Norwich bulletin., 1916-06-16
THE WAR PRIMER By National Geographic scciety

Mesopctannia,s secrets-Isae strong offensive developed recently by Rus 1 sian forces operating against the des- perately resisting Turks northwest of Bagdad has awakened a world d-wide interest in this whole region of Mes op0tan1ia and particularly in the ruins of the great city of Nfneveh lying a probable battlefield during the Mus covite assault upon this mosleTn key to the upper valley of the historic river. Concerning the ancient capital of Assyria and the manner in which its buried secrets have been brought to light within very recent times, Albert q. Cary, professor of Assyriology and Babylonian literature at Yale Unfver- slty, has sent a communication to the National Geographic Society, part of which was released today from the societyss Washington Headquarters, as 3 war geography bulletin. Prof. Gary writes
 "One of the romances of the last 75 years has been the 1Tlearthing of the remains of forgotten empires and the Gecipherment of their ancient records. 4 little over a half a century ago what was known concerning isle ancient peoples of the nearer East, besides that which is contained in the Old Testament, could be written in very brief form.
 
 the great nations of antiquity. Abra- ham belonged to the dawn of civiliza- tion. The references to other peoples in the Old Testament had little mean ing, for few appreciated the fact that the history Of many pre- Israelitish na- tions had practically faded from the knowledge of man. Tlae pick and l spade of the explorer, however, and | the patient toll of the deciph6rer have thrown a food of light upon the sit- [ k.Ver4 I, Q l been opened tip to the light of day, out of which emerge marvellous revelations in the form of written records and oth@ I CT remains.
 | These, although written in Iangu- ages and scripts the very existence of which was unknown to man for two I thousand years or more, are now I forced to reveal their story of religion. politics, science and life of not a few of the ancient and forgotten peoples
 These researches have resulted in | astounding revelations. Israel, instead of being one of the foremost nations | of antiquity, is now found to have been a small power which had thrfved I in the late re-Christian centuries, and had occupied a comparatively in- signifieant position among tE1e great nations of the age. Instead of the patriarch Abraham belonging to the beginning of time, 1t is now found that he occupied a middle chapter in the history of mankind"
 I Prof. Cary tells of some remarkable documents found in the ruins of Nine. veh's Congressional library, where manuscripts were catalogued and ar. l ranged according to subject matter much as in our libraries of today One clay tablet discioses the fact that s.tft sweetest story ever to1d's was told win the same naive fervor five thousand II years ago as it is today. It is a low. CTS p1aint, thus expressed. ITO Bibea thus says Gimil Marlul: may the god
 Shamash and Mardak permit thee u
 I've forever for my sake. write ts
 inquire concerning thy health Tel
 me how thou art I went to BabyIon
 but did not see thee. I was greatl,
 disappointed. Send the reason for tn
 leaving, that I may be happy. Di
 come in the month of aIarchesvan Keep well always for my sake" Whether Bibea received this Tnfssiv from her SoicitouS Girnil is not known
 but she should have, for there was al
 elaborate post system in that day an, 1t Is known that there were regula s dispatches between some Of the Trin
 clpal cities. Among the large amour of material unearthed have been man,
 shipping tags made of clay. Thes
 have upon them the name and addres 3 of 7t1e party to whom the nerehan 5 disc was sent.
 , If all the atroctty charges raad
 
 the present world war were true an . were multiplied a hundred fold the would not reach the limits Of cruelt attained by the famous king of Nine ? veh, Ashur-na natsirpa1 III, whose oW [ accounts of his refinement of the al
 of torture have been uneaxthed re
 gently beneath the very plain wf1eT . Turk and Musc0vite are now battIin g for possession of the crad1eland Of civ e ilization. This king wrote eoncernsn s one of his campaigns:
 To the city Of Tela approache,
 The city was very strong. three fot : tress- walls surrounded it. The inhah Y itants trusted to their strong wall 2 and their numerous army; they d not come down or embrace my fee
 the city and captured it. Three thous
 and of their fighting men I slew vii i, the sword: their spoil their good :. their oxen and their sheep I carrie E away; many eaptives burned aIiv 2 captured many of their soldiea y alive: cut of the hands and feet {
 somes of others cut ofk the noses, u
 ears and the fingers: put out u s& eyes of many soldiers. I built Ifp pyraznid Of the living and a Dyran 2. of heads. On high I hung up the S headsson trees in the neighborhood ' the city. Their young men and the
 naideds burned with Ira. The city eTerthrew and dt1g 1t up, and burnt .o 1t with fire. annfhilated it'' < "A correspondent Of the Geograph = Society adds:
 as 'sEine ina gina+ton is staggered at u la very though Of that pyramid Of tl
 liVfugs gs-@hu1nas1 beings piled one tfpl
 anofher eufEocating. strangfng, perisl Iif ing slowly and msserasbly before tll nf other pyTa1nidso3 their moro fortuna ,S friends to whom death had come sp4f -S lyt and at thought 0k that nonst .s who not only cid t1ls but gIoEled ii l- and caused the story Of his bruta1i ae to be written s1ndeIibly upon the wa
 of h1s house 2