Madras engineers has gone nearer to
the mark, perhaps, than any other tra-
veller. The following are the results
of several trigonometrical observations
which he made at Erivan, and was so
kind as to communicate to me. From
that place to the highest point of the
loftiest head, he found 52,000 yards;
and from the same spot to the minor
head, 55,000 yards. This head, which
is distinguished by the appellation,
Little Ararat, while the higher part is
called Great Ararat, is distant from the
other, from peak to peak, 12,000 yards.
These inaccessible summits have never
been trodden by the foot of man since
the days of Noah, if even then; for my
idea is, that the ark rested in the space
between these heads, and not on the
top of either. Various attempts have
been made, in different ages, to ascend
these tremendous mountain pyramids,
but in vain. Their form, snows, and
glaciers, are insurmountable obstacles:
the distance being so great, from the
commencement of the icy region to the
highest points. Cold alone would be
the destruction of any person who
should have the hardihood to perse-
vere. On viewing Mount Ararat from
the northern side of the plain, its two
heads are separated by a wide cleft, or
rather glen, in the body of the moun-
tain. The rocky side of the greater
head runs almost perpendicularly down
to the north-east, while the lesser head
rises from the sloping bottom of the
cleft, in a perfectly conical shape. Both
heads are covered with snow. The
form of the greater is similar to the less,
only broader and rounder at the top,
and shows to the north-west, a broken
and abrupt front, opening about half
way down into a stupendous chasm,
deep, rocky, and peculiarly black. At
that part of the mountain the hollow of
the chasm receives an interruption from
the projection of minor mountains,
which start from the sides of Ararat,
like branches from the root of a tree,
and run along its undulating progres-
sions till lost in the distant vapors of
the plain." 1

AREOPAGUS. See pp. 125, 126. supra.
ARIMATHEA, a small town to which
Joseph belonged who begged the body
of Jesus from Pilate (Matt. xxvii. 57.);
it was about thirty-six, or thirty-seven
miles distant from Jerusalem.

ARNON (River). See p. 36. supra.

VOL. III.

ASHDOD. See Azoтus, p. 517. infra.
ASHER, canton of the tribe of. See
p. 13. supra.

ASIA, one of the largest divisions of
the Old World, is not mentioned in the
Old Testament. In the New Testament
it is always taken for Asia Minor, as it
includes the proconsular Asia, which
comprised the four regions of Phrygia,
Mysia, Caria, and Lydia. In this pro-
consular Asia were the seven churches
of Ephesus,Laodicea, Pergamos, Phila-
delphia, Sardis, Smyrna, and Thyatira.

Assos, a maritime city of Mysia, ac-
cording to some geographers, but of
Troas, according to others. It is men-
tioned in Acts xx. 13, 14.

ASSYRIA, a country of Asia, the boun-
daries of which it is difficult to assign.
It appears to have been situated be-
tween the Tigris and the Euphrates,
inclosed between those two rivers, from
the part where they begin to approach
each other on leaving Mesopotamia to
that where they join, not far from their
mouth in the Gulf of Persia.

It must naturally excite surprise, that
so small a country should have been
able to send forth armies of a million or
twelve hundred thousand men ; a num-
ber which dismays the imagination,
especially when we consider how many
attendants they must have had exclu-
sive of fighting men. But this kind of
enigma is explained by the manner in
which these vast armies were formed.

From the centre of a not very exten-
sive domain a warlike band frequently
issued, which poured upon the neigh-
bouring country, carrying away the in-
habitants, who, having no other re-
source, incorporated themselves with
the conquerors. United, and allured
by the hope of plunder, they proceeded
onwards, ravaging other lands, and in-
creasing their army with the despoiled
inhabitants, who in like manner joined
them. Thus were formed those wan-
dering hordes, which, under the name
of Assyrians, subdued Mesopotamia,
penetrated to Armenia, Media, and
Persia, inundated Syria like a torrent,
and carried devastation through Chal-
dæa, become the country of the Jews.
As their conquests extended, the centre
of their power became surrounded
with deserts, and itself a desert. It is in
vain that we seek the vestiges of the
most famous cities, Nineveh for in-
stance, which, from the descriptions

1 See Sir R. Ker Porter's Travels in Persia, vol. i. pp. 183, 184.

66

that have reached us, have been justly | pire, which she left in a flourishing state enumerated among the wonders of the world.

It is in vain, likewise, that we inquire, what were the manners, religion, commerce, and usages of the Assyrians. They must have been those of all the various nations who united to form them; that is to say, they were conquerors and barbarians who allowed the greatest liberty in their police and their ceremonies, provided none of their people adopted laws or practices which might obstruct the success of their warlike expeditions.

to her son Ninyas, A. M. 2831, B. C. 1173. The Scriptures are totally silent concerning the subsequent history of that celebrated monarchy, and the successors of Ninyas, until the time of the prophet Jonah, who flourished A. M. 3180, B. c. 824; and even then they do not state the name of the monarch who filled the Assyrian throne. It is evident, however, that Nineveh was at that time a city of immense extent, whose inhabitants, like those of other great cities abounding in wealth and luxury, were extremely corrupt in their morals. But, at the preaching of Jonah, both sovereign and subjects repented and abandoned their evil ways, and thus for a time delayed the execution of the divine judgments. About fifty years after the time of Jonah, the Scriptures mention a king of Assyria, named Pul, who invaded the kingdom of Israel in the days of Menahem (2 Kings xv. 19. 1 Chron. v. 26.), who gave him a thousand talents of silver to engage him to lend him his assistance, and secure him on his throne. Pul is supposed to have been the father of Sardanapalus, the last king of the Assyrians, in whose reign the crimes of the Ninevites having risen to their utmost height, God raised up enemies to chastise them. Arbaces the Median, indignant at the effeminate and luxurious life which Sardanapalus

It may be supposed, that a people in this unsettled state had neither the time nor the means to write annals which may serve as a basis for chronology, or furnish any certain dates. The memory of the principal facts could only be preserved by tradition, and it has been transmitted to us with not a few variations by the Greeks. At the same time that it is allowed, that we owe to the latter almost all the historical knowledge we possess relative to the antient nations of Asia, it must be admitted, that they have greatly disfigured it by accommodating to their own language and pronunciation the names of persons and divinities, and assimilating events to their own traditions in such a manner, that when we imagine we are in possession of authentic facts, we frequently discover them to be only Gre-led in his palace, conspired with Belecian fables. This observation may serve to point out the degree of confidence which ought to be reposed in the histories of these antient times. Sketch of the History of Assyria, illustrative of the Prophetic Writings. The empire of Assyria was founded by Ninus, the son of Belus; and, according to Herodotus, it continued five hundred and twenty years. (Herod. lib. i. c. 95.) Ninus reigned one hundred and twenty-two years,according to some historians (Jul. African, and Eusebius in Chron.), though others make his reign to have lasted only seventeen years. (Diod. Sicul. lib. ii. c. i-iv.) He enlarged and embellished the antient city of Nineveh, which had been built by Nimrod, many ages before his time, (Gen. x. 9, 10.) The commencement of his reign is fixed by Archbishop Usher to the year of the world 2737, B. c. 1267, during the period when Deborah and Barak judged the Israelites. Ninus was succeeded by his queen Semiramis, who reigned forty-two years. She enlarged the Assyrian em

sis, governor of Babylon, to shake off the yoke of so worthless a sovereign. After various engagements, they compelled him to retreat to Nineveh, where he expected that he should be able to defend himself a long time, because the city was strongly fortified, and the besiegers had not machines to batter the walls. But in the third year of the siege, the river Tigris, being swollen with continual rains, overflowed part of the city, agreeably to the predictions of Nahum (particularly i. 8-10.), and broke down the wall for twenty furlongs. Sardanapalus, that he might not fall into the hands of his enemies, burnt himself in his palace, with his women and all his immense treasures. (Usher's Annals, p. 48. A. M. 3254. Athenæus, lib. xii. c. 12.) Arbaces and Belesis then divided the dominions of Sardanapalus: the former had Media, which he restored to its liberty; the latter had Babylon, where he reigned fourteen years: Nineveh they left to Ninus the younger, who was heir to the antient kings of Assyria, and main

tained the second Assyrian monarchy with considerable splendour; so that out of the ruins of this vast empire there were formed three considerable kingdoms, viz. that of Nineveh, that of Babylon, and that of the Medes. We shall briefly consider each of them, separately, according to the share they had in the affairs of the Jews.

Belesis, called Baladan by Isaiah (xxxix. 1. 2 Kings xx. 12.), is the Nabonassar of profane historians. He founded the Babylonian empire, of which he made Babylon the metropolis. He was succeeded by his son Merodach-Baladan, who cultivated Hezekiah's friendship, as appears from the embassy which he sent to the latter, to congratulate him on his recovery from sickness (2 Kings xx. 12.), A. M. 3291, B. c. 713. After this time the sacred historians are silent concerning the kings of Babylon, until the time of Esar-haddon, who is noticed in a following page.

The younger Ninus, who was left king of Assyria and Nineveh, is the Tiglath-pileser of the Scriptures (2 Kings xv. 29. xvi. 7. 10. 2 Chron. xxviii. 20.), a. m. 3257, B. c. 747. His empire appears to have been the most celebrated in the East; as Ahaz king of Judah sent to request his assistance against Rezin king of Damascus, and Pekah king of Israel. Accordingly, Tiglath-pileser advanced with a numerous army, defeated Rezin, captured Damascus, and put an end to the kingdom erected there by the Syrians, agreeably to the predictions of Isaiah (viii. 4.) and Amos (i. 5.) He also entered the kingdom of Israel, conquered Pekah, and carried away part of the ten tribes beyond the river Euphrates. But Abaz soon had cause to regret this unhallowed alliance: for Tiglath-pileser exacted from him such immense sums of money, that he was obliged not only to exhaust his own treasures, but also to take all the gold and silver out of the temple. (2 Chron. xxviii. 20, 21. 24.) | Ahaz became tributary to the Assyrian monarch, whose successors found abundance of pretexts for entering the kingdom of Judah, which they ultimately ruined and subverted.

|

of the Israelites who remained, by carrying them into captivity beyond the Euphrates. Thus terminated the kingdomn of Israel A. M. 3283, B. c. 721. (2 Kings xvii. 3. xviii. 9-11.) Hezekiah, by the special protection of God, escaped the fury of Shalmaneser, to whom, however, he became tributary, and the Assyrian returned in triumph to Nineveh.

Shortly after these events, most of the maritime cities that were subject to the Tyrians revolted against them, and submitted to the Assyrians. Shalmaneser advanced to their assistance. These cities furnished him with a fleet of sixty or seventy vessels, manned by eight hundred Phoenician rowers. They were attacked by the Tyrians with twelve vessels only; who dispersed their fleet, and took five hundred prisoners. The Assyrian monarch did not venture to lay siege to Tyre; but he left bodies of troops in its vicinity to guard the river and aqueducts whence the Tyrians obtained their supplies of water. His precautions were frustrated by the besieged, who dug wells within their city. It was about this time that Isaiah denounced against them those judgments which are recorded in the twenty-third chapter of his prophecies. And Hezekiah seems to have availed himself of the troubled state of Phouicia and the whole coast of the Mediterranean, in order to attack the Philistines. (2 Kings xviii. 7, 8.)

Sennacherib ascended the throne of Assyria A. M. 3287, в. c. 717, and was immediately involved in war, both in Asia and in Egypt. While he was thus engaged, Hezekiah shook off the yoke of the Assyrians, and refused to pay the tribute exacted from him by Shalmaneser. It appears from some passages of Scripture that Hezekiah had concluded treaties of mutual alliance and defence with the kings of Egypt and Ethiopia against the Assyrian monarch. (Isa. xxx. 1. et seq. 2 Kings xviii. 24. xix. 9.) Upon Hezekiah's refusal of the tribute, Sennacherib invaded Judah with a mighty army, and captured the principal cities of that country. It is probable that he took Damascus in his progress. The pious monarch, grieved Shalmaneser, the successor of Tig- to see his kingdom pillaged, implored lath-pileser, came into Syria A. M. 3280, peace of Sennacherib on any terms he B. c. 724, and desolated the country of would prescribe; and gave him three the Moabites, agreeably to the prophe-hundred talents of silver and thirty cy of Isaiah (xvi. 1.), delivered three talents of gold to withdraw. But the years before. He then attacked Sa- | Assyrian, regardless alike of the sancmaria, and completed the misfortunes tion of oaths and of treaties, continued

to Babylon. (2 Chron. xxxiii.) This last war, however, happened long after those above related." Esar-haddon restored the glory of Assyria; and, in addition to his other victories, to the sceptre of Nineveh he united that of Babylon, having availed himself of the intestine troubles and commotions occasioned by the extinction of the royal family, to make himself master of that city, and annex it to his former dominions. Manasseh, having been restored to the divine favour after a deep and sincere repentance, obtained his liberty, and returned to Jerusalem, after a short captivity at Babylon. (Usher's Annals, A. M. 3327.)

the war, and prosecuted his conquests more vigorously than ever. Nothing was able to withstand his power; and of all the strong places of Judah, none remained uncaptured but Jerusalem, | which was reduced to the very last extremity. Isaiah, however, encouraged Hezekiah by promises of divine interposition and deliverance, and announced that the enemy would soon be obliged to return into his own country. (2 Kings xix. 20-34.) Accordingly, after Sennacherib had defeated the allied forces of the king of Egypt and of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, who had advanced against him to assist Hezekiah, he returned into Judah with immense spoil, and renewed the seige of Jerusalem : but an angel of Jehovah slew one hun-succeeded Esar-haddon, and reigned dred and eighty-five thousand of his troops. (2 Kings xix. 35.) Sennacherib returned to Nineveh, where two of his sons, weary of his tyranny and savage temper, slew him while he was wor-jugate all the neighbouring territories. shipping in the temple of Nisroch his god, and immediately fled into the mountains of Armenia. (2 Kings xix. 37. Tobit i. 21.)

It was during the first year of this war that Hezekiah fell sick, and was cured in a miraculous manner, and that the shadow of the sun went back ten degrees on the dial of the palace, to prove the truth of Isaiah's prediction of his recovery. The report of this cure having reached as far as Babylon, the king Merodach-Baladan sent ambassadors to congratulate Hezekiah on his recovery, and to acquaint themselves with the miracle. (2 Kings xviii. xix. xx. Isa. xxxviii. xxxix.) Hezekiah, flattered with the honour thus conferred on him, in the secret pride and vanity of his heart, showed the ambassadors the vast treasure he possessed, and all the magnificence of his palace. For this he was reproved by the prophet Isaiah, who predicted that all his riches would one day be transported to Babylon.

A. M. 3294, B. c. 710. On the death of Sennacherib, Esar-haddon, another of his sons, reigned in his stead. He is called Sargon by Isaiah. (xx. 1.) He reigned twenty-nine years, during which he waged war with the Philistines, from whom his general, Tartan, took Ashdod. He also attacked Egypt and Ethiopia (Isa. xx.), and Idumæa or Edom (Isa. xxxiv.), in order to avenge the injuries they had committed against his father Sennacherib; and at length he took Jerusalem, and carried Manasseh king of Judah

Saosduchin or Nebuchadnezzar I.

twenty years, according to Ptolemy. Having conquered Arphaxad king of the Medes (the Deioces of Herodotus, lib. i. cc. 101, 102.), he resolved to sub

He therefore dispatched Holofernes into Syria and Palestine with an immense army; but that general was slain, and his army totally discomfited, before Bethulia, in the manner related in the apocryphal book of Judith.

A. M. 3356, B. c. 648, Saracus, otherwise called Chinaldon or Chyna-Ladanus, succeeded Saosduchin in the Assyrian throne. Having rendered himself obnoxious to his subjects by his effeminacy, and the little care he took of his dominions, Nabopolassar satrap of Babylon, and Cyaxares the son of Astyages king of Media, leagued together against him. He was besieged in Nineveh, which was taken by his enemies, who partitioned his dominions between them; Nabopolassar becoming master of Nineveh and Babylon, and Cyaxares having Media and the adjacent provinces. (Usher's Annals, A. M. 3378, p. 62.)

ATHENS, a celebrated city of Greece, some time a very powerful commonwealth, distinguished by the military talents, but still more by the learning, eloquence, and politeness of its inhabitants. Saint Paul coming hither, a. D. 32, found them plunged in idolatry, occupied in inquiring and reporting news, curious to know every thing,and divided in opinion concerning religion and happiness. (Acts xvii.) The great apostle of the Gentiles, taking opportunities here to preach Jesus Christ, was carried before the judges of the tribunal, called the Areopagus; where he gave an illustrious testimony to truth, and a