Early European History Part 11

[Ill.u.s.tration: AN a.s.sYRIAN RELIEF (British Museum, London) The relief represents the siege and capture of Lachish, a city of the Canaanites, by Sennacherib's troops. Notice the total absence of perspective in this work.]

DOWNFALL OF a.s.sYRIA, 606 B.C.

Although a.s.syria recovered from this disaster, its empire rested on unstable foundations. The subject races were attached to their oppressive masters by no ties save those of force. When a.s.syria grew exhausted by its career of conquest, they were quick to strike a blow for freedom. By the middle of the seventh century Egypt had secured her independence, and many other provinces were ready to revolt. Meanwhile, beyond the eastern mountains, the Medes were gathering ominously on the a.s.syrian frontier.

The storm broke when the Median monarch, in alliance with the king of Babylon, moved upon Nineveh and captured it. The city was utterly destroyed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE ISHTAR GATE, BABYLON Explorations on the site of Babylon have been conducted since 1899 A.D. by the German Oriental Society. Large parts of the temple area, as well as sections of the royal palaces, have been uncovered. The most important structure found is the Ishtar Gate. The towers which flank it are adorned with figures of dragons and bulls in brilliantly colored glazed tile.]

PARt.i.tION OF a.s.sYRIA

After the conquest of the a.s.syrian Empire the victors proceeded to divide the spoils. The share of Media was a.s.syria itself, together with the long stretch of mountain country extending from the Persian Gulf to Asia Minor.

Babylonia obtained the western half of the a.s.syrian domains, including the Euphrates valley and Syria. Under its famous king, Nebuchadnezzar (604-561 B.C.), Babylonia became a great power in the Orient. It was Nebuchadnezzar who brought the kingdom of Judea to an end. He captured Jerusalem in 586 B.C., burned the Temple, and carried away many Jews into captivity. The day of their deliverance, when Babylon itself should bow to a foreign foe, was still far distant.

12. THE WORLD EMPIRE OF PERSIA

CYRUS THE GREAT, 553-529 B.C.

Not much earlier than the break-up of the a.s.syrian Empire, we find a new and vigorous people pressing into western Iran. They were the Persians, near kinsmen of the Medes. Subjects at first of a.s.syria, and then of Media, they regained their independence and secured imperial power under a conquering king whom history knows as Cyrus the Great. In 553 B.C. Cyrus revolted against the Median monarch and three years later captured the royal city of Ecbatana. The Medes and Persians formed henceforth a united people.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE TOMB OF CYRUS THE GREAT The mausoleum is built of immense marble blocks joined together without cement. Its total height including the seven steps is about thirty five feet. A solitary pillar near the tomb still bears the inscription 'I am Cyrus, the King, the Achaemenian.']

CONQUEST OF LYDIA BY CYRUS, 546 B.C.

The conquest of Media was soon followed by a war with the Lydians, who had been allies of the Medes. The throne of Lydia, a state in the western part of Asia Minor, was at this time held by Croesus, the last and most famous of his line. The king grew so wealthy from the tribute paid by Lydian subjects and from his gold mines that his name has pa.s.sed into the proverb, "rich as Croesus." He viewed with alarm the rising power of Cyrus and rashly offered battle to the Persian monarch. Defeated in the open field, Croesus shut himself up in Sardis, his capital. The city was soon taken, however, and with its capture the Lydian kingdom came to an end.

CAPTURE OF BABYLON, 539 B.C.

The downfall of Lydia prepared the way for a Persian attack on Babylonia.

The conquest of that country proved unexpectedly easy. In 539 B.C. the great city of Babylon opened its gates to the Persian host. Shortly afterwards Cyrus issued a decree allowing the Jewish exiles there to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple, which Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed. With the surrender of Babylon the last Semitic empire in the East came to an end. The Medes and Persians, an Indo-European people, henceforth ruled over a wider realm than ever before had been formed in Oriental lands.

CAMBYSES, 529-522 B.C.

Cyrus was followed by his son, Cambyses, a cruel but stronghanded despot.

Cambyses determined to add Egypt to the Persian dominions. His land army was supported by a powerful fleet, to which the Phoenicians and the Greeks of Cyprus contributed s.h.i.+ps. A single battle sufficed to overthrow the Egyptian power and to bring the long rule of the Pharaohs to a close. [12]

DARIUS THE GREAT, 521-485 B.C.

The reign of Darius, the successor of Cambyses, was marked by further extensions of the frontiers. An expedition to the distant East added to the empire the region of the Punjab, [13] along the upper waters of the Indus. Another expedition against the wild Scythian tribes along the Danube led to conquests in Europe and brought the Persian dominions close to those of the Greeks. Not without reason could Darius describe himself in an inscription which still survives, as "the great king, king of kings, king of countries, king of all men."

[Ill.u.s.tration: DARIUS WITH HIS ATTENDANTS Bas-relief at Persepolis. The monarch's right hand grasps a staff or scepter, his left hand, a bunch of flowers. His head is surmounted by a crown, his body is enveloped in the long Median mantle. Above the king is a representation of the divinity which guarded and guided him. In the rear are two Persian n.o.bles, one carrying the royal fan, the other the royal parasol.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: ROCK SEPULCHERS OF THE PERSIAN KINGS The tombs are those of Darius, Xerxes, and two of their successors. They are near Persepolis.]

ORGANIZATION OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE

It was the work of Darius to provide for his dominions a stable government which should preserve what the sword had won. The problem was difficult.

The empire was a collection of many peoples widely different in race, language, customs, and religion. Darius did not attempt to weld the conquered nations into unity. As long as the subjects of Persia paid tribute and furnished troops for the royal army, they were allowed to conduct their own affairs with little interference from the Great King.

THE SATRAPAL SYSTEM

The entire empire, excluding Persia proper, was divided into twenty satrapies, or provinces, each one with its civil governor, or satrap. The satraps carried out the laws and collected the heavy tribute annually levied throughout the empire. In most of the provinces there were also military governors who commanded the army and reported directly to the king. This device of intrusting the civil and military functions to separate officials lessened the danger of revolts against the Persian authority. As an additional precaution Darius provided special agents whose business it was to travel from province to province and investigate the conduct of his officials. It became a proverb that "the king has many eyes and many ears."

PERSIAN ROADS

Darius also established a system of military roads throughout the Persian dominions. The roads were provided at frequent intervals with inns, where postmen stood always in readiness to take up a letter and carry it to the next station. The Royal Road from Susa, the Persian capital, to Sardis in Lydia was over fifteen hundred miles long; but government couriers, using relays of fresh horses, could cover the distance within a week. An old Greek writer declares with admiration that "there is nothing mortal more swift than these messengers." [14]

UNION OF THE EAST UNDER PERSIA

The political history of the East fitly ends with the three Persian conquerors, Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius, who thus brought into their huge empire every great state of Oriental antiquity. Medes and Persians, Babylonians and a.s.syrians, Lydians, Syrians, and Egyptians--all were at length united under a single dominion. In the reign of Darius this united Orient first comes into contact with the rising power of the Greek states of Europe. So we may leave its history here, resuming our narrative when we discuss the momentous conflict between Persia and Greece, which was to affect the course, not alone of Persian or Greek, but of all European history. [15]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Map, THE PERSIAN EMPIRE AT ITS GREATEST EXTENT (About 500 B. C.)]

STUDIES

1. On the map Physical Map of Asia, section 7. Physical Asia, topic Grand Divisions of Asia, see what regions of Asia are less than 500 feet above sea level; less than 3000 feet; less than 9000 feet; less than 15,000 feet; over 15,000 feet.

2. On an outline map of the Orient indicate eight important rivers, two gulfs, three inland seas, the great plateaus and plains, the princ.i.p.al mountain ranges, two important pa.s.ses, and the various countries and cities mentioned in this chapter.

3. On an outline map draw the boundaries of the Persian Empire under Darius, showing what parts were conquered by Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius, respectively.

4. For what were the following places noted: Jerusalem; Thebes; Tyre; Nineveh; and Babylon?

5. For what were the following persons famous: Hammurabi; Rameses II; Solomon; Cyrus; Nebuchadnezzar; and Darius?

6. Define and ill.u.s.trate these terms: empire, kingdom, province, tributary state, satrapy.

7. Ident.i.ty these dates: 606 B.C.; 539 B.C.; and 540 B.C.

8. Why was India better known in ancient times than China?

9. What modern countries are included within the limits of ancient Iran?

10. Why was a ca.n.a.l through the isthmus of Suez less needed in ancient times than to-day?

11. Can you suggest any reasons why the sources of the Nile remained unknown until late in the nineteenth century?

12. What is the origin of the name _Delta_ applied to such a region as Lower Egypt?

13. Comment on the statement: "Egypt as a geographical expression is two things--the Desert and the Nile. As a habitable country it is only one thing--the Nile."

14. Why did the Greek traveler, Herodotus, call Egypt "the gift of the Nile"?

15. Distinguish between Syria and a.s.syria.

16. What is the exact meaning of the words, _Hebrew_, _Israelite_, and _Jew_? Describe some features of a.s.syrian warfare (ill.u.s.tration, page 35).

17. What modern countries are included within the limits of the Persian Empire under Darius?