The Old Testament in the Light of the Historical Records and Legends of Assyria and BabyloniaPinches, Theophilus G. (Theophilus Goldridge)
Religion
The Old Testament in the Light of the Historical Records and Legends of Assyria and Babylonia
Pinches, Theophilus G. (Theophilus Goldridge)
Bible. Old Testament -- Criticism, interpretation, etc.
In the above extract the names containing that of the god Tešub show
clearly that we have here to do with nationalities in the neighbourhood of
Mitanni (see p. 277), and a close relation with the Hittites is suggested
by the other name Ḫattu-šar, father of Šadi-Tešub, which is an analogous
formation to Ḫattu-šil, the Kheta-sir of Egyptologists, with whom Rameses
II. made a treaty (cf. p. 304). Another reading of Ḫattu-šar is Ḫattuḫi, a
name which Prof. Sayce translates, “the Hittite,” in the second series of
the _Records of the Past_, vol. i. p. 97, note 2. In the same passage he
analyzes the name of the city Urraḫinaš as being derived from Urra, with
the termination _ḫi-naš_, denoting in Vannite, “the place of the people
of.”
Another interesting reference to the Hittites is that of the Assyrian king
Aššur-naṣir-âpli, renowned for his cruelty. The king ruling at the time
was Sangara, who had as his capital the city of Carchemish. The text reads
as follows—
“I drew near to the land of Carchemish. The tribute of Sangara, king of
the land of Ḫatte—20 talents of gold, bangles (?) of gold, rings of gold,
swords of gold, 100 talents of bronze, 250 talents of iron, dishes of
bronze, vases of bronze, libation-vases of bronze, a brazier of bronze,
and the numerous vessels of his palace, the weight of which was not taken;
couches of oak, chairs of oak, tables of oak and ivory inlaid, 200
slave-girls (or virgins), cotton stuffs, woollen cloth, white and black
and white and grey, white marble (?), tusks of elephants, a white chariot,
an umbrella of gold filled with overlaying (?), the ornament of his
royalty, I received. The chariots, horses, (and) grooms of the city
Carchemish, (of the Hittites(82)) I set (aside) for myself.”
The riches and importance of the city of Carchemish are here well
indicated, and to all appearance the place maintained its position to the
end, long after the power of the Hittites had completely disappeared.
Indeed, as will be recognized from the above, Sangara has every appearance
of having been a local ruler, implying that the district under Hittite
control was already broken up into small states practically independent of
each other. Another prince of the Hittites, in the neighbourhood of
Diarbekir, from whom this Assyrian king received tribute was “the son of
Baḫiani.” Apparently he was called thus on account of his ancestor,
Baḫiani, being chief of a tribe, the district over which he ruled bearing,
in Aššur-naṣir-âpli’s second reference to it, the name of Bît-Baḫiani,
“the house of Baḫiani.” The special products of this tract are well
indicated by the nature of the gifts sent to the Assyrian king: “chariots,
harness, horses, silver, gold, lead, bronze, and vessels of bronze.” That
these Hittite districts paid tribute so submissively would seem to
indicate that they had no coherence among themselves, and did not feel
called upon to aid each other in time of need.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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