  ARCHÆOLOGICAL LIGHT ON THE BOOKS OF KINGS Gudea and Cedar-wood for his Palace. The Eponym Canon. The Seal of Shema. Shishak’s List of Conquered Asiatic Cities. Ashurnasirpal’s Description of his Expedition to Mediterranean Lands. Shalmaneser III’s Claims Regarding Tribute from the Kings of Israel. The Moabite Stone. Adadnirari IV’s Mention of the “Land of Omri.” Inscription Describing Tiglathpileser IV’s Campaign. Sargon’s Conquests. Sennacherib’s Western Campaigns. The Siloam Inscription. Esarhaddon’s List of Conquered Kings. Ashurbanipal’s Assyrian Campaign. Necho of Egypt. Nebuchadrezzar II. Evil-Merodach. Discoveries in Sheba. 1. Gudea and Cedar-Wood for His Palace. Gudea, a ruler of Lagash in Babylonia (the modern Telloh; see p. 45), who lived about 2450 B. C., rebuilt EninnÛ, the temple of Ningirsu, at Lagash. In his account of the work he makes the following statement:[496] From Amanus, the mountain of cedar, cedar wood, the length of which was 60 cubits, cedar-wood, the length of which was 50 cubits, ukarinnu-wood, the length of which was 25 cubits, for the dwelling he made; (from) their mountain they were brought. The Amanus mountains lay along the Mediterranean to the north of the river Orontes. They belong to the same general range as the Lebanons. Again, in the same inscription, Gudea says:[497] From Umanu, the mountain of Menua, from Basalla, the mountain of the Amorites, great cut stones he brought; into pillars he made them and in the court of EninnÛ he erected them. From Tidanu, the mountain of the Amorites, marble in fragments (?) he brought. This passage shows that a ruler of Babylonia came to this region for cedar-wood and stones for his temple, as Solomon is said to have done (1 Kings 5, especially vs. 6 and 17; 2 Chron. 2:8, ff.). That Egyptian rulers did the same is clearly shown by the report of Wenamon. (See p. 352, ff.) The Assyrians kept chronological lists called by scholars “Eponym Canons,” which are of great importance in determining the chronology of Hebrew history at a number of obscure points. A translation of them has not been included in this work, since so few Biblical names occur in them that they would be of little use except to experts. Any who wish to consult them will find them translated in Rogers, Cuneiform Parallels to the Old Testament, pp. 219-238. 3. Jeroboam. During Schumacher’s excavation at Megiddo (see p. 96), a seal was found in the palace; it is shown in Fig. 27. Its inscription reads: Belonging to Shema, servant of Jeroboam. We have no means of knowing whether the Jeroboam referred to was Jeroboam I (1 Kings 12:12, ff.), or Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:23, ff.). 4. Shishak. Sheshonk I (954-924 B. C.), the founder of the twenty-second Egyptian dynasty, the Shishak of the Bible (1 Kings 14:25-28), has left on the walls of a pylon which he erected at the temple of Karnak a relief picturing his victory. The pictures are of the conventional type, but they are accompanied by a list of conquered Asiatic cities. Of these the names of about one-hundred and twenty are legible, though it is possible to identify but a small proportion of these with known localities. As it would be of no interest to the general reader to place before him the Egyptian spelling of unidentified place names, only those are here given which have been identified or have some Biblical interest. The numbers before each name designate its distance from the beginning of Sheshonk’s list. Among his conquered towns, then, are the following:[498] 11. Gimty = Gath. 13. Rub’ty = Rabbith (Josh. 19:20). 14. T’‘nqy = Taanach (Josh. 12:21; Judges 5:19). 15. Sh’nm‘y = Shunem (Josh. 19:18; 2 Kings 4:8). 16. B’tysh’nry = Beth-shean (Josh. 17:11; 1 Sam. 31:10; 1 Kings 4:12). 17. Rwh’b’iy = Rehob (Judges 1:31). 18. H’pwrwmy = Haphraim (Josh. 19:19). 22. Myh’nm‘ = Mahanaim (Gen. 32:2; Josh. 13:26; 2 Sam. 2:8; 17:24). Q-b’-‘’-n’ = Gibeon (Josh. 10:1, f.). 24. B’tyhwr’rwn = Beth-horon (Josh. 10:10; 1 Sam. 13:18). 26. Iywrwn = Aijalon (Josh. 10:12; 19:42). 27. Myqdyw = Megiddo (Josh. 12:21; Judges 1:27). 28. Idyrw‘ = Edrei (Num. 21:33; Deut. 1:4; Josh. 12:4). 32. ‘’rin’ = Elon According to 1 Kings 14:25, ff., Sheshonk’s campaign was directed against Judah, and there is no hint that the northern kingdom suffered too. This may be because the interest of the author of Kings in the house of David and in Jerusalem was greater than his interest in the north. It is clear from the list of places just quoted that Sheshonk conquered both kingdoms. He either took or received tribute from Megiddo, Taanach, Shunem, and Beth-shean, cities in the great plain of Jezreel, but crossed the Jordan and captured Mahanaim and Edrei. 5. Ashurnasirpal. Ashurnasirpal, King of Assyria, 884-860 B. C., in describing his expedition to the Mediterranean lands, makes the following statement:[499] At that time I marched along Mount Lebanon, unto the great sea of the land of the Amorites I went up. In the great sea I cleansed my weapons. I made sacrifices to the gods. The tribute of the kings by the side of the sea, from the land of the Tyrian, the land of the Sidonian, the land of the Gebalite, the land of the Ma?allatite, the land of the Maisite, the land of the Kaisite, the land of the Amorite, and the city Arvad, which is in the midst of the sea; silver, gold, lead, copper, copper vessels, garments of bright colored stuffs, cloth, a great pagutu, a small pagutu, ushu-wood, ukarinnu-wood, teeth of a sperm-whale porpoise, a creature of the sea, as their tribute I received; they embraced my feet. To Mount Amanus I ascended; beams of cedar, cypress, juniper, pine, I cut. Sacrifices to my gods I offered. A pillar recording my warlike deeds I set up. This inscription records the first approach of an Assyrian king to Hebrew territory. He did not actually come into contact with the Israelites, though he took tribute from their neighbors, the Tyrians and Sidonians. The expedition of Ashurnasirpal was, however, the precursor of many others which progressed further. Ashurnasirpal, like Gudea and Hrihor, secured wood from this region for his buildings, thus affording another parallel to Solomon’s procedure. 6. Shalmaneser III. Shalmaneser III, the son and successor of Ashurnasirpal, reigned from 859 to 825 B. C. He not only approached more closely to Palestine, but claims to have taken tribute from her kings. In the In the eponym year of Dan-Ashur (i. e., 854 B. C.), month Aru, 14th day, I departed from the city of Nineveh; I crossed the river Tigris ....... to the city Qarqar I approached. Qarqar, his royal city, I destroyed, I devastated, I burned with fire. 1,200 chariots, 1,200 horsemen, 20,000 men of Hadadidri (Benhadad) of Damascus; 700 chariots, 700 horsemen, 10,000 men of Irhulina, the Hamathite; 2,000 chariots, 10,000 men of Ahab, the Israelite; 500 men of the QuÆan (i. e., Que, in Cilicia); 1,000 men of the MusrÆan; 10,000 chariots, 10,000 men of the IrqantÆan; 200 men of Matinu-ba’li, the Arvadite; 200 men of the UsantÆan; 30 chariots, 10,000 men of Adunu-ba’li, the Shianian; 1,000 camels of Gindibu, the Arabian; 1,000 (?) men of Basa, son of Ruhubi, the Ammonite—these 12 kings he took as his helpers and they came to make battle and war against me. With the exalted power which Ashur, the lord, had given me, with powerful weapons, which Nergal, who goes before me, had presented me, I fought with them; from Qarqar to Gilzan I accomplished their defeat. 14,000 of their troops I overthrew with arms, like Adad I poured out a flood upon them; I flung afar their corpses, I filled the plain with their mighty troops. With weapons I made their blood to flow .......... The field was too narrow for smiting (?) them, the broad plain (?) was used (?) for burying their bodies. With their corpses I dammed the Orontes as with a dam (?). In that battle their chariots, their horsemen, their horses, harnesses, and yokes I took. It is of especial interest that Ahab and Benhadad, two kings well known from the Bible, formed a part of the coalition that attempted to repel this first Assyrian invasion. Shalmaneser’s claim of victory is probably exaggerated, for he retired without further effort to subdue the country. Had it been as sweeping a triumph as he would have us believe, he would surely have pressed forward. Another of his inscriptions describes the battle of Qarqar as follows:[501] In the 6th year of my reign from Nineveh I set out .......... unto Qarqar I approached. Hadadidri of Damascus, Irhulina, the Hamathite, together with twelve kings of the sea-coast, trusted in their own power and came to make war and fight with me. With them I fought. 25,000 of their fighting men I destroyed with arms. Their chariots, their horses, their implements of war I took from them. They fled to save their lives. I embarked on a ship and went out to sea. Four years later Shalmaneser records the subjugation of Carchemish, on the Euphrates (cf. Isa. 10:9; Jer. 46:2). His account of it is brief and runs thus:[502] The next year Shalmaneser again tried conclusions with the kings of the west. His longer account of this runs as follows:[503] In the 11th year of my reign (849 B. C.) I set out from Nineveh. I crossed the river Euphrates at high water for the ninth time .......... At that time Hadadidri of Damascus, Irhulina the Hamathite, together with twelve kings of the sea-coast, trusted to their own power and to make war and battle with me they came. I fought with them, I accomplished their defeat. 10,000 of their fighting men I slew with arms. Their chariots, horsemen, and implements of war I took from them. Shalmaneser’s third campaign against these kings is thus described:[504] In the 14th year of my reign I mustered the broad land without number. I crossed the Euphrates at high water with 120,000 troops. At that time Hadadidri of Damascus and Irhulina, the Hamathite, together with twelve kings of the sea-coast, upper and lower, mustered their numerous armies without number and into my presence came. I fought with them, I accomplished their defeat. I brought away their chariots and horses, their implements of war I took from them; they fled to save their lives. A fourth campaign another inscription describes thus:[505] In the 18th year of my reign (842 B. C.), I crossed the river Euphrates for the sixteenth time. Hazael of Damascus (cf. 1 Kings 19:15, 17; 2 Kings 8) trusted to the great numbers of his forces and mustered his troops in large numbers. Saniru (i. e., Hermon, see Deut. 3:9), a mountain-peak at the side of Mount Lebanon, he made his fortress. I fought with him, I accomplished his defeat. 16,000 of his fighting men I slew with arms. 1,121 of his chariots, 470 of his horses with his camp I took from him. He fled to save his life. I pursued him and in Damascus, his capital city, shut him up. I cut down his parks. I marched to the mountains of Hauran. Cities innumerable I destroyed, devastated, I burned with fire; their untold spoil I took as plunder. To the mountain of Bilirasi,[506] a mountain at the head of the sea, I marched. My royal portrait in it I set up. At that time the tribute of the Tyrian, the Sidonian, and of Jehu, son of Omri, I received. The tribute of Jehu of Israel, mentioned in the last line of this inscription, is pictured on Shalmaneser’s black obelisk; (see Figs. 295, 296). Above its various panels is the following inscription:[507] A fifth expedition is thus briefly described:[508] In the 21st year of my reign (839 B. C.), the river Euphrates I crossed, against the cities of Hazael of Damascus I went. Four of his cities I captured. The tribute of the Tyrian, of the Sidonian, and of the Gebalite I received. In still another inscription, which gives a summary of his wars, Shalmaneser compresses the account of his various wars in the west as follows:[509] At that time Hadadidri of the land of Damascus, together with 12 princes, his helpers,—their defeat I accomplished. 29,000 mighty warriors I prostrated like a simoom (?). The rest of his soldiers I cast into the river Orontes. They fled to save their lives. Hadadidri forsook his land. Hazael, son of a nobody, seized the throne. He summoned his numerous soldiers and came to make war and battle with me. With him I fought, I accomplished his defeat. The wall of his camp I seized. He fled to save his life. I pursued him to Damascus, his capital city. 7. The Moabite Stone. This stone, which bears an inscription of Mesha, King of Moab, a contemporary of King Ahab, was erected at Dibon (the modern Diban) on the north shore of the Arnon, where it was found in the last century. The upper portion of it was first seen by a Prussian clergyman, Rev. F. A. Klein, in the year 1868. Reports of its existence had previously reached the French scholar, Clermont-Ganneau, who was then in Jerusalem, and a squeeze of it was afterward taken by an Arab for this French scholar. Both the French and Prussian governments were desirous of obtaining it, and the Arabs, conceiving that they could obtain more money for it by selling it in parts, broke it up, thus greatly mutilating the inscription. Afterward the French obtained it, putting the pieces together again, and it may now be seen in the Louvre at Paris; (see Fig. 300). The inscription is as follows:[510] I am Mesha, son of Chemoshmelek, King of Moab, the Dibonite. My father ruled over Moab thirty years, and I ruled after my father. And I made this The author of this inscription is the Mesha mentioned in 2 Kings 3:4. He is there said to have been a “sheep-master” (Hebrew, noqedh). Mesha appears to say in line 30 (the word is broken) that he placed noqedhim, “sheep-raisers,” or, “sheep-masters,” in Beth-baal-meon. The noqedh was a raiser of a peculiar breed of sheep. Moab is excellent grazing land and raised a great many. In general the inscription supplements the Biblical narrative. It mentions persons and places well known from the Bible, and gives us an account of a series of events of which the Bible makes no mention. The Biblical account says nothing of Mesha’s revolt, while Mesha in his turn says nothing of the campaign described in 2 Kings 3. Neither document implies that the events described in the other did not occur; the two are written from two different Mesha says in substance that Omri conquered Medeba and occupied it during his reign, half the reign of his son, a period of forty years, but Chemosh restored it to Moab in his (Mesha’s) day. It is said in 2 Kings 3:5, on the other hand, that “when Ahab was dead, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.” According to 1 Kings 16:23-29, Omri reigned twelve years and Ahab twenty-two years. All the reign of Omri, and half of that of Ahab would, accordingly, be but twenty-three years. It is possible, however, as has been suggested by several scholars, that Mesha uses the word son to denote descendant, and that he refers to the war with Israel in the reign of Jehoram, son of Ahab, described in 2 Kings 3:6-27. Another suggestion, which seems more probable, is that the recapture of Medeba, mentioned near the beginning of Mesha’s inscription, occurred about the middle of the reign of Ahab, while the capture of Ataroth may have belonged to the period of Jehoram, the whole time from Omri to Jehoram being forty years. Some scholars have supposed that the Biblical chronology is in error and that Omri and Ahab together ruled some fifty years. This supposition can hardly be correct, since the general accuracy of the chronology of this part of Kings is confirmed by the Assyrian inscriptions. Mesha’s inscription mentions a number of places which the Bible also names, the Arnon (Num. 21:13, etc.; Deut. 2:24; 3:16, etc.), Aroer (Josh. 13:16), Ataroth (Num. 32:34), Baal-meon or Beth-baal-meon (Josh. 13:17; Num. 32:38), Beth-bamoth[511] (Josh. 13:17), Beth-diblathaim (Jer. 48:22), Bezer (Josh. 20:8), Dibon (Num. 32:34; Josh. 13:17; Isa. 15:2), Horonaim (Isa. 15:5), Jahaz (Josh. 13:18; Isa. 15:4), Kerioth (Jer. 48:24), Kirathaim (Josh. 13:19; Jer. 48:23), Medeba (Josh. 13:16; Isa. 15:2), and Nebo (Num. 32:38; Deut. 34:1; Isa. 15:2). 8. Adadnirari IV. Adadnirari IV of Assyria (810-782 B. C.) has left an inscription which mentions Syria and Palestine. It reads as follows:[512] “The land of Omri” was the kingdom of Israel. Omri had made such an impression on the East that the Assyrians still so called it. “Palastu” is Philistia. Edom is here mentioned for the first time as paying tribute to an Assyrian king, but Judah is not mentioned; she was still free. Adadnirari was a contemporary of Jehoahaz and Jehoash of Israel, and of Joash and Amaziah of Judah. 9. Tiglathpileser IV. Tiglathpileser IV, one of the greatest of Assyria’s kings, made several campaigns into the west and had a profound influence upon the fortunes of the Hebrew people. Unfortunately, his inscriptions have been greatly mutilated. Esarhaddon, a later king, determined to remodel Tiglathpileser’s palace for his own use. Apparently he intended to erase Tiglathpileser’s inscriptions from the wall-tablets which adorned the palace, in order to inscribe these tablets with his own. Esarhaddon died before the work had progressed very far, so that the inscriptions were not entirely ruined. The beginnings and ends of many lines are, however, entirely destroyed, and at some points deplorable gaps exist in the body of an inscription. Much that is of interest to the Biblical student can still be made out, as the following translation will show:[513] 1. .............................. 2. [In] the progress of my expedition the tribute of ki[ngs] .......... 3. ...... Azariah, the YaudÆan, like .......... 4. ...... Azariah of Yaudi in .......... 5. ........ without number exalted to heaven .......... 6. ...... in the eyes, when that which from heaven .......... 7. ........ by the onset of infantry .......... 8. [the advance] of my powerful [troops] they heard and [their hearts] feared .......... 9. .......... I destroyed, devastated, burned with fire .......... 10. ...... who had joined with Azariah and had strengthened him. .................................. 23. ........... Azariah, the YaudÆan .......... my royal palace ........... 24. ............... tribute like the [Assyrian I laid upon them.] ............................................ 30. ..................... the city Bumame,[514] 19 districts 31. of the city of Hamath, together with the cities of their environs on the shore of the western sea, which sinfully and wrongfully they had seized for Azariah, 32. unto the territory of Assyria I added. I set my officers over them as governors. 30,000 men [I carried away captive] 33. ....... from their cities, in the city of Ku ...... I settled them. 1,223 people I settled in the province of Ullubu. ............................................ 50. ....... Tribute of Kushtashpi, the Kummukhite, Rezin, the Damascene, Menahem, the Samaritan, 51. Hiram, the Tyrian, Sibitti-baal, the Gebalite, Urikke, the Queite, Pisiris of Carchemish, Eniel 52. the Hamathite, Panammu, the Samalite, Tarhulara, the Gamgumalite, Sulumal, the Melidite, Dadilu, 53. the Kaskite, Ussurmi, the Tabalite, Ushkitti, the Tunite, Urballa, the Tuhanite, Tuhammi, the Ishtundite, 54. Urimme, the Hushimnite, Zabibe, Queen of Arabia, gold, silver, lead, iron, elephant-hide, ivory, 55. variegated garments, linen cloths, purple and red wool, ushu-wood, ukarinu-wood, costly things, a royal treasure, fat sheep whose wool 56. was dyed red, winged birds of heaven whose wings were dyed purple, horses, mules, oxen and sheep, camels, 57. she-camels, together with their foals, I received. This account relates to the campaign of 738 B. C. The Azariah referred to has been thought to be King Uzziah of Judah, who is called Azariah in 2 Kings 14:21 and 15:1-27. It is probable that he was an Azariah of Yadi, of northern Syria, mentioned in an inscription of Panammu, to whom Tiglathpileser refers above, since the kings mentioned with him ruled in the north. Manahem of Israel (2 Kings 15:14-23) yielded to Tiglathpileser, as did Rezin, of Damascus (2 Kings 15:37 and 16:5-9), but for some reason Azariah and Judah escaped. This inscription, fragmentary though it is, tells us that Tiglathpileser now practised upon others the system of deportation from which Israel herself afterward suffered. He forcibly removed thousands from their homes to distant parts of the empire. This was an administrative measure, to prevent future rebellion. Persons who had been influential at home among their own people would be powerless to foment trouble in the midst of strange surroundings and neighbors of an unfriendly race. 1. ................... his warriors I captured .......... I overthrew with my weapons. 2. ......................................... before him. 3. the charioteers and .................... their weapons I broke. 4. the[ir chariots and] horses I seized .......... his bowmen .......... 5. ............. who carried shields and spears my hands overthrew, their battle 6. ............ to save his life he fled alone and 7. .............. like a mouse (?) entered the gate of his city. His captains alive 8. [my hands captured and on] stakes I hung them and exhibited them to his land. 45 people (?) from his camp 9. ...... I brought together before his city, and I shut him in like a bird in a cage. His parks 10. ........ his orchards, which were without number, I cut down and did not leave one. 11. .......... Hadara, the home of the father of Rezin of Damascus, 12. [the place where] he was born, I besieged, I captured. 800 people, together with their possessions, 13. ...... their cattle, and sheep I took as spoil. 750 prisoners of the city Kurussa, 14. ...... prisoners of the city Irma, 550 prisoners of the city Mituna, I captured. 591 cities .......... 15. ...... of 16 districts of Damascus like a deluge heap I destroyed. ............................................ 19. .................... Hanno of Gaza[516] 20. fled before my weapons and escaped to Egypt. The city, Gaza, 21. [I captured. His goods], his possessions, his gods [I took as spoil] ...... my royal image 22. .................... in the palace of [Hanno I set up]. ............................................ 27. The country of the house of Omri .......... all its people, 28. [and their possessions] I carried away unto Assyria. Pekah, their king, they had overthrown. Hoshea 29. [as king] over them I placed. 10 talents of gold ...... talents of silver I received as tribute from them. ............................................ 57. Tribute[517] of Kushtashpi, the Kummuchite, Urikki, the Queite, Sibittibaal, the Gebalite, Pisiris, the Carchemishite, 58. Eni-el, the Hamathite, Panammu, the Samalite, Tarhulara, the Gurgumite, Sulu[mal, the Melidite, Dadilu, the Kaskite], 59. Ussurmi, the Tabalite, Urassurme, the Tabalite, Ushhitti, the Tunite, Urballa, the Turhanite, Tuhamm[e, the Ishtundite, Urimme, the Hushimnite], 60. Matanbaal, the Arvadite, Sanipu, the Beth-Ammonite, Salamanu, the Moabite, ............. 61. Mitinti, the Askelonite, Jehoahaz [Ahaz], the JudÆan, Kaushmalaka, the Edomite, Mus ............ 63. every costly thing, products of sea and dry land produced by their countries, royal treasures, horses, mules, harnesses ........ [I received.] The record of this campaign, fragmentary as it is, shows how completely Tiglathpileser conquered the west. He accomplished the overthrow of Damascus, which his predecessors had been trying in vain to do for more than a hundred years. His invasion of northern Israel led to the overthrow of Pekah, and the deportation as captives to other parts of the empire of numerous Israelites. This confirms 2 Kings 15:29, 30. It was this conquest of Damascus and Israel that fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy given in 735 B. C. (Isa. 7:16). It was while Tiglathpileser was at Damascus, receiving the tribute, that Ahaz, whose full name was Jehoahaz, went to Damascus to carry his tribute,—an act which prevented the invasion of Judah by Assyria at this time. While Ahaz was in Damascus, he saw the altar of which a copy was made for the temple in Jerusalem (2 Kings 16:10, ff.). The list of kings from whom Tiglathpileser received tribute contains many Biblical names. Not only Israel and Judah, but the Philistine cities, Edom, Moab, Ammon, Damascus, Hamath, the Phoenician cities of Gebal and Arvad, Samal in the extreme north of Syria, Que in Cilicia, and Carchemish on the Euphrates, were all drawn into his net. 10. Sargon, 722-705 B. C. Tiglathpileser IV was succeeded by Shalmaneser V, who ruled, as the eponym canon shows, from 727 to 722 B. C. On account of a rebellion of Hoshea, King of Israel, Shalmaneser overran his kingdom and besieged Samaria for three years, as recorded in 2 Kings 17:3-5. Before the city fell, however, Shalmaneser had passed away and Sargon, the founder of a new dynasty, was on the throne of Assyria. In Sargon’s first year Samaria fell into the hands of the Assyrian army; Sargon counted this as his own victory and tells of it in the following words:[518] At the beginning of my reign, in my first year ...... Samaria I besieged, I captured. 27,290 people from its midst I carried captive. 50 chariots I took there as an addition to my royal force .......... I returned and made more than formerly to dwell. People from lands which my hands had captured I settled in the midst. My officers over them as governors I appointed. Tribute and taxes I imposed upon them after the Assyrian manner. From the beginning of my reign to my 15th year, the defeat of Humbanigash, the Elamite, in the environs of Durilu I accomplished. Samaria I besieged, I captured; I carried captive 27,290 people who dwelt in it; 50 chariots I took from them, and permitted the rest to keep their possessions (?), and placed my governor over them and imposed on them the tribute of the former king. These statements confirm 2 Kings 17:6 and 24, ff. In one respect they throw an interesting light upon the captivity of Israel. Only 27,290 people were transported at this time. True, Tiglath-pileser IV had previously transported the inhabitants of several towns of Galilee. (See 2 Kings 15:29, and his inscriptions translated above.) When we put together all those who were deported, however, they were but a fraction of the population. As Sargon distinctly says, the others remained there. They intermarried with the settlers whom he brought in and became the ancestors of the sect of Samaritans. The “ten lost tribes” were not “lost,” as is often popularly supposed to have been the case. The first of the inscriptions quoted above contains also the following passage:[520] In the second year of my reign Ilubidi, the Hamathite ...... collected his numerous troops at Qarqar. The oath [of Ashur he despised]. Arpad, Simirra, Damascus, Samaria, he made rebellious against me ..................... Sib’u, his Tartan, he summoned to his aid, and to give fight and battle came into my presence. In the name of Ashur, my lord, I accomplished his defeat. Sib’u fled like a shepherd whose sheep are stolen and escaped. Hanno I caught in my hand and took him bound unto my city Ashur. The city Raphia I devastated, destroyed, burned with fire. I took captive 9,033 people, together with their numerous possessions. The Sib’u of this inscription is probably the same as So, King of Egypt, in 2 Kings 17:4. He cannot be identified with any known Egyptian king. He was probably a prince of a nome of the Delta. The above is Sargon’s description of the battle of Raphia, which occurred in the year 720 B. C. This campaign was an aftermath of the fall of Samaria. 717 B. C. [Sargon],[521] the exalted prince, who came upon Hummanigash, the King of Elam, in the environs of Durilu and accomplished his overthrow, who reduced This Yaudi has been taken by some scholars for Judah, but it was probably the kingdom in northern Syria mentioned by Tiglathpileser IV and in the inscription of Panammu, of Samal, the modern Zendjirli. We know of no Assyrian invasion of Judah at this time. The tribute of Pharaoh, King of Egypt, of Samsi, the Queen of Arabia, Ithamara, the SabÆan, gold, the ...... of the mountain, horses, and camels, I received ............[522] Yaubidi, the Hamathite, a soldier (?), with no right to the throne, a bad Hittite, had set his heart on the kingdom of Hamath; he caused Arpad, Simirra, Damascus, and Samaria to rebel against me, made them of one intent and collected for battle. The whole army of Ashur I mustered and in Qarqar, his favorite city, I besieged him together with his soldiers. I captured Qarqar, I burned it with fire. His skin I flayed and the partakers of his sin I killed in their cities; I established peace. 200 chariots and 200 horsemen I collected from the people of Hamath, and added to my royal force. This passage records the overthrow of Hamath and Arpad (Isa. 10:9), and mentions the tribute of a king of Sheba, the account of the coming of whose queen to Solomon is found in I Kings 10:1, ff. 711 B. C. Azuri, King of Ashdod, planned in his heart not to pay tribute, and among the kings of his neighborhood disseminated hatred of Assyria. On account of the evil he had done I cut off his lordship over the people of his land. I appointed Ahimiti, his younger (?) brother to the kingship over them. But the Hittites, planning evil, hated him and exalted over them Yamani, who had no claim to the throne, and who, like them, knew no fear of authority. In the anger of my heart the mass of my army I did not muster, I did not assemble my camp. With my usual bodyguard I marched against Ashdod. Yamani heard of the progress of my expedition from afar and fled to the borders of Egypt, which lies by the side of Melucha, and was seen no more. Ashdod, Gath, Ashdudimmu, I besieged, I conquered. I took as spoil his gods, his wife, his sons, his daughters, his possessions, the treasures of his palace, together with the people of his land. I seized those cities anew, and settled in them peoples of lands I had captured from among [the lands] of the east .......... With the people of Assyria I numbered them, and they bore my yoke. The king of Melucha, who among ...... an inaccessible place, a road ...... whose fathers from ancient days as far back as the moon-god, his father, had sent no messengers to my fathers to pay their respects, heard from afar of the might of Ashur, Nabu, and Marduk; the fear of the luster of my royalty covered him and fright was poured over him. He cast him [Yamani] into bonds, fetters of iron, and brought him before me into Assyria,—a long journey.[523] In the 9th [error for 11th] year of my reign I marched .......... to the coast of the great sea ...... Azuri, King of Ashdod, .......... Ahimiti .......... his younger (?) brother .......... I exalted over them .......... tribute and taxes of my lordship ...... like those of ...... kings, I imposed upon them ...... The evil in .......... in order not to pay tribute .......... their princes .......... they drove him away .......... Yamani, a soldier, they appointed to kingship over them. Their city .......... in its environs a moat .......... cubits in depth they dug, they reached the water-level .......... To [punish] Philistia, Judah, Edom, Moab, who inhabit the sea-coast, payers of tribute, and taxes to Ashur, my lord. Planning rebellion and untold evil against me, they bore their pledges to Pharaoh, King of Egypt, a prince who could not help them, and sought his aid. I, Sargon, the faithful prince, who honors the oath of Nabu and Marduk, who guards the name of Ashur, caused my trusty troops to cross the Tigris and Euphrates at high water. As for him, Yamani, their king, who had trusted to his own power, and had not submitted to my lordship, he heard of the advance of my army. The fear of Ashur, my lord, cast him down, and to ...... which is on the bank of the river ...... waters ...... his land ...... far away ...... he fled ...... Ashdod ...... The two passages just translated are Sargon’s accounts of the events alluded to in Isa. 20:1. These events were the occasion of the prophecy there recorded. Until the discovery of the palace of Sargon by Botta in 1845, this passage in Isaiah, was the only place in extant literature where the name of Sargon had been preserved. In the last of the passages just quoted, Sargon speaks as though he had also punished Judah on this expedition. There is no direct allusion to this in the Bible unless it be the vivid description in Isa. 10:28-32, where an approach of an Assyrian army to Jerusalem from the north is described. It is difficult to date those verses unless they also refer to this expedition of 711 B. C. (See Appendix.) 11. Sennacherib, 705-681 B. C. Campaign of 701[525] In my third expedition I went to the land of the Hittites. The fear of my lordship overthrew Luli, King of Sidon, and he fled to a distance in the midst of the sea. His land I subdued. Great Sidon, little Sidon. Beth-zet, Zareptah, Mahalliba, Ushu, Achzib, Accho, his strongholds, his fortresses, the places of his food and drink, the forts in which he trusted, the might of the weapons of Ashur, my lord, overthrew them and they submitted to my feet. I caused Tubal to sit on the royal throne over them, and imposed upon him the yearly payment of tribute as the tax of my lordship. Minhimmu, the Shamsimurunian, Tubalu, the Sidonian, Abdiliti, the Arvadite, Urumilke, the Gebalite, Mitinti, the Ashdodite, Puduilu, the Beth-Ammonite, Kammusunadbi, the Moabite, Milkirammu, And Sidqa, the King of Askelon, who had not submitted to my yoke, the gods of the house of his father, himself, his wife, his sons, his daughters, his brothers, the seed of the house of his father I took away and brought him to Assyria. Sharruludari, the son of Rukibti, their former king, I placed over the people of Askelon, and imposed upon him the payment of tribute as an aid to my rule, and he bore my yoke. In the progress of my expedition Beth-Dagon, Joppa, Banabarka, Azuru, the cities of Sidqa, who had not with alacrity submitted to my feet, I besieged, I captured, I took their spoil. The governors, princes, and people of Ekron, who had cast into fetters of iron Padi, their king, my ally, bound by Ashur’s oath, and had delivered him to Hezekiah, the JudÆan, who as an enemy imprisoned him,—their hearts feared. The kings of Egypt, the soldiers, bows, chariots, and horses of the king of Meluhu, an unnumbered force, they summoned, and they came to their aid. In the environs of Elteke the battle array was drawn up before me; they asked for their weapons. In the might of Ashur, my lord, I fought with them and accomplished their defeat. My hands took alive in the midst of the battle the commander of the chariots and the sons of the Egyptian king, together with the commander of the chariots of the king of Meluhu. Elteke [and] Timnath I besieged, captured and took their spoil. I approached Ekron. The governors and princes who had committed sin I killed and on stakes round about the city I hung their bodies. The citizens who had committed wickedness and rebellion I counted as spoil. I declared the righteousness of the rest of them, who had committed no sin and rebellion and in whom was no wickedness. I brought Padi, their king, out of the midst of Jerusalem, and on the throne of dominion over them I placed, and imposed the tribute of my over-lordship upon him. And as to Hezekiah, the JudÆan, who had not submitted to my yoke, 46 of his strongholds, fortified cities, and smaller cities of their environs without number, with the onset of battering rams and the attack of engines, mines, breaches, and axes (?), I besieged, I captured. 200,150 people, small and great, male and female, horses, mules, asses, camels, oxen, and sheep without number I brought out of their midst and counted as booty. He himself I shut up like a caged bird in Jerusalem, his capital city; I erected beleaguering works against him, and turned back by command every one who came out of his city gate. The cities, which I had captured, from his country I cut off and gave them to Mitinti, King of Ashdod, Padi, King of Ekron, and Sillibaal, King of Gaza, and diminished his land. In addition to the former tribute, their yearly tax, I added a tax as the impost of my over-lordship and laid it upon them. As to Hezekiah himself, the fear of the luster of my lordship overcame him and the Urbi and his favorite soldiers, whom he had brought in to strengthen Jerusalem, his capital city, deserted. With 30 talents of gold, 800 talents of silver, precious stones, rouge, dakkasi, lapis lazuli, great angugmi-stones, beds of ivory, stationary ivory thrones, elephants’ hide, ivory, ushu-wood, ukarinnu-wood, all sorts of objects, a heavy treasure; also his daughters, the women of his palace, male and female musicians he sent after me to Nineveh, my capital city, and sent his messenger to present the gift and to do homage. Inscription under Lachish-picture, 701 B. C. Sennacherib, king of the world, King of Assyria, sat on his throne, and the spoil of the city of Lachish passed before him;[526] (see Fig. 298). Expedition against Merodachbaladan, 703 B. C. In my first expedition I accomplished the defeat of Merodachbaladan, King of Babylon, together with the forces of Elam, his ally, in the environs of the city of Kish. In the midst of that battle he left his camp and fled alone; he saved his life. The chariots, horses, wagons, and mules, which at the onset of battle he had left, my hands captured. I entered joyfully into his palace which was in Babylon. I opened his treasure-house; gold, silver, gold and silver utensils, precious stones of all kinds, his untold treasured possessions, a great booty; the women of his palace, princes, his body-guards, male and female musicians, the rest of his troops as many as there were, and the servants of his palace I brought out and counted as spoil.[527] Campaign against Arabia (between 688 and 682) Telhunu, the Queen of Arabia, in the midst of the desert—from her I took ... camels. The [luster of] my [lordship] overthrew her and Hazael. They left their tents and fled to Adummatu, which is situated in the desert, ...... a thirsty place, where there is neither food nor drink.[528] The material contained in the first two passages just quoted from Sennacherib is parallel in a general way to 2 Kings 18, 19 and Isa. 36, 37. All Biblical students recognize that these two chapters in Isaiah are practically identical with the two in Kings. In discussing the parallelism, therefore, we shall refer to 2 Kings 18, 19 only. With reference to the bearing of this Assyrian material upon the Biblical narrative there are three different views which have been entertained by three groups of scholars. 1. One view, which was first expressed by the late Prof. Schrader,[529] of Berlin, is that the inscription of Sennacherib, while differing from the Biblical account in some particulars, really confirms it at nearly every point. Sennacherib, though he claims to have diminished Hezekiah’s territory, and to have received from him a heavy tribute, does not claim to have taken Jerusalem. According to 2 Kings 18:14, ff., Hezekiah submitted to Sennacherib, sending his messenger to Lachish for the purpose, and paid him a heavy tribute; according to 2 Kings 19:35, ff., a great disaster so weakened Sennacherib’s army that he was obliged to withdraw. Schrader called attention to the close correspondence between 2 Kings 18:14 and Sennacherib. Both state that Hezekiah paid 30 talents of gold, though they differ as to the amount of silver, Kings making it 300 talents, while Sennacherib makes it 800. It was supposed that the numbers in the case of the silver were really equivalent to one another, the present divergence being due to textual corruption. 2. A second view, of which Prof. Meinhold,[530] of Bonn, may be taken as the chief exponent, starts from the fact that there seem to be two accounts in 2 Kings 18 and 19. In 18:13-16 there is a statement of how Hezekiah sent to Sennacherib, while Sennacherib was besieging Lachish, and admitted that he had done wrong and promised to bear whatever Sennacherib might choose to put upon him. Sennacherib thereupon imposed a heavy tribute upon him, which he paid. The whole transaction seems to be concluded, when at v. 17 the Tartan, or Rabsaris (Rabshakeh), appears upon the scene and taunts Hezekiah for his obstinacy and he submits again. Possibly this might be considered the details of the transaction that was described in mere outline in 18:13-16. When, however, it has all been described again, and the Rabshakeh has returned to Sennacherib at Lachish, Sennacherib again sends messengers (chapter 19:9), again demanding a surrender. These messengers are said to have been sent when Sennacherib heard that Tirhakah, King of Ethiopia, was marching against him. This narrative goes on to tell how Hezekiah, acting under the advice of Isaiah, delayed his surrender, and how the camp of the Assyrians was decimated by the angel of the Lord, and Jerusalem escaped. Meinhold and his followers hold that there are here two inconsistent accounts. According to the first, Hezekiah surrendered; according to the second, he did not. According to the first, Hezekiah paid tribute; according to the second, Sennacherib’s army was destroyed. The first of these accounts is confirmed by Sennacherib’s inscription; the second is, so Meinhold holds, shown by it to be unhistorical: first, by the fact that Sennacherib gives no hint that his army was harmed, and, secondly, by the mention of Tirhakah, who did not come to the throne until 688 B. C., and could not, therefore, have been a factor in the war of 701 B. C. A third view was suggested by Winckler[531] and is held by PraŠek,[532] Fullerton,[533] and Rogers.[534] According to this view, Sennacherib The account in 2 Kings 19:9-36 receives confirmation from an interesting passage in Herodotus, the Greek “father of history.” He says (Book II, 141): And after this the next king [of Egypt] was a priest of Hephaistos, called SethÔs. He held the warrior class of the Egyptians in contempt as though he had no need of them. He did them dishonor and deprived them of the arable lands which had been granted them by previous kings, twelve acres to each soldier. And afterward Sennacherib, King of the Arabians and Assyrians, marched a great army into Egypt. Then the soldiers of Egypt would not help him; whereupon the priest went into the inner sanctuary to the image of the god and bewailed the things which he was in danger of suffering. As he wept he fell asleep, and there appeared to him in a vision the god standing over him to encourage him, saying that, when he went forth to meet the Arabian army he would suffer no harm, for he himself would send him helpers. Trusting to this dream he collected those Egyptians who were willing to follow him and marched to Pelusium, where the entrance to his country was. None of the warriors followed him, but traders, artisans, and market men. There, as the two armies lay opposite to each other, there came in the night a multitude of field mice, which ate up all the quivers and bowstrings of the enemy, and the thongs of their shields. In consequence, on the next day they fled, and, being deprived of their arms, many of them fell. And there stands now in the temple of Hephaistos a stone statue of this king holding a mouse in his hand, bearing an inscription which says: “Let any who look on me reverence the gods.” George Adam Smith[535] pointed out several years ago that, when this passage is compared with 2 Kings 19:36, it points clearly to the conclusion that Sennacherib’s army was attacked by bubonic plague. In modern times this plague first attacks rats and mice, which in We hold, then, that the last of the three views concerning the campaigns of Sennacherib to Palestine is probably correct. The Elteke mentioned in the inscription of Sennacherib is the city referred to in Josh. 19:44 and 21:23. The Merodachbaladan referred to is mentioned in Isa. 39:1, where it is said that he sent to congratulate Hezekiah upon his recovery from sickness. It is clear from what the Assyrian accounts tell us that his real motive in sending to Hezekiah was to induce him to rebel against Assyria. 12. The Siloam Inscription. The following inscription was discovered in 1880 on the right wall of the tunnel which connects the Virgin’s Well (Ain Sitti Maryam) at Jerusalem with the Pool of Siloam (Birket SilwÂn). The boring through [is completed]. And this is the story of the boring through: while yet [they plied] the drill, each toward his fellow, and while yet there were three cubits to be bored through, there was heard the voice of one calling unto another, for there was a crevice in the rock on the right hand. And on the day of the boring through the stone-cutters struck, each to meet his fellow, drill upon drill; and the waters flowed from the source to the pool for a thousand and two hundred cubits, and a hundred cubits was the height of the rock above the heads of the stone-cutters;[536] (see Fig. 297). This inscription, though not dated, is believed to come from the time of Hezekiah. Hezekiah is said in 2 Kings 20:20 to have built a conduit and to have brought the water into the city. This inscription was found in a remarkable conduit which still runs under the hill at Jerusalem, cut through the solid rock. It is about 1,700 feet long. It was cleared of silt by the Parker expedition of 1909-1911, and the tunnel is about 6 feet in height throughout its entire length. When it was cut the wall of Jerusalem crossed the Tyropoeon Valley just below it, so that, while the Virgin’s Spring (the Biblical Gihon) lay outside the walls, this aqueduct brought the water to a pool within the walls, so that the inhabitants of the city The inscription is now in the Imperial Ottoman Museum at Constantinople. 13. Esarhaddon, 681-668 B. C. I overthrew the kings of the Hittite country and those beyond the sea; Baal, King of Tyre, Manassah, King of Judah, Kaushgabri, King of Edom, Musuri, King of Moab, Silbaal, King of Gaza, Mitinti, King of Askelon, Ikausu, King of Ekron, Milkiashapa, King of Gebal, Matanbaal, King of Arvad, Abibaal, King of Shamsimuruna, Puduel, King of Beth-Ammon, Ahi-milku, King of Ashdod, 12 kings of the sea-coast; Ekishtura, King of Idalion, Pilagura, King of Kiti, Kisu, King of Sillua, Ituander, King of Paphos, Erisu, King of Sillu, Damasu, King of Kuri, Atmizu, King of Tamesu, Damusi, King of Kartihadasti, Unasagusu, King of Lidir, Bususu, King of Nurenu; 10 kings of Cyprus in the midst of the sea—altogether 22 kings of the Hittite land, of the sea-coast and the midst of the sea—I sent to them and great cedar beams, etc. ......... [they sent].[537] Esarhaddon, the author of the inscription from which this extract is taken, is mentioned in 2 Kings 19:37 and Isa. 37:38 as Sennacherib’s successor, a statement which the inscriptions abundantly confirm. The above quotation from his inscription shows that Manasseh, King of Judah, 2 Kings 20:21 and chapter 21, was a vassal of Esarhaddon. Esarhaddon is also alluded to in Ezra 4:2. 14. Ashurbanipal of Assyria, 668-626 B. C. In my third campaign I marched against Baal, King of Tyre, who dwelt in the midst of the sea. Because he had not kept the word of my lordship nor heeded the utterance of my lips, I erected against him siege-works and cut off his exit both by land and sea; their lives I made narrow and straitened; I caused them to submit to my yoke. They brought the daughters that came forth from his loins and the daughters of his brothers into my presence to become concubines. Yahimilki, his son, who had never crossed the sea, they brought at the same time to do me service. His daughter and the daughters of his brothers with an abundant dowry I received from him. I granted him favor and returned to him the son that came forth from his loins.[538] Yakinlu, King of Arvad, who dwells in the midst of the sea, who had not submitted to the kings, my fathers, I brought under my yoke. He brought his daughter to Nineveh with an abundant dowry and kissed my feet .......... On my return I captured Ushu, which is situated on the coast of the sea. The inhabitants of Ushu, who had not been obedient to their governors, who had not paid their tribute, I killed as the tribute of their land. Among the rebellious peoples I set my staff. Their gods and their peoples I carried as booty to Assyria. The people of Accho who had not submitted I subdued. I hung their bodies on stakes around the city. The rest I took to Assyria; I preserved them and added them to the numerous army which Ashur had given unto me.[539] 15. Necho of Egypt, 609-593 B. C. Year 16, fourth month of the first season, day 16, under the majesty of Horus: Wise-hearted; king of Upper and Lower Egypt; Favorite of the two goddesses: Triumphant; Golden Horus: Beloved-of-the-Gods; Uhemibre; Son of Ra, of his body, his beloved: Necho, living forever, beloved of Apis, son of Osiris.[540] (An account of the interment of an Apis bull then follows.) The above is the beginning of an inscription of Pharaoh Necho, whose defeat of King Josiah, of Judah, is recorded in 2 Kings 23:29, f. He became over-lord of Judah for four years and placed Jehoiakim on the JudÆan throne (2 Kings 23:34). Necho was himself defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates by Nebuchadrezzar, of Babylon, in 604 B. C., and as he retreated to Egypt Nebuchadrezzar pursued him through Palestine. The book of Jeremiah speaks of this defeat and vividly describes the pursuit which followed. (Cf. Jer. 46:2, f.) 16. Nebuchadrezzar II, 604-562 B. C. Many inscriptions of Nebuchadrezzar are known, but most of them relate to buildings. The following extracts are those which best illustrate the Bible. In exalted trust in him (Marduk) distant countries, remote mountains from the upper sea (Mediterranean) to the lower sea (Persian Gulf), steep paths, blockaded roads, where the step is impeded, [where] was no footing, difficult roads, desert paths, I traversed, and the disobedient I destroyed; I captured the enemies, established justice in the lands; the people I exalted; the bad and evil I separated from the people.[541] Reference to the Lebanon From the upper sea to the lower sea, .......... [which] Marduk, my lord, had entrusted to me, in [all] lands, the totality [of dwelling-places] I [exalted] the city of Babylon to the first place. I caused his name to be reverenced among the cities; the shrines of Nabu and Marduk, my lords, I made them recognize, continually .......... At that time the Lebanon mountain, the mountain [of cedar], the proud forest of Marduk, the odor of whose cedars is good .......... of another god ........... no other king had ........... my god, Marduk, the A Building Inscription Nebuchadrezzar, King of Babylon, the restorer of Esagila and Ezida, son of Nabopolassar am I. As a protection to Esagila, that no powerful enemy and destroyer might take Babylon, that the line of battle might not approach Imgur-Bel, the wall of Babylon, that which no former king had done [I did]; at the enclosure of Babylon I made an enclosure of a strong wall on the east side. I dug a moat, I reached the level of the water. I then saw that the wall which my father had prepared was too small in its construction. I built with bitumen and brick a mighty wall which, like a mountain, could not be moved and connected it with the wall of my father; I laid its foundations on the breast of the under-world; its top I raised up like a mountain. Along this wall to strengthen it I constructed a third and as the base of a protecting wall I laid a foundation of bricks and built it on the breast of the under-world and laid its foundation. The fortifications of Esagila and Babylon I strengthened and established the name of my reign forever. O Marduk, lord of the gods, my divine creator, may my deeds find favor before thee; may they endure forever! Eternal life, satisfied with posterity, a secure throne, and a long reign grant as thy gift. Thou art indeed my deliverer and my help, O Marduk, I by thy faithful word which does not change—may my weapons advance, be sharp and be stronger than the weapon of the foe![543] Nebuchadrezzar was the king who destroyed Jerusalem and carried the more prominent of the people of Judah captive. (See 2 Kings 24 and 25.) His inscriptions give no account of these events. In the first of the quotations made above he covers all his conquests by one general reference. In the second quotation he gives a more detailed account of his conquest of the Lebanon, because that inscription was carved on the rocks at the side of one of the deep valleys of the Lebanon. The third inscription, relating to the building of Babylon, has been strikingly confirmed by Koldewey’s excavation of Babylon, by which the massive walls and extensive temples were uncovered.[544] It also gives us a background for Daniel 4:29, 17. Evil-Merodach, 562-560 B. C. Nebuchadrezzar was succeeded by his son, Amil-Marduk, whom the Bible (2 Kings 25:27) calls Evil-Merodach. The only inscription of his that has been found is the following, inscribed on an alabaster vase found at Susa, whither the Elamites had at some time carried it as booty:[546] Palace of Amil-Marduk, King of Babylon, son of Nebuchadrezzar, King of Babylon. This is the king who released Jehoiachin, King of Judah, from prison after his thirty-six years in confinement and treated him kindly. Note on the Land of the Queen of Sheba.—This region, which lay in South Arabia, was explored during the nineteenth century by a number of travelers. Three of these, Thomas J. Arnaud in 1843, Joseph HalÉvy in 1869, and Eduard Glaser who made four expeditions between 1882 and 1894, brought back from South Arabia many inscriptions, several of which were made by rulers of Saba, the Biblical Sheba, whose queen is said to have visited Solomon (1 Kings 10:1-13). As none of these relate to that queen, it has not seemed fitting to include one of them. The inscriptions, however, show that two important kingdoms existed there, Saba and Main. Main is thought by some to be related to the Biblical Midianites. The Greek version of Job makes Job’s friend, Zophar, king of Main. The kingdom of Saba lasted until 115 B. C. It established strong colonies in Africa. In 115 B. C. one colony overthrew the mother-country and established the kingdom of Saba and Raidhan, which lasted till about 300 A. D. After that Saba became apparently unimportant, but various Semitic kingdoms succeeded one another in Africa, including the present-day Abyssinian kingdom. The Abyssinian king claims descent from Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. |
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