PUL. tore CHR. The fcripture informs us, that Pul, king of Affy-AN.MUN. ria, being come into the land of Ifrael, had a thou-3233. Befand talents of filver given him by Menahem, king of the ten tribes, to engage him to lend him affistance, 2 Kings and secure him on his throne. This Pul is fuppofed to be the king of Nineveh, who repented with all his people, at the preaching of Jonah. He is also thought to be the father of Sardanapalus, the laft king of the Affyrians, call'd, according to the custom of the eaftern nations, Sardan-pul, that is to fay, Sardan, the fon of Pul. SARDANAPALUS. 771. XV. 19. Ath. 1. 12. This prince furpaffed all his predeceffors in effe- Diod. 1. 2. minacy, luxury, and cowardife. He never went p. 109out of his palace, but spent all his time amongst a 15. company of women, drefs'd and painted like them, p. 529-and employ'd like them at the diftaff. He placed 530. all his happiness and glory in the poffeffion of im- Juft. 1. 1. menfe treasures, in feafting and rioting, and in-c: 3 dulging himself in all the most infamous and criminal pleasures. He order'd two verfes to be put upon his tomb, when he died, which imported, that he carry'd away with him all that he had eaten, and all the pleasures he had enjoy'd, but left all the rest behind him. * Hæc habeo quæ edi, quæque exaturata libido Haufit: at illa jacent multa & præclara relicta. An epitaph, fays Ariftotle, fit for a hog. * Κείν Exwooo' éqazor, nai ἐξύβρισα, καὶ μετ ̓ ἔρωτος Τερπν ἔπαθον τὰ ἢ πολλὰ καὶ ὄλβια Tárra Mielas. Quid aliud, inquit Ariftoteles, in bovis, non in regis fepulchro, infcriberes? Arbaces, Arbaces, governour of Media, having found means to get into the palace, and with his own eyes feen Sardanapalus in the midft of an infamous feraglio, enraged at fuch a fpectacle, and not able to endure, that fo many brave men fhould be fubject to a prince more effeminate and womanifh than the women themselves, immediately form'd a confpiracy against him. Belefis, governour of Babylon, and feveral others, enter'd into it. On the first rumour of this revolt, the king hid himself in the inmost part of his palace, Being obliged afterwards to take the field with fome forces by him gather'd together, he was overcome, and purfued to the gates of Nineveh; wherein he shut himself, in hopes the rebels would never be able to take fo well-fortified a city, and stored with provifions for a confiderable time: In effect, the fiege lafted long. It had been declar'd by an ancient oracle, that Nineveh could never be taken, unless the river became an enemy to the city. These words buoy'd up Sardanapalus, because he look'd upon the thing as impoffible. But when he faw, that the Tigris by a violent inundation had 2 miles thrown down twenty * ftadia of the city-wall, and by &an half that means open'd a paffage to the enemy, he under * ftood the meaning of the oracle, and thought him felf loft. He refolv'd, however, to die in fuch a manner as, according to his opinion, should cover AN.MUN. the infamy of his fcandalous and effeminate life. He 3257. Be-order'd a pile of wood to be made in his palace, and fore CHR. fetting fire to it, burnt himself, his eunuchs, his 747 women and his treasures. Athenæus makes thefe treasures amount to a thousand myriads of talents of gold, and to ten times as many talents of filver, which, without reckoning any thing elfe, is a fum that exceeds all credibility. A myriad contains ten thoufand; and one single myriad of talents of filver is worth thirty millions, French money. A man is loft, if he attempts to fum up the whole value; which induces me to believe, that Athenæus must have very much exaggerated in his computation; however, we may be affured from his account, that the treasures were immenfely great. Plutarch, in his fecond treatife, dedicated to the P. 335, & praise of Alexander the great, wherein he examines 336. in what the true greatnefs of princes confifts, after having fhewn, that it can arife from nothing but their own perfonal merit, confirms it by two very different examples, taken from the hiftory of the Affyrians, which we are upon. Semiramis and Sardanapalus (fays he) both governed the fame kingdom; both had the fame people, the fame extent of country, the fame revenues, the fame forces, and number of troops; but they had not the fame difpofitions, nor the fame views. Semiramis, raifing her felf above her fex, built magnificent cities, equip'd fleets, arm'd legions, fubdued neighbouring nations, penetrated into Arabia and Ethiopia, and carried her victorious arms to the extremities of Afia, fpreading confternation and terrour every-where. Whereas Sardanapalus, as if he had entirely renounc'd his sex, spent all his time in the heart of his palace, perpetually furrounded with a company of women, whofe habit and manners especially he had taken, applying himself with them to the fpindle and the diftaff, neither understanding nor doing any other thing than fpinning, eating and drinking, and wallowing in all manner of infamous pleasure. Accordingly, a ftatue was erected to him, after his death, whereby he was represented in the pofture of a dancer, with an inscription upon it, in which he addrefs'd himself to the fpectator in these words, Eat, "Ee, i drink, and be merry; every thing elfe is nothing. Anve, appodeinfcription very fuitable to the epitaph he himself had case order❜d to be put upon his monument. Plutarch in this place judges of Semiramis, as almost all the prophane hiftorians do of the glory of conquerors. But, if we would make a true judgment of things, was the unbounded ambition of that τἄλλα ἐδέν. that queen much less blameable, than the diffolutenefs of Sardanapalus? which of the two vices did most mischief to mankind? We are not to wonder that the Affyrian empire fhould fall under fuch a prince; but undoubtedly it was not till after having pafs'd through various augmentations, diminutions, and revolutions, common to all states, even to the greatest, during the course of feveral ages. This empire had fubfifted above 1450 years. Of the ruins of this vaft empire were form'd three confiderable kingdoms; that of the Medes, which Arbaces, the principal head of the confpiracy, reftored to its liberty; that of the Affyrians of Babylon, which was given to Belefis, governour of that city; and that of the Affyrians of Nineveh, the first king whereof took the name of Ninus the younger. In order to understand the history of the fecond Affyrian empire, which is very obfcure, and whereof there is but little faid by hiftorians, 'tis proper, and even absolutely neceffary, to compare what is faid of it by the prophane authors with what we find of it in holy fcripture; that by the help of that double light we may have the clearer idea of the two empires of Nineveh and Babylon, which for fome time were separate and diftinct, and afterwards united and confounded together. I fhall first treat of this fecond Affyrian empire, and then return to the kingdom of the Medes. CHA P. II. The fecond Affyrian empire, empire, both of Nineveh and Babylon. T HIS fecond Affyrian empire lafted two hundred and ten years, reckoning to the year in which Cyrus, who was become abfolute master of the eaft by the death of his father Cambyfes, and his father father-in-law Cyaxares, publish'd the famous edict, whereby the Jews were permitted to return into their own country, after a feventy years captivity at Babylon. Kings of Babylon. BELESIS. He is the fame as Nabonaffar, from whofe reign AN.MUN. began the famous aftronomical epoch at Babylon, 3257. Becall'd from his name the era of Nabonaffar. In the fore CHR. holy scriptures he is call'd Baladan. He reign'd but 2 Kings twelve years, and was fucceeded by his fon, MERODACH-BALADAN. 747 XX. 12. This is the prince, who fent embaffadors to king Ibid. Hezekiah, to congratulate him on the recovery of his health, of which we shall speak hereafter. After him there reign'd feveral other kings at Babylon, Can. Ptol. with whose story we are entirely unacquainted. I shall therefore proceed to the kings of Nineveh. Kings of Nineveh. TIGLATH-PILESER. fore CHR. This is the name given by the holy fcripture to AN.MUN. the king, who is fuppofed to be the firft that reign'd 3257. Beat Nineveh, after the deftruction of the ancient Affy- 747. rian empire. He is call'd Thilgamus by Elion. Lib. 12. He is faid to have taken the name of Ninus the hit. anim. younger, in order to honour and diftinguifh his C. 21. reign by the name of fo ancient and illuftrious a pud Eufeb. prince. Caftor. a Chron. p. Ahaz, king of Judah, whofe incorrigible impiety 49; could not be reclaim'd, either by the divine favours 2 Kings or chastisements, finding himself attack'd at once by xvi.7,e. the kings of Syria and Ifrael, rob'd the temple of part of its gold and filver, and fent it to Tiglath-Pi lefer, |