History of Egypt, Chaldæa, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, Volume 7 (of 12) — John Shaqi
History of Egypt, Chaldæa, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, Volume 7 (of 12)Maspero, G. (Gaston)
History
History of Egypt, Chaldæa, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, Volume 7 (of 12)
Maspero, G. (Gaston)
Civilization, Ancient; Egypt -- History -- To 640 A.D.; History, Ancient; Middle East -- History
The second year of his reign was no less fully occupied, nor did it
prove less successful than the first. At its very beginning, and even
before the return of the favourable season, the Sukhi on the Euphrates
made a public act of submission, and their chief, Ilubani, brought to
Nineveh on their behalf a large sum of gold and silver. He had scarcely
left the capital when the news of an untoward event effaced the good
impression he had made. The descendants of the colonists, planted in
bygone times by Shalmaneser I. on the western slope of the Masios, in
the district of Khalzidipkha, had thrown off their allegiance, and
their leader, Khulai, was besieging the royal fortress of Damdamusa.*
Assur-nazir-pal marched direct to the sources of the Tigris, and
the mere fact of his presence sufficed to prevent any rising in that
quarter. He took advantage of the occasion to set up a stele beside
those of his father Tukulti-ninip and his ancestor Tiglath-pileser,
and then having halted to receive the tribute of Izalla,** he turned
southwards, and took up a position on the slopes of the Kashiari.
* The position of Khalzidipkha or Khalzilukha, as well as
that of Kina-bu, its stronghold, is shown approximately by
what follows. Assur-nazir-pal, marching from the sources of
the Supnat towards Tela, could pass either to the east or
west of the Karajah-dagh; as the end of the campaign finds
him at Tushkhan, to the south of the Tigris, and he returns
to Nairi and Kirkhi by the eastern side of the Karajah-dagh,
we are led to conclude that the outgoing march to Tela was
by the western side, through the country situated between
the Karajah-dagh and the Euphrates. On referring to a modern
map, two rather important places will be found in this
locality: the first, Arghana, commanding the road from
Diarbekir to Khar-put; the other, Severek, on the route from
Diarbekir to Orfah. Arghana appears to me to correspond to
the royal city of Damdamusa, which would, thus have
protected the approach to the plain on the north-west.
Severek corresponds fairly well to the position which,
according to the Assyrian text, Kinabu must have occupied;
hence the country of Khalzidipkha (Khalzilukha) must be the
district of Severek.
** Izalla, written also Izala, Azala, paid its tribute in
sheep and oxen, and also produced a wine for which it
continued to be celebrated down to the time of
Nebuchadrezzar II. Lenormant and Finzi place this country-
near to Nisibis, where the Byzantine and Syrian writers
mention a district and a mountain of the same name, and this
conjecture is borne out by the passages of the _Annals of
Assur-nazir-pal_ which place it in the vicinity of Bit-Adini
and Bit-Bakhiani. It has also been adopted by most of the
historians who have recently studied the question.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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