Harper's school history. A narrative of the general course of history from the earliest periods to the establishment of the American Constitution. Prepared with questions for the use of schools, and illustrated with 150 maps and engravings

Front matter

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Contents

ClIAPTKK PAGB

I. DISTRIBUTION OP THE HUMAN RACE 13

II. NINEVEH AND THE ASSYRIANS o 23

Chapter I. Disteibution Of The Human Eace

What is the cause of the different climates of the earth'' s surface f

The various portions of the earth differ very much from each other in respect to tlie manner in which the sun shines upon them, both in his daily and in his annual course, and very great differences are thus produced in the climates of the several regions, and in the course of their seasons, and in all the productions of the soil, both plants and animals.

Describe the tropical re(/ions.

In some parts of the earth, for example, the days and nights are always equal, the weather is always warm, and flowers and fruits bloom and ripen all the year round. The reason of this is, that these regions, being the central part of the earth, turn every day, as the great globe revolves, directly toward the sun. They are called the tropical regions.*

* 'The earth turns round every day before the sun very much as an apple, suspended by a twisted string to roast, turns before the fire. The middle parts of the apple, half way between the stem and the blossom, which are turned directly toward the fire as it goes round, correspond with the equatorial or tropical regions of the earth. Only, of course, the earth is immensely large, and the sun is at such an enormous distance that the beams of it shine very gently on the earth, even on the parts that come directly opposite to its rays.

14 DISTEIBUTION OF THE HUMAN EACE.

Describe the Polar regions.

In other places, there are regions where the sun does not shine for six months at a time, and then, when the period for his shining comes, he never rises high in the heavens so as to shine warm and full upon the ground, but moves round and round the sky just above the horizon. Of course, for half the year in these regions it is winter and night, and during the other half, though they call it summer, the sun shines with very faint and feeble rays. In consequence of this, scarcely any plants grow upon the land, and the sea is covered at all times, both in summer and winter, with immense floating fields and mountains of ice. These are the Polar regions. The northern Polar regions are called the Arctic regions. The southern Polar regions have been very little explored. They are called the Antarctic regions.

Describe the temperate regions.

Then, besides these two extremes, there are the temperate regions, which lie between them. We ourselves live in the temperate regions. Here, for half of the year, the sun rises high in the heavens, and his beams are warm. During this period the grass grows, the flowers bloom, the fruits ripen, and the land is rich with waving fields of corn and grain. Then comes the winter, when the sun declines, and all vegetation ceases, and the ground is bound up with frost or covered with snow.

How has Nature adajyted onan to these different regions f

Of course, regions so diiferent from each other as these must not only produce altogether different kinds of plants and animals, but very different kinds of men, we might suppose, would be required to inhabit them. Nature has accordingly provided a great variety of races of men to occupy the several portions of the earth, the people of each race being adapted, both in their bodily constitutions and in the capacities of their minds, for the situation in which they dwell, though they are all, as the Scriptures inform us, descended from one common ori2:in.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE HUMAN RACE.

What hind of animals inhabit the Polar regio7is f In the Polar regions, where the sun is gone entirely for half the year, and shines very faintly and feebly for the other half, no plants except mosses, and lichens, and a few stunted shrubs can ever grow ; but then the shores of the seas, and the fields and islands of ice, and all the lakes and bays, are thronged with animals. The sea is full of whales, seals, walruses, and other monsters, that are

LIFE I^; THK AUCTi«^ kept warm in the winter by the thick coats of blubber or fat which envelop them, while on the land, and over the fields of ice, white bears, wolverines, foxes, and other fierce beasts of prey are constantly prowling. These land animals are kept warm by thQirfur. Then, in the summer, immense flocks of ducks, and geese, and gulls, and other wild-fowl throng the lakes, and rivers, and bays, and swamps that lie along these shores, to make their nests and rear their young. Before the long winter night sets in, however, the birds fly away across the continent thousands of miles, taking with them the young birds that they have reared. These birds are kept warm by i\\Q\Y feathers.

What qualities in men are required for these regions f To live and to thrive in such regions as these, men must be of a very hardy constitution, so as to be able to bear cold without injury. They must be fitted, too, to subsist almost entirely on flesh

DISTRIBUTION OF THE HUMAN RACE.

and other animal food, since scarcely any vegetables grow in such

_ =^ ^ii= a clime. They must

- be endued with pow-

-^ ' ' ers and capacities of

mind high enough to enable them to hunt wild beasts, to catch and kill whales and seals, and to build such huts as they need, and yet not so high as to make them discontented or restless with their monotonous* and solitary country, and with the half-torpid life that they must lead during the long dark and dismal night of their winter.

Describe the 7nodes of life of the Polar tribes. These are, in fact, the characteristics of the various races of men that are found dwelling on the Polar shores. They can live altogether on tlie coarsest flesh. They can endure the greatest extremes of cold. They build huts of the drift-wood that is brought down by the rivers, and is then washed by the sea upon their shores. They cover their huts with earth three or four feet thick to keep them warm, leaving an opening for a door in front large enough to creep in and out. When they have no drift-wood, they build their huts of blocks of snow, arching them over at the top like an oven or a dome. They light and warm their huts sufficiently for their purpose by means of big lamps fed by whale oil. They set traps for animals on land ; they take fish in the lakes and at the rapids in the river with nets and hooks, and they kill seals and whales with harpoons and spears. They can travel on foot

* That which is in every part alike — without variety.

DISTEIBUTION OF THE HUMAN RACE. 17

over the snow with snow-shoes which the women make for them, while some of the natives train dogs, and others reindeer, to draw them in sledges over the ice and snow. These people sometimes

ESQUIMAUX.

endure suffering, it is true, as all men must, but generally they are contented and happy in the condition in which God has placed them, so well are they adapted to it. They could not easily be persuaded to change their country or their modes of life for those of any other people.

What is known of the history of these tribes f

There are a great many separate races and nations of these Arctic men, nearly all of whom have probably lived where they do now, and as they do now, for hundreds and hundreds of years. Their history, if it could be known, would consist only of accounts of the wars which they have waged with each other, and of the seasons of famine and distress which they have sometimes endured. But their history is not known, nor would the rest of mankind feel any special interest in it if it could be discovered.

What is the state of things in the trojpical regions f

In tropical regions, the state of the case is entirely changed. Here the days and nights are nearly equal all the year, and the

1 B

18 DISTEIBUTION OP THE HUMAN EACE.

sun ascends every clay into the mid-heavens, and shines down directly upon the land with his most powerful rays. There is no winter. Frost and snow are unknown. There is, indeed, no spring, nor autumn, but summer reigns supreme throughout the year.

What forms of animal and vegetable life ^prevail in the tropical regions f

Of course, in a region like this, plants thrive luxuriantly. Flow-, ers bloom and fruits ripen in perpetual and ceaseless succession, furnishing to man and beast an abundance of food without labor or care. Trees grow in the forests to an enormous magnitude, dense underwood springs up among them, and vines and creepers twist and twine about their stems, and hang in festoons from their branches, and bind them all together in an intricate, impenetrable maze. In these entangled thickets lions, tigers, and hyenas roam and prowl in search of prey, and apes, monkeys, and parrots, and thousands of other birds of gaudy plumage, chatter, and sing, and play among the branches through all the year.

What are the characteristics of the men that inhabit the tropical regions f

The circumstances being thus so entirely different in the tropical regions from those of the Arctic or frigid zone, the men fitted to dwell in them are different too. Their color is black, that they can better resist the heat of the sun. Their constitutions are such that, while they can not endure cold, they enjoy heat, and thrive in it. They love the sun. In temper of mind they are quiet and gentle.

What are their wants in respect to food and clothing f

As the season in their country is always warm, and as fruits grow abundantly without tilling of the ground, these people have very little to do to procure themselves food and clothing. Very slightly-built huts are sufficient, too, to form their lodgings, as they only need dwellings to shelter them from the rain. Thus .they

DISTRIBUTION OF THE HUMAN RACE.

tkopical savages.

live almost like the animals that inhabit the forests around them, eating what comes most readily to hand, and spending the rest of the time in luxurious repose. They need no high intellectual powers, no capacities for enduring hardship or hunger, and no spirit of industry or ambition, and they are consequently not endued with them.

Describe the Bushmen,

Some of these tropical nations occupy a very humble position indeed in the scale of humanity. There is a race called Bushmen, who live in the southern part of Africa, whose life is almost wholly animal. They build no houses, but sleep under the trees, or in holes which they burrow in the ground. They live on roots, nuts, and insects, and are as wild as the chimpanzees or orangoutangs, which they much resemble.

What are the principal tropical countries?

The tropical portions of the earth that are inhabited by races like these are the central parts of Africa and South America, the islands of the Pacific Ocean that are near the equator, and a portion of New Holland.

20 DISTRIBUTION OF THE HUMAN RACE.

In what respect does the condition of the Polar and tropical nations agree?

These tropical savages differ very widely from the wild men that dwell about the poles in all their mental and bodily powers and qualities, and in their modes of life. In one respect, however, * they agree with them, namely, in this, that their past history has neven been written, and it can now, therefore, never be known ; nor, indeed, would mankind in general be expected to take much interest in the history of such wild and savage tribes, even if it could be known.

Describe the condition of things in the temperate regions.

We now come to the temperate portions of the earth. Here the course of the seasons, and the action of the sun on vegetable life, are such as to require the exercise of far higher and more intellectual qualities in man than are necessary either in the tropics or at the poles, because here man must till the ground during half of the year, and lay up stores of food produced by this tillage for the other half. Of course, he must be able to devise agricultural implements, and to make inclosures to defend his fields from wild beasts, and to tame animals to do his work, and to build barns and granaries for his stores of food, and houses to protect his family from the cold of winter. To meet tliese exigencies of their condition, the races that have lived in the temperate regions have been endued with higher and more intellectual natures than those that have been before described, and the powers that they have been endued with have been greatly improved by the cultivation and the exercise of them.

What are the characteristics of the races that inhabit the ternperate regions f

The consequence has been, that these races have formed themselves into extensive and powerful nations, and made innumerable discoveries and improvements in the arts of life. They have established systematic governments, and enrolled immense armies.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE HUMAN EACE.

and organized vast combinations of various kinds, to accomplish objects beyond tlie powers of individual men. They have ^ug deep mines down through the most soHd rocks, and extended them under the beds of rivers, and even beneath the sea, to procure metals and coal. They have constructed roads, and invented

wheel vehicles to run upon them, some by the power of animals, and others by the power of steam ; and ships and steamers for the sea, in order to convey the pro- Q ductions of one country to another for the purpose of exchange.

They have built vast cities to place the public and general stores of these productions in. They have investigated the laws of nature, and by their science and art have learned to surmount the greatest physical obstacles, and to perform the most astonishing exploits; and, finally, by means of various arts of writing which they have invented, they have kept, for many centuries, regular records of their history.

What are the princijpal nations that have been formed from these races f

There are a great many distinct races of men that have thus formed civilized nations in the temperate regions of the earth. The principal of them are the Chinese, the Japanese, the Tartars, the Hindoos, the Persians, the Assyrians, the Greeks, the Egyptians, the Romans, the Russians, the Germans, the French, the Spaniards, the Moors, the» British, the Mexicans, the Central

:dustkial

22 DISTEIBUTION OF THE HUMAN RACE.

Americans, and, lastly, ourselves — the Americans. All these ha^ye preserved records, more or less complete and authentic, of the events of their history.

How far is the history of these nations of interest to us f

Of these various nations, however, there are very few whose history is of any special interest or of any practical value to us. That in which we are chiefly concerned is simply the line of our own history, traced back through the nations that preceded us, and from which we descended, to ancient times.

What course do we take in tracing hack the line of our own history f

In going back to retrace this line, we follow, for two hundred years, the history of our own country. The people that settled this country two hundred years ago came from England. Of course, when we arrive at the origin of this nation, we proceed to the line of English History, which we follow back for about sixteen hundred years, to the point of its connecting with the Roman empire near the time of Christ. We here enter the field of what is called Ancient History, and we follow the line back through the Romans, Greeks, Persians, Assyrians, and Egyptians, till the record loses itself in the legends and traditions of the remotest antiquity. Thus the course of history which is of practical interest and value to us divides itself into three periods.

What are the three general branches of the subject f

1. Ancient History, extending from the earliest records to the decline and fall of the Roman empire.

2. English History, extending from the commencement of the first origin of the British government to the colonization of America.

3. American History, extending from the first colonization of this country to the present time.

What digressions will he reguii-'ed f

In following this course, however*, we shall not absolutely be confined to the history of the nations that come directly in the line, but shall be led to frequent digressions among nations incidentally and collaterally connected with them.

Chapter II. Nineveh And The Assyeians

W/iat territory was first sought for settlemeiit by the earliest inhabitants of Asia f

When the people were scattered abroad on the earth at the original dispersion of mankind, as described in the Scriptures, they would naturally, at first, seek out the most fertile regions, and those most easily tilled, to live in, and in these regions they would, of course, most rapidly increase and multiply. Accordingly, the first glimpses that we obtain of the history of the human race in those remote ages relate to several nations which seemed to spring up at a very early period, and nearly at the same time, on the borders of certain great rivers of that portion of the world which, as it happened, flowed through regions of extraordinary natural fertility.

What were the principal nations that were thus formed f

The principal nations that thus early organized themselves in these great river districts were these, namely, the Assyrians in the country of the Tigris, the Babylonians in that of the Euphrates, and the Egyptians in the valley of the Nile. In addition to these there was another very important nation, the Phoenicians, whose country was near the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

What was the situation of these countries f

The situation of these ancient nations in respect to each other you will see by the following map. The first named of them, the Assyrians, as appears by the map, occupied the country watered by the Tigris, and their capital was Nineveh.

NINEVEH AND THE ASSYEIANS.

T/rsw

^ojr

Jjf'JJamascas

lyre

What loas the capital of Assyria f Of Bahyloiiia f

We should have known probably very little about the Assyrians at the present time had it not been for the celebrity attained by the city of Nineveh, which was the capital of the country, and which acquired great renown all over the world in its day for its magnificence and splendor. It was the same in respect to Babylon and the Babylonians, who will form the subject of the next lesson.

What are the sources of information in respect to these cities at the present day f

At the time when these cities flourished the art of writing was not known, so it happens that no true and authentic accounts have come down to us respecting them. There were, however, a great many legends and tales that were related in those days in regard to the manner in which they were built, and to the people who lived in them ; and these tales, when the art of writing was at length discovered, were narrated more or less fully yi the works of various authors, and thus have come down to our day.

What evidence is there in resjpect to the truth of these accounts f

It is impossible now to determine how far these tales are true. There is no doubt, however, that the cities themselves really existed, and that they were very prosperous and powerful, for the places where they stood have been found at the present day, and the ground is covered for miles with long grassy ridges and mounds, which are found, on digging into them, to be filled with ruins and remains of every kind, bricks, sculptures, utensils, images, columns, and almost every other kind of architectural relic. Some of these relics will be presently described.

Which was the oldest of these cities f

Nineveh is supposed to have been the oldest of these two cities -, at least, the period of its power and prosperity was earlier than that in which Babylon flourished. Some of the legends and tales that are related of its early history are very curious and entertaining.

In what way do great cities usually arise at the present day, and in lohat situations f

And here it must be remarked, that ^jities and towns in ancient times were founded and built up very differently from those of the present day. Now they grow up gradually of themselves, as it were, as places of trade or of manufacture, wherever conveniences naturally exist for carrying on these pursuits, as, for example, at good landing-places on rivers, or around harbors on the sea, or by the side of waterfalls, where the flow of the water can be used to drive mills and machinery.

And how did great cities usually originate in ancient times f

In ancient times they were built by kings and chieftains to gather the people into for defense, or to make safe places for the residence of their courts, or the head-quarters of the armies.

What sort of defenses were constructed ?

The first thing to be done, therefore, in founding an ancient city, was to build a wall about it to protect the people within. It was not necessary, in general, that these walls should be very strong, for there were no cannon in those days, nor any other means of battering down a wall except to hurl stones and beams of wood against it, or to undermine and overthrow it by means of pickaxes, spades, and levers.

Where do we find the first account of the founding of Nineveh f

The first foundation of Nineveh took place at so early a period that the event is recorded in the Book of Genesis, where, in chapter X., 11, it is said, "Out of that land went Ashur, and builded Nineveh." The place was undoubtedly, at first, only a small walled town — a sort of stronghold of the chieftains who first occupied it to retreat to with their troops, and a place for the laborers to live in who cultivated the neighboring fields. It gradually increased, however, and became, at length, great and powerful.

From what source jprohably was its early prosjperity first derived f

This prosperity was owing, in part, to the very fertile character of the surrounding country ; for the whole country through which the Tigris and Euphrates flow is a vast plain, which has been famed from the earliest ages for the beauty of the scenery and the fruitfulness of the soil.

What monarch first made it a greed cajpital f

Nineveh did not, however, acquire any considerable celebrity for centuries after this time. It was made a great capital at last by Ninus, a king of the country, who arose some centuries later, and became a mighty conqueror. Ninus possessed greater talents than the kings and chieftains around him for organizing armies and carrying on wars, and so he invaded the territories of his neighbors, and conquered them, in spite of all their efforts to resist him, and thus brought their lands under his dominion, compelling the laborers who tilled the fields to pay tribute and taxes to him instead of to them, and to work for him in building the walls of cities and towns. Thus he made himself master of a great empire.

Desci'ibe the jplans which Ninus adopted for making Nineveh a great capital.

When at last he was well established in his power, he determined to build a splendid capital for the metropolis of his kingdom, and he made choice of Nineveh, which was well situated on the banks of the river, in a central part of his dominions, for the site of it. He accordingly began to lay his plans for the new city, and then proceeded to execute them on a very grand and magnificent scale by means of the money which he collected from the people, and of the labors which he compelled them to perform. He built new and strong walls around it, and reared splendid palaces, and laid out parks and gardens, and collected together a large population of merchants and artisans to carry on commerce and manufactures in it, and then, when his work was finished, he invited all the princes, potentates, and nobles of his realms to come and make it their abode.

^hat was the empire called over which Ninus ruled ?

The empire which Ninus thus established, and of which Nineveh became the capital, was the Assyrian empire — the first great empire of ancient times.

Who was the most celebrated sovereign of the Assyrian line?

Ninus was succeeded by a line of Assyrian sovereigns, of whom the most celebrated of all was the renowned Queen Semiramis. She was the queen of Ninus during that monarch's lifetime, and after his death she reigned for a time herself as regent for her son, who was very young when his father died.

What led the people of those days to invent such wonderful tales about their sovereigns f

The story of Semiramis's life was a very marvelous one. Men were accustomed in those days to invent very wonderful tales about their kings and queens, partly to impress the people with

28 NINEVEH AND THE ASSYKIANS.

very exalted ideas of these personages, and partly to amuse them by the narration of interesting stories. Of course, at the present day, these tales are not believed, but it is useful to know what they were.

Relate the account that was given of the hirth of Semiramis,

The story of Semiramis is that she was the child of a goddess. This goddess lived on the banks of a beautiful lake, which had the magical power of changing into fish every thing that fell into the water. The goddess, soon after the babe was born, determined, in a fit of passion, to kill the father of her child, who was a young shepherd that lived near the lake, and also to kill herself. She wished to destroy the babe too, but she could not bear to kill it with her own hands, and so she carried it into a lonely place in the woods, and left it there under a tree to die. When she had thus disposed of the child, she murdered the young shepherd its father, and immediately afterward she leaped into the lake herself, intending to destroy her own life. Instead of being drowned, however, she w^as turned into a fish by the magical power of the water, and from that time she continued to live in the lake in that fori# all the rest of her days.

How loas the hahe saved from j^erishing in the woods? What was the name of the shejpherd who received her f

Nor did the poor child die that had been left exposed in the wood. A flock of doves found her lyii|g there under the tree, and they at once took compassion on her. While some of them hovered about the spot to watch over her as she lay, others went off to the neighboring cottages to see if they could not, in some way or other, contrive to bring her food to eat. The shepherds who lived in the cottages saw the doves, and, observing their extraordinary actions, determined to follow them into the woods and see what it meant. The doves led the shepherds to the place where the babe was lying. The shepherds took the child, and carried her home, and one of them, a man named Simma, having no chil-

NINEVEH AND THE ASSYEIANS.

SBMIRAMIS IN THE WOoi)

dren of his own, adopted her. He named her Semiramis, and brought her up in his cottage as his own child.

Relate the circumstances of her marriage.

As Semiramis grew up, she became renowned through all the country around for her beauty, her wit, her graceful manners, and the sweetness of her disposition. Now it happened that Simma, her adopted father, was chief of Ninus's shepherds in this province, and when Semiramis was about seventeen years of age, and in 'the highest bloom of her beauty, the king sent one of his chief officers, named Menon, to make a survey of his flocks there. Menon came to the country of the shepherds to attend to this duty, and so saw Semiramis at Simma's house. He was enraptured with her beauty and her gra^ce, and he immediately offered her his hand. Semiramis was for a long time unwilling to leave her adopted father and her happy home among the shepherds, but finally she allowed herself to be persuaded, and she became Menon's wife. Shortly afterward she bade her father and all her old companions farewell, and went away with Menon, in great state, to Nineveh.

How was her husband at length temjporarily separated from her f How did she rejoin him f

She lived in Nineveh two or three years very happily, until at length, in one of the wars in which Nineveh was engaged, Menon, who was a general in the army, was called upon to accompany the king on a grand military expedition which he was about to make into, the country of the Bactrians, which lies to the eastward of Assyria. The expedition was quite successful for a time, hut at last the army arrived before a city called Bactra, which made so obstinate a resistance that for a long time they could not subdue it. They encamped about it, and invested it closely on every side, but the walls were strong and high, and they could not gain admission into the city. At length, after a considerable time had passed, Menon began to wish to see his wife again, whom he had left in Nineveh, and, as he could not be spared from the army to go and visit her, he sent word by a messenger requesting her to come and visit him. She was very ready to come, and, in order to travel more safely, she disguised herself as a young man,, and in this way made the journey without meeting with any molestation. In due time she arrived safely at the camp. Menon was overjoyed to see her.