memory of a shameful life by a vainglorious death, he caused a vast pile to be raised, on which he burnt himself, together with his wives and treasures, 759 B. c.

Three empires shared the vast dominions of the successors of Ninus:-1. The Assyrian monarchy of Babylon, founded by Belesis, which, after lasting about 220 years, was conquered by Cyrus, 538 B. c.;—2. The ancient kingdom of the Ninevite Assyrians, perpetuated by Pul, and which, in little more than 130 years, was reunited to Babylon;-3. The state of the Medes, indebted for its independence to Arbaces, and which, becoming monarchical under Deioces, continued about 220 years, and was at last united to the vast empire of Persia.

It has been thought, and not without sufficient reason, that the enterprise of Belesis and Arbaces has been confounded with that of Nabopolassar and Cyaxares against Chynaladan, king of Assyria, and which will be treated of in the seventh century. It is certain that the revolution which destroyed Sardanapalus, called also Empacmes or Eupalis, did not entirely destroy the Assyrian empire; and that it scarcely did more than cause the dismemberment of several provinces, the chief of which were Babylon and Media. It would be useless to endeavour to reconcile the contradictory accounts which the ancients have transmitted to us of the last days of Sardanapalus. It seems, however, to be established by modern critics, that there were two persons of that name; that Nineveh was not destroyed; and even that Sardanapalus, surviving his degradation, resigned the government to the hands of his son Pul, and passed the remainder of his days in a luxurious retirement.

SECOND EMPIRE of Nineveh.-Pul, the first king of the new empire of Assyria, was the son of Sardanapalus, and is known to have interfered in the civil dissensions of the kingdom of Israel. His successors were steady in this course of policy, which was destined at no distant period to open the road to Egypt. He has been thought to be the Belus of profane history, and the founder of the Assyrian monarchy. Tiglath-Pileser, his son and successor, 747 в. c., a warlike prince, endeavoured to repair the losses which his territories had suffered during the last revolution; and, with this view, he invaded Palestine, destroyed the kingdom of Damascus, and transported the unfortunate inhabitants of that city into his own states, 740. Ahaz also, king of Judah, was compelled to pay him tribute. He died after a reign of nineteen years, and was succeeded by Shalmaneser (728), who surpassed the exploits of his father. Having completed the conquest of Israel, he led Hoshea into captivity, the last sovereign of that schismatical kingdom; and after reducing the various states of Phœnicia,

* See vol. xxi. of the Mémoires de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres.

he compelled their inhabitants to pay tribute. He died in 714, and was followed on the throne by his son Sennacherib, the Sargon of Isaiah. He began his reign by the invasion of Judea; but, while threatening Jerusalem, his army was smitten with pestilence or by the simoom ("the angel of death," as it is called by the Arabs), and 185,000 men perished in a single night. Rendered ferocious by his disgrace, he exercised the cruelest tyranny on his subjects. The Jews were particularly exposed to his anger. He daily massacred great numbers of them, and left their bodies in the fields without sepulture. Becoming odious to his family, his two elder sons conspired and slew him, 707 B. c.; but fleeing into Armenia, they left the throne to the youngest, Esarhaddon.

SECOND EMPIRE OF BABYLON.-Nothing is more obscure than the beginning of this empire, which, until the year 721, had no communication with the Jewish people. Belesis, generally considered as the first king of this new monarchy, was, according to Diodorus, merely governor of Babylon under Arbaces the Median. It is contended by many modern historians that he and his successor Nabonassar are one and the same person; an opinion which is scarcely tenable. The name of Belesis is not found in the list of Babylonian kings given by Ptolemy. Some writers believe that he formed the province into a sort of republic, with himself at its head, but dependent on the King of Nineveh. The actions of Nabonassar are entirely unknown, except that he is reported to have destroyed the monuments of his predecessors in the foolish hope of passing for the first king of the Babylonian nation. The epoch which bears his name, and which was adopted on the introduction of the Egyptian year, begins with 747 B. c.* Beyond their names we know but little of the next four kings, Nadius, Chinzirus, Porus, and Jugeus. These were succeeded in 721 by Merodach-Baladan, who formed an alliance with the King of Judah. After the disasters of

Sennacherib, Merodach endeavoured to rescue his kingdom from its state of dependence on Assyria; but in this he was unsuccessful, if we may judge by the weakness and disorder of the monarchy during the reigns of his five successors in the short space of seventeen years.

The reign of Nabonassar forms an important era in chronology. It was, according to Ptolemy, the beginning of the astronomical observations of the Chal deans. Hence, it fixes the date of what is commonly called Ptolemy's Astronomical Canon. The method of reducing the years of this era to that employed by Christian nations will be found in the Companion to the British Almanac, 1830.

LYDIA.

The Lydians were a Pelasgian race, originally called Mæonians, from their first monarch Mæon, the epoch of whose reign has been fixed at 1545 B. C. Three dynasties occupied in succession the throne of Lydia: the Atyades, the Heraclidæ, and the Mermnadæ. The traditions of mythology have placed a portion of the adventures of Hercules in that country; and assigned it as the birthplace of Marsyas, Tantalus, Pelops, Niobe, Arachne, and Omphale. A branch of the Heraclidæ succeeded the Atyades in 1232, and about 727 B. c. they were followed by the Mermnadæ, of whom Gyges, grandson of Mermnas, was the first, who dethroned and murdered Candaules. The history of the kingdom now began to separate from fable, as it gradually increased in riches and importance; and after the expulsion of the Scythians, who in the 7th century had invaded and temporarily possessed it, Alyattes ruled over the greater part of Asia Minor. A war soon afterwards arose between Media and Lydia, during which Babylon remained neuter, and acted as mediator in the contest. morable battle between the two nations was interrupted by a total eclipse of the sun, 30th September 601 B. C. Crœsus, before ascending the throne, had been associated with his father in the government. Wise but ambitious, he greatly extended the power of the kingdom, and reduced all the Greek colonies of Asia. Solon the philosopher, about 575, and the fabulist sop, were entertained at his court.* He declared war against the celebrated Cyrus, who had united the Median and Persian monarchies, 559 B. c.; but although assisted by Egypt and Babylon, he was unsuccessful; his capital, Sardis, was taken, and himself made prisoner, 546 B. C. The whole of the Lydian dominions fell into the hands of the conqueror, and the nation never recovered its independence.

A me

Tradition ascribes to the Lydians the invention of coined money, formed from the gold dust of the river Pactolus. They were celebrated for their purple garments, their skill in working metal, and their slave-markets.

ROME.

Origin of the Roman People.

At the period when history begins to throw a few rays of light upon the condition of Italy, we find it occupied by various tribes, speaking different

*The chronological objections to the celebrated interview between Croesus and Solon may be removed, if we suppose with Mr Fynes Clinton, that Croesus reigned jointly with his father Alyattes. See also Larcher's Note 73, lib. i of his translation of Herodotus.

C

languages, and in different degrees of civilisation. The Umbrians, who are supposed to have come from Illyria, had penetrated to the Tiber and occupied both its banks at a very remote era. Between them and the mouth of the river lay the Siculans; while in the Apennine chain, near Mount Velino, and at the Lake Fucino, dwelt a rude and barbarous people, known by the name of Casci or Aborigines (primitive inhabitants). To the east of these were the Sabines, whose original abode was the Abruzzi, on the summits of the Apennines. These people seized on the Umbrian territory, and, in lapse of time, extended their frontiers as far as Rome. At this epoch, long before the date of the fall of Troy, the Aborigines settled on the south of Umbria, and there built cities and towns. The Siculans and these mountaineers were continually at war; and after long and terrible combats, the Aborigines, assisted by some Pelasgian colonists under Evander, vanquished the Siculans, and compelled them to take refuge in Trinacria, which afterwards bore the name of Sicily. The Pelasgians received their share of the conquered lands; but were in their turn subdued and nearly exterminated about the middle of the 12th century B. C. The Aborigines remained sole masters of the country, and were the primitive source of the Latin people. They were called Latins, from their king Latinus. The poetical traditions relate that Æneas, who had escaped the flames of Troy, married Lavinia, the daughter of Latinus, and founded Lavinium. His son Ascanius is said to have built Alba Longa. Twelve princes reigned after him: Procas was the last. His sons Numitor and Amulius made war upon each other, and the latter triumphed; but he was driven from the throne by the two grandsons of Numitor, Romulus and Remus, whom the Romans supposed to be the offspring of Mars and the vestal Rhea Sylvia.

The researches of Beaufort and Niebuhr have shaken the credibility of the early annals of Rome. But critical scepticism may be carried too far; for the science of history consists not only in the knowledge of truths, but in a familiarity with all that has been related of the various nations which have figured in the world. An acquaintance with what the Romans themselves believed of the origin of the city is necessary to enable us to form a correct estimate of their character.

Consult: Arnold's History of Rome.

ROMULUS, 753.-The founder of Rome had been a shepherd in his youth. After having restored his grandfather Numitor to the throne, he settled, with some of his early companions, at a little distance from Alba, on the Palatine Hill, and probably on the ruins of a more ancient city. By making the new city an asylum for murderers and runaway slaves, the population increased. He established laws, divided the people into two classes-Patricians and Plebeians, and appointed a senate. At the close of a disastrous war with the Sabines, he was compelled to share his crown with Tatius, their king, though he soon again became sole monarch. After a reign of thirty-seven years he was murdered by the senators, who, fearful of the revenge of the populace, gave origin to the report that he had been carried up to heaven, and a temple was erected to him on the Quirinal Hill. Romulus had the good sense to adopt many Sabine customs. The Romans always

imitated this example with respect to the nations they conquered, and it was not the least cause of their renown. No people indeed ever rose to pre-eminent greatness with smaller pretensions to originality. They were indebted to the Greeks for every thing except their martial and republican spirit; while many of their laws, customs, and religious ceremonies, together with their system of notation, were borrowed from the Etruscans.

NUMA. An interregnum of a year followed the death of Romulus, after which the senate, fearing to hold the supreme authority any longer, chose a Sabine, named Numa Pompilius, for their king. As the former had made his people warriors, the latter taught them the arts of peace, framed a code of laws modelled on that of Lycurgus, and regulated the ceremonies of religious worship. He died after a reign of forty-three years, 672 B. C.

SEVENTH CENTURY.

JUDEA.-698, Manasseh.-641, Josiah.-611, Egyptian War.-606, The Captivity.

ASSYRIA.-667, Nabuchodonosor.-656, Holofernes slain.-607, Nebuchadnezzar's Campaigns.

MEDIA AND PERSIA.-733, Deioces.-655, Phraortes defeated at Ragau.-648, Scythian Invasion.-Zoroaster.

EGYPT.-671, Dodecarchy.-656, Psammetichus.-617, Necho-Africa circumnavigated.

GREECE.-685, Second Messenian War.-624, Draco-Ephori. ROME.-667, Horatii and Curiatii-640, Ancus Martius.-616, Tarquin the Elder.

LITERATURE.-Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel.-680, Tyrtæus.-600, Archilochus, Alcæus, Sappho, Epimenides.

JUDEA.

END OF THE Kingdom of Judah.-Manasseh (698), a youth of twelve years of age, subverted all the wise institutions of his father Hezekiah; he adored Baal and Moloch, and by his orders Isaiah was sawn asunder. During his long reign the Mosaic Law and the worship of Jehovah fell into contempt; and he thereby brought the heaviest misfortunes on himself and his people. Many prophets appeared, and vainly warned the nation of its impending ruin. Esarhaddon at length