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SECTION II.

ASSYRIAN AND BABYLONIAN CHRONOLOGY.

THE adjacent countries of Mesopotamia and Assyria proper, separated only by the great river Tigris*, were the first settlements of mankind both before and after the deluge, from their contiguity to Paradise before, and to Armenia after. Hence their History and Chronology are necessarily connected and interwoven together.

The first tyrannical innovation in the pristine patriarchal regimen of the first race of mankind began in Chaldea and Babylonia, as we have seen. And it was afterwards renewed in the second race, by the mighty hunter Nimrod, that "arch rebel" in religion and government, who first claimed divine honours, and usurped the domains of his neighbours after the deluge; and whose carly celebrity is recorded not only in Scripture, but all over the East and West, in his titles, Maha Bala, "the great Master," Belus, and Orion.

Artapanus, in his Jewish history, written about a century before the Christian era, says that Nimrod was the only survivor of a race of Giants who inhabited Babylonia, and were destroyed for their impiety by a divine judgment. That he dwelt in a tower at Babylon, and was afterwards deified.

Sir William Jones also learned from the most intelligent Mussulmans in India, that "a powerful monarchy had been established for ages in Iran before the accession of Cayumers; that it was called the Mahabadean dynasty; and that many princes, of whom only seven or eight are named in the Dabistan, and among them Mahbul, or Maha Beli, had raised their empire to the zenith of human glory." Sixth discourse on the Persians. Asiat. Research. vol. II. p. 48, 8vo.

The beginning of his kingdom, we learn from Holy Writ, was Babel, in the land of Shinaar. Here he settled himself after the dispersion of

* See the geographical description of those countries, vol. 1. p. 355, 441, 446, of this work.

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the builders of Babel, for their impious opposition to the divine decree regulating their settlements And he finished the city of Babylon, and afterwards built some other cities, Erech, and Accar and Calneh in the land of Shinaar. Gen. x. 10; xi. 1–9.

The foundation of his kingdom is dated by the excellent Armenian Annalist Abulfaragi, in the 70th year of Reu, or B. C. 2554, about sixty years after the families of Noah's sons had begun to separate from their primary settlement, and to spread themselves into the adjoining fertile regions of Assyria, Media and Mesopotamia. See the article Nimrod, vol. II. p. 48, of this work.

We learn also from Dositheus, an old Phænician poet, that "the ancient city of Babylon was founded by the Tyrian (or Assyrian) Belus." See vol. II. p. 49, note, which Ammianus Marcellinus confirms, Arcem Babylonis antiquissimus rex condidit Belus. Strabo says, that he was buried there, and worshipped as the chief Babylonian God. And Babylon was built about B. C. 2547, in the seventh year of Nimrod's reign; as collected before, from Eustathius in his commentary on the Periegesis of Dionysius, and from Herodotus. Vol. 11. p. 50, note, of this work.

The land of Shinaar seems to have been originally allotted by the divine decree to the family of Arphaxad. Josephus says, that the Chaldeans were originally called Arphaxadeans, Ant. i. 6, 4, and a tract of country southward of Assyria proper, was called Arapachitis by the ancient geographers. Not content with usurping the territory of this branch of the Shemites, Nimrod next invaded Assyria, the lot of Assur's family, where he built Nineveh, his capital city, which is uniformly stiled by the Greek historians, Herodotus, Diodorus, &c. Nu, "the city of Ninus," or of Nin," a son," which seems to have been his original name, until parodied into ath Nimrod," the rebel." See vol. 11. p. 50. Tacitus calls it, vetustissima sedes Assyria. Annal. 12, 13.

Nineveh was finely situate on the eastern bank of the Tigris, and its ruins are still to be seen opposite to the modern city of Mosul, built on the western bank. See vol. 1. p. 446.

He afterwards built Rehoboth, higher up on the river, and Chalah, on the river Lycus, which runs into the Tigris, and "the great city" of Resen, above their junction. Xenophon seems to have noticed this by the

name

name of Larissa; (composed, perhaps, of the particle L, or La, signifying "to" in Hebrew, and Rissa, which resembles Resen) and his description of it corresponds. "It was anciently inhabited by the Medes; and its wall was five and twenty feet in breadth and a hundred in height; and the circuit of the enclosure was two parasangs. It was built of bricks, and the base of the wall was of stone, twenty feet high." Anab. B. 8.

He also mentions another greater city in that neighbourhood, called Mespila, formerly inhabited by the Medes. The base of its wall was built of hewn stone scolloped, the breadth of which was fifty feet, and the height fifty. On this was built a brick wall, fifty foot broad and a hundred high, whose circuit was six parasangs. Might not this have been the ruins of the palace, or fortress of Nineveh *?

Nimrod is supposed to have reigned only 6 years, by Africanus, (see Syncellus, p. 90) which is quite too short for his exploits and his buildings; 47 years, by David Ganz; 65 years, by Petavius; and 98 years, 8 months, by Polyhistor, which last is most probable. See Jackson, vol. I. p. 214.

The following list of his successors is given from Syncellus, by Jackson, vol. 1. p. 233, so corrected in Nimrod's reign.

I. ASSYRIAN DYNASTY. 317 Years.

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Xenophon's fifth encampment from the Zabates, in his famous retreat, must have been near, or beside Nineveh, which strengthens this conjecture; though neither he, nor Alexander, who passed so near it in his way to the field of battle at Arbela, take the least notice of its ruins. Tacitus notices a city, called Nineveh, in this quarter, in the reign of Claudius.

ORIENTAL TITLES.

Oriental titles of rank, honour and royalty, are significant, and when rightly explained, contribute

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Of Nimrod's successors we know nothing but the names. Chosma Belus, signifying "the strength of Belus," might have been his eldest son. Gen. xlix. 3. The only circumstance handed down to us in Scrip

ture,

contribute much to the elucidation of ancient History and Mythology; because they express the leading traits in the characters of the several personages to whom they were attributed. As from the titles of this first Assyrian monarch, Nimrod, "the Rebel," we learn his crimes; and from Belus and Orion, that he was deified, during his life, and after his death, translated to the heavens. Tiglath Pilesar, "Tyger, Lord of Assyria,” intimating his ferocity, &c.

These titles are either simple or compounded: and it is the province of skilful etymological analysis, founded on the nature and genius of Oriental languages, to resolve the compound titles into their constituent or elementary parts, carefully tracing their variations through the several kindred dialects of the east and west, all branching off from the primeval language, when it came to be corrupted at the Confusion of Tongues; and still more, in process of time, and at remoter distances from the original settlement of mankind in the countries round Mount Arurat.

These elementary terms, or ingredients, are frequently altered in composition, so as to retain little of their pristine form, in three ways; either 1. By interchange of kindred consonants, or letters of the same, or neighbouring organs of speech, gutturals, labials, liquids, dentals, palatals. 2. By substitution of various vowels at pleasure; these being wanting in Oriental alphabets, are to be supplied by the reader, or writer, according to the usage of his country, either by a graver or deeper, or by an acuter or shriller pronunciation. 3. By retrenchment of radical letters or syllables, and by addition of serviles, the former usually at the beginning or middle of the titles, the latter at the end.

The ensuing Dynasties of Assyrian, Babylonian, Median and Persian kings, furnish frequent examples, the principal of which I shall attempt to explain in this note.

The chief elements of their compound titles, were 1. bya, (Baal) "Master or Ruler." Whence Baal, Bal, Beel, Bel, Bnλ-, and Bel-us. And by change of consonants, Pal, Pil, Pol, and Pul.

2. 1178, (Adon) "Governor, or Regent," whence Adan, Adin, Adon, Chaddon, Chedon, Haddon, or Hedon.

3. nwx, (Assur)" Assyria;” whence Assar, Asar, Ezar, Osor, and Ser†.

4. 81, (Nabi) "Prophet;" whence Nabo, Nebo, or Nebu.

5., or Phnician, D, (Sar) "a chief, Lord, or great," D, (Sarnim) "chiefs or Lords." Whence Czar, and (Hasar) "the chief," or Asar, Esar, in composition.

6. 8, (Ab)" Father;" 88 (Abba) "the father," in Persic and Syriac.

7. 115, (Chur) “

a furnace;" Khur, "the sun," in Persic. Whence (Churos,

Hyde, in his explanation of these titles, derives them from Adar, in Syriac, or Azor, in Persic, "fire," or the planet Mars, p. 63-65. But the ancient kings of Assyria were not fire worshippers.

ture, during this dynasty, is a predatory excursion of three bands of the Chaldeans into the land of Uz, in Arabia, who carried off Job's camels, about B. C. 2337, in the reign of the fifth prince Abius. Job i. 17*.

not Choresh) or Chosru, the name of Cyrus the Great, in Scripture and the Persian historians, and Chosroes, the title of the Persian and Parthian kings.

8. bp, (Melech) "king;" whence Malek, and Malka, in Persic.

The following seem to be

pure

Persic:

9. Kai, Schah, Sultan, all signifying "king," and Dara," the king," by way of eminence.

10. Mithr, and Mithras, "the sun."

From these elements or radicals, are formed the compound Assyrian and Babylonian titles, Bal-adan; Regi-belus, Asar-adin, or Esar-haddon, or Sar-chedon, or Sar-danapal-us; Shalman-assar, Nabon-assar, Nabo-pol-assar, Nebu-chadnezzar, or Nebu-chadr-ezzar, or Nabu-chadon-osor, or Bo-chtan-sor.

And the compound Persian and Parthian titles, Kai-sar, Kai-umarath, or Kai-amurath, Kai-chobad, Kai-kaus, Kai-chosru, Kai-achsueros; whence the Greek Ku-agapns, Cyaxares, , Darius (not Dariavesh) and Darab †, Schah Abbas, Mithraus, or Mithridates, &c. Sometimes we find decompounded titles, composed of nearly syuonymous terins, are used, as of a famous prince in the eleventh century, Sultan Malek Schah. This usage was probably derived from the scriptural amplification of the Divine titles, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS, OF THE GOD OF GODS, THE LORD, which was blasphemously adopted by some of those profane princes.

If the important study of Etymology was more skilfully cultivated among the learned, upon the broad basis of Oriental Grammar, and of Logic or Universal Grammar, many absurd and incongruous guesses would be banished, that disgrace the systems of some of the first classical scholars of the age.

The learned Orientalist Richardson, to whom we are indebted for several of the foregoing Persian derivations, has exposed the fanciful derivations of Oriental terms, founded in acknowledged ignorance of Oriental languages, which the ingenious but over-fanciful Bryant has introduced into his new Analysis of ancient Mythology. However considerable his merits in Grecian literature, Richardson has irrefragably proved his ignorance in this branch of Etymology; and shewn, that his elaborate work is incorrect in its Chronology. of the Deluge, of the migrations of the families of Noah's sons, of the Cuthite expeditions; irreconcileable with SCRIPTURE, and inconsistent with itself. P. 376—474.

* The book of Job furnishes an advantageous specimen of the purity of Patriarchal Religion in Arabia, during this first Assyrian dynasty: corresponding to its state in Persia, under the succeeding Pishdadian dynasty, by a remarkable conformity of sacred. and. profane history in those early periods.

+ Richardson derives Darab from Dara, "the king," and Ab, "water." Dissert. p. 57, 242. But the And the compound, "the father-king," or parent of his people, latter seems rather to denote a "father."

like Schah Abbas,

After

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