Nitocris raised many noble edifices in Babylon; she caused her own monument to be placed over one of the most remarkable gates of the city, with an inscription, dissuading her successors from touching the treasures laid up in it, without the most urgent and indispensable necessity. The tomb remained unopened till the reign of Darius, who, upon his breaking it open, instead of those immense treasures with which he had flattered himself, found nothing but the following inscription: "If thou hadst not an insatiable thirst after money, and a most sordid, avaricious soul, thou wouldst never have broken open the monuments of the dead."* In the first year of Belshazzar's reign, Daniel had the vision of the four beasts, which represented the four great monarchies, and the kingdom of the Messiah, which was to succeed them. In the third year of the same reign, he had the vision of the ram and the he-goat, which prefigured the destruction of the Persian empire by Alexander the Great, and the persecution which Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria, should bring upon the Jews. I shall hereafter make some reflections upon these prophecies, and give a more particular account of them. Belshazzar, while his enemies were besieging Babylon, gave a great entertainment to his whole court, upon a certain festival, which was annually celebrated with great rejoicing.§ The joy of this feast was greatly disturbed by a vision, and still more so by the explication which Daniel gave of it to the king. The sentence written upon the wall imported, that his kingdom was taken from him, and given to the Medes and Persians. That very night, the city was taken, and Belshazzar killed. Thus ended the Babylonish empire, after having subsisted two hundred and ten years, from the destruction of the great Assyrian empire. The particular circuinstances of the siege, and the taking of Babylon, shall be related in the history of Cyrus. CHAPTER III. THE HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF THE MEDES. I OBSERVED, in speaking of the destruction of the ancient Assyrian empire, ¶ taat Arbaces, general of the Medes, was one of the chief authors of the conspiracy against Sardanapalus; and several writers believed that he then immediately became sovereign master of Media, and many other provinces, and assumed the title of king. Herodotus is not of this opinion. I shall relate what that celebrated historian says upon the subject. The Assyrians, who had for many ages held the empire of Asia, began to decline in their power by the revolt of several nations. The Medes first threw off their yoke, and maintained for some time the liberty they had acquired by their valour; but that liberty degenerating into licentiousness, and their government not being well established, they fell into a kind of anarchy, worse than their former subjection. Injustice, violence and rapine, prevailed every where, because there was nobody that had either power enough to restrain them, or sufficient authority to punish the offenders. But all these disorders induced the people to settle a form of government, which rendered the state more flourishing than it ever was before.** The nation of the Medes was then divided into tribes. Almost all the people dwelt in villages, when Dejoces, the son of Phraortes, a Mede by birth, erected the state into a monarchy. This person, seeing the great disorders that pre Her. 1. i. cap. 185, &c. Chap. v. † Dan. vii. Chap. viii. ** Herod. 1. i. c. 95. vailed throughout all Media, resolved to take advantage of those troubles, and make them serve to exalt him to the royal dignity. He enjoyed great reputation in his own country, and passed for a man, not only regular in his conduct, but possessed of all the prudence and equity necessary for a governor. As soon as he had formed the design of obtaining the throne, he laboured to make the good qualities that had been observed in him more conspicuous than ever; he succeeded so well, that the inhabitants of the village where he lived made him their judge. In this office he acquitted himself with great prudence, and his cares were attended with all the success expected from them, for he brought the people of that village to a sober and regular life. The inhabitants of other villages, who were perpetually in disorder, observing the regularity Dejoces had introduced in the place where he presided as judge, began to address themselves to him, and make him arbitrator of their differences. The fame of his equity daily increasing, all such as had any affair of consequence, brought it before him, expecting to find that equity in Dejoces, which they could meet with no where else. When he found himself thus far advanced in his designs, he judged it a proper time to set his last engines to work for the accomplishment of his object. He therefore retired from business, pretending to be over-fatigued with the multitude of people that resorted to him from all quarters, and would not exercise the office of judge any longer, notwithstanding all the importunity of such as wished well to the public tranquillity. Whenever any persons addressed themselves to him, he told them that his own domestic affairs would not allow him to attend to those of other people. The licentiousness which had been for some time restrained by the management of Dejoces, began to prevail more than ever, as soon as he had withdrawn himself from the administration of affairs, and the evil increased to such a degree, that the Medes were obliged to assemble, and deliberate upon the means of curing so dangerous a disorder. There are different sorts of ambition; some persons, violent and impetuous, carrying every thing as it were by storm, restrained by no kind of cruelty or murder; another sort, more gentle, like those we are speaking of, put on an appearance of moderation and justice, and yet by clandestine means, arrive at their point as surely as the other. Dejoces, who saw things succeeding aecording to his wish, sent his emissaries to the assembly, after having instructed them in the part they were to act. When expedients for stopping the course of the public evils came to be proposed, these emissaries, speaking in their turn, represented, that unless the state of the republic was entirely changed, their country would become uninhabitable; that the only means to remedy the present disorders was to elect a king, who should have authority to restrain violence, and make laws for the government of the nation. Then every man could prosecute his own affairs in peace and safety; whereas the injustice that now reigned in all parts, would quickly force the people to abandon the country. This opinion was generally approved, and the whole company was convinced that no expedient could be devised more effectual for curing the present evil, than that of converting the state into a monarchy. The only thing then to be done, was to choose a king, which did not take long for deliberation. They all agreed there was not a man in Media so capable of governing as Dejoces, so that he was immediately, with common consent, elected king. If we reflect in the least on the first establishment of kingdoms, in any age or country whatever, we shall find that the maintenance of order, and the care of the public good, was the original design of monarchy. Indeed, there would be no possibility of establishing order and peace, if all men were resolved to be independent, and would not submit to an authority which takes from them a part of their liberty, in order to preserve the rest. Mankind must be perpetually at war, if they will always be striving for dominion over others, or refuse to submit to the strongest. For the sake of their own peace and safety, they must have a master, and must consent to obey him. This is the human origin of government. And the Scriptures teach us, that Divine Providence has not only allowed the project, and the execution of it, but consecrated it likewise by an immediate communication of his own power.* There is nothing certainly inore noble and great than to see a private person, eminent for his merit and virtue, and fitted by his excellent talents for the highest employment, and yet, through inclination and modesty, preferring a life of obscurity and retirement; than to see such a man sincerely refuse the offer made to him of reigning over a whole nation, and at last consent to undergo the toil of government, from no other motive than that of being serviceable to his fellow-citizens. His first disposition, by which he declares that he is acquainted with the duties, and consequently with the dangers annexed to sovereign power, shows him to have a soul more elevated and great than greatness itself; or, to speak more justly, a soul superior to all ambition; nothing can show him so perfectly worthy of that important charge, as the opinion he has of his not being so, and his fears of being unequal to it. But when he generously sacrifices his own quiet and satisfaction to the welfare and tranquillity of the public, it is plain he understands what that sovereign power has in it really good, or truly valuable; which is, that it puts a man in a condition of becoming the defender of his country, of procuring it many advantages, and of redressing various evils; of causing law and justice to flourish, of bringing virtue and probity into reputation, and of establishing peace and plenty; and he comforts himself for the cares and troubles to which he is exposed, by the prospect of the many benefits resulting from them to the public. Such a governor was Numa at Rome, and such have been some other emperors whom the people have constrained to accept the supreme power. It must be owned, I cannot help repeating it, that there is nothing more noble or great than such a disposition. But to put on the mask of modesty and virtue, in order to satisfy one's ambition, as Dejoces did; to affect to appear outwardly, what a man is not inwardly, to refuse for a time, and then accept with a seeming repugnancy, what a man earnestly desires, and what he has been labouring by secret underhand practices to obtain; has so much meanness in it, that it necessarily lessens our opinion of the person, and greatly eclipses his merit, be his talents at the same time ever so extraordinary. DEJOCES reigned fifty-three years. When Dejoces had ascended the throne, he endeavoured to convince the people that they were not mistaken in the choice they had made of him, for restoring order. At first, he resolved to have his dignity of king attended with all the marks that could inspire awe and respect for his person. He obliged his subjects to build him a magnificent palace in the place he appointed. This palace he strongly fortified, and chose out from among his people such persons as he judged most fit to be his guards. After having thus provided for his own security, he applied himself to polish and civilize nis subjects, who, having been accustomed to live in the country, and in villages, almost without laws and without polity, had contracted a savage disposition. To this end, he commanded them to build a city, himself marking out the place and circumference of the walls. This city was surrounded with seven distinct walls, all disposed in such a manner, that the outermost did not hinder the parapet of the second from being seen, nor the second that of the third, and so of all the rest. The situation of the place was extremely favourable for such a design, for it was a regular hill, whose ascent was equal on every side. Within the last and smallest enclosure sto the king's palace, with all his treasures; in the sixth, which was next to that, there were several apartments for lodging the officers of his household; and the intermediate spaces, between the other walls, were appointed for the habitation of the people; the first and largest enclosure was about the size of Athens. The name of the city was Ecbatana. Rom. xiii. 1, 2. †A. M. 3294. Ant. J. C. 710, Her. 1. i. 96-101. The prospect of it was magnificent and beautiful; for, besides the disposition of the walls, which formed a kind of amphitheatre, the different colours wherewith the several parapets were painted, formed a delightful variety. After the city was finished, and Dejoces had obliged part of the Medes to settle in it, he turned all his attention to composing laws for the good of the state. But being persuaded that the majesty of kings is most respected afar off, major ex longinquo reverentia,* he began to keep himself at a distance from his people, was almost inaccessible and invisible to his subjects, not suffering them to speak, or communicate their affairs to him but only by petitions, and the interposition of his officers. And even those that had the privilege of approaching him, might neither laugh nor spit in his presence. This great statesman acted in this manner, in order the better to secure to himself the possession of the crown. For, having to deal with men yet uncivilized, and not very capable judges of true merit, he was afraid that too great familiarity with him might induce contempt, and occasion plots and conspiracies against a growing power, which is generally looked upon with envy and discontent. But by keeping himself thus concealed from the eyes of the people, and making himself known only by the wise laws he made, and the strict justice he took care to administer to every one, he acquired the respect and esteem of all his subjects. It is said that from the innermost parts of his palace he knew every thing that was done in his dominions, by means of his emissaries, who brought him accounts, and informed him of all transactions. By this means, no crime escaped either the knowledge of the prince, or the rigour of the law; and the punishment closely following the offence, kept the wicked in awe, and stopped the course of violence and injustice. Things might possibly pass in this manner to a certain degree, during his administration; but there is nothing more obvious than the great inconveniences necessarily resulting from the custom introduced by Dejoces, and wherein he has been imitated by the rest of the Eastern potentates; the custom, I mean, of living concealed in his palace, of governing by spies, dispersed throughout his kingdom, of relying solely upon their sincerity for the truth of facts, of not suffering truth, the complaints of the oppressed, and the just reasons of innocent persons, to be conveyed to him in any other way than through foreign channels, that is, by men liable to be prejudiced or corrupted; men that stopped up all avenues to remonstrances, or the reparation of injuries, and that were capable of doing the greatest injustice themselves, with so much the more ease and assurance, as their iniquity remained undiscovered, and consequently unpunished. But besides all this, that very affectation in princes of being invisible, shows them to be conscious of their slender merit, which shuns the light, and dares not stand the test of a near examination. Dejoces was so wholly taken up in humanizing and softening the manners, and making laws for the good government of his people, that he never engaged in any enterprise against his neighbours, though he reigned for the long period of fifty-three years. PHRAORTES reigned twenty-two years. After the death of Dejoces, his son Phraortes, otherwise called Aphraartes, succeeded. The sole affinity between these two names, would make one believe, that this is the king called in Scripture Arphaxad; but that opinion has many other substantial reasons to support it, as may be seen in Father Montfaucon's learned dissertation, of which I have made great use in this treatise. The passage in Judith, that Arphaxad built a very strong city, and called it Ecbatana, has deceived most authors, and made them believe, that Arphaxad must be Dejoces, who was certainly the founder of that city. But the Greek text of Judith, which the vulgar translation renders ædificavit, only says, that Arphaxad added new *Tacitus. † A. M. 3347. Ant. J. C. 657. Her. c. 102. He is called so by Eusebius, Chron. Græc. and by Geor Syncel. Judith, i. 1. buildings to Ecbatana. And what can be more natural, than that the father not having entirely perfected so considerable a work, the son should put the last hand to it, and make such additions as were wanting? Phraortes, being of a very warlike temper, and not contented with the kingdom of Media, left him by his father, attacked the Persians, and defeating them in a decisive battle, brought them under subjection to his empire. Then, strengthened by the accession of their troops, he attacked other neighbouring nations, one after another, till he made himself master of almost all Upper Asia, which comprehends all that lies north of Mount Taurus, from Media, as far as the river Halys.† Elated with his success, he ventured to turn his arms against the Assyrians, at that time indeed, weakened through the revolt of several nations, but yet very powerful in themselves. Nebuchodonosor, their king, otherwise called Saosduchinus, raised a great army in his own country, and sent ambassadors to several other nations of the East, to require their assistance. They all refused him with contempt, and ignominiously treated his ambassado13, letting him see that they no longer dreaded that empire, which had formerly kept the greatest part of them in a slavish subjection." The king, highly enraged at such insolent treatment, swore by his throne and his reign, that he would be revenged of all those nations, and put them every one to the sword. He then prepared for battle, with what forces he had, in the plain of Ragau. A great battle ensued there, which proved fatal to Phraortes. He was defeated, his cavalry fled, his chariots were overturned, and thrown into disorder, and Nebuchodonosor gained a complete victory. Then, taking advantage of the defeat and confusion of the Medes, he entered their country, took their cities, pushed on his conquests even to Ecbatana, forced the towers and the walls by storm, and gave the city to be pillaged by his soldiers, who plundered it, and stripped it of all its ornaments. The unfortunate Phraortes, who had escaped into the mountains of Ragau, fell at last into the hands of Nebuchodonosor, who cruelly caused him to be shot to death with darts. After that, he returned to Nineveh with all his army, which was still very numerous, and for four months together, did nothing but feast and divert himself with those that had accompanied him in this expedition. In Judith, we read, that the king of Assyria sent Holofernes, with a powerful army, to revenge himself of those that had refused him succours. The progress and cruelty of that commander, the general consternation of all the people, the courageous resolution of the Israelites to withstand him, in hopes that their God would defend them, the extremity to which Bethulia and the whole nation was reduced, the miraculous deliverance of that city by the courage and conduct of the brave Judith, and the complete overthrow of the Assyrian army, are all related in the same book. CYAXARES I. reigned forty years. This prince succeeded to the throne immediately after his father's death. He was a very brave, enterprising prince, and knew how to take advantage of the late overthrow of the Assyrian army. He first settled himself well in his kingdom of Media, and then conquered all Upper Asia. But his most ardent wish was to go and attack Nineveh, to revenge the death of his father by the destruction of that great city. The Assyrians came out to meet him, having only the remains of the great army which was destroyed before Bethulia. A battle ensued, wherein the Assyrians were defeated, and driven back to Nineveh. Cyaxares, pursuing his victory, laid siege to the city, which was upon the point of falling into his hands, but that the time was not yet come when God designed to punish that city for her crimes, and for the calamities she had brought upon his people, as * 'Erwodóμnce inì 'Exaτávois. Judith. Text. Gr. † Herod. l. ic 102. The Greek text places these embassies before the battle. |