The Empires of the Bible from the Confusion of Tongues to the Babylonian Captivity
CHAPTER XXV. THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE—REIGN OF ASSUR-BANI-PAL
ASSUR=BANI=PAL “was the greatest and most celebrated” conqueror that Assyria produced. Under him the Assyrian Empire reached its widest extent. It was of considerably wider extent than was the empire of Egypt at its greatest. His conquest of Egypt was more through even than that of Esar-haddon: so that the prophecy of Isaiah 20, was completely fulfilled. “He was the principal patron of Assyrian literature, and the greater part of the grand library at Nineveh was written during his reign.” He established a library at Babylon also. 1 EB 353.1
2. Assur-bani-pal introduces himself as follows:— EB 353.2
“I am Assur-bani-pal, the great king, the powerful king, the king of nations, king of Assyria, king of the four regions; proceeding from the body of Esar-haddon, king of nations, king of Assyria, high priest of Babylon, king of the Sumir and Akkad, grandson of Sennacherib, king of nations, king of Assyria.” 2 EB 353.3
3. He then relates how that “in the month Iyyar ... on the 12th day, a fortunate day, the festival of Bel,” his father, Esar-haddon, “gathered the men of Assyria, small and great, and of the upper and lower seas; to the setting apart [the inauguration] of my kingdom, and afterwards the kingdom of Assyria I ruled. The observances of the great gods I caused to be performed to them: I confirmed the convenants. With joy and shouting I entered into Riduti the palace, the royal property of Sennacherib, the father of the father my begetter, son of the great king, who ruled the kingdom within it, the place where Esar-haddon, the father my begetter within it grew up, and ruled the dominion of Assyria. Joyfully the princes and generals listened to the commands of my lips; in the presence of the king, the father my begetter, in order I placed them. I, Assur-bani-pal, within it, took care of the wisdom of Nebo, the whole of the inscribed tablets, of all the clay tablets, the whole of their mysteries and difficulties, I solved.” “Fivefold the seed bore in its ear. The surplus grain was two thirds. The crops were excellent, the corn abundant. My face was pleased with the raising of the harvest. The cattle were good in multiplying. In my seasons there was plenty, in my years famine was ended.” EB 353.4
4. “Tirhakah [of Ethiopia] against the gods, to capture Egypt made a gathering to fight. The evil which the father my begetter had done him, he forgot not in his heart; the power of Assur, my lord, he despised, and trusted to his own might. He came and into Memphis he entered, and that city he restored to himself. Against the men of Assyria, who within Egypt were tributaries dependent on me, whom Esar-haddon, king of Assyria, the father my begetter, to the kingdoms had appointed in the midst of it, to slay, plunder, and spoil, he sent forth his army. EB 354.1
5. “I was walking round [other translators have “going in state”] in the midst of Nineveh, and one came and repeated this to me. Over these things my heart was bitter and much afflicted. I gathered the powerful forces; to Egypt and Ethiopia I directed the march. In the course of my expedition, 22 kings of the side of the sea, and the middle of the sea, all tributaries dependent on me, to my presence came and kissed my feet. EB 354.2
6. “Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, of the progress of my army in the midst of Memphis heard; and to make war, fighting, and battle, he gathered his army and set them in array in front of my army. In the service of Assur, Sin, and the great gods, my lords, who march before me, in the battle-field his overthrow they accomplished; his fighting men they destroyed with the sword. Tirhakah in the midst of Memphis heard of the defeat of his army. Terrible fear struck him, and he went back. My royal advance overwhelmed him; and they brought to me his gods. From Memphis, his capital city and his fortified place, he went out; and to save his life in a ship he sailed; his camp he abandoned and fled alone, and into Thebes he entered. EB 354.3
7. “A messenger of good tidings hastily returned, and told me; the rabshakeh, prefects and kings across the river, tributaries dependent on me, all of them, with their forces and their ships; the kings of Egypt, tributaries dependent on me, with their forces and their ships; to drive Tirhakah out of Egypt and Ethiopia to my powerful forces I added and sent. To Thebes, the fortified city of Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, they went, a journey of one month and ten days. EB 355.1
8. “Tirhakah, who of the progress of my army heard, Thebes his fortified city abandoned, and the Nile he crossed over; on the opposite side he made a fortress. That city [Thebes] I took. My army I caused to enter and rest in the midst of it. The kings, prefects, and governors [the twenty are named] whom in the midst of Egypt, the father my begetter had appointed; who before the advance of Tirhakah their appointments had left, and fled to the desert, I restored; and the places of their appointments in their possessions I appointed them. Egypt and Ethiopia, which the father my be-getter had captured, again I took. The bonds more than in former days, I strengthened and made convenants. With abundant plunder, and much spoil, in peace I returned to Nineveh. EB 355.2
9. “Afterwards, all those kings whom I had appointed, sinned against me. They did not keep the oath of the great gods. The good I did to them they despised, and their hearts devised evil. Necho, Sarludari, and Paqruru, kings whom in Egypt the father my begetter had made, seditious words they spoke, and evil counsel they counseled among themselves; thus: ‘Tirhakah from the midst of Egypt is cut off, and to us our seats are numbered.’ Unto Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, to make agreement and alliance, they directed their messengers thus: ‘May an alliance by this treaty be established, and we will help each other; the country on the other side we will strengthen, and let there not be in this treaty any other lord.’ Against the army of Assyria, the force of my dominion which to their aid had been raised, they devised a wicked plot. To save their lives being captured, they separated, until there were none together. EB 355.3
10. “My generals of this plot heard, and concealed their plans; their messengers and their instructions they captured, and saw their seditious work. Sarludari and Necho they took, and in bonds of iron and fetters of iron they bound their hands and feet. The people of Sais, Mendes, Zoan, and the rest of the cities all with them, devised an evil design [that is, they revolted]. Small and great, with the sword they caused to be destroyed. One they did not leave in the midst. Their corpses they threw down in the dust. They destroyed the towers of the cities. These kings, who had devised evil against the army of Assyria, alive to Nineveh into my presence they brought. EB 356.1
11. “I, Assur-bani-pal, bestower of favors: to Necho the tributary dependent on me, whom the father my begetter to the kingdom had appointed in Kar-bel-matati. Favor I granted him, and a covenant I appointed him, the observances of the gods, stronger than before I caused to be restored, and with him I sent. His heart I caused to rejoice, and costly garments I placed upon him, and ornaments of gold, his royal image I made for him. Rings of gold I fastened on his feet. A scimitar, the sheath of which was gold, the glory of my name more than I write, I gave him. Chariots, horses, and mules for his kingdom I appointed. My generals as governors to Egypt with him I sent. The place where the father my begetter, in Sais the name of which is Kar-bel-matati, to the kingdom had appointed him, to his district I restored him. Benefits and favors, beyond those of the father my begetter, I caused to restore, and gave to him: and Nebo-shazban his son in Athribes which Limir-patesi-Assur is its name, to the kingdom I appointed. EB 356.2
12. “Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, terrible fear of my power overwhelmed him, and he went to his place of night. Rudammon, son of his consort, sat on his throne and governed the country. Thebes he fortified for himself, and gathered his forces to make war and battle; against my army his soldiers he brought forward, and took the road. EB 356.3
13. “In my second expedition, Egypt and Ethiopia I directed the march. Rudammon of the progress of my expedition heard, and that I had crossed over the borders of Egypt. Memphis he abandoned, and to save his life, he fled into Thebes. The kings, prefects, and governors, whom in Egypt I had set up, to my presence came, and kissed my feet. After Rudammon the road I took; a journey of a month and ten days on a different road. I went to Thebes, the strong city; the approach of my powerful army he saw, and Thebes he abandoned, and fled to Kipkip. EB 357.1
14. “That city [Thebes], the whole of it, in the service of Assur and Ishtar my hands took and swept like a storm. Silver, gold, precious stones, the furniture of his palace, all there was; garments costly and beautiful; great horses; people, male and female; two lofty obelisks covered with beautiful carving, twenty-five hundred talents [over ninety tons] their weight, set up before the gate of a temple; with them I removed, and brought to Assyria. Its spoils, unnumbered. I carried off. From the midst of Thebes, over Egypt and Ethiopia, my servants I caused to march, and I acquired glory. With the tributes peacefully I returned to Nineveh, the city of my dominion. EB 357.2
15. “In my third expedition, against Bahal, king of Tyre, I went; who my royal will disregarded and did not hear the words of my lips. Towers round him I raised. I strengthened the watch on sea and land. His roads I took; his going out I stopped; sea water to preserve their lives their mouths drank. By a strong blockade, which removed not, I besieged them. Their spirits I humbled and caused to melt away; to my yoke I made them submissive. The daughter proceeding from his body, and the daughters of his brothers, for concubines he brought to my presence. To Yahimelek, his son, the submission of the country and an unequaled present at once he entrusted, to make obeisance to me. His daughter and the daughters of his brothers, with their great dowries, I received. Favor I granted him, and the son proceeding from his body I restored and gave him. EB 357.3
16. “Yakinlu, king of Arvad, dwelling in the midst of the sea, who to the kings, my fathers, was not submissive, submitted to my yoke. His daughter, with many gifts, for a concubine to Nineveh he brought, and kissed my feet. Mugallu, king of Tubal, who against the kings, my fathers, made depredations, the daughter proceeding from his body, and her great dowry, for a concubine to Nineveh he brought, and kissed my feet. Over Mugallu great horses and the tribute of the country the sum I fixed upon him. Sandasarmi, of Cilicia, who to the kings, my fathers, did not submit, and did not perform their pleasure, the daughter proceeding from his body, with many gifts, for a concubine to Nineveh he brought, and kissed my feet. EB 357.4
17. “From Yakinlu, king of Arvad, I took away his country. Azi-bahal, Abi-bahal, Adoni-bahal, Sapadi-bahal, Pudi-bahal, Bahalyasup, Bahal-hanun, Bahal-maluk, 3 Abimelek, and Ahimelek, sons of Yakinlu, dwelling in the midst of the sea [Cyprus], from the midst of the sea arose, and with their numerous presents came, and kissed my feet. Azi-bahal gladly I received, and to the kingdom of Arvad appointed.” The others named, “costly clothing of wool and linen I placed on them, bracelets of gold and rings I made and fastened on their limbs in my presence.” EB 358.1
18. His next tributary, he says, was “Gyges, king of Lydia, a district across the sea, a remote place, of which the kings going before me, my fathers, had not heard speak of its name. The account of my great kingdom in a dream was related to him by Assur, the god, my creator, thus: ‘Of Assur-bani-pal, king of Assyria, the beloved of Assur, king of the gods, lord of all; his princely yoke take: his majesty reverence and submit to his dominion. By making obeisance and giving tribute, may thy words come to him.’ The day he saw that dream, to pray for my friendship his messenger he sent to my presence. EB 358.2
19. “From the midst of the day when he took the yoke of my kingdom, the Cimmerians, wasters of his people, who did not fear my fathers and me, and did not take the yoke of my kingdom, he captured, in the service of Assur and Ishtar, the gods, my lords. From the midst of the chiefs of the Cimmerians, whom he had taken, two chiefs in strong fetters of iron, and bonds of iron, he bound, and with numerous presents, he caused to bring to my presence. EB 358.3
20. “His messengers whom, to pray for my friendship he was constantly sending, he wilfully discontinued. As the will of Assur, the god, my creator, he had disregarded, to his own power he trusted and hardened his heart. His forces to the aid of Psammitichus (king) of Egypt, who had thrown off the yoke of my dominion, he sent. I heard of it, and prayed to Assur and Ishtar thus: ‘Before his enemies his corpse may they cast, and may they carry captive his attendants.’ EB 359.1
21. “When thus to Assur I had prayed, he requited me. Before his enemies his corpse was thrown down, and they carried captive his attendants. The Cimmerians whom by the glory of my name he had trodden under him, conquered and swept the whole of his country ... su (Ardys) his son sat on his throne. By the hand of his envoy he sent word and took the yoke of my kingdom thus: ‘The king whom God has blessed art thou; my father from thee departed, and evil was done in his time; I am thy devoted servant, and my people all perform thy pleasure.’ EB 359.2
22. “Ikkilu, king of Arvad, dwelling afar off, in the midst of the sea; who, like a fish in the boundless waters moved,—over the great sea roamed, and was not submissive to the yoke of my dominion,—now to perform my service he submitted, and he executed my pleasure. Gold, green paint, black paint, fishes and birds, of the country, the sum I fixed over him.” EB 359.3
23. The fame of Assur-bani-pal was spread so widely that there came to him a messenger, not only from an unknown country, but of an utterly unknown tongue. He says that the men of Assyria met this stranger at the border of Assyria, and, “‘Who art thou, brother?’ they said; ‘of what place?’ To Nineveh the city of my dominion, they brought him into my presence. The languages of the rising sun and the setting sun, which Assur had committed to [my hand], a master of his language there was not, his tongue they could not understand. With him he brought”—some kind of present, but the tablet is broken, and that part is lost. EB 359.4
24. “[In my fourth] 4 expedition to Karbat in Halehazta I went. Karbat, which in Halehazta is situated, the people dwelling in it, to their rugged mountains trusted, and feared not the power of Assyria. Tandia, their chief, who to the kings, my fathers, was not submissive to the yoke, the plunder of my country constantly they carried off, and wasted its produce. About these things, the sons of Duril besought me, and supplicated my power. My generals, the prefects over them, I sent, and Karbat they captured. His warriors they destroyed with the sword; asses, oxen, and sheep, its spoil in abundance they carried off to the midst of Assyria. Tandia, their chief, alive in the hand they took, and brought to my presence. [The people] of those cities I removed, and into the midst of Egypt I caused to be taken. Men of my bow, of countries which were conquered in Karbat and its cities, I placed.” EB 360.1
25. His fifth campaign was to the northeast, to the land of Minni. The king of Minni was defeated. He abandoned his royal city, and to “Istatti, his castle, he fled, and took refuge. That district I took; for fifteen days journey I laid waste, and the highlands I conquered. The Mannians from the midst I removed, their horses and their instruments of war, I carried off to Assyria.” After this the people of Minni revolted against their own king, and “in front of his city his attendants threw down and tore in pieces his corpse. His brothers, his relatives, and the seed of the house of his father, they destroyed with the sword. EB 360.2
26. “Afterwards Vaalli his son sat on his throne; ... and submitted to my yoke. To preserve his life his hand he offered, and besought my power. Erisinni, his eldest son, to Nineveh he sent, and kissed my feet. Favor I granted him, and my messenger for friendship I sent to him. The daughter proceeding from his body he sent for a concubine. The former tribute, which in the time of the kings, my fathers, they had broken off, he had brought to my presence. Thirty horses, besides the former tribute, I added and fixed upon him. EB 360.3
27. “In those days also, Biriz-hadri, a chief of Media, Sariti and Pariza, sons of Gog, 5 a chief of the Saka (Scythians), who had thrown off the yoke of my dominion;—seventy-five of their strong cities I took, I carried of their spoil; themselves alive, in hand I took, and brought to Nineveh, the city of my dominion. EB 360.4
28. “Iludaria, prefect (v. tartan) 6 of Lubdu, to capture Ubbummi and Kullimmir, descended and went in the night. The people dwelling in Kullimmir, tributaries, dependent on me; in the middle of the night his numerous army slew, and there was not left any one. The head of Iludaria they cut off, and to Nineveh, before me, they brought.” EB 361.1
29. His sixth expedition was against “Urtaki, king of Elam.” The rebellion of Urtaki was altogether ungrateful; for not long before, there had been a drought in Elam, and consequently a famine, in which time, says Assur-bani-pal, “Corn to preserve the lives of the people, I sent him, and took his hand. His people, who from the face of the drought fled, and dwelt in Assyria, until the rain in his country rained, and there were crops—those people, who in my country were preserved, I sent to him.” EB 361.2
30. In total disregard of this good which had been done to him, he revolted; and, in an alliance with neighboring chiefs, “set his face to make war on Akkad.” Assur-bani-pal heard a rumor of this, and sent his envoy to discover the facts. “He returned, and this was confirmed, and he repeated to me, thus: ‘The Elamites like a flight of locusts overspreading, Akkad cover. Over against Babylon the camp is fixed, and fortifications are raised.’ To the aid of Bel and Nebo, my gods (v. lords) 7 whom I worshiped, my men of war I gathered, and I took the march. The progress of my expedition he heard, and fear overwhelmed him, and he returned to his country. After him I took the road. His overthrow I accomplished, and drove him to the frontier of his country.” EB 361.3
31. After this, quarrels sprang up between Urtaki and his confederate chiefs. Urtaki “in the day of his misfortune, death desired,” and “in that year, his life he destroyed.” His general and adviser, Merodach-zikir-ibni, who “evil caused to happen to Urtaki,” held a nominal authority in the kingdom for about a year, when “the dominion of Elam passed to another.” “Te-umman, like an evil spirit, sat on the throne of Urtaki. To slay the sons of Umman-aldas, the brother of Urtaki, he devised evil. Umman-igas, Umman-appa, and Tammarit, sons of Urtaki, king of Elam; Kudurru and Paru, sons of Umman-aldas, the king preceding Urtaki; and sixty of the seed royal, innumerable bowmen and children begotten in Elam; from the face of the massacre of Te-umman their uncle, fled and took the yoke of my kingdom. EB 361.4
32. “Te-umman, king of Elam, his great men sent, for the surrender of these men, who had fled and taken my yoke. Their surrender I did not grant him.” Just at that time a celestial phenomenon occurred about daybreak three mornings in succession. “In the month Tammuz, the darkness of the morning watch he [Sin] caused to retard the rising sun. And like this also three days he caused to retard.” This was interpreted to the king, by the prognosticators, to mean that “the king of Elam shall be destroyed.” Then says Assur-bani-pal of Ishtar, “Her lips cursed, and her eyes flamed, and vengeance was fixed in her heart,” against Te-umman. EB 362.1
33. It was reported also to Assur-bani-pal, that Te-umman had insulted Ishtar, saying, “Te-umman even saith of Ishtar, I will not cease until I go with him (Assur-bani-pal) to make war.” At this, of course, Ishtar grew yet more angry, and “in the midst of that night when I invoked her, then a seer slept, and dreamed a remarkable dream. During the night Ishtar spoke to him, and he repeated it to me, thus: Ishtar dwelling in Arbela, entered, and right and left she was surrounded with glory, holding a bow in her hand, projecting a powerful arrow. On making war her countenance was set. Ishtar, exalted of the gods, appointed thee a decree, thus: ‘Carry off to make spoil. The place before thee set, I will come to. Thee I will guard. Do not regard thy skin. In the midst of battle, in her beneficent generosity she guards thee and overthrows all the unsubmissive.’ Against Te-umman, king of Elam, who was hateful before her she appointed.” EB 362.2
34. “In the month Elul, the festival of Assur the Great, the month of Sin the luminary of heaven and earth, I trusted to the power of Hur, the bright, and the message of Ishtar, my goddess who is unchanged. I gathered my men of war, the fighting men were arranged in order of battle. Against Te-umman, king of Elam, the road I took, and directed the march. In front of me, Te-umman, king of Elam, his camp placed. Of my royal entry into Duril he heard; and fear took hold of him. Te-umman feared, and turned and entered into Shushan. The [River] Ulai for himself he fortified. In Tulliz his overthrow I accomplished. With their corpses, the Ulai I choked up. Their wives, like bows and arrows, filled the vicinity of Shushan. EB 362.3
35. “Te-umman, king of Elam, who in my fierce attack was wounded, Tamritu, his eldest son, his hands had taken, and to save their lives, they fled, and passed through the woods. The warchariot, his carriage, was broken and fell. In the service of Assur and Ishtar, I felled them. Their heads I cut off, in presence of each other. 8 Urtaki the relative of Te-umman, who by an arrow was wounded, regarded not his life. To cut off his own head, the son of Assur he told also thus: ‘I surrender. My head cut off, before the king, thy lord, set it; may he take it for a good omen.’ Umman-igas, who fled, and took my yoke, on his throne I seated. Tammaritu, his third brother, in Hidalu to the kingdom I appointed. Chariots of war, horses and mules trained to the yoke, instruments fashioned for war; which near Shushan and the Ulai, my hands captured; from the midst of Elam, joyfully I brought out, and to all my army for spoil they were given.” EB 363.1
36. A certain Dunanu, of Gambuli, had supported Te-umman, and now, says Assur-bani-pal, “Gambuli through its extent, like a hail-storm I covered.” At Sapibel, the strong city of Gambuli, “Dunanu and his brothers, from the midst of that city, alive I brought out. His wife, his sons, his daughters, his concubines, male musicians and female musicians, I brought out, and as spoil I counted. Silver, gold, furniture, and musical instruments of his palace, I brought out, and as spoil I counted. Until none were in the midst, that district I laid waste. The passage of people, I cut off from over it .... The head of Te-umman, king of Elam, round the neck of Dunanu, I hung.” And thus “peacefully I returned to Nineveh.” EB 363.2
37. The great men of Te-umman, by whom he had “sent the threatening message,” who had been held meantime in Nineveh, “confined, and bound, until the fixing of my sentence: the decapitated head of Te-umman, their lord, in Nineveh they saw, and another opinion took hold of them. Umbadara tore his beard, Nebo-damiq with the steel sword of his girdle, pierced through his own body. The decapitated head of Te-umman, in front of the great gate situated in Nineveh, I raised on high. By the power of Assur and Ishtar, my lords, the people reviled the decapitated head of Te-umman, king of Elam. Of Mannukiahi, Dunanu, and Nebouzalli, men who were over Gambuli; who against my gods uttered great curses; in Arbela their tongues I pulled out. I flayed off their skin. Dunanu, in Nineveh over a furnace they placed him, and consumed him entirely. The rest of the brothers of Dunanu and Paliya, I threw down; his limbs I cut off, and sent for the inspection of my powerful country.” And others were crushed “in front of the great gate, in the midst of Nineveh.” EB 364.1
38.“Saulmugina, my younger brother; benefits I had given to him, and had appointed him to the kingdom of Babylon; and gave him chariots, cities, fields, and plantations. Tribute and taxes, I caused to return, and more than the father my begetter, I did for him. He these favors disregarded, and devised evil. The yoke of my dominion, he threw off. He, Saulmugina, my younger brother, who did not keep my agreement, the people of Akkad, Chaldea, Aram, and the seacoast, from Aqaba to Babsalimitu, tributaries dependent on me, he caused to revolt against my hand. And Umman-igas the fugitive, who took the yoke of my kingdom, of whom in Elam I had appointed him to the kingdom, the bribe received and came to his aid. The kings of Arabia, Syria, and Ethiopia, which, by command of Assur and Beltis, my hands held;—all of them against me he caused to rebel, and with him they set their faces. The people of Sippara, Babylon, Borsippa, and Kutha, broke off the brotherhood, and the walls of those cities his fighting men he caused to raise. With me they made war.” To cover up his defection, Saulmugina sent an embassy to Assur-bani-pal at Nineveh, pretending friendship, and “pretending to pray for friendship.” EB 364.2
39. Umman-igas, of Elam, marched to Babylonia to assist Saulmugina. While the army was on the march, Tammaritu, the son of Umman-igas, with a strong force revolted. Tammaritu aspired to be king of Elam, and lead the army. The more to gain to himself adherents he declared that he had not cut off the head of Te-umman; and that when obeisance had been made by them all to Assur-bani-pal, at the first, Umman-igas only had “kissed the ground in the presence of the envoys of Assur-bani-pal, king of Assyria.” There was a battle, and Tammaritu gained the victory and cut off his father’s head. EB 365.1
40. Then Saulmugina hired Tammaritu, in turn, to support him, and the march was continued into Babylonia. But while the Elamitic tribes were in Babylonia, Indab-igas, the servant of Tammaritu, raised a revolt and defeated him, and seized the kingship. Tammaritu and a few personal attendants escaped to the Persian Gulf, and made their way to the marshes of the lower Euphrates, from which, after awhile, they came forth and surrendered to one of the generals of Assur-bani-pal. “Their bitterness in their hearts raged, and they came to Nineveh. Tammaritu my royal feet kissed, and earth he threw on his hair, standing at my footstool. I, Assur-bani-pal, of generous heart, of defection the remover, forgiver of sin, to Tammaritu, favor I granted him; and himself and part of the seed of his father’s house, within my palace I placed them.” Thus by the time the war was really begun, Indab-igas was the Elamite who supported Saulmugina. To subdue this almost general revolt and its connections, occupied the greater part of the rest of the reign of Assur-bani-pal. EB 365.2
41. “In my sixth expedition I gathered my army; against Saulmugina I directed the march. Within Sippara, Babylon, Borsippa, and Kutha, him and part of his fighting men I besieged, and captured the whole of them in town and country, without number. I accomplished his overthrow. The rest, in the judgment of Ninip, in drought and famine passed their lives. The people of Akkad, who with Saulmugina were placed, and devised evil; famine took them. For their food, the flesh of their sons and their daughters they did eat. EB 365.3
42. “Saulmugina, my rebellious brother, who made war with me; in the fierce burning fire they threw him, and destroyed his life. And the people who to Saulmugina, my rebellious brother, he had caused to join, and these evil things did; with Saulmugina, their lord, they did not burn in the fire. Before the edge of the sword, dearth, famine, and the burning fire, they had fled, and taken refuge. The stroke of the great gods, my lords, which was not removed, overwhelmed them. One did not flee, a sinner did not escape from my hands, my hands held them. EB 366.1
43. “Powerful war-chariots, covered chariots, his concubines, and the furniture of his palace, they brought to my presence. Those men who the curses of their mouth,against Assur, my god, curses uttered; and against me, the prince his worshiper, had devised evil: their tongues I pulled out, their overthrow I accomplished. The rest of the people alive among the stone lions and bulls, which Sennacherib the grandfather my begetter, in the midst had thrown; again I in that pit, those men in the midst threw. The limbs cut off I caused to be eaten by dogs, bears, eagles, vultures, birds of heaven, and fishes of the deep. EB 366.2
44. “By these things which were done, I satisfied the hearts of the great gods, my lords. Their attendants from the midst of Babylon, Kutha, and Sippara, I brought out and placed in slavery. In splendor, the seats of their [the gods] sanctuaries I built. I raised their glorious towers. Their institutions, which they had removed, like in days of old, in peace I restored and settled. EB 366.3
45. “The rest of the sons of Babylon, Kutha, and Sippara, who under chastisement, suffering, and privation had fled, favor I granted them; the saving of their lives I commanded: in Babylon I saved them. The people of Akkad, and some of Chaldea, Aram, and the sea, whom Saulmugina had gathered, returned to their own districts. The yoke of Assur which they had thrown off, I fixed on them. Prefects and rulers appointed by my hand, I established over them. The institutions and high ordinances of Assur and Beltis, and the gods of Assyria, I fixed upon them; taxes and tribute to my dominion, of the country the sum undiminished I fixed on them.” EB 366.4
46. Assur-bani-pal had sent some Assyrians “to aid Nebo-bellzikri, the grandson of Merodach-Baladan,” tributary and dependent, who dwelt on the seacoast and was a “seaman.” But Nebo-bel-zikri went to Elam; and took with him these Assyrians whom he “by treachery had captured, and taken with him in a boat.” Assur-bani-pal sent to Indab-igas an envoy with the message, “If those men thou dost not send, I will march. Thy cities I will destroy. The people of Shushan, Madaktu, and Hidalu, I will carry off. From thy royal throne, I will hurl thee; and another on thy throne, I will seat. As formerly Te-umman I crushed, I will cause to destroy thee. This is to thee.” EB 367.1
47. The people of Elam hearing of this threat of Assur-bani-pal “against Indab-igas revolted, and they destroyed him with the sword. Umman-aldasi, son of Attamitu, sat on his throne.” Nevertheless, an expedition was made into Elam, and Tammaritu, who had surrendered to the Assyrian general, was appointed to the kingdom, and was established in Shushan. This was barely done, however, before he revolted, and had to be overthrown. This demanded another expedition into Elam, in which, says Assur-bani-pal, “Sixty kaspu [420 miles] of ground, within Elam I entered and marched victoriously. EB 367.2
48. “On my return, when Assur and Ishtar exalted me over my enemies, Shushan the great city, the seat of their gods, the place of their oracle, I captured. By the will of Assur and Ishtar, into its palaces I entered and sat with rejoicing. I opened also their treasure houses of silver, gold, furniture and goods, treasured within them; which the kings of Elam the former, and the kings who were to these days, had gathered and made; which any other enemy besides me, his hands had not put into them; I brought out and as spoil I counted. Silver, gold, furniture and goods, of Sumir and Akkad and Gandunias—all that the kings of Elam, the former and latter, had carried off and brought within Elam; bronze hammered, hard, and pure; precious stones beautiful and valuable, belonging to royalty, which kings of Akkad, former ones and Saulmugina, for their aid had paid to Elam; garments beautiful belonging to royalty; weapons of war, prepared for one to make battle, suited to his hand; instruments furnishing his palaces, all that within it was placed, with the food in the midst which he ate and drank, and the couch he reclined on; powerful war-chariots, of which their ornaments were bronze and paint; horses and great mules, of which their trappings were gold and silver, I carried off to Assyria. EB 367.3
49. “The tower of Shushan, which in the lower part in marble was laid, I destroyed. I broke through its top, which was covered with shining bronze. Susinaq, the god of their oracle, who dwelt in the groves; whom any one had not seen the image of his divinity, Sumudu, Lagomer,” and sixteen other gods “of whom the kings of Elam worship their divinity;” “these gods and goddesses, with their valuables, their goods, their furniture, and priests, and worshipers, I carried off to Assyria.” EB 368.1
50. “Thirty-two statues of kings, fashioned of silver, gold, bronze, and alabaster, from out of Shushan, Madaktu, and Huradi; and a statue of Umman-igas, son of Umbadara; a statue of Istarnanhundi, a statue of Halludus; and a statue of Tammaritu the later, who by command of Assur and Ishtar made submission to me, I brought to Assyria. I broke the winged lions and bulls, watching over the temple, all there were. I removed the winged bulls attached to the gates of the temples of Elam. Until they were not, I overturned.” EB 368.2
51. “His gods and his goddesses I sent into captivity; their forest groves, which any other had not penetrated into the midst, had not trodden their outskirts, my men of war into them entered, saw their groves, and burned them in the fire. The high places of their kings, former and latter, not fearing Assur and Ishtar, my lords, opposers of the kings, my fathers, I pulled down, destroyed, and burnt in the sun. Their attendants I brought to Assyria, their leaders without shelter I placed. The wells of drinking water, I dried them up. EB 368.3
52. “For a journey of a month and twenty-five days the districts of Elam I laid waste; destruction, servitude, and drought I poured over them. The daughters of kings, consorts of kings, and families former and latter of the kings of Elam, the governors and citizens of those cities, all I had captured; the commanders of archers, prefects, directors, three-horse charioteers, chariot drivers, archers, officers, camp followers, and the whole of the army, all there was; people, male and female, small and great, horses, mules, asses, oxen, and sheep, besides much spoil; I carried off to Assyria. EB 368.4
53. “The dust of Shushan, Madaktu, Haltemas, and the rest of their cities, entirely I brought to Assyria. For a month and a day, Elam to its utmost extent I swept. The passage of men, the treading of oxen and sheep; and the springing up of good trees I burnt off his fields. Wild asses, serpents, beasts of the desert, and ugullhus, safely I caused to lay down in them. EB 369.1
54. “Nana, who 1635 9 years had been desecrated, had gone, and dwelt in Elam, a place not appointed to her; and in those days, she and the gods, her fathers, proclaimed my name to the dominion of the earth. The return of her divinity she entrusted to me, thus: ‘Assur-bani-pal, from the midst of Elam wicked, bring me out, and cause me to enter into Bitanna.’ The will commanded by their divinity, which from days remote they had uttered; again they spoke to later people. The hands of her great divinity I took hold of, and the straight road rejoicing in heart, she took to Bitanna. In the month Kisleu, the first day, into Erech I caused her to enter, and in Bithilianni which she had delighted in, I set her up an enduring sanctuary.” EB 369.2
55. Nebo-bel-zikri, the grandson of Merodach-Baladan, had been the disturbing element in Elam all this time; and now Assur-bani-pal determined to get possession of him, or else, in some other way, stop his mischief-making. “My envoy about the surrender of Nebo-bel-zikri, with determination of purpose I sent to Umman-aldas. Nebo-bel-zikri, grandson of Merodach-Baladan, of the journey of my envoy who into Elam had entered, heard, and his heart was afflicted. He inclined to despair. His life before him he did not regard, and longed for death. To his own armor-bearer he said also thus: ‘Slay me with the sword.’ He and his armor-bearer with the steel swords of their girdles, pierced through each other. EB 369.3
56. “Umman-aldas feared, and the corpse of that Nebo-bel-zikri who benefits trampled on, with the head of his armor-bearer who destroyed him with the sword, to my envoy he gave, and he sent it to my presence. His corpse may I not give to burial. More than before his death I returned, and his head I cut off; round the neck of Nebo-qati-zabat, the munmakir of Saulmugina my rebellious brother, who with him to pass into Elam has gone; I hung.” EB 370.1
57. Arabia, too, we have seen, was engaged in this revolt with Saulmugina, and in his next expedition Assur-bani-pal turned his forces against that country. He crossed the Euphrates into Syria, marched down through Moab and Ammon, and attacked Arabia from that direction. The king of Arabia had even gained—or else bought—some kings of Syria to fight in his behalf. Says Assur-bani-pal: “In my ninth expedition I gathered my army; against Vaiteh, [son of Birvul] king of Arabia, I directed the march, who against my agreement had sinned. The benefits done to him he did not regard, and threw off the yoke of my dominion. To seek my alliance his feet broke off, 10 and he ended his presents and great tribute. EB 370.2
58. “When Elam was speaking sedition with Akkad, he heard and disregarded my agreement. Of me, Assur-bani-pal, the king, the noble priest, the powerful leader, the work of the hands of Assur, he left me, and to Abiyateh and Aimu, sons of Tehari, his forces with them to the help of Saulmugina my rebellious brother, he sent. The people of Arabia with him he caused to revolt, and carried away the plunder of the people whom Assur, Ishtar, and the great gods had given me. Their government I had ruled, and they were in my hand.” EB 370.3
59. “By command of Assur and Ishtar my army in the region of Azaran, Hirataqaza, in Edom; in the neighborhood of Yabrud, in Beth-Ammon; in the district of the Hauran, in Moab; [and] in Saharri, in Harge, in the district of Zobah. His numerous fighting men I slew without number; I accomplished his overthrow. The people of Arabia, all who with him came, I destroyed with the sword; and he from the face of the powerful soldiers of Assur, fled and got away to a distance. The tents, the pavilions, their dwellings, a fire they raised, and burned in the flames. Vaiteh, misfortune happened to him and alone he fled to Nabatea. EB 370.4
60. “Vaiteh son of Hazail, brother of the father of Vaiteh son of Birvul, who himself appointed to the kingdom of Arabia, came to my presence. To satisfy the law of Assur and the great gods, my lords, a heavy judgment took him, and in chains I placed him, and with asi and dogs I bound him, and caused him to be kept in the great gate in the midst of Nineveh. EB 371.1
61. “Ammuladi king of Kedar brought to fight, the kings of Syria. His overthrow I accomplished. Himself alive with Adiya, the wife of Vaiteh king of Arabia, they captured and brought to my presence. By command of the great gods, my lords, with the dogs I placed him, and I caused him to be kept chained. EB 371.2
62.“Abiyateh and Aimu, sons of Tehari,” another Arabian king, had helped Saulmugina in his rebellion. They had defended the city of Babylon. After having been reduced by hunger to “eat the flesh of each other,” they surrendered. Afterward, Abiyateh was appointed to the kingdom left vacant by the capture of Vaiteh. But, not regarding the favor granted him, Abiyateh joined with a certain “Nathan, king of Nabatea, whose place was remote, of whom, Vaiteh to his presence (had) fled. Seditious words against me he spoke, and his face with Nathan, king of Nabatea, he set; and their forces they gathered to commit evil against my border. My army I gathered; against Abiyateh I directed the march. EB 371.3
63. “The Tigris and the Euphrates in their flood, strong, peacefully they crossed, they marched. A distant path they took. They ascended the lofty country, they passed through the forests, of which their shadow was vast, bounded by trees great and strong, and vines, a road of mighty wood. They went to the rebels of Vas, a place arid, very difficult, where the bird of heaven had not [fixed a nest]. Wild asses they found not in it. One hundred kaspu of ground [about seven hundred miles] from Nineveh, the city the delight of Ishtar, wife of Bel; against (after) Vaiteh, king of Arabia, and Abiyateh with the forces of the Nabateans they went. EB 371.4
64. “They marched and went in the month Sivan, the month of Sin the eldest son and first of Bel, the twenty-seventh day, on the festival of the lady of Babylon, the mighty one of the great gods. From Hadatta I departed. In Laribda, a tower of stones, over against lakes of water, I pitched my camp. My army the waters for their drink desired, and they marched and went over arid ground, a place very difficult, to Hurarina near Yarki, and Aialla in Vas, a place remote, a place the beast of the desert was not in, and a bird of heaven had not fixed a nest. The overthrow of the Isammih, the servants of Adarsamain, and the Nabateans, I accomplished. People, asses, camels, and sheep, their plunder innumerable, I carried away. EB 371.5
65. “Eight kaspu of ground my army marched victoriously, peacefully they returned, and in Aialli they drank abundant waters; from the midst of Aialli to Quraziti, six kaspu of ground, a place arid and very difficult, they marched and went. The worshipers of Adarsamain, and the Kidri of Vaiteh, son of Birvul (v. Birdadda) king of Arabia, I besieged; his gods, his mother, his ladies, his wife, his kin, all the people in the midst, the asses, camels, and sheep; all in the service of Assur and Ishtar, my lords, my hands took. The road to Damascus I caused their feet to take. EB 372.1
66. “In the month Ab, the month of Sagittarius daughter of Sin, the archer; the third day, from Damascus I departed. Six kaspu of ground in their country all of it I marched, and went to Hulhuliti. In Hukkuruna, the rugged mountain, the servants of Abiyateh, son of Tehari of Kedar, I captured; his overthrow I accomplished, I carried off his spoil. Abiyateh and Aimu, sons of Tehari, in the midst of battle I captured in hand. Hand and feet in bonds of iron I placed them, with the spoil of their country I brought them to Assyria. The fugitives, who from the face of my soldiers fled, ascended, and took to Hukkuruna the rugged mountain. EB 372.2
67. “... oxen, sheep, asses, camels, and men, they carried off without number. The sweeping of all the country through its extent, they collected through the whole of it. Camels like sheep I distributed and caused to overflow to the people of Assyria dwelling in my country. A camel for half a shekel, in half shekels of silver, they valued in front of the gate. In the sale of captives which were gathered in droves, they bartered camels and men. EB 372.3
68. “The people of Arabia one to another, addressed each other thus: ‘The number of these evil things happened to Arabia, because the great agreements with Assur we have not regarded; and we have sinned against the benefits of Assur-bani-pal, the king, the delight of Bel.’ EB 373.1
69. “Umman-aldas, king of Elam, whom from of old Assur and Ishtar, my lords, had commanded to make submission to me; afterwards his country against him revolted, and from the face of the tumult of his servants which they made against him, alone he fled and took to the mountain. From the mountain, the house of his refuge, the place he fled to, like a rapaqaq bird I removed, and alive I brought him to Assyria. Tammaritu, Pahe, and Umman-aldas, who after each other ruled the dominion of Elam, I subjugated to my yoke. Vaiteh, king of Arabia, of whom, by command of Assur and Ishtar, his overthrow I had accomplished; from his country I brought him [to] Assyria.” EB 373.2
70. These four captured kings,—the three of Elam, and Vaiteh, of Arabia,—he says, “to the yoke of my war-chariot I caused to fasten them, and to the gate of the temple they dragged.” EB 373.3
71. After having so thoroughly proved once more to all the nations, the power of Assyria, there was peace throughout the realm during the rest of the reign of Assur-bani-pal. In this time the king turned his attention to decorating his capital city, and rebuilding “Riduti, the private palace of Nineveh:” “I, Assur-bani-pal, the great king, the powerful king, king of nations, king of Assyria, king of the four regions, within that Riduti grew up. That Riduti in my days became old, and its chamber walls decayed. To enlarge it, the whole of it I destroyed. In a good month and a prosperous day, upon that mound its foundation I placed, I fixed its brickwork.... To make that Bitriduti, the people of my country, in the midst took its bricks. EB 373.4
72. “The kings of Arabia who against my agreement sinned, whom in the midst of battle alive I had captured in hand, to make that Bitriduti, heavy burdens I caused them to carry. With dancing and music, with joy and shouting, from its foundation to its roof I built ... beams and great planks from Sirara and Lebanon, I fixed over it. Doors of forest trees, their wood excellent, a covering of copper I spread over, and hung in its gates. Great columns of bronze were the posts at the sides of the gates. That Riduti, my royal seat, the whole of it I finished, entirely I completed. Plantations choice, for the glory of my kingdom I planted like walls.... With joy and shouting I completed it, I entered into it in a state palanquin.” EB 373.5
73. Some of those Arabians whom Assur-bani-pal “the road to Damascus caused their feet to take,” were placed in the country of the Ten Tribes of Israel. A number of other peoples also were taken there by both Esar-haddon and Assur-bani-pal; for in the Scriptures of a later time there is the statement made by the inhabitants in that land, that “Esar-haddon king of Assur brought us up hither.” In addition to this they wrote a letter and it was from “the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, and Archevites, the Babylonians, the Susanchites, the Dehavites, and the Elamites, and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnapper brought over and set in the cities of Samaria.” 11 EB 374.1
74. Asnapper is an abbreviated form of Assur-bani-pal. The Dinaites were from the neighborhood of Cilicia; the Apharsathchites, Tarpelites, and Apharsites, were from the borders of Media and Persia; the Archevites were from Erech in the land of Shinar; the Susanchites were from Susa, or Shushan; the Elamites were from Elam of course; the Dehavites were from the wilds of Persia; and the Babylonians were from Babylon. There is nothing to show which of these were planted there by Esar-haddon and which by Assur-bani-pal, except the Susanchites. As Assur-bani-pal was the first king of Assyria to enter Susanchites. As Assur-bani-pal was the first king to Samaria by him. It may be that of the others, some of the several peoples were brought by each of the kings. EB 374.2
75. Assur-bani-pal was the last of the great kings and conquerors of the Assyrian Empire. He reigned for forty-two years, to about 626 B. C. From the geography of the expeditions and the tributary kings named in his records, it is plain that under him the Assyrian Empire reached a wider extent than under any before him. Such, too, is the view of it that the Lord gives. EB 374.3
76. “Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of a high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs. The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field. Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth. All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations.” 12 EB 375.1