The sun., 1916-01-09

cities, but IL can be called, for con. |
venience, Babylonan. He is some
what sceptical. too. about ascribing
to Babylonian influences theological
and political ideas, or drawing too
many inferences from analogies. par
ticularly with Hebrew and with Greek
traditions. Some myths are probably
derived from those of Babylon. and
many ideas must have been, especially
in the nations nearest TO 1t. but Mr..
King believes in caution. lie thinks
too much has been made Of the as
sumed astronomical knowledge OF the
Babylonians; this, he shows, devel-
| oped late in their history and much
of 1t was erroneous. though they al
ways dabbled in astrology. The dam
ger at present, as he points out, is
| to draw differences and to jump at
conclusions from similarities and anal
ogies with the new discoveries in the
Mesopotamian field. The temptation
is naturally greatest with the whole
domain of Old Testament study. which
has been SO notably enriched by the
immense mass of new information,
with the amplifcation and illumina-
ton Of what was previously known,
regarding the customs, manners, laws,
beliefs, worship. commerce and daily
life of the cognate peoples who were
the neighbors and the contemporaries
| OF the Jews.
Babylon was continuously the capi-
tai or the chief town OF the land be-
tween the rivers for two thousand
years. In the years preceding its SUI
premacy the political power shifted
about from one city to another within
a comparatively narrow range of ter
ritory: the capitals that took her
place: Seleucia. Ctesiphon. IIaghdad,
are all quite near. Mr.. King finds the
explanation In the geographical posi-
ton. which is of marked strategic inn
portance and was besides the meeting
point of great commercial roads. After
: the West Semitic kings had made her
their capital. the lIittitcs captured
and sacked the city. and II was TO be
expected that when the country re-
covered some other city would become
the centre. Yet it was within the
walls OF Babylon that the Kassite con-
querors established their headpuar-
ters. and it was To Babylon, long re-
, built and once more powerful, that the
Pharaohs Of the Eighteenth Dynasty
and the IIitt!te Kings OF Cappadoca
addressed their diplomatic correspond
ence. During Assyria's long struggle
= with the southern kingdom Babylon
= was always the protagonist and no
raid by Aramean or Chaldean tribes
, ever succeeded in oustng her from
her position" She lay just below the
Of hn ri an
the left bank of the Euphrates, which
| protected her from the desert tribes,
lat the meeting point Of the great ave-
nues Of commerce. The Euphrates
: route joined her to northern Syria and
. the Mediterranean and connected her
= with Egypt and with Cappadocia. The
t trunk route from Asia Minor strikes
e the Tigris and turns south TO Babylon
2 Ia third route went east through the
( easiest passes into the Persian lands
r So long as Babylon remained supreme
e the Persian Gulf with the swamps al
4, the mouths of the delta was a barrier
( for there was little trafflc by sea The
y rise Of that traffic in AleNander's time
( MIR. King regards as one cause %
$ Babylon's downfall. for the Tigris is
I deeper than the Euphrates and Offer
4 less difficulties TO navigation. VIII
p the shifting OF the successive capitai'
I To the Tigris. Babylon decayed rap
) idly and was n heap of ruins Ion!
II before the Moslem invasion.
; In his preface Mr.. King CALI
4 attention to the present campaign II
u Mesopotama the current newspaper
* are telling OF the fighting at kut
el-Amara. on the Tigris, in a straigh
i'd line across from Babylon. lie nigh
y. have put more emphasis on the fac
n that while Babylon. Assyria and III
i rest were fighting for the supremacy (,
l. what 20 them was the whole Civil.Zc'
le world. attacks were made on them D.
" out ide barbarians. Cimmcriuns, Scy
ty thians. Medcs and pors.anS, foreTuu
of ners OF the peoples that were Ia de
ne stroy that civilization and in time {
ly substitute for II that from which on
Of own has developed The excavation
- have revealed to MS, at all events tina
ID men four thousand years ago, NOR
TO than "A thousand years before tn
AT beginning of Greev" or Rome. or eve
" Israel. were living II life nearly as civ
ng ilized and conventional az our own,
o. due allowances are made, and thJ
of even the memory OF that liz" wa
to swept away.