EUCLASSIC. 205 



and thus founded the great Persian (or Medo-Persian) empire, 536 

 B. C.* The immediate successors of Cyrus were Cambyses, 

 who conquered Egypt; Darius Hystaspes, who invaded Scythia, 

 India, and Greece, but was defeated at Marathon, 490 B. C.; and 

 Xerxes I., or the Great, who also invaded Greece, but was checked 

 at Thermopylae, 480 B. C., and his forces defeated at Salamis, Pla- 

 taea, and Mycale. The reign of Jlrtaxerxes II., was marked by 

 the ineffectual revolt of his brother Cyrus, and the retreat of the ten 

 thousand Greeks, sent to assist him, 401 B. C. The last of these 

 kings, Darius Codomanus, was defeated by Alexander the Great, at 

 Issus and Arbela, and was slain 330 B. C. ; when Persia became a 

 part of the Grecian empire. After the death of Alexander, Persia, 

 with Syria, fell to the lot of Seleucus, who commenced the dynasty 

 of the Seleucidae, 312 B. C. That dynasty lost possession of Per- 

 sia, by the revolt of Jlrsaces, who founded the Parthian empire, or 

 dynasty of the Arsacidae, 250 B. C.: and this empire continued till 



A. D. 229 ; when Jlrdshir (Artaxerxes) obtained the sovereignty, 

 and left it to his descendants, the Sassanides, including Sapor, the 

 warrior, Nourshivan or Nousheerwan, the Just, Chosroes or Khoos- 

 roo, and others ; with whom we close the ancient history of Assyria 

 and Persia. 



4. Of the ancient history of Western *flsia, and Carthage, we 

 must speak very briefly. Syria, the ancient Aram, became a pro- 

 vince of the Assyrian empire, about 750 B. C., and shared its fate, 

 till after the death of Alexander the Great, when it fell to the lot of 

 Seleucus Nicator, and became the seat of empire of the Seleucida?, 

 312 B. C. The last king of this dynasty, Jintioclms jlsiaticus, was 

 dethroned by Pompey, 65 B. C., when Syria became a Roman pro- 

 vince. The land of Canaan was inhabited by small tribes, at a very 

 early period : Hebron or Kirjath Arba having been built, according 

 to Hales, about 2153 B. C.; and Sodom destroyed, 2054, or accord- 

 ing to Usher, 1897 B. C. Among the tribes extirpated by the Jews, 

 (p. 141), were the Ammonites, Moabites, Jebusites, Hivites, and 

 Philistines. Phoenicia was very anciently a distinct state; Tyre 

 having been built, according to Hales, 2267 B. C. The Tyrians 

 were generally friendly to the Jews ; but little is known of them, 

 until the cruelty of their king, Pygmalion, caused his sister Dido 

 to flee and found a new state, 878 B. C. Tyre was first taken by 

 Nebuchadnezzar, 572 B. C., when Ithobal was its king; and finally 

 by Alexander the Great, 332 B. C., who totally destroyed the city ; 

 after which Pho3nicia became a part of Syria. 



Carthage, was founded by Dido, with a Phcenician colony, 878 



B. C. It gained possession of most of northern Africa; and then 

 extended its conquests to Sicily. The Carthaginians, in league with 

 Xerxes, were defeated by Gelon, king of Syracuse, at Himera, 480 

 B. C.; but from Hiero, the successor of Gelon, they took several 

 cities. They were expelled from these, by the Romans, in the first 



* Persia, under the Knjanides, had been a distinct kingdom, long before the time 

 of Cyrus ; and Jemsheed (Dschemschid or Giamschid) is said to have reigned there, 

 and founded Istakhar or Persepolis, about 800 B. C. Kaiumarath is mentioned as 

 the first king of Persia or Elam, according to Hales, 2190 B. C. 



s 



