fetters and iron chains. The vengeance of Asur, king of the gods, reached them, and, because they had sinned against the commandments of the great gods, they experienced at their hands what my will had devised for them. [The city of Memphis],7 the city of Saïs, Mendes, Tanis, and all the cities which they had led away with them [I took by storm],7 (putting to death) both great and small.'

According to Oppert's view, here followed the account of the conquest of Egypt, the return of Tirhakah, his death, and the first exploits of his successor, Urdamaneh, who succeeded in reconquering Kemi, while he advanced as far as Lower Egypt. Thebes was still his capital. Sardanapalus marches against Egypt the second time, and defeats the army of Urdamaneh.

[Note by the Editor.]

[M. Oppert's comments, to which Dr. Brugsch refers, are too interesting not to be laid more fully before our readers. After the document III. (for he gives Brugsch's No. IV. before this) he proceeds (p. 72):—

The thirteen lines which follow relate the first campaign of Sardanapalus to the end. This part is, in general, too much mutilated to enable us to give the text; but we find that Tirhakah comes to Thebes, and conquers it again. Necho, now a prisoner in Assyria, obtains his pardon from Sardanapalus, and returns to Egypt; the Ninevite king giving him presents with the view of detaching him from the Ethiopian. Necho makes his entry into Saïs, and changes its name to Kar-Bel-mate (see the Note on p. 270). But an Asiatic governor watches over the Egyptian. Meanwhile a son of Necho, who also receives an Assyrian name, Nabu-sezibani, is raised to the kingdom over the city of Mahariba, which is likewise honoured with an Assyrian name, Limir-patisi-Asur, i.e. "which the lieutenant of Asur governs." The name of Nabusezibani is found in Jeremiah xxxix. 13, ¡“Nebo, deliver me!" "This inscription gives the complete sequence of the historical It alone gives an account of the first capture of Thebes by

events.

7 The phrases in brackets are supplied from the identical narrative in document III.-ED.

the Assyrians. This event, which the prism doubtless set forth with fuller details, was the result of the Ethiopian intrigues after the death of Assar-haddon. Tirhakah, in violation of the treaty, had killed, imprisoned, and spoiled the Assyrians who were left in Egypt. Sardanapalus marches against him, and joins in battle with him near the city of Karbanit. The Ethiopian, who had established his residence at Memphis, retreats on Thebes, whither the Assyrians pursue him. The Assyrians, after a forty days' march, reach Thebes and massacre its inhabitants.

"This part of the first campaign was contained in the lost portion of the prism. After the retreat of Tirhakah, Sardanapalus defeats Necho, and then follow the events forming the narrative which is preserved.

'The great document (No. II. above) tells us nothing about the sequel of this campaign. Then the document a (No. III.) continues the war of Sardanapalus against Urdamaneh, which we shall relate presently. Scarcely is Egypt pacified, when Tirhakah dies, and his step-son (his wife's son) Urdamaneh succeeds him. This king invades Egypt, and forces the Ninevite king to try the fortune of war a second time. Urdamaneh had penetrated as far as Memphis, whither Sardanapalus marches to attack him. Here is the sequel of the inscription, after a chasm of about 30 lines:

...

"In . . . of my expedition I directed my march. Urdamaneh heard of the advance of my expedition"-and so forth, as in the text, No. IV.'

We would also refer the reader to M. Oppert's reconstruction of the whole narrative about Tirhakah and Urdamaneh from the inscriptions (pp. 80, seq.) -ED.]

RECORD OF ASSURBANIPAL CONTINUED.

He

V. Urdamaneh heard of the advance of my expedition. [lost?] Me-luh-hi (Meroë) and Egypt, abandoned Memphis, and fled to Thebes to save his life. The kings, commanders, and satraps, whom I had established in Egypt, came to me and kissed my feet. I directed my march in pursuit of (lit. after) Urdamaneh. I came to Thebes, the city of his dominion. He saw the strength of my army, and left Thebes (and) fled to the city of Kipkip. Of

that whole city, with thanksgiving to (lit. in adoration of) Asur and Istar, my hands took the complete possession. Silver, gold, metals, stones, all the treasures of its palace whatsoever, dyed garments of berom and linen, great horses (elephants? Oppert), men and women, great and small, works of zaḥali (basalt ?) and marble, their kelal and manzas, the gates of their palace, their . . . I tore away and carried to Assyria. I made spoil of [the animals of the land] without number, and [carried them forth] in the midst out of Thebes. . . . of my weapons I caused a catalogue to be made [of the spoil]. I returned in safety to Nineveh, the city of my dominion.' 8

.

The first lines of another document, which stand in immediate connection with the inscription No. III., present unfortunately great gaps through obliteration. According to Oppert's acute researches, they contained the enumeration of the tributes and the booty, which the king of Assyria had carried away out of Egypt, as well as the account of the end of the campaign. Sardanapalus increased the tribute imposed by his father, and set up Necho's son, Nabu-sezibanni,1 as governor of the western districts of Mahariba (?) and Limirpatesi-Assur. Then the death of Tirhakah is touched upon, and the king continues his record as follows: 2

VI. 'The fear of the terror of Asur my lord carried off Tarquu, king of Ethiopia, and his destined night came. Urda

8 The narratives of the double capture of Thebes by Assurbanipal are of singular interest for the light they throw on the striking allusion to its fate in Nahum iii. 8-10, which had no known historical counterpart till the discovery of these records.-ED. 1 See above, p. 272.

9 The ẞ of Oppert, p. 87.

2 M. Oppert (p. 77) remarks on the perplexity caused by the use, in this document, of the 3rd person plural, instead of the 1st singular, as seeming to imply that the Assyrian king did not himself go to Thebes. We supply from Oppert's text the first sentence, which Dr. Brugsch omits.-ED.

maneh, the son of his wife,3 sat upon the throne, and ruled the land. He brought Ni (Thebes) under his power, and collected his strength. He led out his forces to make war and battle against my army, and he marched forth (lit. directed his step). With the invocation of Asur, Sin, and the great gods, my lords, (my warriors) routed him in a great and victorious battle, and broke his pride. Urdamaneh fled alone, and entered Thebes, the city of his kingdom.

'In a march of a month and ten days through intricate roads (my warriors) pursued him up to Thebes. They attacked that city and razed it to its foundations, like a thunderbolt. Gold, silver, the treasure of the land, metals, precious stones, stuffs of berom and linen, great horses, men male and female, . . . huge apes, the race of their mountains-without number (even for skilful counters), -they took out of the midst of the city, and treated as spoil. They brought it entire to Nineveh, the city of my dominion, and they kissed my feet.'

We have here set before us a remarkable portion of the history of Egypt, in this case not according to an Egyptian version, but in the contemporaneous description of her enemy. The conclusions, which we are justified in drawing from the contents of the cuneiform inscriptions, furnish us with the following data, as firm foundations for the reconstruction of the historical events of this time.

In the year 680 B.C. (according to Oppert's calculations), Sennacherib, king of Assyria, died, and Assarhaddon (Esarhaddon) succeeded in his stead. Towards the end of his reign (about 670 B.C.), Assarhaddon attacked Egypt, defeated the reigning king of

3 In this passage, on one of the cylinders, Urdamaneh is called 'the son of Sabaku,' from which it may be inferred that Tirhakah, after displacing Sabaco, married that king's wife (see Birch's Ancient History from the Monuments: Egypt, p. 169). This discovery affords another illustration of the disturbed and complicated relations between the Ethiopian kings of this period (comp. pp. 264, 277).-ED.

Ethiopia and Egypt, Taharaqa (Tarkuu), and set up petty kings (sar) and satraps in the land, from the northern sea-board to the city of Thebes. The complete list of these we have already laid before our readers. We have now to add that the king, on his return out of Egypt, had an immense memorial tablet constructed on the surface of the rock at the mouth of the Nahr-el-Kelb, in the neighbourhood of Beirout, near that of his father, as a monument of his victory over Tarquu. Henceforth Assarhaddon styles himself King of Muzur (Lower Egypt), of Paturusi (the Egyptian Patoris, Upper Egypt), and of Miluhhi (Nubia).'

6

Scarcely had this king died (668 B.c.), when Tarquu broke the treaties and seized the city of Memphis, while at the same time he made a league with several of the under-kings, who had been acknowledged or set up by Assarhaddon, for driving the Assyrians out of Egypt. At the head of the petty kings, as arch-conspirators, stood Nikuu of Memphis and Saïs, Sar-lu-da-ri of Zi'nu, and Pa-akru-ru of Pi-saptu.

The Assyrian satraps and the other adherents of the king, those who had been set up by Assarhaddon, were driven out, and fled to Nineveh, to ask protection and the punishment of king Tarquu. Sardanapalus V., the son of Assarhaddon, who had been meanwhile crowned as king, was not slow in acting upon his sense of indignation, and marched against Egypt with a great army. The further de

4 Assurbanipal, Sardanapalus VI. according to Oppert.-ED.