendency in Assyria, as it rose into + power. In both cases we may regard the fact as indicative of a gradual + spread of empire towards the north, and of the advance of civilization and + settled government in that direction. + </p> + <p> + A king, who disputes the palm of antiquity with Naram-Sin, has left + various records at Erech or Warka, which appears to have been his capital + city. It is proposed to call him Sin-Shada. He constructed, or rather + re-built, the upper terrace of the Bowariyeh ruin, or great temple, which + Urukh raised at Warka to Beltis; and his bricks are found in the doorway + of another large ruin (the <i>Wuswas</i>) at the same place; it is + believed, however, that in this latter building they are not in situ, but + have been transferred from some earlier edifice. His reign fell probably + in the latter part of the 18th, century B. C. + </p> + <p> + Several monarchs of the Sin series—i.e. monarchs into whose names + the word Sin, the name of the Moon-god, enters as an element—now + present themselves. The most important of them has been called Zur-Sin. + This king erected some buildings at Mugheir; but he is best known as the + founder of the very curious town whose ruins bear at the present day the + name of Abu-Shahrein. A description of the principal buildings at this + site has been already given. They exhibit certain improvements on the + architecture of the earlier times, and appear to have been very richly + ornamented, at least in parts. At the same time they contain among their + debris remarkable proofs of the small advance which had as yet been made + in some of the simplest arts. Flint knives and other implements, stone + hatchets, chisels, and nails, are abundant in the ruins; and though the + use of metal is not unknown, it seems to have been comparatively rare. + When a metal is found, it is either gold or bronze, no trace of iron + (except in ornaments of the person) appearing in any of the Chaldaean + remains. Zur-Sin, Rim-Sin, and three or four other monarchs of the Sin + series, whose names are imperfect or uncertain, may be assigned to the + period included between B.C. 1700 and B.C. 1546. + </p> + <p> + Another monarch, and the only other monumental name that we can assign to + Berosus’s fourth dynasty, is a certain Nur-Vul, who appears by the + Chaldaean sale-tablets to have been the immediate predecessor of Rim-Sin, + the last king of the <i>Sin</i> series. Nur-Vul has left no buildings or + inscriptions; and we seem to see in the absence of all important monuments + at this time a period of depression, such as commonly in the history of + nations precedes and prepares the way for a new dynasty or a conquest. + </p> + <p> + The remaining monumental kings belong almost certainly to the fifth, or + Arabian, dynasty of Berosus, to which he assigns the period of 245 years + —from about B.C. 1546 to B.C. 1300. That the list comprises as many + as fifteen names, whereas Berosus speaks of nine Arabian kings only, need + not surprise us, since it is not improbable that Berosus may have omitted + kings who reigned for less than a year. To arrange the fifteen monarchs in + chronological order is, unfortunately, impossible. Only three of them have + left monuments. The names of the others are found on linguistic and other + tablets, in a connection which rarely enables us to determine anything + with respect to their relative priority or posteriority. We can, however, + definitely place seven names, two at the beginning and five toward the end + of the series, thus leaving only eight whose position in the list is + undetermined. + </p> + <p> + The series commences with a great king, named Khammurabi, who was probably + the founder of the dynasty, the “Arab” chief who, taking advantage of the + weakness and depression of Chaldaea under the latter monarchs of the + fourth dynasty, by intrigue or conquest established his dominion over the + country, and left the crown to his descendants. Khammurabi is especially + remarkable as having been the first (so far as appears) of the Babylonian + monarchs to conceive the notion of carrying out a system of artificial + irrigation in his dominions, by means of a canal derived from one of the + great rivers. The <i>Nahar-Khammu-rabi</i> (“River of Khabbu-rabi + “),whereof he boasts in one of his inscriptions, was no doubt, as he + states, “a blessing to the Babylonians”—it “changed desert plains + into well-watered fields; it spread around fertility an abundance”—it + brought a whole district, previously barren, into cultivation, and it set + an example, which the best of the later monarchs followed, of a mode + whereby the productiveness of the country might be increased to an almost + inconceivable extent. + </p> + <p> + Khammu-rabi was also distinguished as a builder. He repaired the great + temple of the Sun at Senkereh and constructed for himself a new palace at + Kalwadha, or Chilmad, not far from the modern Baghdad. His inscriptions + have been found at Babylon, at Zerghul, and at Tel-Sifr; and it is thought + probable that he made Babylon his ordinary place of residence. His reign + probably covered the space from about B.C. 1546 to B.C. 1520, when he left + his crown to his son, Samsu-iluna. Of this monarch our notices are + exceedingly scanty. We know him only from the Tel-Sifr clay tablets, + several of which are dated by the years of his reign. He held the crown + probably from about B.C. 1520 to B.C. 1500. + </p> + <p> + About sixty or seventy years after this we come upon a group of names, + belonging almost certainly to this same dynasty, which possess a peculiar + interest, inasmuch as they serve to connect the closing period of the + First, or Chaldaean, with the opening portion of the Second, or Assyrian, + Monarchy. A succession of five Babylonian monarchs is mentioned on an + Assyrian tablet, the object of which is to record the synchronous history + of the two countries. These monarchs are contemporary with independent + Assyrian princes, and have relations toward them which are sometimes + peaceful, sometimes warlike. Kara-in-das, the first of the five, is on + terms of friendship with Asshur-bel-nisi-su, king of Assyria, and + concludes with him a treaty of alliance. This treaty is renewed between + his successor, Purna-puriyas, and Buzur-Asshur, the successor of + Asshur-bel-nisi-su on the throne of Assyria. Not long afterwards a third + Assyrian monarch, Asshur-upallit, obtains the crown, and Purna-puriyas not + only continues on the old terms of amity with him, but draws the ties + which unite the two royal families closer by marrying Asshur-upallit’s + daughter. The issue of this marriage is a prince named Kara-khar-das, who + on the death of Purna-puriyas ascends the throne of Babylon. But now a + revolution occurs. A certain Nazi-bugas rises in revolt, puts + Kara-khar-das to death, and succeeds in making himself king. Hereupon + Asshur-upallit takes up arms, invades Babylonia, defeats and kills + Nazi-bugas, and places upon the throne a brother of the murdered + Kara-khar-das, a younger son of Purna-puriyas, by name Kurri-galzu, or + Durri-galzu. These events may be assigned with much probability to the + period between B.C. 1440 and B.C. 1380. + </p> + <p> + Of the five consecutive monarchs presented to our notice in this + interesting document, two are known to us by their own inscriptions. + Memorials of Purna-puriyas and Kurri-galzu, very similar in their general + character, have been found in various parts of Chaldala. Those of + Purna-puriyas come from Senkereh the ancient Larsa, and consist of bricks, + showing that he repaired the great temple of the Sun at that city which + was originally built by Urukh. Kurri-galzu’s memorials comprise bricks + from Mugheir (Ur) and Akkerkuf, together with his signet-seal, which was + found at Baghdad in the year 1800. <a href="#linkimage-0029">[PLATE XXI., + Fig. 4.]</a> It also appears by an inscription of Nabonidus that he + repaired a temple at the city of Agana, and left an inscription there. + </p> + <p> + But the chief fame of Kurri-galzu arises from his having been the founder + of an important city. The remarkable remains at Akkerkuf, of which an + account has been given in a former chapter, mark the site of a town of his + erection. It is conjectured with some reason that this place is the + Dur-Kurri-galzu of the later Assyrian inscriptions—a place of so + much consequence in the time of Sargon that he calls it “the key of the + country.” + </p> + <p> + The remaining monarchs, who are on strong grounds of probability, + etymological and other, assigned to this dynasty are Saga-raktiyas, the + founder of a Temple of the male and female Sun at Sippara, Ammidi-kaga, + Simbar-sikhu, Kharbisikhu, Ulam-puriyas, Nazi-urdas, Mili-sikhu, and + Kara-kharbi. Nothing is known at present of the position which any of + these monarchs held in the dynasty, or of their relationship to the kings + previously mentioned, or to each other. Most of them are known to us + simply from their occurrence in a biliugual list of kings, together with + Khammu-rabi, Kurri-galzu, and Purna-puriyas. The list in question appears + not to be chronological. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <a name="linkpage0113" id="linkpage0113"></a> <br /> <img + alt="page0113 (109K)" src="images/page0113.jpg" width="100%" /> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <p> + Modern research has thus supplied us with memorials (or at any rate with + the names) of some thirty kings, who ruled in the country properly termed + Chaldaea at a very remote date. Their antiquity is evidenced by the + character of their buildings and of their inscriptions, which are + unmistakably rude and archaic. It is further indicated by the fact that + they are the builders of certainly the most ancient edifices whereof the + country contains any trace. The probable connection of two of them with + the only king known previously from good authority to have reigned in the + country during the primitive ages confirms the conclusion drawn from the + appearance of the remains themselves; which is further strengthened by the + monumental dates assigned to two of them, which place them respectively in + the twenty-third and the nineteenth century before our era. That the kings + belong to one series, and (speaking broadly) to one time, is evidenced by + the similarity of the titles which they use, by their uninterrupted + worship of the same gods, and by the general resemblance of the language + and mode of writing which they employ. That the time to which they belong + is anterior to the rise of Assyria to greatness appears from the + synchronism of the later monarchs of the Chaldaean with the earliest of + the Assyrian list, as well as from the fact that the names borne by the + Babylonian kings after Assyria became the leading power in the country are + not only different, but of a different type. If it be objected that the + number of thirty kings is insufficient for the space over which they have + in our scheme been spread, we may answer that it has never been, supposed + by any one that the twenty-nine or thirty kings, of whom distinct mention + has been made in the foregoing account, are a complete list of all the + Chaldaean sovereigns. On the contrary, it is plain that they are a very + incomplete list, like that which Herodotus gives of the kings of Egypt, or + that which the later Romans possessed of their early monarchs. The + monuments themselves present indications of several other names of kings, + belonging evidently to the same series, which are too obscure or too + illegible for transliteration. And there may, of course, have been many + others of whom no traces remain, or of whom none have been as yet found. + On the other hand, it may be observed, that the number of the early + Chaldaean kings reported by Polyhistor is preposterous. If sixty-eight + consecutive monarchs held the Chaldaean throne between B.C. 2286 and B.C. + 1546, they must have reigned on an average, less than eleven years apiece. + Nay, if forty-nine ruled between B.C. 2004 and B.C. 1546, covering a space + of little more than four centuries and a half—which is what Berosus + is made to assert—these later monarchs cannot even have reigned so + long as ten years each, an average which may be pronounced quite + impossible in a settled monarchy such as the Chaldaean. The probability + would seem to be that Berosus has been misreported, his numbers having + suffered corruption during their passage through so many hands, and being + in this instance quite untrustworthy. We may conjecture that the actual + number of reigns which he intended to allow his fourth dynasty was + nineteen, or at the utmost twenty-nine, the former of which numbers would + give the common average of twenty-four years, while the latter would + produce the less usual but still possible one of sixteen years. + </p> + <p> + The monarchy which we have had under review is one, no doubt, rather + curious from its antiquity than illustrious from its great names, or + admirable for the extent of its dominions. Less ancient than the Egyptian, + it claims the advantage of priority over every empire or kingdom which has + grown up upon the soil of Asia. The Arian, Turanian, and even the Semitic + tribes, appear to have been in the nomadic condition, when the Cushite + settlers in Lower Babylonia betook themselves to agriculture, erected + temples, built cities, and established a strong and settled government. + The leaven which was to spread by degrees through the Asiatic peoples was + first deposited on the shores of the Persian Gulf at the mouth of the + Great River; and hence civilization, science, letters, art, extended + themselves northward, and eastward, and westward. Assyria, Media, Semitic + Babylonia, Persia, as they derived from Chaldaea the character of their + writing, so were they indebted to the same country for their general + notions of government and administration, for their architecture, their + decorative art, and still more for their science and literature. Each + people no doubt modified in some measure the boon received, adding more or + less of its own to the common inheritance. But Chaldaea stands forth as + the great parent and original inventress of Asiatic civilization, without + any rival that can reasonably dispute her claims. The great men of the + Empire are Nimrod, Urukh, and Che-dor-laomer. Nimrod, the founder, has the + testimony of Scripture that he was “a mighty one in the earth;” “a mighty + hunter;” the establisher of a “kingdom,” when kingdoms had scarcely begun + to be known; the builder of four great and famous cities, “Babel, and + Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar,” or Mesopotamia. To + him belong the merit of selecting a site peculiarly fitted for the + development of a great power in the early ages of the world, and of + binding men together into a community which events proved to possess + within it the elements of prosperity and permanence. Whether he had, + indeed, the rebellious and apostate character which numerous traditions, + Jewish, Arabian, and Armenian, assign to him; whether he was in reality + concerned in the building of the tower related in the eleventh chapter of + the Book of Genesis, we have no means of positively determining. The + language of Scripture with regard to Nimrod is laudatory rather than the + contrary; and it would seem to have been from a misapprehension of the <i>nexus</i> + of the Mosaic narrative that the traditions above mentioned originated. + Nimrod, “the mighty hunter <i>before the Lord</i>,” had not in the days of + Moses that ill reputation which attached to him in later ages, when he was + regarded as the great Titan or Giant, who made war upon the gods, and who + was at once the builder of the tower, and the persecutor who forced + Abraham to quit his original country. It is at least doubtful whether we + ought to allow any weight at all to the additions and embellishments with + which later writers, so much wiser than Moses, have overlaid the + simplicity of his narrative. + </p> + <p> + Urukh, whose fame may possibly have reached the Romans, was the great + Chaldaean architect. To him belongs, apparently, the conception of the + Babylonian temple, with its rectangular base, carefully placed so as to + present its angles to the four cardinal points, its receding stages, its + buttresses, its drains, its sloped walls, its external staircases for + ascent, and its ornamental shrine crowning the whole. At any rate, if he + was not the first to conceive and erect such structures, he set the + example of building them on such a scale and with such solidity as to + secure their long continuance, and render them well-nigh imperishable. + There is no appearance in all Chaldaea, so far as it has been explored, of + any building which can be even probably assigned to a date anterior to + Urukh. The attempted tower was no doubt earlier; and it may have been a + building of the same type, but there is no reason to believe that any + remnant, or indeed any trace, of this primitive edifice, has continued to + exist to our day. The structures of the most archaic character throughout + Chaldaea are, one and all, the work of King Urukh, who was not content to + adorn his metropolitan city only with one of the new edifices, but added a + similar ornament to each of the great cities within his empire. + </p> + <p> + The great builder was followed shortly by the great conqueror. + Kudur-Lagamer, the Elamitic prince, who, more than twenty centuries before + our era, having extended his dominion over Babylonia and the adjoining + regions, marched an army a distance of 1200 miles from the shores of the + Persian Gulf to the Dead Sea, and held Palestine and Syria in subjection + for twelve years, thus effecting conquests which were not again made from + the same quarter till the time of Nebuchadnezzar, fifteen or sixteen + hundred years afterward, has a good claim to be regarded as one of the + most remarkable personages in the world’s history-being, as he is, the + forerunner and proto-type of all those great Oriental conquerors who from + time to time have built up vast empires in Asia out of heterogeneous + materials, which have in a longer or a shorter space successively crumbled + to decay. At a time when the kings of Egypt had never ventured beyond + their borders, unless it were for a foray in Ethiopia, and when in Asia no + monarch had held dominion over more than a few petty tribes, and a few + hundred miles of territory, he conceived the magnificent notion of binding + into one the manifold nations inhabiting the vast tract which lies between + the Zagros mountain-range and the Mediterranean. Lord by inheritance (as + we may presume) of Eliun and Chaldaea or Babylonia, he was not content + with these ample tracts, but, coveting more, proceeded boldly on a career + of conquest up the Euphrates valley, and through Syria, into Palestine. + Successful here, he governed for twelve years dominions extending near a + thousand miles from east to west, and from north to south probably not + much short of five hundred. It was true that he was not able to hold this + large extent of territory; but the attempt and the success temporarily + attending it are memorable circumstances, and were probably long held in + remembrance through Western Asia, where they served as a stimulus and + incentive to the ambition of later monarchs. + </p> + <p> + These, then, are the great men of the Chaldaean empire. Its extent, as we + have seen, varied greatly at different periods. Under the kings of the + first dynasty—to which Urukh and Ilgi belonged—it was probably + confined to the alluvium, which seems then to have been not more than 300 + miles in length along the course of the rivers, and which is about 70 or + 80 miles in breadth from the Tigris to the Arabian desert. In the course + of the second dynasty it received a vast increase, being carried in one + direction to the Elamitic mountains, and in another to the Mediterranean, + by the conquest of Kudur-Nakhunta and Chedor-laomer. On the defeat of the + latter prince it again contracted, though to what extent we have no means + of determining. It is probable that Elam or Susiana, and not unlikely that + the Euphrates valley, for a considerable distance above Hit, formed parts + of the Chaldaean Empire after the loss of Syria and Palestine. Assyria + occupied a similar position, at any rate from the time of Ismi-dagon, + whose son built a temple at Kileh-Sherghat or Asshur. There is reason to + think that the subjection of Assyria continued to the very end of the + dynasty, and that this region, whose capital was at Kileh-Sherghat, was + administered by viceroys deriving their authority from Chaldaean monarchs. + These monarchs, as has been observed, gradually removed their capital more + and more northwards; by which it would appear as if their empire tended to + progress in that direction. + </p> + <p> + The different dynasties which ruled in Chaldaea prior to the establishment + of Assyrian influence, whether Chaldaean, Susianian, or Arabian, seem to + have been of kindred race; and, whether they established themselves by + conquest, or in a more peaceful manner, to have made little, if any, + change in the language, religion, or customs of the Empire. The so-called + Arab kings, if they are really (as we have supposed), Khammurabi and his + successors, show themselves by their names and their inscriptions to be as + thoroughly proto-Chaldaaan as Urukh or Ilgi. But with the commencement of + the Assyrian period the case is altered. From the time of Tiglathi-Nin + (about B.C. 1300), the Assyrian conqueror who effected the subjugation of + Babylon, a strong Semitizing influence made itself felt in the lower + country—the monarchs cease to have Turanian or Cushite and bear + instead thoroughly Assyrian names; inscriptions, when they occur, are in + the Assyrian language and character. The entire people seems by degrees to + have been Assyrianized, or at any rate Semitized-assimilated, that is, to + the stock of nations to which the Jews, the northern Arabs, the Aramaeans + or Syrians, the Phoenicians, and the Assyrians belong. Their language fell + into disuse, and grew to be a learned tongue studied by the priests and + the literati; their Cushite character was lost, and they became, as a + people, scarcely distinguishable from the Assyrians. After six centuries + and a half of submission and insignificance, the Chaldaeans, however, + began to revive and recover themselves—they renewed the struggle for + national independence, and in the year B.C. 625 succeeded in establishing + a second kingdom, which will be treated of in a later volume as the fourth + or Babylonian Monarchy. Even when this monarchy met its death at the hands + of Cyrus the Great, the nationality of the Chaldaeans was not swept away. + We find them recognized under the Persians, and even under the Parthians, + as a distinct people. When at last they cease to have a separate national + existence, their name remains; and it is in memory of the successful + cultivation of their favorite science by the people of Nimrod from his + time to that of Alexander, that the professors of astronomical and + astrological learning under the Roman Emperors receive, from the poets and + historians of the time, the appellation of “Chaldaeans.” poets and + historians of the time, the appellation of “Chaldaeans.” <br /> <br /> <a + name="linkreferences" id="linkreferences"></a> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h3> + LIST OF AUTHORS AND EDITIONS QUOTED IN THE NOTES. + </h3> + <blockquote> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +ABULPHARAGIUS, Chronicon Syriacum, ed. J. Bruno, Lipsim, 1789. +Agathangelus, Historia Regni Tiridatis, in C. Muller’s Fragm. Hist. + Gr. vol. v.,Parisiis, 1870. +Agathias, in the Corpus Script. Hist. Byz. of B. G. Niebuhr, Bonnm, 1828. +Ammianus Marcellinus, ed. Gronovius, Lugd. Bat., 1693. +Analecta Grmca, ed. Benedict., Lutetite Parisioruin, 1688. +Annales de l’Institut Archeologique, Paris, 1828, &c. +Anonymus (continuator of Dio Cassius),in the Fragm. Hist. Gr., + vol. iv., Parisiis, 1851. +Antonini Itinerarium, ed. Parthey et Pinder, Berolini, 1848. +Appianus, Historia Romana, ed. H. Stephanus, Parisiis. 1592. +Aristotle, Ethica Nicomachea, ed.Tauchnitz, Lipsim, 1831. +Arrianus, Exped. Alex., ed. Tauchnitz, Lipsim, 1829. Fragments of, + in the Fragm. Hist.Greec. of C. MUller, vol. iii., Parisiis, 1849. + Historia Indica. in C. Muller’s Geographi Minores, Parisiis, 1855-1861. +Asseman, Bibliotheca Orientalis, Romae, 1719-1728. +Athanasius, Opera, ed. Benedict., Parisiis, 1698. +Athenaeus, Deipnosophistw,ed. Schweighmuser, Argentorat., 1801-1807. +Atkinson, Firdausi, in the Publications of the Oriental Translation + Committee, London, 1832. +Augnstinus, Opera, ed. Benedict., Antwerpim, 1700. +Aurelius Victor, Hist. Rom. Breviarium, ed. Pitiscus, Traject. + ad. Rhen., 1696. + +BASILIUS STUs., Opera, ed. Benedict., Peruses, 17,21-17.10. +Behistun inscription, ed. H. C. Rawlinson. in the + Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, vols. X.. xi., &c. +Berosus, in the Fragments Histor. Grmorum of C. Miiller, + vol. ii., Paris, 1847. +Bohlen, Das alte Indien, Konigsberg, 1830. +Botta, Monument de Ninive, Paris, 1850, Bunsen, Chevalier, + Philosophy (if Universal History. London, 1854. +Burton, Dr., Ecclesiastical History of the First Three Centuries, + Oxford,1831. + +CAPITOLINUS. JULIUS, in the Historiai, Augustm Scriptores of Jordan + and Eyssenhardt, Berolini, 1864. +Cedrenus, in the Corpus Script. Hist. Byzant. of B, G. Niebuhr, Bonnm, 1838. +Champagny, Les Caesars du Troisieme Siecle, Paris, 1865. +Chardin, Voyage en Perse. Amsterdam, 1735. +Chronicon Paschale, in the Corpus Script. Hist. Byzant. of + B. G. Niebuhr, Bonnae, 1832. +Cicero, Opera, ed. Ernesti, Londini, 1819. +Claudianus. Opera, in the Corpus Poetarum Latinorum of G. S. Walker, + Loudini, 1865. +Clinton, Fasti Romani, Oxford,1845-1850. +Cosnias Iudicopleustes, Topographia +Christiana, in Montfaucon’s Collectio nova Patrons, q. v. +Creuzer, Symbolik and Mythologie, Leipzig, 1819-1821. +Curtius, Quietus. Vita Alexandri Magni, ed. Pitiscus. Hague, 1708. +Cyrillus Alexandrinus, Opera, ed. Aubert, Parisiis, 1638. +Cyrillus Monachus, Vita Euthymii, in the Analecta Grmca, q. v. + +D’ANVILLE, Geographie Ancienne, Paris, 1768. +De Sacy, Memoire surdiverses Antiquities de la Perse, Paris, 1793. +D’Herbelot, Bibliothoque Orientale, Paris, 1781. +Dino, in the Fragm. Hist. Grace. of C. Muller, vol. ii., Paris 1845. +Dio Cassius, ed. Fabricius, Hamburgi, 1750-1752. +Dio Chrysostomus, ed. Morell, Parisiis, 1604. +Diodorus Siculus, ed. Dindorf, Parisiis, 1843-4. +Diogenes Laertius, ed. Wetstein, Amstelodami, 1692. + +ECKHEL, Doctrina, Nummorum Veterum, Vindobonae, 1792. +Elisaeus translated into French by M. l’Abbe Kabaragy Garabed, + Paris, 1844. +Epiphanies, Opera, ed. Valesius, Coloniae, 1682. +Ethnological Journal, London, 1869, &c. +Eunapius, Vitae Philosophorum, ex officin. P. Stephani, Parisius, 1616. +Eusebius Pamphili, Vita Constantini Magni, Ac., ed. Heinichen, Lugd. + Bat., 1562. +Eutropius. Brevarinm Hist. Rom., ed Verheyk. Ladg. Bat., 1762. +Eutychius, Annales, Oxonii, 1654-1656. +Evagrius, Historia Ecclesiastica, ed. Reading, Cantabrigiae, 1720. + +FABRICIUS. Bibliotheca Graeca, ed. Harles, Hamburgi. 1590-1809. +Fanstus of Byzantium, in the Fragm. Hist. Grace. of C. Muller, + vol. v., Paris, 1850. +Fergusson, James, History of Architecture, London, 1873. +Festus (Sext. Rufus). Breviarium rerum gestarum populi Romani, + ed. Verheyk. 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