PART I. judgment denounced against it by the Jewish prophets, and which we shall afterward see executed; a doom that had already overtaken Damascus and Samaria3, and which hung suspended over Jerusalem 33. Hezekiah, king of Judah, having withdrawn his allegiance from the emperor of Assyria34; and formed, for support in his rebellion, an alliance with the king of Egypt, Sennacherib, the son of Salmaneser, came against him with a strong army, and reduced many of his fortified towns35; notwithstanding the precautions he had taken to prevent the approach of the enemy, by desolating his country. Alarmed at this rapid progress, Hezekiah sent the Assyrian monarch a submissive embassy; and afterward a present of three hundred talents of silver, and thirty of gold, and agreed to pay the same sum annually for the holding of his kingdom36. Sennacherib accepted the money and the submission of the king of Judah; but afterward learning, it appears, his alliance with the king of Egypt, the Assyrian forces were ordered to invest Jerusalem37. In the meantime, the Egyptian army being put in motion, Sennacherib advanced against it, overthrew 32. That many of the predictions of the Jewish prophets led to their own completion, no man of sound understanding can doubt, after reading the sacred history; so many, indeed, that were we not taught to consider those holy men as the heralds of God's judgments, we might often suppose them the trumpeters of war, rebellion, usurpation, and the remote tauses of all the horrid consequences of such disorders; the murder of princes, the slaughter of armies, the desolation of kingdoms, and the sacking of cities. But as they were merely the organs of the will of Heaven, they must stand exempt from blame. 33. Isaiah, chap. xxix. ver. 1-8. 34. 2 Kings, chap. xviii. ver. 7. 35. Ibid. ver. 13. 36. 2 Kings, chap. xviii. ver. 14, 15, 16. In regard to the annual tribute, the words are express:" that which thou puttest on me, I IX. it; and after having ravaged Egypt, proposed to renew LETTER the siege of Jerusalem38. Hezekiah, however, was delivered from the danger that threatened him, by a burning blast from the Arabian desert, or a pestilential distemper, which broke out in the Assyrian camp; cut off great part of the army, and obliged Ant. Chr. Sennacherib to retire in disgrace to Nineveh39. This blast, or plague, is called, in the strong language of Scripture, the stroke of the angel of God4°. Esar-haddon, the son and successor of Sennacherib, having reunited, as formerly related', the kingdom of Babylon to the Assyrian empire, asserted his right of dominion over the kingdom of Judah; transplanted into Assyria the remainder of the inhabitants of the kingdoms of Israel and Damascus, and supplied their place with foreigners; took Manasseh the Jewish king prisoner, because of his defection; bound him with fetters, and sent him captive to Babylon42. Meanwhile the Assyrian monarch prosecuted his march toward the Nile, every where commanding unconditional obedience; reduced Azotus, and entered Egypt43. Having plundered that rich country, he returned loaded with prisoners and treasure, through the countries he had subjected to his sway. And finding, on his arrival at Babylon, Manasseh sufficiently humbled, he restored him to the tributary throne of Judah1⁄44. 38. 2 Kings, chap. xix. ver. 33. Isaiah, chap. xxxvii. ver. 18, 19, 33, 34. 39. 2 Kings, chap. xix. ver. 35, 36. Isaiah, chap. xxxvii. ver. 36, 37. 2 Chron. chap. xxxii. ver. 21. 42. 2 Chron. chap. xxxiii, ver. 11. Joseph. Antiq. lib. x. See also Prideaux, Connect. book. i. et auct. cit. 43. Id. Ibid. 44. Compare Joseph, et Prideaux, ubi sup. with 2 Chron. chap. xxxiii. ver. 12, 13. 710. Nabonass. æra 37. The PART I. The terror of the Assyrian arms being thus spread wide, and the Assyrian power exalted above that of every other people, the nations between the Euphrates and the Nile seem to have made no attempt to recover their independency for almost fifty years, after the expedition of Esar-haddon. During this period, however, the Egyptian monarchy, having gathered new strength, its sovereigns not only recovered what they had lost in Syria, but endeavoured to extend their dominion as far as the frontiers of Babylonia45. These circumstances naturally lead me to recal your lordship's attention to the affairs of Egypt. The history of this venerable kingdom was formerly brought down to the reign of Psammitichus46; one of the twelve chiefs, among whom the government was divided, after the anarchy that followed the death of Sethon47. The means by which he rose to power48, and the particulars of the revolution that gave him possession of the throne49, I shall now relate, according to promise, as an introduction to the second, and more credible part of the history of the Egyptian monarchy. Psammitichus, who kept his court at Sais, in Lower Egypt, and under whose jurisdiction was the sea-coast, seems to have been the first Egyptian prince that cultivated commerce, or who shook off the narrow prejudices of his country5°. The ancient Egyptians having a superstitious horror against maritime 45. 2 Kings, chap. xxiii. ver. 29. 47. Ibid. 49. Id. ibid. 48. Vid. Herodotus, lib. i. cap. 50. Herodot. lib. ii. Diod. Sicul. lib. i. If Sesostris endeavoured to overcome those prejudices, and enlarge commerce, as some authors give us reason to believe, his example seems to have had no influence upon his successors. affairs, IX. affairs, and being restrained by their religion from LETTER mingling with other nations, the foreign trade of Egypt had hitherto been carried on, and monopolized by the Phoenicians55; who submitted to many mean compliances for the favour they enjoyed, and yet were allowed to land only at the port of Naucratis, on the western branch of the Niles. Psammitichus encouraged the Greeks to visit his harbours, and enter into competition with the Phoenicians; while he took the utmost care to promote industry, and awaken a spirit of commerce among the people immediately under his government57. By this liberal policy, he so greatly increased in wealth and power, as to excite the jealousy of all the other Egyptian chiefs 58. They first confined him to his own district, as formerly observed, excluding him from any share în the general government of the kingdom; and afterward entered into a league for his destruction. In order to avert the danger that threatened him, Psammitichus naturally applied to the people with whom he was connected by trade, and who, consequently, were interested in his fortune. He was accordingly enabled to reinforce his native troops with a 55. Id. ibid. Strabo, lib. xvii. Plut. Isid. et Osir. This neglect of navigation on the part of the Egyptians, and their intimate connexion with the Phoenicians, in consequence thereof, enable us to account, in a satisfactory manner, why all the Egyptian emigrations of Greece, and the islands of the Ægean sea, were made from the coast of Phoenicia or from the Nile, in Phoenician vessels. Want of attention to these circumstances, has involved the narration of several historians, both ancient and modern, in much confusion, and bewil dered many antiquarians. 56 Herodot. ubi sup. 58. Id. ibid. 57. Diod. Sicul. lib. i. 59. Compare Herodot. lib. ii. with Diod. Sicul. lib. i. I have chosen, in general, to follow the account given by Diodorus of the revolu. tion accomplished by this prince, as being more consistent and probable than that of Herodotus. VOL. II. body PART I. body of Arabian mercenaries, probably in Phoenician pay. He was also furnished with a body of Ionians 670. Nabonass. æra 77. and Carians, from Asia Minor; and who, being clad in complete armour, were terrible to the Egyptians. Ant. Chr. With an army composed of these combined forces, he marched toward Memphis; totally defeated his antagonists, who were all either slain in battle or obliged to seek refuge in exile; took possession of that superb capital, and became master of all Egypt1. This revolution was accomplished, as formerly ob served2, in the year six hundred and seventy before the christian æra. Psammitichus, when seated on the Egyptian throne, adhered to the same maxims of policy that had contributed to his aggrandizement. He continued to cultivate commerce; opened his ports to all nations, but shewed particular favour to the Greeks63; formed an alliance with Athens and other Grecian states64; gave liberal encouragement to foreign emigrants and settled his Ionian and Carian auxiliaries on both sides of the eastern branch of the Nile, between Bubastis and Pelusium65. There confined to the profession of arms, conformable to the Egyptian polity, which obliged the son to follow the occupation of his father, these successful soldiers and their descendants long maintained their military character; and being joined by other adventurers of the same description, and employed as the royal guard, the Grecian mercenaries became the support of this prince and his successors in seasons of danger and tumult. 60. Diod. Sicul. et Herodot. ubi sup. 61 Id. ibid. 62. Lett. I. 63. Herodot. lib. i. Diod. Sicul. lib. i. 64. Diod. Sicul. lib. i. 65. Herodot. et Diod. Sicul. ubi sup. Yet |