The Rand-McNally Bible Atlas Part 16

4. =The Fall of Israel=, B.C. 742-721. The decline of Israel after the reign of Jeroboam II. was rapid. A succession of usurpers seized the throne, the foreign conquests melted away, and anarchy prevailed. The cause of these sudden changes was the growth of the a.s.syrian power under a succession of warlike kings, who made Nineveh the capital of the Eastern world. Syria fell before their arms, and Israel soon followed.

In the reign of Menahem, Israel became tributary to a.s.syria; and in that of Pekah, B.C. 735, the portion of Israel on the north, including the tribe of Naphtali, was carried into captivity by Tiglath-pileser. (2 Kings 15:29.) In the reign of Hoshea, Samaria itself was taken (B.C.

721) by Sargon (having been besieged by Shalmaneser); and the Ten Tribes were finally carried into captivity to Halah and Habor. (2 Kings 17.) This period belongs to the map of the a.s.syrian Empire.

5. =The Fall of Judah=, B.C. 721-587. The kingdom of Judah lasted more than a hundred years after that of Israel, though most of the time as a subject-nation to the "great king" of a.s.syria, to whom Ahaz and most of the kings of Judah after him paid tribute. The most important events of this period were: (1.) The reforms of King Hezekiah, and the deliverance of Jerusalem from the a.s.syrians under Sennacherib. (2 Chron. 30-32.) (2.) The captivity of King Mana.s.seh among the a.s.syrians, and his return.

(2 Chron. 33.) (3.) The attempt at reformation by King Josiah, and his death at the battle of Megiddo. (2 Chron. 34, 35.) (4.) The rise of the power of Babylon, and Nebuchadnezzar's first invasion of Judah, in the reign of Jehoiakim, B.C. 606. From this date Judah was subject to Babylon, and the "seventy years' captivity" began. (5.) The rebellion of Zedekiah, the last king, against Nebuchadnezzar, the siege of Jerusalem, the destruction of the kingdom, and the final carrying of Judah into captivity to Babylon, B.C. 587.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE RESTORATION OF ISRAEL, B.C. 800.]

We notice the most important wars, sieges and battles of this period, indicated upon the map of the Division of Solomon's Empire, by flags.

1. The battle of =Zemaraim=, near Bethel, fought between Jeroboam and Abijah, the second king of Judah, B.C. 917, and resulting in the defeat of Israel, and the ruin of Jeroboam's plans of ambition. (2 Chron. 13.)

2. The battle of =Mareshah=, in Judah, on the border of the mountain region, in which King Asa defeated Zerah, the Ethiopian king of Egypt, and an immense host, B.C. 900. (2 Chron. 14.)

3. The siege of =Samaria=, by Ben-hadad, king of Syria, in the reign of Ahab, who was able to repel the invaders. (1 Kings 20.) We notice, that from this time, for a century, the princ.i.p.al wars of Israel are with Syria.

4. The victory at =Aphek=, won by Ahab over Ben-hadad and the Syrians.

Ahab, however, allowed the fruits of the victory to be lost, when he might have made it decisive in its results. (1 Kings 20:26-43.)

5. The battle of =Ramoth-gilead=, in which the Syrians, under Ben-hadad, were victorious over allied Israel and Judah, and Ahab was slain. (1 Kings 22.)

6. The slaughter of the allied Moabites, Ammonites and Edomites, at =Berachah=, "the valley of blessing," in the reign of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. (2 Chron. 20.)

7. The war of Israel, Judah and Edom, against the Moabites, in which a great battle took place at =Kir-haraseth=, in the land of Moab, when the king of Moab offered his own son as a sacrifice in presence of the contending armies. (2 Kings 3.) This was during the reign of Jehoshaphat in Judah, and of Jehoram in Israel.

8. A second siege of =Samaria=, by the Syrians, under Ben-hadad, in the reign of Jehoram; and a miraculous deliverance. (2 Kings 6, 7.)

9. A battle at =Zair= (probably Sela, or Petra), in Edom, in which Jehoram was surrounded by the revolting Edomites, and won a victory, yet could not prevent the Edomites from gaining their liberty. (2 Kings 8:21, 22.)

10. The capture of =Gath=, by the Syrians, under Hazael, in the reign of Jehoash, king of Judah. (2 Kings 12:17.)

11. The victory of King Jehoash, of Israel, over the Syrians, at =Aphek=, foretold by Elisha. (2 Kings 13:17-25.)

12. The battle of =Beth-shemesh=, a victory of Israel over Judah, resulting in an Israelite army entering Jerusalem, in the reign of Amaziah. (2 Kings 14.)

13. The final capture of =Samaria= by the a.s.syrians, and the extinction of the kingdom of the Ten Tribes. (2 Kings 17:1-6.)

14. The battle of =Megiddo=, in which King Josiah, of Judah, lost his life while resisting the invasion of Pharaoh-necho, the king of Egypt.

(2 Kings 23:29.)

15. Two battles at =Carchemish=, near the Euphrates, in the first of which, Pharaoh-necho, of Egypt, was victorious (B.C. 608) over the a.s.syrians, and in the second (B.C. 606) was thoroughly defeated by Nebuchadnezzar, and compelled to relinquish all his conquests in Asia.

(2 Chron. 35:20.)

16. The destruction of =Jerusalem= by Nebuchadnezzar, and the extinction of the kingdom of Judah. (2 Kings 25.)

OUTLINE FOR TEACHING.

1. Draw on the blackboard the map of _Solomon's Empire_, as already given, showing its boundaries, and placing on it the city of Jerusalem, the river Jordan, etc.

2. Divide the map into the _five kingdoms_ of _Syria_, _Israel_, _Judah_, _Moab_ and _Edom_, and show their capitals and political relations.

3. Drill the cla.s.s upon the leading events of the _five historical periods_ named in the above description, placing upon the map the localities named in the history.

4. Name the _battles_ of the periods, and state the circ.u.mstances of each battle, placing them upon the map in their historical order.

5. Through all the work let the cla.s.s draw their own maps, following that upon the board, and at the close carefully review all the work.

This subject might require several lessons in a normal cla.s.s.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MOSQUE EL AKSA.]

THE GREAT ORIENTAL EMPIRES.

THE history of the Bible is so interwoven with that of the East, that a view of its great empires is necessary. All the lands between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean were united at different periods under one government, and formed an empire which was constantly changing according to the power or weakness of its dominant state; for in the Oriental world there never has existed anything like a confederation of states on an equality. At different periods Ur, Babylon or Nineveh conquered all the surrounding lands; or at other periods a single race, as the Medes and Persians, obtained supremacy. The empire thus arose and fell, to be succeeded by a similar empire with another centre. During the Old Testament history, between the days of Abraham and of Ezra, more than 1,500 years, four successive empires appeared in the East. These were:

I. The Early Babylonian Empire. B.C. 2280-1120.

II. The a.s.syrian Empire. B.C. 1120-626.

III. The Babylonian Empire. B.C. 606-538.

IV. The Persian Empire. B.C. 538-330.

I. =The Early Babylonian Empire= began about 3000 B.C., with several states, each having a city as its capital. Among these were Ur (_Mugheir_), Lagesh (s.h.i.+rpurta), and Isin. These separate kingdoms were united in an empire, of which Babylon was the capital, in the reign of Hammurabi (the Amraphel of Gen. 14:1), about 2280 B.C. It lasted, with varying fortunes, for 1,000 years. A map of this empire, in the time of Abraham, is given on page 34.

[Ill.u.s.tration: AN a.s.sYRIAN PALACE.]

II. =The a.s.syrian Empire= arose from the small country a.s.shur, about 25 square miles in extent, lying east of the Tigris and north of the lower Zab. Its capital was the city a.s.shur, now called _Kileh Sherghat_, 60 miles south of Nineveh. The city rose to power in the 14th century B.C., when, under Tukulti-ninib, Babylon was captured and the Babylonian empire became the a.s.syrian. Afterward _Nimrud_, 20 miles south of Nineveh, became the capital. Not until 702 was NINEVEH made by Sennacherib the royal residence. It soon surpa.s.sed the earlier capitals in size and magnificence, and became one of the largest cities of the East. It then included four cities, surrounded by one wall, and forming a parallelogram, as shown on the plan on page 96. The greatest kings of this empire were: Shalmaneser, who made war on Samaria, and erected the "Black Obelisk," which now stands in the British Museum, and by its inscriptions furnishes the best record of the kingdom down to its own age; Sargon, who completed the conquest of Samaria, and otherwise added to the empire; Sennacherib, who enlarged and beautified Nineveh, warred from Babylon to Egypt, and extorted tribute from Hezekiah, king of Judah; and Esar-haddon, son of the preceding, who saw the empire at its height, embracing, besides a.s.syria, Armenia, Media, Babylonia, Elam, Mesopotamia, Syria, Israel, Judah, and the northern portion of Egypt.

These lands, however, for the most part retained their own rulers, customs and government, but recognized themselves as va.s.sals to the "Great King," as he is styled in the inscriptions. Esar-haddon took Mana.s.seh, king of Judah, captive to Babylon, and repopulated Samaria with colonists from other lands. His son, a.s.shur-bani-pal, witnessed his kingdom declining, and was the last of the great kings, though he built a vast palace at Nineveh. There was no coherence or unity in the empire, whose provinces were held together only by the strong arm of the king; and, on the death of a.s.shur-bani-pal, a general revolt took place among the subject nations, his son perished, and Nineveh was utterly destroyed, never again to appear in history.

The boundaries of the a.s.syrian empire are given upon the map according to the best authorities. On the north they were the Armenian Mountains, the river Cyrus (now called the _Kur_), north of the Araxes, and the northern range of Mount Taurus; on the east, the Caspian Sea and the great salt desert; on the south, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian desert and Upper Egypt; on the west, the Mediterranean and the river Halys.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE a.s.sYRIAN EMPIRE.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE BABYLONIAN EMPIRE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS.]

III. =The Babylonian Empire=, B.C. 606-538. This period has been more correctly termed that of the "four kingdoms," since the East was not then, as during the a.s.syrian period, under one government. The destruction of Nineveh had been wrought by the union of the Medes and Babylonians, under their kings, Cyaxares and Nabopola.s.sar, and these peoples succeeded to most, but not all, of the conquests of a.s.syria.

1. Media won its own independence, and obtained possession of Armenia, a.s.syria Proper (north of the Tigris), and Elam. Persia had already been conquered, so that the largest, though less important, portion of the a.s.syrian empire now belonged to Media.

2. Babylonia obtained Chaldea, Mesopotamia, Syria and Palestine. Most of these countries had claimed their independence on the fall of a.s.syria; and their conquest occupied the reign of Nabopola.s.sar, and his greater son, Nebuchadnezzar. Thus the important parts of the Bible world were nearly all under the rule of Babylon.

3. A new kingdom arose in Asia Minor, that of Lydia, embracing all the lands between the aegean Sea and the river Halys; destined, however, to a short history, for it formed one of the earliest conquests of Cyrus the Great.