BOOK THIRD. THE HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIANS. PLAN. This book will contain the history of the Assyrian empire, both of Nineveh and Babylon, the kingdom of the Medes. and the kingdom of the Lydians. CHAPTER I. THE FIRST EMPIRE OF THE ASSYRIANS. SECTION 1. DURATION OF THAT EMPIRE. THE Assyrian empire was undoubtedly one of the most powerful in the world. With respect to its duration, two opinions have chiefly prevailed. Some authors, as Ctesias, whose opinion is followed by Justin, give it a duration of thirteen hundred years; others reduce it to five hundred and twenty, of which number is Herodotus. The diminution, or probably the interruption of power, which happened in this vast empire, might possibly give occasion to this difference of opinion, and may perhaps serve in some measure to reconcile it. The history of those early times is so obscure, the monuments which convey it down to us so contrary to each other, and the systems of the moderns upon that matter so different, that it is difficult to lay down any opinion about it, as certain and incontestable * But, where certainty is not to be had, I suppose a reasonable person will be satisfied with probability; and, in my opinion, a man can hardly be deceived, if he makes the Assyrian empire equal in antiquity with the city of Babylon, its capital. Now we learn from the Holy Scripture, that this was built by Nimrod, who certainly was a great conqueror, and in all probability, the first and most ancient that ever aspired after that denomination. The Babylonians, as Callisthenes, a philosopher in Alexander's retinue, wrote to Aristotle, reckoned themselves to be at least of 1903 years standing, when that prince entered triumphant into Babylon; which carries their origin as far back as the year of the world 1771, that is to say, 115 years after the deluge.† This computation comes within a few years of the time we suppose Nimrod to have founded that city. Indeed this testimony of Callisthenes, as it does not agree with any other accounts of that matter, is not esteemed authentic by the learned; but the conformity we find between it and the Holy Scripture should make us regard it. Upon these grounds, I think we may allow Nimrod to have been the founder of the first Assyrian empire, which subsisted, with more or less extent and They that are curious to make deeper researches into this matter, may read the dissertations of abbé Bannier, and Mr. Freret, upon the Assyrian empire, in the Memoirs of the Academy of Belles Lettres. For the first, see Vol. III. and for the other, Vol. V. as also what father Tournemine has written upon this subject, in his edition of Menochies. Porphyr. apud Simplic. in lib. ii. de Cœlo. glory, upwards of 1450 years, from the time of Nimrod to that of Sardanapalus, the last king; that is to say, from the year of the world 1800 to the year 3257.* Nimrod. He is the same with Belus,‡ who was afterwards worshipped as a god, under that appellation. He was the son of Chus, grandson of Cham, and great-grandson of Noah. He was, says the Scripture, a mighty hunter before the Lord.§ In applying himself to this laborious and dangerous exercise, he had two things in view; the first was to gain the people's affection, by delivering them from the fury and dread of wild beasts; the next was, to train up numbers of young people, by this exercise of hunting, to endure labour and hardship, to form them to the use of arms, to inure them to a kind of discipline and obedience, that at a proper time after they had been accustomed to his orders, and habituated to arms, he might make use of them for cther purposes more serious than hunting. In ancient history we find some footsteps remaining of this artifice of Nimrod, whom the writers have confounded with Ninus, his son: for Diodorus has these words; "Ninus, the most ancient of the Assyrian kings mentioned in history, performed great actions. Being naturally of a warlike disposition, and ambitious of glory which results from valour, he armed a considerable number of young men, that were brave and vigorous like himself; trained them up a long time in laborious exercises and hardships, and by that means accustomed them to bear the fatigues of war patiently, and to face dangers with courage and intrepidity."|| What the same author adds, that Ninus entered into an alliance with the king of the Arabs, and joined forces with him, is taken from ancient tradition, which informs us, that the sons of Chus, the brothers of Nimrod, all settled themselves in Arabia, along the Persian gulf, from Havila to the ocean, and lived near enough their brother to lend him succours, or to receive them from him. And what the same historian further says of Ninus, that he was the first king of the Assyrians, agrees exactly with what the Scripture says of Nimrod, that he began to be mighty upon the earth; that is, he procured himself settlements, built cities, subdued his neighbours, united different people under one and the same authority, by the band of the same polity and the same laws, and formed them into one state, which for those early times was of a considerable extent, though bounded by the rivers Euphrates and Tigris; and which in succeeding ages made new acquisitions by degrees, and at length extended its conquests very far. T The capital city of his kingdom, says the Scripture, was Babylon.** Most of the profane historians ascribe the founding of Babylon to Semiramis,†† the rest to Belus. It is evident that both the one and the other are mistaken, if they speak of the first founding of that city; for it owes its beginning neither to Semiramis, nor to Nimrod, but to the foolish vanity of those persons mentioned in Scripture, who desired to build a tower and a city, that should render their memory immortal. Josephus relates, upon the testimony of a Sibyl, which must have been very ancient, and whose fictions cannot be imputed to the indiscreet zeal of any Christains, that the gods threw down the tower by an impetuous wind, or a violent hurricane.§§ Had this been the case, Nimrod's temerity must have been still the greater, to rebuild a city and a tower, which God himself had overthrown with such marks of his displeasure. But the Scripture says no such thing; and it is very probable the building remained in the condition it was when God put an end to the work by the confusion of languages; and that *Here I depart from the opinion of Bishop Usher, my ordinary guide, with respect to the duration of the Assyrian empire, which he supposes, with Herodotus, to have lasted but 520 years; but the time when Nimrod lived, and Sardanapalus died, I take from him. †A. M. 1800. Ant. J. C. 2204. tt Semiramis eam condiderat, vel, ut plerique tradidere, Belus, cujus regia ostenditur.-Q. Curt. I. v. c. L Lib. ii. p. 90. ‡‡ Gen. xi. 4. Belus, or Baal, signifies Lord. ¡ Gen. x. 9. **Gen. x. 10. Hist. Jud. 1. i. c. 4. the tower consecrated to Belus, which is described by Herodotus,* was this very tower which the sons of men pretended to raise to the clouds. It is also probable, that this ridiculous design being defeated by such an astonishing prodigy as none could be the author of but God himself, every body abandoned the place which had given him offence; and that Nimrod was the first who encompassed it afterwards with walls, settled therein his friends and confederates, and subdued those that lived round about it, beginning his empire in that place, but not confining it to so narrow a compass; Fuit principium regni ejus Babylon. The other cities which the Scripture speaks of in the same place, were in the land of Shinar, which was certainly the province of which Babylon became the metropolis. From this country he went into that which has the name of Assyria, and there built Nineveh: De terra illa egressus est Assur, et ædificavit Nineven. This is the sense in which many learned men understand the word Assur, looking upon it as the name of a province, and not of the first man who possessed it; as if it were, egressus est in Assur, in Assyriam. And this seems to be the most natural construction, for many reasons not neccessary to be recited in this place. The country of Assyria, in one of the prophets, † is described by the particular character of being the land of Nimrod: Et pascent terram Assur in gladio, et terram Nimrod in lanceis ejus; et liberabit ab Assur, cum venerit in terram nostram. It derived its name from Assur the son of Shem, who without doubt had settled himself and family there, and was probably driven out, or brought under subjection, by the usurper Nimrod. This conqueror, having possessed himself of the provinces of Assur,§ did not ravage them, like a tyrant, but filled them with cities, and made himself as much beloved by his new subjects as he was by his old ones; so that the historians, who have not sufficiently examined this affair, have thought that he made use of the Assyrians to conquer the Babylonians. Among other cities, he built one larger and more magnificent than the rest, which he called Nineveh, from the name of his son Ninus, in order to immortalize his memory. The son, in his turn, out of veneration for his father, was willing that they who had served him as their king should adore him as their god, and induce other nations to render him the same worship. For it appears plainly, that Nimrod is the famous Belus of the Babylonians, the first king whom the people deified for his great actions, and who showed others the way to that sort of immortality which may result from human accomplishments. I intend to speak of the mighty strength and greatness of the cities of Babylon and Nineveh, under the kings to whom their building is ascribed by profane authors, because the Scripture says little or nothing on that subject. This silence of Scripture, so little satisfactory to our curiosity, may become an instructive lesson for our piety. The holy penman has placed Nimrod and Abraham, as it were, in one view before us; and seems to have put them so near together, on purpose that we should see an example in the former, of what is admired and coveted by men; and in the latter, of what is acceptable and well-pleasing to God. T These two persons, so unlike each other, are the two first and chief citizens of two different cities, built from different motives, and with different principles, the one, self-love, and a desire of temporal advantages, carried even to the contemning of the Deity; the other, the love of God, even to self humiliation. NINUS. I have already observed, that most of the profane authors look upon him as the first founder of the Assyrian empire, and for that reason ascribe to him a great part of his father Nimrod's or Belus's actions. Having a design to enlarge his conquests, the first thing he did was to pre pare troops and officers capable of promoting his designs. And having received † Gen. x. 11. Mic. v. 6. Gen. x. 11, 12. * Lib. i. c. 181. Diod. l. ii. p. 90 T Fecerunt civitates quas amores duo: terrenam scilicet amor sui usque ad contemptum Dei; cœlestem vero amor Dei usque ad contemptum sui-St. Aug. de Civ. Dei. lib. xiv. c. 28 VOL. I. 18 |