Thus Carthage, apparently safe from the present approaches of Alexander, had her own fears of Invasion; yet had the Senate acceded to the wish of Tyrus, the two nations, by forming a junction, might have successfully opposed the further advance of the enemy; but Carthage had resolved (like Sidon) to save herself by policy, not warfare.
The Senate of Carthage, therefore, (following the Sidonian example) deputed an Ambassador to Alexanderin order to secure his favour, or by a tribute to remain in peace. They consequently deputed for the important and National embassy,—Rhodanus,—a man possessing extraordinary address and beauty of person, supported by the fascination of the most accomplished eloquence. The insinuating manners, and flattery of Rhodanus, (who was presented by Parmenio,) together with his gallant bearing, had such a magical effect upon the vain Macedonian, that he instantly cast a friendly eye upon Carthage:—thus, that Country was saved from invasion by the cheapest, yet most valued tribute in the mind of the hero of the Granicus,—viz., Flattery. Jaddus, the High-Priest of Judæa, subsequently saved Jerusalem in the same manner, by producing the Prophecy ofDaniel, and identifying Alexander as "theKing of Grecia,"—the "rough goat" of the prediction.
Rhodanus accompanied the Son of Philip in all his after-expeditions, and consequently had power, and did transmit to Carthage the plans of his new Master, who had no suspicion of his flatterer's treachery. Rhodanus saved his country,—and yet upon his return to Carthage, he was looked upon as a traitor, from having served in the army of the Grecian, and was thereupon sentenced to death:—ingratitude and barbarity carried the decree into execution.
The reply of the Republic to Azelmic's application for troops, cast a foreboding gloom over the spirits of his subjects. It was too late now to supplicate to Alexander and receive from him the same terms, as had been granted to either Sidon or Carthage; for it wasknown to the Invader, that a solicitation for an Army had been made to Carthage and refused; which point was naturally not lost by Rhodanus in his eloquent appeal; for he represented the denial as having emanated not so much from fear, or hope of favour, as from admiration and love of Alexander and his Glory!
The Tyrians were, therefore, now left solitary and alone, as a majestic Column in the desert of Nations: they had now to depend upon their own solid base for support. Their chief weapon was their ancient Pride, which was daily being transfused from the brittle character of its metal, into the more pliable and useful temper of true courage; enabling its possessor to correctly analyze and appreciate the powers of an opponent. This courage, and their walled and Island-Citadel, enabled them to laugh to scorn the approach of the Macedonian: for intelligence had been received by them, that his Navy had been dismissed, and that the original report of its bearing down upon Tyrus, was but "a stratagem of the Invader."
Alexander's army now advanced, and commenced hostilities by destroying the suburbs of Tyrus situate upon the mainland; the inhabitants of which had previously entered the Island-Metropolis. Thus was the Last Siege of Tyrus commenced in the eleventh Hebrew month,—Shebat,—(January-February) in the year 332 before the Christian Æra.
THE SIEGE AND DESTRUCTION OF TYRUS,BY ALEXANDER OF MACEDON;ANDTHE HEROIC DEFENCE BY AZELMIC AND THE NATION.
This great National event in the History of an Ancient People, was commenced by Alexander in person, attended and assisted by the renowned Generals and favourites—Hephæstion, Antigonus, Seleucus, Lysimachus, Cassander, Ptolemeus, "Old Clytus," and Parmenio,—all of whom, except the first and two last named, subsequently became the successors to, and sharers of, their Master's army and ill-gotten dominions.
Upon the occupation of the mainland suburbs (the Tyrians and strangers having fled to the Island), all the then known engines of warfare (both of defence and offence) were constructed and arranged upon the shore,—the army encamped on elevated ground, so as to be seen from the Capital,—the Cavalry and Phalanx daily practised their complex evolutions,—all this displaywas for the purpose of intimidating the besieged,—but it failed in its intended object. Orders were then given to commence an attack, not so much upon the walls, as upon the People, by throwing into the City darts and missiles: but, high Towers for the bowmen,—Balistæ for discharging heavy stones,—Catapultæ for casting forth the deadly javelin,—were erected with no effect; for the clouds of lightning-arrows, and the heavy thunderbolts of war burst forth in vain; and the distant walls remained unscathed, and the Tyrians unharmed. Alexander must now have found the error in dismissing his Navy after the Passage of the Granicus: had he retained it, he would have been enabled, upon a victory over the Tyrian fleet, to have surrounded the walls, and so prevent supplies from entering the Metropolis; but which were now daily received by the besieged, without the power of prevention on the part of the Macedonian. In this dilemma Alexander proposed to Azelmic and his Council, terms of capitulation similar to those accepted by the Sidonians; but with the original proposition of offering a sacrifice in the temple of Hercules-Apollo. The "sacrifice" would have been the entire People! The Tyrians, however, feeling safe within their walls, received the proffered negotiation with scorn and contempt; and in regard to the last proposition, they still resolved not to admit Alexander, or even his peace-offering.
The Macedonian now felt for the first time, that his hitherto untarnished glory might be dimmed,—his future pathway might be clouded,—for to abandon the Siegewould instantly destroy his reputation for invincibility. Even his Generals were at a loss for means to conceal their mortification, or of resources of invention, whereby the reduction of the Capital could be accomplished. They, however, suggested to Alexander, that his already brilliant fame would not be clouded, by passing on to other victories obtainable upon the land; for it was not originally intended in his present advance, to attack a strongly-fortified Island, surrounded by the broad waters of the Mediterranean, and with high walls based upon the very waves of that Sea; and then the distance of the Isle from the mainland, placed the besieged out of the reach of either fear or danger; and especially in the absence of his fleet. These and similar arguments were of no avail; for every suggestion of a present, or of a future difficulty, only increased Alexander's resolution to conquer.
The Prince in his early youth had Nature for his guide,—and that great Monitress then led him to accomplish his first victory: for the untameable horse, Bucephalus,—the Mazeppa-charger of Macedonia,—was not subdued from merely having the Lord of Wit or Wisdom by his side, but because he exercised the high gift for which he had been so justly named.[12]He, therefore,didturn the head of the proud animal "towards the East;" and in paying this supposed tribute to Apollo, he compelled the fiery steedto gaze upon the dazzling Sun!—and while thus partially blindedby the brilliant rays, the dauntless rider mounted him, and the noble animal, feeling for the first time the weight of man,—the lash and the deep-wounding spur,—forth he bounded like an earthly Pegasus,—clouds of sand and dust rising from beneath his earth-spurning, and indignant hoofs, concealed from the royal Father's sight the form of his princely Son, and the now maddened steed:—yet on he flew, like a Sirocco blast before the hurricane—his eyes still towards, and in, the dazzling Sunlight:—but, ere Apollo had reached the zenith, the horse and rider returned to the royal presence, the latter triumphant, and the former for the first time subdued, and gazing upon his shadow! Thus by Nature, and her laws, did he tame the fiery spirit!
It was a similar thought that led him to conceive the means for subduing the apparently unconquerable spirit of the proud Tyrian, safe within his untouched Island-Citadel,—as that which led him upon the plain of Macedon, to master the white steed Bucephalus—who now stood prancing upon the moonlit shore of ancient Tyrus, with his Princely Master upon his gracefully-curved back as upon a throne of ivory:—from this regal seat,—while the noble steed gazed upon the phosphoric sparkles of the radiant sea, as the waves cast them at his feet,—the pupil of Aristotle contemplated the apparently hopeless Siege of the commercial emporium of the World! That contemplation placed before him the fact, that Nature was to be subdued before the successful appliances of Art could be brought to bear upon and support his resolution. It forcedupon him the conclusion that he had not only to war against Island walls, and Patriot hearts within,—but against another kingdom over which the trident monarch—Neptune—reigned, guarding with safety and with honour the renowned "Queen of the Sea,"—that he must drive back that victorious ally before he could even hope to capture her coronet of freedom! He remembered, too, that both the Babylonian and the Persian had retired, leaving their victories imperfect by not subduing the Island;—this was an additional reason why he resolved to conquer, that his military glory should, in the estimation of posterity, be beyond any predecessor.
While many of the principal Officers held a midnight council of war,—the towers and engines standing tenant-less and unmanned, from their inutility,—Alexander, upon his snowy steed, pacing the wave-washed shore, and ruminating upon his new conception,—Hephæstion and Parmenio upon their war-chargers, and as the attendants for the night, gazing upon the movements of their chief with that military anxiety which the warrior only knows or can feel,—and the soldiers of Macedonia murmuring within the camp at inactivity;—while this picture was presented of the invaders, the inhabitants of the metropolis had almost ceased to think that war and danger were near, and from their walls, as the Moon arose, they expressed every joy to their Goddess,—Astartē,—for the safety that she now witnessed and smiled upon. Alexander arousing himself from his visioned victory,—but more from the derisionarylaughter of the foe, who had now discerned him, instantly dashed with his proud Bucephalus into the moonlit waters of the Mediterranean, and so toward the walls,—as if to commence in person the first assault upon the domain of Neptune! Hephæstion and Parmenio—as at the passage of the Granicus—instantly followed their Prince to cover his safe return to the shore; for a clouded shadow passed swift as a meteor over the waters towards the noble group,—a whizzing like a sudden blast was heard,—then a cutting in the waves like the swift fins of the shark,—and a rattling as of hail upon armour;—it was a flight of arrows from the walls, but they failed to reach the unpanoplied body of the chief, guarded as he was by the devotional shields and helms of his companions,—who had seen the action of the besieged, and had watched the speeding of the surcharged deadly cloud! Refreshed from the plunge, and aroused to a sense of his own danger, by that of his friends, Alexander returned to the shore, and with speed to the royal pavilion,—where, springing from his seat, he may be imagined to have thus addressed his noble steed:
"Brave companion of my youth! you have commenced the attack upon the Tyrian moat,—we will pass it,—Victory shall be ours!"
That night the fate of Tyrus was written!—for Alexander had conceived the idea, and commanded that a Causeway, or military mole, shouldbe constructed from the Shore to the Island! The ruins of which extraordinary work are seen even at this day!
The Tyrian sentinel at early dawn gave intelligence of a new movement in the army of the invaders,—the rampart walls were instantly crowded with citizens, to watch the motion upon the point, forming the nearest distance between themselves and the shore. They beheld the removing of the several war-engines and towers,—and thereupon gave a wild shout of joy at the supposedretreatof the Macedonians! Fatal error! That loud shout which had aroused even the mangered horses of the foe, at once proclaimed their present triumph, and their future doom!
The new orders of Alexander were received in the camp with pride and gladness; and with alacrity were collected every kind of material;—timbers from the captured houses on shore, and new-felled trees for piles and outward dams,—old vessels, and decayed merchant-galleys, left upon the beach by the Tyrians as useless, were filled with stone, and sunk for the foundation, upon which the superstructure was to be erected,—the sunken galleys, also, arrested the progress of the sea-sand in its passage between the Island and the beach, and thus aided the formation of the base. The different portions of the army were then engaged in bringing thousands, and tens of thousands, of sacks and loads of earth and stone,—every activity and energy were manifested by men and officers, encouraged as they were by the personal presence of the Princely Engineer.
At first the bold attempt only excited the increased derision and laughter of the haughty Tyrians; butthat mockery of the lip, was gradually changed to a clouded brow, as the Mole advanced, though with slow degrees, towards the Island. At every foot of progressive movement the difficulty of the Macedonian was increased; for, as the passage narrowed, the waters doubled their rapid rate, and nearly destroyed the advancing work. The People of the Metropolis, with the King and Nobles, viewed from the walls the first month's labour with doubts and fears,—a second and a third month passed, when the causeway reached arrow-distance from the Island. At this point of advance, Alexander, still anxious to obtain his rich prize unharmed, and believing that the Tyrians were now convinced of his resolution to conquer, despatched in a royal barge several Envoys to propose terms of capitulation. As the boat advanced to the edge of the walls, and was approaching a port-gate, and when directly beneath the overhanging parapet of a watch-tower,—a ponderous mass of stone was suddenly hurled from the rampart, upon the unsuspecting victims beneath,—a crush was heard,—the shriek of Life at the approach of sudden Death,—the splash and gurgling of the waters,—and all had ceased. Envoys and attendants had sunk, never to rise until that Day, when even "the Sea shall give up its dead!"
The maddening fury of the Macedonian, now knew no bounds, upon this (to him) murder of his Ambassadors,—though to the Tyrians, they were only regarded as Invaders. Energy was renewed upon the Mole-work, and as it continued to advance, the besiegedwere aroused from their pride and confidence, to depend upon courageous action alone,—they, thereupon, became the assailants, and cast upon the approaching foemen, showers of arrows, darts, stones, and every species of missile weapon. The Macedonians were guarded in part by their advancing towers, which served as shields and screens to the military workmen,—yet hundreds were daily slain,—nor were the Tyrians without their death-list, for the wooden towers were manned in every story, yet being but a third of the height of the walls of the Capital, the advantage therefore was more than tenfold to the Islanders.
The intelligence of the present movement of the Macedonian, flew on the wings of gladness to the surrounding Nations; where—through their own fears at the success of such military talent—could be seen the secret joy at the approaching downfall of a People, whose very existence as a Nation, had been derived from stern and uncompromising Monopoly;—who had looked upon all other countries as the mere instruments of her own imperious will. The inland Nations, and those upon the borders of the Mediterranean, would rather have suffered ruin than aid the Tyrian,—although by an united effort they might have saved both themselves and the Capital of Phœnicia. Even Carthage, like a degenerate Child, had from selfish policy (the National heirloom) refused to lend her aid, though to her Parent-Country. One Nation only (and that was tributary to the Conqueror) received intelligence of the gathering movements of the Macedonianwith sincere grief and active sympathy. It was the sympathy of an imprisoned Mother, when, from her iron bars, she beholds her only Daughter about to be chained to the fire-stand of remorseless doom! Thus the Sidonian Parent gazed upon her Tyrian Daughter, resolved, should occasion offer, to render that aid which a Mother ever feels is due to her filial offspring,—and in this instance, though at the hazard of her own destruction.
While the Military movements were progressing with apparent success, the efforts of the attendant Naval operations of Alexander (who had changed some of his mainland captures into vessels of war) were equally triumphant,—for many Tyrian Galleys were seized, they being chiefly Merchantmen, and deserted by the Pilots, Mariners, and Rowers, in order to aid the defending of the City. In the words ofEzekiel, regarding Tyrus, and truly fulfilled:—
"Andallthat handle theOar,—theMariners, andall the Pilotsof the Sea,shall come down from their ships,—they shall stand upon the land!" [i. e.in the City.]
Many of the ships were destroyed by the Tyrians themselves, upon the Pilots and Mariners leaving them to defend the Capital,—to prevent their falling into the hands of the Macedonian;—who, however, succeeded in capturing vessels returning from foreign voyages,—and instantly manning those as being of better construction, they consequently sunk the old vessels on either side of the approaching Mole, thus forming the outward parallels of this giant causeway of the Mediterranean.Thus were the Tyrian vessels entirely captured,—or destroyed by the contending foes,—and consequently the lion-hearted citizens were now hemmed in a walled cavern,—with the "rough" and furious hunter, attended by his yelling blood-hounds, guarding every outlet towards the land, to prevent escape, or even the attempt in the wild moments of despair!
About this period of the Siege, Darius of Persia, hearing of the present Military undertaking of Alexander, and of its probable success, sent to the Conqueror several Envoys, as a deputation to propose terms of peace and amity for his own nation:—contemplating his approaching triumph, all propositions were rejected by the Victor of Issus! His pride was also wounded by the Despatches being addressed simply to "Alexander of Macedon,"—without the title of "King" being in any part employed in the proposal. The young Monarch, however, had his revenge upon this point of neglected diplomacy, for in his answer, he addressed his foreign adversary, whom he had beaten in two battles, to the following effect:—"AlexanderofMacedonrefuses to accede to the terms of surrender and amity, proposed to him by Darius, the powerfulKingof Persia and Media."
July, 332B. C.] In the sixth month from the commencement of the siege, the invaders had advanced to the foot of the walls, and in approaching they widened the Causeway, in order to enable them to have greater space for carrying on the operations of Storming the Capital. Upon the successful termination of constructingthe Mole, the engines of ancient warfare were placed in their several localities for active service. In front, and near to the walls (which were of soft stone and stuccoed), were stationed several battering-rams of enormous magnitude and power, and swung from high triangles and towers, in order to batter the upper, and consequently the weakest part of the mural defence. Behind these engines, at a short distance, were placed the powerful Balistæ and Catapultæ for throwing stones and timber, darts and javelins into the city. In the third position from the walls, were stationed several high wooden-towers, from four to six stories in altitude, and manned with archers; each story had its drawbridge, both for defence, and to let down upon, or into any breach that might be made, and from which bridge the archers and spearmen could pass on to the walls, upon the huge machines being wheeled forward by the Soldiery in the rear of the towers. The now Grecian Galleys (captured from the Tyrians) were brought and moored along the sides of the Mole, having their lines trebled near, and especially at the Island-base of the causeway. This precaution was to prevent escape in case of any sortie; as, also, to give protection to the new Military work against the continual injury from the waves. This action and locality of the captured vesselsleft the walls towards the Sea unwatched, and it was considered by the invaders as useless to keep their small fleet dispersed, when no escape could be made by the Tyrians in that quarter, from the want of vessels; therefore, from the oblongform of the Island-Capital (its sides being parallel with the Sea and the mainland),it would prevent those engaged at the Causeway, from seeing any movement or enterprise, that might be undertaken at the Seaward gates of the Metropolis. This fact is of great importance, and for the full appreciation of the result, the reader should not let it escape from memory. During the successful advance, the Tyrians had been incessant in their defence of Nature's Moat; but, now that it was passed by the enemy, their only duty was to prevent a breach being made in the wall: this defence was comparatively easy, for the attack could only be made upon one point, and the only approach to that assault was over the Causeway.
When Alexander had personally inspected the fulfilment of his instructions, he commanded a simultaneous assault to be made upon the wall and city, from every warlike engine on the Causeway. It was useless: the brave defence exceeded in its results any injury received from the spirit of the attack; for where the battering-rams would otherwise have had effect, bales of cloths, linen and wool were hung, so that no impression could be made; at the same time hundreds of the invaders were crushed or slain by the high-mounted besieged, who continued to hurl down upon those beneath, and upon their works, ponderous stones, showers of darts and javelins, together with ignited combustibles and fascines. In this manner were several attempts upon the City completely foiled by the Tyrians. The Macedonians were, therefore, compelled to retiretowards the shore, for the purpose of repairing their shattered and burnt engines and towers;—and who, amid the irreverend shouts of triumph from the Islanders, daily buried their dead within the adjacent camp: but these untimely rejoicings, and the death of the Envoys, only the more securely sealed the judgment upon Tyrus!
It has already been stated that the vessels composing the captured fleet had been moored on either side of the Causeway, and consequently they were placed between the Island and the shore. Upon this disposition of the Macedonian Navy being made known atSidon, several of her most determined Citizens manned a few of their own merchant-galleys, hoisted sails, and lowered oars for Tyrus, which was distant but twenty-three miles. They arrived and hovered on the sea-side of the Island, so as to be unperceived by the invaders; and even if they were seen at, or after the storming of the city, they wereSidonians, and would be treated by the besiegers in a friendly manner, for they were already tributary to the Macedonian. Their deepintent, however, could not be known, and theirpresencemerely, would, therefore, pass unquestioned. Although, by their intended act, a portion of the Sidonians broke their treaty of surrender with Alexander, and were in fact as guilty as if detected in the act itself, and consequently within the sentence of death; still they were determined to prove the truth of a prior faith to the Tyrians, and were thus prepared to rescue any "remnant" of their descendants, should the City be stormed and taken.
It was no hollow friendship that amid the whirlwind would come forth, and from the Conqueror's field of blood—the Aceldama of his shame and cruelty—would boldly "glean" the Tyrian "olive-tree," or the remaining fruit from Slaughter's "vintage." This was an act worthy of renown from the Sculptor's magic, yet enduring Art, worthy to grace the "Chief Altar" of a land, wherever the "gleanings" of the bloody-harvest should be housed in safety!
August, 332B. C.] In the seventh month of the Siege, the invaders had repaired and increased the number of their warlike engines and machines, and especially those for battering down the walls. They were now replaced, but stationed out of danger of the ignited fascines, to await the final orders of the King of Macedon, who had retired to the neighbouring Mountain for recreation, until the preparations should be completed for a renewal of the assault. In the mean time the soldiers of Alexander, accustomed to speedy victories, began to murmur at their long and arduous duties, and at the number of their useless dead, which had made their camp nearly a pestilential charnel-house. They desired that the Siege should be instantly raised, that they might march on to certain victories, and so efface their present infamy of defeat. In these sentiments they were joined by many of the subaltern officers; and the growing spirit of open mutiny was roaming through every division of the army.
During this cessation of active hostilities, the Tyrians were making preparation for the great Annual Festival in honour of their tutelary God,—Apollo,—whichhad been postponed from the summer solstice, owing to the position of the Siege. In this Religious ceremony no one could be excused, or excluded; even the sentinels from the ramparts must leave the steps of war, for the paths of peace: all must join in devotion and thanksgiving to the protecting Sun, which, as Apollo, was supposed at Midsummer to reach his altitude of beatific power. Any Tyrian, therefore, who did not worship the rising of the great Deity of Phœnicia upon that day, was believed to be banished from his genial influence, during the next annual circling of their Zodiac.
It was in the fulness of the Moon's last quarter, in the month of August, that Alexander, having left his Pavilion on the Mountain, and wandering alone through the deep vistas, suddenly cast his war-mantle at the foot of a giant cedar of Lebanon; and reclining thereon, perused a few pages of the Iliad, his fond and fatal companion,—but from anxiety and fatigue was soon in slumber. The sleeper was as solitary as the tree beneath which he slept—for they were both alone in station as they were in character. The Moon had risen in unclouded splendour, and cast her beams, as in playfulness, upon the child of fortune; like celestial Cynthia, when, upon the retiring of her attendants—the Stars of Night—she cast her virgin smiles upon the earthly beauty, and youthful figure of Endymion; for the now sleeping hero had seen but twenty-four summers, and those without a cloud to dim their brilliancy. He now dreamed of Tyrus and her downfall,—a smile played around his lips, triumphant as Apollo's:—he suddenlysprung to his feet and grasped his sword;—the action was but the active portion of his visioned victory, for—
TheMindis ever wakeful,—when thespiritsGrow weary, Nature calls fortheirrepose:And thus our animal-being slumbers nightly.—But the Mind moves in its eternal course,Thought following thought, by the associationWhich govern'd them by day: but (like a KingThroned, with his vassals slumbering by his side)Its Counsellors are gone;—Perception's messengersLie mute before their Monarch,—whose mistakeLeads to such a labyrinth of errors,That bright Aurora, with her threads of light,Must be its Ariadne, or 'tis lost![13]When the fleshy walls of this human citadelAre in repose, or apparent slumber,—Still the faithful sentinel of the brain,—The Mind,—is watchful through all space and time!Like th' immortal Soul, in the Sleep of Death![14]
TheMindis ever wakeful,—when thespiritsGrow weary, Nature calls fortheirrepose:And thus our animal-being slumbers nightly.—But the Mind moves in its eternal course,Thought following thought, by the associationWhich govern'd them by day: but (like a KingThroned, with his vassals slumbering by his side)Its Counsellors are gone;—Perception's messengersLie mute before their Monarch,—whose mistakeLeads to such a labyrinth of errors,That bright Aurora, with her threads of light,Must be its Ariadne, or 'tis lost![13]When the fleshy walls of this human citadelAre in repose, or apparent slumber,—Still the faithful sentinel of the brain,—The Mind,—is watchful through all space and time!Like th' immortal Soul, in the Sleep of Death![14]
TheMindis ever wakeful,—when thespiritsGrow weary, Nature calls fortheirrepose:And thus our animal-being slumbers nightly.—But the Mind moves in its eternal course,Thought following thought, by the associationWhich govern'd them by day: but (like a KingThroned, with his vassals slumbering by his side)Its Counsellors are gone;—Perception's messengersLie mute before their Monarch,—whose mistakeLeads to such a labyrinth of errors,That bright Aurora, with her threads of light,Must be its Ariadne, or 'tis lost![13]
TheMindis ever wakeful,—when thespirits
Grow weary, Nature calls fortheirrepose:
And thus our animal-being slumbers nightly.—
But the Mind moves in its eternal course,
Thought following thought, by the association
Which govern'd them by day: but (like a King
Throned, with his vassals slumbering by his side)
Its Counsellors are gone;—Perception's messengers
Lie mute before their Monarch,—whose mistake
Leads to such a labyrinth of errors,
That bright Aurora, with her threads of light,
Must be its Ariadne, or 'tis lost![13]
When the fleshy walls of this human citadelAre in repose, or apparent slumber,—Still the faithful sentinel of the brain,—The Mind,—is watchful through all space and time!Like th' immortal Soul, in the Sleep of Death![14]
When the fleshy walls of this human citadel
Are in repose, or apparent slumber,—
Still the faithful sentinel of the brain,—
The Mind,—is watchful through all space and time!
Like th' immortal Soul, in the Sleep of Death![14]
Alexander awoke, and beheld before him, waiting his time of slumber, Hephæstion, and the War-Council. They informed him that the preparations were ready for another attack; they also announced the growing discontent of the entire camp; that the spirits of the soldiery were already depressed, from their tedious and useless hardships; that the cavalry loudly murmured from their total inutility through the present service: they also forced upon him the reflection, that his reputation might be injured, if the future assault upon the walls should again prove ineffectual; and that every gloom cast over the Macedonians, was a just cause torenew and continue the brilliant bravery of the Tyrians. The King of Macedonia listened with unwonted placidity to the remarks and covert advice from his Council, and in reply told them,—that Tyrus would be captured within two days,—that in a Vision of the present night it was revealed to him that the Island would be defenceless within that time!
The Council returned to the camp, where, the omen contained in the reported Vision in Mount Lebanon aroused their superstition and renewed their courage; which Religious and warlike feelings were increased seven-fold when, upon Alexander's return to the camp, it was announced that some Tyrians (captured in the galleys) had stated that the "morrow" was to be the great National festival to Apollo!—and during which ceremony—Alexander reasoned—the Island-Capital would be in a manner defenceless!
It must have been at this discovery that the vain Macedonian imagined he was descended from Apollo, having for the time being cast aside his former claim to be the son of Jupiter.
The Festival was applied by the army to the true meaning of the dream, and that interpretation was received by all as a certain harbinger of instant victory. Orders were thereupon forthwith given that a general and desperate assault upon the walls should be made at sunrise of the morrow, as that would be the precise moment when Tyrus—as one man—would be bent in adoration to the visible God of Light. The wooden-towers were to be secretly advanced during the nightto the walls,—as, also, the ponderous battering-rams;—the former were to be filled with soldiery, so as to be ready for instantly entering the city through any breach, by lowering the tower drawbridges;—"crouching," like their ancestors, "in the ominous horse" at the siege of Troy.
At midnight of the day preceding the Festival, the devotional tribute to Apollo commenced in the Capital by withdrawing from the walls the sentinels, citizens, and all warlike defences,—for the day about to dawn was dedicated to Nature, as a peace-offering upon the Altar of their Deity.
Upon the walls being vacated, the Macedonians in silence, and aided by the darkness of the night, placed their battering-engines in position; advanced and filled their scaling-towers; and made every preparation, unseen and unheard, for the coming and dreadful event.
As the first indication of the break of day became apparent, the Tyrian population, arrayed in their gayest robes and attire (the garlands of their own sacrifice) began to assemble, and concentrate towards the great Temple of Hercules-Apollo;—its steps,—the vast area in front,—and the broad avenues leading to the Edifice of Religion, were filled and occupied with masses of human beings, who, with their faces toward "the East," stood ready to kneel and kiss the bosom of their great mother,—Earth,—as the first beams of their protecting God should descend upon them! The rising of that Last Sun upon Tyrus was looked for with breathless anxiety, both by the besieged and the invaders,—theformer were gathered to offer their wild thanks for their past safety,—for the present cessation from hostilities, and devout prayers for their future preservation,—for these solemn purposes were assembled the Old and the Young,—Fathers with their Sons,—Mothers and their infant Children,—Youths and Virgins plighted in the spring-time of hope,—King, Priests, the "Wise men," Warriors, and People were gathered as with one heart—with one impulse, to join in festive joy upon the Tyrian Sabbath of the Year. But the foes to this scene of human happiness, were crouched in ambush,—like the Serpent of Eden,—and waited for that Sun's appearance as if it had been the enemy of mankind, and were ready to wreak their fury upon its children and worshippers!
At length the advancing heralds of Apollo were seen bounding above the mountains of Damascus,—springing with their gold-imbuing feet from cloud to cloud until they reached the zenith,—when the Sun-God himself appeared and approached from the mighty portals of the East, arrayed in the gorgeous mantle of his eternal throne! There was a moment of calm, breathless intensity,—as before the hurricane;—then arose the loud hosannahs from his Tyrian subjects, now prostrate with adoration;—but they were answered by the terrific and appalling shouts of the ambushed Macedonians! Sudden as the storm-flash, a breathless panic seized the kneeling worshippers;—they were transfixed with fear, surprise, and wonder;—they felt that their ever-faithful Deity had deliveredthem, bound in his own fetters, to the unsparing foe,—they called aloud for his protection,—but the brow of their God was suddenly shadowed by the clouds of an approaching Tempest, indicating the war of elements as of man;—the voice of supplication was now changed to the wild language of despair,—all was horror and confusion amid the Temples, Palaces, Courts, and Streets of the Metropolis,—the screams and shrieks of women and children, trodden underfoot by the frantic and flying citizens, were unheard amid the demoniac yells of the invaders, which even deadened the sound of the distant and murmuring thunder: and they now in their shouts of approaching triumph applied the battering-engines with every energy and success,—for the ramparts were unmanned, and their desperate assault unchecked. The boldest of the Tyrians, recovering from surprise, now rallied, and snatching up weapons merely of attack (for their persons were defenceless from their festival attire) flew towards the wall, against which the impious attack was so furiously rendered. It was too late,—an upper breach had been made, and the soft stone wall was fast falling beneath the repeated and ponderous blows of the battering engines;—the balistæ and catapultæ were now unmanned and overthrown as being useless, while the giant towers were wheeled and levered toward the breach, which now momentarily increased in width; the several drop-bridges of the towers were instantly lowered upon the battered walls, when the concealed Soldiery, after their first discharge of arrows and javelins,rushed like wolves from their dens upon the devoted sheepfolds! As the towers, galleries, and hive-cells were emptied, they were instantly replaced by swarms of warriors from the camp, the whole of which was now in motion. The hitherto inactive and impatient Cavalry were drawn out and marshalled ready to plunge like fierce dragons within the city, when the crumbling walls should be partially levelled. The bravest of the hardy Tyrians met the first storming party (the forlorn-hope even of ancient days) with dauntless courage, and kept in check, even by their dead bodies, the instant advance of the foe;—the wall was disputed inch by inch, and with increasing fury by both parties,—each being resolved to conquer or to die! While the conflict was raging on the walls,—where the loud sounds and flashing weapons seemed but the similitude of the over-hanging thunder and the vivid lightning,—Azelmic, his Priests and body-guards, prepared to protect their God and Temple to the last; in their despair and wild devotion they took the golden Statue of their Deity from its pedestal, and with massive chains of the same metal to secure it, and with huge nails driven through perforated holes in the feet, they thus fastened it to the broad summit of the great Altar of the Nation!
The devoted Sidonians were not inactive, for they were watching the progress of the storming of the walls, and as they learnt (from the shouts) that the invaders were about to enter the city, they drew near,—resolved to receive at the Seaward Gatesthose Fugitiveswho would rather choose a home within the Galleys, than a grave within the Citadel.
The bloody contest at the storming point was terrible in its effects, both upon the invaders and the besieged; for the falling masses of stone buried in one indiscriminate grave both friends and foes. At length, the towers becoming useless from the walls being lowered beneath the level of the drawbridges, they, with the engines and machines were overthrown on either side of the causeway, and the famed Macedonian Phalanx passed the breach,—but the dead and dying, with their upraised spears, and broken shafts in their writhing bodies, formed for a time a barrier against the advance of a division of horse,—they were recalled by the shrill trumpets, while the pioneers levelled the path of death;—a second troop of Infantry passed on to the support of the first, who were now in desperate conflict on the walls and breach with the opposing ranks of the despairing Tyrians, many of whom empaled themselves on the triple-spears of the Phalanx:—when on a preconcerted signal from an upreared flag (for the now loud thunder and deafening shouts and shrieks deadened all trumpet-sounds to the distant soldiery) the two battalions of Infantry on the ruins opened to the right and left,—and Alexander,—mounted on Bucephalus, and with the Standard inscribedGranicus, just snatched from his banner-bearer, and at the head of his Officers and Cavalry, flew like "fiery Mars" to the summit of the breach! At that instant a terrific flash rent the dark storm-clouds, and ashaft from the wild tempest struck to the ground the marble Statue from the apex of the Temple,—the entablature was sundered as by an earthquake! Alexander at that moment,—with his bright corslet and white-plumed helm reflecting back the lightning glare,—his inspiring face and standard turned to his troops,—his unsheathed and glittering sword pointing to the foe,—his white and noble war-steed with storm-scattered mane, and upreared head and feet, as if spurning the dying bodies beneath his proud hoofs, yet feeling his master's spirit, and anxious for the plunge amid the living,—at that moment—Alexander appeared the Hero of the World! He might have remained so,—but the moment passed and for ever!—he descended, as it were, from his moral elevation, like an avalanche of crime upon the already blood-stained vale beneath! His example was followed by Hephæstion, old Clytus, Parmenio and the troop of future kings,—horsemen,—the triple-guarded Phalanx,—cohorts of archers,—"the whole camp, pioneers and all;"—fire, spear, and sword were carried into every quarter of the capital. While the Metropolis was wrapt in flames by the foot-soldiery, and murdered women and children fell in every street,—the Conqueror and his Cavalry attacked the avenues leading to the Temple,—every pathway to that Edifice was defended with a patriotic devotion, and a Religious fanaticism!
While thus every passage was nobly defended, and attention directed to those quarters, the fewSidonian Galleysreceived on board their living freights,—Families,—Men,Women, andChildren,—cleared the harbour unobserved, and upon the gradual lessening of the storm of elements, they reached the open Sea in safety:—Thus were theProphesied"gleanings" of the Nation rescued!
Azelmic, Priests, and People disputed with devoted heroism the area to the Temple of the kingdom—it was passed, but over the dead bodies of hundreds of the defenders,—every step to the platform of the edifice was dyed with human gore;—ascending the steps over his crimson pathway, Alexander, followed by Hephæstion and his favourites, reached the chief entrance, through which Azelmic had rushed into the interior of the Temple,—the Conqueror instantly dismounted (followed by his officers), and pursued the apparent Fugitive, in order to capture with his own hands the Monarch of the Nation;—he entered the sacred court of worship over the dead bodies of mangled priests,—when suddenly the Standard of the Granicus dropped from his hand, and was stained and effaced with sacrilegious blood,—while himself and his officers fell back in Religious awe, and were transfixed with heroic admiration!—for the Last King of Tyrus, so far from retreating, had sprung, sword in hand, upon the Altar of the Nation,—and throwing his despairing arms around the image of Apollo, resolved to defend—even to the death—the enchained Statue of his Country and his God!
Which was the Hero then?—the Patriot or the Invader?
So noble a picture of Patriotism, the Conqueror had in vain looked for in the pages of the Iliad,—the inspiring Volume to invasions and his victories. Amid all the Sons of Priam and of Troy, there was not one Azelmic;—and his true glory was indeed brilliant, for Alexander's was dimmed and lost before it;—like a Planet of the Night, when the star-discovering shade of Earth, is dispelled by the dawning Sun!
The Patriot's life and liberty were granted by the Conqueror, whose youth and native heroism sympathized with such devoted and gallant bearing. Would that the same mercy had been extended to the brave Tyrians! The Capital had fallen,—but Conflagration and wild Slaughter raged and ranged in every corner of the Metropolis;—Massacre and Rapine roamed at large unchecked by "pity or remorse,"—but sustained, and hallooed on by the frantic yells of demoniac Revenge! Thousands were slain in defending the walls, streets, and Temples. Eight thousand Women and Children fell by the sword alone, while nearly an equal number were buried beneath the falling ruins, or perished in the flames! Thirty-two thousand of the inhabitants were made prisoners,—the walls were razed, and every building burnt or levelled to the ground. Thirty thousand of the captives were sold as slaves, and dispersed into the Asiatic Countries. Alexander then committed an act which should,—it has—"damned him to everlasting fame,"—placed upon his once bright shield, the canker-rust of infamy,—and whichmust increase from the gathered curses of posterity! After the surrender,—when even Slaughter and Rapine—the scarlet sins of unrighteous war—had ceased their havoc and brutality,—and the patriotic prisoners were ranged and numbered,—this Demon of Macedonia selectedtwo thousandof the chief Citizens, and, as if in mockery of their Goddess of the Nation—Astartē,—whose emblem was theCross,—commanded that they should be Crucified! It was accomplished,—the setting Sun upon that Last Day of Tyrus, cast his expiring gaze upon a Nation's Crucifixion! Avenues of Crosses were upraised with frantic victims, along the shores of the mainland; and in the streets of the Isle,—or grouped upon the mounds of ruins, walls, and Temples! Such an instance of cold-blooded barbarity cannot be equalled in the annals of ancient crime,—except—in its repetitionby the same ruthless murderer, after the patriotic defence of Oxus in India.
Alexander, as he stood upon the breached-wall of Tyrus, could have been the Saviour of a People; but, in his descent, he became like Lucifer,—a demon devoted to passion and to crime! Let no voice applaud him after he plunged from that wall,—the bloody stream beneath was the Rubicon of his fame and glory;—he passed it,—it could never be retraced. Oh! let no author,—the instrument of Intellect—betray his high duty and uphold the deeds of Invaders or Conquerors, be they of the ancient or the modern world:—let him stigmatize crime and injustice by their proper names,belong they to Macedonia, or to any other Nation existing in our own times:—ay!—although the home of our ancestors should be rebuked, for then only will the hearths of their descendants be free from blame, and avoid that desolation, which the contrary course must (the North-Star is not more true) engender for future time and action!—But, if the historic pen in its duty to posterity, must be employed in recording the annals of savage warfare and invasion, let it onlypraisethe true Patriots and Defenders of their Native-land,—be they of remote antiquity in either hemisphere,—or the Israel-warriors of Asiatic mountains, snow-crowned Passes, or of the Vale of Cashmere;—the noble and chivalric spirits of Circassia; the natives of Algeria,—or the impotent People of that land, claiming Confucius for its Philosopher,—where thousands have been slain, and not one record made of the desolated hearts of the Mother, Widow, or the Orphan! Let us teach ourselves the truth,—open our own hearts, and minds to receive the Religious impress of its power,—ingraft it in the growing intellect of our children, that they may, as a necessity, teach it to their descendants,—thatoneAzelmic, or Montezuma,—Alfred, or William Tell,—are worth theentire hostof Alexanders, Cortezes, Danish Conquerors, or tyrannic Gieslers!
Our humble, yet fervent description of the Conquest of Tyrus would fail of our hearted intent, if any other sentiment than the above could be derived from it.That terrible event was consummated on the 5th day of Elul—the sixth month of the Hebrews and Phœnicians;—which, by the present computation of time, would place the Destruction of the Tyrian Nation upon the twentieth day of August, 332 years before the Christian Æra.
THE END OF CANAAN-TYRUS AS A NATION IN ASIA—CHARACTER AND DEATH OF ALEXANDER—REFLECTIONS UPON CONQUERORS AND PEACEMAKERS.
THE END OF CANAAN-TYRUS AS A NATION IN ASIA—CHARACTER AND DEATH OF ALEXANDER—REFLECTIONS UPON CONQUERORS AND PEACEMAKERS.
Upon the accomplishment of the horrid massacre by Alexander, Tyrus was indeed "utterly emptied and utterly spoiled,"—for the King, Azelmic, was the only human being having life and liberty of all the Tyrian Kingdom,—excepting the "remnant" rescued by the Sidonians.Isaiahin his Prophecyforetold those two facts; and although we are aware that these new truths of ancient history have never been applied to that celebrated Prophecy, yet they are brought forward—even if for the first time—with full and assured conviction of the correctness of the present application. We write with conscientious humility, yet with that boldness arising from truth, founded upon a newly-discovered fulfilment of a Scriptural Prophecy.
Isaiahdistinctly infers from the wording of hisvision, concerning thesecond, and final fall of Tyrus, that theKingshould not be slain, or even be a prisoner,—but that all the rest of the Nation (except the "gleanings") should be swept away. These predictions were actually accomplished, as shewn in the previous chapter. Of the first two points, The Prophet says,—
"And it shall be, as with thepeople, so with thepriest[KING, is not mentioned]; as with the servant, so with the master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. The land shall beutterly emptied, andutterly spoiled: for theLordhath spoken this word." [xxiv.]
Now inEzekiel'sProphecy of the Siege of Tyrus by Nebuchadnezzar, he not only foretels the fall of the mainland City, but, also, of the "Prince" and "King of Tyrus." Of, and to, the impious heir-apparent he is authorized to exclaim,—
"Son of Man say unto thePrinceof Tyrus, &c. Wilt thou yet say before him thatslayeththee, 'I am a God?' but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee. Thou shalt die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers, for I have spoken it saith theLord God."
Of the reigning Monarch, Ithobalus the Second, he uttered as follows: viz.—
"Moreover the word of theLordcame unto me, saying, Son of man take up a lamentation upon theKing of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith theLord God: * * * I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before Kings that they may behold thee. * * * All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee, thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more." [xxviii.]
The two last quotations fromEzekielbelong to thefirstTyrian Siege. [485—472B. C.]Isaiahprophesied that afterthatdestruction, the remaining People should be forgotten as a Nation for 70 years,—they were so; that they should then recover their strength, and have commerce with every Country, and even Jerusalem should be benefited by their merchandise. This latter part is proved by the Judæan Prophet,Nehemiah[xxiii.], to have been fulfilled, while the former portion is firmly established by authenticated history.
If the patriotic King, Azelmic, had been ordained to die at thelastSiege of Tyrus, it is almost certain that the manner of the Prophets would have been adhered to byIsaiah, as it was subsequently byEzekiel, who mentions that both "King" and "Prince" at the first Siege should be destroyed, and they were so:—therefore, the silence ofIsaiahupon the subject of Azelmic's death, may certainly be viewed as prophetical of itsnottaking place at, or during, the final Siege;—but, rather that he should survive his country's fall,—a doom, to a pure patriot, more terrible than death. Truly to feel that curse, the reader must peruse—if the tearful eye will permit him—the Lamentations ofJeremiahupon the Destruction of Jerusalem. The same curse was endured by Azelmic.
The most sceptical upon the truths of Sacred Prophecy, will be enforced to cast their doubts aside upon contemplating the fulfilment of those byIsaiah, and especially in regard to Tyrus,—for History has recorded the fact that the King, Azelmic, was the only being not slain, or sold to slavery (with the exception stated), and even that "remnant" will be found to be contemplated byIsaiah, upon a full investigation of the great prediction. Every Christian reader, therefore, will not doubt that any portion of the entire Prophecy respecting Tyrus was fulfilled. The first two parts of this newly-applied prediction have been given,—viz., that the Metropolis should, at thesecondSiege "be utterly emptied and utterly spoiled," but thatthe King should not perish. In the next chapter, the Prophecy will be followed out to its full accomplishment, and the Refugees in the Sidonian Galleys traced to their final resting-place.
The history of Tyrus, as a nation of its own people, in Asia, ceased upon the annihilation by Alexander. He repopulated the site from the surrounding and Grecian countries, and constituted as tributary monarch the brave but unfortunate Azelmic. The Macedonian having commanded that the Statue of Apollo should be unchained from the Altar, he thereupon expressed his gratitude to the golden Idol, for having sided with him in his Conquest, by making the walls defenceless upon the day of festival! After kneeling to theStatue of the Tyrian Deity, he styled himself theFounder of Tyrus! From thence he continued his march towards Judæa, to punish the Jews for a supposed assistance to the Tyrians; but, being flattered by his reception as he approached the Capital, he at once spared the city. He then received the celebrated Prophecy ofDanielconcerning the "King of Grecia," from Jaddus, the High Priest of Jerusalem, upon whose suggestion he offered a sacrifice in The Temple to theLiving God! From the Holy-House of Judæa he entered Egypt, and worshipped Jupiter-Ammon both as Father and Deity! Such were the Religious inconsistencies of the "Macedonian Madman," and nothing but actual Insanity can reconcile such contrarieties, and cruelties, in human character.
In the Nation of the Nile he was truly the Founder of Alexandria (the name and site preserved to this day), which city in progress of time outrivalled in commercial prosperity the antecedent Capitals of Sidon, Tyrus, and Carthage,—the triple and ill-fated sisters from the Parent house of Canaan.
After his invasions and victories in India Alexander was so much the victim of flattery, that he could even deceive himself,—for it is recorded that he sighed or wept for another world to conquer!—yet his torch and war-spear were never thrown into the land of Italy,—and the gates of Rome remained unseen and untouched by the Macedonian Phalanx!
From that Circean goblet,—flattery,—when presented by Cassander, the Conqueror little dreamed thatit could contain the subtle and his deadly poison;—but the agony of his own death-struggle was but the emblem of that which he had caused millions of human beings to endure,—and whose only crime in the eyes of the invader was, that they had defended their native lands!
Why should Historians condemn an Attila or a Cortez, and yet applaud their great Original? They pass by the Tyrian Hiram or Azelmic unhonoured, yet style an Alexander,—"the Great!" One Mediator for Peace must be, in the eyes ofGod,—upon His great principle of love and good-will to all,—more acceptable at the Final Day, than all the Legions of unrepenting Conquerors of the past, the present, or the future.
The false fame of Alexander, or of Cortez will not, in the estimation of posterity, be even compared in true value with the practical disciples of Peace; who, like an Ashburton and Daniel Webster, have created a new æra in policy and civilization, and that too without tarnishing their radiant National honour,—but rather increasing its already dazzling splendour, and with it—elevating the Religious and moral dignity of humanity!
In the sacred words ofChrist, "Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called the children ofGod!"
For the continued glory and character of the British Throne, and the Curule Chair of the Anglo-Saxon Republic;—as an enviable example to posterity;—andfor the increasing Amity between the two great Nations represented by the Treaty of Washington, may that Document, founded in the highest principles of Christianity, be sealed and mottoed by the hand of GOD Himself,—ESTO PERPETUA!