ASSYRIAN ARCHÆOLOGY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14857, 11 June 1910, Page 5

ASSYRIAN ARCHÆOLOGY

RESEARCHES IN STRANGE COUN.TRIES. ' Br -Anthoot Hobmuzd Rassah, 11. On arrival at j Mosul, Mr Rassam learnt that the local authorities wero excavating at the mound of Nebee-Yonis, and that M. Place, tho Frcnch Consul at Mosul, was carrying on researches for tho Louvre at Khcrrsabad and in other parts of Assyria. Whilst there, an inhabitant of Nebee-Yonis .(that part of Nineveh adjoining tho mound of Koyunjik, supposed to contain tho tomb of the prophet Jonah), who was digging in. bis bouse, had come upon an Assyrian monolith, which afterwards proved to be one of tho huge human-headed-bulls. Mr Rassam managed to take copies of-this and an inficribsd marble tablet known as tho NebeeYonis inscription of Sennacherib, and sent thorn to Rawlinson to decipher. From its leading it appeared that this tablet gavo an official account of tho invasion by Sennacherib of Judea, Phoenicia, and Armenia, and of. the constant warfaro between him and tho Babylonians and Elamites. Until theso Tccords wore brought to light very little was known of Sennacherib, except from' tho mention of biro in Jewish Scriptures. Now we aro able to piece together a more or less consecutive account of his reign and exploits. Column I of this cylinder begins as follows " Sennacherib, the gTcat King, tho powerful King, King of Assyria, King of. tho Four Regions, tho appointed ruler, worshipper of the great gods, guardian of rifjht, lover of justice, maker of peace, going tlio right way, preserver of good, tho powerful prince, tho warliko hero, leader among kings, giant dovouring tho enemy, breaker of bonds. Asshur, tho great mountain, an empire unequalled has committed to me, and over all who dwell in palaoc3 has exalted my servants. From the upper sea of tho setting sun to tho lower sea of tho rising sun all the dark races ho has subdued to my feetj and stubborn kings avoided war, their countries abandoned, and like sudirmi birds, . . .

(undecipherable fled to deserted places." Then the. official account of ilia conquest of Babylon, translated from the original tablet, is as follows (I am not giving the full account of the translation, as it Would be too lengthy, but have mcroly supplied oxtrads, which will bo sufficient to Bhow the reader the gist of tho whole account)" I drew nigh to Eltron, and I slow the governors and princcs who had transgressed, and I hung upon poles their dead bodies; tho people of tho city who had done wickedly and •bad committed offences I counted as spoil, but those who had not done theso things I pardoned. I brought their king, Padi, forth from Jerusalem, and I stablished him upon tho throne of dominion over Lhem, and 1 laid tribute upon him. I then beseiged Hezekiah, of Judah, who had not submitted 4o my yoke, and I captured 46 of his strong cities and fortresses. • . . Hozekiah himself, like a bird, I shut up within Jerusalem, his royal city. The fear of tho majesty of my sovereignty overwhelmed Hezckiah , .

and 'he despatched after me his messenger to my royal city Nineveh to pay tribute and to make submission with 30 talonts of gold, 800 talents of silver, pre cious stones, eyo-paint . , , together with his daughters aud the women of his palace, and ninlo and femalo musicians.'!

I should now like tho reader to get his Biblo, and read the Hebrew account in II Kings, xix. Tho Hebrew account is disastrous for the Assyrians. Sennacherib's own account shows a successful invasion. Ido not wish tho reader to get tho idea that the Hebrew translation is false. It may refer to quite a different occasion altogether. At onyrate, Sennacherib's victory is not mentioned. But whereas tho Hobrew account mainly, depends, on records handed down from previous' times, tho translations from tho Assyrian tablets are the originals as actually written and read at the timo, about 700 B.C. Hence the enormous 'value of theso tablots of Assyria, and Uabyloit. How many of the clergy know tho history-' of' Sennacherib's Teign B.C. 705, until lie was murdered by his sons, B.C. 681? When they have read that chapter in .II Kings, xix, and preached 011 probably jußt one verse, have they over taken the trouble to inquire into tho circumstances "of his reign, officially written by llis own scribes, and tried, to tcach tlio congregation something further than tliey can read from the Holy Bible? In, most cases they depend solely on all tho Hobrew versions, which can obviously lja nothing more" than copies of an earlier generation. As I shall be compelled to •refer to this quostion again, and again during tho length of my discourso 011 tho different discoveries, I proceed now to continue with an account of further discoveries..

■Mr Rassam, on arrival at Mosul, coon set to work; busying himself by , carrying oii researches at Koyunjik (not'thoroughly examined by Sir Henry Layard and himself on tho former expedition), Nimroud, Kalaa-Shirgat, and other small mounds in Assyria proper, and in that part of Mesopotamia in tho vicinity of Mosul. Tho way he earned' on tho work was by always employing different gangs of Arabs, oadh composed of soven men, and sotting them to excavato some distanco from each other, .with an overseer to superintend tham. The gang, generally speaking, consisted of one digger, one basket-filler, and five basket-carriers, who carried tho dobris away from the tranches or tunnels; but the number of basket-carriors was somotimcs increased or diminished according to the distance tho rubbish had to be carried. .At Koyunjik Mr Rassam first camo upon fi-agmonts of sculptures, inscribed and painted bricks, ancient pottery and other debris- from Sennacherib's palnco, Tho deeper ho went, however, the more . perfect became the .. bas-reliefs, Among theso in. particular were eight bas-reliefs; almost perfcct in condition, stylo, and; finish. Two represented tho King .sitting-inn, hand chariot, drawn by two officers and two eunuchs, and tho head of tho shaft was ornamented with tHc figurehead of a horse. Three contained warriors, with uncovered heads, carrying vessels and maces. The three other slabs had fuir figures on them, malo and female musicians, with eunuchs wearing fish-tail long caps, tlio whole group bearing Assy•rinn instruments of music, such as drums, tambourines, dulcimers, and cymbals. Tho representation of the Ministers, who, seem to be walking beforo tho King, is remarkable for the splendid style of their dress.

Here, also,-Mr Rassam discovered, lying flat in the trench, a perfect obelisk made of vluto calcareous stone, witlh apex of three steps, It measured 9ft Gin high, and 6ft 3in round its square base. ' On cacli side thoro are eight small bas-reliefs. This relic (now in the British museum) bolonged to tho reign of Asslmi-Nagir-Pal, the father of Shalmaneser n, and represents tho various exploits of that monarch, who flourished,Bßs-860 b.c. Tho translation of the bas-reliefs, descriptive of the great victory of the Assyrians at Cargar, in the vicinity ot the Orontes, over the Phoenicians, is as follows:—". . . ,

Fourteen thousand of their warriors I slew with arms- like Adad, I rained a deluge upon them, I strayed hither ami yonder their bodies, I filled the face of the rains with their widespread soldiers."