Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-12-02
The Outline of History-By H. G. Wells
I. The Romance of Mother Earth
38-THE AsSYRIANS A NATION OF WAR
RIORS


RIORS
TIGHER up the Tigrs, above the clay
II lands and with easy supplies of work
able stone, Semitic people, the AS
syrians, while the Sumerians were still In
conquered by the Semites, were settling about
a number of cities Of which Assur and Nine
veh were the chief Their peculiar physi-
ognomy. the long nose and thick lips, was
very like that of the commoner type of Pol
lish Jew today. They wore great boards and
ringletted long hair tall caps and long robes.
First to Use the Horse and Chariot
They were constantly engaged in mutual
raiding with the Hittites to the west; they
were conquered by Sargon ]. and beaama
free again; a certain Tushratta, King Of
Mitanni, to the northwest captured and held
their capital, Nineveh, for a time, they in
trigued with Egypt against Babylon and
were in the pay of Egypt; they developed the
military art to a very high PITCH and be-
came mighty raiders and exacters Of tribute;
and at last adopting the horse and the war
chariot, they settled accounts for time with
the, Hittites, and then, under Tiglath Pile
ser l., conquered Babylon for themselves
(about LOO B. CO..
But their hold on the lower, older and
more civilized land was not secure, and Nine
veh, the stone city, as distinguished from
Babylon, the brick city, remained their capt.
tai. For many centuries power swayed be-
tween Nineyeh and Babylon, and sometimes
1T was an Assyrian and sometimes a Baby
lonian who claimed to be liking of the
world"
For four centuries Assyria was restrained
from expansion owards Egypt by a fresh
lam
other group of Semitic peoples, the Ara
means, whose chief city was Damascus and
whose descendants are the Syrians of today
(There is, we may note, no connection what
ever between the words Assyrian and Syrian.
1t is an accidental Similarity Across these
Syrians the Assyrian kings fought for power
and expansion southwestward.
Deportation of the "LOst Tribes of Israel
In 745 B. G. arose another Tiglath Pileser,
Tiglath Pileser Ill, the Tiglath Pileser of the
Bible. He not only directed the transfer of
the 1sraeltes to Media (the "Iost Ten
Tribes" whose ultimate fate has exercised so
many curious minds) but he conquered and
ruled Babylon, so founding what historians
know as the New Assyrian Empire. His son,
Shalmaneser w., died during the siege of
Samaria, and was succeeded by a usurper,
who, no doubt to flatter Babylonan suscepti-
bllities, took the ancient Akkadian Sumerian
name of Sargon, Sargon II. He seems to
have armed the Assyrian forces for the first
time with iron weapons. 1t was probably
Sargon II, who actually carried out the de-
portation of the Ten Tribes.
Such shiftings about of population became
a very distinctive part of the political
methods Ct the Assyrian new empire. Whole
nations who were difficult to control in their
native country would be shifted en- masse
to unaccustomed regions and amiGs. strange
neighbors, where their only hope Of sur
vival would lie in obedience to the supreme
power
Sargons son, Sennacherib, led the AS
syrian hosts to the borders of Egypt There
Sennacherib's army smitten by n pesti-
lence, disaster described in the nineteenth
chapter of the Second Book of Kings.
And it came to pass that night, that the
angel of the Lord went out and smote in the
camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore
and five thousand; and when they aroca early
in the morning, behold, they were all dead
corpses. So Sennacherib, king of Assyria
departed, and went and returned, and dwell
at Nneveh'
Sennacheribs grandson, Assurbanipal
(called by the Greeks Sardanapalus) did sue
ceed in conquering and for time holding
lower Egypt.