The History of Antiquity, Vol. 3 (of 6)Duncker, Max
History
The History of Antiquity, Vol. 3 (of 6)
Duncker, Max
History, Ancient
I turned back and destroyed his cities.
I struck terror into his ally, the king of Elam. At my return I put
Assurnadin, my eldest son, on the throne of his dominion, and entrusted
him with the whole extent of the land of Sumir and Accad." The stone
slabs on the bulls of Kuyundshik also mention the establishment of
Assurnadin in Babylon.[259]
From this account we gather that Babylon, if it was not lost, wavered;
that the chief of the rebels in Babylonia retired before the approach of
Sennacherib into the marshes. The establishment of Assurnadin as regent
of Babylonia by Sennacherib did not take place till Merodach Baladan was
driven out of Bit Yakin. The inscriptions do not mention Sennacherib's
entrance into Babylon. Aparanadius, whose reign the astronomical canon
represents as beginning with the year 699 B.C., can only be Assurnadin,
the son of Sennacherib.[260]
The expulsion of Merodach Baladan out of South Chaldæa; the
establishment of the successor to the throne of Assyria as regent of
Babylon, had no more lasting results than the establishment of Belibus
three years before. Suzub, who had retired into the marshes before
Sennacherib, was again at the head of Babylonia. "The tribes of Bit
Yakin," so Sennacherib tells us on the cylinder Taylor, "despised my
rule; they settled in the city of Nagitti, in the land of Elam."
Sennacherib directed his sixth campaign against them (the fifth was
directed against the land of Nipur). "On my sixth campaign (696 B.C.), I
attacked Elam, and carried the people of Bit Yakin with the people of
Elam into captivity. At my return, Suzub, a child of Babylonia, whom the
rebellious people in the land of Sumir and Accad had raised up, came to
offer me battle. I conquered him; he fell into my hand; I gave him his
life, and caused him to be taken into Assyria. The king of Elam, who
came to his assistance, I put to flight."[261] The inscription of Nebbi
Yunus gives us a fuller account. It narrates the carrying away of the
people of Elam, like the cylinder, and then continues: "After this (?)
the leading inhabitants of Babylonia, who were round Merodach Baladan,
escaped and called on the king of Elam for help, who placed Suzub, the
son of Gated, on the throne. I sent my warriors against the king of
Elam; they slew many of his people; they made themselves masters of the
gods who dwell in Arak (Erech), of Samas, Bilit, Istar, Nergal, and
their endless treasures. Suzub, the king of Babylon, who was taken
prisoner after a great battle, they brought to Nineveh into my
presence."[262] We see that in spite of the regency of Assurnadin, which
would not be weak, in spite of the attack of Sennacherib on Elam, the
adherents of Suzub, when combined with the adherents of Merodach Baladan
and supported by Elam, were strong enough to remove Assurnadin not long
after his appointment, and to raise Suzub to the throne. His defeat and
imprisonment were heavy blows for the Babylonians, but they did not
break their resistance.
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