“(People) of the land of Pilište (Philistia), the land of Yaudu (Judah), the land of Udumu (Edom), the land of Ma’abi (Moab), dwellers by the sea, bringers of the tribute and the gift of Aššur my lord, (for) sedition-mongering without measure, and evil, which was against me to cause hostility, unto Pir’u, king of the land of Muṣri, a prince who could not save them, they brought their homage-offering, and asked him for aid. I, Sargina, the true prince, fearing the oath of Lag-gi (= Nebo) and Merodach, keeper of the commands of the god Aššur, caused (my troops) to cross the Tigris and the Euphrates at high water, the fulness of the flood, as on dry land. And he, Yawani, their king, who trusted to his own power, and had not submitted to my dominion, heard from afar of the march of my expedition, and the glory of Aššur, my lord, overthrew him, and ... of the region of the river ... depth of the waters ... possession (?) of his land ... afar ... he fled ... Asdudu....” In this, too, there is a reference to Pir’u, here called king of Muṣrí, either Egypt, or that mysterious and otherwise unknown kingdom to whose help so many trusted. The years 710 and 709 B.C. were devoted to the operations against Merodach-baladan, the Chaldean prince who had made himself master of Babylonia. This is the Merodach-baladan who is referred to in 2 Kings xx. 12, but as his embassy really belongs to a somewhat later date, reference will be made to it in its place. Suffice it here to say that he was a usurper on the Babylonian throne, head of the Chaldean tribe called Bît-Yakîn, and one of the most influential chieftains of the district. To all appearance, the Babylonians themselves (as in earlier days when they tried to seize the throne) preferred the Assyrians to the semi-barbarous Chaldeans and Arameans, with whom they were, in fact, in too close connection to have any great respect for. It is needless to say that this entirely fell in with the ambition of the kings of Assyria, who, from the time of Tukulti-Ninip, if not earlier, had desired, and sometimes obtained, dominion over Babylonia. Sargon, the successor of two kings of Assyria who were acknowledged to be at the same time kings of Babylonia, naturally regarded himself as inheriting that crown in virtue of his being king of Assyria, whilst the Babylonians themselves were probably not displeased with the idea that they formed part of the world-renowned and powerful Assyrian empire, whose kings spoke the same language as themselves, and with whose religion they were in sympathy. Thus it happened, therefore, that in the course of the operations against Merodach-baladan, success frequently crowned the arms of the Assyrians, and the inhabitants of Babylon, sending to Dûr-Ladinna, where Sargon was staying, brought him in solemn possession to Babylon, where he made the prescribed offerings to the gods, took up his abode in Merodach-baladan’s palace, and received the tribute of the Babylonian tribes which he had