OF THE

ORIGINAL CHALDAIC HISTORY,

AS TRANSMITTED BY

ABYDENUS, APOLLODORUS,

AND

ALEXANDER POLYHISTOR,

FROM

BEROSUS OF BABYLONIA.

I CANNOT proceed without taking notice of

some extracts of Babylonish history, which time has happily spared us. From what has been already said it is evident that the history of nations must commence from the æra of Babylon, as here the first kingdom was founded; and here was the great scene of action among the first born of the sons of men. The history therefore of the Babylonians and Chaldeans should be the first in order to be considered. Not that I purpose to engage in a full account of this people, but intend only to consider those extracts of which I have made mention above. The me

morials are very curious, but have been greatly mistaken and misapplied. The person to whom we are beholden for them was Berosus, a priest of Belus. He was a native of Babylonia, and lived in the time of Alexander, the son of Philip. The Grecians held him in great esteem; and he is particularly quoted by the oriental fathers, as well as by Josephus of Judea. He treated, it seems, of the origin of things, and of the formation of the earth out of chaos. He afterwards speaks of the flood, and of all mankind being destroyed, except one family, which was providentially preserved. By these was the world renewed. There is a large extract from this author, taken from the Greek of Alexander Polyhistor, and transmitted to us by Eusebius, which contains an account of these first occurrences in the world. But it seems to be taken by a person who was not well acquainted with the language in which it was supposed to be written; and has made an irregular and partial extract, rather than a genuine translation. And as Berosus lived at a time, when Babylon had been repeatedly conquered; and the inhabitants had received a mixture of many different nations: there is reason to think that the original records, of whatever nature they may have been, were much impaired; and that the natives in the time of Berosus did not perfectly understand them. I will soon present the

reader with a transcript from Polyhistor of this valuable fragment, in which he will perceive many curious traces of original truth; but at the same time will find it mixed with fable, and obscured with allegory. It has likewise suffered greatly by interpreters; and there are some mistakes in the disposition of the transcript, of which I shall hereafter take notice, and which could not be in the original.

Other authors, as well as Alexander Polyhistor, have copied from Berosus: among these is Abydenus. I will therefore begin with his account, as it is placed first in Eusebius; the tenor of it is in this manner.

"So much concerning the wisdom of the "Chaldeans. It is said that the first king of "this country was Alorus, who gave out a report that he was appointed by God to be the

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shepherd of his people. He reigned ten sari. "Now a sarus is esteemed to be three thousand "six hundred years; a nereus is reckoned six. "hundred; and a sosus sixty. After him Alaparus reigned three sari: to him succeeded "Amillarus from the city of Pantibiblus, who

2.

Eusebii Chronicon. p. 5.

2 Sometimes Pantibiblus, at other times Pantibiblon occurs for the name of the place. See Syncellus. p. 38.

"reigned thirteen sari. In his time a semidæmon "called Annedotus, in appearanee very like to "Oannes, shewed himself a second time from "the sea. After him Amenon reigned twelve "sari, who was of the city Pantibiblon. Then "Megalanus, of the same place, eighteen sari. "Then Daus, the shepherd, governed for the

space of ten sari; he was of Pantibiblon. In "his time four double-shaped personages came "out of the sea to land, whose names were "Euedocus, Eneugamus, Enaboulus, and Ane❝mentus. After Daus succeeded Anodaphus, the

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son of Aedoreschus, There were afterwards "other kings; and last of all Sisuthrus: so that, "in the whole, the number of kings amounted to "ten, and the term of their reigns to an hundred "and twenty sari." This last was the person who was warned to provide against the deluge. He accordingly built a vessel, by which means he was preserved. The history of this great event, together with the account of birds sent out by Sisouthros, in order to know if the waters were quite abated, and of their returning with their feet soiled with mud, and of the ark's finally

3 It is in the original Pansibiblon: but the true name was Pantibiblon; as may be seen by comparing this account with that of Apollodorus, which succeeds; and with the same in Syncellus.