Illustrated school history of the world, from the earliest ages to the present time: accompanied with numerous maps and engravings

Front matter

Qass _J

Book- - Q. I f^

ILLJSTRATED

Contents

Introduction, .

I. The Morning of the World, c II. Founding of Early Kingdoms,

III. The Great Asiatic Nations,

Introduction

HiSTOKT is a narration of past events. The history of the world begins with the Creation. It traces the origin, growth, and decline of the nations that have successively appeared on the stage of action, as well as the causes that have led to their greatness and their decay ; it treats also of their social life, arts, literature, and systems of religion.

Chronol'ogy is the science which arranges the events of history in the order of their occurrence, and determines the date of each. Dates have to be reckoned from some fixed point of time, and different nations have adopted different eras.

The Greeks, in giving their dates, used Olym'piads, or periods of four years intervening between successive celebrations of the Olym'pic Games (see page 51). The first Olympiad commenced with the victory of Coroebus {kore'bus) in the foot-race (776 b. c). An event was set down as happening in the first, second, third, or fourth year of a certain Olympiad.

The Romans adopted as their chronological era the date of the founding of their capital (753 b. c). The letters A. u. c, accompanying Roman dates, signify " in

8 ■ INTEODUCTION.

the year of the founding of the city " (a7ino urhis conditoe).

The birth of Christ was first used as a chronological era by an Italian abbot, Dennis the Little, in the sixth century ; in the seventh it was introduced into England and France, and it has since been adopted in all Christian countries. Time before Christ is denoted by the letters B. c; time after Christ, by a. d, {anno do'inini, in the year of our Lord). It is now, however, generally believed that the Christian Era was by mistake fixed four years later than the birth of Christ.

The Jews, not recognizing the Saviour, number their years from the Creation, and some Christian writers use the same era for dates before Christ. The letters a. m. (anno mundi) mean " in the year of the world."

Mohammedan nations reckon from the Hegira {Jie-ji'ra), or Flight, 622 a. d., — the year in which the founder of their religion fled from Mecca.

History may be distinguished as Ancient, Mediaeval, and Modern. Ancient History extends from the Creation, 4004 B. c, to the overthrow of the Roman Empire in Italy by northern barbarians, 476 A. d. Mediaeval History relates the events of the Middle or Dark Ages ; by which are meant the thousand years following the fall of Rome, and extending to a new era marked by the revival of learning and various great inventions and discoverieSo With this new era Modern History begins.

The principal sources of history are, the Scriptures, which furnish the only authentic records of primeval times; the works of uninspired writers; and inscriptions and pictures on rocks, tombs, and the waUs of temples. Important information is also frequently obtained from coins, medals, broken weapons, architectural ruins, etc.

Particularly valuable to later historians have been the hieroglyphics, or " sacred carvings," found on the obehsks

INTRODUCTION. 9

and other monuments of ancient Egypt. The meaning of the Egyptian characters was long a mystery, but was at length ascertained by means of patient study of the Rosetta Stone. This celebrated stone, discovered in 1799 by a French officer in Egypt, contains equivalent inscriptions in Egyptian and Greek characters; and a comparison of these, the meaning of the Greek text being known, has furnished scholars with an invaluable key to inscriptions in which important historical facts were locked up.

Of the five races which constitute the population of the globe, it is of the Caucasian that history has principally to treat. The Ethiopian and the Malay race make little or no figure in the annals of the past; the American race appears on the stage only for a short period during the first explorations and settlements of the New World; of the Mongolians, the Chinese, Turks, Tartars, and Magyars or Hungarians, have from time to time mingled in the great drama, but for the most part have played no conspicuous part. It is the Caucasian race that has shown the greatest intellectual force, that has made the most progress in civihzation, hterature, science, and art, that has swayed the great empires of the world.

Taking a general view of the events we are to look at in detail, we see, Man at first sinless and happy : Then disobedient to God, and fallen : Then growing in wickedness, till at last overwhelmed by divine wrath in a flood: Noah and his family saved, and from them the world repeopled: At first one community and tongue: Then the common language confounded by the Almighty, and men scattered : Great nations formed : War in the ascendant : Despotism rampant: The Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Macedonian, and Roman empires, successively enjoying almost world-wide sway : Then luxury, effeminacy, and misrule doing their work: Ancient states and cities losing their prestige : Barbarian prowess overthrowing corrupted

10 THE MOKNING OF THE WOELD.

civilization: New but ruder kingdoms formed: Ignorance and vice settling down on the nations : A thousand years of darkness, relieved here and there by bright but short-lived flashes: At length gleams of light appearing: Day dawning : A gradual but finally complete intellectual revolution: Learning revived: The restless mind of man achieving further triumphs: A New World added to the Old : New nations springing into life : Inventions and discoveries whose name is legion: Social life regenerated: The thirst for conquest subordinated to the arts of peace : The voice of the people heard: Even conservative nations of the Mongolian race waking from their sleep and asking for light: Education recognized as the lever that is to move the world.

Chapter I. The Morning Of The World

Ancient Histoet begins with the Creation.

For the history of the Creation, Deluge (2348 b. c), and Dispersion (2247 b. c), the reader is referred to the Scriptural narrative. The precise time of these early events cannot be determined ; still the student needs fixed dates to connect with great historical landmarks, and in this volume the chronology of Usher is followed, as that given in the margin of our Bible and most generally received. It is proper to say, however, that recent researches in Oriental history indicate for these events a much greater antiquity than Usher assigns them.

The Creation. — Within the last hundred years, Geology, the science which treats of the earth's structure, has brought to light new facts relating to the Creation. Among other things, it teaches us that the six days spoken

THE CREATION.

of in the Bible were not days of tic enty -four hours, but ages\ or else were preceded by an indefinite period of time reaching back to " the beginning."

Our earth appears once to have been a ball of melted matter surrounded by a hot gaseous atmosphere. The outer part of this molten mass gradually cooled, and a crust was thus formed. The vapor in the air was next condensed into a great ocean, spreading over the whole

Ideal Landscape of A tEEHiSTOEic Age.

globe. Under the action of the fiery heat within, floods of melted rock from time to time forced their way through the solid barriers that confined them. Thus continents and islands w^ere upheaved, and vast hollows formed, into which the waters of the primeval ocean receded.

Our knowledge of the plants and animals of the geological ages preceding man's creation, is derived from

12 THE MORNING OF THE WORLD.

their fossil remains or traces left on rocks. Gigantic shrubs now unknown once flourished ; strange fish and huge reptiles swarmed in the waters ; and immense animals, much larger than any modern species, roamed over the earth.

The Bible narrative of the Creation, the Fall of Man, and the Deluge, has been corroborated in a remarkable manner by tablets recently found among the ruins of Nineveh, copied from Chalde'an records dating back to 2000 B. c. There are indeed minor points of difference, as might be expected ; the only wonder is that the sacred and profane accounts agree so closely. The Avesta, or ancient Persian Bible, hands down a similar history of the creation of the universe; while legends of the Deluge have been current among various nations — even among the scattered Indian tribes of America.

Primitive Communities. — As to what precise site was first occupied by mankind, we can only speculate. The science of language, however, carries us back into prehistoric times, and points us to three original divisions of the human race, two of them settled in south-western Asia, the other a nomadic host occupying the upland plains of the interior— and this just at the dim dawn of authentic history.

The valley of the Euphrates and Tigris, including the Shi'nar of the Bible (see Map, p. 16), was at this remote day the home of the Semites (a name derived from Shem, their ancestor). North-east of the Semites, and separated from them by the broad table-land of Iran (e'rahn) and the Hindoo Koosh Mountains, lived the Aryans ; and north of these, over the steppes of Tartary and Russia, wandered a third branch of the human family, — the Turanians. The history of Europe in these primeval times is a sealed book. It is probable that the first to break the solitude of its forests were Turanians ; they seem to have travelled

PRIMETIVE COMMUNITIES. 13

into Finland on their dog-sleds in pursuit of the reindeer, to have made permanent settlements on the shores of the Baltic, and to have reared their dwellings on piles above the v^aters of the Swiss lakes.

We have said that the science of language raises the veil that hides the past. By tracing one hundred and fifty of the principal tongues spoken in Europe and Asia to three distinct parent stems, it has established the facts just stated ; while many allusions in extant works of ancient Oriental literature enable us to locate thus minutely the primitive Aryans and Semites.

The Aryans possess the greatest interest for us, inasmuch as they are our ancestors, — the Japhetic fathers of those nations of the Caucasian race that for centuries enjoyed the dominion of the then-known world, as well as those that are now foremost in physical and intellectual power.

Here, again, the study of language comes to our aid, and reveals the arts, social life, and religion, of these ancient Aryans, in whose poetical tongue, noAV known to us onl}'' by the words common to its early derivatives, we must recognize the remote parent of our own English. Before 2000 B. c, they had attained a high degree of civilization. Not only were they stock-raisers and agriculturists, as their name Aryan {tiller of the earth) implies, but also expert workmen in various handicrafts, as weaving, metallurgy, and the manufacture of pottery. Nor were they strangers to architecture, navigation, mathematics, and astronomy. Marriage was regarded as a sacred contract, polygamy being unknown. Children were the light of the household, as evinced by the meaning of the names — boy, hestower of happiness / girl, she that causes rejoicing ; brother, supporter ; &ister ^ frie^ully.

A patriarchal form of government prevailed; that is, the heads of families exercised control — subject, howeverj

14: FOUNDING OF EAKLY KINGDOMS.

to a council of seven elders, whose chief was recognized as king.. From his decisions there was an appeal to heaven invthe ordeal of fire and water. The ancient Aryans worshipped a personal God.

CHAPTER, II.

FOUNDING OF EARLY KINGDOMS.

Migrations from Arya. — The original Aryan family rapidly increased, until its original domicile could no longer contain it. Its surplus population then wandered off in separate bodies, at different periods, to find new homes in distant climes.

The Celtic clans, Pelasgic tribes, Slavonians and Teutons, took a westerly course, and finally settled in different parts of Europe, after dispossessing their Turanian predecessors. At a later date the greater part of those who were left behind crossed the Hindoo Koosh range, and spread over the table-land of Iran, corresponding with modern Persia, Afghanistan [ahf-gahn-is-tahn'), and Beloochistan {hel-oo-cMs-tahn'). From these sprung the Medes and Persians, as well as the Brahman Hindoos, whom a religious dispute led to separate from their brethren and migrate into the peninsula of India.

Thus the posterity of Ja'pheth {expansio7i) became the founders of Celtic Britain and France ; Pelasgic Italy and Greece ; Slavonic Russia, Poland, and Bohemia ; Germany and Scandinavia ; as well as of the Persian and Hindoo monarchies. Similarities of language show that all these nations had a common origin. They constitute the Aeyan, or Indo-European, branch of the Caucasian race, which has surpassed the other branches in mental activity, and has had most to do with shaping the world's history.

SEMITES AND TURANIANS. 15

The Semitic Nations in remote antiquity surpassed all others in culture and power. They comprised the Hebrews, Phoenicians, and Carthaginians, who spoke the Hebraic branch of the Semitic mother-tongue; the Syrians and Assyrians ; and the Arabians and Ethiopians, whose language was the musical Arabic. The Chaldeans, or Babylonians, were partly Semitic, partly Turanian ; while the ancient Egyptians, judging from their language, had Aryan and Semitic blood mingled in their veins.

The earliest pages of the world's history are covered with the records of these venerable Semitic monarchies — records that have been disinterred during the last quarter-century, after lying concealed in the royal tombs of Egypt and the neglected ruins of Assyria for two or three thousand years. Already the history of the Orient has been rewritten in the light of tnese discoveries.

Three facts should be remembered in connection with the Semites : 1. That they were the pioneers in commerce and maritime enterprise ; 2. That to them the world is indebted for the wonderful invention of alphabetic writing; 3. That they were the branch chosen for keeping alive a knowledge of the true God.

The Turanians, unsettled, fierce, sirift horsetne^i as their name implies, were less conservative than the Semites, less cultured than the Aryans. It is true that they invented the cuneiform characters, specially adapted for chiselling on rocks, and supposed by some to be the oldest vehicles ever used for the expression of thought; but the inscriptions thus recorded were fragmentary, their roving habits preventing them from developing a systematic literature. We can, therefore, only conjecture their employments to have been such as would naturally belong to a wandering, pastoral, or predatory people.

Exaptly where the Chinese and Japanese belong in this classification of races we do not know, for the peculiarities

THE GREAT ASIATIC NATIONS.

of their languages do not justify us in placing them among Aryans, Semites, or Turanians.

2000 B. C.— Approximate date of the birth of Abraham (1996). Egyptian, Chaldean, Assyrian, Chinese, and other monarchies, established. Sidon and Tyre flourishing cities. Aryans, descended from Japheth, in the plain of Iran, and the ancient home beyond the Hindoo Koosh. Turanians wandering over the plains of Europe and Asia.

Chapter III. The Great Asiatic Nations

The Chaldean Monarchy. — Chaldea, or Babylonia, was one of the first monarchies, founded by Nimrod about 3234 B. c. It lay north of the Persian Gulf, and was watered by the rivers Euphra'- tes and Ti'gris. (See Map.) The city of Babylon was built near the Tower of Babel, from which it was called.

Ni m r o d, whose name signifies impious rebel, was a mighty hunter.

A bold, unscrupulous chief, he overthrew the original patriarchal form of government, and established despotism in its stead.

Some suppose that he introduced

THE CHALDEAN MONARCHY.

the worship of the heavenly bodies, and that after his death he was adored by his subjects under the name of Bel, or Be'lus.

The most that we know of Chaldea for several centuries is that it maintained an obstinate struggle for the ascendency with the growing power of Assyria, but was at last obliged to acknowledge the supremacy of its rival. Attempts made from time to time by different monarchs to assert their independence were unsuccessful ; and as the result of one of these revolts, in 683 b. c. Babylon was sacked. The accession of Nab'onassar to the throne in 747 B. c. is made memorable by the adoption of this year as a fixed time to date from. It is known as the Era of Nabonassar.

The Chaldeans were pioneers in the arts and sciences. They were well versed in arithmetic, astronomy, and particularly architecture, using bricks for their buildings and the bitu'men of the country for mortar. They excelled in the manufactures of the loom, exhibited great skill in the engraving of precious stones and the fashioning of ornaments and domestic utensils, were acquainted with the use of letters, and stamped their legends on bricks. Commercial pursuits early engaged their attention ; and the " ships of Ur," one of their cities (see Map), traded with the neighboring countries.

The Ass3rrian Empire. — Nin'eveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, situated north of Babylon, on the river Ti'gris, was built by Asshur, who " went forth out of the land of Shinar." Little is known of Assyrian history till the time of Tiglathi-nin (tig'lath-e-nin'\ supposed to be the Greek Ni'-

Chaldean Brick.

18 THE GEEAT ASIATIC NATIONS.

nus, who reigned 1270-1250 b. c. He extended his sway over Babylon, and caused to be inscribed on his signet " Conqueror of Babylonia."

The ambitious king Tig 'lath-Pile 'ser I. [pl-le'zer) also made extensive conquests, but his brilliant reign was followed by a long period of obscurity. The darkness was finally dispelled in the ninth century.* This seems to have been the age of the " lady Semir'amis," the reputed conqueror of the East and one of the greatest legendary characters in history. Semiramis was probably a Babylonian princess, who wedded an Assyrian king and thus strengthened her husband's claim to her native land. The marvellous tales of her conquests and public works are regarded as fabulous by later historians.

The Assyrian Empire attained the height of its glory in the century preceding its fall. Tiglath-Pileser II., who reigned until 727, took Damascus in Syria, and received the homage of many kings. Shalmane'ser lY. several times invaded Palestine, and at last laid siege to Sama'- ria. This-icity surrendered to Sargon, the next monarch, who also fengaged in successful wars with Egypt and Babylonia.

Sennacherib [sen-nah' e-rih), the son of Sargon (705- 680 B. c), was one of the greatest of the Ninevite kings. After many victorious expeditions, Sennacherib blasphemously threatened Jerusalem with a great army; when, in one night, " the angel of the Lord smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand."

Sardanapalus, grandson of Sennacherib, extended his empire beyond all former limits. His chief pleasure was, to encounter the lion, and fierce beasts were let loose in his park to fall before his arrows and spear. Art and

* The ninth century b. c. embraces the years from 900 to 800. The hegm%ing of the ninth century would be the years 900, 899, etc. ; the close of the ninth century, 801, 802, etc.

THE ASSYRIAN EMPIEE. 19

literature, however, were not neglected. A magnificent palace was built at Nineveh, a royal library was established, and under Sardanapalus Assyria reached the zenith of her greatness.

Sar'acus, the son of this mighty king, was dissolute and effeminate. He is said to have dwelt in his palace, imitating the dress and employments of his wives and female slaves. At last the Medes and Babylonians revolted, and besieged him in his capital. Finding that resistance was vain, Saracus built a funeral-pile, and burned himself up with his wives and treasures (625 b. c). Nineveh was destroyed, and the conquerors divided between them the proud Assyrian Empire. The Babylonians now obtained the supremacy of western Asia.

AssTKiAN Arts. — Nineveh was never rebuilt. Vast mounds, which for centuries covered the ruins of its once splendid edifices, have recently been excavated; and the wonderful remains, sculptures, and pictured walls, there found, have contributed much to our knowledge of the ancient Assyrians. Judging from these, they were skilled in engraving, metallurgy, embroidery, and the manufacture of glass. Their palaces were ornamented with elaborate sculptures, prominent among which were colossal bulls with wings and human heads. Beautiful bass-reliefs represent the every-day life of the people, and many written memorials of the nation remain on slabs and obelisks.

Other interesting specimens of Assyrian art are vases, bronzes, seals, glass-ware, enamelled bricks, carved ivory, and engraved gems. The Assyrians were acquainted with the arch, the lever, and the magnif ying-lens ; indeed, toward the close of their empire, according to Rawlinson, " in all the arts and appliances of life they were nearly on a par with ourselves."

The Assyrians were idolaters. They were engaged in

THE BABYLONIAN MONARCHY.

ASSTEIAN "WaBBIOB.

almost perpetual war. Among their exercises was hunting the lion and wild-bull.

The Babylonian Monarchy (Map, p. 16), after the conquest of Nineveh, maintained its ascendency as capital of the eastern world for nearly a century (625- 538 B. c). The greatest of its princes was Nebuchadnezzar (604- 561 B.C.), who triumphed over the Jews and Egyptians, and made Babylon "the lady of kingdoms."

The capital, built on both sides of the Euphrates in the form of a square, was more than fifty miles in circuit. Its beautiful

hanging gardens, and massive walls, 87 feet thick and 350 feet high, were counted among the Seven Wonders of the World.

These gardens, eight miles in circumference, Nebuchadnezzar constructed to delight his queen, who, tired of the monotonous landscape about her, pined for her native Median hills. They consisted of a succession of terraces, overtopping the city walls, and planted with trees and flowering shrubs. The whole was irrigated from a large lake on the top, which was filled by engines with water from the Euphrates. Across the river was the temple of Bel, decorated with the plundered wealth of the East.

Nebuchadnezzar was made so proud by his conquests and the grandeur of his capital that God deprived him of reason ; he was driven out from among men, and ate grass like oxen. After seven years his understanding returned;

THE GREAT ASIATIC NATIONS.

taught by this judgment, he once more gave honor to the Most High, and was re-established in his kingdom.

Fall of Babylon. — The last of the Babjdonian kings was defeated before the walls of his capital by the Medes and Persians. His son Belshazzar was besieged in the city, which, however, was well provisioned and for a time defied their eiforts. At length the enemy turned the Euphrates from its course, and entered the city through the bed of the stream, while the Babylonians were engaged in revelry, profanely drinking from the golden vessels which had been taken from the House of God at Jerusalem. At this very time the prophet Daniel was interpreting to their affrighted prince certain mysterious characters which suddenly appeared, written by the fingers of a man's hand upon the wall of • his palace, announcing the overthrow of the kingdom. That same night the besiegers penetrated to the royal banquet-hall. Belshazzar was slain, and Babylonia became a province of the Persian Empire (538 b. c). The proud capital is now a heap of ruins; and, as the prophet Isaiah predicted, wild beasts make their dens in its desolate houses.

Customs, etc. — The Babylonians excelled in the manufacture of cotton and woolen fabrics. Their dress was a flounced robe, reaching to the feet; they wore long hair and turbans.

Herod'otus tells of some strange customs as prevailing among them. Once a year the marriageable maidens in each village were collected and sold at auction as wives, the most beautiful bringing the highest prices. Then the ugly damsels were disposed of, with marriage-portions obtained from the sums paid for their fairer companions.

Babylonian Seal.

INDIA. 23

Physicians were unknown among them. When a man was taken ill, his friends laid him in the public square, to be examined by all who passed. When one came along who had had like symptoms himself, he prescribed such remedies as he had found beneficial in his own case.

India, which occupied the peninsula south of the Himalay'a Mountains, appears to have been inhabited in remote antiquity. About 1400 b. c, the valley of the Indus was overrun by an invading host from the plateau of Iran, the worshippers of Brah'ma, who ultimately extended their power and religion over the whole of Hindostan and Ceylon.

With them originated the sacred books called J'^e'das, consisting of hymns to various deities, written in that polished language, as its name imports, the Sanscrit. The most ancient of these, the Rig- Veda, is the oldest existing Aryan work. It contains over a thousand hymns, composed in a simple but grand style, and addressed to thirty-three gods, prominent among whom are the sun and moon, fire, and the dawn. There is no allusion, however, to the corrupt rites associated at a later day with the religion of Brahma. From this work as a beginning, the Hindoos developed a literature so vast that the longest life, it has been computed, would not suffice for one to read all that it contains.

Two magnificent epics, composed about 1000 b, c, are the pride of Sanscrit literature. The subject of one is the Aryan conquest of lower Hindostan and Ceylon ; that of the other, a legendary war of which Delhi {deVle) was the scene. Old ballads and tales were woven together to form these epics, but not until they had been modified so as to conform to the tenets of the Brahman faith.

A peculiar feature of Brahmanism was the institution of caste, according to which 'the people were divided into four classes, separated by impassable lin'es, and each hav-

THE GEEAT ASIATIC NATIONS.

ing its own duties and privileges. One of its leading doctrines was the transmigration of souls : that at death the spirits of the good passed into a higher order of beings, as a reward for their virtues; those of the wicked, into inferior animals, as a punishment for their crimes.

About 500 B. c. the simpler religion of Buddha arose, and contended with Brahmanism for centuries for the supremacy of India. The latter finally prevailed ; and Buddhism, expelled for the most part from the peninsula, took refuge in the island of Ceylon, and diffused itself through regions to the east, as far as and including China. At the present day, Buddhism, with its grotesque idols and fanciful pago'das, its sacrifices of fruit, flowers, and incense, and its prayer-mills, is the religion of nearly onefourth of the population of the world.

India was celebrated for its rich products, including diamonds, rubies, silk and cotton fabrics, which were eagerly sought after by early nations. Subterranean

Interiok of an Indian Cave-Temple.

CHINA. 25

temples "with inscriptions and sculptures, pagodas cut out of solid stone, and rock-hewn grottoes, which must have employed thousands of workmen for centuries, — are the remains of Indian architecture.

China. — The Chinese claim for their empire the greatest antiquity. Fo-hi, generally regarded as its founder, was succeeded by Chin-nong, who invented the plough. The people then rapidly advanced in civilization. To one of their princesses belongs the honor of having first unravelled the cocoons of the silk-worm and woven the thread into a fabric.

Confucius {kon-fu' she-us), who flourished about 500 B. c, is the most distinguished personage of Chinese history. He became the great teacher of his countrymen, and by his elevated moral precepts, disseminated orally during his life and in writings which have been received almost as divine revelations by the Chinese and are still taught in their schools, has perhaps exerted a greater influence than any other purely human teacher.

An interesting anecdote of the youth of Confucius has been handed down. Becoming tired of study, he resolved to abandon it for some other pursuit. As he was returning from school one day with this determination, he noticed an old woman rubbing an iron bar on a whetstone ; and, when he asked her what she was doing, learned that she was trying to replace her knitting-needle, which she had lost, by rubbing down the bar. Filled with admiration of her perseverance, the young student exclaimed, " Shall an old woman have more resolution than I, within whose reach are the highest honors of the empire ? " He returned to his books with fresh vigor, and became, as we have seen, one of the greatest of sages.

About 250 B. c. was built the Great Wall of China, designed to protect the country from the Tartars. It extends along the northern and north-western frontier for 2

26 ANCIENT AFRICAN NATIONS.

1,200 miles, is from fifteen to thirty feet in height, is wide enough for six horsemen to ride on abreast, and is surmounted by strong towers forty feet high. Tradition says that it used to be defended by a million soldiers. It was built by the Emperor Ching-Wang, who also expelled the Mongols and consolidated the empire.

1800 B. C— Isaac yet living. Esau and Jacob 36 years old. Descendants of Ishmael in Arabia. Celts moving westward.

Chapter IV. Ancient African Nations

Egypt. — Soon after the Deluge, the fertile valley of the Nile was settled by descendants of Ham. Historians record the name of Misraim, or Menes {me'vieez), as the first monarch, or Pharaoh i^fa'rd)^ of Egypt.

Several contemporaneous kingdoms appear to have been formed, the most powerful of which were Memphis and Thebes. These were conquered by a horde of invaders called " Shepherds," whose dominion lasted about 500 years. During their sway, Joseph and his kinsmen found a home in the land. A great national revolt headed by the Theban monarch finally broke out. The Shepherd Kings were expelled, and Thebes gained supreme dominion over all Egypt, 1525 b. c.