July 13, 1883.] 



SCIENCE. 



41 



and possessions which [he took?]." This version 

 differs slightly from the one offered by Mr. Pinches, 

 but not as to the revolt of the troops of Astyages, his 

 delivery to Cyrus, and the c.ipturo of Ecbatana. 



The accounts of Nabonidus and of Cyrus vary 

 somewliat. The language of the former implies a 

 battle in which Cyrus defeated the Medes and cap- 

 tured Astyages, but does not nienlioii a revolt, nor 

 the capture of Ecbatana, the Median capital. The 

 account by Cyrus, being the state annals, is likely to 

 be the more exact, and enters more into detail than 

 that of Nabonidus; but the two are not at all contra- 

 dictory. All that Nabonidus wished to record was 

 the overthrow of the Median power and the capture 

 of their king, and it was uniinport.ant whether this 

 took place in battle or by mutiny. It may be that 

 he did not know the details of the war, or it is possi- 

 ble that one division of the Median army gave battle, 

 while another mutinied and delivered Astyages to 

 Cyrns. There is an apparent difference in the two 

 accounts as to the date of the capture of Astyages. 

 According to the Cyrus text, this event took place in 

 the sixth year of Nabonidus, while Nabonidus says 

 that it occurred in the ' third year.' It is, however, 

 not clear from what point Nabonidus reckons, — per- 

 hap'? from the date of his dream. 



There is nothing in either of these accounts to 

 show whether Cyrus was in any way connected by 

 birth with Asty.oges. As to the relation of the coun- 

 tries of Media and Persia at this time, it is clear, 

 from the language of Nabonidus, that Persia was a 

 very small power; and if the word 'his servant' 

 {aradsii), as applied to Cyrus, means the servant of 

 the Medes, the conclusion would be that Cyrus was 

 a tributary king to the Median power. This agrees 

 with the statement of Herodotus (i. 107), that Cam- 

 byses, the father of Cyrus, was considered by As- 

 tyages as of respectable family, but inferior to an 

 ordinary Mede. Nicolaus of Damascus also makes 

 Persia subject to Media (Muller, Frag. hist. Gi:, iii. 

 390, Fr. 66). 



It is certain that the mystery surrounding the rela- 

 tions of the Median and Persian courts and people 

 can never be cleared up with the aids hitherto pos- 

 sessed. Nothing but the contemporaneous literature 

 of these peoples themselves, and of neighboring peo- 

 ples, can ever solve the problem. In another inscrip- 

 tion Cyrus calls himself the king of Babylon, son of 

 Cambyses king of Ansan, grandson of Cyrus king 

 of Ansan, descendant of Sispis king of Ansan, royal 

 offspring (V. Rawl. 3.5). This language is, however, 

 not inconsistent with the tradition, so strongly repre- 

 sented by the Greeks, that the Persians were tribu- 

 tary to the Medes. To leave the government of 

 subject nations in the hands of native kings w.as the 

 rule in the later centuries of the Assyrian empire, 

 and the Medes may well have practised the same 

 policy. It was sufficient that the vassal king sent 

 his yearly tribute, and, on proper occasion, kissed 

 the foot of his miuster; but further than this was not 

 required, and he was regarded as king in his own 

 tribe or nation. 



A word as to Ansan and Anzan. These are geo- 



gr.aphical terms, — the first a city; the second appar- 

 ently a land, because prccedeil by the sign for a 

 Country. IJiit since this sign often represents a city 

 also, it may well be that Ansan and Anzan are only 

 two different ways of writing the name of the same 

 place. This seems to be also the opinion of Profes- 

 sor Sayce [Trans, .toe. bibl. arch., iii. 475). Probably 

 there was both a city and a country Ansan, or Anzan. 

 But what was AnJan ? In the same inscription 

 Cyrus calls himself king of Ansan and king of Per- 

 sia (Parsu, Trans, soc. bibl. arch., vii. 1.5."), 1.59). Pos- 

 sibly Ansan, or Anzan, was originally the name of a 

 tribe, city, and district, to which Cyrus and his fam- 

 ily belonged. 



Another temple which Nabonidus restores is the 

 celebrated temple of the Sun-god at Sippar. Nebu- ' 

 chadnezzar, he relates, had restored this edifice, and 

 had sought for cylinders, but without success. But 

 Nabonidus was determined to find the inscription of 

 the founder of the temple; and his search was re- 

 warded, for, .at a depth of eighteen cubits, he came 

 across the cylinder of N.aram-.Siu, son of Sargon, 

 which no king preceding him had seen for 'three 

 thousand two hundred years.' According to the 

 custom of the kings, he placed an inscription of his 

 own by the side of that of Naram-Sin. As the date 

 of Nabonidus was about .550 B.C., that of Naram- 

 Sin would go back to 3750 B.C. But even at this 

 time civilization must have been far advanced, for 

 Sargon, the father of Narara-Sin (if the same as the 

 Sargon of Agane), had in liis library an astronomical 

 work comprising seventy tablets. With this ancient 

 date would agree the statement of Sargon II.. king 

 of Assyria 721-705 B.C., that three hundred and 

 fifty princes had preceded him on the throne (Cylin- 

 der inscription, 1. 45), and the long list of Babylonian 

 kings, numbering, before the tablet was broken, two 

 hundred or more. 



A third temple, which Nabonidus restores, is that 

 of the goddess Anunit at .Sippar. By digging he 

 found the inscription of the last king who had re- 

 stored the temple, Saggasti-Buriai, son of Kudtii- 

 Bel, about 1050 B.C. Anunit, goddess of this temple, 

 seems to be the planet Venus as morning and as 

 evening star. 



These two celebrated temples at Sippar are men- 

 tioned several times in the cuneiform literature. 

 From Berosus, also, we know that the people of Sip- 

 par were devoted to the worship of the sun, for he 

 calls the place ' city of the sun ' (iv noXei iiTuov Stn-Tro- 

 po(f). It was also, no doubt, as a part of this worship 

 that the people of Sippar, whom the Assyrian king 

 settled in the land of Samari.a, burned their children 

 in the fire (2 Kings, xvii. 31). D. G. Lyon. 



OCEAN WATER AND BOTTOMS. 



The oci-an explored by the Norske Nordhavs 

 expedition, 1876-78, w,as a part of the North Atlan- 

 tic lying to tlie west and north of Norw.ay. The sea- 

 water was especially studied in order to ascertain, if 

 possible, whether the relation subsisting between its 



