Ancient history from the dispersion of the sons of Noe to the Battle of Actium, and, change of the Roman Republic into an empire
•. 5 '- '• " '-.'•- • -.' - "' - I - • • •-•:• . mK IP M :vv.v.v; --•.-•*<-. ;v._^;,.,'. ^ 1 1 -' .-'- ;'',"- •-:• -':" ' .-' m f ANCIENT HISTORY: FROM TUB DISPERSION OF THE SONS OF NOE, TO THE BATTLE OF ACTIUM, AND Cijaitgj nf tjp Enraan HjpnUrc intn n Cmpirr. BY PETER FREDET, D.D., PROFESSOR or HISTORY i* ST. MARY'S COLLEGE, BALTIMORE; AUTHOK OF "MODERN HISTOKY" Historia testis tsmpornm, IHT veritatis, vita memoria-, mas'scra vltss, nnntia rctnstatia**' Cicer., lib. ii. de Ural., c. ix. n. 3C, *nt^ (SbUiim, Jtartfullg ^P&is:^. (Snlarcje^ aivfe |mgrocjeb. DUBLIN: JAMES DUFFY, WELLINGTON QUAY, AND 22, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON. Dublin: Printed by Pattison Jolly, 22, Essex-st. West, PEEFACE. BESIDES the many advantages resulting from the general knowledge of history, there are various inducements for the study of ancient history in particular. The interest naturally attached to the lives of remarkable persons, the revo- lutions, civil or military transactions, manners and customs of remote ages, tha connection which they have with the leading branches of polite literature, the facility which they afford for the understanding of the Greek and Latin classics, and of many historical books of the Old Testament, are surely reasons well calculated to convince every one of the importance of ancient history. Such, at least, was the opinion of the author of this volume. Aware of the difficulties which attend historical compositions, he has taken every precaution not to introduce into its pages any thing doubtful, or not substantiated by some authority worthy of credit. To effect his purpose, lie has spared neither time nor trouble, and has imposed on himself the task of assiduous research in the best sources of information, and consulted the most approved writers, both ancient and modern. Equal care has been taken to avoid prolixity and excessive brevity ; because, on the one hand, the generality of readers and students have riot sufficient leisure for the perusal of lengthy works ; and, on the other, excessive brevity strips history of its principal usefulness and interest, by crowding together, within a few pages, a multitude of events with but few particulars and cir- cumstances, and, consequently, without adequate means to distinguish the facts with precision, and to state with accuracy their various degrees of importance. Whatever may be, in some respects, the utility of a mere compendium, it certainly cannot equal that of a more copious history, when written in a proper spirit ; a history in which all prominent transactions, being accompanied with suitable developments, appear in a more striking light, and can thus be easily and duly appreciated from facts of secondary importance. For the same reason and by the help of instructive details, the more copious history is susceptible of a degree of interest which can never be imparted to the mere abbreviation. It has, likewise, been deemed far better (as in our Modern History) not to give a separate account of each nation, but to carry on the history of all ths 2038^45 4 PREFACE. rations of antiquity together, by connecting its various parts as far as might b« consistent with the nature and the succession of events. Not only has this method been adopted by the ablest historians, such as Hprodotus, Polybius, Justin, Prideaux, Petavius, Eollin, etc., but it is manifestly more conformable to the course of nature; for, nations do not exist in an isolated manner; they live, act, and progress together in the succession of ages ; they incessantly come in contact with one another, either by hostile or by friendly relations. Social and political preeminence belongs sometimes to one, sometimes to another. Now these essential features must either disappear, or be very imperfectly re- presented in a historical work which, professing to treat of all the great nations of the Earth, does not connect them in one narrative, but treats of every ona separately. The mind, in this case, instead of taking a grand view of the whole, is confined to a consideration of desultory subjects ; the memory becomes con- fused by the multiplicity of particular histories, and, in the end, is rendered almost totally unable to distinguish what belongs to each of them. Add to this the inconvenience of being obliged to resort continually to repetitions or re- ferences, whenever mention is made of events in which two or more nations are concerned, as is always the case in foreign wars, coalitions, and treaties of peace. The truth of these remarks is strongly supported by the testimony of Poly- bius, a Greek historian, not leas admired for the solidity of his judgment than for the extent of his learning. "Whoever", says he (General Hist., b. i. c. 1), "is persuaded that the study of particular histories is alone sufficient to convey a perfect view and knowledge of the whole, may very properly be com- pared with one, who, on surveying the divided members of a body that was once endued with life, should persuade himself that he had thence obtained a just conception of all the comeliness and active vigour which it had received from nature. But let these broken parts be again placed in order, restored to all their first activity and life, and be once more offered to his view, he will then be ready to acknowledge, that all his former notions were as remote from the truth as the shadows of a dream are different from realities. For, thougU some faint conception of the whole may, perhaps, arise from a careful examination of the parts, no distinct or perfect knowledge can ever be expected from it. In the same manner, it must also be confessed, that particular relations are by no means capable of yielding any clear or extensive view into general history ; and that the only method which can render this kind of study both entertaining and instructive, is that which draws together all the several events, and ranges them in their due place and order, distinguishing also tfieir connection and their difference". This method then (however common, at present, the opposite practice) is by far preferable to any other. Should, however, any one still prefer to read and Study the history of each nation separately, even that he may easily find in the present work, by perusing the table of contents, and selecting thence all the PREFACE. 5 titles and pages which belong to the history of the same nation ; e. g. as to tlio Carthaginians, pp. 59, 146, 211, 271 — 299; and for Grecian history, pp. So— 43, 74—87, 122, 128—146, 162—203, 214-258, 299—307, and 315. The same for other nations, Persians, Romans, etc. In order to render the whole work still more useful and easy, a few prominent facts, called epochs, are selected, to which all the other events that immediately precede or follow, may be easily referred. For the same reason, care is takeu iiot to perplex the mind of the reader with the various systems of chronology that are or have been in use among the learned. Only that svstem will ba used throughout this volume which has been the most commonly adopted, and according to which there elapsed about four thousand years from the creation of the world to the coming of our Saviour. Thus, the years for Ancient History will be simply dated before the birth of Christ in their regular succession, as they are dated/nun the birth of Christ for Modern History. The usual notice of the religion, government, laws, and manners of the diffe- rent nations of antiquity, will find its proper place in those periods of their existence in which any one of them acted a prominent part in the history of the world. By being thus distributed, and placed at certain intervals, par- ticulars of this kind will not be tedious, and may rather contribute to the interest of the work, by introducing variety into the otherwise monotonous detail of political or military transactions. The same objects, besides, will be treated of under a general point of view, and at greater length, iu a separate part towards the end of the volume. Should it appear to any one that too much praise for virtue is bestowed on the ancient heroes of Greece and Rome, we would beg leave to observe, 1. Thac we nowhere intend to represent their virtues as perfect ; on the contrary, we re- peatedly make the remark, that the best moral qualities of the ancients were often disgraced in the same persons by the coexistence of gross vices, and still more frequently tainted by the base motive of ambition or vanity. 2. It is nevertheless true, that many admirable actions of patriotism, justice, clemency, magnanimity, continency, temperance, etc., were performed by the Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans of old. This fact cannot be denied ; but whilst it should serve as a severe rebuke to those Christians who are not ashamed to be less virtuous than pagans, it merely shows what is otherwise known from the principles of the true religion, — that man is not universally and essentially corrupt; that he is free to do good or evil, and that the Almighty is ever ready to lend him a gracious assistance in the discharge of his dutie-. It shows, on the other hand, that social virtues and deeds of merely natural honesty can be found in false religions, even among the heathens, however far from the kingdom of God ; and consequently, that they cannot, by themselves, afford any ground for hope, and much less for security, with regard to the future state of man's immortal souL 6 PREFACE. Our work opens with a brief sketch of the history of onr first parents, of their primitive innocence, their subsequent disobedience and fall, and of the awful catastrophe brought about by the crimes of their descendants, and which des- troyed ell mankind, wkh the exception of one virtuous family destined by Almighty God to repeople the Earth after the deluge. We however leave the particulars of these momentous events to Sacred History, to which they pecu- liarly belong. Our object being the civil history of the ancient world, tin present volume ought properly to begin with the dispersion of the sons of Noe, which was soon followed by the foundation of the first states and empires. From that remote period, our History proceeds as far as the change of the Roman republic into a monarchy, or the reign of Cassar Augustus, when a new and still more important era began. This narrative includes an interval of about twenty-two centuries, divided into six parts or epochs, as follows: — The first part extends from the dispersion of the sons of Noe (B. C. 2247), to the close of the Trojan war (1184), including 10G3 years. The second, from the close of the Trojan war (B. C. 1184), to the building of Rome (B. C. 753)— 431 years. The third, from the building of Rome (B. C. 753), to the destruction of the Babylonian, and the rise of the Persian empire (B. C. 536) — 217 years. The fourth, from the rise of the Persian empire (B. C. 536;, to its overthrow, aad the death of Alexander the Great (B. C. 324)— 212 years. The fifth, fro.ni the death of Alexander the Great (B. C. 324), to the end of the Punic wars and of Grecian independence, or the destruction of Carthage and Corinth ;B. C. 14G) — 178 years. The sixth, from the destruction of -Carthage and Corinth (B. C. 146), to the battle of Actium and change of the Roman, commonwealth into ail empire (B. C. 31)— 115 years. A seventh part treats of the Laws and Polity, Arts, Manners, and Customs, of Ancient Nations ; and an appendix adds further iiilyriualiim about tlitfir Litera- ture, and some other puiuta of great interest. t THE PUBLISHER'S PKEFACE. THIS new edition of Ancient History has been prepared with much labour an± care by the author. He has not only inserted various improvements into the body of the work, but he has also comprised, in a distinct part, a multitude of observations and facts taken from the best authors, which it was not possible to introduce into any other portion of the volume. This additional part will, it is hoped, be found very useful to give an insight into the condition, character, social life, and customs of early societies; the more so, as those objects princi- pally have been made a matter of notice, which contribute, in a peculiar manner, to the welfare and prosperity of states, such as polity, agriculture, commerce, etc. Finally, an Appendix has been added, containing much in» formation relating to ancient literature and some other important subjects. This edition of the Ancient is, moreover, accompanied with a new edition of Modern History, which has also been carefully revised and improved by additions bearing on the late important events, till the year of our Lord 1854. Hence, the two works together present a complete history of the civilized •*vh>rld throughout the whole duration of its existence, from the creation dowa to our own time, a space of 5854 years. It is comprised in two large 12mo volumes, of nearly equal size, and containing, jointly, upwards of a thousand pages. BALTIMORE, Augtut, CONTENTS. iPART I. FROM THE DISPERSION OF TIIK SONS OF NOE (B. C. 224:7), TO THE CLOSE OF THE TROJAN WAR (B. C. 118i> Tage , Brief introductory account of the first ages of the world ... 13 The Creation and the Deluge . . ib. Dispersion of men after the deluge — Beginning of all civil history 16 Rise of the earliest states ... 19 Babylonians, Assyrians, Pheni- cians, etc ib. Egyptians 22 lertility and Monuments of Egypt ib. Kings of Egypt ...... 25 Government, laws, and manners of the ancient Egyptians ... 29 Religion of the Egyptians — Ori- gin, progress, and extent of Idolatry 31 Barrier opposed to Idolatry . . 33 Hebrews or Israelites .... ib. Rise and progress of the Grecian States 35 Kingdom of Troy ib. Siege and Destruction of Troy . 38 PART II. WAR (B. C. 1184), TO THE BUILDING Of (B. c. 753). Manners of the Assyrians and 41 Babylonians 49 ib. The Israelites under their kings . 51 Reign of Saul ib. 43 Reigu of David 52 44 Reign of Solomon 54 47 Schism of the Ten Tribes ... 55 Kings of Juda from Roboam to ' ib. Aehaz — Prophets 55 >'-; Egypt during the second period . 59 Rise of Carthage ib. PART III. FKC1I THE BUTLDIN'G OF ROME (B. C. 753), TO THE DESTRUCTION OF THE BABYLONIAN AND RISE OF THE PERSIAN EMPIUE (B. C. 536). FKOK THE CLOSE OF THE TKOJAX KO3IE Political situation of Greece after the Trojan war . ..... Grecian colonies and dialects .. Assyrian Empire under iN'inus and Semiramis Description of Babylon .... Semiramis continued — Xinjas Decline and fall of the first Assy- rian Empire Learning, Industry, Religion, and Building of Rome 61 Romulus .63 Xuma Pompilius ...... 67 Tullus Hostilius ...... 68 Ancus Martins 70 Tarquinius Priscus, or Tarquin the Elder 71 Servius Tultius 72 Grecian Colonies in Italy, Sicily, and Gaul 74 Greece during the third period . 76 Sparta or Lacedsemon — Legisla- tion of Lycurgus A Contest betweea the Spartans and the Argives 81 Messeuiaa Wars &J 10 CONTENTS. Page, Athens : its revolutions and go- vernment— Solon — Pisistratus. 83 Second Assyrian, afterwards Ba- bylonian Empire : comprising also the contemporary history of the Medes, Israelites, Jews, and Egyptians. ..... 87 Kings of Ninive — Theglathpha- lasar 87 Salmanasar 83 Sennacherib ib. Asarhaddon 89 Saosduchinus, or Nabuchodono- sor 1 90 Saracus, or Chinaladanus ... 92 Kings of Babylon — ^subopolassar. 93 Kabuchodonosor II., or the Great. 94 Decline of the Babylon an Empire 96 Croesus — the Lydians .... ib. Cyrus — the Persians .... 98 First campaigns of Cyrus at the head of the Persians and Medes 99 Decisive battle of Thymbra or Thybarra, between Cyrus and Croesus 101 New Conquests of Cyrus — Fall of Babylon — Foundation of the Persian Empire 105 Religion, Government, Laws, and Manners of the ancient Per- sians— Causes of their rapid pro- gress, and of their subsequent decline 108 PART IV. FBOM THE FOUXDATIOX OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE (B. C. 536), TO ITS OVER- THROW, AND THE i»EATH OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT (B. C. 324:). Reign of Cyrus — Death and cha- racter of that prince .... 112 First successors of Cyrus — Cam- byses and Smerdis .... 115 Tarquin the Proud, the last of the Roman kings 118 Borne a Republic — Consuls — War against Porsenna — Battle of Regillus, which insured the ex- istence of the commonwealth. . 119 Revolutions in Athens .... 122 Persian Empire 123 Reign of Darius Hystaspes till the beginning of his war against the Greeks ib. War between the Greeks and Per- sians, commenced under Darius 128 War between the Greeks and Per- sians, continued under Xerxes . 133 War between the Greeks and Per- sians, concluded under Arta- xerxes-Longimanus . . . 141 Defeat of the Carthaginians in Sicily — Great qualities of Ge- lon, prince and sovereign of Syracuse 14G The Roman Commonwealth from the institution of the Dictator- ship to the expulsion of the 'Decemviri ....... 148 Origin of the office of Dictator . 348 Rise of the Plebeian Tribunes . . 150 Banishment of Marcius Coriolanus 151 The Agrarian law — Ambition and punishment of Spurius Cassius. 152 Generosity and patriotism of the Fabian family 154 Dictatorship of Quintius Cincin- natus 158 The laws of the Twelve Tables — Tyranny and expulsion of the Decemviri 160 Prosperity and splendour of Athens under the administration of Pericles 162 Peloponnesian war ..... 167 Trial and death of Socrates . . I/* Expedition of Cyrus the Younger —Retreat of the Ten Thou- sand 182 Great qualities and exploits of Agesilaus — League against Sparta — Peace of Antalcidas . 184 Theban war 188 General state of Greece at the close of the Theban war . . . 197 Religion, Manners, and Institu- tions of Greece 198 Religion of the Greeks — Oracles . ib. CONTENTS. 11 National manners of the Greeks — Solemn Games Grecian institutions and schools of Philosophy Roman Commonwealth from the expulsion of the Decemviri to the entire subjection of the Latins Censors, Quaestors, and Military Tribunes Conquest of the cities of Veii and Falerii — Camillus . . .. Rome taken by the Gauls .. Plebeian Consuls — Patrician -ffld- iles — Praetors Final and complete subjection of the Latin tribes to the Roman power Jage. 200 201 203 ib. 205 207 Affairs of Sicily and Carthage .211 Macedonian Kingdom — Reign of Philip 214 Demosthenes and JEschines . . 218 Political situation of the Persian Empire 221 Alexander the Great .... 222 His accession to the throne, and first exploits ib. Alexander undertakes the con- quest of Asia — Fall of the Per- sian Empire 225 Disturbances in Greece — Further conquests of Alexander in Asia — His return to Babylon, death, and character ...... 234 PART V FROM THE DEATH. OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT (B. C. 324), TO THE END OF THE PUNIC WARS AND OF GRECIAN INDEPENDENCE, OR THE DESTRUCTION OK CARTHAGE AND CORINTH (u. C. 146), Dismemberment and partition of Alexander's empire .... 240 Kingdom of Egypt ..... 245 Kingdom of Syria 247 Kingdom of Macedon — Sparta un- der the contemporary kings Agis and Cleomenes 248 History of the Achaean League under Aratus ...... 252 Achaean League under Philopoe- men 255 Affairs of Carthage and Sicily — Agathocles, tyrant of Syracuse 258 War of the Romans against the Samnites 2GO ... Its beginning and first result ib. ... Its renewal and-progress . . 263 ... Its close 267 War of the Romans against Pyrr- hws — Adventures and death of that prince ....... 268 First Punic war 271 Rome after the first Punic war . 278 'Cartilage after the first Punic war — Kevolt of the Mercenaries . 279 Manners, Government, Character, and Religion of the Cartha- ginians . . 281 Second Punic war 283 Origin of the second Punic war — Progress and signal victories of Annibal 284 Preponderance regained by the Romans — Scipio Africanus — Battle of Zama, and conclusion of the war 291 Scipio and Annibal continued . .297 Antiochus the Great, king of Syria 29f Philip, king of Macedon . . .301 Perseus — Fall of Macedon . . . 304 Eastern nations, especially the Jews nnder the Asmoneans or Machabeea ....... 307 Third Punic war, and destruction of Carthage 313 End of Grecian independence, and destruction of Corinth . . . 315 12 CONTENTS PART VI. FROM THE END OF THE PUNlU WARS AND OF GRECIAN ttnXEPENDEXCE, OK THE DESTRUCTION OF CARTHAGE AND CORINTH (B. C. 14:6), TO THE BATTLE OF ACTIUM AND CHANGE OF THE K.O3LXN CO3IM.ONWKALXH 1SXO AN (B. C. 31). Observations on the prodigious in- crease of Roman power, and on , the causes which led to the change of the commonwealth - ' into an empire 319 Affairs of the Romans in Spain . 326 Insurrection in Sicily .... 328 Disturbances excited by the Grac- chi 329 Scipio jEmilianus — his death and character 333 War against Jugurtha .... 336 Invasion and defeat of the Teu- tones and Cimbri ..... 340 Marius continued — War of the Al- lies, or the Confederate War — .' First war against Mithridates «. — Civil war between Marius and Sylla — Victories, power, abdi-. cation, and death of Sylla . . 343 Exploits of Sertorias in Spain, and of Spartacus in Italy .... 354: Second war against Mithridates — Splendid victories of Lucullus ' — Private life and character of this general 357 War against the pirates — Extra- ordinary success and reputation of Pompey ....... 362 Third and last war against Mithri- dates — Further conquests of Pompey — Affairs of Pontus, Ar- menia, Syria, and Palestine. Consulate of Cicero — Catiline's conspiracy detected and sup- pressed ........ Cato the Younger ..... First Triumvirate — Pompey, J. Caesar, and Crassus .... Conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar Disastrous expedition of Crassus against the Parthians . .. Rival pretensions of Pompey and J. Caesar — Civil war — Battle of Pharsalia, and death of Pompey Civil war continued — Victories, dictatorship, and death of Julius Cuesar ........ Rome after the death of Coesar — Second Triumvirate, consisting of Mark Antony, Octavius, and 1 Lepidus — Battle of Philippi, and ruin of the republican party. Octavius and Mark Antony con- tinued — New civil war — Battle ' of Actiuni, and change of the Roman commonwealth into an empire ....... Page. 3G4 307 370 374 378 387 391 397 408 PART VII. LAWS AND POLITY, ARTS, MANNERS, AND CUSTOMS OF ANCIENT JTATIOXS. Laws and Polity 418 Agriculture 423 Commerce . 431 Navigation ........ 438 Military Art 446 Enlisting and levying of troops . 449 Immediate preparations for the opening of a campaign — Ap- pointment of the general — De- parture, march, encampment, and discipline of the army . . 458 Battles and campaigns .... 459 Attack and defence of fortified places 464 Close and ordinary results of war among the ancients .... 4G9 General manners and customs of ancient nations 471 Appendix . . . 478 Chronological Table. . , . 4'J7 Table of Authors.. ..»,.. 606 ANCIENT HISTORY. PAUT I. FKO3I THE BISFEKSIO^ OF THE SOXS OF NOE (c, C. 2247\ 16 THE CLOSK OF THE TEOJAN WAK (B. C. 1184). ' BRIEF INTRODUCTORY ACCOUNT OF THE FIRST AGES OF THE WORLD. THE CREATION AND THE DELUGE.* WE learn from the sacred pages that God created the world in the space of six days. The concluding part of this great work of his omnipotence was the creation of our first parents, Adam and Eve. God formed the body of Adam of the siime of the Earth, and anima- ted that body with a soul, or spiritual substance, which he endowed with understanding and free-will in order that man might know and love his Creator. The Lord then, having " cast a deep sleep" upon Adam, took one of his ribs, and with it he formed Eve, the first woman, and the mother of ail men (s. c. about 4000). Adam and Eve were created in the state of innocence, and placed in a most beautiful garden or Earthly Paradise. God allowed them to eat of all the fruits of that delightful abode, except the fruit of one tree, which he forbade them to eat, under the penalty of becoming subject to death and other evils. This precept, although an easy one, was not long complied witR by Adam and Eve. The Devil, or fallen angel, whom pride had made an enemy of God, being jealous of their happiness, resolved to destroy it, by inducing them to transgress the divine command. Under the form of a serpent, he addressed Eve, as the weaker of tho two, and suggested to her that, if they should eat of the forbidden: * From the Book of Genesis, i.— js» 14 ANCIENT HISTORY. . PAST!, frnit, " their eyes would be opened, and they would be as gods, knowing good and evil". Eve, seduced by the promises of the tempter, not only ate of the fruit, but offered some to Adam, who, through a criminal condescension for his wife, shared in her disobe- dience. Their eyes were indeed opened, but in a manner quite con- trary to their expectation ; they saw the good which they had lost, and the abyss of evils into which they had culpably fallen. The Lord summoned them before him ; and, after pronouncing his malediction against the serpent, the occasion of their fall, he condemned the woman to bring forth children in sorrow, and to be subject to man, and man himself to eat his bread in the sweat of his brow, till his body should return into its original dust. He then drove them from the Earthly Paradise, and placed at the en- trance an angel with a flaming sword, to prevent their return. Thus did Adam and Eve lose, in a moment, both for themselves and for their posterity, the state of primitive innocence, and, besides bringing a train of spiritual evils into the world, doomed themselves and their descendants to hard labour, misery, disease, and death. God, however, did not leave our first parents without hope. He promised to them, that of the woman would one day be born a Sa- viour, who should crush the serpent's head, that is, destroy the em- pire of the Devil, rescue mankind from the slavery of sin, and be- come, " to all that obey him, the cause of eternal salvation".* Adam had many children; but the Holy Scripture mentions only three in particular, viz., Cain, Abel, and Seth. Cain, perceiving that the sacrifices of Abel were more acceptable than his own in the sight of God, and yielding to the influence of jealousy and hatred, became his brother's murderer. In punishment of this crime, he was condemned to be a fugitive and vagabond upon the Earth, and became the father of a posterity wicked like himself. On the contrary, piety was preserved among the descendants of Seth, the third of the three brothers. When Adam died, Seth succeeded him in the capacity of patriarch, and imitated the virtue of Abel. His son Enos began to use solemnity in the worship and invocation of God ; and Henoch, the sixth patriarch after Adam, deserved for his eminent piety to be taken by God from this world, and be reserved to come in the end of ages, to prepare men for the second coming of Christ. The posterity of Seth continued long in their adherence to virtue and religion, and for that reason were called the sons of God; whereas the descendants of Cain, following ia the footsteps of their father, were called the children of men. Heb., v. 9. INTRODUCTION. 15 The former having, at length, begun to contract marriages with the latter, were gradually perverted, and forgot their allegiance to their Creator. The corruption infected all mankind, except Noe and his family. God, according to the astonishing expression of Scripture, repented that he had created men, and resolved to destroy them by a general deluge, with the exception of the just Noe, who had found grace before him. He therefore commanded this holy patriarch to build an im- mense ark or vessel, the form and dimensions of which he himself specified. Noe spent a hundred years in its construction, and en- tered it with his three sons, Sem, Cham, and Japheth, his wife and the wives of his sons. He also, in compliance with the divine com- mand, took within some animals of every kind of those which move In the air or upon the earth. God then caused an incessant rain to fall during forty days and forty nights ; and the sea overflowed till it rose fifteen cubits above the summit of the loftiest mountains. When the waters began to subside, the ark rested upon Mount Ararat, in Armenia, and Noe left it, having remained in it during a whole year. His first care was to offer a solemn sacrifice to God, in thanks- giving for his wonderful preservation from the general destruction of mankind. The Almighty accepted the sacrifice. He blessed Noe and his children, promised them that the Earth would never again be wasted by a general flood, and set the rainbow in the clouds as sign and pledge of his promise. Immediately after the deluge, the duration of man's life began to be much shorter. A multitude of causes, more or less connected \vith this great catastrophe, greatly impaired the original strength of his constitution, and the various alterations undergone by nature it- self continually warned men how far, even in regard to this visible \vorld, the justice of God had been provoked by their crimes. Such was the beginning of the world ; most happy, at first ; then a prey to countless evils ; but, viewed in reference to God, always admirable. In the history of these extraordinary events, we see men always under the ruling hand of their Maker, created by his word, preserved by his goodness, governed by his wisdom, punished by his justice, delivered by his mercy, and constantly subject to his power.* * Sec Bossnet's Discourse on Universal History, Part II. ch. 1. ^ 16 ANCIENT HISTORY. PART I. DISPERSION OF MEN AFTER THE DELUGE— "BEGINNING OF ALL CIVIL HISTORY.— B. c. 2247. A NEW arder of things had commenced. Is oe with his family, con- eisting of eight persons, had once more taken possession of the Earth lately covered with the waters of the deluge. They began to cultivate those arts which are necessary for the support of human life, and which had been known from the beginning of the world,., that is, agriculture, the pastoral art, and that of procuring clothes and dwellings. Having established their residence in the fertile plains of Sennaar, they continued to live together as members of one family, as long as their limited number and the unity of their language permitted. This situation of mankind after the deluge lasted at least one hundred years. When their number became so great that it was very difficult for them to dwell any longer together, they unanimously resolved to build a city and a tower of extraordinary height, so as to render their names famous, before they should be scattered abroad into all lands. They used for that purpose brick instead of stones, and slime instead of mortar; and they appeared determined fully to carry out their design. But this project, inspired by vanity, highly displeased Almighty God. He confounded their language, and by thus preventing them from any longer understanding each other, compelled them to abandon their undertaking. This caused the place to be called Babel, that is, confusion, " because there", says the Scripture,* " the language of the whole Earth was confounded ; and from thence the Lord scattered them abroad (according to their kindreds and tongues) upon the face of all countries". As the various branches of Noe's family became more numerous", they gradually reached and peopled the different parts of the globe. Mountains and forests, rivers, and afterwards seas, were crossed, and new dwellings continually rose on the face of the Earth. Many of these colonies, owing to peculiar difficulties, fell into a state of pro- found ignorance and barbarism. Others, on the contrary, especially such as settled in the vicinity of the spot from which they had originally departed, laid the foundation of well-organized societies. Shortly after the first dispersion of men, we begin to see the poh'sh of manners, the building of towns and cities, the formation of poli- tical states, the enactment of laws, and the introduction of new arts, or the improvement of those already known, together with the fruits of commerce and industry. This is, then, the beginning of all civil * Gea., xL 1.— • B, c. 2247. DISL'ERSION OF MEN*. 37 history. There is, in fact, no authentic record of early times which does not date the first origin of nations or civil societies from this important epoch. The Egyptians, the Chaldeans, the Indians, the Chinese, and others may have, in order to gratify their vanity, freely indulged in the dreams of their imagination, and claimed an antiquity of ten thousand, thirty-six thousand, seventy thousand, and even two or four hundred thousand years. These absurd pretensions, the offspring of ignorance or national pride, are not . only destitute of all proof, and contrary to the inspired and only certain record of primitive times,* but are likewise opposed to each other, to facts, and to every document worthy of credit. Many learned critics, who have applied to the serious investigation of ancient chronology, after separating authentic and well-connected historical traditions from false and spurious ones, have unanimously come to the conclusion that the origin even of the most ancient states cannot be traced farther than to a time when, according to the chronology of Scripture, the Earth had already been for a long time inhabited.! The case has been repeatedly proved to be the same with regard to the astronomical monuments of early nations. The Egyptian zodiacs, whose pretended antiquity was reechoed by infidels as irre- concilable with sacred history, have been found upon closer exami- nation, to be scarcely as ancient as the beginning of the Christian era. The Chinese calculations could not have been made at an earlier period than the seventh or eighth century before the coming of Christ ; the Indian tables are of a still more recent and much later date ; and the famous observations of the Chaldeans, even admitting them to be perfectly authentic, do not suppose a higher antiquity than the year B. c. 2233, which is nearly the date of the tower of Babol. It is indeed probable that this tower, although left unfinished in consequence of the confusion of tongues, served, under the beautiful and serene sky of Chaldea, for the astronomical obser- vations of those who remained in the adjacent country. Thus the veracity of Moses' narrative, instead of being impeached, is sustained by the researches of true science, and by whatever is authentic in the history of the primitive world.f * The books of Moses, Genesis, etc. t See Dr. Wiseman's Lectures on the Connexion between -fci-:ncfj and £'•- waled Religion, lect. vii. and viii. ; Duclot, Bilite vengee, vol i., Observations Preliminaires; Goguet, DC I' Origins des Lois, des Arts, et des Sciences, rol. iii , Ditscrtatiqn sitr les Antiqitites des Babyloniens, des Egyptiens, et des Chinois; Gerard, Lemons sitr I'llistoire, vol. i., lettre ix. ; Freret, Me moires de C Am- ueinie des inscriptions, vol. xviii. — 4to, p. 294. et vol. xxxix. — 12rno, p. 490. IS ANCIENT HISTORY. Another circumstance connected with the dispersion of men must not be omitted. Notwithstanding their separation and increased multitude, they always preserved many proofs of the identity of their origin. Whatever shades of difference were introduced in the deve- lopment of their mental powers, and in the colour, strength, and other external qualities of their bodies, it was not difficult to account for these changes, or apparent diversities, by the difference of edu- cation, habits, manners, dress, diet, country, and climate, especially where they were under the continual influence of a tropical sun. In othar respects, there always remained in them all the same essential organization, the same propensities and feelings, the same internal and external faculties, in a word, a multitude of indelible features manifestly denoting the unity of the source from which all descended.* The languages themselves, notwithstanding their surprising variety, give ample testimony to the same important fact. Vast and pro- found researches of latter times have shown, first, that all the languages of the Earth may be reduced to three great families ; secondly, that these three, notwithstanding their wide difference, bear, however, so many signs of affinity to each other, that they must have been originally united in one, from which they drew those essential elements common to them all;f and, thirdly, that tho separation was effected by some extrinsic and sudden cause. All this perfectly agrees with eveiy circumstance mentioned by Moses in connection with the confusion of tongues at the tower of Babel. Hence it also happened that all the great events previous to the dispersion of men, were preserved in the notice and recollection of the different nations which owed their immediate origin to that separation. The creation of the universe, and particularly of man ; the division of time into weeks of seven days ; the golden age, or state of primitive innocence and happiness ; the iron age, or subse- quent period of misery, disorder, and crime ; the long life of the earliest generations ; the boldness and impiety of the giants ; the justice of God displayed in the deluge ; the preservation of a just man and his family : ij & word, all the important transactions which * For this and the following remarks, see again Dr. Wiseman, Duclot, Gerard, in the works above cited, besides many other publications, to •which '.hey themselves refer. t This is what the ablest men fn the study of languages now unanimously acknowledge. " It is", says Schlegel, in one of his memoirs, " my full impres- sio_n, produced by the affinity of languages, that the various tribes and families of (he human race descend from one parent stock; and my conclusion on this point will appear to every one the more exact, as it is the more thoroughly examined". RISE OF THE EARLIEST STATES. 19 before the confusion of tongnes, remained conspicuous in the remembrance of posterity, and vestiges of this remembrance were left in the history, monuments, writings, and poetry, of almost all nations. Events, on the contrary, which happened after this period, however remarkable in themselves, were not universally known : a manifest proof of the fact, that there no longer existed a general bond of communication between men, whereas they had before con- stituted but one family, descending from one common parent. RISE OF THE EARLIEST STATES. BABYLONIANS, ASSYRIANS, PHENICIANS, ETC. THE ancient world was therefore divided among the three sons ct Xoe, Sem, Cham, Japheth, and their descendants. Cham's family occupied Palestine, Egypt, and other parts of Africa. The posterity of Japheth peopled nearly all Europe, and the north of Asia. Cen- tral Asia WAS occupied by the children of Sem.* The names uf these first founders of all the nations of the Earth were for a long time remembered and preserved in the countries in which they originally settled. Among the cities which they built, the most remarkable were Babylon, Xinive, and Sidou.f Babylon, situated on the banks of the great river Euphrates, was founded by Nemrod, a grandson of Cham ; and Ninive, on the left bank of the Tigris, by Assur, a son of Sem, whence came the name of Assyrians. We will speak, in another place, at greater length of 'hese two famous cities, and of the extraordinary degree of splen- dour and magnificence they subsequently attained. Sidon, in Phenicia, on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, was probably built by Sidon, the eldest son of Chanaan, and a great-grandson of Noe. On the same coast was also founded the city of Tyre, a colony of Sidon, which it afterwards greatly sur- passed in celebrity, wealth, and power. The inhabitants of that country, confined in a narrow tract between the sea on the one side and a ridge of mountains on the other, and finding in the soil but few resources for their subsistence, directed their attention to navi- gation and commerce. Their exertions, constantly aided by expe- rience, were so successful, that they passed for the most skilful * See Genesis, ch. 10, which, independently of the divine inspiration, is tb.9 most admirable monument of ancient history and geography, t Same en., ver. 10, 11, 15, and 19. 20 ANCIENT HISTORY. PART I. seamen and the most industrious merchants of the ancient world, nay, for the very inventors of maritime trade. Nor was their industry confined to commerce and navigation. Mankind was indebted to them for a variety of other useful inven- tions or discoveries, for instance, of the purple, glass, weights and measures, arithmetic, and perhaps of the art of writing, which is, however, ascribed by some to the Egyptians or Assyrians. Cadmus, who, about the year E. c. 1519, carried the alphabet into Greece, was a Pheniciaii. The book of Genesis mentions, not only other cities, but even principalities and kingdoms, founded in that remote period. There were, among others, the kings of Sodom and Gomorrha, of Grrara and Salem, of Sennaar or Chaldea, and of the Elamites or Persians. Most of these sovereigns were far from being powerful monavc'ts, and frequently their jurisdiction did not extend beyond the limits of one district or city ; a proof, however, that a settled form of govern- ment was already known and adopted in many countries. Until men had considerably multiplied, they continued under the authority of their fathers or chiefs of families, called patriarchs, as Noe, Sem, Abraham, etc. But subsequently, diversity of interests and the necessity of providing for the common security and welfare, induced them to seek the powerful protection of one person or more, possessed of the necessary qualifications and invested with full au- thority for the discharge of so important a trust. The remembrance and favourable idea which they had of the patriarchal power, led them to imitate it in their political organization, and in most cases to choose the monarchical form of government. Hence we find in both sacred and profane writers, that most of the nations of anti- quity were monarchical, though not despotic states. The despotic authority seems to have taken its rise only with great and powerful empires, such as could not exist from the beginning. 