History of Egypt, Chaldea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery Part 7

The upper surface of the tell of the acropolis at Susa for a depth of nearly two metres contains remains of the buildings and antiquities of the Achaemenian kings and others of both later and earlier dates.

In these upper strata of the mound are found remains of the Arab, Sa.s.sanian, Parthian, Seleucian, and Persian periods, mixed indiscriminately with one another and with Elamite objects and materials of all ages, from that of the earliest patesis down to that of the Susian kings of the seventh century B.C.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 160.jpg BABIL.]

The most northern of the mounds which now mark the site of the ancient city of Babylon; used for centuries as a quarry for building materials.

The reason of this mixture of the remains of many races and periods is that the later builders on the mound made use of the earlier building materials which they found preserved within it. Along the skirts of the mound may still be seen the foundations of the wall which formed the princ.i.p.al defence of the acropolis in the time of Xerxes, and in many places not only are the foundations preserved but large pieces of the wall itself still rise above the surface of the soil.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 160a.jpg "STELE OF VICTORY"]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 160a-text.jpg TEXT FOR "STELE OF VICTORY"]

Stele of Naram-Sin, an early Semitic King of Agade in Babylonia, who reigned about B. C. 3750. From the photograph by Messrs. Mansell & Co.

The plan of the wall is quite irregular, following the contours of the mound, and, though it is probable that the wall was strengthened and defended at intervals by towers, no trace of these now remains. The wall is very thick and built of unburnt bricks, and the system of fortification seems to have been extremely simple at this period.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 161.jpg ROUGHLY HEWN SCULPTURE OF A LION STANDING OVER A FALLEN MAN, FOUND AT BABYLON.]

The group probably represents Babylon or the Babylonian king triumphing over the country's enemies. The Arabs regard the figure as an evil spirit, and it is pitted with the marks of bullets shot at it. They also smear it with filth when they can do so un.o.bserved; in the photograph some newly smeared filth may be seen adhering to the side of the lion.

The earlier citadel or fortress of the city of Susa was built at the top of the mound and must have been a more formidable stronghold than that of the Achaemenian kings, for, besides its walls, it had the additional protection of the steep slopes of the mound.

Below the depth of two metres from the surface of the mound are found strata in which Elamite objects and materials are, no longer mixed with the remains of later ages, but here the latest Elamite remains are found mingled with objects and materials dating from the earliest periods of Elam's history. The use of un-burnt bricks as the princ.i.p.al material for buildings erected on the mound in all ages has been another cause of this mixture of materials, for it has little power of resistance to water, and a considerable rain-storm will wash away large portions of the surface and cause the remains of different strata to be mixed indiscriminately with one another. In proportion as the trenches were cut deeper into the mound the strata which were laid bare showed remains of earlier ages than those in the upper layers, though here also remains of different periods are considerably mixed. The only building that has. .h.i.therto been discovered at Susa by M. de Morgan, the ground plan of which was in a comparatively good state of preservation, was a small temple of the G.o.d Shu-s.h.i.+nak, and this owed its preservation to the fact that it was not built of unburnt brick, but was largely composed of burnt brick and plaques and tiles of enamelled terra-cotta.

But although the diggings of M. de Morgan at Susa have so far afforded little information on the subject of Elamite architecture, the separate objects found have enabled us to gain considerable knowledge of the artistic achievements of the race during the different periods of its existence. Moreover, the stelae and stone records that have been recovered present a wealth of material for the study of the long history of Elam and of the kings who ruled in Babylonia during the earliest ages.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 163.jpg GENERAL VIEW OF THE EXCAVATIONS ON THE KASR AT BABYLON.]

Showing the depth in the mound to which the diggings are carried.

The most famous of M. de Morgan's recent finds is the long code of laws drawn up by Hammurabi, the greatest king of the First Dynasty of Babylon.* This was engraved upon a huge block of black diorite, and was found in the tell of the acropolis in the winter of 1901-2. This doc.u.ment in itself has entirely revolutionized current theories as to the growth and origin of the princ.i.p.al ancient legal codes. It proves that Babylonia was the fountainhead from which many later races borrowed portions of their legislative systems. Moreover, the subjects dealt with in this code of laws embrace most of the different cla.s.ses of the Babylonian people, and it regulates their duties and their relations to one another in their ordinary occupations and pursuits. It therefore throws much light upon early Babylonian life and customs, and we shall return to it in the chapter dealing with these subjects.

* It will be noted that the Babylonian dynasties are referred to throughout this volume as "First Dynasty,"

"Second Dynasty," "Third Dynasty," etc. They are thus distinguished from the Egyptian dynasties, the order of which is indicated by Roman numerals, e.g. "Ist Dynasty,"

"IId Dynasty," "IIId Dynasty."

The American excavators at Nippur, under the direction of Mr. Haynes, have done much in the past to increase our knowledge of Sumerian and early Babylonian history, but the work has not been continued in recent years, and, unfortunately, little progress has been made in the publication of the material already acc.u.mulated. In fact, the leaders.h.i.+p in American excavation has pa.s.sed from the University of Pennsylvania to that of Chicago. This progressive university has sent out an expedition, under the general direction of Prof. R. F. Harper (with Dr. E. J. Banks as director of excavations), which is doing excellent work at Bismya, and, although it is too early yet to expect detailed accounts of their achievements, it is clear that they have already met with considerable success. One of their recent finds consists of a white marble statue of an early Sumerian king named Daudu, which was set up in the temple of E-shar in the city of Udnun, of which he was ruler. From its archaic style of workmans.h.i.+p it may be placed in the earliest period of Sumerian history, and may be regarded as an earnest of what may be expected to follow from the future labours of Prof. Harper's expedition.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 165.jpg WITHIN THE PALACE OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR II.]

At Fara and at Ab Hatab in Babylonia, the Deutsch-Orient Gesellschaft, under Dr. Koldewey's direction, has excavated Sumerian and Babylonian remains of the early period. At the former site they unearthed the remains of many private houses and found some Sumerian tablets of accounts and commercial doc.u.ments, but little of historical interest; and an inscription, which seems to have come from Abu Hatab, probably proves that the Sumerian name of the city whose site it marks was Kishurra. But the main centre of German activity in Babylonia is the city of Babylon itself, where for the last seven years Dr. Koldewey has conducted excavations, unearthing the palaces of Nebuchadnezzar II on the mound termed the Kasr, identifying the temple of E-sagila under the mound called Tell Amran ibn-Ali, tracing the course of the sacred way between E-sagila and the palace-mound, and excavating temples dedicated to the G.o.ddess Ninmakh and the G.o.d Ninib.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 166.jpg EXCAVATIONS IN THE TEMPLE OP NINIB AT BABYLON.]

In the middle distance may be seen the metal trucks running on light rails which are employed on the work for the removal of the debris from the diggings.

Dr. Andrae, Dr. Koldewey's a.s.sistant, has also completed the excavation of the temple dedicated to Nab at Birs Nimrud. On the princ.i.p.al mound at this spot, which marks the site of the ancient city of Borsippa, traces of the ziggurat, or temple tower, may still be seen rising from the soil, the temple of Nab lying at a lower level below the steep slope of the mound, which is mainly made up of debris from the ziggurat. Dr. Andrae has recently left Babylonia for a.s.syria, where his excavations at Sher-ghat, the site of the ancient a.s.syrian city of Ashur, are confidently expected to throw considerable light on the early history of that country and the customs of the people, and already he has made numerous finds of considerable interest.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 167.jpg THE PRINc.i.p.aL MOUND OF BIRS NIMRUD, WHICH MARKS THE SITE OP THE ANCIENT CITY OP BORSIPPA.]

Since the early spring of 1903 excavations have been conducted at Kuyunjik, the site of the city of Nineveh, by Messrs. L. W. King and R.

C. Thompson on behalf of the Trustees of the British Museum, and have resulted in the discovery of many early remains in the lower strata of the mound, in addition to the finding of new portions of the two palaces already known and partly excavated, the identification of a third palace, and the finding of an ancient temple dedicated to Nab, whose existence had already been inferred from a study of the a.s.syrian inscriptions.* All these diggings at Babylon, at Ashur, and at Nineveh throw more light upon the history of the country during the a.s.syrian and Neo-Babylonian periods, and will be referred to later in the volume.

* It may be noted that excavations are also being actively carried on in Palestine at the present time. Mr. Macalister has for some years been working for the Palestine Exploration Fund at Gezer; Dr. Schumacher is digging at Megiddo for the German Palestine Society; and Prof. Sellin is at present excavating at Taanach (Ta'annak) and will shortly start work at Dothan. Good work on remains of later historical periods is also being carried on under the auspices of the Deutsch-Orient Gesellschaft at Ba'albek and in Galilee. It would be tempting to include here a summary of the very interesting results that have recently been achieved in this fruitful field of archaeological research, for it is true that these excavations may strictly be said to bear on the history of a portion of Western Asia. But the problems which they raise would more naturally be discussed in a work dealing with recent excavation and research in relation to the Bible, and to have summarized them adequately would have increased the size of the present volume considerably beyond its natural limits. They have therefore not been included within the scope of the present work.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 168.jpg THE PRINc.i.p.aL MOUND AT SHEKGHAT, WHICH MARKS THE SITE OF ASHUK, THE ANCIENT CAPITAL OF THE a.s.sYRIANS.]

Meanwhile, we will return to the diggings described at the beginning of this chapter, as affording new information concerning the earliest periods of Chaldaean history.

A most interesting inscription has recently been discovered by Capt.

Cros at Telloh, which throws considerable light on the rivalry which existed between the cities of s.h.i.+rpurla and Gishkhu, and at the same time furnishes valuable material for settling the chronology of the earliest rulers whose inscriptions have been found at Mppur and their relations to contemporary rulers in s.h.i.+rpurla.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 169.jpg THE MOUND OF KUYUNJIK, WHICH FORMED ONE OF THE PALACE MOUNDS OF THE ANCIENT a.s.sYRIAN CITY OF NINEVEH.]

The cities of Gishkhu and s.h.i.+rpurla were probably situated not far from one another, and their rivalry is typical of the history of the early city-states of Babylonia. The site of the latter city, as has already been said, is marked by the mounds of Telloh on the east bank of the Shatt el-Hai, the natural stream joining the Tigris and Euphrates, which has been improved and ca.n.a.lized by the dwellers in Southern Babylonia from the earliest period.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 170.jpg WINGED BULL IN THE PALACE OF SENNACHERIB ON KUYUNJIK, THE PRINc.i.p.aL MOUND MARKING THE SITE OF NINEVEH.]

The site of Gishkhu may be set with considerable probability not far to the north of Telloh on the opposite bank of the Shatt el-Hai. These two cities, situated so close to one another, exercised considerable political influence, and though less is known of Gishkhu than of the more famous Babylonian cities such as Ur, Brech, and Larsam, her proximity to s.h.i.+rpurla gave her an importance which she might not otherwise have possessed. The earliest knowledge we possess of the relations existing between Gishkhu and s.h.i.+rpurla refers to the reign of Mesilim, King of Kish, the period of whose rule may be provisionally set before that of Sargon of Agade, i.e, about 4000 B.C.

At this period there was rivalry between the two cities, in consequence of which Mesilim, King of Kish, was called in as arbitrator. A record of the treaty of delimitation that was drawn up on this occasion has been preserved upon the recently discovered cone of Entemena. This doc.u.ment tells us that at the command of the G.o.d Enlil, described as "the king of the countries," Ningirsu, the chief G.o.d of s.h.i.+rpurla, and the G.o.d of Gishkhu decided to draw up a line of division between their respective territories, and that Mesilim, King of Kish, acting under the direction of his own G.o.d Kadi, marked out the frontier and set up a stele between the two territories to commemorate the fixing of the boundary.

This policy of fixing the boundary by arbitration seems to have been successful, and to have secured peace between s.h.i.+rpurla and Gishkhu for some generations. But after a period which cannot be accurately determined a certain patesi of Gishkhu, named Ush, was filled with ambition to extend his territory at the expense of s.h.i.+rpurla. He therefore removed the stele which Mesilim had set up, and, invading the plain of s.h.i.+rpurla, succeeded in conquering and holding a district named Gu-edin. But Ush's successful raid was not of any permanent benefit to his city, for he was in his turn defeated by the forces of s.h.i.+rpurla, and his successor upon the throne, a patesi named Enakalli, abandoned a policy of aggression, and concluded with Eannadu, patesi of s.h.i.+rpurla, a solemn treaty concerning the boundary between their realms, the text of which has been preserved to us upon the famous Stele of Vultures in the Louvre.*

* A fragment of this stele is also preserved in the British Museum. It is published in Cuneiform Texts in the British Museum, Pt. vii.

According to this treaty Gu-edin was restored to s.h.i.+rpurla, and a deep ditch was dug between the two territories which should permanently indicate the line of demarcation. The stele of Mesilim was restored to its place, and a second stele was inscribed and set up as a memorial of the new treaty. Enakalli did not negotiate the treaty on equal terms with Eannadu, for he only secured its ratification by consenting to pay heavy tribute in grain for the supply of the great temples of Nin-girsu and Nina in s.h.i.+rpurla. It would appear that under Eannadu the power and influence of s.h.i.+rpurla were extended over the whole of Southern Babylonia, and reached even to the borders of Elam. At any rate, it is clear that during his lifetime the city of Gishkhu was content to remain in a state of subjection to its more powerful neighbour. But it was always ready to seize any opportunity of a.s.serting itself and of attempting to regain its independence.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 172.jpg CLAY MEMORIAL-TABLET OF EANNADU.]

The characters of the inscription well ill.u.s.trate the pictorial origin of the Sumerian system of writing.

Photograph by Messrs. Mansell & Co.

Accordingly, after Eannadu's death the men of Gishkhu again took the offensive. At this time Urlumma, the son and successor of Enakalli, was on the throne of Gishkhu, and he organized the forces of the city and led them out to battle. His first act was to destroy the frontier ditches named after Ningirsu and Nina, the princ.i.p.al G.o.d and G.o.ddess of s.h.i.+rpurla, which Eannadu, the powerful foe of Gishkhu, had caused to be dug. He then tore down the stele on which the terms of Eannadu's treaty had been engraved and broke it into pieces by casting it into the fire, and the shrines which Eannadu had built near the frontier, and had consecrated to the G.o.ds of s.h.i.+rpurla, he razed to the ground. But again s.h.i.+rpurla in the end proved too strong for Gishkhu. The ruler in s.h.i.+rpurla at this time was Enannadu, who had succeeded his brother Eannadu upon the throne. He marched out to meet the invading forces of the men of Gishkhu, and a battle was fought in the territory of s.h.i.+rpurla. According to one account, the forces of s.h.i.+rpurla were victorious, while on the cone of Ente-mena no mention is made of the issue of the combat. The result may not have been decisive, but Enannadu's action at least checked Urlumma's encroachments for the time.

It would appear that the death of the reigning patesi in s.h.i.+rpurla was always the signal for an attack upon that city by the men of Gishkhu.

They may have hoped that the new ruler would prove a less successful leader than the last, or that the accession of a new monarch might give rise to internal dissensions in the city which would weaken s.h.i.+rpurla's power of resisting a sudden attack. As Eannadu's death had encouraged Urlumma to lead out the men of Gishkhu, so the death of Enannadu seemed to him a good opportunity to make another bid for victory. But this time the result of the battle was not indecisive. Entemena had succeeded his father Enannadu, and he led out to victory the forces of s.h.i.+r-purla. The battle was fought near the ca.n.a.l Lumma-girnun-ta, and when the men of Gishkhu were put to flight they left sixty of their fellows lying dead upon the banks of the ca.n.a.l. Entemena tells us that the bones of these warriors were left to bleach in the open plain, but he seems to have buried those of the men of Gishkhu who fell in the pursuit, for he records that in five separate places he piled up burial-mounds in which the bodies of the slain were interred. Entemena was not content with merely inflicting a defeat upon the army of Gishkhu and driving it back within its own borders, for he followed up his initial advantage and captured the capital itself. He deposed and imprisoned Urlumma, and chose one of his own adherents to rule as patesi of Gishkhu in his stead. The man he appointed for this high office was named Hi, and he had up to that time been priest in Ninab. Entemena summoned him to his presence, and, after marching in a triumphal procession from Girsu in the neighbourhood of s.h.i.+rpurla to the conquered city, proceeded to invest him with the office of patesi of Gishkhu.

Entemena also repaired the frontier ditches named after Ningirsu and Nina, which had been employed for purposes of irrigation as well as for marking the frontier; and he gave instructions to Hi to employ the men dwelling in the district of Karkar on this work, as a punishment for the active part they had taken in the recent raid into the territory of s.h.i.+rpurla. Entemena also restored and extended the system of ca.n.a.ls in the region between the Tigris and the Euphrates, lining one of the princ.i.p.al channels with stone.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 175.jpg MARBLE GATE]

Socket Bearing An Inscription Of Entemena, A Powerful Patesi, Or Viceroy, Of s.h.i.+rpurla. In the photograph the gate-socket is resting on its side so as to show the inscription, but when in use it was set flat upon the ground and partly buried below the level of the pavement of the building in which it was used. It was fixed at the side of a gateway and the pivot of the heavy gate revolved in the shallow hole or depression in its centre. As stone is not found in the alluvial soil of Babylonia, the blocks for gate-sockets had to be brought from great distances and they were consequently highly prized. The kings and patesis who used them in their buildings generally had their names and t.i.tles engraved upon them, and they thus form a valuable cla.s.s of inscriptions for the study of the early history.

Photograph by Messrs. Man-sell & Co.

He thus added greatly to the wealth of s.h.i.+rpurla by increasing the area of territory under cultivation, and he continued to exercise authority in Gishkhu by means of officers appointed by himself. A record of his victory over Gishkhu was inscribed by Entemena upon a number of clay cones, that the fame of it might be preserved in future days to the honour of Ningirsu and the G.o.ddess Nina. He ends this record with a prayer for the preservation of the frontier. If ever in time to come the men of Gishkhu should break out across the frontier-ditch of Ningirsu, or the frontier-ditch of Nina, in order to seize or lay waste the lands of s.h.i.+rpurla, whether they be men of the city of Gishkhu itself or men of the mountains, he prays that Enlil may destroy them and that Ningirsu may lay his curse upon them; and if ever the warriors of his own city should be called upon to defend it, he prays that they may be full of courage and ardour for their task.