The wonders of history

Front matter

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Preface

The favour with which Pbtbb Pablet'b Annual and his other works have been received by the public, has induced him to publish an additional Christmas volume of a less ephemeral character than the " Annual," but, he trusts, equally attractive to the young.

History, like Nature, has its wonders, which have been exhibited in all countries and in all ages. To bring these wonders before the young is the object of this publication.

As in Nature the "starry firmament," the "mighty ocean," and the "lofty mountain," strike the mind with awe and sublimity, so in History do virtuous magnanimity, heroic deeds, and great enterprises.

The moral phenomena of the World's history are of more importance to us than the natural, because they impart a knowledge of human nature, and afford us examples.

VI PREFACE.

Examples are the sunlight of our moral system ; and the experience of the past, faithfully recorded, is calculated to bring improvement to the future, and exert a powerful influence on the present.

These examples are abundantly furnished in every page of History ; and in bringing Some of them before the young, the author has introduced nothing which is not bteictly true, and in agreement with the most faithful historical records. In the study of these, the reader will learn, that truth is often more wonderful \haji fiction.

In conclusion, the author has only to add, that he has been guided in the selection of his historical pacts with a due regard to the improvement of the young reader. He has kept in view not only the cultivation of the intellect, but the elevation of the moral feelings and affections, by bringing forward those subjects which are best calculated to inspire him with a love of virtue.

PETER PARLEY,

Contents

PAGE

I.— WONDERS OF BABYLON AND NINEVEH, AND

DESTRUCTION OF NINEVEH 1

Chapter II

Cybus was the son of Cambyses, King of Persia, and of Mandana, daughter of Astyages, King of the Medes. The Persians were, at the time of his birth, divided into twelve tribes, and inhabited only one province of that vast country which has since borne the name of Persia. But through the valour and

14 OAPTUBK OP BABYLON BY CYBU8L

wisdom of Cyrus, the Persians acquired the empire of the East, and Persia extended from the river Eudus to the Tigris, and from the Caspian Sea to the ocean. *

Cyrus signalised himself in various wars under Astyages, his grandfather, and continued in Asia Minor till he had entirely subdued all the nations that inhabited it, from the JEgeaa Sea to the river Euphrates. From thence he proceeded to Syria and Arabia, which he also subjected. He then entered into Assyria and advanced towards Babylon, the only city in the East that had stood out against him.

The siege of this important place was no easy enterprise. The walls of it were of a prodigious height, and appeared to be inaccessible, and the population is said to have amounted to five millions. The city was well stored by provisions which were calculated to last for twenty years, and the warlike munitions, engines, and arms were prodigious.

These means of defence did not, however, discourage Cyrus, who had been used to conquer. He almost despaired, however, of taking the place by storm or assault, and therefore proceeded as if his intentions were to reduce it by famine.

His first orders were, for a line of circumvallation to be drawn quite round the city, a distance of above sixty miles, by means of a large and deep ditch ; and that his troops might not be over fatigued, he divided his army into twelve bodies, and assigned each of them its month for guarding the trenches.

The besieged, thinking themselves secure by means of their ramparts, magazines, and strength of walls, insulted Cyrus daily from the tops of the high

towers by which they were flanked. At the same time they hurled every missile against him — large stones by means of machines, immense arrows, and balls of combustible materials, which spread both alarm and devastation among his troops.

The prophets Jeremiah mid Isaiah had long foretold the destruction of Babylon for her wickedness, especially her pride. It was foretold by them that desolation should come upon her suddenly ; that she should be taken as in a snare; that her springs should be dried up, and that she should be taken in the night-time, upon a day of feasting and rejoicingall of which was fulfilled to the. very letter.

These predictions were not unknown to Cyrus, and as he seemed to be born for their accomplishment, as he pursued his work with the greatest ardour. He was soon informed, that in the city, on a certain day, a great festival was to be celebrated, and that the Babylonians, on occasion of that solemnity, were accustomed to spend the whole night in drinking and debauchery.

Labynitus, called in the scripture Belshazzar, was a man of immense pride, and would suffer nothing, to interfere with his round of pleasure ; he therefore gave a splendid entertainment to the chief officers of his- kingdom and ladies of the court, in honour of the city being invested ; and to give more splendour to the entertainment, he ordered the gold and silver vessels which had been taken from the temple of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar to be used in the repast, and he and his concubines and whole court drank out of these sacred vessels. . While thug sacrilegiously employed, heated with

16 CAPTURE OF BABTLOK 3J OYBUfl.-

wine and swelled with the pride of luxury and magnificence, suddenly a blase of intense light appeared on the opposite wall, and in the midst a finger appeared, tracing upon it certain characters in the Hebrew language. The vision paralyzed the monarch, who, in great alarm, rose from the feast and broke up the assembly.

And now, overpowered with terror, he sent for the diviners and astrologers of his court, to read and interpret the mysterious writing. But every one expressed his inability to do so, and declared the matter only to be interpreted by a son of Israel, the nation of Jehovah, in whose language the sentence was written.

The prophet Daniel was thereupon immediately, sent for, who, upon being called upon to. explain the mysterious writing, with a boldness inspired alone by. the Spirit of God, rebuked the proud monarch for hi impious festival, for his wicked pride and his idolatry, and for the defiance he had offered to God by his use of the sacred vessels of His holy temple.

He then proceeded to interpret the writing, declaring the words to be "Mene, Tekel, Upharsin." That Mene, which signifies number, indicated that the days of his kingdom were numbered; that Tekel, which signified weighty indicated that the king was weighed in the balance and found wanting ; and that Upharsin, signifying division, showed that his kingdom was divided among the Medes and Persians.

Belshazzar, after his first astonishment had subsided,, seems to have paid no attention to the warning thus delivered, but gave himself up to his libidinous courses, and again sat. down to his banquets, ordering

OAPTCTBH 09 BABYLON BY OZBTJS. 1?

more sumptuous displays to be made, and continued revelling, singing and dancing, without the slightest care for the future.

Cyrus, in the mean time, well informed of the coniusion that was generally occasioned by this festival, both in the palace and city, had posted a part of his troops on that side where the river entered into the city, and another part on that side where it went out, and then commanded them to enter the city that very night by marching along the channel of the river as soon as they found it fordable.

Having thus given all necessary orders, and exhorted his officers to follow him, by representing to them that he marched under the conduct o£ the gods, in the evening he made them open the great receptacles or ditches on both sides of the city, above and below, that the water of the river might run into them. By this means the Euphrates was quickly emptied and its channel became dry.

The two bodies of troops posted above and below the city now entered the channel and advanced towards each other, without meeting with any obstacle, and the gates of brass which guarded the city from the "river side having been opened by a secret agency, the two bodies of troops poured in without any obstacle, and meeting together at the royal palace, according to agreement, surprised the guards and cut them to pieces.

Belshazzar, at last made acquainted with his danger, rushed forth madly, sword in hand, surrounded by a few chosen followers. They beat back the advanced guard of the Median troops, but multitudes poured in upon them like a torrent. Gobrya, with a

18 CAPTURE OF BABYLON BT CTSUS.

veteran band, at last met him, and rushing upon the wretched monarch, struck the crown from his head, while his soldiers slew him with their swords. The interior of the palace was then entered, and all the concubines, dancers, and musicians put to the sword. Cyrus having thus entered the city, put all to the sword that were found in the streets ; he then commanded the citizens to bring him ail their arms, and afterwards to shut themselves up in their houses. The next morning, by break of day, the garrison which kept the citadel, being apprised that the city was taken and the king killed, surrendered themselves to Cyrus. Thus did he find himself, with scarcely any resistance, in peaceable possession of the strongest and greatest city in the world.

\d

TRIUMPH OP CYRUS.

Chapter III

The first care of Cyrus after the capture of Babylon was to restore order, and he then determined to make a triumphal exhibition of a solemn august ceremony of religion, by marching in a pompoua cayalcade to the

TRIUMPH OF CYRUS.

places consecrated to the gods, in order to offer sacrifices to them. In this procession Cyrus thought it politic to display the utmost splendour and magnificence, to captivate the eyes of his new subjects.

On the appointed day of the ceremony, the whole of the flower of the army assembled at the king's palace by break of day. Four thousand of the guards drew up four deep, placed themselves in front of the palace ; and two thousand on the two sides of it, ranged in the same order. The whole cavalry were drawn out, the Persians on the right and their allies on the left. The chariots of war being arranged half on one side and half on the other.

As soon as the palace gates were opened, a great number of bulls of exquisite beauty were led out four abreast. These were to be sacrificed to Jupiter and other gods, according to the ceremonies ' prescribed by the magi. Next followed the horses that were to be sacrificed to the Sun. Immediately after these a white chariot crowned with flowers, the pole of which was of gold ; this was to be offered to Jupiter. Then came a second chariot of the same colour and adorned in the same manner, to be offered to the Siin. After these followed a third, the horses of which were caparisoned with scarlet housings. Behind came the men who carried the sacred fire on a large hearth, and an assemblage of priests and soothsayers, in long white robes, trimmed with silver.

Next came, in the greatest pomp, in a superb car, richly adorned with gold and precious stones, the conqueror Cyrus. He sat upright in his car, with his head -encircled with the laurel diadem. His under

•TRIUMPH OF OYBUS. 21

ionic was of purple mixed with white, which was a colour peculiar to kings ; over his garments he wore a large purple robe, fastened by precious stones, and embroidered with golden suns. At his side walked the master of the horse, who was of a comely stature, but not so tall as Cyrus, and thus his stature appeared more to advantage.

As soon as the conqueror appeared, all the spectators fell down prostrate, and then the loudest shouts were heard from those assembled on the house tops. Round about the chariot of Cyrus were above three hundred officers of the household, richly dressed, having javelins in their hands, and mounted upon stately horses ; after these followed two hundred led horses of the king's stable, each of them having embroidered furniture and bits of solid gold. Next came the Persian cavalry, divided into four bodies, each consisting of 10,000 men; then the Median horse; and after them the cavalry of the allies. The chariots of war, four abreast, marched in the rear and closed the procession.

When this immense procession came to the field and open spots consecrated to the gods, they offered their sacrifices, first to Jupiter and then to the Sun. To the honour of the first were burnt bulls, and to the honour of the second, horses. They likewise sacrificed some victims to the Earth, according to the appointment of the magi; then to the demi-gods, the patrons and protectors of Syria.

This solemn ceremony was concluded with feasting and rejoicing, the release of prisoners, and public games of aU kinds, the principal of which was, however, horse and chariot racing. Cyrus himself is

22 TRIUMPH OF OYBUB,

said to hate won the prize in the horse-racing, for he was an accomplished horseman. At the conclusion of these sports Cyrus gave a grand entertainment to all his officers, and at its conclusion made every one a noble present, and distributed donations and gifts to the numerous poor of the city.

Such is the account given us by ancient historians of the taking of Babylon, by Cyrus, which put an end to the Babylonian empire, after a duration of two hundred and ten years from the beginning of the reign of Nabonassar, just fifty years after he had destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the, Temple, and thus were accomplished some 1 of the predictions which Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel had pronounced against her.

DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON BY DARIUS.

Expedition of Darius. .

Chapter IV

It was only twenty years after the capture of Babylon by Cyrus, and the subjugation of the Babylonish em* pire, that the conquered, groaning under the oppressive yoke of their Persian masters, attempted to shake

24 DESTBUcmoif of babtlon by dabjots.

it off, and regain their independence. In the beginning of the fifth year of the reign of Darius Hystaspis, Babylon revolted, and could not be reduced till after a twenty months' siege.

The Babylonians were much discontented with the successor of Cyrus for removing the seat of government to Susa, as it greatly diminished their wealth and grandeur ; and taking advantage of the revolution that happened in Persia on the death of Cambyses, they made secretly for four years secret preparations for war.

When they thought their plans ripe for execution, and had, as they supposed, sufficiently stored the city with provisions, they openly set up the standard of rebellion, which obliged Darius to besiege them with a large army, hastily gathered together for this especial purpose.

The Babylonians were determined to resist to the last extremity, and when they beheld the immense Persian army hemming in their proud city, treated the besiegers with defiance, and insulted them from the tops of their high walls, provoking them with opprobious language to come and take their city, and occasionally, to show how well they were provided with provisions, threw bread and meat into the hostile camp.

But as the siege progressed, and Darius found means to obtain constant supplies from the surrounding country, the Babylonians found themselves, after sixteen months 9 close siege, straightened for provisions, but determined not to yield, and to make their provisions hold out the longer, the lords and governors of the city took on* of the most barbarous

DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON BY DABTUS. 25

of resolutions, namely — to destroy all such of their own people as were unserviceable in defence of the city. Accordingly an edict was passed for the massacre of all the old men, the young children, and women, except that every man was allowed to keep his best-beloved wife and one servant maid to do the business of the family.

This horrible edict was put speedily into execution, and the squares and streets flowed with the blood of the wretched victims who were massacred by the soldiers in heaps. Their unburied bodies produced a. pestilence which was almost as cruel as the sword.

For eighteen months the Persian army surrounded the city in vain. All that force could accomplish had been done, and every stratagem had been tried without avail. They had even attempted the same plan by which Cyrus took the city ; namely, that of diverting the course of the river which flowed through it, but this had been anticipated by the besieged, who drove back the assailants with great loss.

Darius at last began to have doubts concerning his success in this enterprise, and almost despaired of taking the city, when he was strangely surprised by Zopyrus, one of the chief noblemen of his court, appearing before him in a most wretched condition. He was streaming with blood, his nose and ears were cut off, and his whole body disfigured by marks of the scourge, and with wounds.

Starting up from his throne, Darius inquired in a voice of anger who had done this deed of cruelty.

" You yourself, King P replied Zopyrus. " The desire I had of rendering you service has put me in

26 DESTBtrCTION OF BABYLOH BY DABJTOS.

this condition. As I was fully persuaded that 70a never would have consented to this method, I took counsel alone of the zeal I have for your service. 9 He then opened to him his scheme for the reduction of the city, which was to go over to the enemy as one deserting under the tyrannical treatment of his lord, and offer his services to the besieged, and having obtained their confidence, to take measures for opening the gates to the besiegers.

The king, although he could not look upon Zopyrus without the utmost affliction, readily acceded to his proposition, and after some consultation, settled everything that was proper to be done ; and in the night time Zopyrus went to the walls of the city, and having told his story to the wardens of one of the gates, was soon admitted.

He was then carried before the governor, to whom he related his seeming misfortune, and the cruel treatment he had met with from Darius, for having dissuaded him from continuing any longer before a city which it was impossible for him to take. He offered the Babylonians his services, which could not fail of being highly useful to them, since he was acquainted with all the designs of the Persians, and since the desire of revenge would inspire him with fresh courage and resolution. His name and person were both well known at Babylon — the condition in which he appeared, his blood and wounds, certified for him — and by proofs not to be suspected confirmed the truth of all he advanced ; they therefore credited his story, and placed implicit confidence in his suggestions.

He was first given the command of a few troops, with which he made a sally into the enemies' camp, and cut off above a thousand of the besiegers. A few days after he killed double that number ; and on the third sally above four thousand were destroyed All this had been previously agreed upon between him and Darius.

Of course these successes made Zopyrus highly popular at Babylon. The greatest confidence was reposed in him; he was raised to the highest offioes of the state, and was at last declared generalissimo of the forces, and entrusted with the care of guarding the walls of the city.

Having thus obtained possession of all the power he required, he soon found means to open a correspondence with Darius, and it was agreed upon that on a certain day a great assault should be made. Under pretence of making a sally, Zopyrus ordered the gates to be opened on one side of the walls, when he had directed the greater part of the Babylonians to the other, and Darius and some ehosen veteran soldiers entered that feebly defended post, and thus suddenly and with but little fighting got within the walls of the city. His battalions then wheeled round with alacrity, and the whole army rushed in as a mighty torrent.

No sooner was Darius master of the city than he ordered the hundred brazen gates to be pulled down, and all the walls of the city to be entirely demolished, that she might never be in a condition to rebel more against him. He might have exterminated all the inhabitants, but he contented himself with ordering

28 DB8TKV0II0H OF BABYLOH BT DABIU8.

about three thousand of the principal fomentom of the rebellion to be impaled, and granted a pardon to the rest. But the city itself was made desolate in its defences, and was never able again to resist the power of the invader.

Babylon after this gradually decayed. The Macedonians, who succeeded the Persians, forbore to em* bellish or even to repair it, and in process of time she was so utterly forsaken that nothing was remaining of her but the walls, till at last the kings of Persia, finding the place deserted, made a park of it, in which they kept wild beasts for hunting. Thus did it become, as the prophet foretold, " a dwelling for ravenous beasts ;" and, instead of citizens, she was now inhabited by wild boars, leopards, bears, deer, and wild asses ; as it was written — " Wild beasts of the desert shall be there, and dragons shall dwell in their pleasant places. 14

In the time of Alexander the Great the river had quitted its ordinary channel by reason of the outlets and canals that had been made, and the ruins of its walls and towers. This monarch had a desire for its restoration, but his sudden death put a stop to the design, and after this Babylon was neglected to such a degree that at last its river was converted into/ an inexcessible pool, which. covered the piece where that impious city had stood, as the Prophet. Isaiah foretold — " I will make it pools of water." — Isaiah, xiv. 23.

By means of successive changes Babylon became an -utter desert, and all the country round was full of desolation,' so that at the present day its locality is a

DE8TBUOTI0N OF BABYLOH BT DABIUS. 29

subject of controversy. In this manner God's prediction has been fulfilled— " I will make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of Hosts."

Chapter V. Jerusalem

-^Equally wonderful with Babylon and Nineyeh was Jerusalem, the principal city of the Jews, and equally extraordinary the circumstances which attended its destruction. From the important circumstances and associations connected with this city, it merits a particular description, for it was r here that the redemption of world was accomplished.

Jerusalem is supposed to be the same city ^as is, in the history of Abraham, called Salem, of lvhich Melchiaedek was king. Certain it is, that at a very early period of the history of Canaan, it formed a very powerful Canaanitish kingdom.* It was called Jebus, and belonged to a tribe called from their city Jebusites. It lay in the confines of the territories of Judah and Benjamin ; but it was not possessed by these tribes till it was wrested from its original occupants by David and his valorous troops. It was built on, and surrounded by several hills. " The situation of Jerusalem," says the author of the History of the Jews, " is remarkably imposing : it stands on several eminences of unequal heights, some parts of which slope gradually, on others the sides are abrupt and precipitous. All around, excepting to the north, run deep ravines or valleys, like entrenchments formed by nature, beyond which arise mountains of greater height, which encircle and seem to protect the city. It is open only to the north, as if the way had been levelled for the multitudes from the rest of the tribes to arrive at the holy city, without difficulty or obstacle, The hill of Zion, on which David's city stood, rose to the south : it was divided by a deep and narrow ravine from the other hills, over which the city gradually spread.

The ancient city of Jebus occupied probably only one of the hills on which Jerusalem afterwards stood, and that the more northern. Connected with it, however, on another hill, called Zion, south of the former, and higher than it, was a fortress, which also David wrested from the Jebusites; and having possessed himself of this fortress, he made it his royal residence, and enclosed the whole mountain, and added it to the city, giving it the specific name of "the City of David."* The city was still farther enlarged by Solomon, enclosed with a wall, and adorned with erections which, for costliness and splendour, might vie not only with any in ancient but even with any in modern times.

32 JEBUSALBM.

The first of these erections was the Temple. David had contemplated this erection, and had made most abundant and costly preparations for it ; but he was forbidden by God to proceed with it, on account of having shed so much blood in war. The work of raising this splendid edifice, therefore, was assigned to Solomon, who was to succeed him on the throne, and to be eminently a man of peace. Having then sufficiently added to the materials provided by his father, David, Solomon commenced the work.

" The eminence of Moriah," observes the writer just quoted, "the Mount of Vision, i. e. the height seen afar from the adjacent country which tradition pointed out as the spot where Abraham had offered his son, rose on the east side of the city. Its rugged top was levelled with immense labour ; its sides, which to the east and south were precipitous, were faced with a wall of stone, built up perpendicular from the bottom of the valley, so as to appear to those who looked down of most terrific height ; a work of pro* digious skill and labour, as the immense stones were strongly morticed together, and wedged into the rock. Around the whole area, or esplanade, an irregular quadrangle, was a solid wall of considerable height and strength : within this was an open court, into which the Gentiles were either from the fust, or subsequently, admitted. A second wall encompassed another quadrangle, called the court of the Israelites; Along this wall, on the inside, ran a portico or cloister* over which were chambers for different sacred purposes. Within this again another, probably a lower

JEBUSALBlf, 33

will, separated the court of the priests from that of the Israelites. To each court the ascent was by steps, so that the platform of the inner court was on a higher level than that of the outer.

" The Temple itself was rather a monument of the Wealth than the architectural skill and science of the people. Ii was a wonder of the world, from the splendour of its materials, more than the grace, bold* ness, or majesty of its height and dimensions. It consisted of a propyl&on, a temple, and a sanctuary ; called respectively the porch, the holy place, and the holy of holies. Yet, in some respects, if the^ measurements are correct, the Temple must have resembled the form of a simple Gothic church.

*• In the front, to the east, stood the porch, a tall tower, rising to the height of two hundred and ten feet. Either within, or, like the Egyptian obelisks, before the porch, stood two pillars of brass — by one account, twenty-seven, by another, above sixty feet high ; the latter statement probably including their Capitals and bases. These were called Jachin and Boaz (durability and strength). The capitals of these were of the richest workmanship, with net-work, ehainwork, and pomegranates. The porch was the Same width as the Temple, thirty-five feet ; its depth* seventeen and a half. The length of the main building — including the holy place, seventy feet, and the holy of holies, thirty-five — was in the whole one hundred and five feet; the height, fifty-two and a half feet. Josephus carries the whole building tip' to. the height of the porch ; but this is out of all credible proportion, making the height twice the* length, and six times the width.