THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
Mushke, known to the Greeks as Moschi The Phenicians, the Syrians of Aleppo, Hamath, Arpad, and Damascus are all frequently mentioned in the inscriptions, as are the Hebrew kingdoms, Edom, Moab, Ammon, and Philistia. Arabia was known as Arabi, Arubu, and Aribi In North Arabia the cuneiform makes known a district called Muzri or MikT, also mistaken in the Hebrew of I Kings xi, 17, for Mizraim, Egypt. It was subdued by Tiglath-Pileser III. South Arabian inscriptions also name the locality. In the same region was a district called Cush, sometimes confused with Ethiopia. Meluhha, the Ma'in of the Old Testament, was in North Arabia. Saba, the Sheba of I Kings x, 1, Minaea, rediscovered by Glaser, and Yaman, probably the modern Yemen, are all noted in the annals of the kings. Northeast Arabia was known as Magan.
3. The Story of Assyria: The history of Assyria
before 1800 B.C. is veiled. Gen. x, 11 (R. V margin)
affirms the Babylonian background
i. Early of this people, and all evidence from
History and archeology, language, and cultural
Names, to remains, supports the affirmation.
1500 B.C. The date of colonization is unknown, but it was before 2300 B.C. Asshur was the first city. The connection with the parent country was close c. 2000 b.c. Hammurabi of Babylon (c. 2250 B.C.) had Assyrian soldiers in his army. No ruler earlier than Ishmi-Dagan (c. 1850 B.C.) is known, and he bore the title of patesi (or isshaku), a term that implied political dependence. In the time of his son, Shamshi-Ramman, Nineveh was already in existence; for he restored a temple of Ishtar there. Between his time and that of Asshur-bel-nisheshu only a few names are known. Igur-kapkapu (or Bel-kapkapu or Bel-bani) and his son Shamshi-Ramman II, Kallu and his son Irishum are all, but of the first it is known that a tablet exists dated in his reign, and (from it) that he bore the title of king. Assyrian contract tablets belonging to the period 1800-1500 b.c. have been found in Cappadocia, indicating commercial, and perhaps a beginning of territorial, expansion. At the time when Thothmes III of Egypt was most active, the Assyrian king sent him a gift of " a great stone of lapis-lazuli " which Thothmes interpreted as a sign of submission, and so recorded it. If Assyria really feared Egypt, that fear did not last long, for the Hittites were soon active, and Egyptian aggression did not threaten the Tigris.
The independence of Assyria, won soon afterward,
was due, not to Assyria's strength, but to the
weakness of the parent power. Inter-
2. The Win- nal strife gave the Kasshites the
ning of opportunity to conquer Babylonia,
Independ- but they were too busy cementing ence, 1500- their own power to attack Assyria,
1300 B.C. and the boundary was settled under Asshur-bel-nisheshu and Puzu-Asshur in treaties to which the Kasshite Karaindash of Babylon was one of the parties. This implies independence. About 1400 B.C., fifty years later, the Babylonian Burnaburiash claimed Assyria for his territory. The probable dependence of Nineveh upon Tushratta of Mitanni has been
noted above (IV. § 2). Assur-uballit wrote to Amenophis IV as an independent monarch; and indeed the claim of Assyria to Babylon began in the same reign. The Assyrian's daughter had married Kara-kardash of Babylon, and the latter's son had succeeded his father and then been murdered by his subjects Asshur-uballit intervened, subjected Babylon, and placed another grandson on the throne In the same reign and the next the Assyrian arms were carried to the borders of Elam, which led to war between Kurigalzu II of Babylon and Bel-nirari in which the northern cause was successful. Ramman-nirari I (c. 1345-30 b.c ) reconquered the lands already overrun, and located cities for their government. He extended his sway beyond the Euphrates, and had a successful essay against Mitanni. New troubles with Babylonia arose over the conquest of Gutium; both sides claimed the victory, but the Assyrian boundary was advanced. Ramman's inscription is the earliest one of Assyria that is dated, and in it he calls himself king, not of Asshur, but of Kisshati, " the world."
Shalmaneser I (c. 1300 B.C.) left on his successors an impression of greatness. He crossed the Euphrates and pushed his conquests 3. Shalman- as far as Muzri, which probably means eser I-Tig- that the territory up to the river at lath-Pileser least was added to Assyrian territory. I, 1300- Asshur was abandoned as the capital, 1 100 B.C. and Calah was built. The temple of Ishtar at Nineveh was also reconstructed, and Harran was added to the possessions of the king. Shalmaneser's son, Tiglath-Ninib, invaded Babylonia, captured and plundered Babylon, partly destroyed the wall, carried north with him the image of Marduk, governed the south from his own capital, and assumed the titles borne by Sargon the Great (see Babylonia), king of Sumer and Akkad, as well as of Kisshati and Asshur. But he could not sustain himself, and lost his life in a rebellion headed by his son. For a time the Assyrian star declined. It is very likely that to this decline the Hittites had contributed; for the dash to the Mediterranean must have aroused them and certainly have included in its scope some of their cities. The Babylonians became the aggressors, and the next king, Asshurnasirpal I had difficulty in repelling them. Under the next four reigns Assyria's territory shrank to about its original extent. Then Assur-Dan I (c. 1210-1181 b.c.) began to regain territory south of the Lower Zab. His grandson, Asshur-rish-ishi, cleared the way to Babylon by conquering foes on the southeast, and then defeated Nebuchadrezzar I of Babylon. He rebuilt the Ishtar-temple in Calah. With Tiglath-Pileser I began a new era for Assyria. The celebrated eight-sided prism contains a part of his record. That full information of his predecessors' activity is not at hand is shown by his having in the very beginning of his reign to subdue people so distant as the Mushke. Hewon a victory over them among their hills, destroyed 14,000 out of the 20,000 engaged, and pursued the plan of subduing the territory by destroying the fighting forces. Tribute was exacted from the rest. During