History of Egypt, Chaldæa, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, Volume 8 (of 12)Maspero, G. (Gaston)
History
History of Egypt, Chaldæa, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, Volume 8 (of 12)
Maspero, G. (Gaston)
Civilization, Ancient; Egypt -- History -- To 640 A.D.; History, Ancient; Middle East -- History
The people of Parnaki, in the bend of the Euphrates between Tel-Assur
and the sources of the Balikh, had taken up arms on hearing of the brief
successes of Tiushpa, but were pitilessly crushed by Esarhaddon. The
sheikh of Arzani, in the extreme south of Syria, close to the brook of
Egypt, had made depredations on the Assyrian frontier, but he was seized
by the nearest governor and sent in chains to Nineveh. A cage was built
for him at the gate of the city, and he was exposed in it to the jeers
of the populace, in company with the bears, dogs, and boars which the
Ninevites were in the habit of keeping confined there. It would appear
that Esarhaddon set himself to come to a final reckoning with Sidon and
Phoenicia, the revolt of which had irritated him all the more, in that
it showed an inexcusable ingratitude towards his family. For it was
Sennacherib who, in order to break the power of Blulai, had not only
rescued Sidon from the dominion of Tyre, but had enriched it with the
spoils taken from its former rulers, and had raised it to the first
rank among the Phoenician cities. Ethbaal in his lifetime had never been
wanting in gratitude, but his successor, Abdimilkot, forgetful of recent
services, had chafed at the burden of a foreign yoke, and had recklessly
thrown it off as soon as an occasion presented itself. He had thought
to strengthen himself by securing the help of a certain Sanduarri,
who possessed the two fortresses of Kundu and Sizu, in the Cilician
mountains;* but neither this alliance nor the insular position of his
capital was able to safeguard him, when once the necessity for stemming
the tide of the Cimmerian influx was over, and the whole of the Assyrian
force was free to be brought against him.
* Some Assyriologists have proposed to locate these two
towns in Cilicia; others place them in the Lebanon, Kundi
being identified with the modern village of Ain-Kundiya. The
name of Kundu so nearly recalls that of Kuinda, the ancient
fort mentioned by Strabo, to the north of Anchiale, between
Tarsus and Anazarbus, that I do not hesitate to identify
them, and to place Kundu in Cilicia.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account