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The History of the Family and Posterity of Masinissa._—I
promised, after
finishing what related to the republic of Carthage, to return
to the
family and posterity of Masinissa. This piece of history forms
a
considerable part of that of Africa, and therefore is not quite foreign
to
my subject.
(M147) From the time that Masinissa had declared for
the Romans under the
first Scipio, he had always adhered to that honourable
alliance, with an
almost unparalleled zeal and fidelity.(933) Finding his end
approaching,
he wrote to the proconsul of Africa, under whose standards the
younger
Scipio then fought, to desire that Roman might be sent to him;
adding,
that he should die with satisfaction, if he could but expire in his
arms,
after having made him executor to his will. But believing that he
should
be dead, before it could be possible for him to receive this
consolation,
he sent for his wife and children, and spoke to them as follows:
“I know
no other nation but the Romans, and, among this nation, no other
family
but that of the Scipios. I now, in my expiring moments, empower
Scipio
Æmilianus to dispose, in an absolute manner, of all my possessions,
and to
divide my kingdom among my children. I require, that whatever Scipio
may
decree, shall be executed as punctually as if I myself had appointed it
by
my will.” After saying these words, he breathed his last, being upwards
of
ninety years of age.
This prince, during his youth, had met with
strange reverses of fortune,
having been dispossessed of his kingdom, obliged
to fly from province to
province, and a thousand times in danger of his
life.(934) Being
supported, says the historian, by the divine protection, he
was afterwards
favoured, till his death, with a perpetual series of
prosperity, unruffled
by any sinister accident: for he not only recovered his
own kingdom, but
added to it that of Syphax his enemy; and extending his
dominions from
Mauritania, as far as Cyrene, he became the most powerful
prince of all
Africa. He was blessed, till he left the world, with the
greatest health
and vigour, which doubtless was owing to his extreme
temperance, and the
care he had taken to inure himself to fatigue. Though
ninety years of age,
he performed all the exercises used by young men,(935)
and always rode
without a saddle; and Polybius observes, (a circumstance
preserved by
Plutarch,(936)) that the day after a great victory over the
Carthaginians,
Masinissa was seen, sitting at the door of his tent, eating a
piece of
brown bread.
He left fifty-four sons, of whom three only were
legitimate, _viz._
Micipsa, Gulussa, and Mastanabal.(937) Scipio divided the
kingdom between
these three, and gave considerable possessions to the rest:
but the two
last dying soon after, Micipsa became sole possessor of these
extensive
dominions. He had two sons, Adherbal and Hiempsal, and with them
he
educated in his palace Jugurtha his nephew, Mastanabal’s son, and took
as
much care of him as he did of his own children.(938) This
last-mentioned
prince possessed several eminent qualities, which gained him
universal
esteem. Jugurtha, who was finely shaped, and very handsome, of the
most
delicate wit, and the most solid judgment, did not devote himself,
as
young men commonly do, to a life of luxury and pleasure. He used
to
exercise himself with persons of his own age, in running, riding,
and
throwing the javelin; and though he surpassed all his companions,
there
was not one of them but loved him. The chase was his only delight; but
it
was that of lions and other savage beasts. To finish his character,
he
excelled in all things, and spoke very little of himself:
_Plurimum
facere, et mininum ipse de se loqui_.
Merit so conspicuous,
and so generally acknowledged, began to excite some
anxiety in Micipsa. He
saw himself in the decline of life, and his
children very young. He knew the
prodigious lengths which ambition is
capable of going, when a crown is in
view: and that a man, with talents
much inferior to those of Jugurtha, might
be dazzled by so glittering a
temptation, especially when united with such
favourable
circumstances.(939) In order therefore to remove a competitor so
dangerous
with regard to his children, he gave Jugurtha the command of the
forces
which he sent to the assistance of the Romans, who, at that time,
were
besieging Numantia, under the conduct of Scipio. Knowing Jugurtha
was
actuated by the most heroic bravery, he flattered himself, that
he
probably would rush upon danger, and lose his life. However, he
was
mistaken. This young prince joined to an undaunted courage, the
utmost
presence of mind; and, a circumstance very rarely found in persons of
his
age, he preserved a just medium between a timorous foresight and
an
impetuous rashness.(940) In this campaign, he won the esteem
and
friendship of the whole army. Scipio sent him back to his uncle
with
letters of recommendation, and the most advantageous testimonials of
his
conduct, after having given him very prudent advice with regard to
the
course which he ought to pursue; for knowing mankind so well, he, in
all
probability, had discovered certain sparks of ambition in that
prince,
which he feared would one day break out into a flame.
Micipsa,
pleased with the high character that was sent him of his nephew,
changed his
behaviour towards him, and resolved, if possible, to win his
affection by
kindness. Accordingly he adopted him; and by his will, made
him joint-heir
with his two sons. When he found his end approaching, he
sent for all three,
and bid them draw near his bed, where, in presence of
the whole court he put
Jugurtha in mind of all his kindness to him;
conjuring him, in the name of
the gods, to defend and protect, on all
occasions, his children; who, being
before related to him by the ties of
blood, were now become his brethren, by
his (Micipsa’s) bounty. He told
him,(941) that neither arms nor treasure
constitute the strength of a
kingdom, but friends, who are not won by arms
nor gold, but by real
services and inviolable fidelity. Now where (says he)
can we find better
friends than our brothers? And how can that man, who
becomes an enemy to
his relations, repose any confidence in, or depend on,
strangers? He
exhorted his sons to pay the highest reverence to Jugurtha; and
to dispute
no otherwise with him, than by their endeavour to equal, and, if
possible,
to surpass his exalted merit. He concluded with entreating them to
observe
for ever an inviolable attachment towards the Romans; and to consider
them
as their benefactor, their patron, and master. A few days after
this,
Micipsa expired.
(M148) Jugurtha soon threw off the mask, and
began by ridding himself of
Hiempsal, who had expressed himself to him with
great freedom, and
therefore he caused him to be murdered. This bloody action
proved but too
evidently to Adherbal what he himself might naturally
fear.(M149) Numidia
is now divided, and sides severally with the two
brothers. Mighty armies
are raised by each party. Adherbal, after losing the
greatest part of his
fortresses, is vanquished in battle, and forced to make
Rome his asylum.
However, this gave Jugurtha no very great uneasiness, as he
knew that
money was all-powerful in that city. He therefore sent deputies
thither,
with orders for them to bribe the chief senators. In the first
audience to
which they were introduced, Adherbal represented the unhappy
condition to
which he was reduced, the injustice and barbarity of Jugurtha,
the murder
of his brother, the loss of almost all his fortresses; but
the
circumstance on which he laid the greatest stress was, the commands of
his
dying father, _viz._ to put his whole confidence in the Romans;
declaring,
that the friendship of this people would be a stronger support
both to
himself and his kingdom, than all the troops and treasures in
the
universe. His speech was of a great length, and extremely
pathetic.
Jugurtha’s deputies made only the following answer: that Hiempsal
had been
killed by the Numidians, because of his great cruelty; that Adherbal
was
the aggressor, and yet, after having been vanquished, was come to
make
complaints, because he had not committed all the excesses he desired;
that
their sovereign entreated the senate to form a judgment of his
behaviour
and conduct in Africa, from that he had shown at Numantia; and to
lay a
greater stress on his actions, than on the accusations of his enemies.
But
these ambassadors had secretly employed an eloquence much more
prevalent
than that of words, which had not proved ineffectual. The whole
assembly
was for Jugurtha, a few senators excepted, who were not so void of
honour
as to be corrupted by money. The senate came to this resolution,
that
commissioners should be sent from Rome, to divide the provinces
equally
upon the spot between the two brothers. The reader will naturally
suppose,
that Jugurtha was not sparing of his treasure on this occasion;
the
division was made to his advantage; and yet a specious appearance
of
equity was preserved.
This first success of Jugurtha augmented his
courage, and increased his
boldness. Accordingly, he attacked his brother by
open force; and whilst
the latter loses his time in sending deputations to
the Romans, he storms
several fortresses, carries on his conquests; and,
after defeating
Adherbal, besieges him in Cirtha, the capital of his kingdom.
During this
interval ambassadors arrived from Rome, with orders, in the name
of the
senate and people, to the two kings, to lay down their arms, and cease
all
hostilities. Jugurtha, after protesting that he would obey, with the
most
profound reverence and submission, the commands of the Roman
people,
added, that he did not believe it was their intention to hinder him
from
defending his own life against the treacherous snares which his
brother
had laid for it. He concluded with saying, that he would send
ambassadors
forthwith to Rome, to inform the senate of his conduct. By this
vague
answer he eluded their orders, and would not even permit the deputies
to
wait upon Adherbal.
Though the latter was so closely blocked up in
his capital, he yet(942)
found means to send to Rome, to implore the
assistance of the Romans
against his brother, who had besieged him five
months, and intended to
take away his life. Some senators were of opinion,
that war ought to be
proclaimed immediately against Jugurtha; but still his
influence
prevailed, and the Romans only ordered an embassy to be sent,
composed of
senators of the highest distinction, among whom was Æmilius
Scaurus, a
factious man, who had a great ascendant over the nobility, and
concealed
the blackest vices under the specious appearance of virtue.
Jugurtha was
terrified at first; but he again found an opportunity to elude
their
demands, and accordingly sent them back without coming to any
conclusion.
Upon this, Adherbal, who had lost all hopes, surrendered upon
condition of
having his life spared; nevertheless, he was immediately
murdered with a
great number of Numidians.
But though the greatest
part of the people at Rome were struck with horror
at this news, Jugurtha’s
money again obtained him defenders in the senate.
However, C. Memmius, the
tribune of the people, an active man, and one who
hated the nobility,
prevailed with the people not to suffer so horrid
(M150) a crime to go
unpunished; and, accordingly, war being proclaimed
against Jugurtha,
Calpurnius Bestia, the consul, was appointed to carry it
on.(943) He was
endued with excellent qualities, but they were all
depraved and rendered
useless by his avarice. Scaurus set out with him.
They at first took several
towns; but Jugurtha’s bribes checked the
progress of these conquests; and
Scaurus(944) himself, who till now had
expressed the strongest animosity
against this prince, could not resist so
powerful an attack. A treaty was
therefore concluded; Jugurtha feigned to
submit to the Romans, and thirty
elephants, some horses, with a very
inconsiderable sum of money, were
delivered to the quæstor.
But now the indignation of the people in
general at Rome displayed itself
in the strongest manner. Memmius the tribune
inflamed them by his
speeches. He caused Cassius, who was prætor, to be
appointed to attend
Jugurtha; and to engage him to come to Rome, under the
guarantee of the
Romans, in order that an inquiry might be made in his
presence, who those
persons were that had taken bribes. Accordingly, Jugurtha
was forced to
come to Rome. The sight of him raised the anger of the people
still
higher; but a tribune having been bribed, he prolonged the session, and
at
last dissolved it. A Numidian prince, grandson of Masinissa,
called
Massiva, being at that time in the city, was advised to solicit
for
Jugurtha’s kingdom; which coming to the ears of the latter, he caused
him
to be assassinated in the midst of Rome. The murderer was seized,
and
delivered up to the civil magistrate, and Jugurtha was commanded to
depart
Italy. Upon leaving the city, he cast back his eyes several times
towards
it, and said, “Rome would sell itself could it meet with a purchaser;
and
were one to be found, it were inevitably ruined.”(945)
And now the
war broke out anew. At first the indolence, or perhaps
connivance, of Albinus
the consul, made it go on very slowly; but
afterwards, when he returned to
Rome to hold the public assemblies,(946)
the Roman army, by the unskilfulness
of his brother Aulus, having marched
into a defile from whence there was no
getting out, surrendered
ignominiously to the enemy, who forced the Romans to
submit to the
ceremony of passing under the yoke, and made them engage to
leave Numidia
in ten days.
The reader will naturally imagine in what
light so shameful a peace,
concluded without the authority of the people, was
considered at Rome.
They could not flatter themselves with the hope of being
successful in
this war, till the conduct of it was given to L. Metellus the
consul.(947)
To all the rest of the virtues which constitute the great
captain, he
added a perfect disregard of wealth; a quality most essentially
requisite
against such an enemy as Jugurtha, who hitherto had always
been
victorious, rather by money than his sword. But the African monarch
found
Metellus as invincible in this, as in all other respects. He therefore
was
forced to venture his life, and exert his utmost bravery, through
the
defect of an expedient which now began to fail him. Accordingly,
he
signalized himself in a surprising manner; and showed in this
campaign,
all that could be expected from the courage, abilities, and
attention of
an illustrious general, to whom despair adds new vigour, and
suggests new
lights: he was, however, unsuccessful, because opposed by a
consul, who
did not suffer the most inconsiderable error to escape him, nor
ever let
slip an opportunity of taking advantage of the
enemy.
Jugurtha’s greatest concern was, how to secure himself from
traitors. From
the time he had been told that Bomilcar, in whom he reposed
the utmost
confidence, had a design upon his life, he enjoyed no peace. He
did not
believe himself safe any where; but all things, by day as well as
by
night, the citizen as well as the foreigner, were suspected by him;
and
the blackest terrors sat for ever brooding over his mind. He never got
a
wink of sleep, except by stealth; and often changed his bed in a
manner
unbecoming his rank. Starting sometimes from his slumbers, he would
snatch
his sword, and utter loud cries; so strongly was he haunted by fear,
which
almost drove him to frenzy.
Marius was Metellus’s lieutenant.
His boundless ambition induced him to
endeavour to lessen his general’s
character secretly in the minds of his
soldiers; and becoming soon his
professed enemy and slanderer, he at last,
by the most grovelling and
perfidious arts, prevailed so far as to
supplant Metellus, and get himself
nominated in his room, to carry on the
war against Jugurtha.(948) With what
strength of mind soever Metellus
might be endued on other occasions, he was
totally dejected by this
unforeseen blow, which even forced tears from his
eyes, and compelled him
to utter such expressions as were altogether unworthy
so great a man.
There was something very dark and vile in Marius’s conduct,
that displays
ambition in its native and genuine colours, and shows that
it
extinguishes, in those who abandon themselves to it, all sense of
honour
and integrity.(M151) Metellus, having anxiously endeavoured to avoid a
man
whose sight he could not bear, arrived in Rome, and was received
there
with universal acclamations. A triumph was decreed him, and the surname
of
Numidicus conferred upon him.
I thought it would be proper to
reserve for the Roman history, a
particular account of the events that
happened in Africa, under Metellus
and Marius, all which are very
circumstantially described by Sallust, in
his admirable history of Jugurtha.
I therefore hasten to the conclusion of
this war.
Jugurtha being
greatly distressed in his affairs, had recourse to Bocchus
king of
Mauritania, whose daughter he had married. This country extends
from Numidia,
as far as beyond the shores of the Mediterranean opposite to
Spain.(949) The
Roman name was scarce known in it, and the people were
absolutely unknown to
the Romans. Jugurtha insinuated to his
father-in-law, that should he suffer
Numidia to be conquered, his kingdom
would doubtless be involved in its ruin;
especially as the Romans, who
were sworn enemies to monarchy, seemed to have
vowed the destruction of
all the thrones in the universe. He, therefore,
prevailed with Bocchus to
enter into a league with him; and accordingly
received, on different
occasions, very considerable succours from that
king.
This confederacy, which was cemented on either side by no other tie
than
that of interest, had never been strong; and a last defeat which
Jugurtha
met with, broke at once all the bands of it. Bocchus now meditated
the
dark design of delivering up his son-in-law to the Romans. For
this
purpose he had desired Marius to send him a trusty person. Sylla, who
was
an officer of uncommon merit, and served under him as quæstor, was
thought
every way qualified for this negotiation. He was not afraid to put
himself
into the hands of the barbarian king; and accordingly set out for
his
court. Being arrived, Bocchus, who, like the rest of his countrymen,
did
not pride himself on sincerity, and was for ever projecting new
designs,
debated within himself, whether it would not be his interest to
deliver up
Sylla to Jugurtha. He was a long time fluctuating in this
uncertainty, and
conflicting with a contrariety of sentiments: and the sudden
changes which
displayed themselves in his countenance, in his air, and in his
whole
person, showed evidently how strongly his mind was affected. At
length,
returning to his first design, he made his terms with Sylla, and
delivered
up Jugurtha into his hands, who was sent immediately to
Marius.
Sylla, says Plutarch,(950)(951) acted, on this occasion, like a
young man
fired with a strong thirst of glory, the sweets of which he had
just begun
to taste. Instead of ascribing to the general under whom he fought
all the
honour of this event, as his duty required, and which ought to be
an
inviolable maxim, he reserved the greatest part of it to himself, and
had
a ring made, which he always wore, wherein he was represented
receiving
Jugurtha from the hands of Bocchus; and this ring he used ever
after as
his signet. But Marius was so highly exasperated at this kind of
insult,
that he could never forgive him; and this circumstance gave rise to
the
implacable hatred between these two Romans, which afterwards broke
out
with so much fury, and cost the republic so much blood.
(M152)
Marius entered Rome in triumph,(952) exhibiting such a spectacle to
the
Romans, as they could scarce believe they saw, when it passed before
their
eyes; I mean, Jugurtha in chains; that so formidable an enemy,
during whose
life they had not dared to flatter themselves with the hopes
of being able to
put an end to this war; so well was his courage sustained
by stratagem and
artifice, and his genius so fruitful in finding new
expedients, even when his
affairs were most desperate. We are told, that
Jugurtha ran distracted, as he
was walking in the triumph; that after the
ceremony was ended, he was thrown
into prison; and that the lictors were
so eager to seize his robe, that they
rent it in several pieces, and tore
away the tips of his ears, to get the
rich jewels with which they were
adorned. In this condition he was cast,
quite naked, and in the utmost
terrors, into a deep dungeon, where he spent
six days in struggling with
hunger and the fear of death, retaining a strong
desire of life to his
last gasp; an end, continues Plutarch, worthy of his
wicked deeds,
Jugurtha having been always of opinion, that the greatest
crimes might be
committed to satiate his ambition; ingratitude, perfidy,
black treachery,
and inhuman barbarity.
Juba, king of Mauritania,
reflected so much honour on polite literature
and the sciences, that I could
not, without impropriety, omit him in the
history of the family of Masinissa,
to whom his father, who also was named
Juba, was great grandson, and grandson
of Gulussa. The elder Juba
signalized himself in the war between Cæsar and
Pompey, by his inviolable
attachment to the party of the latter.(M153) He
slew himself after the
battle of Thapsus, in which his forces and those of
Scipio were entirely
defeated. Juba, his son, then a child, was delivered up
to the conqueror,
and was one of the most conspicuous ornaments of his
triumph. It appears
from history, that a noble education was bestowed upon
Juba in Rome, where
he imbibed such a variety of knowledge, as afterwards
equalled him to the
most learned among(M154) the Grecians. He did not leave
that city till he
went to take possession of his father’s dominions. Augustus
restored them
to him, when, by the death of Mark Antony, the provinces of the
empire
were absolutely at his disposal. Juba, by the lenity of his
government,
gained the hearts of all his subjects; who, out of a grateful
sense of the
felicity they had enjoyed during his reign, ranked him in the
number of
their gods. Pausanias speaks of a statue which the Athenians
erected in
his honour. It was, indeed just, that a city, which had been
consecrated
in all ages to the Muses, should give public testimonies of its
esteem for
a king who made so bright a figure among the learned. Suidas
ascribes(953)
several works to this prince, of which only the fragments are
now extant.
He had written the history of Arabia; the antiquities of Assyria,
and
those of the Romans; the history of theatres, of painting and painters;
of
the nature and properties of different animals, of grammar, and
similar
subjects; a catalogue of all which is given in Abbé Sevin’s
short
dissertation on the life and works of the younger Juba,(954) whence I
have
extracted these few particulars.
BOOK THE THIRD.
THE HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIANS.
Chapter I. The First Empire of
the Assyrians.
SECT. I. DURATION OF THAT EMPIRE.—The Assyrian empire
was undoubtedly one
of the most powerful in the world. With respect to its
duration, two
opinions have chiefly prevailed. Some authors, as Ctesias,
whose opinion
is followed by Justin, give it a duration of thirteen hundred
years:
others reduce it to five hundred and twenty, of which number is
Herodotus.
The diminution, or probably the interruption of power, which
happened in
this vast empire, might possibly give occasion to this difference
of
opinions, and may perhaps serve in some measure to reconcile
them.
The history of those early times is so obscure, the monuments which
convey
it down to us so contrary to each other, and the systems of
the
moderns(955) upon that matter so different, that it is difficult to
lay
down any opinion about it, as certain and incontestable. But
where
certainty is not to be had, I suppose a reasonable person will
be
satisfied with probability; and, in my opinion, a man can hardly
be
deceived, if he makes the Assyrian empire equal in antiquity with the
city
of Babylon, its capital. Now we learn from the holy Scripture, that
this
was built by Nimrod, who certainly was a great conqueror, and in
all
probability the first and most ancient of all those who have ever
aspired
after that denomination.
The Babylonians, as Callisthenes, a
philosopher in Alexander’s retinue,
wrote to Aristotle,(956) reckoned
themselves to be at least of 1903 years’
standing, when that prince entered
triumphant into Babylon; which makes
their origin reach back to the year of
the world 1771, that is to say, 115
years after the deluge. This computation
comes within a few years of the
time in which we suppose Nimrod to have
founded that city. Indeed, this
testimony of Callisthenes, as it does not
agree with any other accounts of
that empire, is not esteemed authentic by
the learned; but the conformity
we find between it and the holy Scriptures
should make us regard it.
Upon these grounds, I think we may allow Nimrod
to have been the founder
of the first Assyrian empire, which subsisted with
more or less extent and
glory upwards of 1450 years,(957) from the time of
Nimrod to that of
Sardanapalus, the last king, that is to say, from the year
of the world
1800 to the year 3257.
(M155) NIMROD. He is the same with
Belus,(958) who was afterwards
worshipped as a god under that
appellation.
He was the son of Chus, grandson of Ham, and great grandson
of Noah. He
was, says the Scripture, “a mighty hunter before the Lord.”(959)
In
applying himself to this laborious and dangerous exercise, he had
two
things in view; the first was, to gain the people’s affection
by
delivering them from the fury and dread of wild beasts; the next was,
to
train up numbers of young people by this exercise of hunting to
endure
labour and hardship, to form them to the use of arms, to inure them to
a
kind of discipline and obedience, that at a proper time, after they
had
been accustomed to his orders and seasoned in arms, he might make use
of
them for other purposes more serious than hunting.
In ancient
history we find some footsteps remaining of this artifice of
Nimrod, whom the
writers have confounded with Ninus, his son: for Diodorus
has these
words:(960) “Ninus, the most ancient of the Assyrian kings
mentioned in
history, performed great actions. Being naturally of a
warlike disposition,
and ambitious of the glory that results from valour,
he armed a considerable
number of young men, that were brave and vigorous
like himself; trained them
up a long time in laborious exercises and
hardships, and by that means
accustomed them to bear the fatigues of war
patiently, and to face dangers
with courage and intrepidity.”
What the same author adds,(961) that Ninus
entered into an alliance with
the king of the Arabs, and joined forces with
him, is a piece of ancient
tradition, which informs us, that the sons of
Chus, and by consequence,
the brothers of Nimrod, all settled themselves in
Arabia, along the
Persian gulf, from Havilah to the Ocean; and lived near
enough to their
brother to lend him succours, or to receive them from him.
And what the
same historian further says of Ninus, that he was the first king
of the
Assyrians, agrees exactly with what the Scripture says of Nimrod,
“that he
began to be mighty upon the earth;” that is, he procured
himself
settlements, built cities, subdued his neighbours, united different
people
under one and the same authority, by the band of the same polity and
the
same laws, and formed them into one state; which, for those early
times,
was of a considerable extent, though bounded by the rivers Euphrates
and
Tigris; and which, in succeeding ages, made new acquisitions by
degrees,
and at length extended its conquests very far.
“The capital
city of his kingdom,” says the Scripture,(962) “was Babylon.”
Most of the
profane historians ascribe the founding of Babylon to
Semiramis,(963) others
to Belus. It is evident, that both the one and the
other are mistaken, if
they speak of the first founder of that city; for
it owes its beginning
neither to Semiramis nor to Nimrod, but to the
foolish vanity of those
persons mentioned in Scripture,(964) who desired
to build a tower and a city,
that should render their memory immortal.
Josephus relates,(965) upon the
testimony of a Sibyl, (who must have been
very ancient, and whose fictions
cannot be imputed to the indiscreet zeal
of any Christians,) that the gods
threw down the tower by an impetuous
wind, or a violent hurricane. Had this
been the case, Nimrod’s temerity
must have been still greater, to rebuild a
city and a tower which God
himself had overthrown with such marks of his
displeasure. But the
Scripture says no such thing; and it is very probable,
the building
remained in the condition it was, when God put an end to the
work by the
confusion of languages; and that the tower consecrated to Belus,
which is
described by Herodotus,(966) was this very tower, which the sons of
men
pretended to raise to the clouds.
It is further probable, that
this ridiculous design having been defeated
by such an astonishing prodigy,
as none could be the author of but God
himself, every body abandoned the
place, which had given Him offence; and
that Nimrod was the first who
encompassed it afterwards with walls,
settled therein his friends and
confederates, and subdued those that lived
round about it, beginning his
empire in that place, but not confining it
to so narrow a compass: _Fuit
principium regni ejus Babylon_. The other
cities, which the Scripture speaks
of in the same place, were in the land
of Shinar, which was certainly the
province of which Babylon became the
metropolis.
From this country he
went into that which has the name of Assyria, and
there built Nineveh: _De
terrâ illâ egressus est Assur, et ædificavit
Nineven_.(967) This is the sense
in which many learned men understand the
word Assur, looking upon it as the
name of a province, and not of the
first man who possessed it, as if it were,
_egressus est in Assur, in
Assyriam_. And this seems to be the most natural
construction, for many
reasons not necessary to be recited in this place. The
country of Assyria
is described, in one of the prophets,(968) by the
particular character of
being the land of Nimrod: _Et pascent terram Assur in
gladio, et terram,
Nimrod in lanceis ejus; et liberabit ab Assur, cùm venerit
in terram
nostram_. It derived its name from Assur the son of Shem, who,
without
doubt, had settled himself and family there, and was probably driven
out,
or brought under subjection, by the usurper Nimrod.
This
conqueror having possessed himself of the provinces of Assur,(969)
did not
ravage them like a tyrant, but filled them with cities, and made
himself as
much beloved by his new subjects as he was by his old ones; so
that the
historians,(970) who have not examined into the bottom of this
affair, have
thought that he made use of the Assyrians to conquer the
Babylonians. Among
other cities, he built one more large and magnificent
than the rest, which he
called Nineveh, from the name of his son Ninus, in
order to immortalize his
memory. The son, in his turn, out of veneration
for his father, was willing
that they who had served him as their king
should adore him as their god, and
induce other nations to render him the
same worship. For it appears evident,
that Nimrod is the famous Belus of
the Babylonians, the first king whom the
people deified for his great
actions, and who showed others the way to that
sort of immortality which
human acquirements are supposed capable of
bestowing.
I intend to speak of the mighty strength and greatness of the
cities of
Babylon and Nineveh, under the kings to whom their building is
ascribed by
profane authors, because the Scripture says little or nothing on
that
subject. This silence of Scripture, so little satisfactory to
our
curiosity, may become an instructive lesson to our piety. The holy
penman
has placed Nimrod and Abraham, as it were, in one view before us;
and
seems to have put them so near together on purpose, that we should see
an
example in the former of what is admired and coveted by men, and in
the
latter of what is acceptable and well-pleasing to God. These
two
persons,(971) so unlike one another, are the first two and chief
citizens
of two different cities, built on different motives, and with
different
principles; the one, self-love, and a desire of temporal
advantages,
carried even to the contemning of the Deity; the other, the love
of God,
even to the contemning of one’s self.
(M156) NINUS. I have
already observed, that most of the profane authors
look upon him as the first
founder of the Assyrian empire, and for that
reason ascribe to him a great
part of his father Nimrod’s or Belus’s
actions.
Having a design to
enlarge his conquests, the first thing he did was to
prepare troops and
officers capable of promoting his designs.(972) And
having received powerful
succours from the Arabians his neighbours, he
took the field, and in the
space of seventeen years conquered a vast
extent of country, from Egypt as
far as India and Bactriana, which he did
not then venture to
attack.
At his return, before he entered upon any new conquests, he
conceived the
design of immortalizing his name by the building of a city
answerable to
the greatness of his power; he called it Nineveh, and built it
on the
eastern banks of the Tigris.(973) Possibly he did no more than finish
the
work his father had begun. His design, says Diodorus, was to make
Nineveh
the largest and noblest city in the world, and to put it out of the
power
of those that came after him ever to build or hope to build such
another.
Nor was he deceived in his view; for never did any city come up to
the
greatness and magnificence of this: it was one hundred and fifty
stadia
(or eighteen miles three quarters) in length, and ninety stadia (or
eleven
miles and one quarter) in breadth; and consequently was an oblong
square.
Its circumference was four hundred and eighty stadia, or sixty miles.
For
this reason we find it said in the prophet Jonah, “That Nineveh was
an
exceeding great city, of three days’ journey;”(974) which is to
be
understood of the whole circuit, or compass of the city.(975) The walls
of
it were a hundred feet high, and of so considerable a thickness,
that
three chariots might go abreast upon them with ease. They were
fortified,
and adorned with fifteen hundred towers two hundred feet
high.
After he had finished this prodigious work, he resumed his
expedition
against the Bactrians. His army, according to the relation of
Ctesias,
consisted of seventeen hundred thousand foot, two hundred thousand
horse,
and about sixteen thousand chariots armed with scythes. Diodorus
adds,
that this ought not to appear incredible, since, not to mention
the
innumerable armies of Darius and Xerxes, the city of Syracuse alone,
in
the time of Dionysius the Tyrant, furnished one hundred and
twenty
thousand foot and twelve thousand horse, besides four hundred vessels
well
equipped and provided. And a little before Hannibal’s time,
Italy,
including the citizens and allies, was able to send into the field
near a
million of men. Ninus made himself master of a great number of cities,
and
at last laid siege to Bactria, the capital of the country. Here he
would
probably have seen all his attempts miscarry, had it not been for
the
diligence and assistance of Semiramis, wife to one of his chief
officers,
a woman of an uncommon courage, and peculiarly exempt from the
weakness of
her sex. She was born at Ascalon, a city of Syria. I think it
needless to
recite the account Diodorus gives of her birth, and of the
miraculous
manner of her being nursed and brought up by pigeons, since that
historian
himself looks upon it only as a fabulous story. It was Semiramis
that
directed Ninus how to attack the citadel, and by her means he took it,
and
thus became master of the city, in which he found an immense treasure.
The
husband of Semiramis having killed himself, to prevent the effects of
the
king’s threats and indignation, who had conceived a violent passion
for
his wife, Ninus married her.
After his return to Nineveh, he had a
son by her, whom he called Ninyas.
Not long after this he died, and left the
queen the government of the
kingdom. She, in honour of his memory, erected a
magnificent monument,
which remained a long time after the ruin of
Nineveh.
I find no appearance of truth in what some authors relate
concerning the
manner of Semiramis’s coming to the throne.(976) According to
them, having
secured the chief men of the state, and attached them to her
interest by
her benefactions and promises, she solicited the king with
great
importunity to put the sovereign power into her hands for the space
of
five days. He yielded to her entreaties, and all the provinces of
the
empire were commanded to obey Semiramis. These orders were executed
but
too exactly for the unfortunate Ninus, who was put to death,
either
immediately or after some years’ imprisonment.
(M157)
SEMIRAMIS. This princess applied all her thoughts to immortalize
her name,
and to cover the meanness of her extraction by the greatness of
her
enterprises.(977) She proposed to herself to surpass all her
predecessors in
magnificence, and to that end she undertook the building
of the mighty
Babylon,(978) in which work she employed two millions of
men, which were
collected out of all the provinces of her vast empire.
Some of her successors
endeavoured to adorn that city with new works and
embellishments. I shall
here speak of them all together, in order to give
the reader a more clear and
distinct idea of that stupendous city.
The principal works which rendered
Babylon so famous, are the walls of the
city; the quays and the bridge; the
lake, banks, and canals, made for the
draining of the river; the palaces,
hanging gardens, and the temple of
Belus; works of such a surprising
magnificence, as is scarce to be
comprehended. Dr. Prideaux having treated
this subject with great extent
and learning, I have only to copy, or rather
abridge him.
I. _The Walls._—Babylon stood on a large plain, in a very
fat and rich
soil.(979) The Avails were every way prodigious. They were in
thickness
eighty-seven feet, in height three hundred and fifty, and in
compass four
hundred and eighty furlongs, which make sixty of our miles.
These walls
were drawn round the city in the form of an exact square, each
side of
which was one hundred and twenty furlongs,(980) or fifteen miles,
in
length, and all built of large bricks cemented together with bitumen,
a
glutinous slime arising out of the earth in that country, which binds
much
stronger and firmer than mortar, and soon grows much harder than
the
bricks or stones themselves which it cements together.
These walls
were surrounded on the outside with a vast ditch, full of
water, and lined
with bricks on both sides. The earth that was dug out of
it made the bricks
wherewith the walls were built; and therefore, from the
vast height and
breadth of the walls may be inferred the greatness of the
ditch.
In
every side of this great square were twenty-five gates, that is, a
hundred in
all, which were all made of solid brass; and hence it is, that
when God
promises to Cyrus the conquest of Babylon, he tells him,(981)
that he would
break in pieces before him the gates of brass. Between every
two of these
gates were three towers, and four more at the four corners of
this great
square, and three between each of these corners and the next
gate on either
side; every one of these towers was ten feet higher than
the walls. But this
is to be understood only of those parts of the wall
where there was need of
towers.
From the twenty-five gates in each side of this great square
went
twenty-five streets, in straight lines to the gates, which were
directly
over-against them, in the opposite side; so that the whole number of
the
streets was fifty, each fifteen miles long, whereof twenty-five went
one
way, and twenty-five the other, directly crossing each other at
right
angles. And besides these, there were also four half streets, which
had
houses only on one side, and the wall on the other; these went round
the
four sides of the city next the walls, and were each of them two
hundred
feet broad; the rest were about a hundred and fifty. By these streets
thus
crossing each other, the whole city was cut out into six hundred
and
seventy-six squares, each of which was four furlongs and a half on
every
side, that is, two miles and a quarter in circumference. Round
these
squares, on every side towards the street, stood the houses (which
were
not contiguous, but had void spaces between them,) all built three or
four
stories high, and beautified with all manner of ornaments towards
the
streets.(982) The space within in the middle of each square, was
likewise
all void ground, employed for yards, gardens, and other such uses;
so that
Babylon was greater in appearance than reality, near one half of the
city
being taken up in gardens and other cultivated lands, as we are told by
Q.
Curtius.
II. _The Quays and Bridge._—A branch of the river
Euphrates ran quite
cross the city, from the north to the south side;(983) on
each side of the
river was a quay, and a high wall built of brick and
bitumen, of the same
thickness as the walls that went round the city. In
these walls,
over-against every street that led to the river, were gates of
brass, and
from them descents by steps to the river, for the conveniency of
the
inhabitants, who used to pass over from one side to the other in
boats,
having no other way of crossing the river before the building of
the
bridge. The brazen gates were always open in the daytime, and shut in
the
night.
The bridge was not inferior to any of the other buildings,
either in
beauty or magnificence; it was a furlong in length,(984) and thirty
feet
in breadth, built with wonderful art, to supply the defect of a
foundation
in the bottom of the river, which was all sandy. The arches were
made of
huge stones, fastened together with chains of iron and melted lead.
Before
they began to build the bridge, they turned the course of the river,
and
laid its channel dry, having another view in so doing, besides that
of
laying the foundations more commodiously, as I shall explain
hereafter.
And as every thing was prepared beforehand, both the bridge and
the quays,
which I have already described, were built in that
interval.
III. _The Lake, Ditches, and Canals, made for the draining __
of the
River._—These works, objects of admiration for the skilful in all
ages,
were still more useful than magnificent.(985) In the beginning of
the
summer, on the sun’s melting the snow on the mountains of Armenia,
there
arises a vast increase of waters, which, running into the Euphrates in
the
months of June, July, and August, makes it overflow its banks,
and
occasion such another inundation as the Nile does in Egypt. To prevent
the
damage which both the city and country received from these inundations,
at
a very considerable distance above the town two artificial canals
were
cut, which turned the course of these waters into the Tigris, before
they
reached Babylon.(986) And to secure the country yet more from the
danger
of inundations, and to keep the river within its channel, they
raised
prodigious banks on both sides the river, built with brick cemented
with
bitumen, which began at the head of the artificial canals, and
extended
below the city.(987)
To facilitate the making of these works,
it was necessary to turn the
course of the river, for which purpose, to the
west of Babylon, was dug a
prodigious artificial lake, forty miles
square,(988) one hundred and sixty
in compass, and thirty-five feet deep,
according to Herodotus, and
seventy-five, according to Megasthenes. Into this
lake was the whole river
turned, by an artificial canal cut from the west
side of it, till the
whole work was finished, when it was made to flow in its
former channel.
But that the Euphrates, in the time of its increase, might
not overflow
the city, through the gates on its sides, this lake, with the
canal from
the river, was still preserved. The water received into the lake
at the
time of these overflowings was kept there all the year, as in a
common
reservoir, for the benefit of the country, to be let out by sluices,
at
convenient times for the watering of the lands below it. The
lake,
therefore, was equally useful in defending the country from
inundations,
and making it fertile. I relate the wonders of Babylon as they
are
delivered down to us by the ancients; but there are some of them which
are
scarce to be comprehended or believed, of which number is the vast
extent
of the lake which I have just described.
Berosus, Megasthenes,
and Abydenus, quoted by Josephus and Eusebius, make
Nebuchadnezzar the author
of most of these works; but Herodotus ascribes
the bridge, the two quays of
the river, and the lake, to Nitocris, the
daughter-in-law of that monarch.
Perhaps Nitocris might finish what her
father left imperfect at his death, on
which account that historian might
give her the honour of the whole
undertaking.
IV. _The Palaces, and Hanging Gardens._(_989_)—At the two
ends of the
bridge were two palaces, which had a communication with each
other by a
vault, built under the channel of the river, at the time of its
being dry.
The old palace, which stood on the east side of the river, was
thirty
furlongs (or three miles and three quarters) in compass; near which
stood
the temple of Belus, of which we shall soon speak. The new palace,
which
stood on the west side of the river, opposite to the other, was
sixty
furlongs (or seven miles and a half) in compass. It was surrounded
with
three walls, one within another, with considerable spaces between
them.
These walls, as also those of the other palace, were embellished with
an
infinite variety of sculptures, representing all kinds of animals, to
the
life. Amongst the rest was a curious hunting-piece, in which Semiramis
on
horseback was throwing her javelin at a leopard, and her husband
Ninus
piercing a lion.
In this last palace, were the hanging gardens,
so celebrated among the
Greeks.(990) They contained a square of four hundred
feet on every side,
and were carried up in the manner of several large
terraces, one above
another, till the height equalled that of the walls of
the city. The
ascent was from terrace to terrace, by stairs ten feet wide.
The whole
pile was sustained by vast arches, raised upon other arches, one
above
another, and strengthened by a wall, surrounding it on every side,
of
twenty-two feet in thickness. On the top of the arches were first
laid
large flat stones, sixteen feet long, and four broad; over these was
a
layer of reeds, mixed with a great quantity of bitumen, upon which
were
two rows of bricks, closely cemented together with plaster. The whole
was
covered with thick sheets of lead, upon which lay the mould of the
garden.
And all this floorage was contrived to keep the moisture of the mould
from
running away through the arches. The earth laid hereon was so deep,
that
the greatest trees might take root in it; and with such the terraces
were
covered, as well as with all other plants and flowers, that were proper
to
adorn a pleasure-garden. In the upper terrace there was an engine, or
kind
of pump, by which water was drawn up out of the river, and from thence
the
whole garden was watered. In the spaces between the several arches,
upon
which this whole structure rested, were large and magnificent
apartments,
that were very light, and had the advantage of a beautiful
prospect.
Amytis, the wife of Nebuchadnezzar, having been bred in Media,
(for she
was the daughter of Astyages, the king of that country,) had been
much
delighted with the mountains and woody parts of that country.(991) And
as
she desired to have something like it in Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar,
to
gratify her, caused this prodigious edifice to be erected: Diodoras
gives
much the same account of the matter, but without naming the
persons.
V. _The Temple of Belus._(_992_)—Another of the great works at
Babylon was
the temple of Belus, which stood, as I have mentioned already,
near the
old palace. It was most remarkable for a prodigious tower, that
stood in
the middle of it. At the foundation, according to Herodotus, it was
a
square of a furlong on each side, that is, half a mile in the
whole
compass, and (according to Strabo) it was also a furlong in height.
It
consisted of eight towers, built one above the other, decreasing
regularly
to the top, for which reason Strabo calls the whole a pyramid. It
is not
only asserted, but proved, that this tower much exceeded the greatest
of
the pyramids of Egypt in height. Therefore we have good reason to
believe,
as Bochart asserts,(993) that this is the very same tower which was
built
there at the confusion of languages; and the rather, because it
is
attested by several profane authors, that this tower was all built
of
bricks and bitumen, as the Scriptures tell us the tower of Babel was.
The
ascent to the top was by stairs on the outside round it; that is,
perhaps,
there was an easy sloping ascent in the side of the outer wall,
which,
turning by very slow degrees in a spiral line eight times round the
tower
from the bottom to the top, had the same appearance as if there had
been
eight towers placed upon one another. In these different stories were
many
large rooms, with arched roofs supported by pillars. Over the whole,
on
the top of the tower, was an observatory, by the benefit of which
the
Babylonians became more expert in astronomy than all other nations,
and
made, in a short time, the great progress in it ascribed to them
in
history.
But the chief use to which this tower was designed, was
the worship of the
god Belus or Baal, as also that of several other deities;
for which reason
there was a multitude of chapels in different parts of the
tower. The
riches of this temple in statues, tables, censers, cups, and other
sacred
vessels, all of massy gold, were immense. Among other images, there
was
one forty feet high, which weighed a thousand Babylonish talents.
The
Babylonish talent, according to Pollux in his _Onomasticon_,
contained
seven thousand Attic drachmas, and consequently was a sixth part
more than
the Attic talent, which contains but six thousand
drachmas.
According to the calculation which Diodorus makes of the riches
contained
in this temple, the sum total amounts to six thousand three
hundred
Babylonish talents of gold.
The sixth part of six thousand
three hundred is one thousand and fifty;
consequently six thousand three
hundred Babylonish talents of gold are
equivalent to seven thousand three
hundred and fifty Attic talents of
gold.
Now seven thousand three
hundred and fifty Attic talents of silver are
worth upwards of two millions
and one hundred thousand pounds sterling. The proportion between gold and silver
among the ancients we reckon as ten to one; therefore seven thousand three
hundred and fifty Attic talents of gold amount to above one and twenty millions
sterling. |
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