he had defired Marius to fend him a trufty perfon. Sylla, who was an officer of uncommon merit, and ferved under him as quæftor, was thought every way qualified for this negotiation. He was not afraid to put himself into the hands of the Barbarian king; and accordingly fet out for his court. Being arrived, Bocchus, who, like the reft of his countrymen, did not pride himfelf in fincerity, and was for ever projecting new defigns, debated within himself, whether it would not be his intereft to deliver up Sylla to Jugurtha. He was a long time fluctuating with uncertainty, and between a contrariety of fentiments: And the fudden changes which difplayed themfelves in his countenance, in his air, and his whole perfon, fhewed evidently how ftrongly his mind was affected. At length, returning to his firft defign, he made his terms with Sylla, and delivered up Jugurtha into his hands, who was fent immediately to Marius. (a) Sylla, fays Plutarch, acted, on this occafion, like a young man, fired with a ftrong thirft of glory, the fweets of which he has just begun to tafte. Instead of afcribing to the general, under whom he fought, all the honour of this event, as his duty required, and which ought to be an inviolable maxim, he referved the greatest part of it to himfelf, and had a ring made, which he always wore, wherein he was reprefented receiving Jugurtha from the hands of Bocchus; and this ring he ufed ever after as his fignet. But Marius was fo highly exafperated at this kind of infult, that he could never forgive him; a circumftance that gave rife to the implacable hatred between these two Romans, which afterwards broke out with fo much fury, and coft the republick fo much blood. (6) Marius entered Rome in triumph, exhibiting fuch a fpectacle to the Romans, as they could fcarce believe they faw, when it paffed before their eyes; I mean, Jugurtha in chains; that fo formidable an enemy, during whofe life they could not flatter themfelves with the hopes of being able to put an end to this war; fo well was his courage fuftained by stratagem and artifice, and his genius fo fruitful in finding new expédients, even when his affairs were most defperate. We are told, that Jugurtha run diftracted, as he was walking in the triumph; that after the ceremony was ended, he was thrown into prifon; and that the lictors were fo eager to feize his robe, that they rent it in feveral pieces, and tore away the (a) Plut, in vit. Marii, 103. Plut. ibid. tips (b) A. M. 3901. A. Rom. 645. Ant. J. C. • Ota viC pirótiμC, apri dinc | cirúxnua. Plot. Præcept, reip. gerend γεγευμένω, οὐκ ἤνεγκε μετρίως τὸ τ. 806. tips of his ears, to get the rich jewels with which they were adorned. In this condition he was caft, quite naked, and in the utmoft terrors, into a deep dungeon, where he spent fix days in ftruggling with hunger and the fear of death, retaining a ftrong defire of life to his laft gafp; an end, continues Plutarch, worthy of his wicked deeds; Jugurtha having been always of opinion, that the greateft crimes might be committed to fatiate his ambition, ingratitude, perfidy, black treachery, and inhuman barbarity. Juba, king of Mauritania, reflected fo much honour on polite literature and the fciences, that I could not, without impropriety, omit him in the hiftory of the family of Mafiniffa, to whom his father, who alfo was named Juba, was great grandfon, and grandfon of Guluffa. The elder Jaba fignalized himself in the war between Cæfar and Pompey, by his inviolable attachment to the party of the latter hero. He flew himself after the battle of Thapfus, in which his forces, and thofe of Scipio, were entirely defeated. Juba, his fon, then a child, was delivered up to the conqueror, and was one of the most confpicuous ornaments of his triumph. It appears from history, that a noble education was bestowed upon Juba in Rome, where he imbibed such a variety of knowledge, as afterwards equalled him to the most learned Grecians. He did not leave that city till he went to take poffeffion of his father's dominions (c). Auguftus reftored them to him, when, by the. death of Mark Antony, the provinces of the empire were abfolutely at his difpofal. Juba, by the lenity of his government, gained the hearts of all his fubjects; who, out of a grateful fenfe of the felicity they had enjoyed during his reign, ranked him in the number of their gods. Paufanias fpeaks of a ftatue which the Athenians erected in his honour. It was indeed juft, that a city, which had been confecrated in all ages to the Mufes, fhould give publick teftimonies of its efteem for a king, who made fo bright a figure among the learned. Suidas afcribes feveral works to this prince, of which only the fragments are now extant. He had writ the history of Arabia; the antiquities of Affyria, and thofe of the Romans; the hiftory of theatres, of painting, and painters; of the na ture and properties of different animals, and of grammar, &c. a catalogue of all which is given in Abbé Sevin's fhort differtation on the life and works of the younger Juba †, whence I have extracted these few particulars. D 4 (c) A. M.-3974. A. Rom.719. Ant. J. C. 30. In voce 'lócas. BOOK † Vol. IV. Of the Memoirs of the Academy of the Belles Letres, p. 457. BOOK THE THIRD. THE HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIAN S. THIS book will contain the hiftory of the Affyrian empire, both of Nineveh and Babylon, the kingdom of the Medes, and the kingdom of the Lydians. T CHA P. I. The firft empire of the ASSYRIANS. HE Affyrian empire was undoubtedly one of the most ration, two particular opinions have chiefly prevailed. Some authors, as Ctefias, whofe opinion is followed by Juftin, give it a duration of thirteen hundred years: Others reduce it to five hundred and twenty, of which number is Herodotus. The diminution, or rather the interruption of power, which happened in this vaft empire, might poffibly give occafion to this difference of opinion, and may perhaps ferve in fome measure to reconcile it. The hiftory of thofe early times is fo obfcure, the monu ments which convey it down to us fo contrary to each other, and the fyftems of the * moderns upon that matter fo different, that it is difficult to lay down any opinion about it, as certain and incontestable. But where certainty is not to be had, I fuppofe They that are curious to fee more of this matter may read the differtations of abbot Banier and Mr. Freret upon the Affyrian empire in the Memoirs of the Academy of Belles Lettres; for she firft, fee Tome 3, and for the other, Tome 5; as alfo what father Tourne mine bas wrote upon this subject in bis edition of Menochius. fuppofe a reasonable perfon will be fatisfied with probability; and, in my opinion, a man can hardly be deceived, if he makes the Affyrian empire equal in antiquity with the city of Babylon, its capital. Now we learn from the holy fcripture, that this was built by Nimrod, who certainly was a great conqueror, and in all appearance the first and most ancient that ever afpired after that denomination. (d) The Babylonians, as Callifthenes, a philofopher in Alexander's retinue, wrote to Ariftotle, reckoned themfelves to be at least of 1903 years ftanding, when that prince entered triumphant into Babylon; which makes their origin reach back to the year of the world 1771, that is to fay, 115 years after the deluge. This computation comes within a few years of the time we fuppofe Nimrod to have founded that city. Indeed this teftimony of Callisthenes, as it does not agree with any other accounts of that matter, is not efteemed authentick by the learned; but the conformity we find between that and the holy fcriptures fhould make us regard it. Upon thefe grounds I think we may allow Nimrod to have been the founder of the firft Affyrian empire, which fubfifted with more or lefs extent and glory upwards of * 1450 years, from the time of Nimrod to that of Sardanapalus, the lat king, that is to say, from the year of the world 1800 to the year 3257. (e) NIMROD. He is the fame with + Belus, who was afterwards worshipped as a god under that appellation. He was the fon of Chus, grandfon of Cham, and great grandfon of Noah. He was, fays the fcripture, a mighty bunter before the Lord (f). In applying himself to this laborious and dangerous exercife he had two things in view; the first was, to gain the people's affection, by delivering them from the fury and dread of wild beafts; the next was, to train up numbers of young people by this exercife of hunting to endure labour and hardship, to form them to the use of armis, to inure them to a kind of discipline and obedience, that at a proper time after they had been accustomed to his orders, and feasoned in arms, he might make use of them for other pur-poses more serious than hunting. D5 (d) Porphyr, apud Simplic. in lib. ii, de cœlo. Ant. J. C. 2204. (f) Gen. x. 9. Here I depart from the opinion of bifbop Ufper, my ordinary guide, with refpect to the duration of the Affyrian empire, which be fuppofes, with Hero In (e) A. M. 1830. dotus, to have lafted but 520 years; In ancient hiftory we find fome footsteps remaini artifice of Nimrod, whom the writers have confoun Ninus, his fon (g): For Diodorus has thefe words "the most ancient of the Affyrian kings mentioned i "performed great actions. Being naturally of a wa "pofition, and ambitious of glory that refults from "he armed a confiderable number of young men, "brave and vigorous, like himself; trained them "time in laborious exercifes and hardships, and means accustomed them to bear the fatigues of war ly, and to face dangers with courage and intrepidis (b) What the fame author adds, that Ninus entered alliance with the king of the Arabs, and joined fore him, is a piece of ancient tradition, which informs the fons of Chus, and by confequence the brothers o rod, all fettled themfelves in Arabia, along the Perfial from Havila to the Ocean, and lived near enough the ther to lend him fuccours, or to receive them from hin what the fame hiftorian further fays of Ninus, that he v hrt king of the Affyrians, agrees exactly with what the ture fays of Nimrod, that he began to be mighty upon the that is, he procured himself fettlements, built cities, fu his neighbours, united different people under one and the authority, by the band of the fame polity and the fame and formed them into one flate; which for thofe early was of a confiderable extent, though bounded by the Euphrates and Tigris; and which in fucceeding ages new acquifitions by degrees, and at length extended its quefts very far. (i) The capital city of his kingdom, fays the feripture, Babylon. Most of the prophane hiftorians afcribe the found of Babylon to Semiramis, the reft to Belus. It is vifi that both the one and the other are mistaken, if they fpea the first founding of that city; for it owes its beginning ther to Semiramis, nor to Nimrod, but to the foolish vanity thofe perfons mentioned in fcripture (k), who defired to b a tower and a city, that fhould render their memory immorta (1) Jofephus relates, upon the teftimony of a Sibyl (wh must have been very ancient, and whofe fictions cannot be i puted to the indifcreet zeal of any Chriftians) that the go threw down the tower by an impetuous wind, or a viole (g) Lib. li. p. 90. (1) Hift. Jud. 1. i, c. 4. hu (4) Gen. xi, * Semiramis eam condiderat, vel, ut plerique tradidere, Belus, cujus regi oftenditur. 2, Curt. lib, v. c. I. |