605 



ASSYRIA. 



ASSYRIA. 



Syrians, while the eastern nations named them Assyrians (vii. 63)- 

 Arriau on the other hand (who was for some time governor of Cappa- 

 docia, and cannot be supposed to have been ignorant of the name of 

 a country BO near his own province), in several passages employs the 

 word Assyria where we should have expected he would say Syria ; 

 for instance, when he makes Cilicia border on the east upon Assyria 

 (ii. 5 and 6). Herodotus does not appear to have given this inde- 

 finite sense to the word Assyria : in one passage (ii. 30) the Arabii 

 and Assyrii are named together as bordering upon Egypt ; but it is 

 supposed that the reading is incorrect, and that Syrians should be 

 substituted for Assyrians. 



Ptolemaeus (vi. 1) and the Romans historians confine the name 

 Assyria to a province in the northern part of the Assyrian empire, 

 namely, to the country east of Mesopotamia and the Tigris, which is 

 separated on the north by the Niphates Mountains from Armenia, 

 and on the east by the chain of the Zagros from Media ; Susiana and 

 Babylonia constitute its southern frontiers. This portion of the 

 ancient Assyrian empire, which comprehends part of the modern 

 KurdinUn and the pashalik of Mosul, seems to be meant by Hero- 

 dotus i. 102) wh?n he speaks of " those Assyrians that had in their 

 possession the town of Ninus." The country is divided into three 

 parts by two rivers which rise in the Zagros Mountains and after 

 traversing Kurdistan fall into the Tigris. The first is the Lycus, the 

 Zabatus of Xenophon, and the modern Greater Zab : the Ten Thousand 

 Greeks crossed this river in their retreat : probably near the place 

 where it joins the Tigris, and here they found its breadth four 

 plethra, or 400 Greek feet. (Xenophon, 'Anab.' if. 5.) The second 

 river, the Caprus, also named Zabas or Anzabas, by the later Greek 

 and Roman writers, is probably the present Lesser Zab, which joins 

 the Tigris also on the left bank about 48 miles below the mouth of 

 the Greater Zab. It is not noticed by Xenophou, though he must 

 have passed it towards the end of his first day's march after crossing 

 the Tigris. ('Anab.' ii. 4.) The country between the Tigris and 

 the Greater Zab, and extending northward iuto the mountains of Kur- 

 distan, was by the ancients called Aturia ; between the two Zabs lay 

 the province of Adiabene. To the south of the Caprus, along the left 

 bank of the Tigris, we find the province of Apolloniatis, a name 

 evidently given by the Macedonian Greeks from Apollonia, the chief 

 town of the district, the site of which is unknown. Farther to the 

 east was the province of Chalonitis, called from its chief town Chala, 

 from which probably is derived the modern name of the river 

 Holwan ; and Sittacene towards the confines of Susiana. Ammianus 

 Marcellinus observes (lib. xxiii. 20) that the province of Adiabene 

 derives its name from the two rivers between which it is inclosed, 

 the Diaba and Adiaba, that is, the Greater and Lesser Zab. The 

 Arabian name of Adiabene is Zawabiah, which is likewise a derivation 

 of the word Zab. The plain around Ninus (Nineveh) is divided by 

 Strabo into three districts Calache, Chazene, and Dolomene. 



The name Aturia, as is observed by Dion Cassius (Ixviii. 28), la a 

 mere dialectic variety of pronunciation instead of Assyria ; and the 

 province thus designated probably was the original central point from 

 which the power as well as the name of Assyria was subsequently 

 spread farther to the south and west. After the dissolution of the 

 Assyrian monarchy through the revolt of the Medes, the name Assyria 

 was again restricted to this northern province, while the southern 

 parts were designated either Babylonia, from the name of the 

 principal town, or Chaldsca, from the name of its Inhabitants. 

 Through the conquest of Cyrus, both parts were re-united, and 

 formed one of the most important satrapies of the Persian empire, 

 which is sometimes named Babylonia and sometimes Assyria. This 

 apparent confusion of the names Babylonia and Assyria Is observable 

 even in the later history of these regions, during the wars between 

 the Romans and Parthians. That the province of Adiabene was once 

 comprised under the appellation of Assyria is distinctly asserted by 

 Pliny ('Hint. Nat.' v. 12). 



For a detailed account of the natural features of the Assyrian 

 empire the reader is referred to the articles BABYLONIA, BAGHDAD, 

 MESOPOTAMIA, and KCRDISTAU. 



The ancient capital Ninus (Nineveh) was situated, according to 

 Strabo (xvi. 1), in the plain of Aturia. On both banks of the Tigris, 

 Vint more especially on the eastern bank, from Mosul to the mouth of 

 the Gn-atcr Zab, are extensive ruins and vast mounds. At Koyunjik, 

 Win], and in a vast mound near the village of Nimroi nl, in 

 the fork between the two rivers that in, at the opposite extremities 

 of the Hpace just indicated the respective exertions of M. Botta and 

 Dr. Layard have brought to light a mass of Assyrian antiquities of 

 unexampled interest, many nf which now enrich the national collec- 

 tions in the British Museum and the Louvre. But more especially 

 ry and excavation of the palace of the Assyrian monarchs 

 by Dr. Layard in the moiin<l af. Niim-ond. ii, which it had lain con- 

 cealed with its vast symbolical IBulpturel and cuneiform record* for 

 above 25 cmitm: inferred n upon the ancient 



pot, and thrown unexpected light up-.n (.!* nnd arts of a 



long passed away. II, i -rent light will be 



throv ; i Assyrian hirftnry by the interpretation of the nume- 



rous inscriptions disinterred ; and groat progress has been made to this 

 end by Colonel Rawllnson, Dr. K. Hinckx, and other distinguished 

 British and Continental scholars. An account of what has been done 



in decyphering these ancient inscriptions is given in the ' Journal of 

 the Asiatic Society,' vols. xii. and xiv. Here it will be sufficient to 

 state that the Assyrian monuments are of very early date, that the 

 names of many ancient towns have been recognised in the inscriptions, 

 and that the monarchs who resided in Nineveh possessed a very 

 extensive empire at least as early as the 15th century before Christ. 

 [NINEVEH.] 



The town of Babylon stood, according to Herodotus (i. 180), on 

 both sides of the Euphrates. The account given by him, as well as 

 by Diodonis (ii. 7), and Strabo (xvi. 1), of its extent, and of the 

 immense size of its walls, is probably exaggerated : but even its 

 present remains prove that it must have been a place of extraordinary 

 magnitude. These are found at no very great distance toward the 

 north from Kufa, on the Euphrates : the present town of Hillah is 

 situated in the midst of the ruins. [BABYLON.] 



Seleuceia was founded by Seleucus Nicator, probably soon after the 

 battle of Ipsus. It was situated on a large canal (the Nahr Malcha, 

 or Royal Water), which joined the Euphrates and Tigris, and according 

 to Pliny (vi. 26), at the point where the canal united with the latter 

 stream. On the opposite (the eastern) side of the Tigris stood tho 

 town of Ctesiphon, and a little farther to the south that of Coche or 

 Choche. The foundation of Ctesiphon had been laid by the Macedo- 

 nians ; it did not however rise to importance till the time of the 

 Parthian kings, who chose it for their summer residence. (Strabo, 

 xvi. 1.) The ruins of Takht-i-Kesra, on the eastern side of the Tigris, 

 are supposed to mark the situation. [SELUCEIA ; CTESIPHON.] 



The principal town of the province of Adiabene was Arbela, a name 

 which has been preserved in that of the modern village of Erbil. 

 [ARBELA.] Curtius (v. 1) notices a copious well of naphtha at Mennis, 

 in the neighbourhood of Arbela : the country around these places 

 still abounds in mineral oil and asphaltum. 



History of Assyria. In the book of Genesis (x. 10) the state 

 of Assyria is represented as having sprung from that of Babylonia 

 founded by Nimrod. " The beginning of his dominion," says the 

 Hebrew text, " was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Chalneh, in the country 

 of Shinhar. Prom this country Ashur went forth and built Nineveh 

 and Rechobot, and Calach, also Resen, between Nineveh and Calach ; 

 this is a great city." The Hebrew chroniclers leave us in the dark 

 with reference to the history of Assyria till the earlier part of the 8th 

 century before our era. From this time downwards, the names of 

 several kings of Assyria are mentioned. The earliest of them is Phul, 

 the contemporary of Menahem the king of Israel (died 761 B.C.), 

 whose dominions he invaded and rendered tributary (2 Kings xv. 19). 

 Tiglath Pileser ruled over Assyria while Pekah (d. 740 B.c) was king 

 of Israel, and Ahaz (d. 728 B.C.) king of Judah : he assisted the latter 

 in a war against Pekah and Resen the king of Aram (Syria), invaded 

 their dominions, and led many of their subjects away into captivity. 

 Salmanassar, the contemporary of Hosea, the king of Israel, and 

 Hiskia (Hezekiah) the king of Judah, put an end to the kingdom of 

 Israel by conquering, after a siege of three years, its capital Samaria 

 (722 B.C.), and leading away the remaining inhabitants of the country 

 as captives into various eastern provinces of his dominions (2 Kings 

 xvii. 5, 6 ; xviii. 9-11). Among the eastern countries subject to 

 Salmanassar, besides soine names not yet well ascertained, Media 

 (Madai) is mentioned (2 Kings xvii. 6; xviii. 11). The immediate 

 successor of Salmanassar seems to have been Sanherib (Sennacherib), 

 who undertook an expedition against Egypt (714 B.C.), in which he' 

 invaded Judtca and besieged Jerusalem, but failed in his attempt to 

 take it (2 Kings xviii. 13 ; xix. 36 ; 2 Chron. xxxii. 1-21). After 

 his return to Nineveh, his capital, Sennacherib was killed by two of his 

 own sons, Adrammelech and Shar-Ezer, who after the perpetration of 

 this act fled into the country of Ararat (Armenia), while Esarhaddon, 

 another sou of Sennacherib, succeeded him on the throne. A king of 

 Assyria named Sargon is mentioned by the prophet Isaiah (xx. 1). 

 Nebuchadnezzar, whose accession coincided with tho 48th year of 

 Manasaeh, and has been fixed at 650 B.C., is the last king of Assyria 

 mentioned in the Bible. In his reign the Median king Arphaxad 

 (Phraortcs) was overthrown ; Holophernes led an expedition against 

 the Jews 633 B.C. ; and the Scythian invasion took place. The 

 destruction of Nineveh occurred in 606 B.C. 



Herodotus (book ii. 141) mentions Sennacherib under the name 

 Sarax^piiSos, and designates him as a king of the Arabii and Asyrii, 

 who led ah unsuccessful expedition against Egypt during the reign of 

 king Sethos. Herodotus either wrote or intended to write a separate 

 work on the Assyrian empire (Herod i. 184), and he accordingly 

 adverts but incidentally to the history of that kingdom. Besides 

 Sennacherib ho only notices Ninus, the founder of the empire (i. 178), 

 and the last king, Sardanapalus (ii. 150). Diodorus ('Bibl. Hist.' ii.), 

 who chiefly follows Ctesias as his authority, Julius Africanus, 

 Kusebius, and Syncellus, commence the line of Assyrian kings with 

 Belus and Ninus, and conclude it with Sardauapalus (also named 

 TliMioaconcoleros), who, according to Eusebius was a contemporary 

 of Lycurgus and of Jeroboam II., king of Israel (d. 784 B.C.). 



According to Diodorus, Ninus was the' first Assyrian king who 

 ilistinguished himself by conquest so as to be remembered in history. 

 Assisted by Arisous, an Arabian chief, he conquered Babylonia, made 

 Armenia tributary, subjected Media to his dominion, and compelled 

 all the nations of south-western Asia, with the exception only of 



