MILITARY SYSTEM OF THE ASSYRIANS. — MAGNITUDE OF THEIR ARMIES. — THEIR POMP. — SIEGES. — THE BATTERING-RAM AND OTHER ENGINES OF WAR. MODE OF DEFENCE. — SCALING THE WALLS. SACK OF A CITY. — TREATMENT OF THE CAPTIVES AND OF THE CITY. KNOWLEDGE OF SHIP-BUILDING. — EARLIEST VESSELS. — LATER VESSELS, AS REPRESENTED AT KHORSABAD AND KOUYUNJIK. — ENEMIES OF THE ASSYRIANS — DISTINGUISHED BY THEIR DRESS. — ARMENIANS AND PARTHIANS OR PERSIANS. CAPTIVES AND TRIBUTE FROM INDIA. — THE ARABS. — THE JEWS. THE BABYLONIANS. THE PHŒNICIANS. NORTHERN NATIONS. — IDENTIFICATION OF ENEMIES OF THE ASSYRIANS WITH THOSE OF THE EGYPTIANS.

As the Assyrians possessed disciplined and organised troops, it is probable that they were also acquainted, to a certain extent, with military tactics, and that their battles were fought upon some kind of system. We know that such was the case with the Egyptians; and their monuments show that amongst their enemies, also, there were nations not unacquainted with the military science. They had bodies of troops in reserve; they advanced and retreated in rank, and performed various manoeuvres. Although, in the Assyrian sculptures, we have no attempt at an actual representation of the general plan of a battle, as in some Egyptian bas-reliefs, yet, from the order in which the soldiers are drawn up before the castle walls, and from the phalanx which they then appear to form, it seems highly probable that similar means were adopted to resist the assaults of the enemy in the open field.

The king himself, attended by his vizir, his eunuchs, and principal officers of state, was present in battle, and not only commanded, but took an active part in the affray. Even Sardanapalus, when called upon to place himself at the head of his armies to meet the invading Medes, showed a courage equal to the occasion, and repulsed his enemies. Like the Persian monarchs who succeeded him in the dominion of Asia, the Assyrian king was accompanied to the war, however distant its seat might be, by his wives, his concubines, and his children, and by an enormous retinue of servants. Even his nobles were similarly attended. Their couches were of gold and silver, and the hangings of the richest materials. Vessels of the same precious metals were used at their tables; their tents were made of the most costly stuffs, and were even adorned with precious stones.¹ They were also accompanied by musicians, who are represented in the sculptures as walking before the warriors, on their triumphant return from battle.

The army was followed by a crowd of sutlers, servants, and grooms; who, whilst adding to its bulk, acted as an impediment upon its movements, and carried ruin and desolation into the countries through which it passed. This multitude could not ever depend entirely for supplies upon the inhabitants, whom they unmercifully pillaged; but provisions in great abundance, as well as live stock, were carried with them. Holofernes, in marching from Nineveh with his army, took with him " camels and asses for their carriage, a very great number, and sheep, and oxen, and goats without number for their provision; and plenty of victuals for every man."²

Quintus Curtius³ thus describes the march of a Persian army: — The signal was given from the tent of the king, on the top of which, so as to be seen by all, was placed an image of the sun, in crystal. The holy fire was borne on altars of silver, surrounded by the priests chanting their sacred hymns. They were followed by three hundred and sixty-five youths, according to the number of the days in the year, dressed in purple garments. The chariot, dedicated to the supreme deity (Jovi), or to the sun, was drawn by snow-white horses, led by grooms wearing white garments, and carrying golden wands. The horse especially consecrated to the sun was chosen from its size.⁴ It was followed by ten chariots, embossed with gold and silver, and by the cavalry of twelve nations, dressed in their various costumes, and carrying their peculiar arms. Then came the Persian immortals, ten thousand in number, adorned with golden chains, and wearing robes embroidered with gold, with long-sleeved tunics, all glittering with precious stones. At a short interval fifteen thousand nobles, who bore the honourable title of relations of the king, walked in garments which, in magnificence and luxury, more resembled those of women than of men. The doryphori (a chosen company of spearmen) preceded the chariot in which the king himself sat, high above the surrounding multitude. On either side of this chariot were the effigies of the gods in gold and silver. The yoke was inlaid with the rarest jewels. From it projected two golden figures of Ninus⁵ and Belus, each a cubit in length. A golden eagle with outspread wings was placed between them. The king was distinguished, from all those who surrounded him, by the magnificence of his robes, and by the cidaris, or mitre, upon his head. By his side walked two hundred of the most noble of his relations. Ten thousand warriors, bearing spears, whose staffs were of silver and heads of gold, followed the royal chariot. The king's led horses, forty in number, and thirty thousand footmen, concluded the procession. At the distance of one stadium, followed the mother and wife of the king, in chariots. A crowd of women, the handmaidens and ladies of the queens, accompanied them on horseback. Fifteen cars, called armamaxa?, carried the children of the king, their tutors and nurses, and the eunuchs. The king's three hundred and sixty concubines, who accompanied him, were adorned with royal splendour. Six hundred mules, and three hundred camels bore the royal treasury, guarded by the archers. The friends and relations of the ladies were mingled with a crowd of cooks, and servants of all kinds. The procession was closed by the light-armed troops.

The armies were provided with the engines, and materials necessary for the siege of the cities they might meet with, in their expedition. If any natural obstructions impeded the approach to a castle, such as a forest or a river, they were, if possible, removed. Rivers were turned out of their courses if they impeded the operations of the army⁶; and warriors are frequently represented in the sculptures, cutting down trees which surround a hostile city.

The first step, on attacking a hostile city, was probably to advance the battering-ram. If the castle was built, as in the plains of Assyria and Babylonia, upon an artificial eminence, an inclined plane, reaching to the summit of the mound, was formed of earth, stones, or trees, and the besiegers were then able to bring their engines to the foot of the walls. This road was not unfrequently covered with bricks, forming a kind of paved way, up which the ponderous machines could be drawn without much difficulty.

This mode of reaching the walls of a city is frequently alluded to by the prophets, and is described by Isaiah: — "Thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it."⁷ Similar approaches were used by the Egyptians.⁸ They not only enabled the besiegers to push their battering-rams up to the castle, but at the same time to escalade the walls, the summit of which might otherwise have been beyond the reach of their ladders.

The battering-rams were of several kinds. Some were joined to moveable towers which held warriors and armed men. The whole then formed one great temporary building, the top of which is represented in the sculptures as on a level with the walls, and even turrets, of the besieged city. In some bas-reliefs the battering-ram is without wheels; it was then perhaps constructed on the spot, and was not intended to be moved. The moveable tower was probably

sometimes unprovided with the ram; but I have not met with it so represented in the sculptures. When Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, besieged Jerusalem, he "built forts against it round about."⁹ These forts or towers, if stationary, were solidly constructed of wood; if moveable, they consisted of a light frame covered with wicker-work. The Jews were forbidden to cut down and employ, for this purpose, trees which afforded sustenance to man. " Only the trees which thou knowest that they be not trees for meat, thou shalt destroy and cut them down: and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee until it be subdued."¹⁰

When the machine containing the battering-ram was a simple frame-work, and did not form an artificial tower, a cloth or some kind of drapery, edged with fringes, and otherwise ornamented, appears to have been occasionally thrown over it. Sometimes it may have been covered with hides. It moved either on four, or on six wheels, and was provided with one ram or with two. The mode of working the rams cannot be determined from the Assyrian sculptures. It may be presumed, from the representations in the bas-reliefs, that they were partly suspended by a rope fastened to the outside of the machine, and that men directed and impelled them from within. Such was the plan adopted by the Egyptians, in whose paintings the warriors, working the ram, may be seen through the frame.¹¹

Sometimes this engine was ornamented by a carved or painted figure of the presiding divinity, kneeling on one knee and drawing a bow.¹²

The artificial tower was usually occupied by two warriors; one discharged his arrows against the besieged, whom he was able from his lofty position to harass more effectually than if he had been below; the other held up a shield for his companion's defence. Warriors are not unfrequently represented as stepping from the machine to the battlements.

Ezekiel alludes to all these modes of attack. "Lay siege against it," he exclaims, speaking of the city of Jerusalem, "and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set battering-rams against it round about."¹³

Archers on the walls hurled stones from slings, and discharged their arrows against the warriors in the artificial towers; whilst the rest of the besieged were no less active in endeavouring to frustrate the attempts of the assailants to make breaches in their walls. By dropping a doubled chain or rope from the battlements, they caught the ram, and could either destroy its efficacy altogether, or break the force of its blows. Those below, however, by placing hooks over the engine, and throwing their whole weight upon them, struggled to retain it in its place.¹⁴

The besieged, if unable to displace the battering-ram, sought to destroy it by fire, and threw lighted torches, or fire-brands, upon it. But water was poured upon the flames, through pipes attached to the artificial tower.

Other engines and instruments of war were employed by the besiegers. With a kind of catapult, apparently consisting of a light wooden frame covered with canvass or hides, they threw large stones and darts against the besieged, who, in their turn, endeavoured to set fire to it by torches. A long staff with an iron head, resembling a spear, was used to force the stones out of the walls. Mines were also opened, and the assailants sought to enter the castle through concealed passages.¹⁵ Those who worked at them or advanced to the attack were perhaps protected by the testudo, as represented in the Egyptian paintings; but this defence is not seen in the Assyrian sculptures.

Attempts were made to set fire to the gates of the city by placing torches against them¹⁶, or to break them open with axes.

Mounting to the assault by ladders was constantly practised, and appears to have been the most general mode of attacking a castle; for ladders are found on those bas-reliefs, in which neither the battering-ram nor other engines are introduced.¹⁷ They reached to the top of the battlements, and several persons could ascend them at the same time. Whilst warriors, armed with the sword and spear, scaled the walls, archers posted at the foot of the ladders kept the enemy in check, and drove them from the walls.

The troops of the besieging army were ranged in ranks below. The king was frequently present during the attack. Descending from his chariot, which remained stationary at a short distance behind him, he discharged his arrows against the enemy. He was attended by his shield-bearer, and eunuchs, one of whom generally held over him the emblem of royalty, the umbrella, whilst the others bore his arms. He is sometimes represented in his chariot, superintending the operations, or repulsing a sally. Warriors of high rank likewise came in chariots, accompanied by their shield-bearers and charioteers.¹⁸ The vizir and the chief of the eunuchs are frequently seen in the midst of the combatants.

The besieging warriors were protected, as I have already mentioned, by large shields of wicker-work, sometimes covered with hides, which concealed the entire person. Three men frequently formed a group; one held the shield, a second drew the bow, and a third stood ready with a sword to defend the archer and shield-bearer, in case the enemy should sally from the castle.

The besieged manned the battlements with archers and slingers, who discharged their missiles against the assailants. Large stones and hot water were also thrown upon those below.¹⁹

When the battering-ram had made a breach, and the assault had commenced, the women appeared upon the walls; and, tearing their hair or stretching out their hands, entreated for mercy. The men are not unfrequently represented as joining in asking for quarter. When the assailants were once masters of the place, an indiscriminate slaughter appears to have succeeded, and the city was generally given over to the flames. In the bas-reliefs warriors are seen decapitating the conquered, and plunging swords or daggers into their hearts, holding them by the hair of their heads. The prisoners were either impaled and subjected to horrible torments, or carried away as slaves. The manner of impaling adopted by the Assyrians, appears to have differed from that still in use in the East. A stake was driven into the body immediately under the ribs,²⁰ In a bas-relief discovered at Khorsabad, a man was represented flaying a prisoner with a semicircular knife.²¹

The women, children, and cattle were led away by the conquerors; and that it was frequently the custom of the Assyrians to remove the whole population of the conquered country to some distant part of their dominions, and to replace it by colonies of their own, we learn from the treatment of the people of Samaria.²² Eunuchs and scribes were appointed to take an inventory of the spoil. They appear to have stood near the gates, and wrote down with a pen, probably upon rolls of leather, the number of prisoners, sheep, and oxen, and the amount of the booty, which issued from the city. The women were sometimes taken away in bullock-carts, and are usually seen in the bas-reliefs bearing a part of their property with them — either a vase or a sack, perhaps filled with household stuff. They were sometimes accompanied by their children, and are generally represented as tearing their hair, throwing dust upon their heads, and bewailing their lot.

After the city had been taken, a throne for the king appears to have been placed in some conspicuous spot, within the walls. He is represented in the sculptures as sitting upon it, attended by his eunuchs and principal officers, and receiving the prisoners brought bound into his presence. The chiefs prostrate themselves before him, whilst he places his foot upon their necks, as Joshua commanded the captains of Israel to put their feet upon the necks of the captive kings.²³ This custom long prevailed in the East. In the rock-sculpture of Behistun, Darius is seen with his foot upon the neck of Gomates, the rebellious Magian, who declared himself to be Bartius, the son of Cyrus.²⁴ When inferior prisoners were captured, their hands were tied behind, or their arms and feet were bound by iron manacles,²⁵

They were urged onwards by blows from the spears, or swords, of the warriors to whom they were intrusted. In a bas-relief from Khorsabad, captives are led before the king by a rope fastened to rings passed through the lip and nose.²⁶

In the sculptures of Khorsabad, and Kouyunjik, captives are seen bringing small models of their cities to the victorious king, as a token of their subjection. Similar models are borne in triumphal processions.

The heads of the slain were generally collected, and brought either to the king or to an officer, who took account of their number.²⁷ This mode of reckoning the loss of the enemy was long resorted to in the East.

As soon as the soldiers entered the captured city, they began to plunder, and then hurried away with the spoil. They led off the horses, carried forth on their shoulders furniture, and vessels of gold, silver, and other metals; and made prisoners of the inhabitants, who, probably, became the property of those who seized them.

The Assyrian warriors are seen in the sculptures bearing away in triumph the idols of the conquered nations, or breaking them into pieces, weighing them in scales, and dividing the fragments.²⁸ Thus Hosea prophesied that the calf, the idol of Samaria, should be carried away by the Assyrians.²⁹

When the city had been sacked, it was usually given up to the flames, and utterly destroyed. The surrounding country was also laid waste, ³⁰ If it had been a capital — a place of strength and renown — it was seldom rebuilt on the same spot; which was avoided, as unfortunate, by those who survived the catastrophe and returned to the ruins.

Ezekiel, in prophesying the destruction of Tyre by Nebuchadrezzar, has faithfully recorded the events of a siege, and the treatment of the conquered people. His description illustrates the bas-reliefs of Nimroud: —

"Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people. He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee. And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers. By reason of the abundance of his horses, their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach. With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground. And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones, and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water."³¹

Although the Assyrians were properly an inland people, yet their conquests and expeditions, particularly at a later period, brought them into contact with maritime nations. We consequently find, on the monuments of Khorsabad and Kouyunjik, frequent representations of naval engagements and operations on the sea-coast. In the most ancient palace of Nimroud, only bas-reliefs with a river have been discovered; they furnish us, however, with the forms of vessels, evidently of Assyrian construction — all those in the sculptures of Khorsabad and Kouyunjik belonging probably to allies or to the enemy. It may be presumed that the rivers navigated by the early Assyrians, and represented in their bas-reliefs, were the Tigris, Euphrates, and Khabour.

Herodotus thus describes the Babylonian vessels of a later period: " The boats used by those who come to the city (Babylon) are of a circular form, and made of skins. They are constructed in Armenia, in the parts above Assyria. The ribs of the vessels are formed of willow boughs and branches, and covered externally with skins. They are round like a shield, there being no distinction between the head and stern. They line the bottoms of their boats with reeds (or straw), and, taking on board merchandise, principally palm wine (or rather spirits extracted from the date), float down the stream. The boats have two oars, one man to each: one pulls to him, the other pushes from him. These vessels are of different dimensions; some of them are so large that they bear freight to the value of 5000 talents. The smaller have one ass on board; the larger, several. On their arrival at Babylon the boatmen dispose of their goods, and also offer for sale the ribs and the reeds (or straw). They then load their asses with the skins, and return with them to Armenia, where they construct new vessels."³²

I was, at one time, inclined to believe that the description of Herodotus applied to the rafts still constructed on the rivers of Mesopotamia, and used, it will be remembered, for the conveyance of the sculptures from Nimroud to Busrah.³³ The materials of which they are made are precisely those mentioned by the Greek historian, and they are still disposed of, at Baghdad, in the same way as they were in his day at Babylon. But the boats which excited the wonder of Herodotus seem to have been more solidly built, and were capable of bearing animals, to which purpose the rafts" now in use could not be applied. They were probably more like the circular vessels now used at Baghdad, built of boughs, and sometimes covered with skins, over which bitumen is smeared, to render the whole waterproof. The boats commonly employed for the conveyance of goods and animals, on the lower part of the Tigris and Euphrates, and for ferries on all parts of those rivers, are constructed of planks of poplar wood, rudely joined together by iron nails or wooden pins, and coated with bitumen.

In a bas-relief from the most ancient palace of Nimroud, two kinds of boats are introduced. The larger vessel contains the king in his chariot, with his attendants and eunuchs. It is both impelled by oars, and is towed by men. The smaller resembles that described by Herodotus. The head does not differ in form from the stern, and two men sit face to face at the oars.

In this bas-relief are also represented men supporting themselves upon inflated skins, — a manner of crossing rivers still generally practised in Mesopotamia.

The larger boats were steered by a long oar; to the end of which was fastened a square or oval board. This oar was held in its place by a rope, fastened to a wooden piri at the stern. By this contrivance, the steersman had considerable control over the vessel, and could impel it, or turn the head at pleasure. This mode of steering, and propelling boats, still prevails on the Mesopotamian rivers.

It may be presumed, that the Assyrians soon acquired a more intimate acquaintance with the art of ship-building, than is displayed by these rude vessels; although they may not have put their knowledge in practice on the rivers. A tradition has even assigned the invention of ships to Semiramis.³⁴ In a bas-relief, from the centre palace of Nimroud, vessels were represented with a mast, and with a carved prow and stern, both ornamented with the head of an animal or bird, probably in metal.³⁵ They were also impelled by oars; and from the relative size between them and the figures, they do not appear to have been larger than the rude boats of the earlier monuments. The mast was retained in its position by two ropes. The oars were long, and the blade projected at an angle with the handle. They were probably used like paddles, which they resemble, indeed, in form. Although these ships were near a castle, from the fish and marine monsters in the water, it would appear that the sea, and not a river, was represented.

The vessels of the Khorsabad sculptures, show a considerable advance in the knowledge of shipbuilding. That they did not belong to the Assyrians, but to some allied nation, appears to be indicated by the peculiar costume of the figures in them.³⁶ The form of the vessel is not inelegant: it is that of a sea monster — the prow being in the shape of the head of a horse, and the stern in that of the tail of a fish. Several men stand at the oars. The mast, supported by two ropes, appears to be surmounted by a box, or what is technically called a crow's nest; which, in the galleys of the Egyptians, frequently held an archer.

From the nature of the animals and fish swarming in the water round the vessels, the Khorsabad bas-reliefs evidently represent an event on the sea, and not on a river. A castle stands on the shore, and the ships are employed in bringing planks, and beams of wood, to form an artificial approach, by which the besiegers may reach the walls. Some of these planks are dragged, at the stern of the vessels, by ropes; others are on deck. In the sea is seen a figure with the human form to the waist, and with the tail of a fish. The horned cap connects it with the sacred emblems of the Assyrian sculptures, and we may, probably, recognise in it Cannes, or the Chakæan sea god.³⁷

But it was in the sculptures of Kouyunjik, that vessels were found represented in the greatest perfection. From their position, in the bas-reliefs, with reference to the besieging army, it would appear that they did not belong to the Assyrians themselves; but to a people with whom they were at war, and whom they appear to have conquered. That the event recorded occurred on the sea, and not on a river, was shown by the nature of the fish and marine animals; such as the star or jelly fish, and a kind of shark, introduced into the sculpture. A castle stood on the shore; and the inhabitants, attacked on the land side, were deserting their city, and taking refuge in their vessels.

The larger galleys of these bas-reliefs were of peculiar form, and may, I think, be identified with the vessels used to a comparatively late period, by the inhabitants of the great maritime cities of the Syrian coast — by the people of Tyre and Sidon. Their height out of the water, when compared with the depth of keel, was very considerable. The forepart rose perpendicularly from a low sharp prow, which resembled a plough-share, and being of iron or some other metal, may have been intended, like that of the Roman galley, to sink or disable the enemy's ships. The stern was curved from the keel, and rose high above the upper deck. There were two tiers of rowers; but whether they were divided by a deck, or merely sat upon benches placed at different elevations in the hold, does not appear from the sculptures. Above the rowers was a deck, on which stood the armed men. These vessels had only one mast, to the top of which was attached a very long yard, held by ropes. In the sculptures, the sails were represented as furled. The number of rowers in the bas-reliefs was generally eight on a side. Only the heads of the upper tier of men were visible; the lower tier was completely concealed, the oars passing through small apertures, or port-holes, in the sides of the vessel.

These galleys nearly resemble in form the vessels represented on certain coins of ancient date; which, although not yet satisfactorily classed, evidently belong to the period of the Persian supremacy in Asia. This may be inferred by their having on one side the effigy of the king in his chariot, attended by his charioteer, as found on darics and on cylinders undoubtedly Persian.

These coins, which are rare, have been discovered both in Babylonia and on the coasts of Cilicia and Syria³⁸, and were probably struck by the cities on the shores of the Mediterranean during their subjection to Persia. There are many peculiarities in the figures, groups, and inscriptions upon them, to connect them with other coins of the same class, generally known as " the uncertain of Cilicia; "all of which may perhaps be assigned to cities of PhcBnician origin, either in Asia Minor, Syria, or Cyprus.³⁹ The mere fact of these coins having been occasionally found on the banks of the Euphrates, is not sufficient to prove that they were coined in Babylon, of which city we have no ancient money.

The galleys, both on these coins and in the Kouyunjik bas-reliefs, are further identified with the vessels of the Syrian coasts, by the coins of Sidon of a later period, which bear on one side a galley similarly constructed, and on the other the head of an Assyrian goddess.

The castles of the maritime people, whose conquest is recorded by the Kouyunjik bas-reliefs, are distinguished by the shields hung round the walls. This peculiarity appears to illustrate a passage in Ezekiel concerning Tyre: " The men of Arvad with thine army were upon the walls round about, and the Gammadims were in thy towers: they hanged their shields upon thy watts round about"⁴⁰ We have no other allusion to this custom in holy writ; and its particular mention in connection with Tyre, may perhaps be considered a further proof in favour of the identification of the event, recorded by the sculptures, with a siege and capture of that city.

Around the sides of the vessels were also suspended the shields of the warriors; and a similar custom appears to have prevailed amongst other nations in the infancy of the art of ship-building.⁴¹

The Tyrian vessels were constructed of the most costly materials. The sails were of " fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt; " and the ornaments were of " blue and purple from the isles of Elisha." The benches were of ivory, and, it will be remarked, were made by Assyrian workmen, of whose skill we have full proof in the beautiful carvings from Nimroud. The oars were of the wood of the oaks of Bashan, the planks of fir-trees from the mountain of Senir, and the masts of cedar of Lebanon. The people of Zidon and Arvad were employed as mariners, and the management and sailing of the ship were confided to the pilots of Tyre, who, through long experience, were well versed in the art of navigation, and were consequently looked upon as "the wise men " in a city of sailors and merchants.⁴² In these vessels the Phoenicians coasted along the shores of the Mediterranean, and carried on an active commerce with very distant nations; establishing their colonies, and diffusing far and wide their civilisation, their arts, and their language.

Besides the vessel I have described, a smaller is represented in the same bas-reliefs. It has also a double tier of rowers; but the head and stern are differently constructed from those of the larger galley, both being of the same shape, and not to be distinguished. They rise high above the water, and are flat at the top, with a beak projecting outwards. This vessel had no mast, and was impelled entirely by oars. On the upper deck. are seen warriors armed with spears, and women.

It is impossible to determine, from the sculptures, the size of the vessels; as the relative proportions between them, and the figures they contain, are not preserved. It is most probable that the four rowers in each tier are merely a conventional number; and we cannot, therefore, conjecture the length of the ship from them.

No representations of naval engagements, as on the monuments of Egypt, have yet been discovered in the Assyrian sculptures. It is most probable that, not being a maritime people, the Assyrians made use of the fleets of their allies in their expeditions by sea; as the Persians did afterwards, furnishing warriors to man the ships.

The bas-reliefs hitherto discovered in Assyria, principally record the wars and triumphs of the Assyrians, and represent their achievements in battle. Their enemies, therefore, are frequently portrayed in them. On the earlier monuments the conquered are marked by two distinct costumes. In the series of sculptures, forming the southern side of the great hall in the north-west palace⁴³, they are principally distinguished by the absence of helmets and armour. A simple fillet, or band, binds their temples, and in no instance have they any other head-dress. Their long hair, and beards, are less carefully and elaborately arranged than those of the Assyrians; but this distinction may be attributed to the malice of the sculptor, who appears to have wilfully disfigured the pictures of the enemies of his nation, or at least to have bestowed less care upon them than upon those of his own people. They wore short tunics, descending to the knee. Their sandals were peculiar, formed apparently by a number of straps, or crossbars, from the instep to the sole of the foot. They used the same arms as the Assyrians, with the addition of the sling — a weapon which is not seen in the hands of the conquerors in the most ancient bas-reliefs. The women were clothed in long embroidered robes descending to the ankles, fitting tight over the breasts (which are indicated in the sculptures), and confined at the waist by a girdle. Their hair fell loosely over their shoulders. The conquered have no very marked peculiarity in the form of their features, to distinguish them from the Assyrians; and, if their race or nation was indicated, it was, probably, as on the monuments of Egypt, by colour, which has completely disappeared. There is nothing in the bas-reliefs to show the region they inhabited. They possessed walled cities, some standing on a river; and their country was apparently wooded, as trees are generally represented in the sculptures. It may be presumed that they were not far behind their conquerors in civilisation; for they were acquainted with the use of the pulley; and, it may be inferred from their castle-gates, with the principle of the arch; and they possessed chariots drawn by horses nearly as richly caparisoned as those of the Assyrians. Their chariot-wheels had eight, or even twelve spokes, differing in this respect from those of the conquerors. On a bas-relief, representing the captives brought before the king, we find — amongst vases and bowls of elegant shapes — objects resembling elephants' tusks, bundles of precious wood, and shawls; this would appear to connect the people described with some Asiatic nation far to the east of Assyria.

The other conquered people, represented in the earliest sculptures of Nimroud, are chiefly distinguished by their conical caps; not pointed, like the Assyrian helmet, but rounded at the top, and apparently made of felt, or bands of linen. They wore high boots reaching half way up the calf of the leg, and turned up at the toes, like those still in use in Persia and Turkey; and were dressed either in short tunics, scarcely covering the knee, or in robes descending to the ankles. Their hair, although long, was not curled, but was gathered into a bunch behind; the end being either tucked under the cap, or confined by a band passing round the temples. On the northern side of the great hall of the north-west palace, were discovered two bas-reliefs⁴⁴, representing the siege of a city belonging to this people, and standing on the banks of a river. Beneath the walls the armies of the two nations are seen in battle — the Assyrians in chariots, their enemies chiefly on horses. One of the horsemen is flying, and turns back, whilst his horse is at full speed, to discharge an arrow against his pursuers, like the Parthians of old.⁴⁵

The bas-reliefs in the outer chambers, to the north of the great hall46, represent the same people. In those sculptures, it will be remembered, the captives bring monkeys, amongst other objects of tribute. The tribute-bearers on the obelisk, also, appear to belong to this nation; for they are similarly attired, and also bring monkeys. Other animals led by them, such as the elephant, rhinoceros, and Bactrian camel, evidently show that they came from some country far to the east of Assyria — either from India itself or from its confines; and we are naturally led to conjecture, that the monument was erected to celebrate the Indian expedition of one of the early Assyrian monarchs — the Ninus, Semiramis, or Ninyas of history. The other tribute appears to be elephants' tusks, shawls, precious woods, a kind of fruit or plant, and vessels probably of gold and silver. The inscription may record the conquest of many countries; and more nations than one may be represented by the figures bearing these various objects,

The unplaced bas-reliefs, discovered together near the great bulls in the centre of the mound, do not apparently celebrate the subjection of the same countries as the obelisk. This fact seems to me an additional reason for believing them to be of a later period than that monument, and than the bulls, on which the name of the son of the builder of the north-west palace occurs. They record the subjugation of several nations. In some were represented warriors on fleet camels, fleeing from the Assyrians. Women, also mounted on camels, were seen escaping from their enemies.⁴⁷ The head-dress of the men was a simple fillet passing round the temples, the hair being either confined by it, or sometimes allowed to fall loose on the shoulders. They wore short tunics or aprons from the waist to the knee, the rest of the body being left naked. The women were clothed in robes descending to the ankles, and their hair was long. This people appears to have possessed large flocks of camels, sheep, goats, and horned cattle, and to have inhabited a country producing the palm-tree. As they used camels in war, we may conjecture that they were Arabs living either in the south of Mesopotamia, or in a part of the Arabian Peninsula.⁴⁸

Another conquered people represented in these bas-reliefs dwelt in fortified cities, which stood on the banks of a river, and had palms within and without the walls. The men wore their hair loose, and were mostly armed with bows. After their cities had been captured, the women were taken away in square carts, drawn by oxen. These carts had wheels with eight spokes. From the palm-trees represented in the bas-reliefs, this people may have inhabited some part of Babylonia.

A third nation, whose subjugation is recorded, had cities or castles built on the tops of mountains. They wore helmets ornamented with a curved crest, and were armed with spears and bows.

A fourth possessed walled cities surrounded by lofty ramparts, and wore caps apparently formed of bands of linen, and resembling the Phrygian cap reversed. They were armed with spears and bows. The women are distinguished by hoods covering the head, and falling over the shoulders. In one bas-relief the captive king, or chief, of this people is seen brought before the king, who is placing the end of a spear, or wand, on the head of his prostrate foe in token of triumph.

In two bas-reliefs built into the walls of the southwest palace, but not originally belonging to that building, were represented the victories of the Assyrians over warriors, who wore a helmet with a curved crest, resembling in shape that in early use amongst the Greeks.⁴⁹

The subjugation of several nations was recorded on the Avails of Khorsabad. The captives, and tribute-bearers, were generally distinguished by skull-caps or turbans, fitting closely to the head, and apparently made of folds of linen, or some similar material. It has been conjectured that they are Jews; but, unless the inscriptions furnish some evidence of the fact, there is nothing, I think, sufficiently marked, either in the physiognomy or the dress, to identify them with that people.⁵⁰ Several heads from these bas-reliefs are now in the British Museum. The features may certainly be distinguished from those of the Assyrians, particularly in the shape of the nose, which is very hooked; but this is a peculiarity

common to several eastern races, and not confined to the Jew. The hair and beard are less elaborately curled; but, as it has already been observed, they may have been left unfinished by the sculptor, to mark the distinction between the conquerors and the conquered.

The head-dress of another vanquished people consists of a hood, which completely covers the head, conceals the hair, and falls over the shoulders, resembling that of the women in some of the bas-reliefs from the centre of the mound at Nimroud.

Men dressed in skins were represented amongst the conquered nations at Khorsabad. The only Asiatic people thus clothed, according to Herodotus, in the army of Xerxes, were the Caspians and the Pactyes, who wore goat-skins. Some of the skins in the Khorsabad sculptures appear to be those of leopards; if so, the wearers may be identified with an African nation.⁵¹

Monsieur Flandin conjectures, that negroes are included amongst the conquered people of the Khorsabad bas-reliefs. In a drawing he has given to a prisoner the well-known negro features, and the short woolly hair. But the only bas-relief in which he believes the negro to occur is very much injured; and a little too much imagination may have been resorted to in its restoration.

The tribute brought by the subject nations portrayed in the Khorsabad sculptures consists chiefly of vases and bowls, ear-rings, bracelets, and other ornaments, all probably made of the precious metals. The conquerors, after the sacking of a city, carry away couches, tables, and chariots. The chariots differ from those of the Assyrians in the form of the yoke, (which is very distinctly represented in a bas-relief,) in the pole, in the four-spoked wheel, and in having an angular projection at the back.

At Kouyunjik, as I have already had occasion to observe, the conquest of a different people appears to have been recorded on the walls of each chamber. It was during the reign of one of the kings to whom I would attribute the foundation of this magnificent edifice, either of Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, or Shalmaneser, that the bounds of the empire were enlarged to an unexampled extent. Almost the whole of western Asia was overrun by the Assyrians; and their victorious armies, having subdued Syria and Judaea, and carried away captive their monarchs and their inhabitants, penetrated through Egypt into Ethiopia and Lybia. Records of these conquests still exist in Syria, in Cyprus, and in various parts of Asia Minor.⁵² I have pointed out on what grounds we may identify with the Tyrians, or with the Phoenicians inhabiting the Syrian coasts, the maritime people represented in the sculptures. History has recorded the conquest of Tyre by Shalmaneser⁵³; and the tablet at the Nahr-el-Kelb, near Beyrout, bears, I conjecture, either his name or that of a monarch of the same dynasty. The Kouyunjik bas-reliefs may, therefore, portray this event. In them the conquered people are distinguished by the absence of both head-dress and helmet, the hair falling loosely on the shoulders. The women have high turbans or mitres, to the back of which a veil appears to have been attached.

Amongst other conquered people were represented the inhabitants of a city, which stood between two rivers, and in the midst of groves of palm-trees. They may have been the Babylonians, and the bas-reliefs may have recorded the reconquest of that city after one of those rebellions, alluded to in history, in which it had thrown off the Assyrian yoke.⁵⁴ Another subdued nation had castles built on lofty mountains, and in the midst of forests. Some cities captured by the Assyrians, at this period, were built on the banks of rivers, in the midst of vineyards, and on mountains clothed with firs or pines. The fir, which does not grow, as far as I am aware, in the mountains of Kurdistan, seems to indicate a country far to the north of Assyria Proper.

On the walls of one chamber the Assyrian warriors were represented taking by assault, a city built amongst mountains, and surrounded by forests and rocks. The walls were defended by men armed with spears and bows, and carrying small square shields,⁵⁵ They were clothed in short tunics, descending to the knee, and confined at the waist by a girdle. Their hair was gathered in a bunch at the back of the head, or was cut short. The women wore long robes, ornamented with fringes. Their hair was either confined by a fillet passing round the temples, or was completely concealed by a hood, which covered the head and lower part of the face, and fell over the shoulders. When driven away captive by the Assyrians, they carried their children with them⁵⁶, and bore in their hands vases, bowls, and skins filled with water or provisions.

In the sculptures of Kouyunjik, sheep, goats, and horned cattle were frequently included amongst the spoil taken from the conquered nations. From a burning city, containing large buildings several stories in height, the Assyrian warriors were represented hurrying away with vases, chariots, couches, beds, horses fully caparisoned, and various other objects, the nature of which I could not determine, as the bas-reliefs had been greatly injured. Women riding upon mules, and mules laden with booty, were also introduced into a procession of captives.

Such being the conquered nations, as represented in the Nineveh sculptures, it may not be uninteresting to inquire whether the Assyrians themselves, or their enemies, can be identified with any of the races portrayed on the Egyptian monuments.

Some of the vanquished people in the most ancient bas-reliefs of Nimroud resemble, in the fillet round their heads ending in a tassel, in their general costume, and in their arms, the Sharu of the Egyptian paintings. That people, indeed, in the form of their features and in their dress, have some resemblance to the Assyrians themselves, with whom Sir Gardner Wilkinson is inclined to identify them.⁵⁷ They could not, however, have been the Assyrians portrayed on the most ancient monuments of Nimroud. The high pointed helmet or cap, with lappets protecting the ears, the ear-rings and other ornaments in the form of a cross, and the cross-belt over the breast, are all peculiarities of costume marking the sculptures of Khorsabad and Kouyunjik, but never seen in the earlier sculptures. The Sharu were, moreover, armed with falchions, and short swords of a peculiar shape, which I have not met with in the Assyrian bas-reliefs.

The Khita, or Sheta, of the Egyptian inscriptions were an Asiatic people, wearing a large cap and a long loose robe with open sleeves, and capes covering the shoulders. They are sometimes represented with oblong or square shields. They fought both on foot and in chariots, which carried three persons, like those of Assyria, and they lived in walled cities.⁵⁸ Mr. Birch identifies them with the Chaldaeans; and that they inhabited a country near Assyria Proper may be inferred, by their being generally named with Naharaina and Singara.⁵⁹ They resemble a people whose conquest by the Assyrians is recorded in the bas-reliefs of Khorsabad and Kouyunjik⁶⁰, and who, like the Khita, inhabited castles, carried square or oblong shields, and wore hoods over their heads.

The Shairutana of the Egyptian monuments have many peculiarities in common with the Assyrians of the most recent bas-reliefs of Nimroud; but the helmet, ornamented with horns and surmounted by a crest, consisting of a ball on a small shaft, is not Assyrian. They carried a round shield, a long spear, a javelin, and a pointed sword; and wore a short dress, over which was a coat of mail, or a cuirass of broad metal plates overlying each other, adapted to the form of the body, and secured at the waist by a girdle. They allowed their beards to grow, and had large ear-rings. Their features were distinguished by a prominent aquiline nose, and their complexion was lighter than that of the Egyptians.⁶¹ The Tokkari, or Takaru, also, bear some resemblance to a people represented in the Assyrian sculptures, both in their arms and dress, and in the shape of the carts drawn by oxen.⁶²

Mr. Birch is inclined to identify the Ruten-nu, or Lodan-nu, of the statistical tablet of Karnak with the Cappadocians, or Leuco-Syrians, inhabiting the country to the north and south of the Taurus; who, he conjectures, are also represented at Khorsabad. Their physical characteristics in the Egyptian sculptures are a light complexion, brown or red hair, and blue eyes; and they bring horses, chariots, rare woods, ivory, gloves, a bear, and gold and silver vases, with the head of Baal. They wore tight dresses, apparently of wool, fastened in front with a buckle, and carried objects like long gloves,⁶³ That the Ruten inhabited a country adjoining the Assyrians may be inferred, from their being mentioned in geographical lists between Naharaina (Mesopotamia), and Singara (Sinjar). Amongst the spoil represented as brought from a conquered city at Khorsabad, is the chariot closely resembling, in its yoke and four-spoked wheels, that seen at Thebes amongst the objects of tribute of this people.⁶⁴

It is singular that the name of Assyria cannot be satisfactorily identified as that of a conquered nation on any Egyptian monument.⁶⁵ With the exception of the statistical tablet of Karnak, in which, as it has been seen, Nineveh appears to be mentioned*, there is no record of any expedition undertaken by the Egyptians beyond Mesopotamia into Assyria Proper. Naharaina, and the Euphrates, appear to have been the boundaries of their conquests. Assyria may have been at that period too powerful to invite invasion; or a campaign against it, proving unsuccessful, may not have been recorded. Thus among the people beyond Syria, subdued by the Egyptians, are almost always mentioned the inhabitants of Naharaina and Singara, and the Khita, and the Ruten; and, unless either of them can be identified with the Assyrians, we must conclude that the Sinjar formed the limits of the Egyptian expeditions in this part of Asia. The Ruten and the Khita may, perhaps, be identified with some of the⁶⁶ nations with whom the Assyrians themselves were at war; but in the Egyptian sculptures we do not find those peculiarities in the costume, and in the forms of the chariots, and horse-furniture, which would satisfactorily connect the people represented with the inhabitants of Nineveh. It can scarcely be doubted that had the Assyrian warriors of the early Nimroud bas-reliefs been amongst the Egyptian captives, these distinctions would have been carefully portrayed. Nor, it will be remembered, does the name of Babel, or Babylon, more than once occur in the great statistical tablet of Karnak; whilst Singara and Naharaina are continually in eluded amongst the conquered nations. Neither is there any mention of the great cities situated between Nineveh and Babylon, and in Susiana, nor of the rivers flowing into the Tigris after its passage through the Taurus. These facts appear to prove that the Egyptians had not, at an early period, carried their conquests into Assyria Proper, Babylonia, or Chaldæa, although there are strong grounds for suspecting that they were not unacquainted with the inhabitants of those countries, but that, on the contrary, they had felt the influence which the Assyrians exercised over Asia.⁶⁷

1) The canopy or tent of Holofernes was of purple, gold, and emeralds, and precious stones; and every man had gold and silver (vessels) out of the king's house. Judith, x. 24. This book contains an interesting account of the luxurious manner of living of the great Assyrian warriors, confirming what has been said in the text, and showing that the Persians were, in this respect, as almost in every other, imitators of the Assyrians. Herodotus (lib. ix. c. 82. and 83.) describes the equipage, furnished with gold and silver, and with various coloured hangings, and the gold and silver couches and tables, found in the tents of Mardonius after the defeat of the Persian army. They had been left by Xerxes when he fled from Greece.

2) Judith, ii. 17.

3) Lib. iii. c. 3.; and compare Herodotus's description of the army of Xerxes, 1. vii. c. 61.

4) That the custom of dedicating chariots and horses to the sun prevailed in Asia long before the Persian domination, we learn from the passage in 2 Kings, xxiii. 11., where Josiah is described as taking away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech, the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burning the chariots of the sun with fire.

5) Some MSS. have "War and Peace." Ninus was an emendation first suggested by Scaliger.

6) In the Stratagcmata of Frontinus (1. iii. c. 7. s. 5.) Semiramis, like Cyrus, b said to have taken Babylon by turning off the river.

7) Chap, xxxvii. 33.; and compare 2 Kings, xix. 32.; Jeremiah, xxxii. 24., and xxxiii. 4. The shields mentioned by the prophet were probably the large kind made of wicker-work, represented in the Nimroud sculptures, and used exclusively for a siege; those carried by the warriors in battle being smaller, and generally round.

8) Ezekiel, xvii. 17. " Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off many persons."

9) Jeremiah, lii. 4.

10) Deuteronomy, xx. 19, 20.

11) Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol i. plate, p. 360.

12) This device is seen on a battering-ram in a bas-relief, engraved in my " Monuments of Nineveh."

13) Ch. iv. ver. 2.

14) Uzziah made large machines for battering walls, and instruments to cast stones, and grappling irons, and other instruments. (2 Chron. xxvi. 15., and Josephus, lib. ix. c. 10.)

15) All these modes of attack and defence are represented in the bas-relief before alluded to.

16) "Abimelech went hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire." (Judges, ix. 52.)

17) Scaling ladders appear in Egyptian sculptures as early as the nineteenth dynasty. Ramses III. is seen taking a city by their means, at Medinat Habou.

18) "The choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate." (Isaiah, xxii. 7.)

19) A woman from the battlement of Thebez cast a millstone upon Abimelech's bead, and brake it. (Judges, ix. 53.)

20) See woodcut, p. 369. When Darius took Babylon he impaled 3000 prisoners. (Herod, iii. 159.)

21) The Scythians scalped and flayed their enemies, and used their skins as horse-trappings. (Herod, iv. 64.)

22) 2 Kings, xvii. 24. According to Josephus (lib. ix. c. 12.), Tiglath-pileser having taken Damascus, removed all the inhabitants, and peopled the city with his own subjects. So, also, when Nebuchadnezzar took Jerusalem, he carried away all the people captive, and " burned the king's house and the houses of the people with fire, and brake down the walls." (Jeremiah, xxxix. 8 and 9.)

23) "And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them." (Joshua, x. 24.) To make " a footstool of thine enemies " is the common biblical expression for triumph.

24) Major Rawlinson's Memoir on the Inscription at Behistun. (Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society.)

25) "To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron." (Psalm cxlix. 8.) These fetters were sometimes made of brass. "They put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and took him to Babylon." (2 Kings, xxv. 7.) Samson was also bound with fetters of brass. (Judges, xvi. 21.)

26) This sculpture illustrates the passage in 2 Kings, xix. 28. "I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips." The king is represented in a bas-relief as holding a rope fastened to a ring through the lips of a prisoner, one of whose eyes he appears to be piercing with his spear.

27) See woodcut, p. 184. When Aliab's seventy sons were killed, their heads were cut off, and brought in baskets to Jezreel. They were afterwards laid " in two heaps at the entering in of the gate." (2 Kings, x. 8.) The Egyptians generally counted by hands.

28) In a bas-relief from Khorsabad. "Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces." (Jeremiah, 1. 2.) Compare Isaiah, xxi. 9.

29) Ch. x. ver. 6. And Jeremiah declares that the Babylonians shall kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of the Egyptians, "and burn them, and carry them away captive " (Ch. xliii. ver. 12.) In a bas-relief from the centre palace of Nimroud, the Assyrian warriors were represented carrying away the image of a bird.

30) When Holofernes took Damascus "he went into the plain in the time of wheat harvest, and burnt up all the fields, and destroyed the flocks and herds; also he spoiled the cities, and utterly wasted the countries, and smote all the young men with the edge of the sword." (Judith, ii. 27.)

31) Ch. xxvi. ver. 7 - 12.

32) Lib. i. c. 194.

33) See p. 96. of this volume.

34) Pliny, lib. vii. 417. That the Chaldees were skilful ship-builders, "and exulted in their ships," we learn from Isaiah, xliii. 14.

35) See woodcut, p 395. In this ornament at the prow and stern they resemble some of the Egyptian war-galleys, and those of the Greeks and Romans.

36) Small boats similarly constructed are, however, introduced into a bas-relief, which appears to represent a scene on an Assyrian* river or lake. (See woodcut, p. 273.)

37) A sea-piece, such as that described in the text, is amongst the Assyrian bas-reliefs in the Louvre.

38) Those in the British Museum, from the collection of Mr. Rich, were principally found in the bed of the Euphrates, near Babylon; but, as they were accompanied by other coins of a much later (I think of the Arsacid or Sassanian) period, they must have been deposited there long after the fall of the first Persian empire, and consequently long subsequent to the time of their coinage.

39) Almost all ancient cities of Asia Minor and the adjacent islands, whose names commenced with " Cor," stood upon the sea-coast. This word may, therefore, have some reference to their position, and may point to a Phoenician origin. It may, perhaps, be connected with the Hebrew כרה, "to dig" and the Arabic, the mouth of a river, and bay of the sea, still used on the Arabian coast; for instance, the mouths of the Euphrates and Karoon are known as the Khor-mousa, the Khorbamishere, &c. In Pontus were Cor-alla, Cor-dyla, Cot-yora; in Paphlagonia, Car-usa, Car-ambes; in Cyprus, Core and Cor-ineum; in Cilicia, Cor-ycus, Cor-acesium; in Crete, the promontory and city of Cor-ycus; in Ionia, Cor-ycus; the Cor-icumlittus and Cor-ydalla in Lycia; in llhodes, Cor-ymbia and Cor-dylusa; in Messenia, Cor-yphasium. The sense of cavern, also included in the word, will well suit Cor-ycus in Cilicia, and the celebrated cave of the same name in Phocis. The derivation of חור "a hole," or כרה, " to dig," may indicate an artificial harbour, and an early Phoenician settlement.

40) Ezekiel, xxvii. 1 1.

41) On the sides of the upper deck of the Chinese junks are suspended the shields and arms of the crew.

42) The 27th chapter of Ezekiel contains a complete description of the vessels of the Tyrians, and is a most important and interesting record of the commercial intercourse of the nations of antiquity.

43) Hall B, plan 3.

44) Nos. 27. and 28. hall B, plan 3. No. 27. will be placed in the British Museum.

45)

"Fidentemque fugâ Parthum, versisque sagittis."

                                                          VIRG. Georg. 3.

And

"Versis animosun) equis Parthum.

                                          "HOR. Carm. lib. i. ode. xix.

Justin (lib. xli. c. 2.) describes this mode of combating as peculiar to the Parthians, and very dangerous to those incautiously engaging in their pursuit. That the same custom existed at a very early period amongst the Persians, we learn from Xenophon. (Anabasis, book iii. ch. 3.) It is still the favourite mode of fighting of that people. It is called the Kaikaj. The Bakhtiyari, and other mountain tribes, are particularly skilful in it, and will hit a small mark, turning back and discharging their rifles whilst their horses are at full speed.

46) Chambers D and E, plan 3.

47) The saddles of the camels appeal to have consisted of a square pad or seat, placed upon the hump.

48) The Arabs, mounted on camels, formed a part of the great army of Xerxes, and the camel-riding Shasu (Arabs) are frequently mentioned in the monumental inscriptions of Egypt.

49) See woodcut, p. 28. of this volume.

50) It has been suggested that one of the names written over the besieged city in a Khorsabad bas-relief is that of Ashdod, or Azotus, against which Sargon, king of Assyria, sent Tartan. (Isaiah, xx.)

51) They may, however, be the skins of spotted gazelles. The skins may indicate, as on the Egyptian monuments, a division of the human race. The Egyptians ethnographically divided mankind into four branches: — 1. The Rut, themselves; 2. the Naamu, or Nations, the Semitics; 3. the Nahsi, or Negroes; and 4. the Tamahu, or Northerns, who are distinguished by the ostrich-feathers on their heads, and by tunics of goatskins.

52) I discovered the name of the Kouyunjik king on the rock-tablet at the mouth of the Nahr- el-Kelb (the Lycus), near Beyrout, of which a cast, taken by Mr. Bonomi, is in the British Museum. It is curious that, in a bas-relief found at Khorsabad, a niche, containing a figure precisely similar to that at the Nahr-el-Kelb, was represented on the walls of a castle. I have not been able to examine, or to obtain an accurate description, of the Assyrian monument recently discovered in Cyprus, and now at Berlin. I am inclined, however, to believe that it is of the same period as the Syrian bas-reliefs.

53) Josephus (lib. ix. c. 14.) states that Shalmaneser warred against Tyre when Elulaeus was king. According to Menander, as quoted by the Jewish historian, the Assyrian monarch subdued the whole of Phoenicia. The Tyrians having revolted, Shalmaneser attacked them with sixty vessels and eight hundred rowers, furnished by the inhabitants of the other maritime cities. The Tyrians, however, engaged this large fleet with only twelve galleys, completely dispersed it, and took five hundred men prisoners. The Assyrians then invested the city for five years, cutting off the communication of the inhabitants with the rivers and wells which furnished them with fresh water. Eusebius, quoting from Abydenus, states that Sennacherib defeated the Greek fleet on the Cilician coast. The whole passage is curious, as connecting Sennacherib with a Sardanapalus of history, and attributing to him the building of Tarsus, in the form of Babylon, with the Cydnus running through the centre.

54) Under Merodach Baladan, for instance,

55) See woodcut facing p. 372.

56) The younger children were represented seated on the mother's shoulder, and held by the leg.

57) Ancient Egyptians, vol. i. p. 375.

58) Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol. i. p. 383.

59) Menander, as quoted by Josephus (lib. ix. c. 14.), mentions the conquest of a nation called the Kitttei by Elulæus, king of Tyre. They must have been a maritime people, for the Tyrians are said to have sailed against them.

60) See woodcut facing p. 372.

61) Sir Gardner Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol. i. p. 365.

62) See woodcut, p. 396.

63) Memoir on the Statistical Tablet of Karnak, p. 17.

64) Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol. i. p. 377.; and see woodcut of chariot, p. 399.

65) At Medinat Haboo there appears to be, amongst other names of conquered Asiatic nations, "Atur," which Mr. Birch connects with Ataru, Aturia; but the reading is, I believe, doubtful. (Memoir on the Statistical Tablet of Karnak, p. 24.)

66) See page 224.

67) I am indebted to Mr. Birch for the following note with regard to the various people mentioned in the text. " Different opinions exist as to whom the Sharu or Kharu are to be referred. They cannot be Assyrians, for in one of the hieratic papyri (Select Papyri, lxxxiv. 1. 11.), the, writer states, ' thou hast a galley going to the Sharu,' which would apparently refer to a galley coasting along the Mediterranean, probably for the sake of wine, which in another papyrus is especially alluded to as their product. (Select Papyri, pi. xcvii. 1. 1.) The earliest mention of them is in the statistical tablet of Karnak, in the reign of Thothmes III., when they supplied Egypt with bows. (Birch, Gallery, p. 88 — 192., and Statistical Tablet.) They are the Syri or Syrians. Osburn (Ancient Egypt, p. 57.) supposes the name to be Tyre, צר, Tsur, which is nearly the same. According to Dr. Hincks (An Attempt to ascertain the Letters of the Hieroglyphic Alphabet, p. 15.) it is Khelbon, Χαλύβων, or Aleppo. The necklaces and ear-rings are probably in the shape of the goddess Astarte, or Ashtaroth. The name is distinct from Tyre, written in hieroglyphics 'Turu,' and from Khaleb, written with very different symbols. From their maritime position they were probably Syrians in general. The Khita were probably a Mesopotamian people. They have been conjectured to be the Scythians (Champollion, Lettres Ecrites, p. 151. 501.), the Shethites or Moabites (Osburn, Ancient Egypt, p. 136.), the I littites (cf. Bunsen, Ægyptens Stelle, Buch i. S. 480.), and the Cuthasans of Mesopotamia (Birch, Gallery, p. 89.). For the reasons for supposing them to be the Cuthamns, Casdim, or Chaldaeans, see the Statistical Tablet of Karnak, p. 22 and 23. The Shairutana are always described as a maritime people, as 'the Shairutana of the Sea.' (Champ. Mon. Egyp. pi. ccciii. No. 1.) They appear at the time of the nineteenth dynasty as allies or enemies of the Pulusatu, or Philistines. They have been conjectured to be the Sidonians (Osburn, Anc. Egypt, p. 108.); and the helmet has been supposed to be surmounted by the disk and crescent of Astarte. All this is, however, doubtful, and another way of writing Sidon (not to object to the introduction of r), occurs in the historic papyri. Did the ' Great Lake,' or ' Sea,' refer to the Caspian? The people called by Sir Gardner Wilkinson Takaru, are of the same race as the Philistines. There is some difficulty about the reading of this name, whether Fikaru, or Takaru, or Takalu. They have been conjectured to be the Philistine people of Ekron. (Osburn, Anc. Egypt, p. ]40.) The people of Naharaina are once represented in the monuments of Egypt, in a tomb at Gournah. Their heads are bound with a simple fillet; they are dressed in ample garments, and have long beards, resembling the other Semitic races. Their tribute is gold and silver vases. The tomb is of the age of Thothmes IV., and either represents an event of that, or of the preceding, reign. (Chump. Monum. tome ii. pi. clx.) Atur is the Egyptian word for ' river; ' it suggests that Aturia and Assyria meant the 'land of the river.' The name of Assuar in the Select Papyri, as a country conquered by the Egyptians (PI. Ivii. 1. 6.; Hincks's Attempt, p. 46.), is not certainly identified with Assyria."