enter his dominions. This intelligence obliged him to raise the siege, and to march against the invader; but at his departure he sent a letter to Hezekiah, in which he threatened that Judah should be added to the many nations which his arms had reduced to the Assyrian empire. He soon returned to put his threat into execution; but a destroying angel, according to the figurative language of Holy Writ, to express the divine interposition, visited his camp and slew one hundred and eighty-five thousand of his soldiers.* This judgment compelled the arrogant tyrant to hasten back into his own country, where he exercised the most horrid cruelties upon his subjects, but particularly upon the captive Jews, in revenge for the disgrace which had befallen him in his attempt to reduce their country. His conduct became so odious and intolerable even in his own family, that his own sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, conspired against him, and murdered him as he was offering up his devotions in the temple of his god Nisroch.

This abominable act, however, seems to have

The most probable conjecture is, that this destruction was occasioned by the pestilential wind common in those countries, by the name of the Samiel, which, in passing over the deserts, is sometimes carried into the fertile provinces, and instantaneously slays both man and beast. It is observable, that even Herodotus had some knowledge of this catastrophe in the Assyrian army, though he has strangely misrepresented the real fact, as well as the name of the place: for he says, that while Sennacherib besieged Pelusium, immense numbers of rats and mice en. tered his camp in the night, and destroyed all the shieldstraps and bow-strings. The story is so remarkable as to be evidently a perverted account of the scripture rela. tion, which is of itself a far more probable circumstance.

given just offence to the Assyrians; for the parricides were constrained to fly into Armenia, to escape the expected punishment which their crime deserved. Esar-Haddon, or, according to Ptolemy, Assaradin, the blind son of Sen. nacherib, then ascended the throne. B. C. 710.

This prince possessed better qualities than his father, and was very kind to the captive Jews, whom that tyrant had so cruelly oppressed. He reigned for some years quietly, but towards the close of his life, the desire of conquest arose in his breast; and after adding Babylon to the Assyrian crown, he put an entire end to the kingdom of Israel, and sent Manasseh, king of Judah, in chains to Babylon.

Flushed with this success, he marched into Egypt and Ethiopia, which countries he subdued, and carried numbers of their inhabitants into captivity. While he was engaged in this war, his general Tartan laid siege to the strong city of Ashdod, or Azotus, and took it.

Having thus extended his dominions, and revived the glory of the Assyrian name, which had been greatly eclipsed in the reign of his predecessor, this great prince spent the remainder of his days in peace, and died in a good old age. B. C. 668.

He was succeeded by Saosduchinus, or Saosducheus, who is the Nebuchadnezzar of the sacred history. This Prince followed up the great designs of his predecessor, and gained many advantages over the Medes, whose king Phraoites he slew, after a hard-fought battle in the plain of Ragan. Elated with this victory, he marched into Media, and having reduced many strong places, carried by storm the famous city of Ec

After

batana, which he completely destroyed. this conquest he returned to Nineveh, where he celebrated his triumphs in a luxurious and splendid feast given to those who had attended him in his expedition, which feast lasted one hundred and twenty days.

The success of his arms swelled his mind to such a height of mad ambition, that he waged war against all the world, and began to regard himself as something more than mortal. In this fit of extravagance, he sent an army under Holofernes, with orders to put to death the inhabitants of every country who should resist his authority. The general appears to have been actuated by the same spirit as his master, for the cruelties which he committed struck terror among all the neighbouring nations. But the Jews had the courage to stand firm against the haughty Assyrian, and notwithstanding the ravages which he made, they defended their capital city, Bethulia, to the last extremity.

When all hopes of deliverance were lost, a beautiful lady, of a noble family, named Judith, accompanied by her maid, went out into the Assyrian camp, and being introduced to the general, he instantly became enamoured of her charms, and conducted her to his tent. At the entertainment which he gave out of respect to his fair visiter, Holofernes drank so freely, as soon to become inebriated, in which state he fell asleep. At this critical moment, when the company were all retired, Judith smote off the head of the general, and, putting it into a bag, went out of the tent, passed the guards, and returned safe to the city.

This act raised the drooping spirits of the

Jews, who, taking advantage of the consterna tion of the Assyrians, sallied out, and defeated them with great slaughter. This story is circumstantially related in the apocryphal book of Judith; but it must be observed that there seems to be quite as much of truth in it as there is in the account of Semiramis, by Ctesias, which we have already condemned. That there never was such a woman as Judith, we will not say, but that the story is in all particulars true, we cannot admit, because sacred and profane history are silent upon an incident too remarkable to have passed unnoticed. Besides, that which stamps improbability upon the tale, is the strange name given to the capital city of Judah, which occurs in no part of Scripture, nor any where

else.

B. C. 648.

Saosduchinus was succeeded by Chynaladan, or Sarac, whose character and reign agree so exactly with the story of Sardanapalus, as to prove that he was the same person. In his reign, the Medes, headed by Cynares, the son of Phraortes, revolted, and, after defeating the Assyrians in a pitched battle, laid siege to Nineveh; but while they were thus engaged, the Scythians entered Media, in consequence of which Cynares was obliged to make a hasty retreat into his own country, to repel the invaders. About the same time Natopolasser, a Babylonian, whom Chynaladan had placed at the head of his army, revolted, and took possession of the kingdom of Babylon. The king of Assyria, seeing nothing but enemies around him, and knowing how odious his conduct had rendered him to his subjects, collected all his wealth into a pile in his palace, and then set

fire to it, perishing with his whole family in the flames.

626.

The Assyrian monarchy did indeed subB. C. sist in some degree many years after this circumstance; but even the names of the succeeding kings have not reached us. We know nothing more of its history than that it was at last completely destroyed by the Medes and Babylonians.

During the first monarchy, Egypt, of which we have given a history in the first volume of this work, flourished, and claims the admiration of posterity on various accounts.

Next to the Egyptians, the Phoenicians were the most celebrated. Their skill in maritime affairs, their address and excellent policy in commercial concerns, have ever excited applause. Tyre, their chief city, was taken by Nebuchadnezzar, about the year 570 B. C. Pygmalion is well known as a Phœnician monarch, whose sister, Dido, built Carthage.

The kingdom of the Lydians flourished under the first monarchy, chiefly during the reign of Croesus, whose dominion was far extended over the regions of Asia, and who was considered as the richest king of his time.

This age produced Homer and Hesiod. To this period also must be referred the Sybils, women famous for their prophecies.

During the first monarchy, philosophy flourished in Egypt, and astronomy in Chaldea; and the celebrated cities of Nineveh and Babylon are the most decided proofs that the Assyrians and Chaldeans were well skilled in works of architecture and mechanics.