extended region — the principal scene of the world's history for thousands of years—is drained by two great rivers, the Euphrates and the Tigris, which rise among the snow-capped mountains of Armenia. Though now a desolate and arid region, the home of Arabian nomads, it once blossomed as "the garden of the Lord." Its natural fertility was increased by a vast system of irrigation, which carried the fruitful waters of the Euphrates and the Tigris to distant parts of the lowland plains. Traces of the great irrigating canals, some of which are named in the Scriptures, are still discernible, while the lofty mounds, which rise in every direction and conceal the ruins of once splendid temples and palaces, bear melancholy testimony to the former wealth and grandeur of the country. In the southeast lay the district of Chaldea; farther to the north was Babylonia; and northeast of the Tigris stretched Assyria. To the east of these districts, each of which was successively the seat of a monarchy, lay Elam, Media, and Persia. All these countries were more or less intimately associated with Hebrew history. Chaldea. The southeastern part of the Mesopotamian region, called in Genesis "the land of Shinar," was probably the cradle of human civilization. Though the beginnings are lost in the darkness of antiquity, authentic records, as carved on palace and temple walls, take us back some five or six thousand years before the Christian era. In the tenth chapter of Genesis, with its remarkable ethnological traditions, Nimrod is made the founder of "Babylon, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar"; and the language of the inscriptions in the most ancient parts of the ruins shows that the original occupants of the territory were not of Semitic origin. Various Dynasties. The earliest glimpses we get of Chaldean history, as derived from explorations, reveal to us the rivalries of neighboring cities and petty kings. A parallel is found in the condition of Canaan at the time of the Israelitish invasion. The tablets and monuments recently exhumed at Telloh, Nippur, and Mugheir acquaint us with various dynasties that had their capitals in these and adjacent cities. Sargon I. (about 3800 B.C.) was a great conqueror, and ultimately extended his empire from Elam to the Mediterranean. He had a worthy successor in his son Naram-Sin, who in the proud consciousness of his power assumed the title of "king of the four quarters of the world." The city of Ur, called in Genesis "Ur of the Chaldees" and interesting as the birthplace of Abraham, was at intervals the centre of three dynasties.1 Ur-gur, whose reign is placed 3200 B.C., a thousand years or more before the migration of Abraham to Canaan, was famous as a builder of temples, among which was a pyramidal structure at Nippur. Hammurabi (2250 B.C.).—In the fourteenth chapter of Genesis there is a brief account of a war between four kings of the east with five kings of the west. It was not the first time, as we have seen, that monarchs of lower Mesopotamia had extended their arms toward the Mediterranean. The most important of these allied invading kings was "Amraphel, King of Shinar," who has been identified with Hammurabi. He reigned at Babylon 1 "Great as is the place which Babylon has occupied in the world's history beyond all the cities in the land of Shinar, its glory in those far-back ́times was eclipsed by the famous city of Ur. Its very name, signifying city, marks its preeminence. It was a great emporium of trade: the ships of Ur brought the products of southern Arabia to Babylonia, and, it may be, even traded with the land of Egypt."-THOMAS NICOL, “Recent Archæology and the Bible," p. 112. about 2250 B.C.; and his martial prowess extended his dominion in all directions. Code of Laws. Hammurabi was not only a victorious warrior, but also a beneficent ruler. His code of laws, discovered at Susa in 1902, throws an interesting light on the social conditions of Chaldea in the age of Abraham, the progenitor of the Hebrew people. It is inscribed on a pillar of black diorite nearly eight feet high. The prologue to the code reveals the upright spirit in which Hammurabi wished to rule. He recognized a divine call "to cause justice to prevail in the land, to destroy the wicked, and the evil, to prevent the strong from oppressing the weak, to enlighten the land, and to further the welfare of the people." This code, which consists of two hundred and eighty-two paragraphs, shows an elaborate social organization. Besides miscellaneous laws, it contains sections relating to the treatment of slaves, to leasing and tillage, the management of irrigating canals, commercial transactions, and divorce and inheritance. Throughout the code the sense of responsibility and justice is made very prominent. The general character of the code makes good the king's claim that he desired to be "like a father to his subjects." - The Assyrian Monarchy. As stated in the tenth chapter of Genesis, Assyria was first colonized by emigrants from Babylon. When the migration took place, it is impossible to say, but the city of Nineveh was already in existence 3000 B.C. The relations existing between Assyria and the mother-country were always intimate. Their language and culture were substantially the same; and for the greater part of their history, they were politically united. At first Assyria was naturally a dependency; but it gradually grew in population and political power, and about 1290 B.C. its king, Tukulti-Ninib I., invaded Chaldea, captured Babylon, and reduced that early and powerful monarchy to a tributary relation. The capitals of Assyria were at different times Asshur, Calah, and Nineveh, all of which were adorned with magnificent temples and palaces. In the Old Testament Nineveh is described as "an exceeding great city of three days' journey." We have a tolerably complete list of Assyrian kings from about 1800 B.C. to the fall of the empire in 606 B.C., and ample means to recognize the high state of civilization to which the empire attained. Tiglathpilezer I. (1120 B.C.). — One of the most vigorous of Assyrian monarchs was Tiglath pilezer I., who reigned about 1120 B.C. He extended his empire abroad, and as a wise ruler developed its strength at home. He carried on many campaigns of conquest. In one great battle on the confines of Asia Minor he is said to have defeated twenty-five kings. On a prism found at Calah Tiglathpilezer I. proudly enumerates his conquests. "In all," he says, "forty-two countries and their kings from the Lower Zab and the border of the distant mountains to beyond the Euphrates and to the land of the Hittites and the Upper Sea of the setting sun [Black Sea], from the beginning of my sovereignty until my fifth year my hand has conquered." It is thus seen that he fixed the wide limits of the Assyrian empire about the time the judges were ruling in Israel. Later History. From the ninth century before our era the western campaigns of Assyrian conquerors, who came in contact with Israel and Judah, are frequently mentioned in the second book of Kings. Asshurnazirpal III. (885-867 B.C.), who carried his victorious arms 1 Jonah 3:3. in all directions, conquered Tyre and Sidon in Phoenicia, and probably overran Palestine. He was vindictive and cruel; and in describing the capture of Bit-Uru, he affords us a glimpse of the barbarities frequently practised in war in those distant ages. "My warriors," he says, "fell upon the city like vultures. I took the citadel, put eight hundred men to the sword, and cut off their heads. I made a mound with their corpses before the city gate; the prisoners were beheaded, and I put seven hundred of them to the cross. The city was pillaged and destroyed; I transformed it into a heap of ruins." Conquest of Israel. His successor, Shalmaneser II. (858-824 B.C.), compelled Jehu, King of Israel, to pay tribute. On a black obelisk containing the story of Shalmaneser's wars, the payment of this tribute is depicted in an interesting bas-relief. Tiglathpilezer III. (745-727 B.C.) received tribute from Menahem, King of Israel, and later from Ahaz, King of Judah, whom he supported against a hostile alliance of northern Syria. A few years later Hoshea, King of Israel, who had formed an alliance with Shabak of Egypt, refused further tribute to Assyria. Accordingly his territory was invaded by a formidable army. After a siege of three years Samaria was captured by Sargon II. (722-705 B.C.), who, according to a common custom, " carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor, on the river Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes."1 The captives were replaced in the land of Israel by settlers from the eastern part of the Assyrian empire. Sennacherib (705-681 B.C.). - The empire of Assyria was now at the zenith of its power. Sennacherib, the son of Sargon II., was a great builder and great warrior. His 1 2 Kings 17:.6. |