The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-04-09

State. With ,AEad6 a. &c centre. followed
about 77O0 B. c. by the supremacy OF Ur'
whose rulers indicated by their title king
Of Sumner and Akkad" their Jurisdiction
over northern and southern Babylonia. The
supremacy OF Ur lasted till about 240O b. &.
By this time the hrst migratory wave had
spent IL force, and q reversion took place
70 the earlier state Of things, when n num-
Der Of independent prinoipalities existed
In the valley. Such old centres Of civiliza-
ton as Lagash, Isin, and Nippur regained
their Independence, until a now unifying
force appeared, brought about by a fresh
wave Of Semitic migration. The name
sCanaanitio- has been suggested for the
second wave, because the special type
OF Semitism represented by II bore close
resemblance 70 that which was afterward
10 be exhibited In Phonicia and In the
interior OF Palestine. Under the impact
OF this wave the political centre shifted
frst from Ilr 10 SlppaT. where, until the
days Of Hammurabi (about 1850 B. O.,
the members Of the Canaanitsh dynasty
appear to have established themselves,
and then, during the reign Of Hummurabi,
definitely TO the city Of Babylon, which,
with some Interruptions, was to retain
In the Euphrates valley, while It's religious
predominance was to outlast the political
career Of the Babylonian power.
Although establishing a State larger in
extent and more centralized than the older
kingdom Of Ur, the Canaanitish wave like
wise spent lts force In time. and the earliest
dynasty Of Babylon. after furnishing eleven
kings, who ruled about 800 years. was sue
oeeded by one that appears TO have come
from the extreme south, known a. the
"sea-land.' whose eleven kings maintained
themselves for a period Of more than $50
years. About 1850 B. c. Rabylonia was
conquered by a people coming from the
east and northeast. known as the Castles.
These Castles ruled Babylonia for $40 years,
absorbing the old civilization and retaining,
after some vacillation. the city OF Babylon
as their political and religious centre.
During the period Of their supremacy a
new wave Of Semitic migration entered
Babylonia, for which the name 'Aramean'
has been proposed. The most striking
outcome Of II was the formation Of new
political nucleus much further north,
destined ultimately TO become the kingdom
Of AssyTia, a far more formidable military
State than any established in Babylonia,
which, however, paid the penalty Of its
greater martial activity by e1hausting its
vitality while It's southern rival was still
hounshing, although at various periods
Babylonian rulers had been obliged 70 sub
init to the humiliation Of acknowledging
dependence upon Assyrian suzerains. IL is
we'll known that 9 new Babylonian Empire
was established by the 'Chaldean' Nebopo-
lassar in 626 B. C.. and that nineteen years
later Assyria fell. II was Nebopolassar's
son. Nebuchadne zzar IL, who made the city
Of Babylon, by its palaces, its temples,
its gates, its gardens and canals, one Of the
marvels Of antiquity.
Inasmuch as the physical environment
helps to explain the origin and develop
ment Of q particular civilization. Prof.
JUST deems II Of importance TO recall the
scenes in which the history Of Babylonia
was enacted. In the region between the
Euphrates and tbs Tigris were encountered
natural conditions similar 70 those pre-
sented in Egypt Here, too, a river swollen
by the snow melting in the highlands
threatened with destruction the hAndi-
work Of man. The waters Of the floods,
which In Babylonis begin in April and sub
side In June, had 10 be conducted into
the towns had TO be projected by terraces
Especially were such precautions neoes-
sary in the southern section Of the country.
In the northern portion numerous streams
watered the intermediate tract, but in
the south the land between the rivers
had to be irrigated mostly by artificial
means As Babylonia was destitute of
stone, the buildings erected by its inhabit-
D.. l., - - Il - ArfaA nr burnt fslay
The necessity Of recording the measure
ment and division Of the fields led to the
invention Of mode Of writing which at
first consisted Of pictures. but which was
at last converted into syllable script. As
the early records were scratched with
wood OF metal upon bricks or clay tablets
while these were still moist, the original
pictures gradually lost their distinotness.
! For the same reason the characters tended
20 aSs1me straight lines and 10 become
angular, or wedge shaped (cuneiform).
Prof. JUST devotes several pages 10 a
discussion Of the cuneiform writing, which
cannot here be reproduced; but we should
note one popularity. which occurs also
in the japanese. namely, the substitution
| Of one sound-value for another. The Assy-
Ran written language has foreign words
/ derived from the OlC ouuleTlhn OF Akhaulhns
The Assyrians retained the foreign char
acter. but substituted an Assyrian word.
II ia lust a. IL we should read in an in
| slant when lin a moment II written, OF
as the English write d. which was originally
the sign for a dsndrius, but read penny
The Babylonians and AssyriAns them
selves felt the difficulty and frequent am
| bieuity Of their system Of writing. Eventu-
ally. therefore, they provided syllabaries,
which have been discovered in the library
OF clay tablets Of King AsuTbanipah and
are now in the British Museum, These
syllabaries, composed by Babylonian and
! Assyrian scribes thousands Of years ago
as a practical means Of teaching the Ian
guaRe and the script TO the students OF their
time, still serve their purpose to-day, and
have proved invaluable In unlocking the
secrets Of Babylonian leXicogr1phy.
III.
In a chapter on Syria and Asia Minor
will be found condensed such information
/ M has bean collected in recent YEAR, CON