114 SUKGEON-GENERAL SIR C. A. GORDON^ M.D.^ K.C.B., ON 



of Sargon of Isaiah,* who having invaded Judea, lost in one 

 night 185,000 of his troops before Jerusalem from pestilence. 

 B.C. 604 till 561 included the period of Nebuchadnezzar's 

 reign. On three different occasions he laid siege to and 

 captured Jerusalem, on the last, carrying many of its 

 illustrious men, among them Daniel, as captives to Babylon 

 ( Jerem. xxiv, 8 ; xxvii, 12 ; Ezek. xii, 13). Twenty-three 

 years after the death of Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon was taken 

 by Cyrus, by whose decree, B.C. 536, the Jewish captivity 

 came to an end. Five years thereafter, Babylon, together 

 with its vast treasure, fell to Alexander, B.C. 331 ; its empire 

 and power were ended. But the great Chinese dynasty of 

 Chow had still seventy years of its course to run. 



3. Egypt. — The Egyptian dynasties from and including the 

 21st to the 31st,t Avith which ended the line by conquest of 

 the country by Alexander, rose and passed aAvay, while this, 

 the third dynasty of China, held sway. The power of 

 Ethiopia came and went; the invasion by Sennacherib of 

 Egypt B.C. 712, Phoenicia, Judah, and neighbouring countries 

 took place ; Pharaoh Necho instituted many public works, 

 including an attempt at a maritime canal ninety-six miles 

 long and the completion of various other canals; his ships 

 manned by Phoenician sailors circumnavigated Africa; Apries 

 conquered Phoenicia and a portion of Egypt,t a Persian 

 province under Cambyses ; his failure against the Ethiopians 

 or Soudanese ; the destruction of an army (527) sent by him 

 towards the oasis of Ammon;§ afterwards Egypt conquered 

 by Alexander.il 



4. Persia. — The whole period of the Persian empire from 

 its foundation by Cyrus to its end by defeat by Alexander 

 of Darius III at Issus, B.C. 333, and Gaugamela, B.C. 331, 

 comes within that of the third Chinese dynasty. 



5. Media. — Also from the early period of subjugation of 

 Media by the Assyrians to the date when five hundred 

 years thereafter it recovered its independence, and had its 

 own capital citylF established, its subsequent combination 



* Isaiah, B.C. 786-696. 



t Manetho's list. 



X Presently invaded by Assyrians ; subdued and divided into twelve 

 provinces or Governments. 



i^ Amnion, his wife ]Mut, and son Chesiu form the divine triad of 

 Thebes, No-Amon. 



II For record of historical events, see Ancient History, by Schmitz. 



ir Ecbatana, near the modern Hamadan. 



