THE OLD EMPIRE (to about 2100 B.C.).—Senoferu,who belongs to the third dynasty, is the first king who has left behind him a monumental inscription. A rock-tablet in the peninsula of Sinai gives him the title of conqueror. By some, the pyramid of Meydoun, built in three distinct stages to a height of 125 feet, is ascribed to him, and is believed to be his sepulcher. At Saccarah is a pyramid of like form, 200 feet in height.Khufu,the Cheops of Herodotus, was the builder of the "Great Pyramid" of Ghizeh, the largest and loftiest building on earth. Its original perpendicular height was not less than 480 feet, the length of its side 764 feet, and the area covered by it more than thirteen acres. Near it are the small pyramids, which were the sepulchers of his wives and other relatives. The statues ofKhafraremain, and the wooden mummy-case ofMenkaura,with the myth of Osiris recorded on it. These were the builders of the two other most celebrated pyramids, the second and the third. With the long reign ofUnascloses the first era in Egyptian history. His unfinished pyramid, built of huge blocks of limestone, indicates that he died too soon to complete it. From this date, back to the epoch ofSenoferu, are included nearly three centuries. In this period of prevalent peace, art had the opportunity to develop. The spirit of progress in this department had not yet been cramped by the "hieratic canon," the fixed rules set for artistic labor. There is evidence of considerable knowledge in anatomy and medicine. The myth of Osiris expanded, and his worship spread.
With the sixth dynasty a new epoch begins. The most powerful monarch in this series isPepi. He levied armies, conquered the negroes of Nubia, and waged war against the nomads of the eastern desert. The interval from the sixth to the tenth dynasty was marked by usurpations and insurrections. The district governors sought to make themselves independent. Monarchs rose and fell. Syrian invaders appear to have seized the occasion to attack the country.Heliopolis, withTumfor its sun-god, is the center of the new symbolical lore of the priesthood. Power is transferred toThebes, andAmmonbecomes the embodiment of the monotheistic conception, the supreme deity.
The Theban ruling-house gradually extended its supremacy over the land. The kings of the twelfth dynasty have left their inscriptions everywhere, and of several of them gigantic portrait-statues remain.Amenemhat I.and his successors are prosperous sovereigns. They carry on a lively intercourse of trade with the small states of Syria, reaching possibly to Babylon. Under the twelfth dynasty, the valley of the upper Nile was conquered.Usurtasen III., in after times, was revered as the subduer of the Nubian land. By monarchs of this epoch, vast structures, like the temple of Ammon at Thebes and the temple of the Sun at Heliopolis, were erected.Amenemhat III.built the immense artificial reservoir, Lake Moeris, to receive and dispense the waters of the Nile. Under the twelfth dynasty is the blossoming period of literature. The carving of hieroglyphics and the execution of the details of art reach their perfection. It is the culminating point of Egyptian culture.
THE MIDDLE EMPIRE (FROM ABOUT 2100 TO 1600 B.C.).—The season of prosperity under the twelfth dynasty was followed by anarchy and the downfall of the Theban rule. According toManetho, it was under a king namedTimaosthat a horde of invaders—theHyksos, or"shepherds"—came in from the north, devastated the country, and made themselves its rulers. They were probably of Semitic descent, but nothing more is known as to their origin. In connection with them, Semitic, and in particular Canaanite, elements penetrated into Egypt, and left their traces in its language. The residence of their kings wasTanis, on the eastern Delta, a splendid city, which they still more adorned. They conquered Memphis, but their power was not permanently established in Lower Egypt. The duration of their control was a number of centuries,—how many can only be conjectured. It is believed by some scholars that eitherApepi,orNub, kings of the Hyksos line, was the sovereign who madeJosephhis prime minister, and invited his family to settle in the land of Goshen. The elevation of a foreigner and a Semite to an exalted office is thought to be less improbable in connection with a Semitic dynasty.
The New Empire (from 1600 to 525 B.C.).—The expulsion of the Hyksos was effected byAahmes I., first king of the eighteenth dynasty. It was accomplished, however, not all at once, but gradually. From this event Egypt enters on a new stage in its career. It becomes a military, an aggressive, and a conquering state. Notwithstanding the enormous sacrifice of life that must have been involved in the erection of pyramids and in other public works, the Egyptians had not been a cruel people: compared with most Semitic peoples, they had been disposed to peace. But now a martial spirit is evoked. A military class arises. Wars for plunder and conquest ensue. The use of horses in battle is a new and significant fact. The character of the people changes for the worse. The priestly class become more compact and domineering. Temples are the principal edifices, in the room of massive sepulchers.
UnderThothmes I. and his successors, especiallyThothmes III., wars were successfully waged against the Syrians, and against the Ethiopians on the south. The palaces and temples of Thebes, including the gigantic structures atKarnakandLuxor, are witnesses to the grandeur of these monarchs. The Egyptian arms were carried through Syria, and as far even as Nineveh. During the reigns ofAmenophis III. andAmenophis IV., that is, in the latter half of the fifteenth century B.C., theAmarna Letters(see p. 44) were written. Under theRamessides, the conquests of Egypt reached their farthest limit.
RAMSES II.—Ramses II., or Ramses the Great (1340-1273 B.C.),—who was called by the Greeks Sesostris, a name with which they linked many fabulous narratives,—is the most brilliant personage in Egyptian history. He is the first of the renowned conquerors, the forerunner of the Alexanders and Napoleons. His monuments are scattered over all Egypt. In his childhood he was associated on the throne with his father, himself a magnificent monarch,Seti I. In the seventh year of the sole reign of the son he had to encounter a formidable confederacy under the lead of the SyrianHittites—the "Khita"—in the north-east, a powerful nation. How he saved himself by his personal valor, on the field ofKadesh, is celebrated in the Egyptian Iliad, the heroic poem ofPentaur. A subsequent treaty with this people is one of the most precious memorials of his reign.
THE HITTITES.—Recent explorations have shown that theHittitesof Scripture were families, or smaller communities, in Palestine, of a people whose proper seat was in northern Syria, especially the country lying along the Orontes; their territory being bounded on the east by the Euphrates, and extending westward into the Taurus Mountains. In one place they are spoken of as distant (Judg. i. 26). The "Khita" of the Egyptians, called "Khatti" by the Assyrians, were a civilized and powerful nation, whose sway was so extended that their outposts were at times on the western coast of Asia Minor. They were a non-Semitic people. The great victory of Ramses (1320 B.C.) was with difficulty won. The Hittites were also rivals of the Assyrians from an early period. At length Sargon captured their capital,Carchemish(717 B.C.), and broke down their power. Numerous Hittite inscriptions have been discovered, written in a hieroglyphic script which has not yet (1903) been deciphered.
Subsequently we findRamsesinGalilee, as it was called later: we find him storming the city ofAskalonin Philistia, and in various military expeditions, in which he brought home with him multitudes of captives. The mighty temples which he built at Abydos, Thebes, and Memphis, and the gorgeous palace, "the House of Ramses," south of Karnak, were in keeping with other displays of his energy and magnificence.
THE BONDAGE OF THE ISRAELITES.—Ramses II. has been generally believed to be "the Pharaoh of the oppression," under whom the Hebrews suffered; and his sonMenephthah, to be the Pharaoh under whom the exodus took place. Recent discoveries have rendered these conclusions very doubtful, however. It is also quite uncertain how long the Egyptian bondage lasted. According to the Hebrew Old Testament, its duration was 430 years; according to theSeptuagint, or Greek version, half that period (as implied in Gal. iii. 17).
To THE PERSIAN CONQUEST.—From about 1500 to 1300 B.C., Egypt was the foremost nation in culture, arts, and military prowess. Under the later kings bearing the name of Ramses, the empire began to decay. The Ethiopians in the south revolted, and set up an independent kingdom,Meroe, of whichNapatawas the capital.Shishak(961-940 B.C.) aspired to restore the Egyptian rule in the East. He marched into Judæa, and captured and plundered Jerusalem. He madeRehoboam, king of Judah, a tributary, and strengthened Jeroboam, the ally of Egypt. He even led his forces across the valley of the Jordan. At length (730 B.C.) the Ethiopians gained the upper hand in Egypt. Their three kings form the twenty-fifth dynasty. As the power of Egypt was on the wane, the power of Assyria was more and more in the ascendant.Shabakjoined hands withHoshea, king of Israel, but was defeated by the Assyrians, underSargon II., in a pitched battle atRaphia, in which the superiority of the Asiatic kingdom was evinced. Later (701 B.C.)Sennacheribdefeated an Egyptian army, sent for the relief of Ekron, and madeHezekiaha tributary.Tirhakah,the ally of Hezekiah, continued the struggle. His army was saved from overthrow by the disaster which happened to Sennacherib's host in the neighboring camp on the eve of battle. Twenty years later, he was vanquished by an invading army under the son and successor of Sennacherib,Esarhaddon.The rule of the Ethiopian dynasty was subverted. The Assyrians intrusted the government to twenty governors, of whom the most were natives. Of these governors, one, then king of Sais,Psammeticus I.(663-616 B.C.), in alliance with Gyges, king of Lydia, and with the aid of Carians, Phoenicians, and Lycians, cast off the Assyrian yoke, and became sole ruler of Egypt. This epoch is marked by the introduction of numerous foreigners into the country, and by the exertion of a powerful and lasting Greek influence.Neku II.—theNechoof Scripture—(610-594 B.C.), the son of Psammeticus I., defeatedJosiah,king of Judah, atMegiddo(608 B.C.); and Josiah fell in the battle. But, advancing toCarchemishby the Euphrates, Neku, in turn, was vanquished byNebuchadnezzar,king of Babylon, which had now become the formidable power. The defeat of Neku ended Egyptian rule in the East.Apries(588 B.C.), theHophraof Scripture, was dethroned by a revolt of his own soldiers, in a war with the Greeks of Cyrene, and was succeeded byAahmes,orAmasis(570-526), under whose auspices foreigners, and especially Greeks, acquired an augmented influence. Egypt had escaped from permanent subjection to Assyria or Babylon; but a new empire, the Persian Empire of Cyrus, was advancing on the path to universal dominion.Cyruswas too busy with other undertakings to attack Egypt; butCambyses,his successor, led an army into that country; and, having defeatedPsammeticus III.,at the battle ofPelusium,he made it a Persian province (525 B.C.).
LITERATURE.—See the list on p. 16. 1. Works on Oriental History as a whole: DUNCKER'SHistory of Antiquity.It includes, also, Greece. Lenormant and Chevalier,Manual of the Ancient History of the East(2 vols.); G. Rawlinson,The Five Great Monarchies(3 vols.),The Sixth Great Monarchy(Parthia),The Seventh Great Monarchy(the Sassanidæ),The Origin of Nations(1 vol.),Manual of Ancient History(1 vol.),Egypt and Babylon(1 vol.). LENORMANT,The Beginnings of History(1 vol.); P. Smith,The Ancient History of the East(1 vol.),History of the World(Ancient History, 3 vols.); Maspero,History of the Ancient Orient(3 vols.); Doublier,Gesch. des Alterthums(from the cultural point of view, 1 vol.); E. Meyer,Gesch. des Alterthums.
2. Works on the History of Egypt. BRUGSCH-BEY,History of Egypt under the Pharaohs(2 vols.); G. Rawlinson,History of Ancient Egypt(2 vols.);,Aperçu de l'Histoire d'Egypte(1864), and numerous other writings; WILKINSON,Manners and Customs of Egypt(3 vols.); ERMAN,Egypt; Petrie,History of Egypt; Erman,Egyptian Life(1894); Birch,Records of the Past(translations of Egyptian and Assyrian Monuments, 11 vols.),Egypt from the Earliest Times; Perrot and Chipiez,History of Art in Ancient Egypt(1883); FERGUSSON'SHistory of Architecture; the great illustrative works of the Frenchsavansunder Napoleon I.; the great illustrated works of Rossellini, and the works of Lepsius; the novels of Ebers,The Sisters; Uarda; The Egyptian Princess.
THE GEOGRAPHY.—Assyria and Babylonia were geographically connected. They were inhabited by the same race, and, for the greater part of their history, were under one government. Babylonia comprised the lower basin of theEuphratesandTigris,while Assyria included the hilly region along the upper and middle Tigris; the boundary being where the two rivers, in their long progress from their sources in the mountains of Armenia, at length approach one another at a place about three hundred and fifty miles from their outlet in the Persian Gulf. Both streams, in particular the Euphrates, annually flooded the adjacent territory, and by canals and dams were made to add to its productiveness. The shores of the Euphrates, after its descent from the plateau to the plains, were fertile beyond measure. Here the date-palm, whose juice as well as fruit were so highly prized, flourished. Even now wheat grows wild near the river's mouth.
THE EARLY INHABITANTS.—The oldest inhabitants of this region of whom we have any knowledge were theSumerians,whose territory included bothSumer("Shinar"), or southern Babylonia, andAkkad,or northern Babylonia. On the east were theElamites,withSusafor their capital; to the north of these were the warlikeKassites.The Sumerians, who preceded the Semites in the occupancy of Babylonia, were of an unknown stock. They were the founders of Babylonian culture. Even by them the soil was skillfully cultivated with the help of dikes and canals. They were the inventors of the cuneiform writing. The cuneiform characters were originally pictures; but these were resolved into wedge-shaped characters of uniform appearance, the significance of which was determined by their position and local relation to one another. It is not known how long the Sumerian period lasted, nor even when it closed; the chronology of the earliest Semitic period is also very uncertain. The south-Babylonian kingsUrukagina,ofShirpurla(Lagash), andEnshagkushana,of a district which includedNippur,are dated by most Assyriologists as early as 4000 B.C., or even earlier. Whether they were Sumerians, or Semites, is not certain; their inscriptions do not settle the question. It was probably not far from this time, however, that the one race supplanted the other. A Semitic people—coming either directly from the ancestral home, Arabia, or from a previous settlement in Mesopotamia, north-west of Babylonia—invaded the land and conquered the Sumerians. They planted themselves first in northern Babylonia, and then gradually extended their power over the districts on the south. The conquerors adopted the civilization of the conquered. The earliest Semitic kings all used the Sumerian dialect in their inscriptions. It was only by slow degrees that the native language was superseded by that of the new rulers. Later,—before the time ofHammurabi; see below,—these Semites carried their settlements northward, and became the founders of Assyria.
SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE.—Berosus, a Babylonian priest, wrote a history of his country as early as 250 B.C. He was a trustworthy writer, as far as his means of knowledge went; but it is only fragments of his work that we possess, and these in inaccurate quotations, partly at second hand. Greek writers, asCtesias, drew from Persian sources; and their narratives up to the later times of the Persian rule can not be relied on. The great source of knowledge is the rapidly increasing store of records in the cuneiform character. A vast number of inscriptions on stone and clay, representing nearly every department of literature, have been unearthed, and the material which they afford has already given us an extensive knowledge of Babylonian and Assyrian history. The site ofNinevehhas been extensively excavated, and we have, therefore, especially full information as to the history and literature of Assyria. Babylonian monuments in considerable number have more recently come to light. Aside from Nineveh and Babylon, especially important excavations have been undertaken atNifpur, Lagash(Telloh)—thus far the chief source of Sumerian material—andSusa.
EARLY HISTORY.—The history of ancient Babylonia is still very obscure, and the chronology only tentative. We see at first a number of independent cities, each ruled by a petty king, who was also a priest. Then appear groups of cities, one of which exercised sway over a more or less extended district. The center of power was now in Erech, now in Ur, or Babylon, or some other city, whose king ruled supreme over numerous vassal kings. Among the first important names known to us are those ofSargon I.(3800 B.C.), king of Agade, a great conqueror and builder, and his son,Naram-sin. Another great builder wasGudea, king of Shirpurla. Most conspicuous of all isHammurabi(2250 B.C.), king of Babylon, who is probably the "Amraphel" of Gen. xiv. His kingdom included not only the whole of Babylonia proper, but also Assyria, and probably even the "West Land" as far as the Mediterranean. The records show him to have been a truly great ruler, both in war and in peace. He is known to us chiefly from a collection of hisLettersto certain officials of his kingdom, and from his elaborateCodeof civil laws, found at Susa in 1899, and first published in 1902; perhaps the most important single monument of early civilization which has thus far come to light. The laws, written in the Babylonian (Semitic) language, and engraved on a stele of hard black stone, were about two hundred and eighty in number, and bear an interesting general resemblance to the old Hebrew laws, especially those preserved in Exodus xxi. and xxii.
In the time of the kingsKadashman-belandBurnaburiash II. (about 1400 B.C.) falls theAmarna Correspondence(see p. 40). AtTell el-Amarna, in upper Egypt, were unearthed, in 1887, more than three hundred clay tablets containing diplomatic dispatches, written in the cuneiform character, and nearly all in the Babylonian language. They were addressed to the Egyptian king, or to his ministers, and had been sent from various officials and royal personages in Babylonia, Assyria, Palestine (including a number of letters fromAbdi-khibaofJerusalem), and other districts. They furnish a large amount of important information as to conditions in western Asia at that early period.
An importantKassitedynasty occupied the throne of Babylon from the eighteenth century to the twelfth century B.C. Under these Kassite rulers, the kingdom at length declined, while the neighboring Assyrian state had increased in power. Later still, apparently not earlier than the ninth century B.C., theChaldoeans(of Semitic stock?) pushed north-westward into Babylonia from their district about the mouth of the Euphrates, and eventually made themselves masters of the land.
RELIGION AND SCIENCE.—If the events connected with old Babylon are less known, more is ascertained respecting its civilization. The groundwork, as was stated, was laid by the earlier conquered people. The religion of the Babylonians rested on the basis of the old Sumerian worship. There was homage to demons, powerful for good or for evil, who were brought together into groups, and were figured now as human beings, now as lions or other wild animals, or as dragons and that sort of monsters. Of the great gods,Anu, the god of the sky, was the father and king of all.Sin, the moon-god, a Sumerian divinity, at the outset had the highest rank.Bel, orBaal, however, a Semitic divinity, was the god of the earth, and particularly of mankind.Eawas the god of the deep, and of the underworld. The early development of astrology and its great influence in old Babylon were closely connected with the supposed association of the luminaries above with the gods. The stars were thought to indicate at the birth of a child what his fortunes would be, and to afford the means of foretelling other remarkable events.Ishtar, a goddess of war and of love, was worshiped also under the nameBeltis, the GreekMylitta. This deity embodied thegenerative principle, the spring of fertility, whose beneficent agency was seen in the abundant harvest. She was clothed with sensual attributes, and propitiated with unchaste rites. It was in the worship of this divinity that the coarse and licentious side of the Semitic nature expressed itself. At the same time, there was an opposite ascetic side in the service of this deity. Her priests were eunuchs: they ministered at her altar in woman's attire. On the relation of the human soul to the gods, and its condition after death, there was little speculation. In general, the Babylonians were more interested in religion and worship, than the Assyrians. The former erected temples; the latter, palaces.
The attainments of the early Babylonians in mathematics and astronomy were far beyond those of the Egyptians. They divided the year into twelve months, and arrived at the signs of the ecliptic or zodiac. The week they fixed at seven days by the course of the moon. They divided the day into twelve hours, and the hour into sixty minutes. They invented weights and measures, the knowledge of which went from them to the other Asiatic nations. Architecture, as regards taste, was in a rude state. In pottery, they showed much skill and ingenuity, and invented the potter's wheel. In the engraving of gems, and in the manufacture of delicate fabrics,—linen, muslin, and silk,—they were expert. Trade and commerce, favored by the position of Babylon, began to flourish. As regards literature, the libraries of Nineveh and Babylon, at a later day, contained many books translated from the early Sumerian language. Among them are the "Gilgamesh legends," in which is contained a story of the flood that resembles in essential features the account in Genesis.
GROWTH OF ITS POWER.—Assyria was even greater, as a conquering power, than Babylon. In the legends current among the Greeks, the building-up of the monarchy, and of Nineveh its capital, as well as of Babylon, is referred to the legendary heroes,Ninusand his queenSemiramis. The name of Ninus is not recorded on the monuments, and is, perhaps, a kind of mythical personification of Assyrian conquests and grandeur; and the name of Semiramis does not appear until the ninth century B.C. She may have been a princess or even queen. Assyrian independence began before 2300 B.C. Between 1500 and 1400 B.C., Assyria was a weak state. It gained a brief mastery over Babylon through a conquest byTukulti-Ninib(1300 B.C.).Tiglath-Pileser I. (1100 B.C.) spread his conquests to the Mediterranean and the Caspian on the west, and south to the Persian Gulf. But these early acquisitions of Assyria were transient. There ensued a long interval, until the middle of the tenth century, when the monarchy was mostly confined within its own proper borders. A new series of strong and aggressive princes arose. The conflicts of Damascus and of the nations of Palestine with one another left room for the growth of the Assyrian might and for the spread of Assyrian dominion.Asshur-nasir-pal(formerly calledSardanapalus I.) levied tribute upon Tyre, and the other rich cities of the Syrian coast, and founded the Assyrian rule inCilicia. About the middle of the eighth century, the kingdom of Israel, having renounced its vassalage to Assyria, in league withRezinof Damascus, the ruler of Syria, made war upon the kingdom of Judah.Ahaz, the Judaean king, against the protest of the prophetIsaiah, invoked the aid of the Assyrian monarch,Tiglath-Pileser II. The call was answered. The league was overthrown by him in a great battle fought near the Euphrates, and numerous captives, according to the Assyrian practice, were carried away from Samaria and Damascus. We are told thatAhaz, seeing the offerings made by Tiglath-Pileser at Damascus, commanded his priests at Jerusalem, despite the remonstrance of Isaiah, to make offerings to the Assyrian gods. Judah, as the result of these events, became tributary to Assyria. All Syria, together with Babylonia, which was then made up of several states, western Iran, and Armenia, were subdued by this Assyrian conqueror. He formally assumed the title of "King of Babylon."Shalmaneser IV.(727-722 B.C.), bent on completing the subjugation of Syria, subdued anew the revolted cities, and conquered, as it would seem, the island ofCyprus. Tyre alone, that is, the insular city of that name, withstood a siege of five years.Hoshea, the king of Israel (733-722 B.C.), in order to throw off the Assyrian yoke, sent an embassy toShabak, the king of Egypt, to procure his assistance. Hearing of this,Shalmaneserattacked Israel. After a siege of three years, Samaria, the capital, fell into the hands ofSargon, who had succeeded him, the kingdom of Israel was subverted, and a great part of the people dragged off into captivity. In 720 B.C.,SargonencounteredShabak, in the great battle ofRaphia, in southern Palestine, whom he defeated, and put to flight. He received tribute from Egypt, conquered a part of Arabia, and received the homage of the king ofMeroe, who made a journey from Ethiopia to bow before him. The reign ofSennacherib(705-681 B.C.) was an eventful one, both for Assyria and for the neighboring countries.Hezekiah, king of Judah, hoped with the aid of Egypt to achieve his independence. Sennacherib was obliged to raise the siege of Jerusalem, after Hezekiah had vainly sought to propitiate him with large offerings of silver and gold; but the Assyrian was prevented from engaging in battle withTirhakaof Egypt by a great calamity that befell his army. Against Babylon, which frequently revolted, he was more successful. "Berodach-baladan," as he is called in Scripture (2 Kings, chap. 20), who at an earlier day had sent an embassy from Babylon to Hezekiah, was overcome, and a new ruler enthroned in his place.Esarhaddon(681-668 B.C.) not only restored the Assyrian sway over Syria, Phoenicia, Cyprus, Judah, and a part of Arabia, countries that lost no opportunity to shake off the cruel and hateful rule of Nineveh, but also conquered Egypt, and parceled it out among twenty governors. By Esarhaddon, or by his successor,Manasseh, king of Judah, was conquered, and carried off as a captive, but afterwards restored to his throne. Assyria was now at the summit of its power.Asshur-bani-pal V.(668-626 B.C.), called Sardanapalus, although he lost Egypt, confirmed the Assyrian power in the other subject states, and received tribute fromLydia, on the western border of Asia Minor. Under him, Assyrian art made its farthest advance. He was the builder of magnificent palaces. It is his library, dug up from the grave in which it had been buried for two and a half decades of centuries, that has yielded a vast amount of welcome information concerning Assyrian and Babylonian history far back into the Sumerian period.
RELIGION AND ART.—It has been stated that the Assyrian culture was transplanted from Babylon. The religion was substantially the same, except thatAsshur, the tutelary deity of the country, was made supreme. The Assyrians from the start were devoted to war, pillage, and conquest. Their unsparing cruelty and brutal treatment of their enemies are abundantly witnessed by their own monuments. They lacked the productive power in literature and art which belonged to the Babylonians. Although they might have built their edifices of stone, they generally made use of brick. Their sculptures in relief were much better than the full figures. They laid color upon their works in sculpture. But their art was merely a pictorial record of events. The sense of beauty and creative power were wanting. The more religious character of the Babylonians created a difference in the architecture of the two peoples. In gem-cutting both were singularly expert. The Assyrians gave less attention to the burial of the dead. They showed an aptitude for trade; and Nineveh, in the eighth and seventh centuries, was a busy mart.
THE FALL OF ASSYRIA.—The first important blow at the Assyrian imperial rule was struck by theMedes. After nearly a century of resistance, they had been subdued (710 B.C.), and were subject to Assyria for a century after. In 640 B.C., they rose in revolt, underPhraortes, one of their native chiefs, who fell in battle. The struggle was continued by his son,Cyaxares. His plans were interrupted, however, by
THE IRRUPTION OF THE SCYTHIANS (623 B.C.).—More than a century before, these wandering Asiatic tribes had begun to make predatory incursions into Asia Minor. WhenCyaxareswas before Nineveh, they came down in greater force, and a horde of them, moving southward from the river Halys, invaded Syria. Jerusalem and the stronger cities held out against them, but the open country was devastated. They were met byPsammeticus I., king of Egypt, and bribed to turn back. They entered Babylonia; butNabopolassar, the viceroy of Asshur-bani-pal (Sardanapalus), successfully defended the city of Babylon against their attacks. ByCyaxares, either these or another horde were defeated; but it was not until 605 B.C. that the region south of the Black Sea was cleared of them. The kingdom ofLydiahad now come to play an important part in the affairs of western Asia.
Our first knowledge of the peoples of Asia Minor is from the Homeric poems (about 900 B.C.). TheChalybeanswere in Pontus; west of them, theAmazoniansandPaphlagonians; west of these, theMysians; on the Hellespont, small tribes related to theTrojans; on the Ægean, theDardaniansand theTrojans(on the north), theCariansand theLycians(on the south); on the north-east of these last, thePhrygians.
A large portion of the early inhabitants of Asia Minor wereSemitic, and closely related to the Syrians. Semitic divinities were worshiped; a goddess,Mylitta, under other names, was adored in Pontus, at Ephesus, in Phrygia, and in Lydia.
The Lydians were of the Semitic race.Cybele, the female divinity whom they served, was the same deity whose altars were at Babylon, Nineveh, and Tyre. The rulers of the dynasty of theMermnadæ, Gygesand his successors, spread the Lydian dominion until it extended to the Hellespont, and included Mysia and Phrygia.Alyatteswas able to extirpate the Cimmerian hordes from the Sea of Azoff, who had overrun the western part of Asia Minor, and to make the Halys his eastern boundary. Gyges had been slain in the contest with those fierce barbarians, called in the Old TestamentGomer. At first he had sought help from the Assyrians, but he broke away from this dependence.
Liberated from the troubles of the Scythian irruption,Cyaxaresformed an alliance withNabopolassar, the viceroy in Babylon, who had revolted, and gained his independence. The Median ruler had subdued Armenia, and established his control as far as the Halys, making a treaty with Lydia. Now ensued the desperate conflict on which hung the fate of the Assyrian Empire. Nineveh was taken (606 B.C.) by the Medes underCyaxares, and the Babylonians underNebuchadnezzar, the son of Nabopolassar. The Grecian story of Sardanapalus burning himself on a lofty bier, is a myth. Assyria was divided by theTigrisbetween theMedesandBabylonians.
THE THREE POWERS: EGYPT.—On the fall of Nineveh, there were three principal powers left on the stage of action, which were bound together by treaty,Lydia, Media,andBabylon.Egypt proved itself unable to cope with Babylonian power.Necho,during the siege of Nineveh, had attacked Syria, and defeated the Jews on the plain of Esdraelon, where kingJosiahwas slain. He dethronedJehoahaz,Josiah's son, and enthronedJehoiakimin his stead. But when, in 605 B.C., he confronted Nebuchadnezzar atCarchemish,and was defeated, he was compelled to give up Syria, and to retire within the boundaries of Egypt.
TRIUMPS OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR.—Syria was now at the mercy of Nebuchadnezzar. He captured Jerusalem (597 B.C.), despoiled the temple and palace, and led away Jehoiakim as a captive. He placed on the throne of Judah Jehoiakim's uncle,Zedekiah.But this king, having arranged an alliance between Egypt and the Phoenician cities, revolted (590 B.C.), refusing to pay his tribute. Again Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem, but raised the siege, in order to drive homeApries II.(Hophra), the Egyptian ally of Zedekiah. The city was taken, the king's sons were killed in his presence, his own eyes were put out; and, after the temple and palace had been burned and the city sacked, he, with all the families of the upper class who had not escaped to the desert, was carried away to Babylon (586 B.C.). Tyre (the old city) in like manner was taken by assault (585 B.C.).
By Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon was enlarged, and adorned on a scale of unequaled splendor. The new palace, with its "hanging gardens," the bridge over the Euphrates, the Median wall connecting the Euphrates and the Tigris on his northern boundary, and magnificent waterworks, are famous structures which belong to this reign. Wealth and luxury abounded. But vigor of administration fell away under his successors; and Babylon, after a dominion short when compared with the long sway of Nineveh, was conquered byCyrus,the Medo-Persian king, in 538 B.C. The last king wasNabonetus.
THE CITY OF BABYLON.—Babylon was a city of the highest antiquity. The name (Bab-ili,"Gate of God") is Semitic. The city is mentioned in the earliest cuneiform records, and from the time of Hammurabi was the chief city of the land. Destroyed by Sennacherib (690 B.C.), it was rebuilt by Esarhaddon, but not fully restored and adorned until the reigns of Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar.
Babylon surpassed all ancient cities in size and magnificence. Its walls were forty miles in circumference. This extent of wall probably included Borsippa, or "Babylon the Second," on the right bank of the river. Babylon proper was mainly on the left. Within the walls were inclosed gardens, orchards, and fields: the space was only filled in part by buildings; but the whole area was laid out with straight streets intersecting one another at right angles, like the streets of Philadelphia. The wall was pierced by a hundred gates, probably twenty-five in each face. The Euphrates, lined with quays on both sides, and spanned with drawbridges, ran through the town, dividing it into two nearly equal parts. The city was protected without by a deep and wide moat. The wall was at least seventy or eighty feet in height, and of vast and unusual thickness. On the summit were two hundred and fifty towers, placed along the outer and inner edges, opposite to one another, but so far apart, according to Herodotus, that there was room for a four-horse chariot to pass between. The temple ofBelwas in a square inclosure, about a quarter of a mile both in length and breadth. The tower of the temple was ascended on the outside by an inclined plane carried around the four sides. An exaggerated statement ofStrabomakes its height six hundred and six feet. Possibly, this represents the length of the inclined plane. In the shrine on the top were a golden table and a couch; according toDiodorus, before the Persian conquest there were colossal golden images of three divinities, with two golden lions, and two enormous serpents of silver. It is thought that Herodotus may have described the splendid temple ofNebo(nowBirs Nimrûd), and have mistaken it, by reason of its enormous ruins, for the temple ofBel, which it rivaled in magnificence. The great palace is represented to have been larger than the temple of Bel, the outermost of its three inclosing walls being three miles in circumference. Its exterior was of baked brick. The "Hanging Gardens" was a structure built on a square, consisting of stages or stories, one above another, each supported by arches, and covered on the top, at the height of at least seventy-five feet, with a great mass of earth in which grew flowers and shrubs, and even large trees. The ascent to the top was by steps. On the way up were stately and elegant apartments. The smaller palace was on the other side of the river.
LITERATURE.—Works on Oriental History mentioned on p. 42. Tiele,Babylonisch-assyrische Geschichte(1888); Kaulen,Assyrien und Babylonien(5th ed., 1899); Rogers,History of Babylonia and Assyria(1901); Goodspeed,History of the Babylonians and Assyrians(1902); King, ArticlesAssyriaandBabyloniain theEncyclopedia Biblica; Sayce,Babylonians and Assyrians: Life and Customs(1899); Schrader,The Cuneiform Inscriptions and the Old Testament; Jastrow,Religion of Babylonia and Assyria(1898); Perrot & Chipiez,Histoire de l'art dans l'antiquité, vol. ii.,Chaldèe et Assyrie.
PHOENICIA.—A narrow strip of territory separates the mountains of Syria and Palestine from the Mediterranean. Of this belt the northern part, west of Lebanon, about one hundred and fifty miles long, varies in width from five to fourteen miles. In some places the cliffs approach close to the sea. This belt of land was occupied by the first of the great maritime and commercial peoples of antiquity, the Phoenicians. Their language was Semitic, closely akin to Hebrew.
COMMERCE AND PROSPERITY OF THE PHOENICIANS.—The most important of the Phoenician cities were Sidon—which was the first of them to rise to distinction and power—and Tyre, which became more famous as a mart, and comprised, besides the town on the coast, New Tyre, the city built on the neighboring rocky island. In New Tyre was the sanctuary of the tutelary god,Melkart. The spirit of trade stimulated ingenuity. The Phoenicians were noted for their glass, their purple dyes, their improved alphabet, and knowledge of the art of writing. In mining and in casting metals, in the manufacture of cloth, in architecture, and in other arts, they were not less proficient. From their situation they naturally became a seafaring race. Not only did they transport their cargoes of merchandise to the islands and shores of the Mediterranean, conveying thither not merely the fruits of their own industry and skill, but also the productions of the East: they ventured to steer their vessels beyond the Strait of Gibraltar; and, if they did not procure amber directly from the North Sea, they brought tin either directly from Cornwall or from the Scilly Islands. Through the hands of Phoenician merchants "passed the gold and pearls of the East, the purple of Tyre, slaves, ivory, lions' and panthers' skins from the interior of Africa, frankincense from Arabia, the linen of Egypt, the pottery and fine wares of Greece, the copper of Cyprus, the silver of Spain, tin from England, and iron from Elba." These products were carried wherever a market could be found for them. At the instigation of Necho, king of Egypt (610-594 B.C.), they are said to have made a three years' voyage round the southern cape of Africa.
COLONIES: OPULENCE.-The Phoenicians were the first great colonizing nation of antiquity. It was the fashion of Assyrians and other conquerors to transport to their own lands multitudes of people, whom they carried away as captives from their homes. The Phoenicians—in this particular the forerunners of the Greeks and of the Dutch and the English—planted trading settlements in Cyprus and Crete, on the islands of the Ægean Sea, in southern Spain, and in North Africa.Cadiz, one of the oldest towns in Europe, was founded by these enterprising traders (about 1100 B.C.).Tarshishwas another of their Spanish settlements. "Ships of Tarshish," like the modern "East Indiamen," came to signify vessels capable of making long voyages. The coast of modern Andalusia and Granada belonged to the Phoenicians. Through caravans their intercourse was not less lively with the states on the Euphrates, with Nineveh and Babylon, as well as with Egypt. Tyre was a link between the East and the West.
HIRAM: SETTLEMENT OF CARTHAGE.—The Tyrian power attained to its height under KingHiram I., the contemporary and ally ofSolomon. Two Greek historians make his reign to extend from 969 to 936 B.C. The alliance with Solomon extended the traffic of Tyre, and increased its wealth. Hiram connected old and New Tyre by a bridge. The Tyrians adorned their city with stately palaces and temples, and built strong fortifications. Engrossed in manufactures and commerce, and delighting in the affluence thus engendered, the Phoenicians were not ambitious of conquest. Although conquerors upon the sea, they were not a martial people: like commercial states generally, they preferred peace. Of the people of Laish (Dan), it is said in the Book of Judges (xviii. 7), "They dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure." This pacific temper was coupled with a fervent attachment to their own land and to their countrymen wherever they went. But they lacked the political instinct. They did not appreciate liberty, and their love of traffic and of gain often made them prefer to pay tribute rather than to fight. Their colonies were factories, but were not centers of further conquest, or germs of political communities. When, the family ofHiramwas exterminated (about 850 B.C.) by the high-priest of the goddess Astarte, who seized on power, civil strife and disorder ensued.Pygmalion, the great-grandson of the high-priest, as it is related by a Grecian authority, slew his uncle, who was to marry Pygmalion's sister,Elissa. On account of this internal conflict, and from dread of the Assyrian power, a large number of the old families emigrated to North Africa, and founded Carthage (about 814 B.C.).
The Phoenician cities were confederated together under hereditary kings, whose power was limited by the lay and priestly aristocracy. The common people, many of whom were skilled artisans, made themselves felt in some degree in public affairs. The mercantile class were influential. Thus there was developed a germinant municipal feeling and organization. The "strong city," Tyre, is mentioned inJoshuaxix. 29. InIsaiahxxiii., Tyre is described as "the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth." "He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms." The fate of Babylon is pointed at by the Prophet, to show what Tyre had to expect from Assyria. Later, before the conquest by Nebuchadnezzar,Ezekielthus speaks of Tyre (chap, xxvii.): "They have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee." "Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars." "Tarshish was thy merchant."
RELIGION AND LETTERS.—A very prominent feature of the religion of the Phaenicians is the local character of their divinities. The wordbaal("lord" or "god") was not used in Phaenicia as the proper name of any one god. But such names asBaal-sidon, "Lord of Sidon,"Baal-libanon, "God of Lebanon," etc., are common.Astartewas the most common name for the local female divinities. The gods were often thought of as dwelling in stones, trees, and other objects; the worship of stone-pillars and sacred poles (ashera; translated "grove" in the English Bible) was especially common in Phaenicia. On the other hand, a "god of heaven" and a "goddess of heaven" were worshiped. In the religion of the Phaenicians, the more elevated ingredients of the Semitic heathenism are in the background. The sensual features of it are more prominent, and savage elements are introduced. It was more adapted to foster than to check lust and cruelty. To Astarte, maidens sacrifice their chastity. There was the same double ritual, made up of gross sensuality on the one hand, and of ascetic practices by the priesthood on the other, that belonged to the service of Mylitta at Babylon. Human sacrifice by fire was another horrible feature. Children, especially, were offered toEl("god"; possibly also calledMelek(Moloch), "the king," as among the Hebrews). To appease him at Tyre and Carthage, girls and boys, sometimes in large numbers, and of the highest families, were cast into the flames; while the wailing of their relatives, if it was not stifled by themselves at the supposed demand of piety, was drowned by the sound of musical instruments. As late as 310 B.C., when Agathocles was besieging Carthage, and had reduced the city to the direst straits, we are told that the people laid two hundred boys of their noblest families upon the arms of the brazen image of the god, whence they were allowed to fall into the fire beneath. On similar occasions, even the head of the state sometimes offered himself as a sacrifice.Hamilcar, the Carthaginian, son of Hanno, in Sicily, when the tide of battle was turning against him, threw himself into the fire (480 B.C.). Juba, king of Numidia, prepared to do the same after the battle of Thapsus. Large and costly temples were built, generally in the Egyptian style. Such were the temples ofMelkartat Tyre and Cadiz, ofEshmunat Sidon, and of "the Lady of Byblos" at that city. Nature—as dying in the autumn, and again reviving in the spring—is figured as the godAdonisz, who is honored first by a protracted season of mourning, and then by a joyous festival.
The Phoenicians were not a literary people. Their alphabet (invented by them?) was the old Semitic alphabet. Every character represented a sound. From the Phaenicians it spread, and became the mother of most of the graphic systems now existing. Cadmus, however, by whom it was said to be carried to the Greeks, is a fabulous person. The alleged history ofSanchuniathon, which was published in Greek byPhiloof Byblus, in the second century A.D., is now generally believed to be the work of Philo himself.
HISTORICAL EVENTS.—In the struggles against the Mesopotamian empires, the Phaenicians defended themselves with valor and perseverance. WhenSargon(722-705 B.C.) had subjugated their cities on the mainland, insular Tyre for five years repelled his assaults, although the conduits bringing fresh water from the shore were cut off, and the besieged were obliged to content themselves with the scanty supply to be gained from wells dug with great labor. Soon the Tyrian fleets regained their mastery on the sea. When Nebuchadnezzar captured old Tyre, and a multitude of its inhabitants shared the lot of the Jews, and were dragged off by the conqueror to the Euphrates, the island city withstood his attack for thirteen years, and did not yield until it extorted from him a treaty. But the power of resistance was weakened by the repeated invasions and domination of Nineveh and Babylon. Tyre submitted to Persia after the downfall of the Babylonian monarchy, and added her fleet to the Persian forces; although to the Phoenician towns was left a degree of freedom and their local government. Sidon, Tyre, and Arados had a council of their own, which met with their respective kings and senators at Tripolis, for the regulation of matters of common interest. Manufactures and commerce continued to flourish. Under the Persian supremacy, Sidon once more became the chief city. In the middle of the fourth century B.C., it revolted against the tyranny of the foreign governors. The Persian king,Ochus, ordered that the noblest citizens should be put to death; whereupon the inhabitants set the city on fire, and destroyed themselves and their treasures in the flames. Tyre remained, but ventured to resistAlexander the Great, after his conquest of the Persians, and by him was captured and partly demolished (332 B.C.). After the death of Alexander, the Phoenicians fell under the sway of theSeleucidæat Antioch, and, for a time, of the EgyptianPtolemies. Both Tyre and Sidon were rebuilt, and flourished anew. It is probably to the third century B.C. that we should assign the native Sidonian dynasty which included the KingsEshmunazar I., Sedek-yaton, Tabnit, Bodashtart, andEshmunazar II., whose names are known to us from inscriptions. In the time of the last-named king, the cities Dor and Joppa, with the plain of Sharon, belonged to Sidon.
CARTHAGINIAN HISTORY.—The most prominent of all the Phoenician settlements was Carthage. It had remarkable advantages of situation. Its harbor was sufficient for the anchorage of the largest vessels, and it had a fertile territory around it. These circumstances, in conjunction with the energy of its inhabitants, placed it at the head of the Phoenician colonies. In Carthage, there was no middle class. There were the rich landholders and merchants, and the common people. The government was practically an oligarchy. There were two kings or judges (Shofetes), with little power, and acouncilorsenate; possibly a second council also. But the senate and magistrates were subordinate to an aristocratic body, thehundred judges. The bulk of the citizens had little more than a nominal influence in public affairs.
ASCENDENCY OF CARTHAGE.-When the Greeks (about 600 B.C.) spread their colonies, the rivals of the Phoenician settlements, in the west of the Mediterranean, Carthage was moved to deviate from the policy of the parent cities, and to make herself the champion, protector, and mistress of the Phoenician dependencies in all that region. Thus she became the head of a North-African empire, which asserted its supremacy against its Greek adversaries in Sicily and Spain, as well as in Lybia. When Tyre was subjugated by Persia, Carthage was strengthened by the immigration of many of the best Tyrian families. As the Tyrian strength waned, the Carthaginian power increased.Syracuse, in Sicily, became the first Greek naval power, and the foremost antagonist of the Carthaginian dominion. In 480 B.C., Carthage made war upon the Greek cities in Sicily. The contest was renewed from time to time. In the conflicts between 439-409 B.C., she confirmed her sway over the western half of the island. In later conflicts (317-275 B.C.), in whichAgathocles, tyrant of Syracuse, was a noted leader of the Greeks, and, after his death,Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, was their ally, Carthage alternately lost and regained her Sicilian cities. But the result of the war was to establish her maritime ascendency.
LITERATURE.—Works mentioned on pp. 16, 42: Pietschmann,Geschichte der Phönizier(1889); Rawlinson,History of Phoenicia(1889); E. Meycr, Art.Phoeniciain theEncycl. Bibl.; Perrot & Chipiez,History of Art in Phoenicia and Cyprus, 2 vols.; Renan,Mission de Phenicie(1874); Meltzer,Geschichte der Karthager; F. W. Newman'sDefense of Carthage.
PECULIARITY OF THE HEBREWS.—While the rest of the nations worshiped "gods many and lords many," whom they confounded with the motions of the heavenly bodies, or with other aspects of nature, there was one people which attained to a faith in one God, the Creator and Preserver of the universe, who is exalted above nature, and whom it was deemed impious to represent by any material image. More than is true of any other people, religion was consciously the one end and aim of their being. To bring the true religion to its perfection, and to give it a world-wide diffusion and sway, was felt by them to be their heaven-appointed mission. The peculiarity of their faith made them stand alone, and rendered them exclusive, and intolerant of the surrounding idolatries. The mountainous character of their land, separated by Lebanon from Phoenicia, and by the desert from the nations on the East and South, was well adapted to the work which they had to fulfill in the course of history.
THE PATRIARCHAL AGE.—The Israelites traced their descent fromAbraham, who, to escape the infection of idolatry, left his home, which was inUron the lower Euphrates, and came into the land of Canaan, where he led a wandering life, but became the father of a group of nations. According to the popular narrative,Isaac, his son bySarah, was recognized as the next chief of the family; whileIshmael, Abraham's son byHagar, became the progenitor of theArabians. Of the two sons of Isaac,Esau, who was a huntsman, married a daughter of the native people: from him sprung theEdomites.Jacobkept up the occupation of a herdsman. Of his twelve sons,Josephwas an object of jealousy to the other eleven, by whom he was sold to a caravan of merchants on their way to Egypt. There, through his skill in interpreting dreams, he rose to high dignities and honors in the court of Pharaoh; and, by his agency, the entire family were allowed to settle oh the pasture-lands ofGoshenin northern Egypt (p. 40). Here in the neighborhood ofHeliopolis, for several centuries, they fed their flocks. From Israel, the name given to Jacob, they were commonly calledIsraelites. The nameHebrewswas apparently derived from a word signifying "across the river" (Euphrates); but the original application is quite uncertain.
THE EXODUS (see p. 41).—The time came when the Israelites were no longer well treated. A new Egyptian dynasty was on the throne. Their numbers were an occasion of apprehension. An Egyptian princess savedMosesfrom being a victim of a barbarous edict issued against them. He grew to manhood in Pharaoh's court, but became the champion of his people. Compelled to flee, he received in the lonely region ofMount Sinaithat sublime disclosure of the only living God which qualified him to be the leader and deliverer of his brethren. A "strong east wind," parting the Red Sea, opened a passage for the Israelites, whom a succession of calamities, inflicted upon their oppressors by the Almighty, had driven Pharaoh (Menephthah?) to permit to depart in a body; but the returning waves ingulfed the pursuing Egyptian army. "The sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters." For a long periodMosesled the people about in the wilderness. They were trained by this experience to habits of order and military discipline. AtHoreb, the Decalogue, the kernel, so to speak, of the Hebrew codes, the foundation of the religious and social life of the people, was given them under circumstances fitted to awaken the deepest awe. They placed themselves under Jehovah as the Ruler and Protector of the nation in a special sense. The worship of other divinities, every form of idolatry, was to be a treasonable offense. The laws of Jehovah were to be kept in the Ark of the Covenant, in the "Tabernacle," which was the sanctuary, and was transported from place to place. The priesthood was devolved onAaronand his successors, at the side of whom were their assistants, theLevites. The civil authority in each tribe was placed in the hands of the patriarchal chief and the "elders," the right of approval or of veto being left to the whole tribe gathered in an assembly. The heads of the tribes, with seventy representative elders, together with Aaron and Moses, formed a supreme council or standing committee. On particular occasions a congregation of all the tribes might be summoned. The ritual was made up of sacrifices and solemn festivals. TheSabbathwas the great weekly commemoration, a day of rest for the slave as well as for the master, for the toiling beast as well as for man. Every seventh year and every fiftieth year were sabbaths, when great inequalities of condition, which might spring up in the intervals, respecting the possession of land, servitude consequent on debts, etc., were removed.
Hebrew Laws.—The Israelites, in virtue of their covenant with Jehovah, were to be a holy people, a nation of priests. They were thus to maintain fraternal equality. There was to be no enslaving of one another, save that which was voluntary and for a limited time. Only prisoners not of their race, or purchased foreigners, could be held as slaves. Every fiftieth year, land was to revert to its original possessor. In the sabbatical years the land was not to be tilled. What then grew wild might be gathered by all. There were careful provisions for the benefit of the poor.
HEADS OF TRIBES.—The progenitors of the tribes, the sons of Jacob, as given inExodus, were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph, and Benjamin.
THE HEBREW RELIGION—Such, in brief, were the beginnings of a religion as unique as it was elevated in its character,—a religion which stood from the outset in mortal antagonism to the Egyptian worship of sun-gods, and to the star-worship, the service of Baal, and of sensual or savage divinities joined with him,—to that service which was diffused through the Semitic nations of western Asia. A people was constituted to be the guardian of this light, kindled in the midst of the surrounding darkness, to carry it down to later ages, and to make it finally, in its perfected form, the heritage of mankind.
THE PROPHETS.—Moseswas not only a military leader and a legislator: he stands at the head of theprophets, the class of men who at different times, especially in seasons of national peril and temptation, along the whole course of Israelitish history, were raised up to declare the will of Jehovah, to utter the lessons proper to the hour, to warn evil-doers, and to comfort the desponding.
CONQUEST OF CANAAN: THE ERA OF THE JUDGES.—Moses himself did not enter "the promised land," where the patriarchs were buried, and which the Israelites were to conquer. According to Deut. vii. 2, a war of extermination was commanded. The reason given for the command was that the people must avoid the contagion of idolatry, that it was the fit reward of the nation which they were bidden to dispossess.
The word"Canaanite"was used especially to designate the inhabitants of the coast region of Palestine. It was applied, however, to all the tribes, who were under thirty-one kings or chiefs, in the time of Joshua, There were six principal tribes,—theHittites,Hivites,Amorites,Jebusites,Perizzites, andGirgashites. These, with the exception of theHittites, and possibly theAmtorites, were Semitic in their language. The Canaanites had houses and vineyards. From them the Israelites learned agriculture. "They were in possession of fortified towns, treasures of brass, iron, gold, and foreign merchandise" Their religious rites were brutal and debasing,—"human sacrifice, licentious orgies, the worship of a host of divinities."
On the death of Moses,Joshuasucceeded to the post of a leader. He defeated theAmontesand other tribes on the east of the Jordan. After the first victories of Joshua, each tribe carried on for itself the struggle with Canaanites, victory over them being often followed by indiscriminate slaughter. It is plain, however, especially from the account in the first chapter of the Book of Judges, that there was a process of assimilation as well as one of conquest. The actual settlement was effected by peaceful as well as by warlike methods. Resistance was stubborn, and the progress of occupation slow. It was not until David's time, centuries after the invasion, thatJebus, the site of Jerusalem, was captured. This delay was due largely to a lack of union, not to a lack of valor. The strength of the Israelites was in their infantry. Hence they preferred to fight upon the hills, rather than to cope with horsemen and chariots on the plains below.
THE PERIOD OF THE JUDGES.—The era of the Judges extends from about 1300 B.C. over at least two centuries. Powerful tribes—asMoabites,Midianites,Ammonites,Philistines—were unsubdued. The land was desolated by constant war. It was one sure sign of the prevailing disorder and anarchy, that "the highways were unoccupied, and the travelers walked through byways" (Judg. v. 6). Not unfrequently the people forgot Jehovah, and fell into idolatrous practices. In this period of degeneracy and confusion, men full of sacred enthusiasm and of heroic courage arose to smite the enemies of Israel, and to restore the observance of the law. Of these heroic leaders,Deborah,Gideon,Jepththa, andSamsonwere the most famous. There remains the song of Deborah on the defeat and death ofSisera(Judg. v.).
ThePhilistines, on the western coast, captured the sacred ark,—an act that spread dismay among the Israelites. Then they pushed on their conquests as far as the Jordan, took away from the Israelites their weapons, and grievously oppressed them. TheAmmonitesthreatened the tribes on the east of the Jordan with a like fate. At this juncture, an effective leader and reformer appeared, in the person ofSamuel, who had been consecrated from his youth up to the service of the sanctuary, and whose devotion to the law was mingled with an ardent patriotism. He roused the courage of the people, and recalled them to the service of Jehovah. In the "schools of the prophets" he taught the young the law, trained them in music and song, and thus prepared a class of inspiring teachers and guides to co-operate with the priesthood in upholding the cause of religion.
THE MONARCHY: SAMUEL AND SAUL.—In the distracted condition of the country, the people demanded a king, to unite them, and lead them to victory, and to administer justice. They felt that their lack of compact organization and defined leadership placed them at a disadvantage in comparison with the tribes about. This demandSamuelresisted, as springing out of a distrust of Jehovah, and as involving a rejection of Him. He depicted the burdens which regal government would bring upon them. Later history verified his prediction. A strong, centralized authority was not in harmony with the family and tribal government which was the peculiarity of their system. It brought in, by the side of the prophetic order, another authority less sacred in its claims to respect. Collisions between the two must inevitably result. But, whatever might be the ideal political system, the exigency was such that Samuel yielded to the persistent call of the people. He himself chose and anointed for the office a tall, brave, and experienced soldier,Saul. Successful in combat, the king soon fell into a conflict with the prophet, by failing to comply with the divine law, and by sparing, contrary to the injunction laid upon him, prisoners and cattle that he had captured. Thereupon Samuel secretly anointedDavid, a young shepherd of the tribe of Judah; thus designating him for the throne. The envy of Saul at the achievements of David, and at his growing popularity, coupled with secret suspicion of what higher honors might be in store for the valiant youth, embittered the king against him. David was befriended and shielded byJonathan, Saul's son, who might naturally be looked upon as his suitable successor. The memorials of the friendship of these two youths, in the annals of that troublous time, are like a star in the darkest night. David was obliged to take refuge among the Philistines, where he led a band of free lances, whom the Philistines did not trust as auxiliaries, but who were inured by their daring combats for the struggles that came afterwards. Saul and Jonathan were slain, Saul by his own hand. For six years David was king inHebron, over the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. The other tribes were ruled by Saul's son,Ishbaal('Ishbosheth'). At length David was recognized as king by all the tribes. Saul's family were exterminated.
CHRONOLOGY.—There is much difficulty in settling the chronology in the early centuries of the regal period of Hebrew history. Apart from the questions which arise in comparing the biblical data, the information derived from Egyptian and especially from Assyrian sources has to be taken into account. Hence the dates given below must be regarded as open to revision as our knowledge increases.
Assyriologists find that Shalmaneser II. received tribute fromAhab, King of Israel, 854 B.C., and fromJehu, 842 B.C.; thatTiglath-Pileser III(745-727 B.C.) received tribute fromMenahemin 738 B.C. and that Samaria fell in 722 B.C. Assyriology, on the basis of its data,as at present ascertained, would make out a chronology something like the following: Era of the judges, 1300-1020; Saul, 1020-1000; David, 1000-960; Solomon, 960-930; Reho-boam, 930-914 (Jeroboam I., 930-910); Jehoshaphat, 870+-850 (Ahab, 875-853); Azanah (or Uzziah), 779-740 (Jehu, 842-815); (Jeroboam II., 783-743); (Menahem, 744-738).
DAVID AND SOLOMON.—David's reign (about 1000-970 B.C.) is the period of Israel's greatest power. He extended his sway as far as the Red Sea and the Euphrates; he overcame Damascus, and broke down the power of the Philistines; he subdued the Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites; he conquered the Jebusites, and made Jerusalem his capital and the center of national worship. A poet himself, he enriched the religious service, which he organized, by lyrics—some of them composed by himself—of unrivaled devotional depth and poetic beauty. He organized his military force as well, and established an orderly civil administration. His favorite son,Absalom, led away by ambition, availed himself of disaffection among the people to head a revolt against his father, but perished in the attempt. David left his crown toSolomonat the close of a checkered life, marked by great victories, and by flagrant misdeeds done under the pressure of temptation.
CHARACTERS OF SOLOMON'S REIGN.—Solomon's reign (about 970-933 B.C.) was the era of luxury and splendor. He sought to emulate the other great monarchs of the time. With the help ofHiram, king of Tyre, who furnished materials and artisans, he erected a magnificent temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. He built costly palaces. He brought horses from Egypt, and organized a standing army, with its cavalry and chariots. He established a harem, bringing into it women from the heathen countries, whom he allowed in their idolatrous rites. He was even seduced to take part in them himself. Renowned for his knowledge and for his wisdom—which was admired by theQueen of Saba(Sheba), who came to visit him from the Arabian coast—famous as the author of wise aphorisms, he nevertheless entailed disasters on his country. He established a sort of Oriental despotism, which exhausted its resources, provoked discontent, and tended to undermine morality as well as religion.
THE DIVIDED KINGDOM.—The bad effect of Solomon's magnificence soon appeared. Before his death a revolt was made under the lead ofJeroboam, which was put down. OfRehoboam, the successor of Solomon, the ten tribes north of Judah required pledges that their burdens should be lightened. In the room of the heads and elders of the tribes, the late king's officers had come in to oppress them with their hard exactions. The haughty young king spurned the demand for redress. The tribes cast off his rule, and madeJeroboam I.their king (about 933 B.C.). The temple was left in the hands ofJudahandBenjamin. The division of the kingdom into two, insured the downfall of both. The rising power of the Mesopotamian Empire could not be met without union. On the other hand, the concentration of worship at Jerusalem, under the auspices of the two southern tribes, may have averted dangers that would have arisen from the wider diffusion, and consequent exposure to corruption, of the religious system. The development and promotion of the true religion—the one great historical part appointed for the Hebrews—may have been performed not less effectively, on the whole, for the separation.
HEATHEN RITES.—From this time the energetic and prolonged contest of the prophets with idolatry is a conspicuous feature, especially in the history of Israel, the northern kingdom.Jeroboamset up golden calves atDanandBethel, ancient seats of the worship of Jehovah. Wars with Judah and Damascus weakened the strength of Israel. The Egyptian king,Shishak, captured Jerusalem, and bore away the treasures collected by Solomon (p. 41). UnderJehoshaphat(about 873-849 B.C.) the heathen altars were demolished and prosperity returned.
STRUGGLE WITH IDOLATRY: ELIHAH AND ELISHA.—The contemporary of Jehoshaphat in the northern kingdom wasAhab(about 876-854 B.C.). He expended his power and wealth in the building up of Baal-worship, at the instigation of the Tyrian princess,Jezebel, whom he had married. At Samaria, his capital, he raised a temple to Baal, where four hundred and fifty of his priests ministered. The priests of Jehovah who withstood these measures were driven out of the land, or into hiding-places. The austere and intrepid prophetElijahfound refuge inMount Carmel. The people, on the occasion of a famine, which he declared to be a divine judgment, rose in their wrath, and slew the priests of Baal. In a war—the third of a series—which Ahab waged againstSyria, he still fought in his chariot, after he had received a mortal wound, until he fell dead. He had previously thrown the prophetMicaiahinto prison for predicting this result. By the marriage ofAthalia, a daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, with Jehoshaphat's son, Baal-worship was introduced into Jerusalem.Joramsucceeded Ahab. The prophetElisha, who followed in the steps of Elijah, anointedJehu"captain of the host of Joram." He undertook, with fierce and unsparing energy, to destroy Baal-worship, and to extirpate the house of Ahab, root and branch. The two kings of Israel and of Judah he slew with his own hand. The priests and servants of Baal were put to the sword. These conflicts reduced the strength of Israel, which fell a prey to Syria, until its power was revived byJeroboam II. (783-743 B.C.). The death ofAthaliabrought on the expulsion of the Phoenician idolatry from Jerusalem. The southern kingdom suffered from internal strife, and from wars with Israel, untilUzziah(779-740 B.C.) restored its military strength, and caused agriculture and trade once more to flourish.
THE ASSYRIAN CAPTIVITY.—The two kingdoms, in the ninth and eighth centuries, instead of standing together against the threatening might of Assyria, sought heathen alliances, and wasted their strength in mutual contention. Against these hopeless alliances, and against the idolatry and the formalism which debased the people, the prophets contended with intense earnestness and unflinching courage.Amos, called from feeding his flocks, inveighed against frivolity and vice, misgovernment and fraud, in Israel.HoseawarnedMenahem(743-737 B.C.) against invoking the help of Assyria against Damascus, but in vain. He was terribly punished by what he suffered from the Assyrians; but Jotham (740-736 B.C.) and Ahaz (736-728 B.C.), the Judaean kings, successively followed his example.Tiglath-Pilesermade Judaea tributary. The Assyrian rites were brought into the temple of Jehovah. The service of Canaanitish deities was introduced. The one incorruptible witness for the cause of Jehovah was the fearless and eloquent prophet,Isaiah. Hosea, king of Israel, by his alliance with Egypt againstSargon, so incensed this most warlike of the Assyrian monarchs, that, when he had subdued the Phoenician cities, he laid siege to Samaria; and, having captured it at the end of a siege of three years, he led away the king and the larger part of his subjects as captives, to the Euphrates and the Tigris, and replaced them by subjects of his own (722 B.C.). The later Samaritans were the descendants of this mixed population.
The Babylonian Captivity.—WhenSargon, the object of general dread, died,Hezekiah, king of Judah (727-699 B.C.), flattered himself that it was safe to disregard the warnings of Isaiah, and, in the hope of throwing off the Assyrian yoke, made a treaty of alliance with the king of Egypt, and fortified Jerusalem. He abolished, however, the heathen worship in "the high places."Sennacherib, Sargon's successor, was compelled to raise the siege (p. 46).Manasseh(698-643 B.C.), in defiance of the prophets, fostered the idolatrous and sensual worship, against which they never ceased to lift their voices.Josiah(640-609 B.C.) was a reformer. As a tributary of Babylon, he sought to preventNecho, king of Egypt, from crossing his territory, but was vanquished and slain atMegiddo, on the plain of Esdraelon.Nebuchadnezzar'svictory over Necho, atCarchemish, enabled the Babylonian king to tread in the footsteps of the Assyrian conquerors. The revolt ofZedekiah, which the prophetJeremiahwas unable to prevent, and his alliance with Egypt, led to the Babylonian captivity of the Jews. In this period of national ruin, the prophetic spirit found a voice throughJeremiahandEzekiel. It was during the era of Assyrian and Babylonian invasion that the predictions of a MESSIAH, a great Deliverer and righteous Ruler who was to come, assumed a more definite expression. The spiritual character ofIsaiah'steaching has given him the name of "the evangelical prophet."