Probably no nation of antiquity was more distinguished for luxury and corrupt pleasures than this unrivalled city.
Its last king, Nabonnidus, reigned about one hundred years before Christ appeared; and in less than that time afterward, the city walls enclosed a hunting ground or park for the recreation of Persian monarchs. We cannot well imagine a more complete destruction than has overtaken the once rich and gay metropolis. The ruins are a number of mounds, formed of crumbled buildings, and strewn all over with pieces of brick, bitumen, and potter"s vessels.
The a.s.syrian kings of western Asia, also invaded the Holy Land. They ruled a vast and powerful realm, whose princ.i.p.al city was Nineveh, to which Jonah was sent with a message from G.o.d.
Sennacherib, the monarch who reigned seven hundred years before Christ, marched his armies against the cities of Judah and took them. Not satisfied with the terms of surrender he threatened further invasion.
At this crisis, in answer to prayer, Jehovah sent his angel to destroy the troops; and in one night the unseen messenger of destruction slew one hundred and eighty-five thousand men.
Of this miraculous defeat a gifted but irreligious and unhappy poet has sung:
And there lay the steed with his nostrils all wide, But through them there rolled not the breath of his pride; And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf, And cold as the spray of the rock-beaten surf.
And there lay the rider, distorted and pale, With the dew on his brow and the rust on his mail; And the tents were all silent, and the banners alone, And the lances unlifted, the trumpets unblown.
And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail, And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal; And the might of the Gentiles, unsmote by the sword, Hath melted like snow at the glance of the Lord.
Now the greater part of the country which once formed a.s.syria, is under the sway of the Turks.
Mosul, a missionary station of the American Board of Foreign Missions, is believed to mark the site of ancient Nineveh.
The original inhabitants of a.s.syria, in modern history, are the Kurds; a barbarous and warlike race. Some of these live in villages, and others roam over the country. They are said to resemble, in personal appearance, the Highlanders of Scotland.
But the most remarkable fact in regard to the population, is the ancient church of the Nestorians, among the mountains. This Christian people have for ages maintained their independence, defying the storms of revolution that have swept over all the country around their mountain home.
Dr. Grant, a missionary, thinks they are descendants of the "lost tribes of Israel." We recollect to have seen in the hands of the venerable missionary, Rev. Dr. Perkins, a copy of the Scriptures preserved for many hundred years by them: sometimes hidden away, to prevent its destruction by its enemies.
Not long ago, one of the Nestorian bishops, Mar Yohanah, visited this country, and attracted much attention. A Jew-like, n.o.ble man personally, and a devout Christian.
But if you look on the map of Asia, you will see that Mosul and the Nestorian country is in Persia, and may wonder what it has to do with a.s.syria. In the conquests which weakened and divided the a.s.syrian empire, new kingdoms were formed; and while none can now accurately trace the boundaries of that great monarchy, we have the later outline of Persia. More will be said of this remarkable kingdom when we come to the story of Mordecai and Esther.
The thrones of these ancient monarchies were, at first, no more than an ornamented arm-chair, higher than ordinary seats, with a footstool for the royal feet. Then it was made in more ma.s.sive form and richly carved, with steps ascending to it.
Some of the thrones were of ivory, adorned with gold; and it is recorded, that Archelaus addressed the mult.i.tude from a throne of solid gold--a magnificent fortune in itself. Thus gradually the throne became the highest symbol of power, and is often applied to Jehovah"s sovereignty. He is represented as sitting upon a throne of light, and around him continually, attending angels, veiling their faces with their wings, and waiting to hear and obey his mandates; crying with their voices of celestial music, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord G.o.d Almighty, which was and is, and is to come!" A "crystal sea" is before this "White Throne" of a pure and just authority, and on it worships a resplendent host. Every sound and sight of glory and honor, that language can express, or the finest imagination picture, is ascribed to that eternal royalty.
Next to the throne, the crown became a sign of authority, although it was applied, at first, to other ornaments for the head, properly called coronets, garlands, tiaras, bands, mitres, etc.
The idea of a kingly crown was suggested by the diadem, which was a fillet--a mere band like that used to bind the long hair worn by the people--but richer and of a different color. It was natural and easy, with the increase of power and wealth, to make the crown a more costly and showy symbol of kingly sway.
David wore a crown of gold set with jewels, he took from the king of the Ammonites.
The more modern crowns of Asia, where all the kings reigned, of whom we have read in these pages, are of different shapes, and some of them very rich and expensive, ornamented with precious stones and plumes of the rarest kind.
Crowns are also often mentioned in the Bible as an emblem of power; and the Christian conqueror of his sins and the world, it is written, shall have "a crown of life."
The sceptre was the third token of sovereignty. The word originally signified a staff of wood of the length of a man"s height. Later, it was smaller in form, and often plated with gold, and enriched with various decorations. Inclining, or holding out the sceptre was a mark of royal favor; and kissing it by another, a sign of submission.
Jehovah"s rule is mentioned frequently in the inspired record, under this figure. "His sceptre is a right sceptre," in one of the declarations, which even the wicked and most wretched on account of transgression, dare not deny.
Under its wide dominion are Heaven, Earth, and h.e.l.l, not only, but a universe whose boundaries neither man nor angel can ever reach.
"He is G.o.d over all, and blessed forever!"
How amazing the truth of such a king and kingdom! Under the unsleeping eye of the Sovereign, the planet wheels on its axis with startling velocity, and the insect creeps on the grain of sand. A Russian poet beautifully sung:
Oh, thou Eternal One! whose presence bright, All s.p.a.ce doth occupy, all motion guide!
Unchanged through time"s all devastating flight, Thou only G.o.d, there is no G.o.d beside!
Being above all beings! mighty one, Whom none can comprehend, and none explore!
Who filled existence with thyself alone; Embracing all, supporting, ruling o"er!
Being, whom we call G.o.d, and know no more!
Thou art! directing, guiding all. Thou art!
Direct my understanding then to thee; Control my spirit, guide my wandering heart, Though but an atom "mid immensity.
Still I am something fashioned by thy hand!
I hold a middle rank "twixt heaven and earth, On the last verge of mortal being stand, Close to the realms where angels have their birth, Just on the boundaries of the spirit land.
Oh, thoughts ineffable! Oh, visions blest!
Though worthless our conceptions all of thee; Yet shall thy shadowed image fill our b.r.e.a.s.t.s, And waft its homage to thy Deity.
G.o.d! thus alone my lowly thoughts can soar; Thus seek thy presence--Being wise and good!
"Midst thy best works admire, obey, adore!
And when the tongue is eloquent no more, The soul shall speak in tears of grat.i.tude.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Ascent of Elijah.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: Elisha on His Death Bed.]
THE BIBLE AND THE HOLY LAND
PATRIARCHS, KINGS, AND KINGDOMS.
HEBREW CAPTIVES; OR, MORDECAI AND ESTHER.
The next pictured scene is in the Court of Persia. It will not be forgotten that Daniel was a captive in Babylon under the last kings, and probably died there after the city was taken by Cyrus. Of this great man"s history as a captive we shall learn more when we go with the prophets of G.o.d in their peculiar mission.
Nabonadrius, the son of Darius, usurped the throne after his father"s death; and after reigning several years, Cyrus, a nephew of Darius, a Persian general who was occupied in foreign wars, turned his attention to the reigning monarch.
He marched against the gorgeous metropolis, and besieged it for two years in vain. He at last thought of a stratagem which displayed his genius and boldness of action. He determined to turn the channel of the Euphrates, which went through the whole length of the city, from the walls where it entered, and get into the capital through the dry channel, under the ma.s.sive pile which no battering rams could crumble.
He succeeded in making a new bed for the stream, and his troops went into Babylon over a path washed for ages by the waters of the Euphrates.
Media, a word some suppose to be derived from Madai, the son of j.a.pheth, was the name of a region adjacent to ancient a.s.syria, inhabited by warlike hordes for centuries. The little that is said of these people in the Bible, is in connection with the Persians. Both seemed to have become one nation; first the Medes gaining the ascendancy, and then the Persians. But the darkness which rests upon the origin of the Asiatic lands bewilders the most careful historian.
The conspicuous appearance of the Medes and Persians begins with Cyrus the Great, the conqueror of Babylon, a remarkable monarch in power, glory, and character.