INDEX H - L

Hadad, Ramman as, 57 , 261 , 411 .

Haddon, Dr., Achn racial affinities, 377 .

Hades, Ishtar receives water of life in, 44 ; Tammuz spends winter in, 53 , 98 ; Indian "land of fathers", 56 ; land of no return, 58 ; descent of Ishtar to, 95 et seq.; "Island of the Blessed", 180 et seq.; Babylonian conception of, 203 ; the Celtic, 203 ; the Greek, Germanic, Indian, and Egyptian, 204 ; the grave as, 206 ; the Japanese, 206 ; the Roman, 207 ; Babylonian king and queen of. See Nergaland Eresh-ki-gal.

Hags, of storm, marsh and mountain as primitive goddesses: the Scottish, 64 , 87 ; the Babylonian, 68 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 185 ; the Germanic, 72 , 73 , 95 . See Annie, Annis, Beowulf, Mothers, and Tiamat.

Hair, evidence from early graves and sculptures, 4 , 9 , 10 .

Hamath, Hittite city of, 395 ; Israel overcomes, 449 ; Ilu-bi-di, the smith king of, 457 , 458 .

Hamites, Biblical reference to, 276 .

Hammurabi (hmri), Dagan as creator of, 31 ; Sin-muballit father of, 133 ; pantheon of, 134 , 254 ; the Biblical Amraphel, 131 , 246 , 247 ; "Khammurabi" and "Ammurapi" forms of, 247 , 248 ; Rim Sin, the Elamite, and, 249 ; character of, 249 -255 ; god Nebo ignored by, 303 ; legal code of, 2 , 222 , 223 et seq.

Hammurabi Dynasty, the, Amorites and, 217 , 218 ; early Amorite kings of Sippar, 241 , 242 ; schools and correspondence during, 252 ; Kassites first appear during, 255 ; Sealand Dynasty in, 257 ; late kings of, 257 , 258 ; Hittite raid at close of, 258 -260 ; Assyria during, 279 , 419 ; astronomy in, 300 .

Hanuman (hănu-m), the Indian monkey god, Bhima and, 187 ; like Gilgamesh, 188 , 189 .

Hapi (hi), Nile god, a bi-sexual deity, 161 .

Haran, Abraham's migration from Ur to, 131 , 245 ; Ashur and Sin worshipped at, 353 ; Nabonidus's temple to Sin at, 494 .

Harper, Professor, 321 .

Harvest deities, fish forms of, 29 , 32 ; river and ocean gods as, 33 ; the pre-Hellenic, 84 ; the Egyptian, 85 .

Harvest moon, the, crops ripened by, 52 .

Hathor (hhor), the fish goddess and, 29 ; Ishtar and, 57 , 99 .

Hathor-Sekhet, the destroyer, 157 , 197 .

Hatshepsut (hat-shepsoot), Queen of Egypt, 16 ; Sumerian queen earlier than, 115 .

Hatti (hti), dominant tribe of Hittites, 246 ; of Armenoid race, 262 ; as Great Father worshippers, 260 ; Mitannians and, 269 .

Hattusil I (hat-toosil), King of Hittites, 283 .

Hattusil II, Hittite king, Egyptian treaty, 366 ; influence of in Babylonia, 364 , 368 ; marriage treaty with Amorite king, 418 .

Hawes, Mr., on Cretan chronology, xxv ; Cretan racial types, 8 .

Hawk, demons enter the, 71 .

Hazael (hazā-el), King of Damascus, 410 ; Shalmaneser III defeats, 411 ; Israel oppressed by, 412 .

Heaven, Queen of, Hebrews offer cakes to, 106 ; women prominent in worship of, 106 , 107 .

Hebrews, in Canaan, 379 ; Philistines as overlords of, 379 , 380 , 386 , 387 ; as allies of Egypt and Tyre, 388 ; under David and Solomon, 388 , 389 ; Pharaoh Sheshonk plunders, 391 ; kingdoms of Judah and Israel, 401 et seq.; in late Assyrian period, 448 et seq. See Israeland Judah.

Heimdal (hīmdal), as patriarch and world guardian, 93 ; Tammuz and Agni like, 94 ; Nin-Girsu of Lagash like, 116 .

Hercules, Gilgamesh and, 41 , 164 , 172 ; as dragon slayer, 152 ; eagle as soul of, 170 , 349 ; burning of, 171 ; of Cilicia and deities that link with, 261 ; Merodach and, 316 ; Ashur and, 336 ; astral arrow of, 337 ; Melkarth and, 348 .

Hermes (hermēz), Nebo as, 303 .

Hermod (hermod), the Germanic Patriarch, 93 ; Gilgamesh and, 184 .

Herodotus, on Babylonian harvests, 21 , 22 ; on Babylonian burial customs, 214 ; description of Babylon, 219 et seq.; on Babylonian marriage market, 224 , 225 ; on doctors and folk cures, 231 , 232 ; on origin of Nineveh, 277 ; on Egyptian Totemism, 293 , 432 ; on pre-Hellenic beliefs, 317 ; on Semiramis legend, 425 ; on fall of Assyria, 488 .

Heth, children of, Hittites as, 246 .

Hezekiah (hez-e-kīah), 21 , 340 ; Merodach-Balad conspiracy, 465 ; destruction of Assyrian army, 466 , 467 ; Esarhaddon and, 471 , 472 .

Hierapolis, Atargatis goddess of, 267 .

"High Heads", symbols and "world spine", 332 ; Anshar, Anu, Enlil, Ea, Merodach, Nergal, and Shamash as, 334 .

Hindus, Mediterranean race represented among, 8 .

Hipparchus, the Greek astronomer, discoveries of, 320 , 321 .

Hiram, King of Tyre, as Solomon's ally, 388 , 389 .

Hit, the bitumen wells of, 25 .

Hittites, the father worshippers among, xxx , 420 ; racial types in confederacy of, 11 , 12 , 246 , 265 , 266 ; double-headed eagle of, 168 ; in ethnics of Jerusalem, 246 ; Hebrews, dealings with, 246 , 266 , 267 ; earliest references to in Egypt and Babylonia, 258 , 259 , 264 ; prehistoric culture of, 263 ; thunder god of and linking deities, 261 , 268 ; Merodach carried off by, 261 ; fusion of god and goddess cults by, 267 , 268 ; relations with Mitannians and Kassites, 270 -272 , 282 , 358 ; Subbi-luliuma, the conqueror, 283 ; conquest of Mitanni, 284 ; Babylonian culture passed to Greece by, 306 , 316 ; the winged disk of, 347 , 348 ; Ashur cult and, 355 ; Syria after expansion of, 363 ; King Mursil, 364 ; influence of in Egypt and Babylonia, 364 ; wars of Seti I and Rameses II against, 364 , 365 ; alliance with Egypt, 366 ; early struggle with Assyria, 367 , 368 ; Muski as overlords of, 380 ; Nebuchadrezzar I defeats, 381 ; late period of Empire of, 386 ; city-states of Hamath and Carchemish, 395 ; Shalmaneser III and, 414 ; "mother right among", 418 ; connection of with Urartu, 440 n.; combination against Sargon II, 459 , 460 ; Biblical reference to Tabal and Meshech, 464 .

Horse, sea god as a, 33 ; demons enter the, 71 ; domesticated in Turkestan, 271 ; introduction of to Babylonia and Egypt, 270 , 271 ; sacrificed by Aryo-Indian and Buriats, 271 , 309 ; constellation of, 309 .

Horus (horus), god of Egypt, creative tears of, 45 ; as the sun, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars, 300 , 304 ; the "elder" and "younger", 302 ; as the "opener", 304 ; "world soul" conception and, 304 ; has many forms like Tammuz, 305 ; Ninip and, 316 ; "winged disk" of, 336 ; the eagle and, 343 .

Hoshea (ho-shea), King of Israel, 453 , 454 .

Host of heaven, 305 .

Hotherus (hotherus), Gilgamesh and, 184 , 185 .

"House of Clay", the grave called, 56 ; 206 -208 .

Hraesvelgur (hrāsvel-gur), Icelandic wind demon, 72 .

Human sacrifices, the May Day, 50 . "Husband of his mother", xxxii ; in Sumerian, Indian, and Egyptian mythologies, 106 , 304 , 305 ; Kingu becomes lover of Tiamat, 106 ; sun as offspring and spouse of the moon, 301 ; Adad-nirari IV as, 420 . See Father and son conflict.

Hydra, as Dragon, 152 .

Hyksos (hiksos), Egypt invaded by, 259 ; Mitannians and, 270 ; horse introduced into Egypt by, 271 ; theories regarding, 271 ; trading relations of with Crete and Persia, 273 ; period of expulsion of, 275 .

Iberians, the, Sumerians and Egyptians congeners of, 9 ; goddesses of, 105 ; folk tales of, 156 .

Ibis, demons enter the, 71 .

Iceland, wind hag of, 73 ; Barleycorn a god of, 170 n.

Idols, spirit of god or demon in, 61 ; gods of taken prisoners, 62 .

Idun (eedoon),Germanic goddess, lovers of, 102 .

Igigi (igig-i), spirits of heaven, 34 , 149 .

Ilu-bidi, smith king of Hamath, 457 , 458 .

Immortality, quest of Gilgamesh, 177 ; Song of the Sea Lady, 178 , 179 ; Lay of the Harper, 179 ; Pir-napishtim and Gilgamesh, 181 et seq.; Ea-bani's revelation, 183 -184 ; no Babylonian Paradise, 203 , 210 , 211 ; Brahmans ask Alexander the Great for, 208 ; Egyptian Ra and Osirian doctrines, 209 .

India, Sumerian myths in, xxvi , xxvii ; Mediterranean race in, 7 ; Brahma-Vishnu and Ea, 27 ; Babylonian flood myth in, 27 , 28 , 196 ; demons of and the Babylonian, 34 ; mother ghost in, 69 ; Garuda eagle and Sumerian Zu bird, 74 , 75 , 165 -169 , 330 ; wedding bracelet of and Ishtar's, 98 , 98 n.; eternal "mothers" and "dying gods" in, 101 ; Ribhus the "elves" of, 105 ; fairies of, 294 ; Gilgamesh myth in, 187 -189 ; Babylonian culture in, 199 , 200 , 313 ; face paint of gods in, 211 ; jungle-dwellers' conception of "Self Power", 291 , 304 ; star myths of, 296 ; early astronomers of, 300 ; lunar zodiac of, 309 ; constellations identified before planets in, 318 ; horse sacrifice in, 309 ; sun and moon marriages in, 306 ; doctrine of World's Ages in, 310 et seq.; "finger counting" at prayer in, 311 n.; deities connected with goat in, 333 ; "man in the eye" belief, 335 , 336 ; cult of "late invaders" of, 338 ; fire cult in, 346 ; Solomon's trade with, 389 , 390 ; Jehoshaphat's fleet, 408 ; swans as love messengers in, 429 .

"Indo-Europeans", Mitannians as, 269 , 270 .

Indra (indră), god of India, a world artisan like Ea and Ptah, 30 ; Anu's messengers like Maruts of, 34 ; Enlil and, 35 ; Ramman, Hadad, Thor, &c., and, 57 , 261 , 340 ; in Garuda myth, 74 , 75 ; dies annually like Tammuz, 101 ; various forms of, 101 ; as slayer of father, 158 , 302 ; eagle as, 169 ; Paradise of like Odin's, 209 ; thunder horn of, 238 .

Insects, gods as, 296 .

Inspiration, derived from sacred juice, 45 ; from drinking blood, 48 ; from incense and breath of Apis bull, 49 . Inundation, the Babylonian, 24 . Inverness, the "sleeper" and fairy mound of, 164 .

Ionians, deported from Cilicia to Nineveh, 464 .

Iranian sun god, Sumerians and, 55 , 56 .

Ireland, the corn god and river goddess of, 33 , 238 ; spitting customs in, 47 ; "calling back" of souls in, 70 , 70 n.; Anu a wind hag, 73 ; Tammuz-Diarmid myth in, 85 , 87 ; Angus, the love god of, 90 , 238 , 428 n.; the eternal goddess of, 101 , 102 , 268 ; the "morch" (worm) of, 151 ; flood legend of, 196 ; the Hades of, 203 ; pig as devil in, 293 ; doctrine of world's ages in, 310 et seq.; origin of culture of, 315 , 316 ; giant gods of, 317 ; pigeon lore in, 431 .

Iron, in northern Mesopotamia, 25 ; used in folk cures, 236 .

Irrigation, in early Sumeria, 23 , 39 .

Isaac, forbids Jacob to marry a Hittite, 266 .

Isaiah, 2 ,; doom of Babylonia, 113 , 499 ; "Worm" of, the dragon, 151 ; use of Babylonian symbolism by, 331 , 341 ; "satyrs" referred to by, 333 ; on Assyria the Destroyer, 340 ; on Tophet, 350 ; reference to Jerusalem's water supply, 451 ; warns Ahaz, 459 ; destruction of Sennacherib's army, 466 ; tradition of murder of, 474 .

Ishbi-Urra (ishbi-oorra), King of Isin, 132 .

Ishtar (ishtar), Isis cult and, xxxi ; hymn to, 18 -20 ; Beltu and, 36 ; water of life given to, 44 ; as earth goddess, 53 ; identical with Hathor, 57 ; in demon war, 76 ; as "Queen of Heaven", 81 , 106 , 107 ; lamentation of for Tammuz, 86 , 88 , 98 ; in Sargon of Akkad myth, 91 ; descent of to Hades poem, 95 et seq.; magical ornaments of, 96 ; punishment of, 96 , 97 ; rescue of, 98 ; Belit-sheri associated with, 98 ; as love goddess, 99 ; temple women of, 99 , 106 , 107 ; absorbs other goddesses, 100 , 117 , 277 , 496 ; as daughter of Ann and Nannar, 100 ; as mother of Tammuz, 100 ; the lovers of, 103 , 126 , 174 -176 ; like Tiamat, 106 ; under Isin Dynasty, 132 ; links with Indian and Egyptian goddesses, 157 ; Damkina and, 160 ; as a bi-sexual deity, 161 ; in Etana legend, 166 ; in Gilgamesh legend, 172 -177 ; in flood legend, 193 , 194 ; Frey's bride and, 204 ; threat to raise dead, 213 ; fish goddesses and, 117 , 277 ; Nineveh image of sent to Egypt, 280 ; star of, 295 ; changes star forms with Merodach, 299 ; month of, 305 ; wheel symbol of, 347 ; Nineveh temple of destroyed, 363 ; worshipped by Nebuchadrezzar I, 382 ; cult of in Assyria, 420 ; Semiramis and, 425 ; as a Fate, 433 ; moon god and, 436 ; Creatrix and, 437 ; worshipped by Sargon II, 463 ; worshipped by Esarhaddon, 471 ; Persian goddess and, 496 .

Ishtarate (ish-tar-e), "Ishtars", goddesses in general called, too.

Isin, Dynasty of, 131 ; early kings of, 132 et seq.; last kings of, 133 ; sun worship and, 240 ; Dynasty of Pashe, 380 .

Isis (īsis), goddess of Egypt, Ishtar cult and, xxxi ; fish goddess and, 29 ; as Nile goddess, 33 ; creative tears of, 45 ; mourning of for Osiris, 83 , 99 ; as daughter, wife, sister, and mother of Osiris, 99 ; as corn goddess, 90 ; as serpent goddess, 150 ; as bi-sexual deity, 161 ; male form of, 299 ; the star of, 296 , 300 ; address of to different forms of Osiris, 297 .

"Island of the Blessed", in Gilgamesh epic, 180 et seq.; the Greek and Celtic, 203 .

Israel, first Egyptian reference to, 379 ; subject to Damascus, 396 ; separation of from Judah, 401 et seq.; Abijah's victory over, 402 , 403 ; first conflict with Assyria, 407 ; tribute to Shalmaneser III, 411 , 412 ; Assyria as "saviour" of, 414 , 438 , 439 ; goddess cult in, 421 ; Aramns and mother worship in, 434 ; war with Judah, 448 ; Tiglath-pileser harries, 453 ; the lost ten tribes, 455 , 456 .

"Jack and Jill", the Sumerian lunar, 53 .

"Jack with a Lantern", the Babylonian, 66 .

Jacob, personal ornaments as charms to, 211 ; marriage of, 266 .

Jah, the Hebrew, Ea as, 31 ; Dagon as, 31 ; as dragon slayer, 157 ; monotheism, 160 .

Japan, the Hades of, 206 .

Jastrow, Professor, on Ea, 29 , 30 , 435 ; on culture and racial fusion, 42 ; on fire and water ceremonies, 51 ; on moon names, 52 ; on female conservatism, 107 , 179 , 180 ; on burial customs, 208 ; on Nebo, 303 , 435 ; on Greek and Babylonian astrology and astronomy, 319 et seq.; on Anshar, Ashir, and Ashur, 354 .

Jehoahaz (je-hōa-haz), King of Judah, 414 ; Necho deposes, 489 .

Jehoash (je-hōash), King of Israel, 448 , 449 .

Jehoiachin (je-hoia-chin), King of Judah, carried to Babylon, 490 .

Jehoiakim (je-hoia-kim), King of Judah, 489 , 490 , 492 .

Jehoram (je-hōram), King of Judah, no burning at grave of, 350 .

Jehoshaphat (je-hosha-phat), King of Judah, 407 ; navy of wrecked, 408 .

Jehu (jeh, King of Israel, Elisha calls, 409 , 410 ; tribute to Shalmaneser III, 411 , 412 ; mother worship in reign of, 421 , 434 .

Jeremiah, liver as seat of life, 48 ; on mother worship, 106 , 107 , 421 ; Pharaoh Necho, 489 .

Jeremias, Dr. Alfred, on precession of equinoxes, 320 n.

Jeroboam (jer-o-bōam), revolt of, 402 ; Abijah defeats, 402 , 403 ; an ally of Assyria, 449 .

Jerusalem, the "new", xvii ; Pallithic collection at, 10 ; "dragon well" at, 152 ; "father" of Amorite, "mother" of Hittite, 246 ; eclipse record from, 323 ; "Queen of Heaven" worshipped in, 421 ; wall of destroyed by Jehoash, 449 ; new wall and water supply of, 451 ; siege of by Sennacherib, 465 , 466 ; Assyrian ambassador visits, 471 , 472 ; sack of by Nebuchadrezzar II, 490 , 491 ; Cyrus and rebuilding of, 496 ; return of captives to, 496 .

Jewellery, the magic, Ishtar's, 96 , 98 .

Jewish type, Akkadians of, 1 , 2 ; Arabs not of, 9 ; the racial blend which produced, 10 et seq.

Jews, Cyrus welcomed in Babylon by, 495 ; return of to Jerusalem, 496 .

Jezebel (jeze-bel), Queen, 406 ; murder of, 410 .

Jinn, the Arabian, 78 .

Joash (jōash), King of Judah, concealment of in childhood, 413 ; coronation of, 413 , 414 .

Johns, Mr., on Aryans in early Assyria, 278 , 279 .

Joram (jōram), King of Israel, 408 , 409 ; Jehu murders, 410 .

Josiah (jō-sīah), King of Judah, Necho and, 489 .

Jotham (jōtham), King of Judah, 451 .

Judah, subject to Damascus, 396 ; separation of from Israel, 401 at seq.; Edom revolts against, 409 ; defeated by Israel, 448 ; Damascus and Israel plot against, 451 ; Ahaz appeals to Assyria, 452 ; Sennacherib deports prisoners from, 463 ; in Esarhaddon's reign, 474 ; Pharaoh Necho in, 489 ; the Captivity, 491 ; return of captives, 496 .

Jupiter, the planet, Ramman and Hadad as, 57 ; Merodach creates, 147 ; Merodach as, 296 ; Horus as, 300 , 302 ; associated with sun and moon, 301 ; as ghost of sun, 305 ; as "bull of light", 301 ; Nin- Girsu (Tammuz) as, 301 ; month of, 305 ; Attis as, 305 ; as "face voice of light" and "star of bronze", 314 , 315 ; in astrology, 318 .

Jupiter-Amon, 317 .

Jupiter-Belus, Merodach as, 221 , 317 .

Kadashman-Kharbe (kad-hman-khbe), King of Babylon, grandson of Ashur-uballit, 284 , 285 ; opens Arabian desert trade route, 360 ; murder of, 361 .

Kadesh (kesh), goddesses that link with, 268 .

Kali (kee), the Indian goddess, goat sacrificed to, 48 .

Kalkhi (kkhi), excavations at, xix , xx ; capital of Shalmaneser I, 367 ; head-quarters of Ashur-natsir-pal III, 398 ; description of, 399 , 400 ; library at, 422 , 470 ; religious revolt at, 422 ; Sargon II and, 463 ; temple to Nebo at, 487 .

Karduniash (kar-dooni-ash), Babylonia called, 273 .

Karna (kărnă), Indian hero: like Sargon of Akkad, 126 .

Ksites, Nippur as capital of, 218 ; in Hammurabi Age, 255 ; as agriculturists, 256 ; Aryans associated with, 270 ; Mitannians, Hyksos and, 270 , 271 , 272 , 273 ; Babylonia consolidated by, 274 , 393 ; early Assyrian kings and, 279 ; in Tell-el-Amarna letters, 281 ; and Mesopotamian question, 358 ; Arabian desert trade route, 360 ; dynasty of ends, 370 , 371 ; Sennacherib and the mountain, 464 .

Keats, John, 112 ; "La Belle Dame Sans Merci" and Ishtar, 174 .

Kengi (kengi), early name of Sumer, 2 .

Khammurabi (kham-mri), 247 . See Hammurabi.

Khani (khi). See Mitanni.

Kharri (khri), Mitannians called; perhaps "Arya", 269 .

Khatti. See Hattiand Hittites.

Kheta. See Hittites.

Khnumu (knoomoo), the Egyptian god, Ea compared to, 30 .

Khonsu (konsoo), Tammuz a healer like, 90 , 94 .

Kid, sacrificed to Tammuz, 85 , 333 ; star called by Arabs, 333 .

King, L. W., Creation tablets, xxiv , 29 ; 211 ; on "Cuthean Legend of Creation", 215 , 216 ; on seven gods as one, 298 ; on Sennacherib's sack of Babylon, 469 .

Kings, worship of, in Hammurabi Age, 242 , 257 , 258 ; burning of, 350 , 351 ; Ashur's association with, 352 .

Kingu (kingoo), in Creation Legend, as son and lover of Tiamat, 106 ; stirs Tiamat to avenge Apsu, 140 ; exalted by Tiamat, 140 ; overcome by Merodach, 145 , 146 .

Kish, early dynasty of, 114 ; legendary queen of, 114 , 115 ; Entemena's sack of, 120 ; Sargon and, 125 , 126 ; goddess of, 126 , 127 ; kings and gods of, 241 .

Kishar (kesh), the god, in group of elder deities, 37 , 138 .

Kneph, the Egyptian air god, 49 .

Koran(kōr), Etana eagle myth in, 166 , 167 ; Nimrod agricultural myth in, 170 ; water of life legend in, 186 ; Abraham and Nimrod's pyre, 349 .

Kudur Mabug (k mab), Elamite King of Sumer, 242 , 243 ; the Biblical Chedor-laomer, 247 , 248 .

Kuiri (k-ri), early name of Akkad, 2 .

Kurds (koords), the, use of cradle board by, 4 , 5 ; of Mediterranean race, 8 ;

Mitannians as ancestors of, 270 , 283 .

Kurigalzu II (ki-gz, King of Babylonia, 285 .

Kurigalzu III, Kassite king, wars with Elam and Assyria, 362 .

Ka and Kh See Cuthah.

Kutu (k, the men of, 128 , 264 . See Gutium.

Labartu (la-bt, the, a mountain hag, 68 ; as a luck spirit, 77 .

Labashi-Marduk (laba-shi-mard), King of Babylonia, 492 .

"La Belle Dame Sans Merci", Ishtar as, 174 , 175 .

Lachamu (lach-, goddess, in Creation legend, 37 , 138 , 143 .

Lachmu (lachm, god, in Creation legend, 37 , 138 , 143 .

Lagash (lash), city of, early rulers of, 115 et seq.; deities of, 116 -118 ; relations with Umma, 118 -120 ; site of at Tello, 120 ; revolution in, 120 ; Urukagina, the reformer of, 121 -124 ; sack of, 124 ; Gudea, King of, 129 ; sculptures, buildings, and trade of, 130 ; bearded god of, 135 , 136 ; burning of in Hammurabi Age, 243 . Also Shir-pl

Lakshmi (lăkshmee), the Indian eternal mother, 101 .

Lamassu (lamas-s, the winged bull, 65 .

Lamb, the sacrificed, inspiration from blood of, 48 .

Land laws, in early Sumeria, 26 ; of Babylonia, 229 , 230 .

Lang, Andrew, on Cronos, 64 ; on father and son myth, 158 ; on Greek star lore, 319 .

Langdon, Dr., Sumerian psalms, 98 et seq.; on Ninip and Enlil, 158 ; on doves and goddesses, 428 .

Language, race and, 3 ; Sumerians-, Chinese, Turks, Magyars, Finns, and Basques compared, 3 .

Larsa (ls, sun god chief deity of, 40 ; revolt against Isin, 132 ; Rim-Sin, king of, 133 ; rise of sun cult of, 240 ; Elamite kings of, 242 ; the Biblical Ellasar, 247 ; Nabonidus and, 492 .

Laurin (lawreen), the Germanic elfin lover, 68 .

Law courts, in Hammurabi Age, 223 .

Layard, Sir A. H., discoveries of, xix et seq.; Ashur symbols, 343 ; description of Kalkhi, 399 -401 .

"Lay of the Harper", the Sumerian "Song of the Sea Lady" and, 178 , 179 .

Lead, in northern Mesopotamia, 25 .

Lebanon, Gudea of Lagash gets timber from, 130 .

Leicestershire wind hag, 73 .

Library, Shalmaneser III founded at Kalkhi, 422 .

Libyans, the, shaving customs of, 9 .

Life, the water of, 44 , 45 ; the plant of, 44 ; blood and sap and, 45 ; liver as seat of, 48 ; habits of and modes of thought, 51 .

Light on head, Merodach's, 145 .

Lila or Lilu, the demon, 67 .

Lilith, "Adam's first wife", 67 ; Indian Surpanaka like, 67 .

Linen, manufactured in prehistoric Egypt, 14 .

Lion god, Nergal as the, 54 .

Lions, associated with mother goddess, 120 .

Liver, the, as seat of life, 48 ; dragon's vulnerable part, 153 .

Loftus, W. K., xx .

Loki, the Germanic god, taunts goddesses regarding lovers, 102 , 103 ; god Barleycorn and, 170 .

"Long Meg", the English giantess, 155 , 156 ; "Long Tom" and, 156 . "Long Tom", the giant, guns called, 156 .

Love charms and love lyrics, 238 .

Love goddess, Ishtar as, 99 , 175 , 176 ; the inconstancy of, 99 et seq., 102 , 103 , 104 .

Lovers, the demon, 67 , 68 .

Lucian (looshyan), Semiramis legend, 425 .

Lucifer, Babylonian king as, 331 .

Luck, spitting to secure, 46 et seq.; spirits of, 77 .

Lugal-zaggisi (lal-zaggi-si), King of Umma, sack of Lagash by, 123 , 124 ; gods of, 124 ; Kish captured by, 124 ; Erech capital of empire of, 124 , 125 ; supposed invasion of Syria by, 125 .

Lulubu (lb, mountaineers, 128 .

Lunar chronology, solar chronology preceded by, 312 ; "Four Quarters", 323 , 324 .

Lunar zodiac, the original, 309 .

Lycia, god had wife in, 221 .

Lydia, emissaries from to Ashurbanipal, 483 ; helps Egypt against Assyria, 486 ; alliance with Egypt against Cyrus, 494 .

Next: M-R

INDEX A - C

Vowel Sounds:-- as in palm; ā, as in late; ăalmost like uin fur; e, like ain fate; ē, as in he; i, as ein me; ī, as in sigh; ō, as in shore; as in pull; u, as in sun; ȳ, as in dye.

Ā , Sumerian names of moon, 301 ; Ea as, 31 .

, the goddess, consort of Shamash, 57 , 100 .

A, Egyptian name of moon, 301 .

Abijah (a-bījah), King of Judah, 402 , 403 .

Abraham, 12 ; the Isaac sacrifice, 50 ; period of migration from Ur, 131 , 245 ; association of with Amorites, 246 ; conflict with Amraphel (Hammurabi) and his allies, 246 , 247 ; Babylonian monotheism in age of, 160 ; Nimrod and in Koran, 166 , 167 , 349 , 350 .

Achns (a-kēans), the Celts and, 377 ; in Crete and Egypt, 378 ; Pelasgians and, 393 ; the Cyprian and Assyria, 484 .

Achenian (a-ke-menian), Cyrus called an, 493 ; Darius I claims to be an, 496 . See Akhamanish.

Adad (), deities that link with, 35 , 57 , 261 , 395 ; in demon war, 76 .

Adad-nirari I (-ni-ri), of Assyria, 362 , 363 .

Adad-nirari III, 396 .

Adad-nirari IV, King of Assyria, Babylonian influence in court of, 419 ; as "husband of his mother", 420 ; innovations of, 421 ; Kalkhi library, 422 ; "synchronistic history", 423 ; Nebo worship, 435 ,436 ; as "saviour" of Israel, 438 , 439 ; Urartu problem, 439 , 440 .

Adad-nirari V, 442 .

Adad-shum-utsur (ad-sh-sur), King of Babylonia, as overlord of Assyria. 270 .

Adam, "first wife" of a demon, 67 ; the shining jewel of, 185 .

Adapa (p, the Babylonian Thor, 72 , 73 .

Addu (d, as form of Merodach, 160 .

Adonis (dōnis), Tammuz and myth of, 83 , 84 ; antiquity of myth of, 84 ; blood of in river, 85 ; the boat or chest of, 90 , 103 ; "the Garden of", 171 , 172 ; slain by boar, 294 , 304 .

Afghans, skull forms of, 8 .

Ages, the mythical, Tammuz as ruler of one of the, 83 , 84 ; Greek flood legend and, 195 , 196 ; the Indian and Celtic, 196 ; in American myths, 198 ; Babylonian and Indian links, 199 ; in Persian and Germanic mythologies, 202 , 203 ; various systems compared, 310 et seq.

Agni (ăgnee), Indian fire and fertility god, 49 ; Nusku and, 50 ; links with Tammuz, 94 ; eagle as, 168 , 169 ; Nergal and, 304 ; the goat and, 333 ; Melkarth and, 346 .

Agriculture, mother worship and, xxix , xxx ; cults of Osiris-Isis and Tammuz- Ishtar, xxxi; early Sumerians and, 2 ; in Turkestan and Egypt, 6 ; early civilizations and, 14 ; Herodotus on Babylonian, 21 , 22 ; irrigation and river floods, 23 , 24 , 26 ; deities and water supply, 33 ; Tammuz-Adonis myth, 85 ; weeping ceremonies, 82 et seq.; Nimrod myth, 170 ; demand for harvesters in Babylonia, 256 .

Agum (), Kassite kings named, 272 et seq.

Agum the Great, Kassite king, recovers from Mitanni Merodach and his spouse, 272 .

Ahab, King of Israel, 405 -407 , 408 , 473 . Ahaz, King of Judah, fire ceremony practised by, 50 ; sundial of and eclipse record, 323 , 450 ; relations with Assyria, 452 , 453 , 459 .

Ahaziah (a-ha-zīah), King of Israel, 408 -410 .

AhMăzda, eagle and ring symbol of, 347 ; Ashur and, 355 ; Cambyses and, 495 ; identified with Merodach, 496 ; reform of cult of, 497 .

Air of Life, Breath and spirit as, 48 , 49 .

Akhamanish (a-khmănish), the Persian Patriarch, 493 ; Germanic Mannus and Indian Manu and, 493 ; eagle and, 493 .

Akhenaton (a-khen-on), foreign correspondence of, 280 et seq.; Assyrian King's relations with, 285 ; Aton cult of, 338 , 422 ; attitude of to mother worship, 418 , 419 .

Akkad (akkad). Its racial and geographical significance, 1 ; early name of Uri or Kiuri, 2 ; early history of; 109 et seq.

Akkad, City of, Sargon of, 125 et seq.; Naram-Sin and, 128 , 129 ; in Hammurabi Age, 256 ; observatory at, 321 . Also rendered Agad

Akkadians, characteristics of, 2 ; culture of Sumerian, 2 , 3 , 13 ; the conquerors of Sumerians, 12 .

u, moon as the "measurer" 301 .

Akurgal (kgal), King of Lagash, son of Ur-Nina, 118 .

Alban, the British ancestral giant, 42 .

Aleppo (a-leppo), Hadad worshipped at, 411 .

Alexander the Great, Southern Babylonia in age of, 22 , 23 ; his vision of Tiamat, 151 ; myths of, 164 ; the eagle and, 167 ; Gilgamesh and, 172 ; water of life, 185 , 186 ; Brahmans and, 207 , 208 ; welcomed in Babylon, 497 ; Pantheon of, 497 ; death of, 498 .

Algebra, Brahmans formulated, 289 .

Allatu (allt. See Eresh-ki-gal.

Alu (, the, tempest and nightmare demon, 65 , 68 , 69 .

Alytes, King of Lydia, war against Medes, 494 ; Median marriage alliance, 494 .

Ĵm the mother goddess, 57 , 100 .

Amaziah, King of Judah, 448 , 449 .

Amel-marduk (el-mduk), "Evil Merodach", King of Babylon, 492 .

Amenhotep III (men-hōtep) of Egypt, 280 ; Tushratta's appeals to, 282 .

Amon, wife of, 221 ; the "world soul" belief and, 329 .

Amorites, Land of. See Amurru.

Amorites, Sargon of Akkad and, 125 -127 ; in pre-Hammurabi Age, 217 ; Sun cult favoured by in Babylon, 240 ; Moon cult of in Kish, 241 ; blend of in Jerusalem, 246 ; raids of, 256 ; as allies of Hittites, 284 , 363 , 364 ; Philistines and, 380 ; "mother right" amongst, 418 .

Amphitrite, the sea goddess, 33 . Amraphel (ra-phel), the Biblical, identified with Hammurabi, 131 , 246 , 247 .

Amurru (am-r, land of Amorites, 127 ; Sargon and Naram Sin in, 127 -129 ; Gudea of Lagash trades with, 130 ; Elamite overlordship of, 248 .

Amurru, the god called, Merodach and Adad-Ramman and, 316 .

Anahita (ana-hita), Persian goddess, identified with Nina-Ishtar, 496 .

Anakim, "sons of Anak", the Hittites and, 11 , 12 .

Anatu (an-, consort of Anu, 138 . Anau, Turkestan, civilization of and the Sumerian, 5 ; votive statuettes found at, 5 .

Ancestral totems, annual sacrifice of, 294 ; in Babylonia and China, 295 .

Andromeda (an-drome-da), legend of, 152 .

Angus, the Irish love god, 90 , 238 .

Animal forms of gods, 134 , 135 .

Animism, xxxiii ; spirit groups and gods, 35 , 294 et seq.; fairies and elves relics of, 79 , 80 ; stars and planets as ghosts, 295 , 304 ; star worship, 317 ; Pelasgian gods as Fates, 317 .

"Annie, Gentle", the Scottish wind hag, 73 .

Annis, Black, Leicester wind hag, 73 , 101 .

Anshan, Province of, Sargon of Akkad conquers, 127 ; Cyrus, King of, 493

Anshar, the god, in group of elder deities, 37 ; Anu becomes like, 124 ; in Creation legend, 138 et seq.; Ashur a form of, 326 , 354 ; as "Assoros", 328 ; as night sky god, 328 ; identified with Polar star, 330 , 331 ; as astral Satyr (goat-man), 333 ; Tammuz and, 333 ; his six divinities of council, 334 .

Anthat (that), goddesses that link with, 268 .

Anthropomorphic gods, the Sumerian, 134 -136 .

Anu (, god of the sky, demons as messengers of, 34 , 77 ; in early triad, 35 , 36 ; among early gods, 37 ; Brahma and, 38 ; links with Mithra, 55 ; other gods and, 53 , 57 ; as father of demons, 63 ; solar and lunar attributes of, 53 , 55 ; wind spirits and, 72 , 73 , 74 ; in demon war, 76 ; as father of Isis, 100 ; Ur-Nina and, 116 ; as father of Enlil, 124 ; as form of Anshar, 125 , 328 ; high priest of and moon god, 130 ; during Isin Dynasty, 132 ; in Creation legend, 138 et seq.; Merodach directs decrees of, 149 ; Etana and eagle in heaven of, 166 ; in Gilgamesh legend, 173 et seq.; in Deluge legend, 190 et seq.; planetary gods and, 304 ; zodiacal "field of", 307 ; the star spirits and, 318 ; as Anos, 328 ; as the "high head", 334 ; Sargon II and, 463 .

Anzan. See Anshan.

Apep (ep), the Egyptian serpent demon, 46 , 156 .

Aphrodite (af-rō-dītē), boar lover of slays Adonis, 87 ; lovers of, 103 ; the "bearded" form of, 267 , 301 ; birds and plants sacred to, 427 ; as a fate, 427 , 433 ; legends attached to, 437 .

Apil-Sin (il-sin), King, grandfather of Hammurabi, 242 .

Apis bull (pis), inspiration from breath of, 49 ; Cambyses sacrifices to Mithra, 495 .

Apsu-Rishtu (apsrisht, god of the deep, like Egyptian Nu, 37 , 64 ; as enemy of the gods, 38 ; Tiamat and, 106 ; in Creation legend, 138 et seq.; reference to by Damascius, 328 .

Apuatu (p-t (Osiris) as the Patriarch, xxxii .

Arabia, moon worship in, 52 ; owl a mother ghost in, 70 ; in Zu bird myth, 74 , 75 ; invaded by Naram Sin, 129 ; Etana myth in, 166 , 167 ; water of life myth, 186 ; Sargon 11 and kings of, 458 ; Sennacherib in, 466 .

Arabians, the, of Mediterranean race, 7 ; Semites of Jewish type and, 7 , 10 ; prehistoric migrations of, 11 , 12 .

Arad Ea (-ad-e, "ferryman" of Hades water, 34 ; Gilgamesh crosses sea of death with, 180 et seq.

Aramns, migrations of, 359 ; called "Suti", "Achlame", "Arimi" "Khabiri", and "Syrians", 360 ; Assyria and the, 367 ; as allies of Hittites, 377 , 378 ; state of Damascus founded by, 390 ; Ashur-natsir-pal III and, 398 , 399 ; "mother worship" and, 434 ; as opponents of sun worship, 445 ; settled in Asia Minor, 461 .

Archer, the Astral, Ashur, Gilgamesh, and Hercules as, 336 , 337 ; robed with feathers, 344 ; Ashur and San-dan as, 352 .

Ardat Lili (ardat li-li), a demon lover, 68 .

Ardys, King of Lydia, Assyria helps, 486 .

Ares, Greek war god, as boar slayer of Adonis, 87 , 304 .

Argistis I (argist-is), King of Urartu, campaigns of, 441 , 442 , or, Argistes.

Argistis II of Urartu, raids of Cimmerians and Scythians, 461 .

Arioch (i-ok), the Biblical, Warad-Sin as, 247 , 248 .

Arithmetic, finger counting in Babylonia and India, 310 ; development of, 312 . Ark, in flood legend, 191 et seq.

Arles money, Babylonian farm labourers received, 256 .

Armenia, Thunder god of, 261 , 395 ; goddess Anaitis in, 267 . See Urartu.

Armenians, the use of cradle board by, 4 , 5 ; ancestors of, 283 .

Armenoid Race, the, in Semitic blend, 10 ; in Asia Minor, Syria, and Europe, 11 , 262 ; traces of in prehistoric Egypt, 11 , 263 , 264 ; in Palestine, 12 ; culture of, 315 .

Arnold, Edwin, xxii .

Arpad (pad) in reign of Tiglath-pileser IV, 446 , 447 .

Arrow, a symbol of lightning and fertility, 337 ; Ashur's and the goddess Neith's, 337 n. See Archer, the Astral.

Art, magical origin of, 288 .

Artaxerxes, 497 .

Artemis (te-mis), the goddess, lovers slain by, 104 ; as wind hag, 104 ; the "Great Bear" myth and, 296 .

Artisan gods, Ea, Ptah, Khnumu, and Indra as, 30 .

Aruru (arr, the mother goddess, 100 , 160 , 420 ; assists Merodach to create mankind, 148 ; in Gilgamesh legend, 172 et seq.

Aryans (āri-ans), Mitannians as, 269 , 270 ; Kassites and, 270 .

Asa, King of Judah, burning at grave of, 350 ; images destroyed by, 403 ; appeal for aid to Damascus, 404 ; death of, 407 .

Asari (si), Merodach as, and Osiris, 159 .

Ashdod, Cyprian King of, 458 , 459 .

Ashtoreth (h-tōreth), Ishtar and, 100 ; lovers of, 103 ; goddesses that link with, 267 ; worship of at Samaria, 439 ; also rendered Ashta-roth.

Ashur (hur), Asura theory, 278 ; as Aushar, "water field", the "Holy One", and Anshar, 326 ; the Biblical patriarch, 327 ; "Ashir" and Cappadocia, 327 ; Brahma and, 328 ; as Creator, 329 ; bull, eagle, and lion identified with, 330 ; connected with sun, Regulus, Arcturus, and Orion, 331 ; King and, 331 ; Isaiah's parable, 331 ; as bull of heaven, 334 ; winged disk or "wheel" of, 334 , 335 ; standard of as "world spine", 335 ; the archer in "wheel", 335 ; despiritualization theory, 335 , 336 ; the solar archer as Merodach, Hercules, and Gilgamesh, 336 ; the arrow of, 337 ; Babylonian deities and, 337 ; Babylonian and Persian influences, 338 ; as god of fertility, &c., 339 ; Assyrian civilization reflected by, 340 ; as corn god and war god, 340 ; the Biblical Nisroch, 341 ; the eagle and, 343 ; Ezekiel's references to life wheel, 344 et seq.; fire cult and, 346 ; Indian wheel symbol, 346 , 347 ; Persian wheel or disk, 347 ; wheels of Shamash and Ishtar, 347 ; the Egyptian Ankh, 347 ; Hittite winged disk, 347 , 348 ; Sandan and, 347 , 348 ; Attis and, 348 ; son of Ea like Merodach, 348 ; aided by fires and sacrifices, 351 ; disk a symbol of life, fertility, &c., 351 ; the lightning arrow, 352 ; temples of and worship of, 352 ; close association of with kings, 352 , 353 ; association of with moon god, 353 ; astral phase of, 354 ; Jastrow's view, 354 ; Pinches on Merodach and Osiris links, 354 ; as patriarch, corn god, &c., 354 , 355 ; spouse of, 355 ; a Baal, 355 ; earthquake destroys temple of, 363 ; Shalmaneser I obtains treasure for, 366 ; Esarhaddon builds temple to, 476 ; Sennacherib murdered in temple of, 470 ; Ahura Mazda and, 496 . See Asshur, the Biblical Patriarch.

Ashur-bani-pal (hur-bi-pal), discovery of library of, xxii , xxiii ; doctors and, 231 , 232 ; worship of Ashur and Sin, 353 ; Merodach restored to Babylon by, 48 r, 482 ; Egyptian campaign, 482 ; sack of Thebes, 483 ; emissaries from Gyges of Lydia visit, 483 ; Shamash-shum-ukin's revolt against, 484 ; suicide of Shamash-shum-ukin, 485 ; Lydia aided by, 486 ; Sardanapalus legend, 486 ; the Biblical "Asnapper", 487 ; palace of, 487 .

Ashur-dan I, of Assyria, 370 .

Ashur-dan III, reign of, 442 .

Ashur-danin-apli (ashur-dan-inapli), revolt of in Assyria, 414 , 415 .

Ashur-elit-ilani (ashur-elit-il-a ni), King of Assyria, 487 , 488 .

Ashur-natsir-pal I (ashur-natsir-pal) of Assyria, 369 .

Ashur-natsir-pal III, his "reign of terror", 396 ; conquests and atrocities of, 397 , 398 ; Babylonians over-awed by, 399 ; death of, 401 .

Ashur-nirari IV (ashur-ni-ri), last king of Assyria's "Middle Empire", 442 , 443 .

Ashur-uballit (ashur-u-b-lit), King of Assyria, Egypt and, 28 ,, 282 , 285 ; conquests of, 284 ; grandson of as King of Babylon, 284 ; Arabian desert trade route, 360 .

Asia Minor, hill god of, 136 ; prehistoric alien pottery in, 263 .

Ass, the sun god as, 329 ; in Lagash chariot, 330 .

"Ass of the East", horse called in Babylonia, 270 .

shur, City of, Ashur the god of, 277 ; Mitanni king plunders, 280 ; imported beliefs in, 327 ; Biblical reference to, 339 ; development of god of, 355 ; Merodach's statue deported to, 469 .

shur, the Biblical Patriarch of Assyria, 276 , 277 , 327 . See Ashur.

Assyria, excavations in, xix et seq.; Amorite migration to, 217 ; Hammurabi kings as overlords of, 419 ; Thothmes III corresponds with king of, 276 ; Biblical reference to rise of, 276 , 277 ; Aryan names of early kings of, 278 ; Mitanni kings as overlords of, 279 , 280 ; Semitized by Amorites, 279 ; in Tell-el-Amarna letters, 281 , 282 ; rise of after fall of Mitanni, 284 ; struggles with Babylonia for Mesopotamia, 284 -286 ; 361 et seq.; the national god, Ashur, 326 et seq.; Isaiah's reference to, 340 ; Egyptians and Hittites allied against, 366 , 368 ; Old Empire Kings, 366 et seq.; Babylonia controls, 370 ; character of, 372 -375 ; periods of history of, 375 ; at close of Kassite period, 380 ; end of Old Empire, 386 ; Second Empire of, 391 et seq.; sculpture of and Sumerian, 401 ; mother worship in, 420 et seq.; Urartu's struggle with, 440 -442 ; end of Second Empire, 443 ; Third Empire, 444 et seq.; Egypt becomes a province of, 475 et seq.; last king of, 487 ; fall of Nineveh, 488 ; Cyaxares rules over, 493 .

Astarte (as-tte), lovers of, 103 ; animals of on Lagash vase, 120 ; goddesses that link with, 267 ; Semiramis and, 425 .

Astrology, basal idea in Babylonian, 317 ; Babylonian and Grecian, 318 et seq.; literary references to, 325 .

Astrology and astronomy, 287 et seq. See Stars, Planets, and Constellations.

Astronomers, eclipses foretold by in late Assyrian period, 321 , 322 .

Astronomy, Merodach fixes stars, &c., in Creation legend, 147 , 148 ; discovery that moon is lit by sun, 148 n.; Mythical Ages and, 310 et seq.; theory of Greek origin of, 319 et seq.; precession of the equinoxes, 320 , 320 n.; Assyro-Babylonian observatories, 320 -322 ; Hittites pass Babylonian discoveries to Europe, 316 ; in late Assyrian and neo-Babylonian period, 479 , 480 .

Astyages (as-tya-jēz), King of the Medes, Cyrus displaces, 493 ; wife of a Lydian princess, 494 .

Asura fire (ă-shoora), in the sea, 50 , 51 .

Atargatis (--gis), the goddess, legend of origin of, 28 ; as a bi-sexual deity, 267 ; Derceto and, 277 , 426 , 427 ; Nina and, 277 , 278 .

Ate (e), mother goddess of Cilicia, 267 .

Athaliah (ath-a-līah), Queen, of Judah, 409 ; reign of, 413 ; Joash crowned, 413 ; soldiers slay, 413 , 414 .

Athena (hena), indigenous goddess of Athens, 105 ; goat and, 337 .

Athens, imported gods in, 105 .

Atmospheric deities, Enlil, Indra, Ram-man, &c., as, 35 ; "air of life" from, 48 , 49 .

Aton, Akhenaton's god, the goddess Mut and, 419 , 422 .

Attis (tis), the Phrygian god, Tammuz and, 84 ; death of, 87 ; as lover of Cybele, 103 , 104 ; deities that link with, 267 ; as Jupiter, 305 ; Ashur and, 354 -355 ; symbols of, 348 .

-A Jah as Ea, 31 .

Australia, star myths in, 296 , 300 .

Axe, the double, symbol of god, 348 .

Azag-Bau (ag b), legendary queen of Kish, 114 ; humble origin of, 115 .

Azariah (az-a-rīah), King of Judah, 449 .

Baal, the moon god as, 51 ; shadowy spouse of, 100 ; Ashur as, 355 ; worship of the Phnician in Israel, 406 .

Baal-dagon, the god, symbols of, 32 .

Bsha, King of Israel, 403 ; Damascus aids Judah against, 404 , 405 .

B- the Phnician mother goddess, 150 .

Babbar (bbar), sun god, 125 ; Nin Girsu and, 132 ; of Sippar, 240 . See Shamash.

Babylon, in early Christian literature, xvii; German excavations at, xxiv; Isaiah foretells doom of, 113 , 114 , 478 ; sack of by Gutium, 129 ; political rise of, 217 et seq.; early history of, 218 ; Greek descriptions of late city of, 219 et seq.; "hanging gardens" of, 220 ; date of existing ruins of, 222 ; marriage market of, 224 , 225 ; sun worship in, 240 ; the London of Western Asia, 253 ; return of Merodach from Mitanni to, 272 ; observatory at, 321 ; destruction of by Sennacherib, 468 , 469 ; restored by Esarhaddon, 471 ; Ashur-bani-pal restores Merodach to, 481 , 482 ; Shamash-sum-ukin's revolt in, 484 , 485 ; Belshazzar's feast in, 494 , 495 ; under the Persians, 496 ; Xerxes pillages Merodach's temple in, 497 ; Alexander the Great in, 497 , 498 ; under empire of Seleucid 498 ; slow death of, 498 , 499 .

Babylonia, excavations in, xix et seq.; religion of, xxviii , xxxi ; debt of modern world to, xxxv ; early divisions of, 1 et seq.; harvests of, 21 , 22 ; the two seasons of, 23 , 24 ; rise of empire of; 133 ; Amorite migration into, 217 ; Golden Age of, 253 ; Hittite invasion of, 259 ; Tell-el-Amarna letters and, 281 ; early struggles with Assyria, 284 -286 ; star myths of, 290 et seq.; ancestor worship in, 295 ; beginning of arithmetic in, 310 et seq.; Kassites and Mesopotamia, 358 , 359 , 361 et seq.; Arabian desert route, 360 ; influence of Hittites in, 364 , 366 , 368 ; Assyria controlled by, 370 ; Kassite dynasty ends, 370 -371 ; compared with Assyria, 371 -375 ; Tiglath-pileser I and, 385 ; Ashur-natsir-pal III overawes, 399 ; Shamshi-Adad VII subdues, 414 , 415 ; Tiglath-pileser IV, the "Pulu" of, 444 -446 ; Esarhaddon and, 471 -476 ; Neo-Babylonian Age, 478 et seq.; Alexander the Great and, 497 .

Baghdad railway, following ancient trade route, 357 , 357 n.

Balder, the Germanic god, Gilgamesh and, 184 ; new age of, 202 , 203 .

Bneb-tettu, Egyptian god, 29 .

Barley, husks of in Egyptian pre-Dynastic bodies, 6 .

Barleycorn, John, Nimrod and Icelandic god Barleycorn and, 170 , 171 .

Barque of Ra, sun as and the Babylonian "boat", 56 , 57 .

Basques, the, language of and the Sumerian, 3 ; shaving customs of, 4 .

Bt, the Egyptian serpent mother, 76 .

Ba, the Egyptian tale of, 85 .

Bats, ghosts as, 65 .

Battle, the Everlasting, 65 .

Bau (b), mother goddess, 100 ; Gula and Ishtar and, 116 ; in Kish, 114 , 126 , 127 ; associated with Nin-Girsu, 115 , 116 ; Tiamat and, 150 ; doves and, 428 ; creatrix and, 437 .

Bear, as a clan totem, 164 .

Bearded gods, the Sumerian, 135 , 136 , 137 ; Egyptian customs, 136 .

"Beare, the Old Woman of", as the eternal goddess, 101 , 102 .

Behistun, rock inscription at, xx .

Bel, the, Merodach as, 34 ; Enlil as the "elder", 35 ; demons as "beloved sons" of, 63 ; Zu bird strives to he, 74 ; in demon war, 77 ; as son of Ea, 139 ; decapitated to create mankind, 148 ; Etana visits heaven of, 166 ; in Gilgamesh legend, 172 ; in flood legend, 190 et seq.; Zodiacal "field" of; 307 ; Sargon II and the "elder", 463 .

Bel-Kap-K King of Babylonia, as overlord of Assyria, 419 .

Bel-nirari (bel-ni-ri), King of Assyria, 285 , 286 .

Bel-shum-iddin, last Kassite king, 371 .

Beli (bāle), "the Howler", enemy of Germanic corn god, 95 .

Belit-sheri (bel-it-sheri), sister of Tammuz, in Hades, 98 , 117 .

Belshazzar, King of Babylon, over-throw of, 494 , 495 .

Beltane Day, fire ceremony of, 50 .

Beltu (bālt, the goddess, 36 , 100 .

Ben-hadad I, King of Damascus, as overlord of Judah and Israel, 404 . Ben-hadad II, Ahab defeats twice, 406 , 407 ; murder of by Hazael, 410 . Ben-hadad III, Assyrians overcome, 438 , 439 .

Beowulf(bā-ō-wf), brood of Cain in, 80 ; Scyld myth, 92 , 93 ; sea monsters, 152 ; mother-monster in like Sumerian and Scottish, 154 , 155 .

Ber, "lord of the wild boar", Ninip as, 302 .

Berosus, 27 , 30 , 83 , 148 , 164 , 170 , 198 , 466 , 470 , 492 .

Bhima (bheema), the Indian, like Gilgamesh and Hercules, 187 .

Birds, as ghosts and fates, 65 ; owl as mother's ghost, 70 ; demons enter the, 71 ; Sumerian Zu bird and Indian Garuda, 74 , 75 , 168 , 169 ; in Germanic legends, 147 n.; as symbols of fertility, 169 ; birth eagle, 168 , 169 , 171 ; imitation of and musical culture, 238 ; associated with goddesses, 423 et seq.; fairies as, 429 . See Doves, Eagle, Raven, Swan, Vulture, Wry-neck.

Birth, magical aid for, 165 ; straw girdles, serpent skins, eagle stones, and magi-cal plant, 165 .

Bi-sexual deities, Nannar, moon god; Ishtar, Isis, and Hapi as, 161 , Nina and Atargatis as, 277 , 278 ; Merodach and Ishtar change forms, 299 ; Venus both male and female, 299 ; mother body of moon father, 299 ; Isis as a male, 299 .

Bitumen, Mesopotamian wells of, 25 . Blake, W., double vision, 336 .

Blood, as vehicle of life, 45 , 47 , 48 ; inspiration from, 48 ; corn stalks as, 55 ; sap of trees as, 47 .

Boann (bō), Irish river and corn goddess, 33 .

Boar, offered to sea god, 33 ; demon Set as, 85 ; Babylonian Ninshach as, 86 ; Adonis slayer as, 86 , 87 ; Attis slain by, 87 ; Diarmid slain by, 87 ; the Irish "green boar", 87 ; the Totemic theory, 293 , 294 ; Ninip-Ber as lord of the wild, 302 ; Nergal as, 304 ; Ares as, 304 ; Ninip and Set as, 315 ; the Gaulish boar god and Mercury, 316 , 317 .

Boghaz-K (bog-h-ke), prehistoric pottery at, 5 ; Hittite capital, 262 ; mythological sculptures near, 268 ; Winckler cuneiform tablets from, 280 , 367 .

Bones, why taken from graves, 214 ; Shakespeare's curse, 215 .

Borsippa (borsip-pa), observatory at, 321 .

Botta, P. C., excavations of, xix , xx .

Bracelet, the wedding, Ishtar's, 98 ; the Hindu, 98 n.

Brahm the Indian god, like Ea, 27 ; Anu and, 38 ; wife of, 101 ; eagle as, 169 ; Ashur and, 328 .

Brmans, algebra formulated by, 289 ; Assyrian teachers and, 352 .

Breath of Apis bull, inspiration from, 49 .

Britain, the ancestral giant of, 42 ; Tammuz myth in, 85 ; birth girdles in, 165 ; "Island of the Blessed" of, 203 ; in Egypt and Persia, 357 .

Brood of Tiamat, in Creation legend, 141 .

Brown, Robert, on Babylonian culture in India, 199 , 200 , 308 , 309 , 310 , 318 , 322 .

Brown Race, the. See Mediterranean Race.

Buddha (bhă), Babylonian teachers like, 42 .

Budge, E. Wallis, on oldest companies of Babylonian and Egyptian gods, 36 , 37 .

Bull, offered to sea god, 33 ; Ninip as the, 53 , 302 , 334 ; of Mithra, 55 ; the winged, 41 , 65 ; Osiris as, 85 , 89 , 99 ; Tammuz as, 85 ; Attis and the, 89 ; Enlil as, 159 ; of Ishtar in Gilgamesh myth, 176 ; seers wrapped in skin of, 213 ; Horus as, 301 , 302 ; as sky god, 329 ; Ashur as, 334 ; the lunar, 135 , 334 .

Burial customs, cremation ceremony, 49 , 50 , 350 ; "house of clay", 56 ; "houses" and charms for dead, 206 , 207 , 212 ; Pallithic and Neolithic, 207 ; the Egyptian, 209 ; religious need for ceremonies, 208 , 209 ; Sumerian like early Egyptian, 211 , 214 ; priestly fees, 210 , 211 ; food, fish-hooks and weapons in graves, 212 ; why dead were clothed, 213 ; honey in coffins, 214 ; disturbance of bones, 214 , 215 ; burnings at Hebrew graves, 350 , 351 .

Buriats, the, "calling back" of ghosts by, 69 , 70 ; earth and air elves of, 105 .

Burkans (boorkans), "the masters", spirits or elves of Siberians, 105 .

Burnaburiash I (bna-bi-ash), Kassite king, 274 .

Burns, Robert, 72 ; the John Barleycorn myth, 170 .

Burrows, Professor, Cretan snake and dove goddess, 430 .

Byron, star lore, 325 .

Cailleach (kyăk), the Gaelic, a wind hag, 73 ; as eternal goddess, 101 .

Calah (kah), the Biblical. See Kalkhi.

Calendar, the early Egyptian, 14 ; the Babylonian, 305 .

Cambyses (kam-bīsēz), as King of Babylon, 495 ; sacrifice of Apis bull to Mithra by, 495 ; wife of a Semiramis, 496 .

Canaan, Abraham arrives in, 245 ; tribes in, 245 , 246 ; Elamite conquest of, 247 , 248 , 249 ; first reference to Israelites in, 379 .

Canaanites, Hittites identified with, 266 .

Canals of Ancient Babylonia, 22 , 23 .

Cappadocia, Cimmerians in, 472 .

Captivity, the Hebrew, Chebar river (Kheber canal) at Nippur, 344 .

Carchemish (kke-mish), German railway bridge and Hittite wall at, 357 n.; Hittite city state of, 395 ; revolt of, 461 ; Nebuchadrezzar defeats Pharaoh Necho at, 489 .

Caria (ki-, assists Lydia against Cimmerians, 484 ; mercenaries from in Egypt, 486 .

Cat, sun god as, 329 .

Caucasus, the, skull forms in, 8 .

Cave dwellers, the Palestinian, 10 .

Celtic goddesses, of Iberian origin, 105 .

Celtic water demon myths, 28 .

Celts, Achns and, 377 .

Ceres (sē-rēz), 103 .

Chaldns, Babylonian priests called, 222 , 497 ; in Hammurabi Age, 257 ; history of, 390 ; Aramns and, 390 ; Judah's relations with, 408 ; Merodach Baladan King of, 457 et seq.; revolt of against Esarhaddon, 471 ; revolt of against Ashur-bani-pal, 484 ; Nabo-polassar King of Babylon, 487 .

Charms, the burial, 206 ; ornaments as, 211 ; the metrical and poetic development, 237 --9 .

Chedor-laomer (chedor-l-mer), the Biblical, 247 , 248 .

Chellean (shelle-an) flints, in Palestine, 10 .

Cherubs, the four-faced, 344 .

Child god, Tammuz and Osiris as the, 89 , 90 ; Sargon of Akkad as, 91 ; Germanic Scyld or Sceaf as, 92 , 93 .

Children, stolen by hags and fairies, 68 ; in mother worship, 107 , 108 .

China, spitting customs in, 47 ; dragons of, 152 ; ancestor worship in, 295 .

Chinese, language of and the Sumerian, 3 .

Chronology, inflated dating and Berlin system, xxiv , xxv .

Cilicia, thunder god of, 261 ; Ate, goddess of, 267 ; Hittite Kingdom of, 395 ; Ionians in, 464 ; in anti-Assyrian league, 473 ; Ashur-bani-pal expels Cimmerians from, 484 , 486 .

Cimmerians, raids of in Asia Minor, 461 , 464 ; Esarhaddon and, 472 ; Gyges of Lydia and, 483 , 484 , 486 ; Lydians break power of, 486 .

Clans, Totemic names and symbols of, 293 .

Clepsydra, a Babylonian invention, 323 .

Clothing, magical significance of, 212 ; the reed mats and sheepskins in graves, 213 ; the bull skin, 213 ; the ephod and prophet's mantle, 213 , 214 .

Comana (kō-ma), Hittite city of, 395 .

Constellations, the Zu bird, 74 ; why animal forms were adopted, 289 ; the "Great Bear" in various mythologies, 295 , 296 , 309 ; the Pleiades, 296 , 297 ; Pisces as "fish of Ea", 296 ; the "sevenfold one", 298 , 300 : Merodach's forms, 299 ; Castor and Pollux myths in Australia, Africa, and Greece, 300 ; Tammuz and Orion, 301 ; months controlled by, 305 ; signs of Zodiac, 305 ; Babylonian and modern signs, 308 ; the central, northern, and southern, 309 ; "Fish of the Canal" and "the Horse", 309 ; the "Milky Way", 309 ; identified before planets, 318 ; Biblical and literary references to, 324 , 325 ; the "Arrow", "Eagle", "Vulture", "Swan", and "Lyra", 336 , 337 .

Copper, Age of in Palestine, 11 ; first use of, 12 ; in Northern Mesopotamia, 25 ; Gudea of Lagash takes from Elam, 130 .

Corn child god, Tammuz and Osiris as, 89 , 90 ; Sargon as, 91 ; the Germanic Scyld or Scef, 92 , 93 , 94 ; Frey and Heimdal as, 94 .

Corn Deities, as river and fish gods and goddesses, 29 , 32 , 33 .

Corn god, moon god as, 52 ; Mithra as, 55 ; the thunder god as, 57 , 340 ; Tammuz and Osiris as, 81 et seq.; Khonsu as, go; Frey and Agni as, 94 ; fed with sacrificed children, 171 .

Corn goddess, Isis as, 90 ; fish goddess as, 117 .

Cow goddesses, Isis, Nepthys, and Hathor as, 99 , 329 .

Creation, local character of Babylonian conception, xxix; of mankind at Eridu, 38 ; legend of, 134 , 138 et seq.; night as parent of day, 330 .

Creative tears, 45 et seq.

Creator gods, Ea and Ptah as, 30 ; eagle god as, 169 .

Creatress, the goddess Mania as, 57 ; Aruru as, 100 , 148 ; forms of, 437 .

Cremation, traces of in Gezer caves, 11 ; the ceremony of, 49 ; not Persian or Sumerian, 50 ; in European Bronze Age, 316 ; Saul burned, 350 ; Sardanapalus legend, 350 .

Crete, chronology of, xv , 114 ; no temples, xxxi ; women's s high social status in, 16 ; Dagon's connection with, 33 ; prehistoric pottery in, 263 Hyksos trade with, 273 ; Achns invade, 376 , 377 ; Philistine raiders from, 379 ; dove and snake sacred in, 430 ; dove goddess not Babylonian, 433 , 434 .

Crocodile god of Egypt, 29 ; sun god as, 329 .

Crsus of Lydia, Cyrus defeats, 494 .

Cromarty, the south-west wind hag or, 73 .

Cronos, as the Destroyer, 64 ; Ninip and Set and, 315 .

Cuneiform writing, earliest use of, 7 .

Cushites, Biblical reference to, 276 .

Cuthah (khah), Nergal, god of, 54 ; annual fires at, 170 ; the Underworld city of, 205 ; demon legend of, 215 , 216 ; men of in Samaria, 455 , 456 .

"Cuthean Legend of Creation", 215 , 216 .

Cyaxares (sy-ax-es), Median King, Nineveh captured by, 488 ; ally of Nabopolassar, 493 .

Cybele (ky-bele), Attis lover of, 103 , 104 , 267 .

Cyprus, dove goddess not Babylonian, 433 , 434 ; dove goddess of, 426 , 427 , 433 , 434 ; Ashur-bani-pal and, 484 .

Cyrus, Merodach calls, 493 ; the Patriarch of, 493 ; the eagle tribe of, 493 ; Astyages defeated by, 493 ; Egypto-Lydian alliance against, 494 ; Nabonidus and, 494 ; Crsus of Lydia overthrown by, 494 ; fall of Babylon, 494 , 495 ; the King of Babylonia, 495 ; welcomed by Jews, 495 ; rebuilding of Jerusalem temple, 496 .

Next: D-G

INDEX D - G

Dadu (d, Ramman as, 57 .

Dagan (dan), the Babylonian, identical with Ea, 31 ; Nippur temple of, 131 ; under Isin Dynasty, 132 .

Dagda (dagda), the Irish corn god, 33 , 238 .

Dagon (dagon), Jah and Ea as, 31 ; Dagan and, 31 , 32 ; as a fish and corn deity, 32 ; Baal-dagon and, 32 ; offering of mice to, 32 , 33 .

Daguna (dna), Dagon and Dagan and, 31 .

Daityas (daityăs), the Indian, like Babylonian demons, 34 .

Damascius, on Babylonian deities, 328 .

Damascus, Aramn state of, 390 ; Israel and Judah subject to, 395 , 396 ; Asa's appeal to, 404 ; conflict with Assyria, 407 ; Judah and Israel allied against, 408 ; murder of Ben-hadad II, 410 ; Palestine subject to, 414 ; Israel overcomes, 449 ; conquered by Adad-nirari IV, 438 , 439 .

Damik-ilishu (dam-ik-il-ish, last king of Isin Dynasty, 133 .

Damkina (damki-na), wife of Ea, 33 , 34 ; demon attendants of, 63 ; as mother of Ea, 105 ; as mother of Enlil, 139 ; Zerpanitumand, 160 ; association of with moon, 436 ; creatrix and, 437 .

Damu (d, the fairy goddess of dreams, 77 , 78 .

Danavas (dăvas), the Indian, like Babylonian demons, 34 .

Dancing, the constellations, 333 .

Danes, harvest god as patriarch of, 92 .

Daniel, Nebuchadrezzar's "fiery furnace", 349 .

Danu (dn, the Irish goddess, 268 .

Daonus or Daos, the shepherd, Tammuz as, 83 , 86 .

Darius I, claims to be Achenian, 496 ; plots against Merodach cult, 497 .

Darius II, death of at Babylon, 497 .

Darius III, Alexander the Great overthrows, 497 .

Dasa (dă), the Indian, as "foreign devil", 67 .

Dasyu (dhyoo), the Indian, as "foreign devil", 67 .

Date palm, in Babylonia, 25 .

David, the ephod used by, 213 , 214 , 388 .

Dead, the, Nergal lord of, 56 ; ghosts of searching for food, 70 , 71 ; Osiris lord of, 86 ; charms, weapons, and food for, 206 ; "houses" of, 206 -208 ; spirits of as warriors and fishermen, 212 .

Death, eagle of, 168 ; the Roman, 169 ; Hercules and, 170 .

Death, the sea of, in Gilgamesh epic, 178 et seq.

Death, the stream of, 56 .

Deer, associated with Lagash goddess, 120 .

Deities, the local, 43 , 44 ; food and water required by, 44 ; the mead of, 45 ; early groups of in Egypt and Sumeria, 105 , 106 ; made drunk at banquet, 144 .

Deluge Legend, Smith translates, xxii. . See Flood Legends.

Demeter (de-meter), the goddess, Poseidon as lover of, 33 , 103 .

Demons, the Babylonian Ocean, 34 ; gods as, 35 , 62 , 135 ; Enlil lord of, 35 , 63 ; Tiamat and Apsu as, 37 , 38 , 64 ; Tiamat's brood, 140 , 141 , 214 , 215 ; "ceremonies of riddance", 58 ; as sources of misfortune, 60 ; in images, 61 ; the winged bull, &c., 65 ; the "will-o-the-wisp", 66 , 67 ; Anu as father of, 63 , 68 ; as lovers, 67 , 68 ; Adam's first wife Lilith, 67 ; ghosts as, 69 , 215 ; penetrate everywhere, 71 , 72 ; as pigs, horses, goats, &c., 71 ; Set pig of Egypt, 85 ; as wind hags, 72 , 73 ; the Zu bird, 74 ; Indian eagle, 166 ; association of with gods, 76 ; the serpent mother one of the, 74 -76 ; the Jinn, 78 ; as composite monsters, 79 ; the Teutonic Beli, 95 ; in mythology and folk lore, 151 et seq.; the Gorgons, 159 ; King of Cuthah's battle against, 214 , 215 ; disease germs as, 234 .

De Morgan, pottery finds by, 263 .

Derceto (der-keto), fish goddess, Semiramis and, 277 , 418 , 423 ; mermaid form of, 426 ; Atargatis legend, 426 , 427 ; dove symbol of, 432 ; legends attached to, 437 .

De Sarzec, M., xxiii .

"Descent of Ishtar", poem, 95 et seq.

Destroyer, the, "World Mother" as, xxx , 100 ; Ninip as, 53 ; goddess Nin-sun as, 57 ; Enlil and Nergal as, 62 , 63 , 303 ; Egyptian and Indian deities as, 63 , 85 , 157 , 336 ; Cronos as, 64 ; "Shedu" bull as, 65 ; Set boar as, 85 ; Babylonian boar god as, 86 ; eagle as, 168 , 169 ; "winged disk" as, 336 ; sun as, 336 ; Thor, Ashur, Tammuz, and Indra each as, 340 .

Diarmid, the Celtic, Tammuz-Adonis and, 84 , 87 ; water of life myth, 186 , 187 ; Totemic boar and, 293 .

Dietrich (dētrēch: 'ch' as in loch) as the thunder god, 74 , 164 .

Diodorus, on Babylonian star lore, 309 .

Disease, Nergal the god of, 53 , 54 ; goddess of, 77 ; demons of, 60 , 63 , 77 .

Divorce, in Babylonia, 227 .

Doctors, laws regarding, 230 , 231 ; Herodotus on, 231 ; Assyrian king and, 231 , 232 .

Doves, goddesses and, 418 ; Semiramis protected after birth by, 424 ; goddess of Cyprus and, 426 ; Aphrodite and, 427 ; Ishtar and Gula and, 427 , 428 ; associated with temples and homes, 428 ; in Gilgamesh epic, 428 ; deities identified with, 429 ; ravens and, 429 ; sacred at Mycen 430 ; snakes and in Crete, 430 ; sacred among Semites and Hittites, 430 ; Egyptian lovers and, 431 ; pigeon lore in England, Ireland, and Scotland, 431 ; fish and, 432 ; Totemic theory, 432 et seq.; antiquity of veneration of, 433 , 434 ; sacrificed in Israel, 439 ; the Persian eagle legend and, 493 .

Dragon, the, of Babylon, 62 ; in group of seven spirits, 63 ; Tiamat as the female, 38 , 64 ; Tiamat as ocean, 15 , as "fire drake", "worm", &c., 151 ; "Ku-pu" of Tiamat, 147 ; heart of, 147 n.; liver vulnerable part of, 153 ; the male, 156 (see Apsu); Biblical references to, 114 , 157 , 158 ; Eur-Asian variations of myth of, 151 , 152 ; well of at Jerusalem, 152 ; the Egyptian, 156 ; Sutekh as slayer of, 157 ; Merodach as slayer of (see Merodach).

Drake, the Fire, the Babylonian, 66 , 67 ; dragon as, 151 .

Dreams, the fairy goddess of, 77 , 78 .

Drink traffic, women monopolized in Babylonia, 229 .

Drinking customs, religious aspect of, 45 ; inspiration from blood, 48 ; the gods drunk at Anshar's banquet, 144 .

Dungi (dgi), King of Ur, 130 ; daughters of as rulers, 130 ; an Ea worshipper, 131 .

Dyaus (rhymes with "mouse"), displaced by Indra, 302 .

Dying gods, the eternal goddess and the, 101 et seq.; death a change of form, 305 .

Ea (ā, god of the deep, Ashurbanipal and, xxii , xxiii ; a typical Babylonian god, xxviii , xxix , 27 ; Oannes and, 27 , 30 ; as world artisan like Ptah and Indra, 30 ; connection of with sea and Euphrates, 28 , 29 , 39 ; as sea-demon, 62 ; names of, 30 , 39 , as fish and corn god, 32 ; Dagon, Poseidon, Neptune, Frey, Shony, &c., and, 31 , 33 ; Dagon and Dagan, 31 ; Ea as Dagan at Nippur, 131 ; as Ya, or Jah, of Hebrews, 31 ; fish of, 294 ; Indian Varuna and, 31 , 34 , 209 ; wife of as earth lady, 33 ; wife of as mother, 105 ; Anu and, 34 ; Enlil and, 35 ; demons of, 35 , 63 ; in early triad, 36 , 37 , 463 ; Indian Vishnu and, 38 ; as dragon slayer, 38 , 140 , 153 , 157 ; Adapa, son of, a demon slayer, 72 , 73 ; in demon war, 77 ; as "great magician", 38 , 46 ; moon god and, 40 , 50 , 51 , 53 ; solar attributes of, 50 , 51 , 53 ; food supply and, 43 ; beliefs connected with, 44 ; Nusku as messenger of, 50 ; Nebo a form of, 303 , 435 ; gods that link with, 57 , 58 ; as form of Anshar, 125 ; family of including Merodach and Tammuz, 72 , 73 , 82 ; daughter of, 117 ; Merodach supplants, 158 ; Enlil as son of, 139 ; Ashur as son of, 348 ; planetary gods and, 304 ; worshipped at Lagash, 116 ; earliest form of, 134 ; under Isin Dynasty, 132 ; in Creation legend, 138 et seq.; astral "field" of, 147 , 307 ; constellations and, 296 ; Merodach directs decrees of, 149 ; Etana and eagle visit heaven of, 166 ; in flood legend, 190 et seq.; as Aos, 328 ; the goat and, 333 ; as "high head", 334 ; Sargon II and, 463 .

Ea-bani (ābi), 41 , 42 ; ghost of as "wind gust", 48 , 49 ; goat demi-god, 135 ; lured from the wilds, 173 ; as ally of Gilgamesh, 174 ; Ishtar's wooing, 174 , 175 ; slaying of Ishtar's bull, 176 ; death of, 176 , 177 ; ghost of invoked by Gilgamesh, 183 , 184 .

Eagle, the, Sumerian Zu bird and Indian Garuda eagle, 74 , 75 , 165 , 166 , 168 , 169 , 330 , 346 , 347 ; the lion headed as Nin-Girsu (Tammuz), 120 , 135 ; in Etana myth, 165 ; in Nimrod myth, 166 , 167 ; in Alexander the Great legend, 167 ; in Scottish folk tale, 167 , 168 ; as soul carrier, 168 ; Roman Emperor's soul and, 169 ; Hercules and, 170 , 349 ; Gilgamesh protected at birth by, 171 ; Persian patriarch protected at birth by, 493 ; the Totemic theory, 293 , 493 ; wheel of life and, 346 , 347 ; Ashur and Horus and, 343 ; wings of on Ashur disk, 351 , 352 .

Eagle stone, as a birth charm, 165 .

Eagle tribe, the ancient, 493 .

Eannatum (ā-num), King of Lagash, a great conqueror, 118 , 119 ; rules Ur and Erech, 119 ; works of, 119 ; mound burial in period of, 214 .

Earth children, elves and dwarfs as, 292 , 292 n.

Earth spirits, males among father worshippers, 105 ; the Egyptian, Teutonic, Aryan, and Siberian, 105 ; elves and fairies as, 294 , 295 .

Earth worship, moon and stone worship and, 52 .

Ecclesiastes, "Lay of the Harper", "Song of the Sea Lady" and, 179 , 180 .

Ecke (eck-ā), Tyrolese storm demon, 74 .

Eclipse foretold by Assyrian and Babylonian astronomers, 321 , 322 ; the Ahaz sundial record, 323 ; Babylonian records of, 324 ; in reign of Ashur-dan III, 442 .

Ecliptic, when divided, 322 .

Edinburgh, the giant Arthur of, 164 .

Edom, Judah and, 402 , 409 , 448 ; tribute from to Assyria, 439 .

Education, in Hammurabi Age, 251 .

Egg, the, goddess Atargatis born of, 28 , 426 ; thorn as life in, 352 .

Egypt, agricultural festivals in, xxxi ; debt of modern world to, xxxv ; prehistoric agriculture in, 6 ; Mediterranean race in, 7 ; early shaving customs, 5 , 9 , 10 ; theory copper first used in, 12 ; social status of women in, 16 ; early gods of and Sumerian, 26 , 36 , 37 ; creative tears of deities of; 45 ; lunar worship in, 52 ; god and goddess cults in, 105 ; Great Mother Nut of, 166 ; at dawn of Sumerian history, 114 ; bearded deities of, 136 ; dragon of, 156 ; "Lay of Harper" and Sumerian "Song of Sea Lady", 178 , 179 ; flood legend of, 197 ; feast of dead in, 206 ; burial customs and Sumerian, 209 -214 ; Hyksos invasion and Hittite raid on Babylon, 259 ; culture debt of to Syria, 275 ; prehistoric Armenoid invasion of, 11 , 263 ; prehistoric black foreign pottery, 263 ; Totemism in, 292 -295 , 432 -433 ; Syrian empire of lost, 284 ; fairies and elves of, 294 ; Pharaoh displaces gods in, 295 ; doctrine of mythical ages in, 315 ; the phoenix, 330 ; the "man in the sun", 336 : Neith as a thunder goddess, 337 , 337 n.; Ankh symbol, 347 ; influence of Hittites in, 364 ; wars with Hittites, 365 , 366 ; Cretans and sea raiders, 378 ; Hebrews and, 388 ; "mother right" in, 418 ; sacred pigeons in, 428 ; fosters revolt against Sargon II, 457 ; Pharaoh and Piru of Mutsri, 458 and n.; Sennacherib defeats army of, 465 ; intrigues against Assyria, 465 , 471 ; as Assyrian province, 475 ; Ashur-bani-pal and, 482 , 484 ; Assyrian yoke shaken off, 486 ; Scythians on frontier of, 488 ; after Assyria's fall, 489 ; Hophra plots against Nebuchadnezzar II, 491 .

Elah, King of Israel, 405 .

Elam, prehistoric pottery of, 5 , 263 ; copper from, 130 ; British influence in, 357 ; caravan routes of, 361 .

Elamites, relations with early Sumerians, 111 ; defeated by Eannatum of Lagash, 118 ; raid on Lagash by, 121 ; Sargon of Akkad defeats, 127 ; Ur dynasty overthrown by, 131 ; in Hammurabi Age, 217 ; conquests of Warad-Sin and Rim-Sin, 217 ; King Sin-muballit's struggle with, 242 , 243 ; Medes and, 244 ; King of and Abraham, 247 ; in Syria, 247 ; driven from Babylonia, 249 ; in Kassite period, 274 , 370 , 380 , 381 ; connection of with early Assyria, 278 ; struggle for trade expansion, 361 et seq.; Babylonian raid, 369 ; during Solomon period, 391 ; Esarhaddon and, 472 ; Ashur-bani-pal subdues, 484 , 485 .

Elisha, call of Jehu, 409 , 410 ; call of Hazael, 410 , 411 .

Elves, the Babylonian, 67 ; as lovers, 68 ; origin of conception of, 79 , 80 , 292 ; like Indian Ribhus and Siberian "masters" 105 ; the European, Egyptian, and Indian, 294 ; human bargains with, 294 , 295 .

Enannatum I (en-an-num) of Lagash, defeats Umma force, 119 .

Enannatum II, King of Lagash, last of Ur-Nina's line, 120 .

England, the ancestral giant of, 42 ; spitting customs in, 47 ; return of dead dreaded in, 70 , 70 n.; Black Annis, the wind hag, 73 , 101 ; fairies and elves of, 80 , 186 ; the "fire drake" of, 151 ; "Long Meg" a hag of, 156 ; "Long Tom" a giant of, 156 ; pigeon lore in, 431 .

Enki (ānki), "lord of the world", Ea as, 31 . See Ea.

Enlil, god of Nippur and elder Bel, lord of demons, 35 ; spouse of, 36 ; in early group of deities, 37 ; like Indian Shiva, 38 ; deities that link with, 35 , 57 , 271 , 272 ; as destroyer, 62 , 63 ; "fates" as sons of, 80 ; Ur Nina worshipped, 116 ; as son of Ann, 124 ; as son of Ea, 139 ; Ninip as son and father of, 53 , 158 , 302 ; during Isis Dynasty, 132 ; astral "field" of, 147 ; Merodach directs decrees of, 149 ; as corn god, 159 ; monotheism of cult of, 161 ; temple of as "world house", 35 , 332 ; as bull and "high head", 334 ; Etana in heaven of, 166 ; also rendered Ellil. See Bel.

Enlil-bani (enlil-bi), King of Isin, a usurper like Sargon, 133 .

En-Mersi (en-mersi), a form of Tammuz, 116 .

Enneads, the Babylonian and Egyptian, 36 .

Entemena (en-temen-a), King of Lagash, Umma subdued by, 119 , 120 ; famous silver vase of, 120 ; worshipped as a god, 257 , 258 .

Ephod, the, used by David, 213 , 214 .

Ephron the Hittite, 12 .

Equinoxes, precession of, where law of discovered: Greece or Babylonia? 320 , 320 n., 322 .

Erech, Ann god of, 34 ; gods of become flies and mice, 41 ; destroying sun goddess of, 57 ; Ur-Nina and, 116 ; under Lagash, 119 ; an ancient capital, 124 , 125 ; rise of after Akkad, 129 ; moon god at, 130 ; in Gilgamesh epic, 172 et seq.; in revolt against Ashur-bani-pal, 484 ; Nabonidus and, 492 .

Eresh-ki-gal (eresh-kig), goddess of death, 53 ; Nergal husband and conqueror of, 53 , 54 , 204 , 205 , 303 ; as a Norn, 77 ; "Fates" as sons of, So; as wife of Enlil, 80 ; Germanic hag like, 95 ; punishment of Ishtar by, 96 , 97 ; as destroyer, 100 .

Eridu (eri-d, once a seaport, 22 , 25 , 38 ; Ea the god of, 27 ; sanctity of, 38 , 39 .

Eros, Greek love god, 90 .

E-sagila (e-si-la), Merodach's temple, 221 ; Hammurabi and, 252 ; in Kassite Age, 274 ; as symbol of world hill, 332 ; sacked by Sennacherib, 468 ; gods of Ur, Erech, Larsa, and Eridu in, 492 , 493 ; Xerxes pillages, 497 ; Alexander the Great repairs, 497 ; decay of, 498 .

Esarhaddon (esar-haddon), character of, 470 ; Babylonian wife of, 471 ; Egypto-Syrian league against, 471 , 472 ; Queen Nakia regent of, 472 ; alliance with Urartu, 473 ; sack of Sidon, 473 ; Manasseh's revolt, 474 ; invasion of Egypt, 475 ; revolt in Assyria, 476 ; successors chosen by, 476 ; death of, 476 .

Esau, Hittite wives of; 266 .

Etana (e-t, Zu bird myth and, 74 -76 ; quest of the "Plant of Birth", 164 , 165 ; flight with eagle to heavens, 165 , 166 .

Eternal goddess, the, husbands of die annually, 101 et seq.

Ethnology, folk beliefs and, xxvi .

Euphrates, the river, 22 ; as "the soul of the land", 23 ; rise and fall of, 24 ; as the creator, 29 .

Europe, lunar worship in, 52 ; Armenoid invasion of, 264 .

Evans, Sir Arthur, pottery finds by, 263 .

Evil eye, the, 235 , 236 .

"Evil Merodach", King of Babylon, 492 .

Evolution, in Babylonian religion, xxxiv .

Ezekiel, on fire-worshipping ceremony, 50 ; Tammuz weeping, 82 ; on ethnics of Jerusalem, 246 ; on Hittite characteristics, 266 ; Assyria the cedar, 340 , 341 ; the wheel of life symbol, 344 et seq.

Ezra, return of Jewish captives with, 496 .

Face paint, for the dead, 206 ; why used for dead, living, and gods, 212 .

Fafner dragon, 156 .

Fairies, the Babylonian, 67 ; origin of, 79 , 80 ; green like other spirits, 186 ; the European, Egyptian, and Indian, 294 ; human bargains with, 294 , 295 ; birds as, 429 .

Farm labourers, scarcity of in Babylonia, 256 .

Farnell, Dr., on pre-Hellenic religion, 104 ; on racial gods in Greece, 105 .

Fates, the birds as, 65 ,147 n., 427 n.,430 ; as servants of Anu, 77 ; moon as chief of the, 301 ; oldest deities as, 317 ; on St. Valentine's Day, 430 ; Aphrodite and Ishtar as, 433 .

Father, the Great, Anu as, 38 ; Ramman-Hadad as, 57 ; Apsu, the chaos demon as, 64 ; Osiris as, 99 ; shadowy spouse of, Too; nomadic people and, 105 ; worshipped by Hatti, xxx , 268 , 420 .

Father and son conflict; younger god displaces elder, Ninip and Enlil, Merodach and Ea, Indra and Dyaus myths, 158 ; Osiris and Horus, 159 ; in astral myths, 302 , 303 , 304 , 305 , 348 .

Feast of Dead, 206 .

Fig tree, in Babylonia, 25 :

Finger counting, in Babylonia and India, 311 et seq.

Finn-mac-Coul (finnmac-cool), as hero and god, 87 , 87 n., 88 n.; as mother monster slayer, 153 , 154 ; Beowulf and, 155 ; as a "sleeper", 164 , 394 ; water of life myth, 186 , 187 .

Finns, language of and the Sumerians, 3 ; of Ural-Altaic stock, 4 .

Fire, as vital principle, 50 , 51 ; fire and water ceremonies, 50 , 51 ; the ever-lasting fire in the sea, 50 , 51 ; the Babylonian "Will-o-the-wisp", 66 ; Eagle and, 169 ; the May Day, 348 ; ceremony of riddance, 349 ; Babylonian burnings, 348 ; Nimrod's pyre, 349 , 350 ; Tophet, 350 ; royal burnings in Israel and Judah, 350 , 351 .

Fire drake, the Babylonian, 66 , 151 .

Fire gods, the Babylonian and Indian, 49 .

First born, sacrifice of, 50 .

Fish deities, Sumerian Ea and Indian Brahma and Vishnu as, 27 , 28 ; in Eur-Asian legends, 28 ; Sumerian and Egyptian, 29 ; connection of with corn, 29 , 32 ; goddess of Lagash, 117 ; Western Asian fish goddesses, 277 , 418 , 423 , 426 ; dove symbol of, 431 , 432 ; Totemism and, 294 .

Flies, gods turn to, 41 .

Flood legend, the Babylonian, 24 , 55 , 190 et seq.; the Greek, 195 ; the Indian, xxvi , 196 ; the Irish, 196 ; the Egyptian, 197 ; the American, 197 , 198 ; the Biblical, 198 , 199 .

Folk cures, the ancient, 6 ,, 231 , 232 -234 .

Folk lore, mythology and, xxv , xxxiv , 42 , 151 et seq., 189 ; ethnology in, xxvi .

Food of death, 44 .

Food of the gods, 44 .

Food supply, religion and the, 42 , 43 .

"Foreign devils", the Babylonian and Indian, 67 .

Four quarters, the, in astronomy, 307 ; lunar divisions, 323 .

Fowl, inspiration from blood of, 48 .

France, skull forms in Dordogne valley, 8 ; Syrian railways of, 357 .

Frazer, Professor, xxv; "homogeneity of beliefs", xxvi; Adonis garden, 171 , 172 ; Hercules and Melkarth, 348 ; on Semiramis legend, 424 , 425 .

Frey (frī), the Germanic patriarch and corn god, 33 , 93 , 94 ; links with Tammuz myth, 95 , 116 , 204 .

Freyja (frīya), the Germanic eternal goddess, 102 ; lovers of, 102 .

Frigg, Germanic goddess, lovers of, 103 .

Frode (frōdē). See Frey.

Gabriel, Abraham rescued from Nimrod's pyre by, 349 , 350 .

Gaga (ga), messenger of Anshar, 143 .

Gallu (gl, as "foreign devil", 65 -67 .

Gandash (gdash), Kassite king, 271 .

Ganga (găng, the Indian goddess, as king's lover, 68 .

"Garden of Adonis", 171 , 172 .

Gardens, the Hanging, of Babylon, 220 .

Garstang, Professor, on fall of Hatti and god cult, 268 ; on Totemic Adonis boar, 293 , 294 ; Hittite Sandan disk, 348 .

Garuda (găr-oodă), Indian eagle god, Zu bird and, xxvi; myth of, 74 , 75 ; Etana eagle and, 165 ; sons of, 166 ; identified with Agni, Brahma, Indra, Yama, &c., t68 , 169 ; wheel of life and, 346 , 347 .

Gauls, Hittite raiders like the, 261 ; gods of and the Babylonian, 316 , 317 . Germ theory, anticipated by Babylonians, 61 , 234 .

Germany, double-headed eagle of, 168 ; the Baghdad railway, 357 .

Gezer cave dwellings, 10 ; cremation practised in, 11 .

Ghosts, "wind gusts" as, 48 , 49 ; associated with demons, 60 , 215 , 216 ; as birds, 65 ; as death bringers, 69 , 295 ; the terrible mothers, 69 ; where dreaded and where invoked, 69 , 70 ; Babylonian "night prowlers", 70 ; food required by, 70 , 212 , 213 ; Ishtar's threat to raise, 215 ; King of Cuthah and, 215 , 216 ; as "Fates" and enemies of the living, 295 ; worship of, 295 ; Orion and Jupiter as, 305 .

Giants, the British Alban, 42 ; the Babylonian, 71 ; graves of, 296 .

Gibil (gibil), fire god, Nusku and, 353 .

Gilgamesh (gilgmesh), the Babylonian Hercules, 41 ; revelation of ghost to, 48 , 49 , 183 , 184 ; quest of, 164 ; birth legend of, 171 ; eagle rescues, 171 ; lord of Erech, 172 ; coming of Ea-bani, 173 ; Ishtar's fatal love of, 174 ; "La Belle Dame Sans Merci", 174 , 175 ; Ishtar spurned by, 99 , 176 ; Ishtar's bull slain, 176 ; death of Ea-bani, 176 ; quest of Water of Life and Plant of Life, 177 ; the mountain tunnel and Sea of Death, 178 ; song of the Sea Lady, 178 , 179 ; reaches Pir-napishtim's island, 180 ; ancestor's revelation to and magic food, 182 ; plant of life, 183 ; Earth Lion robs, 183 ; Germanic gods and heroes and, 184 , 185 ; flood legend revealed to, 190 et seq.; Tammuz and, 210 ; Ashur and, 336 ; Persian eagle and, 493 .

Gillies, Dr. Cameron, on Scottish folk cures, 232 , 233 .

Gira (gira), the god, 42 .

Girru (girr, the fire god, 49 .

Gish B, the fire god, 49 .

Goat, inspiration from blood of, 48 ; demons enter the, 71 ; on Lagash vase, 120 ; the six-headed, 332 ; the satyr or astral goat man, 333 ; the white kid of Tammuz, 85 , 333 ; the Arabic "kid" star, 333 ; associated with Anshar, Agni, Varuna, Ea, and Thor, 329 , 333 , 334 ; forehead symbol of like Apis symbol, 334 ; Minerva's shield has skin of, 337 .

Goblin, the Babylonian, 66 .

God, the Dead, grave of Osiris, 296 ; also alive and in various forms, 297 . God cult, fusion of with goddess cult, 105 .

Goddesses, at once mothers, wives, and daughters of gods, 99 , 101 , 436 ; husbands of die annually, 101 et seq.; lovers of various, 102 ; of Mediterranean racial tribes, 105 ; Ishtar as "La Belle Dame Sans Merci", 174 -176 ; the Semiramis legend, 417 et seq.

Gods, Babylonian and Egyptian groups, 36 , 37 ; the younger and elder, 149 ; why Sumerian were bearded, 135 -137 .

Goodspeed, Professor, on early astronomy, 321 , 322 .

Gorgons, the, Tiamat and, 159 .

Graves, charms and weapons in, 206 ; as houses of dead, 206 , 208 ; of gods and giants, 296 .

Great Mother, the, forms of, 36 ; Hittite and Sumerian forms, 267 ; Anaitis, Ate, Cybele, Ishtar, Isis, Astarte, Ashtoreth, and Atargatis, 267 ; Kadesh, Anthat, and Danu, 268 .

Greece, spitting customs in, 46 , 47 ; blood drinking in, 48 ; wanton goddesses of, 104 ; imported gods in, 105 ; dragon myths of, 151 , 152 ; eagle connected with birth and death in, 168 ; flood legend of, 195 , 196 ; "Island of Blessed", 203 ; star myths of, 300 ; Babylonian culture reached through Hittites, 306 ; doctrine of world's ages, 310 et seq.; pre-Hellenic beliefs in, 84 , 104 , 317 ; astrology in, 318 et seq.; astronomy in, 316 , 319 et seq.; in pre-Phrygian period, 386 ; fusion of races in, 393 .

Greeks of Cilicia, Ashur-bani-pal and, 484 . See Ionians.

Green, a supernatural colour, 186 .

"Grey Eyebrows", a Gaelic hag, 87 ; myth of, 101 .

Gudea (ge-a), King of Lagash, sculptures, buildings, and trade of, xxiii , 129 , 130 ; bearded gods of, 136 .

Gula (gool, mother goddess, 100 ; Bau and, 116 ; feast of, 476 .

Gungunu (gg-, King of Ur, 132 .

Guns, called after giants "Long Meg" and "Long Tom", 156 .

Gutium (gium), northern mountaineers, 128 , 129 , 264 ; demons and, 307 .

Gyges (gȳjes), King of Lydia, emissaries of visit Nineveh, 483 , 486 .

Next: H-L

CHAPTER XX

The Last Days of Assyria and Babylonia

Doom of Nineveh and Babylon--Babylonian Monotheism--Ashur-banipal and his Brother, King of Babylon--Ceremony of "Taking the Hands of Bel"--Merodach restored to E-sagila--Assyrian Invasion of Egypt and Sack of Thebes--Lydia's Appeal to Assyria--Elam subdued--Revolt of Babylon--Death of Babylonian King--Sack of Susa--Psamtik of Egypt--Cimmerians crushed--Ashur-bani-pal's Literary Activities--The Sardanapalus Legend--Last Kings of Assyria--Fall of Nineveh--The New Babylonian Empire--Necho of Egypt expelled from Syria--King Jehoaikin of Judah deposed--Zedekiah's Revolt and Punishment--Fall of Jerusalem and Hebrew Captivity--Jeremiah laments over Jerusalem--Babylonia's Last Independent King--Rise of Cyrus the Conqueror--The Persian Patriarch and Eagle Legend--Cyrus conquers Lydia--Fall of Babylon--Jews return to Judah--Babylon from Cyrus to Alexander the Great.

THE burden of Nineveh . . . The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. . . . He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face. . . . The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved. And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be brought up, and her maids shall lead her as with the voice of doves, tabering upon their breasts. . . . Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the morter, make strong the brick-kiln. There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off. . . . Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them. There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?1

The doom of Babylon was also foretold:

Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth. . . . Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans. . . . Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail. Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the star-gazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them. . . . Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee.2

Against a gloomy background, dark and ominous as a thundercloud, we have revealed in the last century of Mesopotamian glory the splendour of Assyria and the beauty of Babylon. The ancient civilizations ripened quickly before the end came. Kings still revelled in pomp and luxury. Cities resounded with "the noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots. The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear. . . . The valiant men are in scarlet."3 But the minds of cultured men were more deeply occupied than ever with the mysteries of life and creation. In the libraries, the temples, and observatories, philosophers and scientists were shattering the unsubstantial fabric of immemorial superstition; they attained to higher conceptions of the duties and responsibilities of mankind; they conceived of divine love and divine guidance; they discovered, like Wordsworth, that the soul has--
An obscure sense
Of possible sublimity, whereto
With growing faculties she doth aspire.

One of the last kings of Babylon, Nebuchadrezzar, recorded a prayer which reveals the loftiness of religious thought and feeling attained by men to whom graven images were no longer worthy of adoration and reverence--men whose god was not made by human hands--
O eternal prince! Lord of all being!
As for the king whom thou lovest, and
Whose name thou hast proclaimed
As was pleasing to thee,
Do thou lead aright his life,
Guide him in a straight path.
I am the prince, obedient to thee,
The creature of thy hand;
Thou hast created me, and
With dominion over all people
Thou hast entrusted me.
According to thy grace, O Lord,
Which thou dost bestow on
All people,
Cause me to love thy supreme dominion,
And create in my heart
The worship of thy godhead
And grant whatever is pleasing to thee,
Because thou hast fashioned my life.1

The "star-gazers" had become scientists, and foretold eclipses: in every sphere of intellectual activity great men were sifting out truth from the debris of superstition. It seemed as if Babylon and Assyria were about to cross the threshold of a new age, when their doom was sounded and their power was shattered for ever. Nineveh perished with dramatic suddenness: Babylon died of "senile decay".

When, in 668 B.C., intelligence reached Nineveh that Esarhaddon had passed away, on the march through Egypt, the arrangements which he had made for the succession were carried out smoothly and quickly. Nakia, the queen mother, was acting as regent, and completed her lifework by issuing a proclamation exhorting all loyal subjects and vassals to obey the new rulers, her grandsons, Ashur-bani-pal, Emperor of Assyria, and Shamash-shum-ukin, King of Babylon. Peace prevailed in the capital, and there was little or no friction throughout the provinces: new rulers were appointed to administer the States of Arvad and Ammon, but there were no changes elsewhere.

Babylon welcomed its new king--a Babylonian by birth and the son of a Babylonian princess. The ancient kingdom rejoiced that it was no longer to be ruled as a province; its ancient dignities and privileges were being partially restored. But one great and deep-seated grievance remained. The god Merodach was still a captive in the temple of Ashur. No king could reign aright if Merodach were not restored to E-sagila. Indeed he could not be regarded as the lord of the land until he had "taken the hands of Bel".

The ceremony of taking the god's hands was an act of homage. When it was consummated the king became the steward or vassal of Merodach, and every day he appeared before the divine one to receive instructions and worship him. The welfare of the whole kingdom depended on the manner in which the king acted towards the god. If Merodach was satisfied with the king he sent blessings to the land; if he was angry he sent calamities.

A pious and faithful monarch was therefore the protector of the people.

This close association of the king with the god gave the priests great influence in Babylon. They were the power behind the throne. The destinies of the royal house were placed in their hands; they could strengthen the position of a royal monarch, or cause him to be deposed if he did not satisfy their demands. A king who reigned over Babylon without the priestly party on his side occupied an insecure position. Nor could he secure the co-operation of the priests unless the image of the god was placed in the temple. Where king was, there Merodach had to he also.

Shamash-shum-ukin pleaded with his royal brother and overlord to restore Bel Merodach to Babylon. Ashur-bani-pal hesitated for a time; he was unwilling to occupy a less dignified position, as the representative of Ashur, than his distinguished predecessor, in his relation to the southern kingdom. At length, however, he was prevailed upon to consult the oracle of Shamash, the solar lawgiver, the revealer of destiny. The god was accordingly asked if Shamash-shum-ukin could "take the hands of Bel" in Ashur's temple, and then proceed to Babylon as his representative. In response, the priests of Shamash informed the emperor that Bel Merodach could not exercise sway as sovereign lord so long as he remained a prisoner in a city which was not his own.

Ashur-bani-pal accepted the verdict, and then visited Ashur's temple to plead with Bel Merodach to return to Babylon. "Let thy thoughts", he cried, "dwell in Babylon, which in thy wrath thou didst bring to naught. Let thy face be turned towards E-sagila, thy lofty and divine temple. Return to the city thou hast deserted for a house unworthy of thee. O Merodach! lord of the gods, issue thou the command to return again to Babylon."

Thus did Ashur-bani-pal make pious and dignified submission to the will of the priests. A favourable response was, of course, received from Merodach when addressed by the emperor, and the god's image was carried back to E-sagila, accompanied by a strong force. Ashur-bani-pal and Shamash-shum-ukin led the procession of priests and soldiers, and elaborate ceremonials were ob-served at each city they passed, the local gods being carried forth to do homage to Merodach.

Babylon welcomed the deity who was thus restored to his temple after the lapse of about a quarter of a century, and the priests celebrated with unconcealed satisfaction and pride the ceremony at which Shamash-shum-ukin "took the hands of Bel". The public rejoicings were conducted on an elaborate scale. Babylon believed that a new era of prosperity had been inaugurated, and the priests and nobles looked forward to the day when the kingdom would once again become free and independent and powerful.

Ashur-bani-pal (668-626 B.C.) made arrangements to complete his father's designs regarding Egypt. His Tartan continued the campaign, and Taharka, as has been stated, was driven from Memphis. The beaten Pharaoh returned to Ethiopia and did not again attempt to expel the Assyrians. He died in 666 B.C. It was found that some of the petty kings of Lower Egypt had been intriguing with Taharka, and their cities were severely dealt with. Necho of Sais had to be arrested, among others, but was pardoned after he appeared before Ashur-bani-pal, and sent back to Egypt as the Assyrian governor.

Tanutamon, a son of Pharaoh Shabaka, succeeded Taharka, and in 663 B.C. marched northward from Thebes with a strong army. He captured Memphis. It is believed Necho was slain, and Herodotus relates that his son Psamtik took refuge in Syria. In 661 B.C. Ashur-bani-pal's army swept through Lower Egypt and expelled the Ethiopians. Tanutamon fled southward, but on this occasion the Assyrians followed up their success, and besieged and captured Thebes, which they sacked. Its nobles were slain or taken captive. According to the prophet Nahum, who refers to Thebes as No (Nu-Amon = city of Amon), "her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets: and they (the Assyrians) cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains".1 Thebes never again recovered its prestige. Its treasures were transported to Nineveh. The Ethiopian supremacy in Egypt was finally extinguished, and Psamtik, son of Necho, who was appointed the Pharaoh, began to reign as the vassal of Assyria.

When the kings on the seacoasts of Palestine and Asia Minor found that they could no longer look to Egypt for help, they resigned themselves to the inevitable, and ceased to intrigue against Assyria. Gifts were sent to Ashur-bani-pal by the kings of Arvad, Tyre, Tarsus, and Tabal. The Arvad ruler, however, was displaced, and his son set on his throne. But the most extraordinary development was the visit to Nineveh of emissaries from Gyges, king of Lydia, who figures in the legends of Greece. This monarch had been harassed by the Cimmerians after they accomplished the fall of Midas of Phrygia in 676 B.C., and he sought the help of Ashur-bani-pal. It is not known whether the Assyrians operated against the Cimmerians in Tabal, but, as Gyges did not send tribute, it would appear that he held his own with the aid of mercenaries from the State of Caria in south-western Asia Minor. The Greeks of Cilicia, and the Achns and Phnicians of Cyprus remained faithful to Assyria.

Elam gave trouble in 665 B.C. by raiding Akkad, but the Assyrian army repulsed the invaders at Dur-ilu and pushed on to Susa. The Elamites received a crushing defeat in a battle on the banks of the River Ula. King Teumman was slain, and a son of the King of Urtagu was placed on his throne. Elam thus came under Assyrian sway.

The most surprising and sensational conspiracy against Ashur-bani-pal was fomented by his brother Shamash-shum-ukin of Babylon, after the two had co-operated peacefully for fifteen years. No doubt the priestly party at E-sagila were deeply concerned in the movement, and the king may have been strongly influenced by the fact that Babylonia was at the time suffering from severe depression caused by a series of poor harvests. Merodach, according to the priests, was angry; it was probably argued that he was punishing the people because they had not thrown off the yoke of Assyria.

The temple treasures of Babylon were freely drawn upon to purchase the allegiance of allies. Ere Ashur-bani-pal had any knowledge of the conspiracy his brother had won over several governors in Babylonia, the Chaldns, Aramns and Elamites, and many petty kings in Palestine and Syria: even Egypt and Libya were prepared to help him. When, however, the faithful governor of Ur was approached, he communicated with his superior at Erech, who promptly informed Ashur-bani-pal of the great conspiracy. The intelligence reached Nineveh like a bolt from the blue. The emperor's heart was filled with sorrow and anguish. In after-time he lamented in an inscription that his "faithless brother" forgot the favours he had shown him. "Outwardly with his lips he spoke friendly things, while inwardly his heart plotted murder."

In 652 B.C. Shamash-shum-ukin precipitated the crisis by forbidding Ashur-bani-pal to make offerings to the gods in the cities of Babylonia. He thus declared his independence.

War broke out simultaneously. Ur and Erech were besieged and captured by the Chaldns, and an Elamite army marched to the aid of the King of Babylon, but it was withdrawn before long on account of the unsettled political conditions at home. The Assyrian armies swept through Babylonia, and the Chaldns in the south were completely subjugated before Babylon was captured. That great commercial metropolis was closely besieged for three years, and was starved into submission. When the Assyrians were entering the city gates a sensational happening occurred. Shamash-shum-ukin, the rebel king, shut himself up in his palace and set fire to it, and perished there amidst the flames with his wife and children, his slaves and all his treasures. Ashur-bani-pal was in 647 B.C. proclaimed King Kandalanu1 of Babylon, and reigned over it until his death in 626 B.C.

Elam was severely dealt with. That unhappy country was terribly devastated by Assyrian troops, who besieged and captured Susa, which was pillaged and wrecked. It was recorded afterwards as a great triumph of this campaign that the statue of Nana of Erech, which had been carried off by Elamites 1635 years previously, was recovered and restored to the ancient Sumerian city. Elam's power of resistance was finally extinguished, and the country fell a ready prey to the Medes and Persians, who soon entered into possession of it. Thus, by destroying a buffer State, Ashur-bani-pal strengthened the hands of the people who were destined twenty years after his death to destroy the Empire of Assyria.

The western allies of Babylon were also dealt with, and it may be that at this time Manasseh of Judah was taken to Babylon (2 Chronicles, xxxiii, 11), where, however, he was forgiven. The Medes and the Mannai in the north-west were visited and subdued, and a new alliance was formed with the dying State of Urartu.

Psamtik of Egypt had thrown off the yoke of Assyria, and with the assistance of Carian mercenaries received from his ally, Gyges, king of Lydia, extended his sway southward. He made peace with Ethiopia by marrying a princess of its royal line. Gyges must have weakened his army by thus assisting Psamtik, for he was severely defeated and slain by the Cimmerians. His son, Ardys, appealed to Assyria for help. Ashur-bani-pal dispatched an army to Cilicia. The joint operations of Assyria and Lydia resulted in the extinction of the kingdom of the Cimmerians about 645 B.C.

The records of Ashur-bani-pal cease after 640 B.C., so that we are unable to follow the events of his reign during its last fourteen years. Apparently peace prevailed everywhere. The great monarch, who was a pronounced adherent of the goddess cults, appears to have given himself up to a life of indulgence and inactivity. Under the name Sardanapalus he went down to tradition as a sensual Oriental monarch who lived in great pomp and luxury, and perished in his burning palace when the Medes revolted against him. It is evident, however, that the memory of more than one monarch contributed to the Sardanapalus legend, for Ashur-bani-pal had lain nearly twenty years in his grave before the siege of Nineveh took place.

Click to enlarge

ASHUR-BANI-PAL RECLINING IN A BOWER
Marble Slab from Kouyunjik (Nineveh); now in British Museum.
Photo. Mansell

In the Bible he is referred to as "the great and noble Asnapper", and he appears to have been the emperor who settled the Babylonian, Elamite, and other colonists "in the cities of Samaria".1

He erected at Nineveh a magnificent palace, which was decorated on a lavish scale. The sculptures are the finest productions of Assyrian art, and embrace a wide variety of subjects--battle scenes, hunting scenes, and elaborate Court and temple ceremonies. Realism is combined with a delicacy of touch and a degree of originality which raises the artistic productions of the period to the front rank among the artistic triumphs of antiquity.

Ashur-bani-pal boasted of the thorough education which he had received from the tutors of his illustrious father, Esarhaddon. In his palace he kept a magnificent library. It contained thousands of clay tablets on which were inscribed and translated the classics of Babylonia. To the scholarly zeal of this cultured monarch is due the preservation of the Babylonian story of creation, the Gilgamesh and Etana legends, and other literary and religious products of remote antiquity. Most of the literary tablets in the British Museum were taken from Ashur-bani-pal's library.

There are no Assyrian records of the reigns of Ashur-bani-pal's two sons, Ashur-etil-ilani--who erected a small palace and reconstructed the temple to Nebo at Kalkhi--and Sin-shar-ishkun, who is supposed to have perished in Nineveh. Apparently Ashur-etil-ilani reigned for at least six years, and was succeeded by his brother.

A year after Ashur-bani-pal died, Nabopolassar, who was probably a Chaldn, was proclaimed king at Babylon. According to Babylonian legend he was an Assyrian general who had been sent southward with an army to oppose the advance of invaders from the sea. Nabopolassar's sway at first was confined to Babylon and Borsippa, but he strengthened himself by forming an offensive and defensive alliance with the Median king, whose daughter he had married to his son Nebuchadrezzar. He strengthened the fortifications of Babylon, rebuilt the temple of Merodach, which had been destroyed by Ashur-bani-pal, and waged war successfully against the Assyrians and their allies in Mesopotamia.

About 606 B.C. Nineveh fell, and Sin-shar-ishkun may have burned himself there in his palace, like his uncle, Shamash-shum-ukin of Babylon, and the legendary Sardanapalus. It is not certain, however, whether the Scythians or the Medes were the successful besiegers of the great Assyrian capital. "Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery", Nahum had cried. ". . . The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved. . . . Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold. . . . Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts."1

According to Herodotus, an army of Medes under Cyaxares had defeated the Assyrians and were besieging Nineveh when the Scythians overran Media. Cyaxares raised the siege and went against them, but was defeated. Then the Scythians swept across Assyria and Mesopotamia, and penetrated to the Delta frontier of Egypt. Psamtik ransomed his kingdom with handsome gifts. At length, however, Cyaxares had the Scythian leaders slain at a banquet, and then besieged and captured Nineveh.

Assyria was completely overthrown. Those of its nobles and priests who escaped the sword no doubt escaped to Babylonia. Some may have found refuge also in Palestine and Egypt.

Necho, the second Pharaoh of the Twenty-sixth Egyptian Dynasty, did not hesitate to take advantage of Assyria's fall. In 609 B.C. he proceeded to recover the long-lost Asiatic possessions of Egypt, and operated with an army and fleet. Gaza and Askalon were captured. Josiah, the grandson of Manasseh, was King of Judah. "In his days Pharaoh-nechoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him; and he (Necho) slew him at Megiddo."1 His son, Jehoahaz, succeeded him, but was deposed three months later by Necho, who placed another son of Josiah, named Eliakim, on the throne, "and turned his name to Jehoiakim".2 The people were heavily taxed to pay tribute to the Pharaoh.

When Necho pushed northward towards the Euphrates he was met by a Babylonian army under command of Prince Nebuchadrezzar.3 The Egyptians were routed at Carchemish in 60s B.C. (Jeremiah, xvi, 2).

In 604 B.C. Nabopolassar died, and the famous Nebuchadrezzar II ascended the throne of Babylon. He lived to be one of its greatest kings, and reigned for over forty years. It was he who built the city described by Herodotus (pp. 219 et seq.), and constructed its outer wall, which enclosed so large an area that no army could invest it. Merodach's temple was decorated with greater magnificence than ever before. The great palace and hanging gardens were erected by this mighty monarch, who no doubt attracted to the city large numbers of the skilled artisans who had fled from Nineveh. He also restored temples at other cities, and made generous gifts to the priests. Captives were drafted into Babylonia from various lands, and employed cleaning out the canals and as farm labourers.

The trade and industries of Babylon flourished greatly, and Nebuchadrezzar's soldiers took speedy vengeance on roving bands which infested the caravan roads. "The king of Egypt", after his crushing defeat at Carchemish, "came not again any more out of his land: for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt."1 Jehoiakim of Judah remained faithful to Necho until he was made a prisoner by Nebuchadrezzar, who "bound him in fetters to carry him to Babylon".2 He was afterwards sent back to Jerusalem. "And Jehoiakim became his (Nebuchadrezzar's) servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him."3

Bands of Chaldns, Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites were harassing the frontiers of Judah, and it seemed to the king as if the Babylonian power had collapsed. Nebuchadrezzar hastened westward and scattered the raiders before him. Jehoiakim died, and his son Jehoiachan, a youth of eighteen years, succeeded him. Nebuchadrezzar laid siege to Jerusalem, and the young king submitted to him and was carried off to Babylon, with "all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained save the poorest sort of the people of the land".4 Nebuchadrezzar had need of warriors and work-men.

Zedekiah was placed on the throne of Judah as an Assyrian vassal. He remained faithful for a few years, but at length began to conspire with Tyre and Sidon, Moab, Edom, and Ammon in favour of Egyptian suzerainty. Pharaoh Hophra (Apries), the fourth king of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty, took active steps to assist the conspirators, and "Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon".1

Nebuchadrezzar led a strong army through Mesopotamia, and divided it at Riblah, on the Orontes River. One part of it descended upon Judah and captured Lachish and Azekah. Jerusalem was able to hold out for about eighteen months. Then "the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land. Then the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night by way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden." Zedekiah attempted to escape, but was captured and carried before Nebuchadrezzar, who was at Riblah, in the land of Hamath.

And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. . . . Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in chains and carried him to Babylon and put him in prison till the day of his death.2

The majority of the Jews were deported to Babylonia, where they were employed as farm labourers. Some rose to occupy important official positions. A remnant escaped to Egypt with Jeremiah.

Jerusalem was plundered and desolated. The Assyrians "burned the house of the Lord and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem", and "brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about". Jeremiah lamented:

How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and

princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary! She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies.

Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits. . . .

Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old. . . .1

Tyre was besieged, but was not captured. Its king, however, arranged terms of peace with Nebuchadrezzar.

Amel-Marduk, the "Evil Merodach" of the Bible, the next king of Babylon, reigned for a little over two years. He released Jehoiachin from prison, and allowed him to live in the royal palace.2 Berosus relates that Amel-Marduk lived a dissipated life, and was slain by his brother-in-law, Nergal-shar-utsur, who reigned two years (559-6 B.C.). Labashi-Marduk, son of Nergal-shar-utsur, followed with a reign of nine months. He was deposed by the priests. Then a Babylonian prince named Nabunaid (Nabonidus) was set on the throne. He was the last independent king of Babylonia. His son Belshazzar appears to have acted as regent during the latter part of the reign.

Nabonidus engaged himself actively during his reign (556-540 B.C.) in restoring temples. He entirely reconstructed the house of Shamash, the sun god, at Sippar, and, towards the end of his reign, the house of Sin, the moon god, at Haran. The latter building had been destroyed by the Medes.

The religious innovations of Nabonidus made him exceedingly unpopular throughout Babylonia, for he carried away the gods of Ur, Erech, Larsa, and Eridu, and had them placed in E-sagila. Merodach and his priests were displeased: the prestige of the great god was threatened by the policy adopted by Nabonidus. As an inscription composed after the fall of Babylon sets forth, Merodach "gazed over the surrounding lands . . . looking for a righteous prince, one after his own heart, who should take his hands. . . . He called by name Cyrus."

Cyrus was a petty king of the shrunken Elamite province of Anshan, which had been conquered by the Persians. He claimed to be an Achenian--that is a descendant of the semi-mythical Akhamanish (the Achenes of the Greeks), a Persian patriarch who resembled the Aryo-Indian Manu and the Germanic Mannus. Akhamanish was reputed to have been fed and protected in childhood by an eagle--the sacred eagle which cast its shadow on born rulers. Probably this eagle was remotely Totemic, and the Achenians were descendants of an ancient eagle tribe. Gilgamesh was protected by an eagle, as we have seen, as the Aryo-Indian Shakuntala was by vultures and Semiramis by doves. The legends regarding the birth and boyhood of Cyrus resemble those related regarding Sargon of Akkad and the Indian Karna and Krishna.

Cyrus acknowledged as his overlord Astyages, king of the Medes. He revolted against Astyages, whom he defeated and took prisoner. Thereafter he was proclaimed King of the Medes and Persians, who were kindred peoples of Indo-European speech. The father of Astyages was Cyaxares, the ally of Nabopolassar of Babylon. When this powerful king captured Nineveh he entered into possession of the northern part of the Assyrian Empire, which extended westward into Asia Minor to the frontier of the Lydian kingdom; he also possessed himself of Urartu (Armenia). Lydia had, after the collapse of the Cimmerian power, absorbed Phrygia, and its ambitious king, Alyattes, waged war against the Medes. At length, owing to the good offices of Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon and Syennesis of Cilicia, the Medes and Lydians made peace in 585 B.C. Astyages then married a daughter of the Lydian ruler.

When Cyrus overthrew Cyaxares, king of the Medes, Crsus, king of Lydia, formed an alliance against him with Amasis, king of Egypt, and Nabonidus, king of Babylon. The latter was at first friendly to Cyrus, who had attacked Cyaxares when he was advancing on Babylon to dispute Nabonidus's claim to the throne, and perhaps to win it for a descendant of Nebuchadrezzar, his father's ally. It was after the fall of the Median Dynasty that Nabonidus undertook the restoration of the moon god's temple at Haran.

Cyrus advanced westward against Crsus of Lydia before that monarch could receive assistance from the intriguing but pleasure-loving Amasis of Egypt; he defeated and overthrew him, and seized his kingdom (547--546 B.C.). Then, having established himself as supreme ruler in Asia Minor, he began to operate against Babylonia. In 539 B.C. Belshazzar was defeated near Opis. Sippar fell soon afterwards. Cyrus's general, Gobryas, then advanced upon Babylon, where Belshazzar deemed himself safe. One night, in the month of Tammuz--

Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein. . . . They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. . . . In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.1

Click to enlarge

PERSIANS BRINGING CHARIOTS, RINGS, AND WREATHS
Bas-relief from Persepolis: now in the British Museum.
Photo. Mansell

On the 16th of Tammuz the investing army under Gobryas entered Babylon, the gates having been opened by friends within the city. Some think that the Jews favoured the cause of Cyrus. It is quite as possible, however, that the priests of Merodach had a secret understanding with the great Achenian, the "King of kings".

A few days afterwards Cyrus arrived at Babylon. Belshazzar had been slain, but Nabonidus still lived, and he was deported to Carmania. Perfect order prevailed throughout the city, which was firmly policed by the Persian soldiers, and there was no looting. Cyrus was welcomed as a deliverer by the priesthood. He "took the hands" of Bel Merodach at E-sagila, and was proclaimed "King of the world, King of Babylon, King of Sumer and Akkad, and King of the Four Quarters".

Cyrus appointed his son Cambyses as governor of Babylon. Although a worshipper of Ahura-Mazda and Mithra, Cambyses appears to have conciliated the priesthood. When he became king, and swept through Egypt, he was remembered as the madman who in a fit of passion slew a sacred Apis bull. It is possible, however, that he performed what he considered to be a pious act: he may have sacrificed the bull to Mithra.

The Jews also welcomed Cyrus. They yearned for their native land.

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O

Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.1

Cyrus heard with compassion the cry of the captives.

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (he is the God) which is in Jerusalem.2

In 538 B.C. the first party of Jews who were set free saw through tears the hills of home, and hastened their steps to reach Mount Zion. Fifty years later Ezra led back another party of the faithful. The work of restoring Jerusalem was undertaken by Nehemiah in 445 B.C.

The trade of Babylon flourished under the Persians, and the influence of its culture spread far and wide. Persian religion was infused with new doctrines, and their deities were given stellar attributes. Ahura-Mazda became identified with Bel Merodach, as, perhaps, he had previously been with Ashur, and the goddess Anahita absorbed the attributes of Nina, Ishtar, Zerpanitum, and other Babylonian "mother deities".

Another "Semiramis" came into prominence. This was the wife and sister of Cambyses. After Cambyses died she married Darius I, who, like Cyrus, claimed to be an Achenian. He had to overthrow a pretender, but submitted to the demands of the orthodox Persian party to purify the Ahura-Mazda religion of its Babylonian innovations. Frequent revolts in Babylon had afterwards to be suppressed. The Merodach priesthood apparently suffered loss of prestige at Court. According to Herodotus, Darius plotted to carry away from E-sagila a great statue of Bel "twelve cubits high and entirely of solid gold". He, however, was afraid "to lay his hands upon it". Xerxes, son of Darius (485-465 B.C.), punished Babylon for revolting, when intelligence reached them of his disasters in Greece, by pillaging and partly destroying the temple. "He killed the priest who forbade him to move the statue, and took it away."1 The city lost its vassal king, and was put under the control of a governor. It, however, regained some of its ancient glory after the burning of Susa palace, for the later Persian monarchs resided in it. Darius II died at Babylon, and Artaxerxes II promoted in the city the worship of Anaitis.

When Darius III, the last Persian emperor, was overthrown by Alexander the Great in 331 B.C., Babylon welcomed the Macedonian conqueror as it had welcomed Cyrus. Alexander was impressed by the wisdom and accomplishments of the astrologers and priests, who had become known as "Chaldns", and added Bel Merodach to his extraordinary pantheon, which already included Amon of Egypt, Melkarth, and Jehovah. Impressed by the antiquity and magnificence of Babylon, he resolved to make it the capital of his world-wide empire, and there he received ambassadors from countries as far east as India and as far west as Gaul.

The canals of Babylonia were surveyed, and building operations on a vast scale planned out. No fewer than ten thousand men were engaged working for two months reconstructing and decorating the temple of Merodach, which towered to a height of 607 feet. It looked as if Babylon were about to rise to a position of splendour unequalled in its history, when Alexander fell sick, after attending a banquet, and died on an evening of golden splendour sometime in June of 323 B.C.

One can imagine the feelings of the Babylonian priests and astrologers as they spent the last few nights of the emperor's life reading "the omens of the air"--taking note of wind and shadow, moon and stars and planets, seeking for a sign, but unable to discover one favourable. Their hopes of Babylonian glory were suspended in the balance, and they perished completely when the young emperor passed away in the thirty-third year of his life. For four days and four nights the citizens mourned in silence for Alexander and for Babylon.

The ancient city fell into decay under the empire of the Seleucid Seleucus I had been governor of Babylon, and after the break-up of Alexander's empire he returned to the ancient metropolis as a conqueror. "None of the persons who succeeded Alexander", Strabo wrote, "attended to the undertaking at Babylon"--the reconstruction of Merodach's temple. "Other works were neglected, and the city was dilapidated partly by the Persians and partly by time and through the indifference of the Greeks, particularly after Seleucus Nicator fortified Seleukeia on the Tigris."1

Seleucus drafted to the city which bore his name the great bulk of the inhabitants of Babylon. The remnant which was left behind continued to worship Merodach and other gods after the walls had crumbled and the great temple began to tumble down. Babylon died slowly, but at length the words of the Hebrew prophet were fulfilled:

The cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it. . . . They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing. And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls. The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow: the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest.1

Footnotes

478:1 Nahum, i, ii, and iii.
478:2 Isaiah, xivi, 1; xlvii, 1-15.
478:3 Nahum, iii, 2, 3; ii, 3.
479:1 Goodspeed's A History of the Babylonians and Assyrians, p. 348.
483:1 Nahum, iii, 8-11.
485:1 Ptolemy's Kineladanus.
487:1 Ezra, iv, 10.
488:1 Nahum, iii and ii.
489:1 2 Kings, xxiii, 29.
489:2 Ibid., 33-5.
489:3 Nebuchadrezzar is more correct than Nebuchadnezzar.
490:1 2 Kings, xxiv, 7.
490:2 2 Chronicles, xxxvi, 6.
490:3 2 Kings, xxiv, 1.
490:4 2 Kings, xxiv, 8-15.
491:1 Jeremiah, lii, 3.
491:2 Jeremiah, lii, 4-11.
492:1 The Lamentations of Jeremiah, i, 1-7.
492:2 Jeremiah, lii, 31-4.
495:1 Daniel, v, 1 et seq.
496:1 Psalms, cxxxvii, 1-6.
496:2 Ezra, i, 1-3.
497:1 Herodotus, i, 183; Strabo, xvi, 1, 5; and Arrian, vii, 17.
498:1 Strabo, xvi, 1-5.
499:1 Isaiah, xxxiv, 11-4.
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