Affoon as he was settled in the throne, he releas'd 3441. BeJechonias, king of Judah, out of prison, where he had been confin'd near feven and thirty years.

fore CHR 562.

2 Kings

Dan. xiv.

In the reign of this Evilmerodach, which lafted xxv. 27-but two years, the learned place Daniel's detection of 30.. the fraud practifed by the priests of Bel; the innocent artifice, by which he contriv'd to kill the dragon, which was worship'd as a god; and the miraculous deliverance of the fame prophet out of the den of lions, where he had victuals brought him by the prophet Habakkuk.

Evilmerodach render'd himself fo odious by his Berof. Medebauchery, and other extravagancies, that his gafthen. own relations confpired againft him, and put him to death.

3444. Be

560.

NERIGLISSA R, his fifter's husband, and AN.MUN. one of the chief confpirators, reigned in his ftead. Immediately on his acceffion to the crown, he fore CHR. made great preparations of war against the Medes, Cyrop.l.1. which made Cyaxares fend for Cyrus out of Perfia to his affiftance. This ftory will be more particularly related by and by, where we shall find that this prince was flain in battle, in the fourth year of his reign.

LABOROSOARCHOD, his fon, fucceed-AN.MUN. ed to the throne. This was a very wicked prince. 3448. Being born with the most vicious inclinations, he in- Ibid. dulg'd them without restraint when he came to the crown; as if he had been invested with foveraign power, only to have the privilege of committing with impunity the most infamous and barbarous actions. He reign'd but nine months; his own fubjects confpiring against him put him to death. fucceffor was

His

LABYNIT,

AN.MUN. LABYNIT, or NABONID. This prince had likewife other names, and in fcripture that of Belshazzar.

3449.

'Tis reasonably fuppofed that he was the son of Evilmerodach, by his wife Nitocris, and confequently grand-fon to Nebuchadnezzar, to whom, according to Jeremiah's prophecy, the nations of the east were to be fubject, as alfo to his fon, and his grandJer. xxvii. fon after him: All nations shall serve him, and his fon, and his fon's fon, until the very time of his land fhall come.

7.

Her. 1. 1.

Nitocris is that queen who raised fo many noble c.185, &c. edifices in Babylon. She caused her own monument to be placed over one of the most remarkable gates of the city, with an infcription, diffuading her fucceffors from touching the treasures laid up in it, without the most urgent and indifpenfable neceffity. The tomb remain❜d unopen'd till the reign of Darius, who, upon his breaking it open, inftead of thofe immenfe treasures he had flatter'd himself with, found nothing but the following infcription:

Dan.'c.vii.

IF THOU HADST NOT AN INSATIABLE THIRST AFTER MONEY, AND A MOST SORDID, AVARI

CIOUS SOUL, THOU WOULD'ST NEVER HAVE

BROKEN OPEN THE MONUMENTS OF THE DEAD.

In the first year of Belshazzar's reign, Daniel had the vifion of the four beafts, which represented the four great monarchies, and the kingdom of the c. viii. Meffiah, which was to fucceed them. In the third year of the fame reign he had the vision of the ram and the he-goat, which pre-figur'd the destruction of the Perfian empire by Alexander the great, and the perfecution which Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria, fhould bring upon the Jews. I fhall hereafter make some reflections upon these prophecies, and give a larger account of them.

Belshazzar,

Belshazzar, whilft his enemies were befieging Ba-Dan. c. v. bylon, gave a great entertainment to his whole court, upon a certain feftival, which was annually celebrated with great rejoicings. The joy of this feaft was greatly difturb'd by a vifion, and still more fo by the explication, which Daniel gave of it to the king. The fentence written upon the wall imported, that his kingdom was taken from him, and given to the Medes and Perfians. That very night the city was taken, and Belshazzar kill'd.

Thus ended the Babylonian empire, after having AN MUN. fubfifted two hundred and ten years from the destruc-3468. Betion of the great Affyrian empire.

The particular circumftances of the fiege, and the taking of Babylon, fhall be related in the history of Cyrus.

fore CHR.

536.

I

CHA P. III.

The hiftory of the kingdom of the Medes.

TOOK notice, when fpeaking of the deftruction AN.MUN.

of the ancient Affyrian empire, that Arbaces, ge-3257. Beneral of the Medes, was one of the chief authors offore CHR. the confpiracy against Sardanapalus: And feveral747writers believe, that he then immediately became foveraign master of Media, and many other provinces, and affum'd the title of king. Herodotus is not of this opinion. I fhall relate what that celebrated hiftorian fays upon the fubject.

The Affyrians, who had for many ages held the Herod. 1. empire of Afia, began to decline in their power by 1. c. 95. the revolt of feveral nations. The Medes first threw off their yoke, and maintain❜d for fome time the liberty they had acquired by their valour: but that liberty degenerating into licentiousness, and their government not being well established, they fell into

a

a kind of anarchy, worse than their former subjection. Injuftice, violence, and rapine, prevailed every-where, because there was no-body that had either power enough to restrain them, or a fufficient authority to punish the offenders. But all these disorders induced the people to fettle a form of government, which render'd the ftate more flourishing than ever it was before.

The nation of the Medes was then divided into tribes. Almost all the people dwelt in villages, when Dejoces, the fon of Phraortes, a Mede by birth, erected the state into a monarchy. This perfon feeing the great diforders that prevailed throughout all Media, refolved to take advantage of those troubles, and make them ferve to exalt him to the royal dignity. He had a great reputation in his own country, and pafs'd for a man, not only regular in his own conduct, but poffefs'd of all the prudence and equity neceffary for a governor.

As foon as he had form'd the defign of obtaining the throne, he laboured to make the good qualities that had been observed in him more confpicuous than ever: wherein he fucceeded fo well, that the inhabitants of the village where he lived made him their judge. In this office he acquitted himself with great prudence; and his fervices had all the fuccefs that was expected, for he brought the people of that village to live foberly and regularly. The inhabitants of other villages, whom the perpetual disorders fuffer'd not to live in quiet, obferving the good order Dejoces had introduced in the place where he prefided as judge, began to address themselves to him, and make him arbitrator of their differences. The fame of his equity daily increasing, all fuch as had any affair of confequence, brought it before him, expecting to find that equity in Dejoces, which they could meet with no-where else.

When he found himself thus far advanc'd in his

defigns, he judg'd it a proper time to fet his last en

gines to work for the compaffing his point. He therefore retired from bufinefs, pretending to be overfatigued with the multitude of people, that reforted to him from all quarters; and would not exercise the office of judge any longer, notwithstanding all the importunity of fuch as wifhed well to the public tranquillity. Whenever any perfons addrefs'd themfelves to him, he told them, that his own domestic affairs would not allow him to attend those of other people.

The licentiousness, which had been for fome time restrain'd by the management of Dejoces, began to prevail more than ever, affoon as he had withdrawn himself from the adminiftration of affairs; and the evil increas'd to fuch a degree, that the Medes were oblig'd to affemble, and deliberate upon the means of curing fo dangerous a diforder.

There are different forts of ambition: Some violent and impetuous, carry every thing as it were by ftorm, fticking at no kind of cruelty or murder: Another fort more gentle, like that we are fpeaking of, puts on an appearance of moderation and justice, working under ground (if I may fo fpeak) and yet arrives at her point as furely as the other.

Dejoces, who faw things fucceeding according to his wish, sent his emiffaries to the affembly, after having inftructed them in the part they were to act. When expedients for stopping the course of the public evils came to be propofed, the fe emiffaries, fpeak+ ing in their turn, reprefented, that unless the face of the republic was entirely chang'd, their country would become uninhabitable; that the only means to remedy the present disorders was to elect a king, who fhould have authority to restrain violence, and make laws for the government of the nation. Then every man could profecute his own affairs in peace and fafety; whereas the injuftice, that now reign'd in all parts, would quickly force the people to abandon the country. This opinion was generally apE prov❜d 3