Part 11 (1/2)

[Ill.u.s.tration: AN a.s.sYRIAN RELIEF (British Museum, London) The relief represents the siege and capture of Lachish, a city of the Canaanites, by Sennacherib's troops. Notice the total absence of perspective in this work.]

DOWNFALL OF a.s.sYRIA, 606 B.C.

Although a.s.syria recovered from this disaster, its empire rested on unstable foundations. The subject races were attached to their oppressive masters by no ties save those of force. When a.s.syria grew exhausted by its career of conquest, they were quick to strike a blow for freedom. By the middle of the seventh century Egypt had secured her independence, and many other provinces were ready to revolt. Meanwhile, beyond the eastern mountains, the Medes were gathering ominously on the a.s.syrian frontier.

The storm broke when the Median monarch, in alliance with the king of Babylon, moved upon Nineveh and captured it. The city was utterly destroyed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE ISHTAR GATE, BABYLON Explorations on the site of Babylon have been conducted since 1899 A.D. by the German Oriental Society. Large parts of the temple area, as well as sections of the royal palaces, have been uncovered. The most important structure found is the Ishtar Gate. The towers which flank it are adorned with figures of dragons and bulls in brilliantly colored glazed tile.]

PARt.i.tION OF a.s.sYRIA

After the conquest of the a.s.syrian Empire the victors proceeded to divide the spoils. The share of Media was a.s.syria itself, together with the long stretch of mountain country extending from the Persian Gulf to Asia Minor.

Babylonia obtained the western half of the a.s.syrian domains, including the Euphrates valley and Syria. Under its famous king, Nebuchadnezzar (604-561 B.C.), Babylonia became a great power in the Orient. It was Nebuchadnezzar who brought the kingdom of Judea to an end. He captured Jerusalem in 586 B.C., burned the Temple, and carried away many Jews into captivity. The day of their deliverance, when Babylon itself should bow to a foreign foe, was still far distant.

12. THE WORLD EMPIRE OF PERSIA

CYRUS THE GREAT, 553-529 B.C.

Not much earlier than the break-up of the a.s.syrian Empire, we find a new and vigorous people pressing into western Iran. They were the Persians, near kinsmen of the Medes. Subjects at first of a.s.syria, and then of Media, they regained their independence and secured imperial power under a conquering king whom history knows as Cyrus the Great. In 553 B.C. Cyrus revolted against the Median monarch and three years later captured the royal city of Ecbatana. The Medes and Persians formed henceforth a united people.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE TOMB OF CYRUS THE GREAT The mausoleum is built of immense marble blocks joined together without cement. Its total height including the seven steps is about thirty five feet. A solitary pillar near the tomb still bears the inscription 'I am Cyrus, the King, the Achaemenian.']

CONQUEST OF LYDIA BY CYRUS, 546 B.C.

The conquest of Media was soon followed by a war with the Lydians, who had been allies of the Medes. The throne of Lydia, a state in the western part of Asia Minor, was at this time held by Croesus, the last and most famous of his line. The king grew so wealthy from the tribute paid by Lydian subjects and from his gold mines that his name has pa.s.sed into the proverb, ”rich as Croesus.” He viewed with alarm the rising power of Cyrus and rashly offered battle to the Persian monarch. Defeated in the open field, Croesus shut himself up in Sardis, his capital. The city was soon taken, however, and with its capture the Lydian kingdom came to an end.

CAPTURE OF BABYLON, 539 B.C.

The downfall of Lydia prepared the way for a Persian attack on Babylonia.

The conquest of that country proved unexpectedly easy. In 539 B.C. the great city of Babylon opened its gates to the Persian host. Shortly afterwards Cyrus issued a decree allowing the Jewish exiles there to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple, which Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed. With the surrender of Babylon the last Semitic empire in the East came to an end. The Medes and Persians, an Indo-European people, henceforth ruled over a wider realm than ever before had been formed in Oriental lands.

CAMBYSES, 529-522 B.C.

Cyrus was followed by his son, Cambyses, a cruel but stronghanded despot.

Cambyses determined to add Egypt to the Persian dominions. His land army was supported by a powerful fleet, to which the Phoenicians and the Greeks of Cyprus contributed s.h.i.+ps. A single battle sufficed to overthrow the Egyptian power and to bring the long rule of the Pharaohs to a close. [12]

DARIUS THE GREAT, 521-485 B.C.

The reign of Darius, the successor of Cambyses, was marked by further extensions of the frontiers. An expedition to the distant East added to the empire the region of the Punjab, [13] along the upper waters of the Indus. Another expedition against the wild Scythian tribes along the Danube led to conquests in Europe and brought the Persian dominions close to those of the Greeks. Not without reason could Darius describe himself in an inscription which still survives, as ”the great king, king of kings, king of countries, king of all men.”

[Ill.u.s.tration: DARIUS WITH HIS ATTENDANTS Bas-relief at Persepolis. The monarch's right hand grasps a staff or scepter, his left hand, a bunch of flowers. His head is surmounted by a crown, his body is enveloped in the long Median mantle. Above the king is a representation of the divinity which guarded and guided him. In the rear are two Persian n.o.bles, one carrying the royal fan, the other the royal parasol.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: ROCK SEPULCHERS OF THE PERSIAN KINGS The tombs are those of Darius, Xerxes, and two of their successors. They are near Persepolis.]

ORGANIZATION OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE

It was the work of Darius to provide for his dominions a stable government which should preserve what the sword had won. The problem was difficult.

The empire was a collection of many peoples widely different in race, language, customs, and religion. Darius did not attempt to weld the conquered nations into unity. As long as the subjects of Persia paid tribute and furnished troops for the royal army, they were allowed to conduct their own affairs with little interference from the Great King.